Free TEAS 7 Reading Practice Test 2 — 30 Questions With Full Explanations
Test 2 of this set covers key ideas & details, craft & structure, integration. Answer all 30 questions, then read the explanation for each one - including why each wrong option fails. Take it interactively with instant scoring: Reading practice. Every question is original and written to the published blueprint split for the Reading section (45 questions on exam day).
Passages
Passage P1
Honeybees do not simply fly in search of nectar; they tell one another where the nectar is. A forager that has found a rich patch of flowers returns to the hive and performs a movement pattern on the vertical surface of the comb called the waggle dance. The dance consists of a straight run during which the bee waggles her abdomen from side to side, followed by a looping return to the starting point, repeated again and again. The angle of the straight run relative to vertical encodes the direction of the food source measured against the position of the sun, while the duration of the waggle phase encodes distance: the longer the waggle, the farther the flowers. Hive mates follow the dancer by touch, then leave to search in the indicated direction. The dance is not an invitation to feed but a message about location, and it is performed with remarkable precision, though accuracy declines when wind or hills distort the true bearing. Young bees that have never foraged can still read the dance correctly, which suggests the signal is innate rather than learned. Because the message is symbolic rather than a simple trail, scientists describe the waggle dance as a genuine form of communication.
Passage P2
The first time Mara took the tiller, her grandfather said nothing for a full ten minutes. He sat in the stern with his arms crossed, letting the little sloop wander wherever the waves pushed it. Mara waited for him to grab the wooden handle the way he grabbed everything in his workshop, firmly and without apology. Instead he watched a tern circle the mast. Finally he spoke. 'The boat will tell you what it wants,' he said. 'Your job is to listen.' Mara did not believe boats could talk, but she kept her hands loose on the tiller and began to notice how the bow shuddered whenever the sail lost wind. She eased the boat up until the fabric snapped taut again. By late afternoon she could hold a course toward the channel buoy without zigzagging. Her grandfather nodded once and pointed at the horizon. 'Tomorrow we go past the point,' he said, 'and you will find out what real weather feels like.' Mara swallowed, watching the whitecaps roll in beyond the breakwater, and felt the small thrill that always came before she was asked to do something hard.
Passage P3
Sleep is not a single state but a cycle of stages that repeats several times each night. The body moves from light sleep into deeper stages in which brain waves slow, and then into rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep, the stage most often associated with vivid dreaming. One complete cycle lasts roughly ninety minutes, and the proportion of time spent in REM grows with each repetition, so the longest REM periods occur in the final hours before waking. The daily rhythm of sleep and wakefulness is governed by an internal clock in the brain, which is synchronized to the outside world mainly by light. When light enters the eyes in the morning, the clock suppresses the production of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleepiness, and the body becomes alert. At night the same clock signals the pineal gland to release melatonin, helping the person drift toward sleep. Disruptions to this system, such as shift work or bright screens late in the evening, can push the clock out of alignment with the social day, leaving people sleepy when they need to be awake and restless when they need to rest.
Passage P4
Every vacant lot in our city is an argument for a community garden. Where weeds and cracked asphalt now sit idle, a garden would grow food, shade, and common ground. Supporters of development often claim that open land is wasted land, but the opposite is true: a plot that produces vegetables for fifty households is doing more work than a plot that collects litter. Gardens also cool their neighborhoods. Soil and leafy plants absorb heat instead of reflecting it, and a block of gardens can measurably lower summer temperatures, reducing the strain on air conditioners and on the people who cannot afford them. Critics object that gardens bring noise or attract pests, yet managed plots visited daily by their gardeners are tidier than the empty lots they replace. The strongest argument is the simplest one: gardening connects neighbors. People who plant side by side talk to one another, swap tools, and watch each other's children, and that ordinary contact builds the trust on which a safe street depends. We do not need another study to prove it. We need shovels.
Passage P5
Mangrove forests stand where most trees cannot grow: in salty tidal water along tropical coasts. Their tangled roots rise above the mud at low tide and flood completely at high tide, creating a nursery for fish, crabs, and shrimp that shelter among the root masses until they are large enough to survive in open water. Mangroves also defend the coast. The dense network of trunks and roots slows incoming waves and traps sediment, so shorelines ringed by mangroves erode more slowly and suffer less damage from storm surges than bare shores do. For decades these forests were dismissed as useless swamps and cleared for timber, shrimp ponds, or coastal development, and many countries lost more than half of their original cover. Restoration projects have since shown that the losses are not permanent: where tidal flow is restored and seedlings are planted, the forest can rebound within a generation, bringing the fish nurseries and the coastal protection back with it. Scientists now rank mangroves among the most valuable habitats on Earth per hectare, storing carbon in their waterlogged soils for centuries.
Passage P6
Before 1840, sending a letter in Britain was expensive and chaotic. Postage was calculated by the distance the letter traveled and by the number of sheets, and the charge was usually paid by the recipient, who could refuse delivery if the price seemed too high. The Reform: Reformers such as Rowland Hill argued that distance mattered little compared with the cost of sorting and handling, and that a flat, prepaid rate would increase volume so dramatically that total revenue would rise even as the price fell. His plan became law with the introduction of the penny post, a uniform rate of one penny for any letter up to half an ounce, paid in advance by the sender through the newly invented adhesive postage stamp. The Result: Volume did indeed explode, from roughly seventy-six million letters a year to more than three hundred million within a decade. The stamp also changed the postal worker's job: clerks no longer haggled over rates and simply canceled the stamp with an ink mark. Collectors and historians alike point to the penny post as the moment mailing became a mass activity rather than a luxury of the wealthy.
All 30 questions with answers
Question 1. Key Ideas & Details hard
Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
See passage P1 above.
- A. Honeybees forage alone and rarely share information about food.
- B. Honeybees communicate the location of food through a symbolic dance performed inside the hive. (correct)
- C. The waggle dance is a game that young bees learn by watching older foragers.
- D. Beekeepers can use the waggle dance to predict how much honey a hive will produce.
Explanation: The passage consistently explains that the waggle dance carries a coded message about direction and distance to flowers, which the author calls a genuine form of communication, so B states the main idea. A contradicts the opening claim that bees tell one another where nectar is. C is wrong because the passage says the signal is innate rather than learned. D introduces honey production, which the passage never discusses.
Question 2. Key Ideas & Details easy
According to the passage, what does the angle of the waggle run relative to vertical indicate?
See passage P1 above.
- A. The direction of the food source measured against the position of the sun. (correct)
- B. The number of flowers in the patch.
- C. The quality of the nectar found by the forager.
- D. The time of day the forager left the hive.
Explanation: The passage states that the angle of the straight run relative to vertical encodes the direction of the food source measured against the position of the sun, so A is directly supported. B and C mention details about flower quantity and nectar quality that never appear in the passage. D is also unsupported, since the dance encodes location, not time of departure.
Question 3. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas medium
Young bees that have never foraged can still read the waggle dance correctly. What conclusion is best supported by this information?
See passage P1 above.
- A. Young bees must watch the queen dance before they learn the signal.
- B. The dance is understood only by bees that have visited the same flowers.
- C. The ability to interpret the dance is inborn rather than acquired through experience. (correct)
- D. The waggle dance is performed only when a hive is preparing to swarm.
Explanation: Because the passage says bees that have never foraged can still read the dance, and it explains this by suggesting the signal is innate rather than learned, C is the best-supported conclusion. A is unsupported because the passage mentions no role for the queen in teaching. B is contradicted, since inexperienced bees can read the dance. D introduces swarming, which the passage never mentions.
Question 4. Craft & Structure medium
The author's primary purpose in writing this passage is most likely to...
See passage P1 above.
- A. persuade readers to protect honeybee habitats from pesticides.
- B. describe the daily life of a single foraging bee.
- C. compare honeybees with other insect pollinators.
- D. explain how honeybees share information about food sources. (correct)
Explanation: The passage is a factual explanation of how the waggle dance communicates direction and distance, so the purpose is to explain how bees share food information, D. A is wrong because the passage makes no persuasive argument about pesticides or habitat protection. B is wrong because no single bee's day is narrated. C is wrong because no other pollinators are mentioned.
Question 5. Key Ideas & Details easy
According to the passage, what happens when wind or hills distort the true bearing of a food source?
See passage P1 above.
- A. The forager stops dancing until the weather clears.
- B. The accuracy of the waggle dance declines. (correct)
- C. The hive sends out scouts to search by scent.
- D. The dancer switches to a different form of dance.
Explanation: The passage states that the dance is performed with remarkable precision, though accuracy declines when wind or hills distort the true bearing, so B is directly stated. A is unsupported, since the passage does not say the bee stops dancing. C is wrong because the passage says the message is symbolic rather than a simple trail and mentions no scent-based search. D introduces a different dance form that never appears.
Question 6. Key Ideas & Details medium
Which of the following events from the passage happens first?
See passage P2 above.
- A. Mara takes the tiller for the first time. (correct)
- B. Her grandfather points at the horizon.
- C. The sloop reaches the channel buoy.
- D. The sail snaps taut after being eased up.
Explanation: The passage begins with Mara taking the tiller and her grandfather saying nothing for ten minutes, so A is the first event. B happens at the end of the passage, when the grandfather points at the horizon and speaks of going past the point tomorrow. C is wrong because Mara only holds a course toward the buoy and never reaches it. D happens before the grandfather's final speech but after Mara has begun steering, so it cannot come first.
Question 7. Craft & Structure medium
From which point of view is the passage told?
See passage P2 above.
- A. First person, with Mara telling her own story.
- B. Second person, addressing the reader directly.
- C. Third person, focused closely on Mara's thoughts and feelings. (correct)
- D. Third person, focused closely on the grandfather's thoughts.
Explanation: The narrator refers to Mara and her grandfather by name and uses 'she' and 'he,' while revealing Mara's private reactions such as her disbelief and her thrill, so the point of view is third person centered on Mara, C. A is wrong because first person would use 'I.' B is wrong because the reader is never addressed as 'you.' D is wrong because the grandfather's inner thoughts are never revealed.
Question 8. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas medium
What does the grandfather most likely mean when he tells Mara, 'The boat will tell you what it wants'?
See passage P2 above.
- A. Sailboats are alive and can speak to their crews in words.
- B. Mara should give up sailing because she cannot control the boat.
- C. The grandfather will repair the boat before the next trip.
- D. A good sailor responds to the boat's behavior instead of forcing it. (correct)
Explanation: In context, the grandfather is teaching Mara to steer, and Mara then notices the bow shudder and eases up until the sail is taut again, which shows she learns to respond to the boat's behavior, so D captures the intended meaning. A misreads the phrase literally. B is contradicted by the grandfather's encouraging plan to go past the point tomorrow. C is unsupported, since no repairs are mentioned.
Question 9. Key Ideas & Details easy
What does Mara notice when the sail loses wind?
See passage P2 above.
- A. The whitecaps roll in beyond the breakwater.
- B. The bow shudders. (correct)
- C. A tern circles the mast.
- D. The horizon disappears behind the waves.
Explanation: The passage says Mara began to notice how the bow shuddered whenever the sail lost wind, so B is the explicitly stated detail. A and C describe other sights in the passage that occur at different moments, and D introduces an event that never happens. Only the shuddering bow is tied to the sail losing wind.
Question 10. Craft & Structure medium
Which word best describes the overall tone of the passage?
See passage P2 above.
- A. Calm and reflective. (correct)
- B. Urgent and alarming.
- C. Bitter and resentful.
- D. Playful and mocking.
Explanation: The scene moves at a slow, quiet pace with long silences, careful steering, and a thoughtful final exchange, so the tone is calm and reflective, A. B is wrong because nothing in the passage signals danger or haste. C is wrong because no anger or resentment appears between Mara and her grandfather. D is wrong because the grandfather's teaching is patient rather than teasing or mocking.
Question 11. Key Ideas & Details hard
Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
See passage P3 above.
- A. People should sleep at least nine hours every night to stay healthy.
- B. REM sleep happens only in the first hour after falling asleep.
- C. Melatonin is a hormone that keeps people awake during the day.
- D. Sleep unfolds in repeating stages that are regulated by an internal clock sensitive to light. (correct)
Explanation: The passage explains the repeating cycle of sleep stages and then describes the internal clock and its response to light, so D best captures the whole. A states a nightly quota that the passage never gives. B reverses the passage, which says the longest REM periods come in the final hours. C reverses the passage, which says melatonin promotes sleepiness at night.
Question 12. Key Ideas & Details easy
According to the passage, what effect does light entering the eyes in the morning have on the body?
See passage P3 above.
- A. It lengthens the REM stages of the night just ended.
- B. It shifts the sleep cycle to a ninety-minute rhythm.
- C. It causes the clock to suppress melatonin production. (correct)
- D. It increases the need for an afternoon nap.
Explanation: The passage states that when light enters the eyes in the morning, the clock suppresses the production of melatonin, so C is the correct detail. A confuses the morning effect with the sleep-stage cycle described earlier. B misuses the ninety-minute figure, which describes one sleep cycle, not a rhythm set by morning light. D is unsupported by the passage.
Question 13. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas medium
Based on the passage, a person who regularly works night shifts would most likely...
See passage P3 above.
- A. feel sleepy during the shift and restless when trying to rest during the day. (correct)
- B. produce much more melatonin while working at night.
- C. enter REM sleep more quickly than daytime workers.
- D. keep the internal clock aligned with the social day without any trouble.
Explanation: The passage says shift work can push the clock out of alignment with the social day, leaving people sleepy when they need to be awake and restless when they need to rest, which describes a night worker's experience, so A follows directly. B is unsupported, since the passage does not describe melatonin levels during night work. C is unsupported. D is contradicted by the passage, which names shift work as a disruption.
Question 14. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas medium
Which of the following statements about REM sleep is best supported by the passage?
See passage P3 above.
- A. REM sleep occurs only at the very beginning of the night.
- B. A person spends more time in REM sleep near the end of the night than near the beginning. (correct)
- C. REM sleep cannot begin until melatonin is released.
- D. Every REM stage lasts exactly ninety minutes.
Explanation: The passage says the proportion of time spent in REM grows with each repetition, so the longest REM periods occur in the final hours before waking, which supports B. A states the opposite. C links REM to melatonin, but the passage never makes that connection. D confuses the length of a full sleep cycle with the length of a REM stage.
Question 15. Key Ideas & Details easy
According to the passage, one complete sleep cycle lasts approximately how long?
See passage P3 above.
- A. Thirty minutes.
- B. One hour.
- C. Ninety minutes. (correct)
- D. The entire night.
Explanation: The passage states that one complete cycle lasts roughly ninety minutes, so C is the correct explicit detail. A and B give durations that never appear in the passage. D is contradicted, since the passage says the cycle repeats several times each night rather than filling it all.
Question 16. Craft & Structure hard
The author's primary purpose in this passage is most likely to...
See passage P4 above.
- A. persuade readers to support turning vacant lots into community gardens. (correct)
- B. give step-by-step instructions for planting a vegetable garden.
- C. compare community gardens with public parks and playgrounds.
- D. trace the history of urban development in the city.
Explanation: The passage argues that vacant lots should become gardens, answers critics, and ends with a call for shovels rather than studies, which is persuasive writing, so A is the purpose. B is wrong because no planting instructions are given. C is wrong because parks and playgrounds are never compared. D is wrong because no historical account is offered.
Question 17. Key Ideas & Details medium
According to the passage, which objection do critics of community gardens raise?
See passage P4 above.
- A. Gardens produce too much food for one neighborhood.
- B. Gardens bring noise or attract pests. (correct)
- C. Gardens raise summer temperatures on the block.
- D. Gardens force developers to abandon new housing.
Explanation: The passage directly states that critics object that gardens bring noise or attract pests, so B is the detail in the text. A inverts the value of gardens and is never claimed. C is the opposite of the passage, which says gardens lower temperatures. D never appears, since development is mentioned only as a use of open land.
Question 18. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas medium
Which evidence does the passage use to support the claim that gardens cool their neighborhoods?
See passage P4 above.
- A. Vegetables from one plot can feed fifty households.
- B. Gardeners swap tools and watch each other's children.
- C. Managed plots are tidier than the empty lots they replace.
- D. Soil and leafy plants absorb heat instead of reflecting it. (correct)
Explanation: The passage supports the cooling claim by explaining that soil and leafy plants absorb heat instead of reflecting it, which is D. A supports the claim that gardens grow food, not that they cool streets. B supports the claim that gardens build neighborly trust. C answers the critics' tidiness concern rather than the cooling claim.
Question 19. Craft & Structure medium
In the final line, 'We do not need another study to prove it. We need shovels.' what do the shovels most likely represent?
See passage P4 above.
- A. The gardening tools that critics want to confiscate.
- B. The equipment used to pave over vacant lots.
- C. Practical action to start gardens rather than more debate. (correct)
- D. The tools postal workers use to sort mail.
Explanation: The final line contrasts further study with the work of actually digging, so shovels symbolize taking practical action instead of continuing to argue, C. A is unsupported, since critics never threaten tools. B is the opposite of the author's aim. D is absurd and unrelated to the passage's argument.
Question 20. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas hard
Which conclusion about the author's position is best supported by the passage?
See passage P4 above.
- A. The author believes a managed garden is more useful than a lot that sits empty. (correct)
- B. The author believes development is the best use of any open land.
- C. The author believes gardens should be studied before they are planted.
- D. The author believes gardens raise the cost of keeping a street safe.
Explanation: Throughout the passage the author argues that idle lots should become productive gardens, concluding that action, not study, is needed, so A is the best-supported conclusion. B is the opposite of the author's view. C is contradicted by the closing line rejecting further studies. D is unsupported, as the author claims gardens build the trust that makes streets safe.
Question 21. Key Ideas & Details medium
Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?
See passage P5 above.
- A. Mangrove trees cannot survive in salty water and die at high tide.
- B. Shrimp ponds are the most profitable use of tropical coastlines.
- C. Mangrove forests shelter marine life, defend coasts, and can recover after restoration. (correct)
- D. Restoration of mangrove forests has failed everywhere it has been tried.
Explanation: The passage describes mangroves as nurseries for fish and crabs, as coastal defenders that slow waves, and as habitats that have rebounded through restoration, so C states the main idea. A contradicts the first sentence, which says mangroves grow in salty water. B is contradicted by the passage's regret over clearing forests for shrimp ponds. D is contradicted by the account of successful restoration.
Question 22. Key Ideas & Details medium
According to the passage, what happens to the mangroves' roots at high tide?
See passage P5 above.
- A. They rise above the mud and trap sediment.
- B. They are exposed to the open air.
- C. They are cut for timber and shrimp ponds.
- D. They are completely flooded by the tidal water. (correct)
Explanation: The passage states that the tangled roots flood completely at high tide, so D is the explicit detail. A and B describe the low-tide condition, when the roots rise above the mud. C describes what humans did to whole forests, not what happens to roots at high tide.
Question 23. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas hard
What is the best conclusion to draw from the passage's account of restoration projects?
See passage P5 above.
- A. Damage from coastal development can never be undone.
- B. Some mangrove losses can be reversed within a generation. (correct)
- C. Restored forests remain permanently exposed to storm surges.
- D. Restoration succeeds only where shrimp ponds are still operating.
Explanation: The passage says that where tidal flow is restored and seedlings are planted, the forest can rebound within a generation, so B is the supported conclusion. A is the opposite of that statement. C is contradicted by the claim that restored forests bring coastal protection back. D is unsupported; the passage links success to restoring tidal flow and planting seedlings, not to shrimp ponds.
Question 24. Craft & Structure medium
How does the author arrange the information in this passage?
See passage P5 above.
- A. It describes a habitat, explains its functions, then recounts its decline and recovery. (correct)
- B. It gives numbered instructions for planting mangrove seedlings.
- C. It presents two opposing views and gives each equal space.
- D. It narrates the career of a tropical ecologist from beginning to end.
Explanation: The passage moves from a description of mangrove roots and their nurseries to the protective role of the forest, then to past destruction and present restoration, which matches A. B is wrong because no instructions appear. C is wrong because no opposing viewpoint is presented. D is wrong because no person's career is narrated.
Question 25. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas hard
Which sentence from the passage best supports the idea that mangroves protect shorelines from storm surges?
See passage P5 above.
- A. 'Their tangled roots rise above the mud at low tide and flood completely at high tide.'
- B. 'For decades these forests were dismissed as useless swamps.'
- C. 'The dense network of trunks and roots slows incoming waves and traps sediment.' (correct)
- D. 'Many countries lost more than half of their original cover.'
Explanation: Only option C directly explains how the forest weakens incoming waves and holds sediment, which is the mechanism behind storm-surge protection. A describes the tidal appearance of the roots without linking it to protection. B and D describe how the forests were undervalued and removed, which supports the decline narrative, not the protective function.
Question 26. Key Ideas & Details medium
According to the passage, which of the following was true of mail before 1840?
See passage P6 above.
- A. Every letter cost a flat rate of one penny.
- B. Clerks canceled letters with an ink mark.
- C. Volume reached three hundred million letters a year.
- D. The recipient usually paid the charge and could refuse the letter. (correct)
Explanation: The passage states that before 1840 the charge was usually paid by the recipient, who could refuse delivery if the price seemed too high, so D is correct. A describes the reformed penny post, not the earlier system. B describes the era of stamps, which came after the reform. C describes the volume reached within a decade after the penny post was introduced.
Question 27. Craft & Structure hard
Why does the author divide the passage under the headings 'The Reform' and 'The Result'?
See passage P6 above.
- A. To signal the focus of each section and show the events in chronological order. (correct)
- B. To persuade readers to start collecting postage stamps.
- C. To compare the British postal system with postal systems abroad.
- D. To describe the physical appearance of the first postage stamp.
Explanation: The headings label the reform that fixed the costly old system and the consequences that followed, which lets readers follow a chronological cause-and-effect account, so A is correct. B is wrong because the passage never urges stamp collecting. C is wrong because no foreign postal system is discussed. D is wrong because the passage does not describe the stamp's appearance.
Question 28. Craft & Structure hard
Which best describes the author's purpose in this passage?
See passage P6 above.
- A. To argue that modern postage prices are too high.
- B. To inform readers about a historical change in how mail was priced and sent. (correct)
- C. To entertain readers with a fictional story about a postal clerk.
- D. To instruct readers on how to address and mail a letter today.
Explanation: The passage reports facts about the penny post, its causes, and its results without urging any action, so the purpose is to inform readers about postal history, B. A is wrong because no argument about modern prices appears. C is wrong because the account is factual, not fictional. D is wrong because no instructions for mailing are given.
Question 29. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas hard
The passage reports that volume rose from about seventy-six million letters a year to more than three hundred million within a decade. What conclusion is best supported by these figures?
See passage P6 above.
- A. The number of postal clerks dropped sharply during the decade.
- B. Most recipients continued to refuse their letters.
- C. Distance remained the main factor in setting postage prices.
- D. The cheaper flat rate encouraged many more people to send mail. (correct)
Explanation: The passage links the rise in volume to the penny post, arguing that a flat, prepaid rate would increase volume dramatically, so D is the supported conclusion. A is unsupported, since clerk numbers are never given. B is contradicted by the reform's success and is never claimed. C is contradicted, since the reform removed distance from the pricing.
Question 30. Key Ideas & Details easy
According to the passage, who was Rowland Hill?
See passage P6 above.
- A. The clerk who haggled over postage rates before 1840.
- B. The first recipient to refuse an expensive letter.
- C. A reformer whose arguments led to the penny post. (correct)
- D. The inventor of the ink mark used to cancel stamps.
Explanation: The passage identifies Rowland Hill as a reformer who argued that distance mattered little and whose plan became law as the penny post, so C is correct. A describes an unnamed clerk's role and is not Hill. B never happens in the passage. D is unsupported, since the passage does not credit anyone with inventing the cancelling mark.