OAR OAR Reading Comprehension: Author's Purpose and Supporting Details 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage states: 'The Navy's tuition assistance program covers up to 100% of college tuition costs for active-duty members, with a cap of $250 per semester hour.' What is the author's primary purpose?
- To inform readers about a specific benefit available to Navy personnel (Correct answer)
- To persuade sailors to attend college
- To compare Navy and Army education benefits
- To entertain with a story about college life
Correct answer: To inform readers about a specific benefit available to Navy personnel
The factual, detail-rich statement about limits and eligibility signals an informative purpose.
Question 2: Which detail from the passage 'The destroyer USS Cole was attacked in the port of Aden, Yemen, on October 12, 2000, killing 17 sailors' best supports the claim that the attack was deadly?
- 17 sailors were killed (Correct answer)
- The attack occurred in Yemen
- The ship was a destroyer
- The date was October 12, 2000
Correct answer: 17 sailors were killed
The death toll of 17 sailors directly and specifically supports the claim of lethality.
Question 3: A passage reads: 'Officers must demonstrate leadership, integrity, and sound judgment under pressure. These qualities are non-negotiable in naval service.' What conclusion is best supported?
- Officers who lack these qualities are not suitable for naval service (Correct answer)
- Most officers struggle with leadership
- Integrity is more important than judgment
- Officers receive training in all listed qualities
Correct answer: Officers who lack these qualities are not suitable for naval service
Calling the qualities 'non-negotiable' directly implies that officers without them are unsuitable.
Question 4: Which sentence from a passage is most likely a statement of opinion rather than fact?
- The aircraft carrier is the most impressive warship ever built. (Correct answer)
- The USS Gerald R. Ford was commissioned in 2017.
- Aircraft carriers can carry over 70 aircraft.
- The flight deck of an aircraft carrier spans over 4.5 acres.
Correct answer: The aircraft carrier is the most impressive warship ever built.
Calling something 'the most impressive' is a subjective judgment, which makes it an opinion.
Question 5: A passage explains that 'regular maintenance prevents equipment failure, which in turn prevents mission failure.' Which statement best paraphrases this idea?
- Keeping equipment in good condition is essential to mission success (Correct answer)
- Maintenance is the most difficult part of naval operations
- Equipment failure is the leading cause of mission failure
- Only certain types of equipment require regular maintenance
Correct answer: Keeping equipment in good condition is essential to mission success
The passage establishes a direct chain from maintenance to mission success, which this paraphrase captures accurately.
Question 6: In a passage about naval ranks, the author lists specific duties and responsibilities for each rank. What is the most likely purpose of this organizational structure?
- To help readers compare and understand how responsibilities increase with rank (Correct answer)
- To argue that senior officers work harder than junior officers
- To show that lower ranks are less important to the Navy
- To entertain readers with interesting facts about naval history
Correct answer: To help readers compare and understand how responsibilities increase with rank
Organizing information by rank with duties allows readers to easily see how roles evolve, serving an informative comparative purpose.
OAR OAR Reading Comprehension: Author's Purpose and Supporting Details 1
A passage states: 'The Navy's tuition assistance program covers up to 100% of college tuition costs for active-duty members, with a cap of $250 per semester hour.' What is the author's primary purpose?