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Sample questions for ASSET Writing Sample
General Directions: The essay you write will help determine
which freshman English course is best suited to your writing ability. You
have a choice of two topics. Choose the topic which you
think will allow you to do your best writing. Since you will have 45 minutes
to complete the essay, work quickly but carefully.
(1) Should a college education be free for all citizens?
(2) Should women be drafted for military service?
Sample questions for ASSET Writing Skills
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Directions: In the partial passage that follows, certain words
and phrases are underlined and numbered. Listed below the examples, there
are alternatives for each underlined part. Choose the one that best expresses
the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English
or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as
a whole. If you think the original version is best, choose "NO CHANGE."
You will also find questions about a section of the passage or about the
passage as a whole. For each question in the test, choose the alternative
you consider best. You cannot determine most answers without reading several
sentences beyond the phrase in question. Be sure you have read far enough
ahead each time you choose an alternative.
(1)
In the end, everyone gives up jogging. Some find
that their strenuous efforts to earn a living (1)drains
away the energy necessary for running. Others (2)suffering
from defeat by the hazards of the course, which can range from hard
pavement to muddy tracks and from smog to sleet and snow. (3)Person's
can also simply collapse in their sneakers. My experience (4)having
been different, however; I had a revelation.
(2)
It happened two summers ago at Lake Tom, where I
was vacationing with friends. I had been accustomed to running fairly regularly,
but that whole week I decided to be lazy. I sailed, basked in the sun,
and (5)ate wonderful: lobster, steak, corn on the cob, baked
potatoes, and ice cream. By the fourth day of this routine I had to face
the (6)truth which my body was slowly changing to dough.
(3)
So, filled with worthy ambition, I tied on my favorite
pair of running shoes and loped out to the main road in search of a five-mile
route. (7)Out of curiosity I turned onto Lookout Hill Road
and soon discovered how the road had come by its name. I was chugging,
at a painfully slow rate, up one of the (8)longest, steepest
inclines in the region. Perched at the faraway top of the hill was a solitary
house, and only a desire to get a closer look at the place kept me going.
(4)
I was exhausted when, gasping and bedraggled, I
reached the crest of the hill. There I found a native New Englander rocking
tranquilly on the front porch of the (9)house, which was painted.
"Mister," I panted, "You sure live on a big hill!"
(5)
He studied me closely for a moment and then responded,
"Yep, and I've got the good sense not to run up it." That night I tied
the (10)laces of my running shoes around a rock and pitched
them into Lake Tom.
1.
A. NO CHANGE
B. drain
C. has drained
D. is draining
2.
A. NO CHANGE
B. suffered
C. suffer
D. suffering with
3.
A. NO CHANGE
B. Still others
C. One may also
D. It's also possible to
4.
A. NO CHANGE
B. being different,
C. was a difference,
D. was different,
5.
A. NO CHANGE
B. ate wonderfully:
C. eating wonderful:
D. eat wonderful:
6.
A. NO CHANGE
B. truth about
C. truth:
D. truth, which
7.
A. NO CHANGE
B. Out of curiosity, Lookout Hill Road was turned
onto
C. Having become curious, Lookout Hill Road was
the road I turned onto
D. Lookout Hill Road, having become curious, was
the route I turned onto—
8.
A. NO CHANGE
B. longest, steepest,
C. steepest longest,
D. longest and steepest,
9.
A. NO CHANGE
B. house (painted).
C. house, and it was painted.
D. house.
10.
A. NO CHANGE
B. laces, of my running
C. laces of my running,
D. laces; of my running Items
11 and 12 pose questions about the essay as a whole.
11. Choose the sequence of paragraph numbers that will make the essay's
structure most logical.
A. NO CHANGE
B. 1, 4, 5, 2, 3
C. 1, 5, 4, 3, 2
D. 4, 5, 1, 2, 3
12. Is the use of a direct quotation in the essay appropriate?
A. No, because the essay is an explanation of why
the writer gave up jogging.
B. No, because more physical detail would be better
in a descriptive essay.
C. Yes, because the story is enlivened by dialogue.
D. Yes, because the essay persuades readers to talk
about running.
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Sample questions for ASSET Reading
Directions: The passage below is followed by several questions.
After reading the passage, choose the best answer to each question. You
may refer to the passage as often as necessary.
The Industrial Revolution got under way first in
England. This is a historical fact of the utmost significance, for it explains
in large part England's primary role in world affairs in the nineteenth
century. Consequently, the question of why the Industrial Revolution began
where it did is of much more than academic interest.
The problem may be simplified by eliminating those
countries that could not, for one reason or another, have generated the
Industrial Revolution. Italy at one time had been an economic leader but
had dropped behind with the Discoveries and the shift of the main trade
routes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Spain had been economically
predominant in the sixteenth century but had then lost out to the northwestern
states for various reasons already noted. Holland had enjoyed her Golden
Age in the seventeenth century, but she lacked the raw materials, labor
resources, and water power necessary for machine production. The various
countries of Central and Eastern Europe had been little affected by the
Commercial Revolution and hence did not develop the technical skills, the
trade markets, and the capital reserves needed for industrialization.
This leaves only France and Britain as possible
leaders, and of the two, England had certain advantages that enabled her
to forge far ahead of her rival. In commerce, for example, the two countries
were about equal in 1763, or if anything, France was somewhat in the lead.
But France had a population three times that of England. France also lost
ground in foreign trade when she was driven out of Canada and India in
1763. Furthermore, the blockade of the British fleet during the Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars reduced French commerce to about half its 1788 value,
and the loss was not restored until 1825.
Another important advantage enjoyed by Britain is
that she had taken an early lead in the basic coal and iron industries.
Because the forest reserves were being depleted, Britain early began using
coal for fuel and for smelting iron. By the time of the French Revolution
in 1789, Britain was producing about 10 million tons of coal per year,
while France was producing 700,000 tons. A contemporary poet sensed the
significance of this unlimited source of power for English industry when
he wrote,
England's a perfect World! Has Indies too!
Correct your Maps! New-castle is Peru.
England also pioneered in the development of the
blast furnace which, in contrast to the old forges, could mass-produce
iron. In 1780 Britain's iron output had been a third that of France; but
in 1840, it was three times more. All this meant that Britain was pushing
ahead in the production of goods of mass consumption for which there was
a large and steady demand, whereas France specialized more in luxury commodities
of limited and fluctuating demand. Perhaps Voltaire had this in mind when
he wrote in 1735, "In truth we are the whipped cream of Europe."
From L. S. Starvrianos, The World Since 1500: A Global History.
1. The word forge as it is used in the third paragraph means:
A. make use of the blast furnace
B. alter in order to deceive
C. move forward steadily
D. produce wrought iron
2. In comparing the economic development of England and France, the
passage shows that:
F. England and France were essentially equals until
the middle of the nineteenth century.
G. France modeled itself on the examples of Italy
and Spain, while England modeled itself on the example of Holland.
H. England gained most of its capital reserves from
the spoils of war, while France gained its capital reserves from trade.
J. England began on an equal base with France in
the middle of the eighteenth century, but pulled far ahead by the middle
of the nineteenth century.
3. What reason does the author give for discussing several countries
besides England and France?
A. enriching the information provided in the passage
B. balancing the passage in the interest of fairness
C. simplifying the problem confronted in the passage
D. eliminating countries whose Golden Age was yet
to come
4. The passage suggests that generating the first Industrial Revolution
required which of the following?
I. raw materials
II. technical skills
III. a large population
F. I only
G. III only
H. I and II only
J. II and III only
5. The author asserts that England's primary role in world affairs in
the nineteenth century can be explained in large part by:
A. the Industrial Revolution getting under way in
England first.
B. England's overwhelming naval power.
C. the decline of Italy, Spain, Holland, and Central
and Eastern Europe.
D. England's unlimited source of power to fuel its
industry.
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Sample questions for ASSET Numerical Skills
Directions: Solve each problem, choose the correct answer.
For some questions, the fifth choice for an answer will be "Not given."
Whenever none of the first four possible answers is correct, choose "Not
given" as your answer.
Do not linger over problems that take too much
time. Solve as many as you can, then return to the others in the time you
have left.
1. 0.05 + 0.30 = ?
A. 0.08
B. 0.305
C. 0.35
D. .038
E. Not given
2. 0.35 ÷ 5 = ?
A. 0.07
B. 0.70
C. 1.75
D. 7.00
E. Not given
3. On a road map with a scale of 1/4 inch per 10 miles, the highway
from Waukee to Winterset is 13/8 inches long. How many miles long is this
highway?
A. 44
B. 55
C. 65
D. 70
E. 90
4. The price of gasoline has increased by 5% during the past month.
If the price per gallon a month ago was $1.20, what is the current price
per gallon?
A. $1.24
B. $1.25
C. $1.26
D. $1.70
E. $1.80
5. -2|3 - 4 - 5| = ?
A. -12
B. -8
C. 8
D. 12
E. 24
6. Which of the following fractions is equivalent to 0.05?
A. 1/5
B. 1/20
C. 1/25
D. 1/50
E. 1/200
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Sample questions for ASSET Elementary Algebra
Directions: Solve each problem, choose the correct answer.
For some questions, the fifth choice for an answer will be "Not given."
Whenever none of the first four possible answers is correct, choose "Not
given" as your answer.
Do not linger over problems that take too much
time. Solve as many as you can, then return to the others in the time you
have left.
1. If 5 x 10n = 0.005, then n = ?
A. -5
B. -3
C. -2
D. 2
E. 3
2. If x = -3, then x2 - 2x + 1 = ?
A. 16
B. 4
C. 1
D. -11
E. -14
3. Which of the following gives 6a2b3- 3a2b
in factored form?
A. 3a2b(2b2)
B. 3a2(2b2 - 1)
C. 3ab(2ab2 - 1)
D. 3a2b(2b2 - 1)
E. a2b(6b2 - 1)
4. For all x  0 and
y 0, (3x-2
y3)2 = ?
xy
A. 9x3y8
B. 9y4
x
C. 9y4
x2
D. 9y5
x5
E. 9y7
x5
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Sample questions for ASSET Intermediate Algebra
Directions: Solve each problem, choose the correct answer.
For some questions, the fifth choice for an answer will be "Not given."
Whenever none of the first four possible answers is correct, choose "Not
given" as your answer. Do not linger over problems that take too much time.
Solve as many as you can, then return to the others in the time you have
left.
1. One solution to the equation x2 + 10x + 16 = 0 is:
A. 2
B. 8
C. 12
D. -4
E. -2
2. Find the x-intercept for each of the following lines. Which line
has an x-intercept of -2?
A. 4x - 2y = 4
B. 2x - 4y = 4
C. 3x + 7y = -6
D. 7x - 4y = 21
E. 5x + 2y = -15
3. Which of the following points is a solution to the given system of
linear equations?
3x - 2y = -7
2x - 5y = -12
A. (-1,2)
B. (-2, 1)
C. (-2,-1)
D. (2, 1)
E. no solution
4. If y 0, find the
value of: (x - 1)0 y3
y3
A. y
B. y1
C. 0
D. 1
E. x -1
5. If a 0 and b
0, simplify: ab -1
a - 1/b
A. a
B. a - b
C. ab
D. 1 - ab
E. b
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Answer Keys for the ASSET Sample Items
Writing Answer Key
1. B
2. C
3. B
4. D
5. B
6. C
7. A
8. A
9. D
10. A
11. A
12. C
Reading Answer Key
1. C
2. J
3. C
4. H
5. A
Numerical Skills Answer Key
1. C
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. A
6. B
Elementary Algebra Answer Key
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. D
Intermediate Algebra Answer Key
1. E
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. E
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