PART THREE
SAMPLE EXERCISE

The exercise on the next page is a sample exercise. Its purpose is to show how the information you have studied in Parts One and Two is put to use in reading.

A second purpose of the sample exercise is to preview the 30 exercises which appear in Part Four. Reading the sample passage and answering the sample questions will help you get off to a good start.

The answers to all the questions are fully explained. Reasons are given showing why the correct answers are the best answers and where the wrong answers are faulty.

Complete the sample exercise carefully and thoughtfully. Do not go on to Part Four until you are certain you understand how to make generalizations in reading.

Sample Exercise

If you are interested in buying a pair of contact lenses, be prepared to pay $200 or more. Generally there are three main reasons why people want contact lenses. You may need them because the cornea of your eye is misshaped and ordinary glasses are not satisfactory. If so, you'll be in the group that comprises 1 to 2 percent of contact lens wearers. But you may want them for a sport, avocation, or vocation. Perhaps you're a baseball player, a boxer, a swimmer, an aviator, an actor, or perhaps you're engaged in an industry where flying particles may endanger your eyes. If you get your contact lenses for one of these reasons, you are in the same group with about 20 percent of the users. But if for some reason you feel that glasses are handicapping your appearance and you'd rather have invisible glasses, you'll have lots of company. About 79 percent of lens users hope to improve their looks.

1. This paragraph shows that contact lenses can

  1. protect the eyes from heavy, flying objects.
  2. cure diseases of the eyes.
  3. improve athletic ability.
  4. compensate for the shape of the cornea.

2. The majority of contact lens wearers seem to feel that

  1. contact lenses are more attractive than glasses.
  2. glasses are more expensive than contact lenses.
  3. contact lenses should be used for close work.
  4. glasses are old-fashioned for today's tastes.

3. The author organizes supporting details according to

  1. time order.
  2. spatial development.
  3. cause and effect.
  4. order of importance.

4. Underline a sentence which shows that man is sometimes vain.

Answers and Explanations

1. The best answer to the first question is d, contact lenses can compensate for the shape of the cornea. This idea is mentioned, in different wording, as the first reason why people need contact lenses: "You may need them because your cornea is misshaped and ordinary glasses are not satisfactory.

Answers a, b, and c are wrong for these reasons:

Answer a: Heavy, flying objects are not the same as "flying particles", and certainly contact lenses could not possibly offer protection against heavy, flying objects.

Answer b: The use of contact lenses to cure diseases of the eyes is not mentioned or suggested.

Answer c: Several sports are mentioned in the paragraph but no claim is made for using contact lenses to improve athletic ability.

2. The best answer to question 2 is a, the majority of contact lens wearers seem to feel that contact lenses are more attractive than glasses. Seventy-nine percent is clearly a majority of users, and it is this group that wears contact lenses "to improve looks".

Answers b, c, and d are wrong for these reasons:

Answer b: The opposite is usually true as suggested in the second sentence.

Answer c: Using contact lenses for close work is not mentioned in the paragraph and no examples of close work are offered.

Answer d: The reason that contact lenses are preferred over glasses by some people concerns looks. No specific reason beyond that is offered. To say that glasses are rejected because they are old-fashioned for today's tastes is to generalize without basis in fact.

3. The best answer to question 3 is d, the author organizes supporting details according to order of importance. The author saves for last the most important reason users give for wearing contact lenses.

Answers a, b, and c are wrong for these reasons:

Answer a: The author is not concerned with events occurring in a specific time order.

Answer b: The author is not describing anything; so spatial order would be out of place in this paragraph.

Answer c: Nothing in this paragraph is presented as the result of something else.

4. The best answer to question 4 is either of the following two sentences: "But if for some reason you feel that glasses are handicapping your appearance and you'd rather have invisible glasses, you'll have lots of company." or "About 79 percent of lens users hope to improve their looks."

If you had difficulty answering these questions correctly, review the paragraph and questions. If, after that, you still do not understand the answers and explanations, check with your instructor before going on.