Drawing Conclusions and Predictions Flashcards
7 cards from real Reading Comprehension practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Drawing Conclusions and Predictions flashcards as text
The ancient city of Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Archaeologists have found bakeries with bread still in the ovens, meals on tables, and people frozen in mid-action. Question: What conclusion about Pompeii's last hours is best supported?
Answer: The eruption struck with such speed that residents had no time to escape or prepare.
Bread in ovens and meals on tables indicate normal daily activity moments before the eruption, showing the population was caught completely off guard.
A drought has persisted in the farming region for three consecutive years. Reservoirs are at 20% capacity, aquifers are being drawn down faster than they recharge, and crop failures have increased each year. Question: What prediction is most reasonable if the drought continues?
Answer: Water shortages will intensify, threatening both agriculture and drinking water supplies.
With water stores shrinking each year and demand unchanged, continued drought will accelerate the depletion of both reservoirs and aquifers.
Geologists examined rock layers in a cliff face. The bottom layers contained only simple single-celled organism fossils. Higher layers contained more complex invertebrate fossils, and near the top, vertebrate fossils appeared. Question: What conclusion about life on Earth does this evidence support?
Answer: Life on Earth evolved gradually from simpler to more complex forms over time.
Rock layers form chronologically from bottom (oldest) to top (newest); simpler organisms in lower layers and complex ones higher up indicate progressive evolutionary development.
Marcus ran a 5K race last spring in 32 minutes. After training five days a week all summer, he ran the same course in 27 minutes in the fall. He plans to train at the same intensity through winter. Question: What can be predicted about Marcus's spring race time?
Answer: Marcus will likely run even faster than 27 minutes in the spring.
Consistent training already produced a five-minute improvement; continued training at the same intensity makes a further improvement the most logical prediction.
During an unusually warm winter, fruit trees in the orchard bloomed six weeks earlier than normal. A late frost arrived in mid-March, and the farmer found the early blossoms had died. Question: What can be concluded from this sequence of events?
Answer: The warm winter caused early blooming, which left the blossoms vulnerable to the subsequent frost.
The passage establishes a clear chain: warm winter → early blooming → late frost → dead blossoms, showing the unusual warmth set up the vulnerability to frost.
A wildlife photographer spent three weeks photographing wolves in a remote wilderness area. Each evening, the wolves followed the same trail to a river to drink at dusk. On the last day, the photographer arrived an hour early and set up by the trail. Question: What can be predicted?
Answer: The wolves will likely follow the same trail to the river at dusk as they have every evening.
Three weeks of consistent behavior is strong evidence of a habitual routine; the wolves are most likely to repeat it on day twenty-two.
A tech startup introduced a four-day workweek without reducing salaries. In the first six months, employee turnover dropped from 18% annually to 4%, and productivity per employee increased by 22%. Question: What conclusion is best supported by these results?
Answer: The four-day workweek improved both employee retention and productivity.
Simultaneous drops in turnover and gains in productivity after the policy change directly support the conclusion that the four-day workweek benefited the company.