Passage Completion Questions and Answers

Answer: D

Correct answer: But most studies show that there is no link between cell phone use and brain cancer

These studies didn't receive front-page coverage follows the blank, and these must point at studies named in it. The blank also has to begin with but, because the sentence before reports studies suggesting a link and the paragraph goes on to explain why the reassuring findings went unnoticed. The options about driving belong to a different argument.

Answer: A

Correct answer: The effects of stress can be lessened by following some simple advice related to your diet

The sentences after the blank begin first, cut down on coffee and try not to eat sweets, so the blank must introduce dietary advice. The keyed option does exactly that. The option about anti-depressants raises a treatment the paragraph never discusses, and the other two are items of advice rather than an introduction to it.

Answer: B

Correct answer: This stops fat from pressing on the throat

Every piece of advice in the paragraph is followed by its reason, twice in brackets - stop smoking (smoking weakens and clogs the throat), sleep on your side (to prevent the tongue from blocking the throat). The blank follows the advice to lose weight, so it must give that reason, and this points back to the weight loss. Surgery is not mentioned anywhere in the paragraph, and the closing sentence says the advice is often not enough - not that surgery is the only cure.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Generally, most people feel better after a week or two

But it can be very dangerous follows the blank, so the blank must say something reassuring for but to contradict. Recovery within a week or two is that reassurance, and the final sentence then names the groups for whom it is not true.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Pilates is a unique combination of stretching, strengthening and breathing

Every sentence after the blank begins with it, so the blank must name the subject those pronouns refer to. Only the keyed option names anything; the rest begin with anyone or with advice about frequency, neither of which supplies an antecedent.

Answer: D

Correct answer: getting a flu vaccine may also help prevent acute bronchitis

Since opens a reason clause, so the main clause after the comma must be the conclusion drawn from it. If flu viruses cause bronchitis, then preventing flu helps prevent bronchitis. The other options are further facts about the disease, and none of them follows from the reason given.

Answer: A

Correct answer: It has been shown to have a positive effect on blood fats by reducing cholesterol levels

The sentence after the blank begins it also lowers blood pressure, and also requires a benefit to have been named already. Only the keyed option names one; the others describe how running works mechanically.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Advocates of the holistic health philosophy typically seek or use a wide variety of alternative practices

The sentence after the blank is the most common of them include acupuncture, yoga and aromatherapy, so them needs a plural noun in the blank that those three are examples of. Only the keyed option supplies one - alternative practices.

Answer: B

Correct answer: However, even if those figures are not accurate, the construction of the pyramids was an amazing achievement

The blank sits between Herodotus's figures and a description of how the stones were actually moved. However and those figures both point back to the numbers just given, and the claim of an amazing achievement is what the description of ramps and rollers goes on to support. The other options are facts about Egyptian religion and daily life that the paragraph never uses.

Answer: A

Correct answer: The treaty had very severe terms

The next two sentences begin for example and also, and both describe harsh conditions imposed on the Ottomans. The blank must therefore make the general claim those examples illustrate.