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	<title>¡GED Ahora! &#187; Reading</title>
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	<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria</link>
	<description>Maria’s GED Blog Site</description>
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		<title>GED Reading: Strange Words</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2009/11/16/ged-reading-strange-words/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2009/11/16/ged-reading-strange-words/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:38:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[GED Practice Question]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Improving Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading Strategies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vocabulary]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/?p=76</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hola everyone. I&#8217;ve been thinking about something that causes me trouble, not just on the GED, but all the time! You know, sometimes people here in the states talk so strangely. Even though I think I&#8217;m pretty good at understanding English, I can barely understand a word some people are saying! Sometimes Dwayne is like [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hola everyone. I&#8217;ve been thinking about something that causes me trouble, not just on the GED, but all the time! You know, sometimes people here in the states talk so strangely. Even though I think I&#8217;m pretty good at understanding English, I can barely understand a word some people are saying! Sometimes Dwayne is like that. He talks some sort of elite speech or something, and I just don&#8217;t get it. It doesn&#8217;t make any sense.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s more frustrating is when I have to read English in a book with strange accents I&#8217;ve never heard before. A lot of books have different kinds of writing for the dialogue&#8230; you know, when people talk. Like different dialects. They can be so confusing. Here&#8217;s a GED practice question that shows what I mean. The passage is from &#8220;Pollyanna,&#8221; by Eleanor Hodgeman Porter.<span id="more-76"></span></p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;For the land&#8217;s sake, Miss Pollyanna, what a scare you did give me,&#8221; panted Nancy, hurrying up to the big rock, down which Pollyanna had just regretfully slid.</p>
<p>&#8220;Scare? Oh, I&#8217;m so sorry; but you mustn&#8217;t, really, ever get scared about me, Nancy. Father and the Ladies&#8217; Aid used to do it, too, till they found I always came back all right.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;But I didn&#8217;t even know you&#8217;d went,&#8221; cried Nancy, tucking the little girl&#8217;s hand under her arm and hurrying her down the hill. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t see you go, and nobody didn&#8217;t. I guess you flew right up through the roof; I do, I do.&#8221;</p>
<p>Pollyanna skipped gleefully.</p>
<p>&#8220;I did, &#8216;most—only I flew down instead of up. I came down the tree.&#8221;</p>
<p>Nancy stopped short.</p>
<p>&#8220;You did—what?&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Came down the tree, outside my window.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;My stars and stockings!&#8221; gasped Nancy, hurrying on again. &#8220;I&#8217;d like ter know what yer aunt would say ter that!&#8221;</p>
<p>What does this passage reveal about Pollyanna&#8217;s personality?</p>
<p>1) She is gloomy and pessimistic.</p>
<p>2) She is adventurous and carefree.</p>
<p>3) She is easily scared.</p>
<p>4) She is a mischievous troublemaker.</p>
<p>5) She is studious and strict.</p></blockquote>
<p>When I first look at this passage, I immediately feel so confused. What does &#8220;For the land&#8217;s sake&#8221; mean? And what does she mean by, &#8220;Ladies&#8217; Aid?&#8221; There are so many things they say here that I just don&#8217;t get. But I&#8217;ve figured out that you can&#8217;t get discouraged if you don&#8217;t understand everything in a passage. There are still a lot of things that I can understand, especially after I read the question.</p>
<p>It asks about Pollyanna&#8217;s personality. So, I look for things that answer the question, and don&#8217;t worry too much about what I don&#8217;t understand! Let&#8217;s see. In the second sentence, Pollyanna tells Nancy that &#8220;you mustn&#8217;t, really, ever get scared about me.&#8221; And later on she is skipping gleefully. Does that sound gloomy? I don&#8217;t think so. Gloomy is the opposite of gleefull!Even if I&#8217;m not sure what &#8220;gleeful&#8221; means, she&#8217;s skipping, and just doesn&#8217;t seem gloomy at all. Later it says that she just &#8220;came down the tree.&#8221; This scares Nancy! But it doesn&#8217;t scare Pollyanna, so I know #3 isn&#8217;t right. I don&#8217;t think studious and strict people would climb trees or run off without telling anyone, so #5 doesn&#8217;t sound right.</p>
<p>I think that #4 could be the answer. Troublemakers don&#8217;t always follow the rules (just look, it has the word &#8220;trouble&#8221; in it), and it doesn&#8217;t sound like Pollyanna is following them either. This is the one you might guess. But what does &#8220;mischievous&#8221; mean? Have you heard the word &#8220;mischief?&#8221; It&#8217;s more trouble. It&#8217;s kind of being mean and making problems. I think that Pollyanna might be causing trouble for Nancy, but she isn&#8217;t doing it to be harmful or mean. She even apologizes to Nancy when she realizes that she had scared her!</p>
<p>So, I think the best answer is #2. That one says &#8220;adventurous and carefree.&#8221; Pollyanna sure seems to like adventure&#8230; doing new things&#8230; and she doesn&#8217;t seem to worry, that makes her &#8220;carefree.&#8221; It&#8217;s a better answer, because Pollyanna doesn&#8217;t seem to want to cause trouble, particularly. She just seems to want to go out and have fun.</p>
<p>See, you can figure out the main idea of a reading, even if you can&#8217;t understand every word. Sometimes it&#8217;s important to look words up. But you don&#8217;t want to get bogged down with looking up every word! Especially if it seems likeit&#8217;s not part of the main point . Or like with the &#8220;Ladies&#8217; Aid.&#8221; I don&#8217;t know exactly what that is, but I can guess that it is someone who most likely looked after Pollyanna, and that&#8217;s good enough for the time being. Unless, of course, the question asks specifically, &#8220;Who is the Ladies&#8217; Aid?&#8221; Then we have some more thinking to do!</p>
<p>Good luck studying for the GED.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at  <a href="http://www.passGED.com" target="_self">http://www.passGED.com</a></p></blockquote>
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		<title>GED Reading Questions from Carlo</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2009/11/04/ged-reading-questions-from-carlo/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2009/11/04/ged-reading-questions-from-carlo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:13:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[GED Practice Question]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GED Test Readings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vocabulary]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/?p=73</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Carlo writes:
Hi Maria. I got a question. On the GED Test I had a couple of questions that I didn’t understand. Could you help me with these questions. I will type the poem and questions. Thank
What Are the Fish At The Aquarium?
At the Aquarium
SERENE the silver fishes glide,
Stern-lipped, and pale, and wonder-eyed!
As through the aged [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Carlo writes:</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Hi Maria. I got a question. On the GED Test I had a couple of questions that I didn’t understand. Could you help me with these questions. I will type the poem and questions. Thank</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">What Are the Fish At The Aquarium?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">At the Aquarium</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">SERENE the silver fishes glide,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Stern-lipped, and pale, and wonder-eyed!</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">As through the aged deeps of ocean,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">They glide with wan and wavy motion.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">They have no pathway where they go, 5</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">They flow like water to and fro,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">They watch with never-winking eyes,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">They watch with staring, cold surprise,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">The level people in the air,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">The people peering, peering there: 10</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Who wander also to and fro,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">And know not why or where they go,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Yet have a wonder in their eyes,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Sometimes a pale and cold surprise.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Max Eastman. At The Aquarium, 1883:</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">MODERN AMERICAN POETRY</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Louis Untermeyer, ed. 1919</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">What feelings does the speaker attribute to the fish by calling them “wonder-eyed” (line 2)?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(1) fear of the crowds</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(2) sadness at the plight</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(3) interest in their surroundings</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(4) anxiety about their fact service</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(5) happiness with each other’s company</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">Why do people appear “level… in the air” (line 9) to the fish?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(1) lying down on the beach</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(2) waving frantically at the fish</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(3) walking away from the water</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(4) swimming around the ocean</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;">(5) standing outside the fish tanks</div>
<p>Carlo writes:</p>
<blockquote><p>Hi Maria. I got a question. On the GED Test I had a couple of questions that I didn’t understand. Could you help me with these questions. I will type the poem and questions. Thanks.</p></blockquote>
<p>Okay! Let&#8217;s go through the GED reading questions. Here&#8217;s the poem Carlo is asking about:</p>
<p><em>What Are the Fish At The Aquarium?</em></p>
<p><strong>At the Aquarium</strong></p>
<p>SERENE the silver fishes glide,<br />
Stern-lipped, and pale, and wonder-eyed!<br />
As through the aged deeps of ocean,<br />
They glide with wan and wavy motion.<br />
They have no pathway where they go,<br />
They flow like water to and fro,<br />
They watch with never-winking eyes,<br />
They watch with staring, cold surprise,<br />
The level people in the air,<br />
The people peering, peering there:<br />
Who wander also to and fro,<br />
And know not why or where they go,<br />
Yet have a wonder in their eyes,<br />
Sometimes a pale and cold surprise.</p>
<p>Max Eastman. At The Aquarium, 1883: MODERN AMERICAN POETRY Louis Untermeyer, ed. 1919</p>
<p>That&#8217;s the poem. The important part, of course, is the questions&#8230; There are two questions to answer, and here&#8217;s the first one:</p>
<p>What feelings does the speaker attribute to the fish by calling them “wonder-eyed” (line 2)?</p>
<p>(1) fear of the crowds<br />
(2) sadness at the plight<br />
(3) interest in their surroundings<br />
(4) anxiety about their fact service<br />
(5) happiness with each other’s company</p>
<p>This one is a vocabulary question. What does &#8220;wonder-eyed&#8221; mean? It&#8217;s important to look at the context of the poem&#8230; it&#8217;s overall meaning. If you know what &#8220;wonder&#8221; is&#8230;. a feeling of amazement, kind of, like that things are WONDERful&#8230; then that will help eliminate some answers at least&#8230; &#8220;fear&#8221; isn&#8217;t wonderful, or &#8220;sadness,&#8221; or &#8220;anxiety.&#8221; That leaves two answers&#8230; &#8220;interest&#8221; or &#8220;happiness.&#8221;</p>
<p>So, what&#8217;s the poem say about the fishes? What&#8217;s the context? It&#8217;s at an aquarium. Can you kind of picture what an aquarium looks like? Like, the Monterey Bay Aquarium&#8230; that&#8217;s a big one. There are different ones, especially by the coast, and you go there to look at all the sea creatures, kind of like  a zoo, for fishes, sharks, octopuses&#8230; If you&#8217;ve seen one on TV or can connect it to your life, then you can picture the fish in your mind, and that can help. Well, what I&#8217;m getting out of this poem is that it&#8217;s got two parts. The first part is about the fishes swimming in the aquarium. They swim around, and they watch the people. The second part is about the people&#8230; how they look to the fishes, watching them. So, which feeling seems to fit most with what the poem&#8217;s about? Interest in their surroundings (what&#8217;s going on around them), or happiness with each other&#8217;s company? Since the poem talks about the fish watching people, but doesn&#8217;t really talk about what the fishes think about each other, I&#8217;ll have to say (3) interest in their surroundings. The fish are interested in the people that walk around outside the tank.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the next question:</p>
<p>Why do people appear “level… in the air” (line 9) to the fish?</p>
<p>(1) lying down on the beach<br />
(2) waving frantically at the fish<br />
(3) walking away from the water<br />
(4) swimming around the ocean<br />
(5) standing outside the fish tanks</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s where it helps to try to picture what&#8217;s happening. Say you&#8217;re a fish. You&#8217;re in, like, a big tank, looking out at the people. What do they look like? They&#8217;re not lying down on the beach, or swimming around the ocean. They might wave or walk away, but that doesn&#8217;t seem to go with what the poem&#8217;s saying. &#8220;Level&#8221; seems to mean that they&#8217;re not really moving. Think about what it says the people are doing: &#8220;peering, peering.&#8221; That means, they&#8217;re looking at the fish. So, if they&#8217;re looking at the fish, they must be standing outside the fish tanks. I&#8217;d go with (5) standing outside the fish tanks. It just makes the most sense!</p>
<p>I know the language of a poem can make it seem kind of difficult. Trying to picture it really helps, for me! Good luck on your GED, and let me know if you have any other GED questions.</p>
<blockquote><p>For more information about the GED and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at <a href="http://www.passged.com" target="_blank">http://www.passGED.com</a>.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>GED Reading: Books Online</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2009/06/04/ged-reading-books-online/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2009/06/04/ged-reading-books-online/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:51:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Figurative Language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GED Practice Question]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/?p=68</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hola, GED readers! You know, one of the best ways to improve your reading is to start reading every day. And read things that you like, make it your new hobby. If you read all the time, you&#8217;ll get to be a much better reader even before you know it. You can read to your [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hola, GED readers! You know, one of the best ways to improve your reading is to start reading every day. And read things that you like, make it your new hobby. If you read all the time, you&#8217;ll get to be a much better reader even before you know it. You can read to your children&#8230; that&#8217;s one of the things I do with my son, is read him from books, like <a href="http://www.online-literature.com/barrie/peterpan/" target="_blank">Peter Pan</a>. It&#8217;s good for him, because it makes him interested in reading, and it&#8217;s good for my reading, too. Of course, it&#8217;s fun to read for yourself, too. And I found out, there&#8217;s a lot of free books online to read.</p>
<p>I found books at the <a href="http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/" target="_blank">Online Books Page</a>, <a href="http://www.classicreader.com/" target="_blank">Classic Reader</a> and also <a href="http://books.google.com" target="_blank">Google Books</a> (if you search for &#8220;full view&#8221;). It&#8217;s easy to find  a book to read, any time. I like to read mysteries, because they&#8217;re sort of like puzzles, to think about what the solution is. I started reading this one I found on Classic Reader, called <a href="http://www.classicreader.com/book/359/" target="_blank"><em>Where There&#8217;s a Will</em></a>. So, I thought I&#8217;d make a GED reading practice question from it&#8230; Here it is!</p>
<blockquote><p>He sauntered over and dropped a quarter into the slot-machine by the door, but the thing was frozen up and refused to work. I&#8217;ve seen the time when Mr. Sam would have kicked it, but he merely looked at it and then at me.</p>
<p>&#8220;Turned virtuous, like everthing else around the place. Not that I don&#8217;t approve of virtue, Minnie, but I haven&#8217;t got used to putting my foot on the brass rail of the bar and ordering a nut sundae&#8230;&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>When Mr. Sam says &#8220;ordering a nut sundae,&#8221; it&#8217;s a metaphor for:</p>
<p>1) going crazy</p>
<p>2) being virtuous</p>
<p>3) gambling</p>
<p>4) being sinful</p>
<p>What do you think? Can you answer the question?<span id="more-68"></span></p>
<p>Going into a bar and ordering an ice-cream sundae isn&#8217;t literal language, it&#8217;s not talking about really ordering  a sundae. It&#8217;s what&#8217;s called figurative language. It&#8217;s talking about something else. That&#8217;s what it means to be a &#8220;metaphor.&#8221; So, what&#8217;s it really talking about? What does it mean?</p>
<p>You need to read the passage to understand what he&#8217;s saying. He tries to use a slot machine, and it doesn&#8217;t work. He says it&#8217;s being virtuous&#8230; that&#8217;s because the slot-machine is &#8220;refusing&#8221; to gamble. That&#8217;s what&#8217;s called personification&#8230; he&#8217;s talking about the slot machine like it&#8217;s a person. So there&#8217;s lots of figurative language in this quote!</p>
<p>He says he doesn&#8217;t disapprove of virtue but he&#8217;s not used to going into a bar and ordering a sundae. The part about the sundae is the metaphor. So, what answer can replace the part about the sundae, and still make sense?</p>
<p>He doesn&#8217;t disapprove of virtue but he&#8217;s not used to going crazy? That doesn&#8217;t make sense. He doesn&#8217;t disapprove of virtue but he&#8217;s not used to being virtuous? That&#8217;s more like it. It makes sense! What about the next one? He doesn&#8217;t disapprove of virtue but he&#8217;s not used to gambling? That&#8217;s not very logical! What about, he doesn&#8217;t disapprove of virtue but he&#8217;s not used to being sinful? That doesn&#8217;t make sense, either, not as much as answer 2. Answer 2 is right&#8230; ordering a sundae is virtuous (instead of ordering liquor, at a bar). So, that&#8217;s the metaphor.</p>
<p>Good reading! And good GED studying!</p>
<blockquote><p>For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at <a href="http://www.passGED.com" target="_blank">http://www.passGED.com</a>.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>GED Reading: Banned Books</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2009/05/13/ged-reading-banned-books/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2009/05/13/ged-reading-banned-books/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 17:13:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Figurative Language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GED Practice Question]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/?p=64</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hola, GED learners! I was just looking around on the Internet, and I came across something I never really thought about too much&#8230; how many books have been banned in different places at different times. Books like Mark Twain&#8217;s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and a lot of other ones you wouldn&#8217;t think of, really. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hola, GED learners! I was just looking around on the Internet, and I came across something I never really thought about too much&#8230; how many books have been banned in different places at different times. Books like Mark Twain&#8217;s <em>The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,</em> and a lot of other ones you wouldn&#8217;t think of, really. I don&#8217;t know about you, but I&#8217;ve got a little boy&#8230; I want to be careful what he watches on TV or reads, but I just can&#8217;t see taking good books out of school libraries, or banning books in another way. So, I thought what I&#8217;d do is do a GED reading practice question about a passage from a banned book. <span id="more-64"></span>Before I do the question, here&#8217;s some websites with information about banned books&#8230; maybe they&#8217;ll make some good reading for GED practice.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm" target="_blank">Celebrate Banned Books Week</a></p>
<p><a href="http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html" target="_blank">Banned Books Online</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.banned-books.com/" target="_blank">Controversial and Banned Books</a></p>
<p>Okay, now here&#8217;s the practice question&#8230; from William Faulkner&#8217;s book <em>As I Lay Dying,</em> which was banned in 1986 by the Graves County, Kentucky school board:</p>
<blockquote><p>Jewel and I come up from the field, following the path in single file. Although I am fifteen feet ahead of him, anyone watching us from the cottonhouse can see Jewel&#8217;s frayed and broken straw hat a full head above my own.</p>
<p>The path runs straight as a plumb-line, worn smooth by feet and baked brick-hard by July, between the green rows of laidby cotton, to the cottonhouse in the center of the field, where it turns and circles the cottonhouse at four soft right angles and goes on across the field again, worn so by feet in fading precision.</p>
<p>The cottonhouse is of rough logs, from between which the chinking has long fallen. Square, with a broken roof set at a single pitch, it leans in empty and shimmering dilapidation in the sunlight, a single broad window in two opposite walls giving onto the approaches of the path. When we reach it I turn and follow the path which circles the house. Jewel, fifteen feet behind me, looking straight ahead, steps in a single stride through the window. Still staring straight ahead, his pale eyes like wood set into his wooden face, he crosses the floor in four strides with the rigid gravity of a cigar store Indian dressed in patched overalls and endued with life from the hips down, and steps in a single stride through the opposite window and into the path again just as I come around the corner. In single file and five feet apart and Jewel now in front, we go on up the path toward the foot of the bluff.</p></blockquote>
<p>When the writer says Jewel has &#8220;the rigid gravity of a cigar store Indian,&#8221; he means:</p>
<p>1) Jewel is part Native American.</p>
<p>2) Jewel is not moving at all.</p>
<p>3) Jewel seems tense and stiff.</p>
<p>4) Jewel is smokng a cigar.</p>
<p>5) Jewel is excitable but hiding his feelngs.</p>
<p>So, what did you think? Do you find the answer? This is what&#8217;s called a metaphor. The author is comparing Jewel to a wooden Indian that stands outside a cigar store. Now, there aren&#8217;t any cigar stores with wooden Indians outside them anymore, anyway not a lot of them, so who knows anything about that? But you can probably tell that it&#8217;s a metaphor, he&#8217;s not really saying Jewel is an Indian or anything about Jewel smoking a cigar. It&#8217;s also not saying Jewel is not moving at all, because Jewel is walking. So that leaves answers 3 and 5. Answer 5 says Jewel is excitable&#8230; but there&#8217;s not anything in the passage to hint at that. It would be reading too much into it. The answer is 3&#8230; Jewel is stiff, like a wood statue of an Indian. Do you think you could think that one through?</p>
<p>Good luck on your GED!</p>
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		<title>GED Reading: Business Documents</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/12/03/ged-reading-business-documents/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/12/03/ged-reading-business-documents/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:14:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[GED Test Readings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vocabulary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Workplace and Community Documents]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/?p=40</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hi everyone! I got a comment from Carlo with a good question. He asks:
How do you figure out Business Documents on the GED Reading Test?
One of the parts of the GED reading test is on Workplace and Community Documents. There will probably be 2 nonfiction readings on a full-length GED reading test, and they&#8217;ll either [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi everyone! I got a comment from Carlo with a good question. He asks:</p>
<blockquote><p>How do you figure out Business Documents on the GED Reading Test?</p></blockquote>
<p><span id="more-40"></span>One of the parts of the GED reading test is on Workplace and Community Documents. There will probably be 2 nonfiction readings on a full-length GED reading test, and they&#8217;ll either be nonfiction prose, workplace/community documents, or critical reviews. That means, you&#8217;ll likely have 1 workplace/community document on the test.</p>
<p>Workplace and community documents might be the easiest to understand because they&#8217;re the type of documents everyone has to deal with in everyday life. You&#8217;ll find memos, letters, manuals, forms, voter information pamphlets, and other everyday types of written communication. If you work in an office, just think of how much written material is part of your work. You have an employee manual, documentation about how to do your job or run machines, e-mails and letters, memos and forms, and all kinds of other written materials. The ones you find on the test should be straight-forward, easy-to-read documents.</p>
<p>The first thing to look at is, what kind of document is it? Is it a letter? If so, who&#8217;s it from and who&#8217;s it to? Is it a memo? Again, who&#8217;s it from and who&#8217;s it to? Is it part of a manual or book or pamphlet? What&#8217;s the purpose of it? Who&#8217;s supposed to read it?</p>
<p>If you understand the <strong>purpose </strong>(why it&#8217;s written) and <strong>audience </strong>(who&#8217;s supposed to read it) of the document, you&#8217;ll find it a lot easier to understand and get information from.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Here&#8217;s an example of a workplace and community document:<strong></strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN AN EMERGENCY AT WORK?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Emergency Policies</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">A.Â Â Â  Emergency Warning Notifications</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">If an emergency or disaster in the community occurs, you may receive a warning from radio or television, government organizations such as NOAA, Internet web sites, the local or state police, or even friends or family members. In case of an emergency in the building, you may be warned by the smoke detectors, sprinkler system, an emergency siren, building security, or building management. In case of a suspected emergency, monitor several sources of information to gather as much relevant information as possible.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">If you receive notification of a possible disaster or emergency situation, immediately notify your superior. If the situation requires urgent action, such as a fire, sound alarms and notify employees as quickly, calmly, and succinctly as possible. As necessary, take action to avoid further damage without risking harm to yourself or others.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">B.Â Â Â  Sprinkler System, Smoke Detector, and Fire Alarm</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">In the event of a fire, the activation of the sprinkler system and/or smoke detector due to smoke and/or heat will automatically activate the fire alarm. The building management, company management, and fire department will all be notified by the alarm company. Pull-type manual alarms are located on every floor, as are fire extinguishers and fire evacuation plans. Do not use elevators in the event of a fire.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">C.Â Â Â  Emergency Sirens</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The building is equipped with emergency sirens that sound in the case of severe weather alerts and other situations that may require emergency action. Please use television, radio, or Internet to gather information if the siren sounds.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">D.Â Â Â  Emergency Aid</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">First aid kits and emergency water and food are stored on each floor of the building.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: left;">The GED reading test gives you a question at the beginning of each reading, to help you think about what you&#8217;re going to read. The question gives you a clue what the reading is about. This one asks, &#8220;What should you do in an emergency at work?&#8221; So, you know it&#8217;s a document from a workplace, and you have an idea that it has to do with emergency situations. That gives you context to understand what you&#8217;re reading.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Since there are a lot of kinds of workplace and community documents, the first thing to ask is: what is this? It has a title at the top, &#8220;Emergency Policies.&#8221; Well, that just tells you again what you got from the question, this is a workplace document about emergencies. Who&#8217;s supposed to read it (audience)? Probably the people who work in an office. What&#8217;s it supposed to do (purpose)? It&#8217;s supposed to tell you what to do in an emergency.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The document explains information about emergencies and disasters. You might have similar documents at your work. If you can relate what you&#8217;re reading to something you&#8217;re familiar with, it will be easier to read and understand. Have you ever had your home smoke detector go off? Were you ever in an earthquake or tornado? And where did you get your information then? Workplace documents can often be related to your real life.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">It&#8217;s important to see that the document is organized. It&#8217;s broken up into sections, and that will help you find information to answer questions quicker. Sometimes reading less is better. Instead of getting bogged down in trying to read through the whole document, skim the document quickly to get an idea what it&#8217;s about and then read the first question. It&#8217;ll tell you which section of the document to take a closer look at.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">One thing about the workplace or office: it has its own vocabulary. Workplace and business vocabulary has words like &#8220;policy&#8221; &#8220;estimate&#8221; &#8220;invoice&#8221; &#8220;wage&#8221; or &#8220;employee,&#8221; things that affect businesses but not a lot else. So, brushing up on some business words can help. Here are some links to help you build your workplace and business vocabulary:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.marshalladulteducation.org/hot_potatoes/work_vocabulary/work_vocabulary.htm" target="_blank">Workplace Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle</a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.quia.com/cb/53651.html" target="_blank">Workplace Vocabulary Quia Quiz</a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.alresources.com/page/BBC+Skillswise+-+Workplace+Vocabulary?t=anon" target="_blank">BBC Skillwise Workplace Vocabulary</a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/vocabulary.htm" target="_blank">Business English Vocabulary</a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Let me know if you need more information!</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: left;">For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at <a href="http://www.passged.com">http://www.passGED.com</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: left;">
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		<title>GED Reading: How to Tackle Tough Passages</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/11/17/ged-reading-how-to-tackle-tough-passages/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/11/17/ged-reading-how-to-tackle-tough-passages/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:39:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[GED Test Readings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Improving Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading Strategies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/11/17/ged-reading-how-to-tackle-tough-passages/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hola, everyone! Hope the GED studying is going well. Here&#8217;s a comment from Sunflower on one of my blog posts, and I wanted to write some about it:
when I see a paragraph like this I get scared I feel like its to many words on the page can anyone give me suggestion on reading passage [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hola, everyone! Hope the GED studying is going well. Here&#8217;s a comment from Sunflower on one of my blog posts, and I wanted to write some about it:</p>
<blockquote><p>when I see a paragraph like this I get scared I feel like its to many words on the page can anyone give me suggestion on reading passage like these and understand what I’m reading I get lost after a few minutes of reading …</p></blockquote>
<p>I know a lot of people feel this way! <span id="more-39"></span>I guess the problem is that it&#8217;s just overwhelming! I mean, it kinda makes you just not want to even try to read it. Well. I really felt that way a lot when I was first learning English. You look at all the writing, and you don&#8217;t know all the words, and you don&#8217;t even know where to start or how to figure it out.</p>
<p>But it&#8217;s sorta like studying for the GED, you know. You can&#8217;t let it get to you, but just take it a little at a time. Here&#8217;s a strategy that helps me a lot:</p>
<p>1) When you first look at something you need to read, just look at the headline, the first sentence, the last sentence, and any pictures, diagrams, subheads, or labels you see. Try to get an overview of what it&#8217;s about from the clues in the title or in parts of the reading. If there&#8217;s just text, read the first sentence of each paragraph, and the last sentence, just to get an idea and start asking questions about it. What do you get from doing this? You get an idea of what the text is about, a background to read it. In your brain, you&#8217;re making connections between things you already know and the text you&#8217;ll need to read. Try to make as many connections as you can, by thinking of things you know about the topic and asking yourself questions about what you&#8217;re going to read!</p>
<p>2) If you&#8217;re reading a GED passage, read the questions first. Find out what it is they&#8217;re going to ask you about. Now, what are you get by reading the question? You get a goal! You get a real idea of why you actually want to read this. That means, your reading is directed. It gives you a way to make sense of what you&#8217;re getting out of reading.</p>
<p>3) Now, start reading, with the question in mind. You&#8217;re not just reading, you&#8217;re looking for the answer. That will help you understand what you&#8217;re reading. Think about it while you&#8217;re reading, and it&#8217;ll help.</p>
<p>4) What happens when you get to a word you don&#8217;t know? Try to understand the word by what the word sounds like or is similar to, and by the context of the word&#8211;what&#8217;s around it, what the sentence is saying. Don&#8217;t worry if you can&#8217;t understand every word. You can still get an idea of what the whole text is talking about.</p>
<p>5) Go back to the question after you finished reading. Does the question make more sense now? Do you know what the answer is? You might not be able to answer all the questions, but you&#8217;ll be able to improve a lot by taking reading one step at a time, giving it context, and thinking while you&#8217;re reading.</p>
<p>Good luck with your GED!</p>
<blockquote><p>For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at <a href="http://www.passged.com">http://www.passGED.com</a>.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>GED Reading: What Is a Synthesis Question?</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/10/07/ged-reading-what-is-a-synthesis-question/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/10/07/ged-reading-what-is-a-synthesis-question/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:54:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[GED Practice Question]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Synthesis]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/10/07/ged-reading-what-is-a-synthesis-question/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hola! The GED reading test has different kinds of thinking questions, and they ask you to do different things. One kind of question is called a synthesis question. Synthesis questions ask you to take two kinds of information and put them together&#8230; you compare them, or make conclusions based on both of them, or get [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hola! The GED reading test has different kinds of thinking questions, and they ask you to do different things. One kind of question is called a synthesis question. Synthesis questions ask you to take two kinds of information and put them together&#8230; you compare them, or make conclusions based on both of them, or get new information about the reading based on learning something new.<span id="more-37"></span></p>
<p>A GED reading synthesis question has two parts to read. First, there&#8217;s the main reading, like this one, from <em>The Grapes of Wrath,</em> by John Steinbeck:</p>
<blockquote><p>They arose in the dark no more to hear the sleepy birds&#8217; first chittering, and the morning wind around the house while they waited for the first light to go out to the dear acres. These things were lost, and crops were reckoned in dollars, and land was valued by principal plus interest, and crops were bought and sold before they were planted. Then crop failure, drought, and flood were no longer little deaths within life, but simple losses of money. And all their love was thinned with money, and all their fierceness dribbled away in interest until they were no longer farmers at all, buy little shopkeepers of crops, little manufacturers who must sell before they can make, Then those farmers who were not good shopkeepers lost their land to good shopkeepers. No matter how clever, how loving a man might be with earth and growing things, he could not survive if he were not also a good shopkeeper. And as time went on, the business men had the farms, and the farms grew larger, but there were fewer of them.</p>
<p>Now farming became industry, and the owners followed Rome, although they did not know it. They imported slaves, although they did not call them slaves: Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, Filipinos. They live on rice and beans, the business men said. They don&#8217;t need much. They couldn&#8217;t know what to do with good wages. Why, look how they live. Why, look what they eat. And if they get funny&#8211;deport them.</p>
<p>And all the time the farms grew larger and the owners fewer. And there were pitifully few farmers on the land any more. And the imported serfs were beaten and frightened and starved until some went home again, and some grew fierce and were killed or driven from the country. And farms grew larger and the owners fewer.</p></blockquote>
<p>Then, the synthesis question gives you another piece of information, like this:</p>
<blockquote><p>John Steinbeck made ends meet by working as a farm laborer while he was studying at Stanford University.</p></blockquote>
<p>And then, there&#8217;s a question that asks you to use information from both:</p>
<p>John Steinbeck&#8217;s experience working on farms probably:</p>
<p>A)  Made him an expert in California history</p>
<p>B)  Contributed to his writing about gourmet foods</p>
<p>C)  Contributed to his writing about farm workers</p>
<p>D)  Led to him owning a farm</p>
<p>E)  Led to him writing about husbandry</p>
<p>Basically, you have to see how the two things relate to each other. In the passage, Steinbeck talks about how farms have changed over time and how the big, modern farms treat the farm workers badly. Then, you learn that Steinbeck worked on a farm while he was going to college. It seems likely that his experiences on a farm made him want to write about what farm workers were going through&#8230; remember, it&#8217;s got to relate both the new information and the information from the reading together. So, answer C is the best.</p>
<p>Keep a lookout for synthesis questions on the GED, and you&#8217;ll know how to do them!</p>
<p>For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at <a href="http://www.passged.com">http://www.passGED.com</a>.</p>
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		<title>GED Reading Practice Question</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/09/25/ged-reading-practice-question-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/09/25/ged-reading-practice-question-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:09:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[GED Practice Question]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/09/25/ged-reading-practice-question-2/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hola, again! Back for more GED reading? I got a good GED practice question, from a book by John Steinbeck. I like this book. It&#8217;s short, easy to read, and it&#8217;s set in Mexico, which makes me relate to it more. So I thought I&#8217;d do a practice question from it.
From The Pearl, by John [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hola, again! Back for more GED reading? I got a good GED practice question, from a book by John Steinbeck. I like this book. It&#8217;s short, easy to read, and it&#8217;s set in Mexico, which makes me relate to it more. So I thought I&#8217;d do a practice question from it.<span id="more-36"></span></p>
<p>From <em>The Pearl,</em> by John Steinbeck.</p>
<blockquote><p>Kino awakened in the near dark. The stars still shone and the day had drawn only a pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east. The roosters had been crowing for some time, and the early pigs were already beginning their ceaseless turning of twigs and bits of wood to see whether anything to eat had been overlooked.</p></blockquote>
<p>Where does Kino live?</p>
<p>A)  In a city</p>
<p>B)  On a farm</p>
<p>C)  In a small town</p>
<p>D)  On a boat</p>
<p>E)  In the forest</p>
<p>The text doesn&#8217;t really say where he lives, but it gives some clues. So you have to use the clues to <em>infer </em>where he lives. He wakes up, and he hears roosters crowing and pigs looking around for food. So, where would there be roosters and pigs? If you look at it that way, the answer&#8217;s easy&#8230; B, on a farm. See, sometimes the questions are simple, if you look at them pretty straightforward.</p>
<p>Good GED studying!</p>
<blockquote><p>For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at <a href="http://www.passGED.com">http://www.passGED.com</a>.</p></blockquote>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>GED Reading Practice Question</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/08/11/ged-reading-practice-question/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/08/11/ged-reading-practice-question/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:23:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[GED Practice Question]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/08/11/ged-reading-practice-question/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hola, GED studiers! Ready for the GED reading test, yet? I got a practice question for you, just like you might find on the GED test&#8230; so test out your GED reading skills&#8230; Here&#8217;s an excerpt from Jack London&#8217;s &#8220;To Build a Fire,&#8221; written in 1910:
The man flung a look back along the way he [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hola, GED studiers! Ready for the GED reading test, yet? I got a practice question for you, just like you might find on the GED test&#8230; so test out your GED reading skills&#8230; Here&#8217;s an excerpt from Jack London&#8217;s &#8220;To Build a Fire,&#8221; written in 1910:<span id="more-33"></span></p>
<blockquote><p>The man flung a look back along the way he had come. The Yukon lay a mile wide and hidden under three feet of ice. On top of this ice were as many feet of snow. It was all pure white, rolling in gentle undulations where the ice-jams of the freeze-up had formed. North and south, as far as his eye could see, it was unbroken white, save for a dark hairline that curved and twisted from around the spruce-covered island to the south, and that curved and twisted away into the north, where it disappeared behind another spruce-covered island. This dark hairline was the trail—the main trail—that led south five hundred miles to the Chilcoot Pass, Dyea, and salt water; and that led north seventy miles to Dawson, and still on to the north a thousand miles to Nulato, and finally to St. Michael on Bering Sea, a thousand miles and a half thousand more.</p></blockquote>
<p>The writer describes layers of ice and snow covering the ground, and large distances to other areas. This emphasizes:</p>
<p>A) That the man is alone with himself and nature.</p>
<p>B) That the man is cold and lonely.</p>
<p>C) That the man has no feelings or emotions.</p>
<p>D) That the man is used to being in a cold climate.</p>
<p>Do you get the answer? Think about the passage, and why the writer might write it like that. Do you see that it doesn&#8217;t say a lot about the man. He looks back, and then the writer tells what the man sees. It doesn&#8217;t say how the man thinks or what he feels. That&#8217;s why I wouldn&#8217;t say &#8220;C&#8221; or &#8220;B.&#8221; The writer doesn&#8217;t really tell you what the man&#8217;s emotions are like. So you don&#8217;t know if he&#8217;s lonely or not. But that doesn&#8217;t mean he has no emotions&#8230; you just don&#8217;t know yet. See, the writer chooses to show you some things&#8230; like all the white snow and distance around the man&#8230; but he doesn&#8217;t show you other things&#8230; like what the man is thinking.</p>
<p>So, there&#8217;s two other answers&#8230; &#8220;D&#8221; says the man is used to being in a cold climate&#8230; well, the man doesn&#8217;t really react or anything. But the passage doesn&#8217;t really say anything about the man&#8230; just that he&#8217;s there and looking around. Is he used to the cold climate? I&#8217;m not sure.</p>
<p>That leaves &#8220;A.&#8221; The man is alone&#8230; well, the passage describes everything that&#8217;s around, snow and a path. Seems very much alone to me! There&#8217;s just him&#8230; and nature&#8230; That&#8217;s exactly what answer A says. So, that&#8217;s my answer. See, it&#8217;s just taking it step by step and thinking about what the writer is actually saying.</p>
<p>Good luck with your GED studying!</p>
<blockquote><p>For more information on the GED test or GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at <a href="http://www.passged.com">http://www.passGED.com</a>.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>GED Reading&#8230;How Do You Get to Be a Better Reader?</title>
		<link>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/07/29/ged-readinghow-do-you-get-to-be-a-better-reader/</link>
		<comments>http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/07/29/ged-readinghow-do-you-get-to-be-a-better-reader/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:37:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maria</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Improving Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reading]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2008/07/29/ged-readinghow-do-you-get-to-be-a-better-reader/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Reading is one of the skills the GED measures most. You have to read to take the test&#8230; and if reading is hard for you, the GED tests for reading, writing, social studies, science—and even math—are going to be hard. So, what do you do to become a better reader?
There are lots of things you [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Reading is one of the skills the GED measures most. You have to read to take the test&#8230; and if reading is hard for you, the GED tests for reading, writing, social studies, science—and even math—are going to be hard. So, what do you do to become a better reader?<span id="more-32"></span></p>
<p>There are lots of things you can do to become a better reader. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Learning Centre has some great advice online to help you read better&#8230; Click the links to read the advice on:</p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R1.htm">How Do You Become a Better Reader?</a></p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R2.htm">Thinking About Reading</a></p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R3.htm">Evaluating How Much You Have Improved in Reading</a></p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R4.htm">Improving Reading Speed</a>&lt;&#8211;Faster reading will give you more time to think about questions on the GED!</p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R5.htm">Reading for Main Points</a> &lt;&#8211;The GED will ask questions about main ideas or main points in the readings.</p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R6.htm">Reading for Specific Information</a> &lt;&#8211;This is really helpful to find answers fast on the GED tests!</p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R7.htm">Reading Critically</a> &lt;&#8211;A lot of GED questions&#8230;the critical thinking questions that ask you to evaluate or analyze&#8230;ask you to use this skill.</p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R8.htm">Devising a Reading Plan</a></p>
<p><a href="http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/advice/english/reading/R9.htm">How to Enjoy Reading</a> &lt;&#8211;This is the best worksheet. The more you enjoy reading, the more you&#8217;ll read&#8230; and you&#8217;ll become a better reader without even trying, by doing something you enjoy.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s another great idea&#8230; <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/">Goodreads </a>is a website where you can contact friends. Everyone who&#8217;s on the site lists books they&#8217;ve read or want to read or are reading right not. You can say whether you liked or didn&#8217;t like a book, and why. You can look and see what your friends think of different books, start a book club, or even contact an author. This is a great way to start enjoying reading with your friends and classmates!</p>
<p>Good luck with your GED reading! <span class="highlight">Chao!</span></p>
<blockquote><p>For more information about the GED test or GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at <a href="http://www.passged.com">http://www.passGED.com</a> or call 1-888-880-2164.</p></blockquote>
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