[[Many lives are lost every year due to drowning, and the majority of drowning victims could have been saved if they or someone nearby had only known the simple rules of water safety. The first and most important rule is to remain calm. Panic is the swimmer’s worst enemy! When swimmers allow fear to overwhelm them, they stop making rational decisions and begin to flounder. That is the first step in drowning. When fear strikes, the swimmer must choose to remain calm and focused, thinking deliberately about how to escape the situation.]]According to this passage, what is the first step in drowning?::giving in to fear::going underwater::not wearing a life preserver::not knowing how to swim
The word flounder, as used in this passage, most nearly means::splash about helplessly.::a fish.::building foundation.::float.
According to the passage, the best prevention against drowning is::remaining calm.::staying out of the water.::learning how to swim.::having a buddy nearby.
[[Braille is a special tactile form of printing used to enable blind people to read. It consists of a series of raised dots that a person can feel with the fingertips, and each letter of the alphabet is represented by one to six dots. The six dots form a rectangle if all are present, but most letters use only some of the dots. The letter A, for example, is one dot in the upper left corner of the rectangle. The Braille system was actually a by-product of the Napoleonic wars of the 19th century. Napoleon wanted to devise a code that could be read at night, and a soldier invented a system of raised dots. Napoleon rejected it as too complicated, but Louis Braille simplified it for use by the blind. It is still used today.]]Napoleon was interested in Braille because::he wanted a code that could be read at night.::he was blind.::he wanted to help the blind.::he couldn’t read.
The word tactile, as used in this passage, most nearly means::something that can be felt with the fingers.::a sharp object.::words on a printed page.::something that is sticky.
How many raised dots are used to form each letter of the alphabet in Braille?::from one to six::three::six::none
What was Louis Braille’s contribution to the invention of this reading system?::He simplified someone else’s complicated idea.::He taught blind people how to read.::He urged Napoleon to have it developed.::He named it.
[[One New York publisher has estimated that 50,000 to 60,000 people in the United States want an anthology that includes the complete plays of William Shakespeare. What accounts for this renewed interest in Shakespeare? As scholars point out, the psychological insights that he portrays in both male and female characters are amazing even today.]]This paragraph best supports the statement that::people today are interested in Shakespeare’s work because of the characters.::Shakespeare’s characters are more interesting than fictional characters today.::academic scholars are putting together an anthology of Shakespeare’s work.::New Yorkers have a renewed interested in the work of Shakespeare.
As used in the passage, anthology most nearly means::a collection of literature.::a phrase that compares two things.::the history of the human race.::a television program.