Take this Exam: National 5 English: Reading for Understanding | Zestly

Question 1

The text states: "The bridge carries 40 000 vehicles a day, and it is without question the ugliest structure in the county." Which part is opinion and how can you tell?

Accepted Answer

The judgement about ugliness, because it is a matter of taste that could not be checked, unlike the traffic figure.

Answer

Both halves are opinion, because the writer wrote them.

Answer

Neither half is opinion, because the sentence contains a number.

Answer

The traffic figure, because no reader could verify it themselves.

Question 2

The text states: "Supporters say the machines will free staff for more interesting work. In practice, in every shop that has installed them, the staff have simply gone." What is the writer doing here?

Accepted Answer

Setting a claim against what has actually happened, so that the claim is undermined by evidence.

Answer

Agreeing with the supporters and adding a further reason.

Answer

Explaining how the machines work.

Answer

Admitting that the writer's own view may be wrong.

Question 3

The text states: "The festival brought thousands of visitors to the town. Cafes and shops reported their best week of the year. But residents in the streets nearest the site lost several nights of sleep, and the clean-up took a fortnight." Which option summarises this accurately?

Accepted Answer

The festival was good for local businesses but imposed real costs on nearby residents.

Answer

The festival was a success and the town wants it back.

Answer

The festival was a failure because of the noise and the mess.

Answer

The festival brought thousands of visitors to the town.

Question 4

An article about hospital waiting times opens: "Margaret is seventy-three. She waited eleven hours on a plastic chair, and nobody came." Why does the writer begin this way?

Answer

To show that Margaret was treated worse than other patients.

Answer

To entertain the reader before the serious part begins.

Answer

To make a large and abstract problem concrete, so the reader feels it before being given the figures.

Answer

To prove statistically that waiting times are too long.

Question 5

The text states: "Four in every ten of the trees planted under the scheme were dead within a year." What does this figure do for the writer's argument?

Answer

It shows that six in ten trees survived, which is a success.

Answer

It puts a scale on the failure, so that the criticism rests on evidence rather than on impression.

Answer

It proves that the scheme was deliberately mismanaged.

Answer

It makes the writing sound more formal and academic.