Part 32 of our Verbal Ability reviewer has 20 practice questions in the style of the Civil Service Exam. Answer them in order, read the explanation after each one, and check your score against the 80% passing mark at the end. Questions and choices are reshuffled every time you retake the part.
Start Part 32Sample questions from Part 32
Here are a few questions from this part. Take the full test to answer all 20 and get your score.
Sample question 1
Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?
- Fishponds are the main reason coastal towns face storm surges.
- Mangrove restoration succeeds only when enthusiasm is combined with scientific planning.
- Mangroves can no longer be restored in the Philippines.
- Typhoon Yolanda destroyed most of the country's mangroves.
Answer: Mangrove restoration succeeds only when enthusiasm is combined with scientific planning.
The passage moves from loss of mangroves to uneven replanting results and concludes that planning must accompany enthusiasm.
Sample question 2
According to the passage, why did most seedlings in some replanting projects perish?
- They were planted too far from settlements.
- They were cleared for fishponds.
- They were planted in mudflats unsuited to them.
- They were uprooted by storm surges.
Answer: They were planted in mudflats unsuited to them.
The passage says seedlings planted indiscriminately in unsuited mudflats "perished within months."
Sample question 3
As used in the passage, the word "tempered" most nearly means
- replaced by
- moderated by
- weakened by
- hardened by
Answer: moderated by
To temper enthusiasm with planning is to balance or moderate it with a corrective influence.
Sample question 4
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
- Mangroves grow equally well in every kind of shore.
- Some replanting projects looked successful at first without actually producing surviving forests.
- Local communities were unwilling to participate in replanting.
- Planting mangroves is a waste of resources.
Answer: Some replanting projects looked successful at first without actually producing surviving forests.
The conclusion warns against restoration that "merely appear[s] successful," implying that some efforts gave that appearance without lasting results.
Sample question 5
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
- Higher survival where species were matched to sites
- Conversion of mangroves into fishponds
- Fines imposed on those who cut mangroves
- Replanting after Typhoon Yolanda
Answer: Fines imposed on those who cut mangroves
The passage mentions fishponds, post-Yolanda replanting, and matching species to sites, but not any fines.