ISEE Upper Level Reading : ISEE Upper Level (grades 9-12) Reading Comprehension
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Example Questions
Example Question #387 : Ssat Upper Level Reading Comprehension
Adapted from A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain (1880)
One day it occurred to me that it had been many years since the world had been afforded the spectacle of a man adventurous enough to undertake a journey through Europe on foot. After much thought, I decided that I was a person fitted to furnish to mankind this spectacle. So I determined to do it. This was in March, 1878.
I looked about me for the right sort of person to accompany me in the capacity of agent, and finally hired a Mr. Harris for this service.
It was also my purpose to study art while in Europe. Mr. Harris was in sympathy with me in this. He was as much of an enthusiast in art as I was, and not less anxious to learn to paint. I desired to learn the German language; so did Harris.
Toward the middle of April we sailed in the Holsatia, Captain Brandt, and had a very pleasant trip, indeed.
After a brief rest at Hamburg, we made preparations for a long pedestrian trip southward in the soft spring weather, but at the last moment we changed the program, for private reasons, and took the express-train.
We made a short halt at Frankfort-on-the-Main, and found it an interesting city. I would have liked to visit the birthplace of Gutenburg, but it could not be done, as no memorandum of the site of the house has been kept. So we spent an hour in the Goethe mansion instead. The city permits this house to belong to private parties, instead of gracing and dignifying herself with the honor of possessing and protecting it.
Frankfort is one of the sixteen cities which have the distinction of being the place where the following incident occurred. Charlemagne, while chasing the Saxons (as he said), or being chased by them (as they said), arrived at the bank of the river at dawn, in a fog. The enemy were either before him or behind him; but in any case he wanted to get across, very badly. He would have given anything for a guide, but none was to be had. Presently he saw a deer, followed by her young, approach the water. He watched her, judging that she would seek a ford, and he was right. She waded over, and the army followed. So a great Frankish victory or defeat was gained or avoided; and in order to commemorate the episode, Charlemagne commanded a city to be built there, which he named Frankfort—the ford of the Franks. None of the other cities where this event happened were named for it. This is good evidence that Frankfort was the first place it occurred at.
It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that __________.
The narrator was not fond of Mr. Harris.
They kept a strict schedule.
They were illiterate men.
They began their expedition in late Spring.
They traveled to Europe with difficulty.
They began their expedition in late Spring.
We know, from the fourth paragraph, that they set out “toward the middle of April,” which in Europe would be considered late Spring. This answer can be achieved by elimination of the other answers, which are all unjustified by the text.
Example Question #491 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Reading Comprehension
Adapted from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)
He sounded the clacker till his arm ached, and at length his heart grew sympathetic with the birds' thwarted desires. They seemed, like himself, to be living in a world which did not want them. Why should he frighten them away? They took upon more and more the aspect of gentle friends and pensioners—the only friends he could claim as being in the least degree interested in him, for his aunt had often told him that she was not. He ceased his rattling, and they alighted anew.
"Poor little dears!" said Jude, aloud. "You shall have some dinner—you shall. There is enough for us all. Farmer Troutham can afford to let you have some. Eat, then my dear little birdies, and make a good meal!"
They stayed and ate, inky spots on the nut-brown soil, and Jude enjoyed their appetite. A magic thread of fellow-feeling united his own life with theirs. Puny and sorry as those lives were, they much resembled his own.
His clacker he had by this time thrown away from him, as being a mean and sordid instrument, offensive both to the birds and to himself as their friend. All at once he became conscious of a smart blow upon his buttocks, followed by a loud clack, which announced to his surprised senses that the clacker had been the instrument of offense used. The birds and Jude started up simultaneously, and the dazed eyes of the latter beheld the farmer in person, the great Troutham himself, his red face glaring down upon Jude's cowering frame, the clacker swinging in his hand.
"So it's 'Eat my dear birdies,' is it, young man? 'Eat, dear birdies,' indeed! I'll tickle your breeches, and see if you say, 'Eat, dear birdies' again in a hurry! And you've been idling at the schoolmaster's too, instead of coming here, ha'n't ye, hey? That's how you earn your sixpence a day for keeping the rooks off my corn!"
Based on the passage, the primary purpose of the clacker was to __________.
attack the birds
scare the birds
warn people of the bird's presence
provide entertainment
beat people
scare the birds
We know from the first lines that the clacker is a noisemaker which is designed to scare the birds away, as the passage says, “[Jude] sounded the clacker till his arm ached, and at length his heart grew sympathetic with the birds' thwarted desires.”
Example Question #492 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Reading Comprehension
Adapted from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)
He sounded the clacker till his arm ached, and at length his heart grew sympathetic with the birds' thwarted desires. They seemed, like himself, to be living in a world which did not want them. Why should he frighten them away? They took upon more and more the aspect of gentle friends and pensioners—the only friends he could claim as being in the least degree interested in him, for his aunt had often told him that she was not. He ceased his rattling, and they alighted anew.
"Poor little dears!" said Jude, aloud. "You shall have some dinner—you shall. There is enough for us all. Farmer Troutham can afford to let you have some. Eat, then my dear little birdies, and make a good meal!"
They stayed and ate, inky spots on the nut-brown soil, and Jude enjoyed their appetite. A magic thread of fellow-feeling united his own life with theirs. Puny and sorry as those lives were, they much resembled his own.
His clacker he had by this time thrown away from him, as being a mean and sordid instrument, offensive both to the birds and to himself as their friend. All at once he became conscious of a smart blow upon his buttocks, followed by a loud clack, which announced to his surprised senses that the clacker had been the instrument of offense used. The birds and Jude started up simultaneously, and the dazed eyes of the latter beheld the farmer in person, the great Troutham himself, his red face glaring down upon Jude's cowering frame, the clacker swinging in his hand.
"So it's 'Eat my dear birdies,' is it, young man? 'Eat, dear birdies,' indeed! I'll tickle your breeches, and see if you say, 'Eat, dear birdies' again in a hurry! And you've been idling at the schoolmaster's too, instead of coming here, ha'n't ye, hey? That's how you earn your sixpence a day for keeping the rooks off my corn!"
The phrase “tickle your breeches” could most likely be equated to __________.
forcing a person to run
thrashing someone
waking a person up
a game
shouting at someone
thrashing someone
When Farmer Troutham says he will “tickle Jude's breeches,” he is talking about beating him, or thrashing him, to remind him of his duties. The author is portraying Troutham as a cruel man.
Example Question #1191 : Passage Based Questions
Adapted from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)
He sounded the clacker till his arm ached, and at length his heart grew sympathetic with the birds' thwarted desires. They seemed, like himself, to be living in a world which did not want them. Why should he frighten them away? They took upon more and more the aspect of gentle friends and pensioners—the only friends he could claim as being in the least degree interested in him, for his aunt had often told him that she was not. He ceased his rattling, and they alighted anew.
"Poor little dears!" said Jude, aloud. "You shall have some dinner—you shall. There is enough for us all. Farmer Troutham can afford to let you have some. Eat, then my dear little birdies, and make a good meal!"
They stayed and ate, inky spots on the nut-brown soil, and Jude enjoyed their appetite. A magic thread of fellow-feeling united his own life with theirs. Puny and sorry as those lives were, they much resembled his own.
His clacker he had by this time thrown away from him, as being a mean and sordid instrument, offensive both to the birds and to himself as their friend. All at once he became conscious of a smart blow upon his buttocks, followed by a loud clack, which announced to his surprised senses that the clacker had been the instrument of offense used. The birds and Jude started up simultaneously, and the dazed eyes of the latter beheld the farmer in person, the great Troutham himself, his red face glaring down upon Jude's cowering frame, the clacker swinging in his hand.
"So it's 'Eat my dear birdies,' is it, young man? 'Eat, dear birdies,' indeed! I'll tickle your breeches, and see if you say, 'Eat, dear birdies' again in a hurry! And you've been idling at the schoolmaster's too, instead of coming here, ha'n't ye, hey? That's how you earn your sixpence a day for keeping the rooks off my corn!"
Which of the following statements about Troutham is supported by the passage?
He is well spoken.
He is undemanding.
He pays his employees well.
He is severe.
He is a small man.
He is severe.
Troutham's violent reaction to Jude's discretion shows that he is a violent man, which is equal to “severe.” He may think he pays his employees well, but a sixpence was about one fortieth of a pound, so it was not a great deal of money.
Example Question #52 : Making Inferences And Predictions In Literature Passages
Adapted from Volume III of Memoirs, Correspondence and Private Papers of Thomas Jefferson (1818; ed. T. J. Randolph 1829)
The following is an excerpt from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams.
The public papers, my dear friend, announce the fatal event of which your letter of October the 20th had given me ominous foreboding. Tried myself in the school of affliction, by the loss of every form of connection which can rive the human heart, I know well, and feel what you have lost, what you have suffered, are suffering, and have yet to endure. The same trials have taught me that for ills so immeasurable, time and silence are the only medicine. I will not, therefore, by useless condolences, open afresh the sluices of your grief, nor, although mingling sincerely my tears with yours, will I say a word more where words are vain, but that it is of some comfort to us both, that the term is not very distant, at which we are to deposit in the same cerement, our sorrows and suffering bodies, and to ascend in essence to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved and lost, and whom we shall still love and never lose again. God bless you and support you under your heavy affliction.
What can you infer caused Jefferson to write this letter to Adams?
The loss of the war of 1812
None of the other answers is correct.
Adam's loss to Jefferson in the presidential election
A recent disease that Adams had
The death of someone close
The death of someone close
The following clues can help best: "fatal event," "tried myself in the school of affliction, by the loss of every form of connection," and then the long end where Jefferson hints of their own deaths. All of these remarks hint that there has been some sort of death. (Indeed, it was the death of Abigail, John's wife, that occasioned this beautiful little letter.)
Example Question #51 : Making Inferences And Predictions In Literature Passages
Adapted from Volume III of Memoirs, Correspondence and Private Papers of Thomas Jefferson (1818; ed. T. J. Randolph 1829)
The following is an excerpt from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams.
The public papers, my dear friend, announce the fatal event of which your letter of October the 20th had given me ominous foreboding. Tried myself in the school of affliction, by the loss of every form of connection which can rive the human heart, I know well, and feel what you have lost, what you have suffered, are suffering, and have yet to endure. The same trials have taught me that for ills so immeasurable, time and silence are the only medicine. I will not, therefore, by useless condolences, open afresh the sluices of your grief, nor, although mingling sincerely my tears with yours, will I say a word more where words are vain, but that it is of some comfort to us both, that the term is not very distant, at which we are to deposit in the same cerement, our sorrows and suffering bodies, and to ascend in essence to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved and lost, and whom we shall still love and never lose again. God bless you and support you under your heavy affliction.
What does Jefferson believe would be the effect of attempting to console Adams at length?
It would have little effect.
It would just anger Adams.
It would occasion much emotional pain.
None of the others answer choices is correct.
It would be insulting.
It would occasion much emotional pain.
The key sentence for this question is, "I will not, therefore, by useless condolences, open afresh the sluices of your grief." Granted, Jefferson does go on to say that any words would be vain. This would seem to imply that his words would have little effect. This is true, to a degree. However, he implies here that useless condolences would be likely to "open afresh the sluices of [Adams'] grief." That is, words of comfort would likely only make Adams feel bad about all that has happened, thus causing him emotional pain.
Example Question #52 : Making Inferences And Predictions In Literature Passages
Adapted from Volume III of Memoirs, Correspondence and Private Papers of Thomas Jefferson (1818; ed. T. J. Randolph 1829)
The following is an excerpt from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams.
The public papers, my dear friend, announce the fatal event of which your letter of October the 20th had given me ominous foreboding. Tried myself in the school of affliction, by the loss of every form of connection which can rive the human heart, I know well, and feel what you have lost, what you have suffered, are suffering, and have yet to endure. The same trials have taught me that for ills so immeasurable, time and silence are the only medicine. I will not, therefore, by useless condolences, open afresh the sluices of your grief, nor, although mingling sincerely my tears with yours, will I say a word more where words are vain, but that it is of some comfort to us both, that the term is not very distant, at which we are to deposit in the same cerement, our sorrows and suffering bodies, and to ascend in essence to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved and lost, and whom we shall still love and never lose again. God bless you and support you under your heavy affliction.
If Jefferson is correct, what might we expect regarding the coming days for Adams?
They will get better slowly
They will help Adams to understand the meaning of loss
They will improve surprisingly fast
They will be difficult
None of the other answer choices are correct.
They will be difficult
Although we might guess many things about the coming days for Adams, do not "overshoot the mark." He may learn many lessons through is suffering, but this cannot be inferred from the passage. Likewise, there is nothing in the passage guaranteeing the length of time that this recovery will take. Instead, Jefferson implies that there are more griefs to come, particularly when he says, "I know well, and feel what you have lost, what you have suffered, are suffering, and have yet to end." He does speak of the consolation that will come in the not too distant future from being likewise "deposit[ed] in the same cerement." However, that event will end Adams' days. While his days last, we can only say that there will be pain—though the duration and depth are somewhat open to interpretation.
Example Question #53 : Making Inferences And Predictions In Literature Passages
Adapted from Aristotle's Politics: A Treatise on Government by Aristotle (trans. Ellis 1895)
Now with respect to these honors, which he proposes to bestow on those who can give any information useful to the community, this, though very pleasing in speculation, is what the legislator should not settle, for it would encourage informers, and probably occasion commotions in the state. And this proposal of his gives rise also to further conjectures and inquiries; for some persons have doubted whether it is useful or hurtful to alter the established law of any country, if even for the better. We cannot immediately determine upon what he here says, whether it is advantageous to alter the law or not. We know, indeed, that it is possible to propose to new model both the laws and government as a common good. Since we have mentioned this subject, it may be very proper to enter into a few particulars concerning it, for it contains some difficulties, as I have already said, and it may appear better to alter them, since it has been found useful in other sciences.
What can we say about the underlined "he" mentioned in the passage's first sentence?
The person is someone who has made a proposition regarding political matters.
None of the other answer choices is correct.
The person is an informant for a certain government.
The person has long been in dialogue with Aristotle.
The person's views are quite contested in Athens.
The person is someone who has made a proposition regarding political matters.
The most basic answer is the best answer for this question. From the context, we can tell that Aristotle is interacting with a particular idea or set of political proposals, namely those pertaining to a certain manner of giving honors. We are not told that the person proposing them is someone deserving of such "honors for information." The only thing we know is that he has "proposed" the idea. Thus, he is likely a thinker making propositions, nothing else—as far as we can tell.
Example Question #61 : Textual Relationships In Literature Passages
Adapted from Aristotle's Politics: A Treatise on Government by Aristotle (trans. Ellis 1895)
Now with respect to these honors, which he proposes to bestow on those who can give any information useful to the community, this, though very pleasing in speculation, is what the legislator should not settle, for it would encourage informers, and probably occasion commotions in the state. And this proposal of his gives rise also to further conjectures and inquiries; for some persons have doubted whether it is useful or hurtful to alter the established law of any country, if even for the better. We cannot immediately determine upon what he here says, whether it is advantageous to alter the law or not. We know, indeed, that it is possible to propose to new model both the laws and government as a common good. Since we have mentioned this subject, it may be very proper to enter into a few particulars concerning it, for it contains some difficulties, as I have already said, and it may appear better to alter them, since it has been found useful in other sciences.
If Aristotle were to explore a comparison in the section that follows this selection, what would he most likely compare and contrast?
The peace of some societies versus others
The views of others that are contrasted with his own
None of the other answer choices is correct.
The benefits and ills of informers in governmental positions
Progress in the arts and in laws
Progress in the arts and in laws
In the middle of the paragraph, Aristotle mentions the problem of changing laws in a country. He states, "Some persons have doubted whether it is useful or hurtful to alter the established law of any country." He says that this is a difficult subject, so some particular points should be considered. It may even appear better to alter them, especially given that progress and alteration has been helpful in "other sciences." We can expect him to compare and contrast progress and change in laws with those found in other sciences. This would be an investigation into the particulars of which he speaks.
Example Question #4 : Extrapolating From The Text In Literary Fiction Passages
Adapted from Candide by Voltaire (1918 trans.)
"Grandeur," said Pangloss, "is extremely dangerous according to the testimony of philosophers. For, in short, Eglon, King of Moab, was assassinated by Ehud; Absalom was hung by his hair, and pierced with three darts; King Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, was killed by Baasa; King Ela by Zimri; Ahaziah by Jehu; Athaliah by Jehoiada; the Kings Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah, were led into captivity. You know how perished Croesus, Astyages, Darius, Dionysius of Syracuse, Pyrrhus, Perseus, Hannibal, Jugurtha, Ariovistus, Cæsar, Pompey, Nero, Otho, Vitellius, Domitian, Richard II of England, Edward II, Henry VI, Richard III, Mary Stuart, Charles I, the three Henrys of France, the Emperor Henry IV! You know—"
"I know also," said Candide, "that we must cultivate our garden."
"You are right," said Pangloss, "for when man was first placed in the Garden of Eden, he was put there ut operaretur eum, that he might cultivate it; which shows that man was not born to be idle."
"Let us work," said Martin, "without disputing; it is the only way to render life tolerable.”
The whole little society entered into this laudable design, according to their different abilities. Their little plot of land produced plentiful crops. Cunegonde was, indeed, very ugly, but she became an excellent pastry cook; Paquette worked at embroidery; the old woman looked after the linen. They were all, not excepting Friar Giroflée, of some service or other; for he made a good joiner, and became a very honest man.
Pangloss sometimes said to Candide: "There is a concatenation of events in this best of all possible worlds; for if you had not been kicked out of a magnificent castle for love of Miss Cunegonde, if you had not been put into the Inquisition, if you had not walked over America, if you had not stabbed the Baron, if you had not lost all your sheep from the fine country of El Dorado, you would not be here eating preserved citrons and pistachio-nuts."
"All that is very well," answered Candide, "but let us cultivate our garden."
What can we infer about Candide’s character from this passage?
That he only says one thing, over and over
That he has always been a gardener
That he prefers a quiet life to one that is overwhelmed with complexities
That he is disrespectful of Pangloss' clear authority
That gardening is the most important thing in his life
That he prefers a quiet life to one that is overwhelmed with complexities
Candide keeps speaking about the "garden" and its cultivation because he (like Martin) wants to avoid the arguments and discussions that arise from complexities like those expressed by Pangloss. Instead, he would like them to work in their garden and make a little society in peace.
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