ACT Reading Test 1 (4 Passages and 40 Questions—35 Minutes) with Answers [Free PDF]. Download or participate in our quiz with a time limit. This will help you to make better ACT actual exam for reading test.
Table of Contents
ACT Reading Test 1 (4 Passages and 40 Questions) with Answers
| Test Name | ACT Test Prep |
|---|---|
| Category | Free ACT Practice Test |
| Knowledge tested | ACT Reading Test |
| Type of Question | Sample Multiple Choice |
| Test No. | I |
| Total Question (MCQ) | 40 |
| Total time duration | 35 minutes |
| Answers Available | YES |
| Recommended Devices | Use a laptop or desktop |
| Printable PDF | coming soon |
In this test you will find four passages, each followed by several questions. Read each passage carefully and then select the best possible answer for each question.
ACT Reading Passage I—Prose Fiction
This passage is taken from Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis, 1922.
| 1 There was nothing of the giant in the aspect of 2 the man who was beginning to awaken on the 3 sleeping-porch of a Dutch Colonial house in 4 that residential district of Zenith known as Flo- 5 ral Heights. 6 His name was George F. Babbitt. He was 7 forty-six years old now, in April, 1920, and he 8 made nothing in particular, neither butter nor 9 shoes nor poetry, but he was nimble in the call- 10 ing of selling houses for more than people could 11 afford to pay. 12 His large head was pink, his brown hair 13 thin and dry. His face was babyish in slumber, 14 despite his wrinkles and the red spectacle-dents 15 on the slopes of his nose. He was not fat but he 16 was exceedingly well fed; his cheeks were pads, 17 and the unroughened hand which lay helpless 18 upon the khaki-colored blanket was slightly 19 He seemed prosperous, extremely mar- 20 ried and unromantic; and altogether unroman- 21 tic appeared this sleeping-porch, which looked 22 on one sizable elm, two respectable grass-plots, 23 a cement driveway, and a corrugated iron 24 Yet Babbitt was again dreaming of the 25 fairy child, a dream more romantic than scarlet 26 pagodas by a silver sea. 27 For years the fairy child had come to him. 28 Where others saw but Georgie Babbitt, she dis- 29 cerned gallant youth. She waited for him, in the 30 darkness beyond mysterious groves. When at 31 last he could slip away from the crowded house 32 he darted to her. His wife, his clamoring 33 friends, sought to follow, but he escaped, the 34 girl fleet beside him, and they crouched 35 together on a shadowy hillside. She was so slim, 36 so white, so eager! She cried that he was gay and 37 valiant, that she would wait for him, that they 38 would sail— 39 Rumble and bang of the milk-truck. 40 Babbitt moaned; turned over; struggled 41 back toward his dream. He could see only her 42 face now, beyond misty waters. The furnace- 43 man slammed the basement door. A dog barked 44 in the next yard. As Babbitt sank blissfully into 45 a dim warm tide, the paper-carrier went by 46 whistling, and the rolled-up Advocate thumped 47 the front door. Babbitt roused, his stomach 48 constricted with alarm. As he relaxed, he was 49 pierced by the familiar and irritating rattle of 50 someone cranking a Ford: snapah-ah, 51 snap-ah-ah, snap-ah-ah. Himself a pious |
52 motorist, Babbitt cranked with the unseen 53 driver, with him waited through taut hours for 54 the roar of the starting engine, with him ago- 55 nized as the roar ceased and again began the 56 infernal patient snap-ah-ah—a round, flat 57 sound, a shivering cold-morning sound, a 58 sound infuriating and inescapable. Not till the 59 rising voice of the motor told him that the Ford 60 was moving was he released from the panting 61 He glanced once at his favorite tree, 62 elm twigs against the gold patina of sky, and 63 fumbled for sleep as for a drug. He who had 64 been a boy very credulous of life was no longer 65 greatly interested in the possible and improba- 66 ble adventures of each new day. 67 He escaped from reality till the alarm- 68 clock rang, at seven-twenty. 69 It was the best of nationally advertised 70 and quantitatively produced alarm-clocks, with 71 all modern attachments, including cathedral 72 chime, intermittent alarm, and a phosphores- 73 cent dial. Babbitt was proud of being awakened 74 by such a rich device. Socially it was almost as 75 creditable as buying expensive cord tires. 76 He sulkily admitted now that there was no 77 more escape, but he lay and detested the grind 78 of the real-estate business, and disliked his fam- 79 ily, and disliked himself for disliking them. The 80 evening before, he had played poker at Vergil 81 Gunch’s till midnight, and after such holidays 82 he was irritable before breakfast. It may have 83 been the tremendous home-brewed beer of the 84 Prohibition era and the cigars to which that 85 beer enticed him; it may have been resentment 86 of return from this fine, bold man-world to a 87 restricted region of wives and stenographers, 88 and of suggestions not to smoke so much. 89 From the bedroom beside the sleeping- 90 porch, his wife’s detestably cheerful “Time to 91 get up, Georgie boy,” and the itchy sound, the 92 brisk and scratchy sound, of combing hairs out 93 of a stiff brush. 94 He grunted; he dragged his thick legs, in 95 faded baby-blue pajamas, from under the khaki 96 blanket; he sat on the edge of the cot, running 97 his fingers through his wild hair, while his 98 plump feet mechanically felt for his slippers. He 99 looked regretfully at the blanket—forever a 100 suggestion to him of freedom and heroism. He 101 had bought it for a camping trip which had 102 never come off. It symbolized gorgeous loafing, 103 gorgeous cursing, virile flannel shirts. |
ACT Reading Test: 1 Passage I (Question No. 1 to 10) Time Limit 8.25 Minutes
ACT Reading Practice Test 1
Passage I (Question No. 1 to 10)
Time Limit: 8.75 minutes
ACT Reading Test: 1 Passage I (Question No. 1 to 10) Time Limit 8.25 Minutes
ACT Reading Practice Test 1
Passage I (Question No. 1 to 10)
Time Limit: 8.75 minutes
ACT Reading Passage II—Humanities
This passage is excerpted from “Leonardo da Vinci” from Knights of Art: Stories of the Italian Painters, by Amy Steedman, 1907.
| 1 On the sunny slopes of Monte Albano, between 2 Florence and Pisa, the little town of Vinci lay 3 high among the rocks that crowned the steep 4 hillside. Here in the year 1452 Leonardo, son of 5 Ser Piero da Vinci, was born. It was in the age 6 when people told fortunes by the stars, and 7 when a baby was born they would eagerly look 8 up and decide whether it was a lucky or 9 unlucky star which shone upon the child. 10 Surely if it had been possible in this way to tell 11 what fortune awaited the little Leonardo, a 12 strange new star must have shone that night, 13 brighter than the others and unlike the rest in 14 the dazzling light of its strength and beauty. 15 Leonardo was always a strange child. Even 16 his beauty was not like that of other children. 17 He had the most wonderful waving hair, falling 18 in regular ripples, like the waters of a fountain, 19 the color of bright gold, and soft as spun silk. 20 His eyes were blue and clear, with a mysterious 21 light in them, not the warm light of a sunny 22 sky, but rather the blue that glints in the 23 iceberg. They were merry eyes too, when he 24 laughed, but underneath was always that 25 strange cold look. There was a charm about his 26 smile which no one could resist, and he was a 27 favorite with all. Yet people shook their heads 28 sometimes as they looked at him, and they 29 talked in whispers of the old witch who had 30 lent her goat to nourish the little Leonardo 31 when he was a baby. The woman was a dealer in 32 black magic, and who knew but that the child 33 might be a changeling? 34 It was the old grandmother, Mona Lena, 35 who brought Leonardo up and spoilt him not a 36 little. His father, Ser Piero, was a lawyer, and 37 spent most of his time in Florence, but when he 38 returned to the old castle of Vinci, he began to 39 give Leonardo lessons and tried to find out 40 what the boy was fit for. But Leonardo hated 41 those lessons and would not learn, so when he 42 was seven years old he was sent to school. 43 This did not answer any better. The rough 44 play of the boys was not to his liking. When he 45 saw them drag the wings off butterflies, or tor- 46 ture any animal that fell into their hands, his 47 face grew white with pain, and he would take 48 no share in their games. The Latin grammar, 49 too, was a terrible task, while the many things 50 he longed to know no one taught him. 51 So it happened that many a time, instead 52 of going to school, he would slip away and 53 escape up into the hills, as happy as a little wild 54 goat. Here was all the sweet fresh air of heaven, 55 instead of the stuffy schoolroom. Here were no 56 cruel, clumsy boys, but all the wild creatures 57 that he loved. Here he could learn the real 58 things his heart was hungry to know, not 59 merely words which meant nothing and led to 60 nowhere. 61 For hours he would lie perfectly still with 62 his heels in the air and his chin resting in his 63 hands, as he watched a spider weaving its web, 64 breathless with interest to see how the delicate 65 threads were turned in and out. The gaily |
66 painted butterflies, the fat buzzing bees, the lit- 67 tle sharp-tongued green lizards, he loved to 68 watch them all, but above everything he loved 69 the birds. Oh, if only he too had wings to dart 70 like the swallows, and swoop and sail and dart 71 again! What was the secret power in their 72 wings? Surely by watching he might learn it. 73 Sometimes it seemed as if his heart would burst 74 with the longing to learn that secret. It was 75 always the hidden reason of things that he 76 desired to know. Much as he loved the flowers 77 he must pull their petals off, one by one, to see 78 how each was joined, to wonder at the dusty 79 pollen, and touch the honey-covered stamens. 80 Then when the sun began to sink he would 81 turn sadly homewards, very hungry, with torn 82 clothes and tired feet, but with a store of sun- 83 shine in his heart. 84 His grandmother shook her head when 85 Leonardo appeared after one of his days of 86 wandering. 87 “I know thou shouldst be whipped for 88 playing truant,” she said; “and I should also 89 punish thee for tearing thy clothes.” 90 “Ah! But thou wilt not whip me,” 91 answered Leonardo, smiling at her with his 92 curious quiet smile, for he had full confidence 93 in her love. 94 “Well, I love to see thee happy, and I will 95 not punish thee this time,” said his grand- 96 mother; “but if these tales reach thy father’s ears, 97 he will not be so tender as I am towards thee.” 98 And, sure enough, the very next time that 99 a complaint was made from the school, his 100 father happened to be at home, and then the 101 storm burst. 102 “Next time I will flog thee,” said Ser Piero 103 sternly, with rising anger at the careless air of 104 the boy. “Meanwhile we will see what a little 105 imprisonment will do towards making thee a 106 better child.” 107 Then he took the boy by the shoulders 108 and led him to a little dark cupboard under 109 the stairs, and there shut him up for three 110 whole days. 111 There was no kicking or beating at the 112 locked door. Leonardo sat quietly there in the 113 dark, thinking his own thoughts, and wondering 114 why there seemed so little justice in the 115 world. But soon even that wonder passed away, 116 and as usual when he was alone he began to 117 dream dreams of the time when he should have 118 learned the swallows’ secrets and should have 119 wings like theirs. 120 But if there were complaints about Leon- 121 ardo’s dislike of the boys and the Latin gram- 122 mar, there would be none about the lessons he 123 chose to learn. Indeed, some of the masters 124 began to dread the boy’s eager questions, which 125 were sometimes more than they could answer. 126 Scarcely had he begun the study of arithmetic 127 than he made such rapid progress, and wanted 128 to puzzle out so many problems, that the mas- 129 ters were amazed. His mind seemed always 130 eagerly asking for more light, and was never 131 satisfied. |
ACT Reading Test: 1 Passage II (Question No. 11 to 20) Time Limit 8.75 minutes
ACT Reading Practice Test 1
Passage II (Question No. 11 to 20)
Time Limit: 8.75 minutes
ACT Reading Passage III—Social Studies
This passage is adapted from How the Other Half Lives, by Jacob A. Riis, 1890. The word tenements used throughout the passage refers to rental apartments that are generally of substandard quality.
| 1 Long ago, it was said that “one half of the world 2 does not know how the other half lives.” That 3 was true then. The half that was on top cared 4 little for the struggles, and less for the fate of 5 those who were underneath, so long as it was 6 able to hold them there and keep its own seat. 7 There came a time when the discomfort and 8 crowding below were so great, and the consequent 9 upheavals so violent, that it was no longer 10 an easy thing to do, and then the upper half 11 fell to wondering what was the matter. 12 Information on the subject has been accumulating 13 rapidly since, and the whole world has had its 14 hands full answering for its old ignorance. 15 In New York, the youngest of the world’s 16 great cities, that time came later than elsewhere, 17 because the crowding had not been so great. 18 There were those who believed that it would 19 never come; but their hopes were vain. Greed 20 and reckless selfishness delivered similar results 21 here as in the cities of older lands. “When the 22 great riot occurred in 1863,” reads the testimony 23 of the Secretary of the Prison Association 24 of New York before a legislative committee 25 appointed to investigate causes of the increase 26 of crime in the State twenty-five years ago, 27 “every hiding-place and nursery of crime 28 discovered itself by immediate and active 29 participation in the operations of the mob. Those very 30 places and domiciles, and all that are like them, 31 are today nurseries of crime, and of the vices 32 and disorderly courses which lead to crime. By 33 far the largest part—80% at least—of crimes 34 against property and people are perpetrated by 35 individuals who have either lost connection 36 with home life, or never had any, or whose 37 homes had ceased to afford what are regarded 38 as ordinary wholesome influences of home and 39 family. . . . The younger criminals seem to come 40 almost exclusively from the worst tenement 41 house districts, that is, when traced back to the 42 very places where they had their homes in the 43 city here.” One thing New York was made sure 44 of at that early stage of the inquiry: the boundary |
45 line of the Other Half lies through the 46 tenements. 47 It is ten years and over, now, since 48 that line divided New York’s population evenly 49 Today three fourths of New Yorkers live in the 50 tenements, and the nineteenth century drift of 51 the population to the cities is only increasing 52 those numbers. The fifteen thousand tenant 53 houses in the past generation have swelled into 54 thirty-seven thousand, and more than twelve 55 hundred thousand persons call them home. 56 The one way out—rapid transit to the suburbs 57 has brought no relief. We know now 58 that there is no way out; that the “system” that 59 was the evil offspring of public neglect and private 60 greed is here to stay, forever a center of our 61 civilization. Nothing is left but to make the 62 best of a bad bargain. 63 The story is dark enough, drawn from the 64 plain public records, to send a chill to any 65 heart. If it shall appear that the sufferings and 66 the sins of the “other half,” and the evil they 67 breed, are but as a fitting punishment upon the 68 community that gave it no other choice, it will 69 be because that is the truth. The boundary line 70 lies there because, while the forces for good on 71 one side vastly outweigh the bad—not otherwise 72 in the tenements all the influences make 73 for evil; because they are the hotbeds of the 74 epidemics that carry death to rich and poor 75 alike; the nurseries of poverty and crime that 76 fill our jails and courts; that throw off forty 77 thousand human wrecks to the island asylums 78 and workhouses year by year; that turned out 79 in the last eight years a round half million beggars 80 to prey upon our charities; that maintain a 81 standing army of ten thousand panhandlers 82 with all that that implies; because, above all, 83 they touch the family life with deadly moral 84 poison. This is their worst crime, inseparable 85 from the system. That we have to own it, the 86 child of our own wrong, does not excuse it, 87 even though it gives it claim upon our utmost 88 patience and tenderest charity |
ACT Reading Test: 1 Passage III (Question No. 21 to 30) Time Limit 8.75 Minutes
ACT Reading Practice Test 1
Passage III (Question No. 21 to 30)
Time Limit: 8.75 minutes
ACT Reading Passage IV—Natural Science
This passage is taken from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pamphlet titled “Migration of Birds,” by Frederick C. Lincoln, 1935.
| 1 The changing picture of bird populations 2 throughout the year intrigues those who are 3 observant and who wish to know the source 4 and destination of these birds. While many species 5 of fish, mammals, and even insects undertake 6 amazing migratory journeys, birds as a 7 group are the most mobile creatures on Earth. 8 Even humans with their many vehicles of 9 locomotion do not equal some birds in mobility. 10 No human population moves each year as far as 11 from the Arctic to the Antarctic with subsequent 12 return, yet the arctic terns do. 13 Birds are adapted in their body structure 14 and physiology to life in the air. Their feathered 15 wings and tails, bones, lungs and air sacs, and 16 their metabolic abilities all contribute to this 17 amazing faculty. These adaptations make it 18 possible for birds to seek out environments 19 most favorable to their needs at different times 20 of the year. This results in the marvelous 21 phenomenon we know as migration—the regular, 22 recurrent, seasonal movement of populations 23 from one geographic location to another and 24 back again. 25 Throughout human experience, migratory 26 birds have been important as a source of 27 food after a lean winter and as the harbinger of 28 a change in seasons. The arrival of certain 29 species has been heralded with appropriate 30 ceremonies in many lands. Among the Eskimos 31 and other tribes this phenomenon is the 32 accepted sign of the imminence of spring, of 33 warmer weather, and a reprieve from winter 34 food shortages. The European fur traders in 35 Alaska and Canada offered rewards to the 36 Native American who saw the first flight of 37 geese in the spring, and all joined in jubilant 38 welcome to the newcomers. As North America 39 became more thickly settled, the large flocks of 40 ducks and geese, as well as migratory rails, 41 doves, and woodcock that had been hunted for 42 food became objects of the enthusiastic 43 attention of an increasing army of sportsmen. Most 44 of the nongame species were also found to be 45 valuable as allies of the farmer in his neverending 46 confrontation against insect pests and 47 weed seeds. And in more recent years, all species 48 have been of ever-increasing recreational 49 and esthetic value for untold numbers of people 50 who enjoy watching birds. We soon realized 51 that our migratory bird resource was an international 52 legacy that could not be managed 53 alone by one state or country and that all 54 nations were responsible for its well-being. The 55 need for laws protecting game and nongame 56 birds, as well as the necessity to regulate the 57 hunting of diminishing game species, followed 58 as a natural consequence. In the management 59 of this wildlife resource, it has become obvious |
60 that studies must be made of the species’ habits, 61 environmental needs, and travels. In the United 62 States, the Department of the Interior recognized 63 the value of this resource and is devoted 64 to programs that will ensure sustainability for 65 these populations as they are faced with the 66 impacts of alteration in land use, loss of habitat, 67 and contaminants from our technological society. 68 Hence bird investigations are made by the 69 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the arm of the 70 Department of Interior charged by Congress 71 under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with the 72 duty of protecting those avian species that in 73 their yearly journeys pass back and forth 74 between the United States and other countries. 75 In addition, the federal government through 76 the activities of the Biological Resources Division 77 of the U.S. Geological Survey also promotes 78 basic research on migration. Federal 79 agencies cooperate with their counterparts in 80 other countries as well as with state agencies, 81 academic institutions, and nongovernmental 82 groups to gain understanding and for the 83 protection of migratory species through such 84 endeavors as Partners in Flight, a broadly based 85 international cooperative effort in the Western 86 Hemisphere. 87 For almost a century the Fish and Wildlife 88 Service and its predecessor, the Biological 89 Survey, have been collecting data on the important 90 details of bird migration. Scientists have 91 gathered information concerning the distribution 92 and seasonal movements of many species 93 throughout the Western Hemisphere, from the 94 Arctic Archipelago south to Tierra del Fuego. 95 Supplementing these investigations is the work 96 of hundreds of United States, Latin American, 97 and Canadian university personnel and 98 volunteer bird-watchers, who report on the 99 migrations and status of birds as observed in their 100 respective localities. This data, stored in field 101 notes, computer files, and scientific journals, 102 constitutes an enormous reservoir of information 103 pertaining to the distribution and movements 104 of North American birds. 105 The purpose of this publication is to summarize 106 this data and additional information 107 from other parts of the world to present the 108 more important facts about our current 109 understanding of the fascinating subject of bird 110 migration. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is 111 grateful to the many people who have 112 contributed their knowledge so that others, 113 whether in biology or ornithology classes, 114 members of conservation organizations, or just 115 individuals interested in the welfare of the 116 birds, may understand and enjoy this precious 117 resource as well as preserve it for generations 118 to come. |
ACT Reading Test: 1 Passage IV (Question No. 31 to 40) Time Limit 8.75 Minutes
ACT Reading Practice Test 1
Passage I (Question No. 31 to 40)
Time Limit: 8.75 minutes
Try more practice test