ACT Compass ESL Practice Test - Question List

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31. Immigration Laws in the U.S.
The “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” is a law that was introduced in the state of Arizona in 2010. This law is similar to the existing federal (1) legislation that requires all aliens, or U.S. non-citizens, over 14 years old, who stay in the U.S. for more than 30 days, to register with the U.S. government. An (2) alien must also carry his/her registration documents with him/her at all times. In addition to the existing federal law, Arizona made it a requirement that its state’s law enforcement officers make an attempt to identify an individual’s immigration status during detention, arrest, or a “lawful contact”. The term “lawful contact” refers to an officer’s obligation to approach someone that he or she believes is an illegal immigrant.
The “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act”, also known as Arizona Senate Bill (SB) 1070, has caused national and international (3) controversy on the topic of immigration, and especially illegal immigration from south of the U.S. border. Opponents believe that the law forces officers to racially profile people, or judge them based on whether or not they look Latino. Challengers of this law want to (4) ban it, because they believe it forces policemen and policewomen to racially discriminate against people who are not from a European or African background. However, advocates of the law deny that it allows the use of race as the exclusive basis for investigating immigration status.
The law has since been modified with the goal of addressing some of the concerns of the opponents. However, despite the protests in opposition to the law from around the country, polling has shown that there is an overall support for the law in Arizona and in other states. And passage of the modified version of the law has (5) provoked other states to consider implementing similar immigration laws.



According to the passage, why do opponents of Arizona SB 1070 want to have the law banned?
  1. Because according to them the law goes against human rights.
  2. Because according to them Europeans are discriminated against under the law.
  3. Because according to them Latinos are discriminated against under the law.
  4. Because according to them the law forces officers to investigate immigration status.
32. The Galician Language and Its Revitalization

Ever since the implementation of Galician as the primary language in the public school of Galicia in the early 1980’s, there has been an increase in number of speakers of this language. Observers have seen (1) “new speakers” use Galician, their (2) heritage language, during protests, theatrical skits, and other public events. However, more anthropological research needs to be done on how else the Galician language is being used by these so-called “new speakers”.
Galician-or galego(gah-lay-goh)-is the autochthonous, or native, language of the northwestern region of Spain known as Galicia. It is a language closely related to both Spanish and Portuguese-although it has closer linguistic ties to Portuguese when it is observed under the microscope of some linguists-and is spoken mainly by people who live in rural areas of the region. Although Galician is the co-official language of Galicia, Spanish is spoken by a higher number of (3) inhabitants since it is the language of the Spanish nation and the majority language in the (4) urban areas of Galicia, such as Vigo, Ourense, and A Coruña.
Although Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in Galicia (due to a larger urban rather than rural population), there is a new movement for urban youth toward adopting the language, and in some cases employing it in their every-day conversations (5) instead of Spanish. Because these urban youth typically have spoken mainly Spanish but have come to rely more and more on the use of Galician, they have been termed “new speakers”. It is thanks to these “new speakers” that Galician has recently enjoyed a growth in the number of people who choose to employ it in their daily lives rather than Spanish.



The word “heritage”, in bold after the (2) in the first paragraph, is closest in meaning to
  1. Spanish
  2. Related to a foreign language
  3. Related to cultural history
  4. Related to official language
33. The Galician Language and Its Revitalization

Ever since the implementation of Galician as the primary language in the public school of Galicia in the early 1980’s, there has been an increase in number of speakers of this language. Observers have seen (1) “new speakers” use Galician, their (2) heritage language, during protests, theatrical skits, and other public events. However, more anthropological research needs to be done on how else the Galician language is being used by these so-called “new speakers”.
Galician-or galego(gah-lay-goh)-is the autochthonous, or native, language of the northwestern region of Spain known as Galicia. It is a language closely related to both Spanish and Portuguese-although it has closer linguistic ties to Portuguese when it is observed under the microscope of some linguists-and is spoken mainly by people who live in rural areas of the region. Although Galician is the co-official language of Galicia, Spanish is spoken by a higher number of (3) inhabitants since it is the language of the Spanish nation and the majority language in the (4) urban areas of Galicia, such as Vigo, Ourense, and A Coruña.
Although Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in Galicia (due to a larger urban rather than rural population), there is a new movement for urban youth toward adopting the language, and in some cases employing it in their every-day conversations (5) instead of Spanish. Because these urban youth typically have spoken mainly Spanish but have come to rely more and more on the use of Galician, they have been termed “new speakers”. It is thanks to these “new speakers” that Galician has recently enjoyed a growth in the number of people who choose to employ it in their daily lives rather than Spanish.



What is the main idea of this essay?
  1. Galician is the autochthonous, or native, language of Galicia.
  2. Galician has seen an increase in its number of speakers.
  3. Spanish is being spoken less by some speakers in Galicia.
  4. Galicia is a region in northwestern Spain where Galician is spoken.
34. The Electoral College of the U.S.
Did you know that the President and the Vice President aren’t elected by (1) popular vote in the U.S.? Essentially, every four years, it isn’t the American people who elect the rulers of our nation. Instead, when a registered voter casts his or her vote for President and Vice President, he or she also votes for an unknown “elector”, or voting member, who will cast a ballot in a separate election that ultimately will choose the president. Thus, by voting for a Democrat presidential candidate, for example, a voter is really voting for a member of the Electoral College who is expected--but not required--to vote along (2) party lines, too.
You might be thinking, “Then, why do we vote?” Historically, before the (3) advent of television and radio, the Electoral College was established to avoid unfairness. People who lived in bigger cities, where there tends to be a more concentrated, greater population, had more of an advantage of knowing about the candidates compared to those who lived in more rural, secluded areas.
The electors, which are chosen by popular vote, are divided up among each state and the District of Columbia. The amount of voting members in each state is equal to the number of members of Congress. In total, there are 538 electors: 435 representatives and 100 senators, plus the three (4) constituents from the District of Columbia.
In almost every state electors are selected on a "winner-take-all" basis. To be more precise, the candidate for elector that wins the most votes in a state becomes elector for that state. During an election, each elector is required to cast one vote for President and another vote for Vice President. The presidential candidate that receives the majority of electoral votes (270 out of 538) for the offices of President or Vice President is elected to that (5) office.



Based on the information in the passage, which of the following is a synonym (having the same or nearly same meaning) of the term “constituents”, bolded after the (4) in the third paragraph?
  1. Members
  2. Entities
  3. Components
  4. All of the above
35. Choose the answer which best rewords the italicized portion. If you think the original wording is best, choose option A.

World leaders stepped in and the United States intervened, which leading both countries to withdraw to their previous positions.
  1. which leading
  2. that leading
  3. leading
  4. and leading

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