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Question of the Day: PSAT Critical Reading
Adapted from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)
The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters, then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash, 'till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said "Bother!" and "O blow!" and also "Hang spring cleaning!" and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat. Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for the steep little tunnel which answered in his case to the gaveled carriage-drive owned by animals whose residences are nearer to the sun and air. So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged and then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, "Up we go! Up we go!" 'till at last, pop! His snout came out into the sunlight, and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow.
"This is fine!" he said to himself. "This is better than whitewashing!" The sunshine struck hot on his fur, soft breezes caressed his heated brow, and after the seclusion of the cellarage he had lived in so long, the carol of happy birds fell on his dulled hearing almost like a shout. Jumping off all his four legs at once, in the joy of living and the delight of spring without its cleaning, he pursued his way across the meadow 'till he reached the hedge on the further side.
"Hold up!" said an elderly rabbit at the gap. "Sixpence for the privilege of passing by the private road!" He was bowled over in an instant by the impatient and contemptuous Mole, who trotted along the side of the hedge chaffing the other rabbits as they peeped hurriedly from their holes to see what the row was about. "Onion-sauce! Onion-sauce!" he remarked jeeringly, and was gone before they could think of a thoroughly satisfactory reply. Then they all started grumbling at each other. "How STUPID you are! Why didn't you tell him—" "Well, why didn't YOU say—" "You might have reminded him—" and so on, in the usual way; but, of course, it was then much too late, as is always the case.
What does the elderly rabbit want the mole to do?
Stop to chat
Tell him where he is going
Help him with spring cleaning his burrow
Stop and pay a toll
Teach him how to dig underground
When you are working toward a great college career and aiming for scholarships, you will need to prepare for the PSAT. This standardized test helps you qualify for the National Merit Scholarship, and is one of the points on your high school resume that proves to colleges that you are serious about your education. However, you shouldn’t cram at the last minute for this test, but instead, get in the habit of daily test practice with Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools, including Question of the Day.
As you prepare for the PSAT, you will prepare for two sections of this test – the Critical Reading, and the Mathematics sections. The Critical Reading section involves reading passages from famous works, then asking multiple-choice questions based on your understanding. One of the best ways to prepare for this section of the exam is using Learning Tools. With Question of the Day, you get a new question every day of the week, so you can spend at least a few minutes on daily test review leading up to your exam. This question is also based on past PSAT Critical Reading questions, so you get the best understanding of how the PSAT Critical Reading section will be formatted.
After you answer PSAT Critical Reading Question of the Day, you can immediately see whether you go the answer right or wrong. This alone is very helpful as you structure your PSAT Critical Reading test review, but it is not the only great study function that is offered. PSAT Critical Reading Question of the Day also tracks your progress as you answer more and more questions each day. You can watch your test review improve as you work hard using this great tool, because Question of the Day will show you a pie chart on the answer page that tracks your percentage of right and wrong answers as you go. You can even compare your answers to those of other students using Question of the Day to prepare for this complex section of the exam.
If you scroll to the bottom of the answer page, you will see an explanation of the correct answer. Even if you answered the question right, you might get new information from this detailed explanation that will help you on the PSAT Critical Reading section of the exam.
Most importantly, Question of the Day has a timer feature. You can take as much time answering this practice question as you need, but the actual PSAT has time limits on both sections. In order to prepare for the high pressure environment of the exam, you can use the timer feature on PSAT Critical Reading Question of the Day to get used to answering multiple-choice questions fast, but correctly. You can also discover how hard certain types of literature are for you to understand, so you can focus your PSAT study sessions on improving your understanding of literary devices and reading comprehension.
The free PSAT Critical Reading practice offered with Question of the Day is just one of the great study tools offered through Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools online.
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