How much have you learned? - Answering PSAT reading questions - PSAT Reading

PSAT/NMSQT Prep 2022 - Eggert M.D., Strelka A. 2022

How much have you learned?
Answering PSAT reading questions
PSAT Reading

Directions: Take 12 minutes to reread this passage (from chapter 11) and answer the associated questions (first seen in chapter 12). Try to use the various PSAT Reading question strategies you learned in this chapter.

Questions 11—20 refer to the following passage.

Infant Language Passage Map

This passage, about infant language acquisition, is adapted from a research paper written in 2017 that explored early childhood development.

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Main Idea: Infants listen to voices in their environments to acquire language instinctually, possibly starting before they are even born.

Author’s Purpose: To explain the abilities and limitations of infants in acquiring language

11. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. present the background of a recent medical discovery.

B.trace the history of a scientific inquiry.

C.explain the research that led to a new breakthrough.

D. describe an aspect of early childhood development.

12. According to the passage, when children begin to acquire their native language they

A. are in about the middle of their first year.

B.are at least one year old.

C.are not yet able to speak.

D. start to imitate the phonemes of that language.

13. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

A. Lines 9—14 (“Though most... that”)

B.Lines 80—85 (“Interestingly... languages”)

C.Lines 90—97 (“This ability... altogether”)

D. Lines 97—100 (“This is... puberty”)

14. As used in line 48, “predicated” most nearly means

A. predicted.

B.expressed.

C.replaced.

D. built.

15. The main purpose of the third paragraph (lines 45—70) is to

A. illustrate how distinct speech streams increase the speed of language acquisition.

B.discuss the mechanism by which louder volumes of speech impede language acquisition.

C.explain the role of the relative volumes of sounds on an infant’s ability to learn to process language.

D. provide scientific data that measure the improvement in language acquisition as the volume of the speech stream increases.

16. As used in line 82, “discriminate” most nearly means

A. differentiate.

B.perceive.

C.prefer.

D. persecute.

17. According to the passage, children begin to learn the rhythms, pitches, and accents of speech

A. before birth.

B.in the first months of life.

C.after the middle of the first year.

D. at around one year of age.

18. The passage most strongly suggests that a mother who wants to assist her child in language acquisition should

A. expose her child to as many spoken languages as possible.

B.use short words composed of the basic phonemes of her native language.

C.be sure her voice is louder than other background noises.

D. use as large a vocabulary as possible when speaking to her child.

19. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

A. Lines 14—18 (“In fact... dig”)

B.Lines 45—55 (“However... room”)

C.Lines 55—58 (“Infants... noises”)

D. Lines 85—89 (“Though... language”)

20. The most likely purpose of the discussion of phonemes is to

A. identify important stages in the process of language acquisition in children.

B.emphasize the importance of children acquiring only one language at a time.

C.show how children gradually build larger words from the primary sounds around them.

D. illustrate the importance of volume in the language acquisition of children.