Free Nelson Denny Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Practice Questions
Vocabulary
Before answering the Nelson Denny Vocabulary questions go over the list of 10 words. Read the definitions of the words and look at examples of using each word in a sentence. Next, close the table and answer the three vocabulary questions about the words you just learned.
Sample Question 1 - Vocabulary
1. What is the meaning of the word Deplorable?
A. Disgraceful.
B. Gain.
C. Disdain.
D. Bankrupt
The meaning of the word Deplorable is disastrous, disgraceful.
💡 The Nelson Denny Vocabulary section is comprised of 80 to 100 items to be answered in 15 minutes or 9 seconds per question.
Sample Question 2 - Vocabulary
2. What is the meaning of the word Derision?
A. Cease.
B. Autocratic.
C. Disdain.
D. Desolation.
E. Collapse.
The meaning of the word Derision is contempt, disdain, laughter.
💡 There are a total of 300 words you need to memorize for the Nelson Denny exam.
Sample Question 3 - Vocabulary
3. What is the meaning of the word Desist?
A. Cease.
B. Autocratic.
C. Distinct.
D. Desolation.
E. Dim.
The meaning of the word desist is quit, cease, relinquish.
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Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension practice questions will help you work on your English language skills, reading skills, and speed reading skills. Challenge yourself with the following sample questions to see how well you do.
Sample Question 4 - Reading Comprehension
4. When smokers viewed a scene that included smoking, they showed greater activity in those parts of the brain involved in perception and in the coordination of actions—the areas known to interpret and plan hand movements—as though they, too, were about to light a cigarette. This activity also corresponded to the hand that the volunteer used when smoking. Non-smokers showed no such enhancement.
Does watching smoking on screen motivate smoking?
A. Yes.
B. No.
C. Only among smokers.
D. Cannot say.
The correct answer is (D).
The passage describes certain changes in brain activity when smoking is watched on screen. However, it makes no mention of motivation. Therefore, it is impossible to say whether watching smoking on screen motivates this habit.
💡 Expect five to eight Nelson Denny Reading passages and between 36 to 38 questions that will test your reading comprehension skills.
Sample Question 5 - Reading Comprehension
5. The first bacterial genome was sequenced in 1995 — a triumph at the time, requiring 13 months of work. Today researchers can sequence the DNA that constitutes a micro-organism’s genome within a few days or even, with the latest equipment, a day. (Analyzing it takes a bit longer, though.) They can simultaneously get sequences of all the microbes on a tooth or in saliva or in a sample of sewage. And the cost has dropped to about $1,000 per genome, from more than $1 million.
Tracing DNA sequences nowadays is:
A. More expensive.
B. A longer process.
C. Cheaper and faster.
D. Not possible.
The correct answer is (C).
According to the first sentence, sequencing the first bacterial genome took 13 months. The second sentence tells us that today it can be done "withiin a few days or even, with the latest equipment, a day." So, tracing DNA sequence is definitely faster nowadays. Is it also cheaper? Yes, the last sentence in the passage notes that "the cost has dropped to about $1,000 per genome, from more than $1 million."
As for the other answers, we know it is not more expensive (Answer A), it is not a longer process (B), and it is definitely possible (Answer D).
💡 The time frame for this portion of the NDRT is 20 minutes or 30 seconds per question.
Sample Question 6 - Reading Comprehension
6. In the early 18th century, American traders came to Hawaii to exploit the islands’ sandalwood. In the 1830s, the sugar industry was also starting to prosper in Hawaii. In 1893, a group of American immigrants and sugar planters supported by a division of U.S. Marines have overthrown Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning monarch of Hawaii. One year later, the republic of Hawaii was established as a U.S. protectorate.In March 1959, the U.S. government approved its statehood, and in June the Hawaiian people voted by a wide majority to accept admittance into the US.
Approximately how many years passed between the first American visit to Hawaii to US admittance?
A. 130.
B. 250.
C. 65.
D. 180.
The correct answer is (B).
The answer appears in two different parts of the passage. According to the first sentence, "In the early 18th century, American traders came to Hawaii." So this was the first American visit. The last sentence states that "In March 1959, the U.S. government approved its statehood" – that is, admittance to the United States of America. We don't know the exact date of the first visit, but we know it was around 1700. So approximately 250 years passed between the first visit and Hawaii’s admittance.
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Answer Index
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| A | C | A | D | C | B |
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