HiSET Language Arts - Reading Test Prep

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Spanish in the U.S.

Did you know that the United States has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world? With over 37 million speakers the age of five and older the U.S. alone has more inhabitants that speak Spanish than the whole country of Venezuela.

Spanish students don’t have to study abroad to get a good look into Latin-American culture. There are many cities here in the U.S. with (1) thriving Latino (2) districts that any student of Spanish can visit to practice speaking. Miami, for example, is home to a multitude of diverse Hispanics from all over Latin America and Europe. When walking down the streets of Little Havana (one of the predominantly Hispanic barrios, or neighborhoods) you will hear the Cuban Spanish (3) language variety. In Chicago, the place to hear Mexican Spanish is La Villita.

Since Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens are the fastest growing linguistic group in the United States, it is common to find Spanish-language television channels (such as Univisión and Telemundo) in larger cities. In fact, it’s thanks to these mass media that there are people (although few) that spend their whole lives in the United States without ever having to learn or speak English. The governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, even commented once that Hispanics in the U.S. need to “turn off the TV in Spanish” in order to learn English more quickly.

But Governor Schwarzenegger ought to know that, according to linguistic research on (4) bilingualism, families of Hispanic heritage (as well as other non-English speaking families) produce English dominant (or English only) speakers by the third generation after their immigration. That means, it is more common than not that the grandchildren of the Mexican immigrant cannot communicate with their grandparent in Spanish. Thus, the Spanish language does not seem to (5) pose a threat in the U.S. society, contrary to what many politicians often suggest in their political rhetoric.

Which of following is true according to the passage?

  1. There is only one variety of Spanish spoken in the U.S.
  2. There are over 37 million speakers of Spanish in the U.S. that speak the Venezuela language variety.
  3. Spanish can be heard in Chicago if you go to Little Havana.
  4. The U.S. can be considered the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world.
Explanation

Answer: D - The U.S. can be considered the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Even though the U.S. is an English dominant society, it has the second largest Spanish-speaking population compared to other countries where Spanish is spoken. The passage itself mentions at least two varieties of Spanish, Mexican and Cuban. However, the passage does not mention Venezuelan Spanish. It does however; note that Little Havana is in Miami, not Chicago.

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