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Language Arts–Reading
HiSET ® Exam Free Practice Test FPT – 7

hiset.org Released 2017

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Language Arts − Reading
Directions
Time − 35 minutes
20 Questions

This is a test of some of the skills involved in understanding what you read. The passages in this test
come from a variety of works, both literary and informational. Each passage is followed by a number
of questions.
The passages begin with an introduction presenting information that may be helpful as you read the
selection. After you have read a passage, go on to the questions that follow. For each question, choose
the best answer, and mark your choice on the answer sheet. You may refer to a passage as often as
necessary.
Work as quickly as you can without becoming careless. Do not spend too much time on any question
that is difficult for you to answer. Instead, skip it and return to it later if you have time. Try to answer
every question even if you have to guess.
Mark all your answers on the answer sheet. Give only one answer to each question.
If you decide to change one of your answers, be sure to erase the first mark completely.
Be sure that the number of the question you are answering matches the number of the row of answer
choices you are marking on your answer sheet. The answer sheet may contain more rows than you
need.
 Questions 1 through 6 refer to the following passage.

In the following literary essay, the narrator tells about a special time spent with her younger sister,
Margaret.

Dandelions
There is a field of dandelions to the east of my home. Their buttery yellow heads peek through green blades
of grass, and they grow tall against the earth. I have watched children pluck them, squeeze them midway
down the stem and pull, then tuck them behind their ears, the ears of their parents, and in the collars of their
Line golden retrievers and poodles. My sister, though, who will be four this fall, patiently waits until they’re white,
5 fluffy, and prepared to succumb to her soft breath.
Margaret will do as she did last year, come to me in the morning, because she investigates every morning to
determine if the dandelions are “done,” like the kolaches Grandma bakes us for breakfast. Then grasps my
hand and announces, “It’s time, Katie! They’re ready.”
I cherish this ritual with Margaret. She ushers me to the field, where we first recline on our backs and
10 examine the sky to decipher traces of our lives in the clouds. Margaret points to three conjoined clouds and
designates it as our family. We detect our friends, our favorite foods, and ourselves in the clouds. We laugh,
roll over, and discover we’ve gotten some of the dandelion dust in our loose hair. Although I’m much older
than she is, I do not find this absurd. Instead, Margaret, in moments like these, embodies a certain wisdom
and genuine benevolence I hope to never lose with age.
15 Unlike the others who pinch and yank at the stalks, Margaret sends the seeds off with kisses. She scoots, in a
military crawl, to the first dandelion whose dust is ready. “All set?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say. And with our cheeks nearly touching, our lips puckered toward the dandelion, we blow a kiss.
White dandelion fuzz drifts through the air and disappears over the field as we blow more kisses and watch
the seeds float, like bubbles, before gravity intervenes.
20 “It’s like they’re racing, Katie,” she says.
“Where’s the finish line?” I ask.
“Everywhere!” she exclaims.
Margaret will remember this, I know, when she is my age. Just as I will remember her autumn kisses to the
dandelions, which she refused to pluck because they were too beautiful, she’d once said. And I will remember
25 the snowmen we created together on early winter nights, the gaping mud puddles we dashed through in the
spring, and, when summer approaches, it will be the sprinklers on college campuses that will remind me of
her. She laughs and twirls as she leaps in and out of the sprinklers, with wet blades of grass clinging to her
wrinkled soles. She loves to dash, with her arms flung wide and her head thrown back toward the sun, as
though every glistening arc of water is a finish line to be crossed.

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 1 4

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The comparison of the dandelions to Grandma’s All of these excerpts use language that supports
kolaches emphasizes the idea that youth is fleeting EXCEPT
A. the manner in which the dandelions grow. A. “. . . [dandelions] prepared to succumb to
B. the appearance and scent of the dandelions. her soft breath.”
C. the anticipation associated with the B. “. . . our lips puckered toward the dandelion
dandelions. . . .”
D. the time of day in which the dandelions C. “. . . fuzz drifts through the air and
flower. disappears over the field . . .”
D. “. . . seeds float, like bubbles, before gravity
intervenes.”
2
As it is used in line 9, the word “ritual” means 5
A. a serious event.
How is the last paragraph organized?
B. a repeated activity.
A. It shows how Margaret has changed over
C. a stage of life. time.
D. a conventional habit. B. It connects each season with a memory of
Margaret.
3 C. It lists memories of Margaret in order of
When the narrator and Margaret “decipher importance.
traces” of their lives in the clouds, they are D. It describes what Margaret does while her
sister is in college.
A. finding similarities.
B. predicting futures.
6
C. educating themselves.
Which phrase best describes the relationship
D. ridiculing themselves.
between the narrator and Margaret?
A. Envious rivalry
B. Kind consideration
C. Devoted attachment
D. Awkward friendship

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 The next two passages are related. Questions 7 through 10 refer to the following passage.

The following nonfiction passage explains the history of women’s basketball in the United States.

Women’s Basketball
Today basketball is one of the most popular women’s sports, both among athletes and fans. Basketball was
invented by Dr. James Naismith and introduced to male athletes in 1891. Less than a year later,
Senda Berenson, a physical education instructor at a small women’s college, decided the game would be a
good alternative to the physical fitness activities offered to young women at the time.
Line
5 The rules Berenson established for her female players differed from men’s rules. The rectangular playing

floor was divided into three equal zones. Each team had nine players: three forwards, three centers, and three

guards. A player was restricted to her own zone on the court, could hold the ball for only three seconds, and

could dribble only three times before passing. No stealing was allowed.

As women’s basketball spread, the sport faced some opposition, including the criticism that too much

10 physical exertion could be harmful to young women. Nonetheless, women’s teams formed in high schools,

colleges, businesses, recreation centers, and neighborhoods across the United States. By the 1940s, basketball

had become the women’s sport most frequently played at the high school level.

Rules changed over the years. Some versions of the high school game had a few “rover” players, who were

allowed to move freely between the different zones on the court. However, in many states, high school

15 women played six-on-six basketball. This game had a two-section court with players restricted to their side of

the court. All players were limited to two dribbles, and each team had three guards and three forwards. Only

forwards were allowed to shoot the ball.

In 1958, the Office of Civil Rights began to consider banning six-on-six high school basketball. It was

believed that six-on-six players were at a disadvantage when competing for college athletic scholarships. The

20 six-on-six game was viewed as not being sufficiently compatible with the women’s college game, which by

then had teams of five players, with centers, forwards, and guards all eligible to shoot the ball and run the

entire length of the two-section court.

The 1970s were pivotal for women’s basketball. The five-on-five format at the high school level gained

broader acceptance. Also, Title IX passed in 1972. One consequence of this law requiring equal opportunity

25 for women in all programs at public high schools and universities was that basketball eventually became the

most frequently offered women’s sport at the college level. Another highlight of the decade was that women’s

basketball became an official Olympic sport in 1976.

Women’s basketball continued to grow in the following decades. During the 1981 – 1982 season,

thirty-two teams took part in the first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship

30 tournament for women. Current tournaments have twice as many teams. The Women’s National Basketball

Association (WNBA), a professional league, debuted with eight teams in 1996 – 1997 and now has twelve.

With women’s basketball continuing to garner so much attention and support both from potential players and

from fans, the sport seems destined to thrive for years to come.

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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is the first paragraph mostly about? How was six-on-six basketball different from
five-on-five basketball?
A. Early basketball coaches
B. The origin of women’s basketball A. The six-on-six game was played on a
two-section court.
C. The popularity of women’s basketball today
B. Positions for the six-on-six game included
D. Health benefits of basketball guards and forwards.
C. Six-on-six players remained in their own
8 zone.
Which sentence best describes women’s D. Six-on-six players dribbled more.
basketball in the 1940s?
A. College players were recruited and drafted 10
by professional teams.
How is the passage “Women’s Basketball”
B. Restrictive rules kept the sport from organized?
growing.
A. It describes an event and several changes
C. College players began competing in that resulted from it.
end-of-season tournaments.
B. It recounts events in the order they occurred.
D. Many women played on organized and
informally assembled teams. C. It states a problem and offers a solution.
D. It compares two ideas.

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 Questions 11 and 12 refer to the following passage.

The following nonfiction passage explains some of the rules imposed by Title IX, part of a federal law.

Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments, part of a federal law enacted by Congress on June 23, 1972, states:
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal
financial assistance.”
Line
5 In general, Title IX requires colleges and high schools to offer equal opportunities, benefits, and services to
females and males in sports, including scholarships, practice facilities, locker rooms, uniforms, publicity, and
coaching. Schools are not required to offer identical sports for each sex or identical pay for coaches, but
schools must offer equal sport and club opportunities for each sex. If a school offers the same sport to both
sexes (has both a boys’ and a girls’ track team, for example) the school is not required to allow a student to
10 join the team of the opposite sex.
Although probably best known for its application to sports, Title IX also covers employment practices,
admissions, participation in school bands and clubs, and admittance to academic programs at covered
institutions. However, Title IX regulations do not apply to organizations that have traditionally been limited to
members of one sex, such as the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) or the Girl Scouts. Title IX
15 also does not apply to private schools, provided they do not receive any money directly or indirectly from the
federal government.

11 12
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Which groups are EXCLUDED from the Which action by a public school covered by
regulations of Title IX? Title IX would be a violation?
A. Certain organizations that exist for males or A. Offering no sports or clubs to any student,
females only boy or girl
B. Private schools that receive federal funding B. Purchasing separate uniforms for the girls’
C. Public high schools that enroll more males and boys’ soccer teams
than females C. Offering unequal sports opportunities to boys
D. Academic clubs at colleges that receive and girls
federal funding D. Employing the same person as coach for a
girls’ sport and as advisor for a boys’ club

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 13 14

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Use both “Women’s Basketball” and Use both “Women’s Basketball” and
“Title IX” to answer this question. “Title IX” to answer this question.

What problem in U.S. education was Title IX What do the passages “Women’s Basketball” and
apparently intended to address? “Title IX” suggest about opportunities for
students in education today?
A. Females and males attended separate
schools. A. Women’s opportunities are now better than
B. Females and males had few opportunities to they were in the past.
play high school sports. B. Men’s opportunities in sports are lacking,
C. Females were not playing the same sports as while women’s opportunities in sports are
males. expanding.
D. Females and males were not given the same C. Women have achieved many new high
rights and privileges in schools. school opportunities but still struggle with
limited college opportunities.
D. Men are taking advantage of fewer academic
opportunities than they did in past decades.

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Questions 15 through 20 refer to the following poem.

This poem was written by Jack Driscoll.

Arm Wrestling with My Father

We lean across the kitchen table,

so late
the moon outside grips the clear ice
Line hardening on the pond.
5 My father’s strength is in his eyes.
He stares at me
and I know I can never win by pinning his thin arm,
that he squeezes my schoolteacher hand as if to explain
how little my visit each winter
10 relieves his sadness working all year
alone on this farm.
He whispers, “GO,”

and the full weight of our bodies heaves

in opposite directions,

15 the thermometer at the window holding

exactly at zero.
Now his wrist bends and
as if suddenly dancing, our foreheads touch.
For that moment we let go of the distance between us
20 like two men who have just shaken hands
in a small room
and have turned slowly away to watch the stars
without counting losses.
Courtesy of Jack Driscoll

15 16
___________________________________________________________

Which of the following states the basic situation Why does the son know he “can never win”
represented in this poem? (line 7)?
A. A man and his father are stargazing on a A. He sees that if he wins he will only anger
cold winter night. his father.
B. A man is visiting his father on the family B. He sees that his father has a greater will to
farm in winter. win than he does.
C. A man and his father are refusing to speak to C. In a contest of physical strength, a
each other after an argument. schoolteacher does not have a chance against
D. A man is recalling childhood games he a farmer.
played with his father. D. Even if he beats his father at arm wrestling,
he cannot resolve the differences between
them.

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 17 19

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The placement of the detail “the
Which of the following does the poem suggest is
thermometer…holding / exactly at zero”
one of the father’s important “losses” (line 23)?
(lines 15-16) has the effect of

A. His son has not been as successful as the

A. emphasizing the severity of the weather that father had hoped.
night. B. He and his son are never playful anymore.
B. emphasizing the idea that the match is at a C. His son did not choose to stay and farm with
stand-off. him.
C. showing how little esteem the men hold for D. His growing season was brought to an end
each other at that moment. by early frost.
D. indicating that the son is not giving the
match his full attention.
20

18 The narrator’s tone in this poem is primarily one

of
Lines 19-23 seem most strongly to imply that,
A. quiet acceptance.
for a moment, the father and son
B. bitter self-pity.
A. were calling their wrestling match a tie.
C. angry resentment.
B. were not keeping track of who won their
wrestling matches. D. pleased satisfaction.
C. forgot their hurts and disappointments with
each other.
D. realized they had each suffered more than
they could express.

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 HiSET Answer Key and Rationales

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
1 C B. Inference and Interpretation Medium
Rationale
Option C is correct because, like the narrator and Margaret waited for kolaches to bake, Margaret anxiously
awaited the day the dandelion seeds would be ready to be blown.

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
2 B A. Comprehension Easy
Rationale
Option B is correct because the narrator suggests she and Margaret have done this before (“Margaret will do
as she did last year”). Also, in the third paragraph the narrator suggests she already knows the exact events
that will occur as if they have done them many times before.

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
3 A B. Inference and Interpretation Easy
Rationale
Option A is correct because the narrator and Margaret find shapes in the clouds that are related to what they
have in common; in the third paragraph the narrator states, “We detect our friends, our favorite foods, and
ourselves in the clouds.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
4 B C. Analysis Medium
Rationale
Option B is correct because the phrase “. . . our lips puckered toward the dandelion . . .” simply describes
the manner in which the girls blew the dandelion seeds and does not symbolize any ideas related to youth or
aging.

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 Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
5 B C. Analysis Medium
Rationale
Option B is correct because, in the last paragraph, the narrator relates an experience from each season that
reminds her of Margaret, such as “her autumn kisses to the dandelions,” “the snowmen we created together on
early winter nights,” “the gaping mud puddles we dashed through in the spring,” and “when summer
approaches, it will be the sprinklers on college campuses.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
6 C B. Inference and Interpretation Easy
Rationale
Option C is correct because throughout the passage the narrator describes her bond with Margaret in close,
affectionate terms: “grasps my hand,” “[w]e laugh,” “cheeks nearly touching,” and “I will remember.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
7 B C. Analysis Easy
Rationale
Option B is correct because the first paragraph describes that “[b]asketball was invented by Dr. James
Naismith and introduced to male athletes in 1891” and that “[l]ess than a year later, Senda Berenson…offered
[basketball] to young women.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
8 D B. Inference and Interpretation Medium
Rationale
Option D is correct because the third paragraph states that “women’s teams formed in high schools, colleges,
businesses, recreation centers, and neighborhoods across the United States.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
9 C A. Comprehension Medium
Rationale
Option C is correct because the fourth paragraph explains that “six-on-six basketball…had a two-section
court with players restricted to their side of the court,” while the fifth paragraph explains that players could
“run the entire length of the two-section court” in five-on-five basketball.

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 Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
10 B C. Analysis Medium
Rationale
Option B is correct because the passage traces the evolution of women’s basketball in chronological order
from basketball’s invention by Naismith to its popularity with women in the 1940s to the Title IX legislation
of the 1970s to the creation of a professional women’s basketball league in the 1990s.

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
11 A A. Comprehension Medium
Rationale
Option A is correct because the passage states, “Title IX regulations do not apply to organizations that have
traditionally been limited to members of one sex, such as the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) or
the Girl Scouts.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
12 C D. Synthesis and Generalization Medium
Rationale
Option C is correct because the passage states, “Title IX requires colleges and high schools to offer equal
opportunities, benefits, and services to females and males in sports…”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
13 D D. Synthesis and Generalization Medium
Rationale
Option D is correct because the first passage states that women’s basketball “faced some opposition” and that
Title IX was passed to require “equal opportunity for women in all programs”; the second passage quotes
Title IX as stating the following: “‘No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded
from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program
or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.’”

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 Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
14 A D. Synthesis and Generalization Medium
Rationale
Option A is correct because the first passage states that, in regard to sports, “women’s basketball continu[es]
to garner so much attention and support” that “the sport seems destined to thrive for years to come.” In
addition, the second passage states that Title IX today “requires colleges and high schools to offer equal
opportunities” for women in all areas, not just sports.

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
15 B C. Analysis Medium
Rationale
Option B is correct because in lines 9-11, the speaker states “how little my visit each winter / relieves his
sadness working all year / alone on this farm.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
16 D B. Inference and Interpretation Medium
Rationale
Option D is correct because in lines 8-11, the speaker states that his father’s actions “explain how little my
visit each winter relieves his sadness.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
17 B C. Analysis Medium
Rationale
Option B is correct because the detail of the thermometer “holding exactly at zero” during the arm wrestling
match mirrors the image of the two men struggling to win, with each being unable to make progress or
overcome the other.

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
18 C B. Inference and Interpretation Medium
Rationale
Option C is correct because the speaker’s statement in lines 19-20 that “For that moment we let go of the
distance between us / like two men who have just shaken hands” suggests that the men come together both
physically and emotionally, briefly disregarding the sources of tension between them.

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 Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
19 C B. Inference and Interpretation Medium
Rationale
Option C is correct because the speaker suggests in lines 10-11 that his father feels “sadness working all
year / alone on this farm.”

Sequence Correct
Process Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
20 A C. Analysis Medium
Rationale
Option A is correct because the speaker does not speak to his father; instead, he silently reflects on their
relationship and seems to accept that it will not change with the admission “I know I can never win” in
line 7.

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