TEAS & HESI A2 Reading Comprehension Study Guide | 10 Original
Passages & 100 Questions with Explained Answers
Library hours
The Marlow Library tested an evening opening on Wednesdays for six weeks. Staff
recorded attendance rather than asking visitors only whether they liked the idea.
The first two evenings attracted mostly regular daytime visitors. During the next
four weeks, several workers began arriving after their shifts. Total Wednesday
attendance increased, but Friday attendance fell slightly. The manager called the
findings promising rather than conclusive. She explained that a short pilot could be
affected by weather, publicity or a local event. Before adding another evening, the
library will compare visits during a longer trial and ask which services people use.
Its goal is useful access, not simply longer opening hours.
Passage questions
1. What is the passage’s main idea?
2. How long was the initial trial?
3. Which new visitor group appeared later in the trial?
4. Why is the manager cautious about the attendance increase?
5. What does conclusive mean in this context?
6. What does its refer to in the last sentence?
7. Which result complicates a claim that all extra Wednesday visits were additional
library use?
8. Is the passage primarily arguing for unlimited hours or describing an
evaluation?
9. What further information will the library collect?
10. Which conclusion would go beyond the passage: evening access may help
workers, or every library should open every night?
,Community garden
Residents converted an unused courtyard into a shared garden. At first, volunteers
chose plants mainly for appearance. Several beds dried quickly because the soil
was shallow and the courtyard received afternoon sun. The group then measured
soil depth and asked a local gardener about suitable varieties. They replaced some
thirsty plants with varieties better suited to the conditions and added a watering
rota. The following month, fewer plants wilted, although rainfall also increased.
The organisers credited both better planning and favourable weather. They now
keep a notebook of planting dates, rainfall and maintenance. They believe a shared
record will help future volunteers avoid repeating early mistakes.
Passage questions
11. What is the central idea?
12. What made the first plant selection vulnerable?
13. What did volunteers initially prioritise?
14. What is a watering rota?
15. Why can the improvement not be attributed to plant replacement alone?
16. What does they in the final sentence refer to?
17. What reasonable inference can be made about future volunteers?
18. Which sentence idea shows balanced reasoning?
19. What information goes into the notebook?
20. What title best reflects the passage: Learning to Garden in a Courtyard or
Flowers Always Need More Water?
, Repair workshop
A neighbourhood repair workshop invites residents to bring broken household
objects on the first Saturday of each month. Volunteers explain repairs while
owners watch, because the organisers want skills to spread as well as objects to
last longer. Some items cannot be repaired safely with the tools available. Those
are referred to qualified specialists or appropriate recycling services. Last month,
the workshop repaired twelve objects and declined four. A visitor suggested calling
every declined item a failure, but the coordinator disagreed. Recognising a limit,
she said, can prevent damage or injury. The workshop therefore records successful
repairs and reasons for refusal, using both to plan future training.
Passage questions
21. What is the main idea?
22. When does the workshop meet?
23. Why do owners watch repairs?
24. How many items were declined last month?
25. What does referred mean in context?
26. Why does the coordinator reject the failure label?
27. What does both refer to in the final sentence?
28. What is the coordinator’s tone toward limitations?
29. What inference is supported about training?
30. Which claim is unsupported: some repairs need specialists, or volunteers can
safely fix every household object?
Passages & 100 Questions with Explained Answers
Library hours
The Marlow Library tested an evening opening on Wednesdays for six weeks. Staff
recorded attendance rather than asking visitors only whether they liked the idea.
The first two evenings attracted mostly regular daytime visitors. During the next
four weeks, several workers began arriving after their shifts. Total Wednesday
attendance increased, but Friday attendance fell slightly. The manager called the
findings promising rather than conclusive. She explained that a short pilot could be
affected by weather, publicity or a local event. Before adding another evening, the
library will compare visits during a longer trial and ask which services people use.
Its goal is useful access, not simply longer opening hours.
Passage questions
1. What is the passage’s main idea?
2. How long was the initial trial?
3. Which new visitor group appeared later in the trial?
4. Why is the manager cautious about the attendance increase?
5. What does conclusive mean in this context?
6. What does its refer to in the last sentence?
7. Which result complicates a claim that all extra Wednesday visits were additional
library use?
8. Is the passage primarily arguing for unlimited hours or describing an
evaluation?
9. What further information will the library collect?
10. Which conclusion would go beyond the passage: evening access may help
workers, or every library should open every night?
,Community garden
Residents converted an unused courtyard into a shared garden. At first, volunteers
chose plants mainly for appearance. Several beds dried quickly because the soil
was shallow and the courtyard received afternoon sun. The group then measured
soil depth and asked a local gardener about suitable varieties. They replaced some
thirsty plants with varieties better suited to the conditions and added a watering
rota. The following month, fewer plants wilted, although rainfall also increased.
The organisers credited both better planning and favourable weather. They now
keep a notebook of planting dates, rainfall and maintenance. They believe a shared
record will help future volunteers avoid repeating early mistakes.
Passage questions
11. What is the central idea?
12. What made the first plant selection vulnerable?
13. What did volunteers initially prioritise?
14. What is a watering rota?
15. Why can the improvement not be attributed to plant replacement alone?
16. What does they in the final sentence refer to?
17. What reasonable inference can be made about future volunteers?
18. Which sentence idea shows balanced reasoning?
19. What information goes into the notebook?
20. What title best reflects the passage: Learning to Garden in a Courtyard or
Flowers Always Need More Water?
, Repair workshop
A neighbourhood repair workshop invites residents to bring broken household
objects on the first Saturday of each month. Volunteers explain repairs while
owners watch, because the organisers want skills to spread as well as objects to
last longer. Some items cannot be repaired safely with the tools available. Those
are referred to qualified specialists or appropriate recycling services. Last month,
the workshop repaired twelve objects and declined four. A visitor suggested calling
every declined item a failure, but the coordinator disagreed. Recognising a limit,
she said, can prevent damage or injury. The workshop therefore records successful
repairs and reasons for refusal, using both to plan future training.
Passage questions
21. What is the main idea?
22. When does the workshop meet?
23. Why do owners watch repairs?
24. How many items were declined last month?
25. What does referred mean in context?
26. Why does the coordinator reject the failure label?
27. What does both refer to in the final sentence?
28. What is the coordinator’s tone toward limitations?
29. What inference is supported about training?
30. Which claim is unsupported: some repairs need specialists, or volunteers can
safely fix every household object?
