Free CBEST-Section-2-Reading – California Basic Educational Skills Test - Reading Practice Test Question

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Question 1

(1) Milton Hershey was born near the small village of Derry Church, Pennsylvania, in 1857. It was a modest beginning that did not foretell his later popularity. Milton only attended school through the fourth grade; at that point, he was apprenticed to a printer in a nearby town. Fortunately for all chocolate lovers,Milton did not excel as a printer. After a while, he left the printing business and was apprenticed to a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, candy maker. It was apparent he had found his calling in life and, at the age of eighteen, he opened his own candy store in Philadelphia. In spite of his talents as a candy maker, the shop failed after six years. (2)Milton Hershey’s fans today may be surprised to learn that his first candy success came with the manufacture of caramel. After the failure of his Philadelphia store, Milton headed for Denver, where he learned the art of caramel making. There he took a job with a local manufacturer who insisted on using fresh milk in making his caramels; Milton saw that this made the caramels especially tasty. After a time in Denver, he once again attempted to open his own candy-making businesses, in Chicago, New Orleans, and New York City. Finally, in 1886, he went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he raised the money necessary to try again. This company—the Lancaster Caramel Company—made Milton’s reputation as a master candy maker. (3) In 1893, Milton attended the Chicago International Exposition, where he saw a display of German chocolate-making implements. Captivated by the equipment, he purchased it for his Lancaster candy factory and began producing chocolate, which he used for coating his caramels. By the next year, production had grown to include cocoa, sweet chocolate, and baking chocolate. The Hershey Chocolate company was born in 1894 as a subsidiary of the Lancaster Caramel Company. Six years later, Milton sold the caramel company, but retained the rights, and the equipment, to make chocolate. He believed that a large market of chocolate consumers was waiting for someone to produce reasonably priced candy. He was right. (4)Milton Hershey returned to the village where he had been born, in the heart of dairy country, and opened his chocolate-manufacturing plant. With access to all the fresh milk he needed, he began producing the finest milk chocolate. The plant that opened in a small Pennsylvania village in 1905 is today the largest chocolate factory in the world. The confections created at this facility are favorites in the U.S. and internationally. (5) The area where the factory is located is now known as Hershey, Pennsylvania. Within the first decades of its existence, the town thrived, as did the chocolate business. A bank, a school, churches, a department store, even a park and a trolley system all appeared in short order. Soon, the town even had a zoo. Today, a visit to the area reveals the Hershey Medical Center, Milton Hershey School, and Hershey’s Chocolate World, a theme park where visitors are greeted by a giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. All of these things—and a huge number of happy chocolate lovers—were made possible because a caramel maker visited the Chicago Exposition of 1893!

On the basis of above passage please answer the following question

As it is used in paragraph 1, the underlined phrase found his calling in life most nearly means

Select an option, then click Submit answer.

  • ○

    became educated.

  • ○

    discovered a vocation.

  • ○

    was a talented person.

  • ○

    called on other people to help him.

  • ○

    had good luck.

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About the CBEST-Section-2-Reading Free Practice Test

Thinking of taking the California Basic Educational Skills Test - Reading (CBEST-Section-2-Reading) exam? This free Test Prep practice test is the place to start. The 10 questions are a free sample of the full Study4Pass practice set of 100 questions, so you can check your level before you commit to the real exam. The free sample is made up of 10 single-answer questions, each with a full explanation. Questions are spread across the areas that matter most on the real exam: Comprehension, Vocabulary, Analysis and Critical Thinking. The California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) Section 2: Reading is a multiple-choice test that assesses a person's reading comprehension skills.

The target audience of the Test Prep CBEST-Section-2-Reading Exam is students who are preparing to take the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST). For the CBEST-Section-2-Reading exam, the prerequisite is that applicants must have a basic understanding of the English language, including reading comprehension and reading fluency.

  • Certification: California Basic Educational Skills Test - Reading (CBEST-Section-2-Reading)
  • Vendor: Test Prep
  • Free on this page: 10 practice questions with answers and explanations
  • Full practice set: 100 questions

Treat this sample as a diagnostic. Answer honestly, check the explanation after every question, and note which topics feel shaky. A short, focused review of those topics is worth more than re-reading everything — and the full set lets you drill them topic by topic.

A good way to use this page: take the whole sample in one sitting, then go back over every explanation with fresh eyes. Mark the topics that felt uncertain, not just the ones you got wrong — uncertain answers are unmarked risk on the real exam. One or two focused passes like this usually move a score more than days of passive reading.

Inside the full CBEST-Section-2-Reading practice set:

  • All 100 questions with answers and explanations
  • Timed Exam Simulation that mirrors the real exam pressure
  • Topic Training to drill one domain at a time
  • Ask AI for More Explanation on every question
  • Flag questions and review them before you finish

How to use this CBEST-Section-2-Reading free practice test

Answer a question, then check the result to see the correct answer and the explanation behind it. Work at your own pace — there is no timer and no signup. Stuck on a concept? This is an AI-Enabled practice test: use Ask AI on any question and get the underlying concept explained in plain words, so you learn the reasoning instead of memorizing answers. When the free sample feels comfortable, the full set of 100 questions adds timed Exam Simulation, topic-by-topic training, and flagged-question review — the closest thing to exam day you can get before the real thing.

What to study for each CBEST-Section-2-Reading domain

  • Comprehension — This section tests your ability to understand written material.
  • Vocabulary — This section tests your knowledge of words and their meanings in context.
  • Analysis — This section tests your ability to analyze and evaluate written material.
  • Critical Thinking — This section tests your ability to think critically about written material.

CBEST-Section-2-Reading practice test — quick questions

Is this CBEST-Section-2-Reading practice test free?

Yes. Every question on this page — all 10 of them — is free to use, and you never need to create an account to try them.

How many questions are in the full CBEST-Section-2-Reading set?

The full Study4Pass set for CBEST-Section-2-Reading has 100 practice questions. This page gives you 10 of them free so you can judge the quality and difficulty first.

Does the free test show the answers?

Yes. Check any question to reveal the correct answer and its explanation, and use Ask AI whenever you want the underlying concept explained step by step.

Is this the real CBEST-Section-2-Reading exam?

No — these are practice questions built to match the CBEST-Section-2-Reading domains and difficulty level, so you can prepare for the real exam with confidence.

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