Civil Service Reading Comprehension Practice Test Results

Question 1
53% answer correctly

A perennial stream or perennial river is a stream or river (channel) that has continuous flow in parts of its stream bed all year round during years of normal rainfall. `Perennial` streams are contrasted with `intermittent` streams which normally cease flowing for weeks or months each year, and with `ephemeral` channels that flow only for hours or days following rainfall.


Which of the following is the correct order of stream type from the least amount of time flowing to the most amount of time flowing over the course of a year?

Ephemeral, intermittent, perennial.
Perennial, intermittent, ephemeral.
Perennial, ephemeral, intermittent.
Ephemeral, perennial, intermittent.
Question 2
78% answer correctly

Alaska is a state in the United States, situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with the international boundary with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait.

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 4th least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States. Approximately half of Alaska`s 731,449 residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area.

Alaska`s economy is dominated by the oil, natural gas, and fishing industries; it has these resources in abundance.


According to this paragraph, which of these is false:

Alaska is the smallest state in the United States by population.
Alaska is a state in the United States.
Alaska has an international boundary with Canada.
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area.
Question 3
68% answer correctly

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a master`s degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out scientific approaches to management.

The core courses in the MBA program are designed to introduce students to the various areas of business such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, operations management, etc. Students in MBA programs have the option of taking general business courses throughout the program or can select an area of concentration and focus approximately one-fourth of their studies in this subject.


According to this paragraph, which of these is true:

An MBA area of concentration occupies approximately one-fourth of a student`s studies.
The MBA resulted from a push to manage by `gut feeling`.
MBA core courses occupy one-fourth of a student`s studies.
The MBA is primarily earned by electrical engineers.