Reading Comprehension

Welcome

Scans the text for specific details/information

needed to answer questions. Identify the central idea of the passage. Identify the main idea in each paragraph. Relates new information to previously stated

information to help answer the question.

Effective reading strategies

Makes an inference, draws a conclusion, or

forms a hypothesis based on information not explicitly stated in the text.

Uses your knowledge of essay organization to help you get a better understanding of the text, for example, discriminates between fact and opinion or cause and effect; or notes how the information is presented)

In this section you are required to read an except chosen from varied sources and answer multiple choice and open ended questions

Comprehension

Read the following

passage and answer the questions that follow.

The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted only thirteen days. But those thirteen, terrifying days make up the world’s closest brush with the threat of nuclear war. There were several events that unfolded during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

First, on October 14, 1962, U.S. spy planes flying over Cuba spotted Soviet missile installations under construction. The missiles were intermediate- and medium-range; they could carry nuclear weapons within the range of U.S. cities—putting the people of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles at risk. After considering a surprise air strike, President Kennedy decided to announce a naval blockade of Cuba.

But before he began the naval blockade,

Kennedy made a worldwide radio and TV address on October 22. In the address, he told the public about the discovery of the missiles and demanded that the Soviet Union remove them. He said that the United States would regard a missile attack from Cuba the same as an attack from the Soviet Union, and that it would respond accordingly. The days after the speech were tense. Kennedy didn’t know how the Soviet Union would respond.

Finally, after thirteen days, Soviet premier Nikita

Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if the United States promised not to invade Cuba. One interesting fact is that, unknown to the U.S. government at the time, 40,000 Soviet soldiers were stationed in Cuba and armed with nuclear weapons. This information has only come to light recently when U.S. and Soviet files about the incident have become declassified. An ironic result of the crisis was that even though Khrushchev’s actions helped protect the world from nuclear war, they made him look weak to younger Soviet leaders. He was removed from power.

1) What is the speaker’s main point?

a. Thirteen days is not a long time.b. The Soviet threat during the Cuban

Missile Crisis was not real.c. The Cuban Missile Crisis put the world at

risk of nuclear war.d. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a

significant historical event.

Questions

2) According to the speaker, President Kennedy

a. knew that Khrushchev would back down.

b. didn’t think the situation was very serious.

c. viewed the crisis as a conflict between Cuba and the United States only.

d. believed the crisis was principally between the United States and the Soviet Union

3. According to the speaker, at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. government

a. was not surprised to find missile installations in Cuba.

b. did not know the full extent of the Soviet threat in Cuba.

c. overestimated the Soviet threat in Cuba.d. knew everything that was going on in

Cuba.

4) The speaker describes four events that occurred

during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Place these events in proper chronological order. Kennedy’s public address U.S. discovery of missile bases in Cuba U.S. blockade of Cuba Soviet removal of missiles 1. 2. 3. 4.

6) The speaker suggests that by agreeing to remove the weapons and end the crisis, Khrushchev

a. made a strong choice, not a weak one.b. brought shame to his country.c. deserved to be removed from power.d. made the wrong choice.