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THEA-Test – Texas Higher Education Assessment - Mathematics, Reading Comprehension

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Showing 1–3 of 20 questions

Question 1 (Reading Comprehension)

Every year since 1986, some of the world's most daring runners have gathered in the desert of Morocco. They are there to take part in one of the most difficult races in the world. The Marathon of the Sands, as it is called, covers over 125 miles of desert and mountain wilderness. The runners complete the course in fewer than seven days, and they run with their food, clothing, and sleeping bags on their backs.

The Marathon of the Sands was founded in 1986 by Patrick Bauer. His idea was to give the runners, who come from all over the world, a special kind of adventure. Most of the runners in this race have found that they form deep friendships with the other runners during their days and nights in the desert. Facing terrible heat and complete exhaustion, they learn much about themselves and each other.

For most of the runners, though, the challenge of the race is the main reason for coming. On the first day, for example, they run fifteen miles across a desert of sand, rocks, and thorny bushes. Few runners finish the day without blistered and raw feet. They also suffer from a lack of water. (They are allowed less than nine quarts of water during each day of the race.) Most of all, they are exhausted when they arrive at the campsite for the night.

The second day, the runners are up at 6:00

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    M. Within a few hours, it is 100 degrees F, but the runners do not hesitate. They must cover eighteen miles that day. That night, they rest. They must be ready for the next day's run.
    On the third day, the runners must climb giant sand dunes- the first they have faced. Dust and sand mix with the runners' sweat. Soon their faces are caked with mud. After fifteen miles of these conditions, the runners finally reach their next camp.
    The race continues like this for four more days. The fourth and fifth days are the worst. On the fourth day, the runners pass through a level stretch and a beautiful, tree-filled oasis, but then, on this and on the next day, they cross more than twenty-one miles of rocks and sand dunes. The temperature soars to 125 degrees F, and many runners cannot make it. Helicopters rush fallen runners to medical help. Runners who make it to the end of the fifth day know that the worst is over.
    On the sixth day, heat and rocks punish the racers terribly. In the Valley of Dra, the wind picks up and, as the desert heat is thrust against them with great force, they grow more and more exhausted.
    The seventh day is the last, with only twelve miles to be covered. The dusty, tired, blistered runners set out at daybreak. Near the finish line, children race along with the runners, for everybody has caught the excitement. The ones who have run the whole marathon know they have accomplished what most people could not even dream of. “During the hard moments,” says one contestant who has raced here twice, “I'd think, ‘Why am I here?' Then I'd realize I was there to find my limits.”
    What is the main idea of this passage?
    The Marathon of the Sands race tests the limits of human endurance.
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    The runners run at their own pace.
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    The race causes the strong to stumble and the weak to not finish.
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    The seventh day is the hardest day of the race.
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    Every runner runs the race to find their human limits.
Question 2 (Sentence Correction)

Read the following sentence and select the choice that best replaces the underlined section.

Still, the fact that a planet exists outside our solar system encourages hope that other solar systems exist, and in them, perhaps, a planet that does support life.

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    that a planet exists outside our solar system encourages hope that other solar systems exist, and
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    that a Planet exists out side our solar system encourages hope that other solar systems exist and
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    could be that a planet exists outside our solar system encourages hope that other solar systems exist, and
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    that a planet exist outside our solar systems encourage hope that other solar systems exist, and
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    that a planet does exists out side our solar system encourages hope that other solar systems exist, and
Question 3 (Reading Comprehension)

“Old woman,” grumbled the burly white man who had just heard Sojourner Truth speak, “do you think your talk about slavery does any good? I don't care any more for your talk than I do for the bite of a flea.”

The tall, imposing black woman turned her piercing eyes on him. “Perhaps not,” she answered, “but I'll keep you scratching.”

The little incident of the 1840s sums up all that Sojourner Truth was: utterly dedicated to spreading her message, afraid of no one, forceful and witty in speech.

Yet forty years earlier, who could have suspected that a spindly slave girl growing up in a damp cellar in upstate New York would become one of the most remarkable women in American history? Her name then was Isabella (many slaves had no last names), and by the time she was fourteen she had seen both parents die of cold and hunger. She herself had been sold several times. By 1827, when New York freed its slaves, she had married and borne five children.

The first hint of Isabella's fighting spirit came soon afterwards, when her youngest son was illegally seized and sold. She marched to the courthouse and badgered officials until her son was returned to her.

In 1843, inspired by religion, she changed her name to Sojourner (meaning “one who stays briefly”) Truth, and, with only pennies in her purse, set out to preach against slavery. From New England to Minnesota she trekked, gaining a reputation for her plain but powerful and moving words. Incredibly, despite being black and female (only white males were expected to be public speakers), she drew thousands to town halls, tents, and churches to hear her powerful, deep-voiced pleas on equality for blacks-and for women. Often she had to face threatening hoodlums. Once she stood before armed bullies and sang a hymn to them. Awed by her courage and her commanding presence, they sheepishly retreated.

During the Civil War she cared for homeless ex-slaves in Washington. President Lincoln invited her to the White House to bestow praise on her. Later, she petitioned Congress to help former slaves get land in the West. Even in her old age, she forced the city of Washington to integrate its trolley cars so that black and white could ride together.

Shortly before her death at eighty-six, she was asked what kept her going. “I think of the great things,” replied Sojourner.

She preached against

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    smoking
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    slavery
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    alcohol
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    hoodlums
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    women having no rights