Key Ideas and Details Practice Questions

Directions: Read the question, passage, or figure carefully, and choose the best answer.

Tourists flock to Yellowstone National Park each year to view the geysers that bubble and erupt throughout it. What most of these tourists do not know is that these geysers are formed by a caldera, a hot crater in the earth’s crust that was created by a series of three eruptions from an ancient supervolcano. These eruptions, which began 2.1 million years ago, spewed between 1,000 and 2,450 cubic kilometers of volcanic matter at such a rate that the volcano’s magma chamber collapsed, creating the craters.

1.     Which of the following is the topic of the passage?

The Battle of Little Bighorn (1876), commonly called Custer’s Last Stand, was a battle between the Lakota, the Northern Cheyenne, the Arapaho, and the Seventh Cavalry Regiment of the US Army. Led by war leaders Crazy Horse and Chief Gall and the religious leader Sitting Bull, the allied tribes of the Plains Indians decisively defeated their US foes. Two hundred sixty-eight US soldiers were killed, including General George Armstrong Custer, two of his brothers, his nephew, his brother-in-law, and six Indian scouts.

2.     Which of the following could be considered the main idea of the passage?

The European Renaissance, or rebirth, included the revival of ancient Greek and Roman learning, art, and architecture. However, the roots of the Renaissance stretched farther back to earlier interactions between Christian Europe, the Islamic World, and even China, during the Crusades and through Silk Road trade. The Renaissance inspired new learning and prosperity in Europe, enabling exploration, colonization, profit, and later imperialism. It also led to scientific and religious questioning and rebellion against the Catholic Church and, later, monarchical governments.

3.     Which of the following is a concise summary of the passage?

Use the passage below to answer questions 4 and 5.

Increasingly, companies are turning to subcontracting services rather than hiring full-time employees. This provides companies with many advantages. For example, subcontractors offer greater flexibility, reduced legal responsibility to employees, and lower possibility of unionization within the company. However, it has also led to increasing confusion and uncertainty over the legal definition of employment. Recently, the courts have grappled with questions about the hiring company’s responsibility in maintaining fair labor practices. Companies argue that they delegate that authority to the subcontractors, while unions and other worker advocate groups argue that companies still have a legal obligation to the workers who contribute to their business.

4.     According to the passage, which of the following is NOT an advantage of using subcontracting services?

5.     Which of the following statements from the passage is an opinion?