Informed Voting
When I hear a politician making a broad statement about wanting everyone's vote, I feel a little sick to my stomach. Generally about half the eligible citizens vote, and as far as I'm concerned, that's far too high. The proportion of uninformed and ill-informed votes in most elections has to be staggering.
Case in point: look at the quality of ads employed by the candidates. They are rife with distortions, catchy jingles, and lofty-sounding but empty rhetoric. In short, what people end up voting for is the best campaigner, not the most able senator, representative, or president.
I feel that it is not in our best interest to have politicians trying to appeal to everyone, and that is what would happen even more than now with mandatory voting. Messages would become even more "watered down" and vague. I don't want elected officials owing a lot of service to those who don't care about the system in the first place.
Let's quiz people on the essential principles of government before they are allowed to register. Thomas Jefferson said that democracy depends on an informed public, and I agree. Let's make every vote an informed vote, and then we'll have a truly representative government.
Question
What is the central idea of the passage?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
The quality of campaign ads is very poor.
2.
Those who vote need to be well informed.
3.
Voters are easily swayed by vague messages.
4.
People deserve a truly representative government.
2. Those who vote need to be well informed.
An Olympic Feat,end bold,
Nervously, Sandra tied her shoelaces for the third time, a routine she did before every big race. A lot of athletes have little superstitions—little routines they must do before a big event. Sandra's was tying her shoelaces.
Sandra was hoping to beat her personal best—run 400 meters in less than 50 seconds. As she paced the track, hands on her hips, staring at her running shoes, her thoughts were about going to the Olympics. Sandra knew her dream was not going to be an easy accomplishment, even if she were wearing winged boots. ",begin underline,I'll have to run like Mercury if I want to win this race,end underline,," she thought as she looked at her competition.
Question
Which statement ,begin emphasis,best,end emphasis, explains the meaning of the underlined sentence?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
Sandra will have to run as fast as a Roman god.
2.
Sandra will have to run as fast as an Olympic athlete.
3.
Sandra will have to move as quickly as a spinning planet.
4.
Sandra will have to move as though she were a winged bird.
1. Sandra will have to run as fast as a Roman god.
from ,begin bold,The Schoolmaster's Progress,end bold,
Master William Horner came to our village to school when he was about eighteen years old: tall, lank, straight-sided, and straight-haired, with a mouth of the most puckered and solemn kind. His figure and movements were those of a puppet cut out of shingle and jerked by a string; and his address corresponded very well with his appearance. Never did that prim mouth give way before a laugh. A faint and misty smile was the widest departure from its propriety, and this unaccustomed disturbance made wrinkles in the flat, skinny cheeks like those in the surface of a lake, after the intrusion of a stone. Master Horner knew well what belonged to the pedagogical,superscript,1,baseline, character, and that facial solemnity stood high on the list of indispensable qualifications. He had made up his mind before he left his father's house how he would look during the term.
(from "The Schoolmaster's Progress" by Caroline M. S. Kirkland)
,begin bold,,superscript,1,baseline,pedagogical,end bold, related to teachers or teaching
Question
Which aspect of the old-fashioned schoolmaster archetype is ,begin emphasis,most,end emphasis, emphasized in the description of Master Horner in this passage?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
being "straight-sided, and straight-haired"
2.
having a "faint and misty smile"
3.
possessing "flat, skinny cheeks"
4.
maintaining "facial solemnity"
4. maintaining "facial solemnity"
The American college system is deeply rooted in the past. It will be better understood if we trace briefly its historic connection with the ancient and European seats of learning. Higher education has been promoted among all great nations. Flourishing colleges were founded among ancient people. In the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, schools of the Prophets were located at Bethel, Gibeah, Gilgal, Jericho and Naioth. The Academy of Athens, the Museum of Alexandria, the Athenæum of Rome were once centers of intellectual activity and spread their influence over the civilized world.
The Greek race especially commands our attention for its activity in matters relating to higher education. The Academy of Plato flourished for nine hundred years. The schools of Athens are noted for their great and permanent influence in awakening thought and shedding the light of their teaching among the nations of the world. "So charged," says Cardinal Newman, "is the moral atmosphere of the East with Greek civilization, that down to this day those tribes are said to show to most advantage which can claim relation of place and kin with Greek colonies established two thousand years ago." The influences of the scholastic halls of Plato and Aristotle span the centuries with their light and power.
(from ,begin underline,Colleges in America,end underline, by John Marshall Barker, Ph.D.)
Question
Which sentence from the passage makes a broad generalization?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
The American college system is deeply rooted in the past.
2.
Higher education has been promoted among all great nations.
3.
Flourishing colleges were founded among ancient peoples.
4.
The Academy of Plato flourished for nine hundred years.
2. Higher education has been promoted among all great nations.
Theodore Roosevelt served as president of the United States from 1901 to 1909.,end italics,
from ,begin bold,Citizenship in a Republic,end bold,
paragraph 1,The good citizen in a republic must realize that he ought to possess two sets of qualities, and that neither avails without the other. He must have those qualities which make for efficiency; and he must also have those qualities which direct the efficiency into channels for the public good. . . .
paragraph 2,But if a man's efficiency is not guided and regulated by a moral sense, then the more efficient he is the worse he is, the more dangerous to the body politic. Courage, intellect, all the masterful qualities, serve but to make a man more evil if they are used merely for that man's own advancement, with brutal indifference to the rights of others.
(from "Citizenship in a Republic" by Theodore Roosevelt)
,begin italics,Dwight D. Eisenhower served as president of the United States from 1953 to 1961.,end italics,
from ,begin bold,Remarks at the United Negro College Fund Luncheon,end bold,
paragraph 1,Another thing I have preached, as have many others, is against the theory that there can be any second-class citizen. I believe as long as we allow conditions to exist that make for second-class citizens, we are making of ourselves less than first-class citizens.
paragraph 2,In other words, I believe the only way to protect my own rights is to protect the rights of others.
paragraph 3,Everything that the Constitution accords to me, I must defend for others—or else finally there will be nobody left to defend me.
(from "Remarks at the United Negro College Fund Luncheon May 19, 1953" by Dwight D. Eisenhower)
Question
Which statement ,begin emphasis,best,end emphasis, describes a ,begin emphasis,difference,end emphasis, in how Roosevelt and Eisenhower argue for supporting the rights of all citizens?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
Roosevelt claims that ignoring everyone's rights creates risk; Eisenhower claims that ignoring everyone's rights results from a flawed theory.
2.
Roosevelt claims that efficiency is a way to protect everyone's rights; Eisenhower claims that fairness is a way to protect everyone's rights.
3.
Roosevelt claims that the community must keep everyone's rights sacred; Eisenhower claims that the government must defend everyone's rights.
4.
Roosevelt claims that failing to support everyone's rights is morally wrong; Eisenhower claims that failing to support everyone's rights threatens all rights.
4. Roosevelt claims that failing to support everyone's rights is morally wrong; Eisenhower claims that failing to support everyone's rights threatens all rights.
Shaina was the team leader for the physics project, but she felt ,begin underline,ambivalent,end underline, about her role, which was frustrating and annoying to her team. At first, Shaina was full of energy and excitement, favoring only the most innovative and complex projects proposed by her teammates. Once the team settled on a project and Shaina realized how much work it was going to be, however, her enthusiasm faltered. As the deadline loomed and the burden of responsibility weighed on her, Shaina became increasingly reluctant to lead.
Question 1
This question has two parts. Answer Part A, and then answer Part B.
,begin emphasis,Part A,end emphasis,
What does the word ,begin emphasis,ambivalent,end emphasis, mean in the paragraph?
Question 1 Answer options with 4 options
1.
conceited
2.
conflicted
3.
criticized
4.
pressured
Question 2
,begin emphasis,Part B,end emphasis,
Which phrase from the paragraph supports the correct answer from Part A?
Question 2 Answer options with 4 options
1.
"frustrating and annoying"
2.
"innovative and complex"
3.
"enthusiasm faltered"
4.
"deadline loomed"