ENGLISH LITERATION VOL.

4
L e s s o n 1: S t a t e d Detail Q u e s t i o n s
A stated detail question asks about one piece of information in the passage rather than the
passage as a whole. The answers to these questions are generally given in order in the
passage, and the correct answer is often a restatement of what is given in the passage. This
means that the correct answer often expresses the same idea as what is written in the
passage, but the words are not exactly the same.
According to the passage,...
How to identify the It is stated in the passage that... The
question passage indicates that...
The author mentions that... Which
of the following is true...?
Where to find the The answers to these questions are found in order in the passage.
answer
1. Choose a key word in the question.
2. Skim the appropriate part of the passage for the key word (or
How to answer the related idea).
question 3. Read the sentence that contains the key word or idea
carefully.
4. Look for the answer that restates an idea in the passage.
5. Eliminate the definitely wrong answers and choose the best
answer from the remaining choices.

Steps in Answering Stated Detail Question

Study each of the passages, and choose the best answers to the questions that
follow!

PASSAGE 1(Questions 1-2)

Many parts of the Southwestern United States would become deserts again
without the waters of the Colorado River. A system of thousands of miles of canals,
hundreds of miles of tunnels and aqueducts, and numerous dams and reservoirs
Line bring Colorado Line River water to the area. The Imperial Valley in
Southern
(5) California is an example of such a place; it is a vast and productive agricultural area
that was once a desert. Today, 2,000 miles of canals irrigate the fertile land and
keep it productive.

1. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a way that Colorado

River water gets to the Southwest?
(A) By truck
(B) In bottles
(C) In wells
(D) Through canals

2. According to the passage, the Imperial Valley ….

(A) is a desert today
(B) is located in Colorado
(C) produces a lot of agricultural goods
(D) does not require irrigation
PASSAGE 2 (Questions 3-5)

The ancestors of humans had a lot more hair than the humans of today; in
fact, they had thick hair all over their bodies. This thick hair was necessary for
protection against the cold of the Ice Ages.
Line As the Earth got warmer, the hair began to thin out, except for on the
head.
(5) The head hair has remained through the evolutionary process, both as a sort of
pillow to cushion the sensitive head when it gets banged around and as a sort of hat
to keep the head warm and prevent so much heat from escaping through the scalp.

3. Which of the following is true about the hair of the ancestors of humans?
(A) There was not much of it.
(B) It covered their entire bodies.
(C) It was thin.
(D) It was not useful.

4. According to the passage, what happened as the temperature on the

Earth increased?
(A) The hair on the head began to thin out.
(B) The hair on the body remained the same.
(C) The hair on the body got thicker.
(D) The hair on the body began to thin out.

5. The author indicates that one of the purposes of hair on the head is to ….
(A) fill up pillows
(B) help heat escape through the scalp
(C) ensure that the head is warm
(D) make it easier to think

PASSAGE 3 (Questions 6-8)

The plane with the largest wingspan ever built was nicknamed the Spruce
Goose. The wingspan of the Spruce Goose was 320 feet (almost 100 meters), and the
plane weighed 200 tons. It was so big that it needed eight engines to power it.
Line The plane was designed by Howard Hughes in response to a U.S. government
(5) request for a plane that was able to carry a large cargo for the war effort. It was
made of wood because wood is a less critical material in wartime than metal.
The plane was so difficult to build that it never really got used. It was flown
one time only, by Hughes himself, on November 2, 1947; during that flight it
traveled a distance of less than one mile over the Los Angeles Harbor, but it did fly.
Today, the
(10) Spruce Goose is on exhibit for the public to see in Long Beach, California.

6. Which of the following is true about the Spruce Goose ?

(A) Each of its wings measures 100 meters.
(B) It weighs 200 pounds.
(C) It has eight wings to help it to fly.
(D) It has a wingspan larger than the wingspan of any other plane.
7. The passage indicates that the plane was designed
(A) as a cargo plane
(B) as a racing plane
(C) to carry wood
 (D) for exhibition

8. According to the passage, the Spruce Goose is constructed from ….

(A) wood
(B) lightweight metal
(C) plastic
(D) steel

9. According to the passage, when the Spruce Goose flew,

(A) it went only a short distance
(A) it fell into the Los Angeles Harbor
(B) it flew 100 miles
(C) it carried a large cargo

10. The passage indicates that the Spruce Goose today

(A) flies regularly for the U.S. government
(B) is in the Los Angeles Harbor
(C) is in storage
(D) can be seen by the public.

L e s s o n 2 : U n s t a t e d Detail Q u e s t i o n s
You will sometimes be asked in the reading comprehension to find an answer that is not
stated or not mentioned or not true in the passage, while one answer is not. You should
note that there are two kinds of answers to this type of questions: (1) there are three true
answers and one that is not true according to the passage, or (2) there are three true answers
and one that is not mentioned in the passage.
The following chart outlines the key information that you should remember about
“unstated” detail questions:
HOW TO IDENTIFY  Which of the following is not stated…..?
THE QUESTION
 Which of the following is not mentioned …….?
 Which of the following is not discussed.........................?
 All of the following are true except.......................?

WHERE TO FIND THE  The answers to these questions are found in order in the
ANSWER passage.

HOW TO ANSWER THE 1. Choose a key word in the question.

QUESTION 2. Scan the appropriate place in the passage for the key word (or
related idea)
3. Read the sentence that contains the key word or idea carefully.
4. Look for the answers that are definitely true
according to the passage. Eliminate those
answers.
5. Choose the answer that is not true or not discussed in
the passage.

PASSAGE 1
Blood plasma is a clear, almost colorless liquid. It consists of blood from which the
red and white blood cells have been removed. It is often used in transfusions because a
patient generally needs the plasma portion of the blood more than the other components.
Plasma differs in several important ways from whole blood. First of all, plasma can
 be mixed for all donors and does not have to be from the right blood group, as whole
blood does. In addition, plasma can be dried and stored, while whole blood cannot.

1. AlI of the following are true about blood plasma EXCEPT

(A) it is a deeply colored liquid
(B) blood cells have been taken out of it
(C) patients are often transfused with it
(D) it is generally more important to the patient than other parts of whole blood
2. Which of the following is NOT stated about whole blood?
(A) It is different from plasma.
(B) It cannot be dried.
(C) It is impossible to keep it in storage for a long time.
(D) It is a clear, colorless liquid.

PASSAGE 2
Members of the flatfish family, sand dabs and flounders, have an evolutionary
advantage over many colorfully decorated ocean neighbors in that they are able to adapt
their body coloration to different environments. These aquatic chameleons have flattened
bodies that are well-suited to life along the ocean floor in the shallower areas of the
continental shelf that they inhabit. They also have remarkably sensitive color vision that
registers the subtlest gradations on the sea bottom and in the sea life around the
Information about the coloration of the environment is carried through the nervous
system to chromatophores, which are pigment-carrying skin cells. These chromatophores
are able to accurately reproduce not only the colors but also the texture of the ocean floor.
Each time that the sand dab or flounder finds itself in a new environment, the pattern on the
body of the fish adapts to fit in with the color and texture around it.

3. It is NOT stated in the passage that sand dabs

(A) are a type of flatfish
(B) are in the same family as flounders
(C) have evolved
(D) are colorfully decorated

4. According to the passages, it is NOT true that sand dabs and flounders
(A) have flattened bodies
(B) live along the ocean floor
(C) live in the deepest part of the ocean
(D) live along the continental shelf

5. All of the following are stated about the vision of sand dabs and flounders
EXCEPT that they are
(A) overly sensitive to light
(B) able to see colors
(C) able to see the sea bottom
(D) aware of their surroundings
English Literation Vol.4