TEAS Reading practice test

Free TEAS Reading questions with explanations: passages and charts, main ideas, inferences, the author's purpose and comparing sources. Timed like the real section.

questions

45

scored

39

73 s per question

55 min

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1 of 4

1. Passage: Fog on the Marlow Ferry (show)

   1

   By the time the Marlow ferry cleared the harbor mouth, the fog had swallowed the far shore. Deckhand Priya Raman had checked the life jacket lockers twice, once before boarding and once after, though the logbook required only one check. She had not mentioned it to anyone.

   2

   Captain Ng stood at the wheel, humming, and slowed the engines to half. "Horn," he said, without turning around. Priya pulled the lever, and a long, low note rolled across the water. A few seconds later, a thinner note answered from somewhere ahead and to the left. Captain Ng stopped humming. He eased the wheel to starboard, toward the right.

   3

   "Tell the passengers to stay seated," he said. Priya walked through the cabin, speaking quietly to a man with a stroller and to two teenagers who had drifted toward the rail. When she returned to the wheelhouse, the thin note sounded again, fainter now and behind them.

   4

   The captain let out a long breath and brought the engines up to three-quarters. "Fishing boat," he said. "He was where he should be, and so were we." Priya wrote the time in the logbook. After a moment, she added a line about the life jackets.

   01Reading · Key Ideas and DetailsWhich statement best summarizes the excerpt?+−

   • A. A captain and a deckhand argue over safety procedures while passengers grow frightened on a ferry.
   • B. On a foggy crossing, a ferry crew hears another boat nearby, steers away from it, and resumes speed once it has passed, while the deckhand quietly shows her carefulness. (correct)
   • C. A ferry narrowly avoids a collision because a deckhand corrects a mistake the captain has made.
   • D. A new deckhand learns from her captain that every safety check should be written in the logbook.

   B covers the main events: the fog, the answering horn, the change of course, the return to speed, and Priya's extra life jacket line. No argument, mistake, or lesson from the captain appears in the excerpt.

2. 02Reading · Key Ideas and DetailsWhich detail from the excerpt best supports the conclusion that Captain Ng treated the answering horn note as a possible hazard?+−

   • A. He stopped humming and eased the wheel to starboard. (correct)
   • B. He slowed the engines to half as the ferry left the harbor.
   • C. He asked for the horn without turning around.
   • D. He later said that the fishing boat was where it should be.

   His change of mood and course came right after he heard the other note, so it shows his response to it. Slowing the engines happened before the note and reflects caution about the fog in general.

3. 03Reading · Key Ideas and DetailsWhat does Captain Ng's remark, "He was where he should be, and so were we," most strongly suggest?+−

   • A. The captain believes the fishing boat's crew had been careless.
   • B. The captain thinks slowing the ferry was unnecessary.
   • C. Neither vessel had strayed from its expected position, so the encounter was handled safely rather than being the result of a mistake. (correct)
   • D. The captain was surprised that any boat was in the area.

   "Where he should be" means the other boat was in its expected place, and "so were we" says the ferry was too, so no one erred. Choice D is contradicted by the phrase "should be," which implies he expected the boat.

4. 04Reading · Key Ideas and DetailsOrder these events from first to last, as they occur in the excerpt.+−

   Correct order:

   1. Captain Ng slows the engines to half.
   2. Priya sounds the foghorn.
   3. Captain Ng eases the wheel to starboard.
   4. Priya speaks to the passengers in the cabin.
   5. Captain Ng brings the engines up to three-quarters.

   The captain slows the engines first, then calls for the horn, then steers to starboard after hearing the answering note. Priya then goes through the cabin, and only after the other note fades does he increase speed.

5. Passage: Loading a Benchtop Centrifuge (show)

   1

   An unbalanced load makes the rotor vibrate, which can crack tubes and damage the motor. Follow these steps every time.

   2

   1. Inspect each tube for cracks and confirm that its cap is tight. 2. Place the specimen tube in any rotor slot. 3. Fill a balance tube with water until it weighs the same as the specimen tube, then place it in the slot directly opposite. Tubes are paired across the rotor, never side by side. 4. Close the lid until it latches, then set the speed and the time. 5. Press START. Do not attempt to open the lid while the rotor is moving. 6. When the timer ends, wait until the rotor has stopped completely and the lid-release light turns green. Then lift the lid.

   3

   Note: A short, low-speed run may seem harmless without a balance tube, and the machine may appear to run smoothly at first. However, an imbalance grows as the rotor speeds up. Balance every load, even for a quick spin.

   05Reading · Craft and StructureThe author most likely included the final note in order to+−

   • A. reassure readers that a smooth start shows the load is safe
   • B. discourage readers from skipping the balance step on runs that seem low-risk (correct)
   • C. warn that imbalance is a problem only at high speeds
   • D. explain how the speed of the rotor is controlled

   The note anticipates the shortcut of skipping balancing on a quick, slow run and ends with 'Balance every load.' The high-speed option is partly true, since imbalance grows with speed, but it misses the purpose of the note.

6. 06Reading · Craft and StructureArrange these actions in the order the procedure requires, from first to last.+−

   Correct order:

   1. Inspect each tube for cracks and check its cap
   2. Place the specimen tube in a rotor slot
   3. Place the balance tube in the slot opposite the specimen
   4. Close the lid and set the speed and the time
   5. Press START
   6. Wait for the lid-release light to turn green

   The steps run: inspect tubes, place the specimen, place the balance tube opposite, latch the lid and set speed and time, press START, then wait for the green light before lifting the lid. The balance tube cannot be placed before the specimen it must match.

7. 07Reading · Craft and StructureThe passage is a technical passage. Which added sentence would fit best with its type and purpose?+−

   • A. Many technicians recall the first time a tube cracked in their hands and the lesson it taught them.
   • B. No instrument has done more for modern medicine than the centrifuge, and every clinic should own one.
   • C. In an eight-slot rotor whose slots are numbered in order around the circle, slot 1 is opposite slot 5. (correct)
   • D. Early centrifuges were turned by hand, and their designs varied widely from one workshop to the next.

   A technical passage gives precise, usable detail that helps the reader carry out a procedure, and the slot-pairing sentence does that. The others are narrative, persuasive, and historical-expository in character.

8. Passage: Standing Desks Are Worth Every Dollar (show)

   1

   By Dana Whitcomb, Director of Operations, Halvorsen Insurance

   2

   Last spring I proposed buying standing desks for the 40 employees in our Billing department, and it was the best purchase we made all year. In the quarter before the desks arrived, the company nurse logged 18 back-pain visits from Billing staff. In the quarter after, she logged 11. The desks are the obvious reason. Employees who once slumped in their chairs all day now alternate between sitting and standing, and nearly everyone I met in the hallway says they would never go back.

   3

   Some will say the $24,000 price was steep. But each back-pain visit costs the company an average of 1.5 lost workdays, valued at $200 per day. Because the desks cut visits so sharply, they will pay for themselves within a year. A new stretch-break rule began for all departments the same month the desks arrived, but it is a minor courtesy and hardly matters. I urge the executive team to buy the same desks for the other 120 employees.

   4

   In fairness, I should add that the purchase was my idea, and my annual review includes a goal of reducing workplace-injury visits.

   08Reading · Integration of Knowledge and IdeasWhich fact most seriously undermines the author's conclusion that the desks are "the obvious reason" back-pain visits fell?+−

   • A. A stretch-break rule began the same month the desks arrived, so it could account for some or all of the drop. (correct)
   • B. Only the 40 employees in Billing received the desks.
   • C. The desks cost $24,000.
   • D. The author based the employees' opinions of the desks on hallway conversations.

   A second change happening at the same time offers a competing explanation for the drop, which weakens the causal claim. Choice D concerns how much employees like the desks, not what caused the drop in visits.

9. 09Reading · Integration of Knowledge and IdeasAssume the drop of 7 visits per quarter continues every quarter and is entirely due to the desks. How well do the author's own cost figures support the claim that the desks "will pay for themselves within a year"?+−

   • A. Supported; the 18 visits before the desks cost $5,400 per quarter, or $21,600 per year, which is close to the price.
   • B. Not supported; even crediting every avoided visit to the desks, the savings are about $8,400 per year, roughly one-third of the price. (correct)
   • C. Not supported; the savings would be about $2,100 per year, less than a tenth of the price.
   • D. Supported; 7 fewer visits per quarter will save more than $24,000 over a year.

   7 avoided visits x 1.5 days x $200 = $2,100 per quarter, or $8,400 per year, about 35 percent of $24,000. Choice A uses all 18 visits rather than the 7 that were avoided, and choice C mistakes the quarterly savings for the yearly savings.

10. 10Reading · Integration of Knowledge and IdeasWhich of the following, if true, would weaken the author's claim that the standing desks caused the drop in Billing's back-pain visits? Select all that apply.+−

    • A. Back-pain visits also fell, from 15 to 10, in a department that did not receive standing desks over the same two quarters. (correct)
    • B. A new company nurse started in the second quarter and began referring employees with back pain to outside clinics rather than seeing them herself. (correct)
    • C. Most Billing employees say they enjoy alternating between sitting and standing.
    • D. Each standing desk cost $600, the usual retail price.
    • E. Back-pain visits from Billing had risen for three straight quarters before the desks arrived.

    A drop in a department without desks, and a change in how visits were logged, each give another explanation for the lower count. Employee enjoyment and the price do not bear on causation, and a prior rising trend would strengthen the claim.

11. 11Reading · Integration of Knowledge and IdeasWhich detail from the passage most reduces confidence that the author is evaluating the desks objectively?+−

    • A. The author proposed the purchase, and the author's annual review includes a goal of reducing injury visits. (correct)
    • B. The author describes employees' reactions based on hallway conversations.
    • C. The author acknowledges that the $24,000 price may seem steep.
    • D. The author urges the executive team to buy desks for the other departments.

    The author has a personal stake in the desks appearing successful, which creates a conflict of interest. Choice B is a weakness in the evidence, but it does not show a personal stake, and choice C shows the author addressing a counterpoint.

12. Passage: First Morning at Cedar Ridge (show)

    1

    At 6:40 on a gray Tuesday morning, Imani Reyes parked outside Cedar Ridge Nursing Home with twenty minutes to spare, a cold cup of coffee, and a stomach full of nerves. It was her first day as a nursing assistant. Before she had even found the time clock, the charge nurse, Ms. Hollis, pressed a clipboard into her hands. 'Room 12 first,' she said. 'Mr. Brandt eats at seven sharp, and he will tell you if you're late.'

    2

    Imani knocked twice. Mr. Brandt, a retired machinist, was sitting upright and glaring at the wall clock. 'You're the new one,' he said. 'The last girl cut my toast corner to corner. I want it in squares.' Imani wrote squares at the top of her clipboard and wheeled in the tray.

    3

    As he ate, she noticed that he ignored the juice and that his hand trembled when he lifted the fork. She asked whether the shaking was new. 'It's nothing,' he said, waving her off. She remembered her instructor's warning that a patient's 'nothing' is not the same as a report.

    4

    When the tray was cleared, she found Ms. Hollis at the medication cart and described the untouched juice and the trembling hand. Ms. Hollis stopped counting pills and wrote a note in the chart. 'Good catch,' she said. 'Most people wait until someone asks.'

    5

    Imani walked back down the hall, her nerves a little quieter. Nothing about the morning had gone the way she had pictured it. But she had been of use, and that was the thing she had been most afraid she would not be.

    12Reading · Key Ideas and DetailsOrder these events as they occur in the excerpt, from first to last.+−

    Correct order:

    1. Ms. Hollis handed Imani a clipboard.
    2. Mr. Brandt complained about how the last aide cut his toast.
    3. Imani wrote squares on her clipboard.
    4. Imani noticed Mr. Brandt's hand trembling.
    5. Imani reported the trembling hand to Ms. Hollis.

    Imani receives the clipboard, hears the toast complaint, writes squares, notices the tremor while he eats, and reports it after the tray is cleared. Writing squares comes before the tremor, not after.

13. 13Reading · Key Ideas and DetailsWhich statement best summarizes the excerpt?+−

    • A. A new aide spends her first morning learning to satisfy a demanding patient's food preferences.
    • B. A charge nurse praises a new aide for arriving early and following instructions exactly.
    • C. On her first morning, a new aide meets a patient's preferences and reports a worrying change he downplayed, earning her supervisor's approval. (correct)
    • D. A patient's tremor is revealed to be a symptom of a serious illness.

    The excerpt centers on Imani both honoring Mr. Brandt's wishes and reporting the tremor and untouched juice, which Ms. Hollis praises. Choice A leaves out the report, which is the turning point, and the cause of the tremor is never given.

14. 14Reading · Key Ideas and DetailsWhich detail about Mr. Brandt's breakfast is stated in the excerpt?+−

    • A. He wants his toast cut into squares. (correct)
    • B. He wants his juice served before the tray.
    • C. He wants his breakfast at 7:30.
    • D. He wants his toast left uncut.

    Mr. Brandt says he wants his toast in squares and objects to the corner-to-corner cut. His breakfast time is seven sharp, not 7:30.

15. Passage: Does Evening Tea Help You Sleep? (show)

    1

    By Priya Nandan, wellness blogger. Readers often ask whether a warm cup of tea at bedtime can improve sleep. After drinking Dreamleaf Evening Blend every night for six weeks, I say yes. Before I started, I woke up groggy about four mornings a week. During the final two weeks, that happened only once a week.

    2

    My experience matches the science. In a four-week trial run by Dreamleaf's own research team, 60 adults drank the blend each night, and 45 of them reported falling asleep faster. Dr. Glenn Ortega, who holds a doctorate in marketing and has consulted for Dreamleaf, calls chamomile 'nature's sleeping pill.'

    3

    Timing matters, too. In the trial, 30 participants drank the tea about an hour before bed, and 24 of them reported falling asleep faster. The other 30 drank it right as they got into bed, and 21 of them reported the same benefit. That is why I recommend sipping your tea an hour before bedtime.

    4

    Dreamleaf Evening Blend costs $6 a box. Readers who order through the link on this page get 10 percent off, and I earn a small commission on each order. Sleep is too important to leave to chance. Try a box tonight.

    15Reading · Integration of Knowledge and IdeasThe author says her own experience 'matches the science.' Which statement best evaluates that claim?+−

    • A. It is well supported, because both her experience and the trial show improvement after people drank the tea.
    • B. It is weakly supported, because her experience measures grogginess on waking while the trial measures falling asleep, and neither, as described, compares tea drinkers with people who did not drink the tea. (correct)
    • C. It is strongly supported, because the trial included 60 adults and her experience lasted six weeks.
    • D. It is false, because the author earns a commission and therefore cannot have slept better.

    The two accounts measure different things, and neither includes people who did not drink the tea, so neither isolates the tea's effect. Her commission is a reason for caution, but it does not prove her experience false (D).

16. 16Reading · Integration of Knowledge and IdeasWhich detail from the passage best supports the author's recommendation to drink the tea about an hour before bedtime rather than right at bedtime?+−

    • A. Forty-five of the 60 trial participants reported falling asleep faster.
    • B. Twenty-four of 30 participants who drank the tea an hour before bed reported falling asleep faster, compared with 21 of 30 who drank it right as they got into bed. (correct)
    • C. The author woke up groggy about four mornings a week before drinking the tea.
    • D. Readers who order through the page get 10 percent off.

    Only B compares the two timings directly. The 45 of 60 figure supports the tea's general effect, not when to drink it.

Keep practicing

Sources

1. ATI: ATI TEAS exam details (sections, questions, sub-areas)
2. ATI Help: What are the ATI TEAS sections, and can I go back and answer a question?
3. ATI Help: What type of questions are on the ATI TEAS Version 7?

Updated November 6, 2026