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Passage and Questions
Name________________
Date________________
• Reading Comprehension Assessment
Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.
The Great Wave
Hokusai was a Japanese artist. He created one
of the most famous Japanese artworks ever made. It is
called The Great Wave.
The title of Hokusai's artwork is very fitting. The
wave in the picture is certainly great. It appears
tremendously powerful and frightening. It towers over
three boats full of fishermen. The fishermen brace
themselves for impact. They know the wave is about to
crash, and they must be prepared. The wave is
incredibly tall, and its front edge appears to have a
number of claw-like fingers extended and ready to
attack. Far away in the background, we see a snowcovered mountain surrounded by a dark and cloudy sky. The mountain is called Mount Fuji—the highest
mountain in Japan. Many people think that the wave and the mountain represent the power of nature.
Many people say that the power of nature is evident in nearly all of Hokusai's artwork.
People often think The Great Wave is a painting, but it is not. It is a print made from a carved
woodblock stamp. This means that the first thing the artist did was draw a design on paper. Then he
carved the design into a block of wood. Next, he covered the carved block of wood with ink. Finally, he
pressed the inked block against new paper. When the artist removed the inked block of wood from the
paper, ink was left transferred to the paper according to the design that he carved into the wood. Relative
to the creation of other forms of art (for example, in which paint is applied to canvas), this was a very
complex process. Hokusai used this process to create several well-known prints, but none is as famous
as The Great Wave.
1) The main purpose of this passage is to
A.
B.
C.
D.
impress readers with a description of a powerful wave
inform readers about the life of a Japanese artist
entertain readers with a story about fishermen
introduce readers to a famous work of art
2) In paragraph 2, the author writes, “The wave is incredibly tall, and its front edge appears to have a
number of claw-like fingers extended and ready to attack.” This statement is intended to
A.
B.
C.
D.
contradict an argument
support an earlier statement
answer a later question
introduce a new idea
3) According to the author, The Great Wave is a
A.
B.
C.
D.
drawing
print
painting
carved piece of wood
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Questions
4) As used in paragraph 3, the word complex most nearly means
A.
B.
C.
D.
expensive
time consuming
having many parts or steps
hard to understand
5) In the final paragraph, the author
A.
B.
C.
D.
supports an argument
gives a series of examples
illustrates an idea
explains a process
6) At the end of paragraph 2, we learn that "Many people think that the wave and the mountain
represent the power of nature." Do you agree with these people? Do the wave and the mountain
represent the power of nature, or do they represent something else? Why do you think this?
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7) At the end of the passage, we learn that " Hokusai used this process to create several well-known
prints, but none is as famous as The Great Wave. Why do you think The Great Wave became so
famous? What makes it special? Explain.
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Answers and Explanations
1) D
Question Type: Global
In the first paragraph we learn that Hokusai was a Japanese artist and that he created one of the most famous Japanese artworks
ever made. The author of the passage then describes the artwork for us. He or she tells us that it shows a great wave about to crash
down on three fishing boats filled with scared fishermen, and that it shows a great mountain in the background. At the end of the first
paragraph we also learn one of the common things that people think about the artwork, namely that it represents the power of
nature. In the second paragraph, the author of the passage tells us how the artwork was made, explaining that it is not a painting, as
some people think, but a print created from a carved woodblock stamp. The second paragraph also tells us about the process by
which the artist created the final print made from the design and the woodblock. These are all details that we might expect in a
passage meant to introduce Hokusai’s famous print to readers who had never heard of it or seen it before. This tells us that the main
purpose of the passage is to introduce readers to this famous work of art. Therefore (D) is correct. Although the passage mentions a
powerful and scary wave about to crash upon scared fishermen, it also discusses many other things. For example, it tells us a little
bit about the artist and it tells us about how the artist created the artwork. These are all details that we might expect in a passage
meant to introduce Hokusai’s famous print to readers who had never heard of it or seen it before. Since it discusses all of these
other things, its main purpose cannot be to impress readers with a description of a powerful wave. Therefore (A) is incorrect.
Although the passage tells us the name and nationality of the artist who created “The Great Wave,” and also tells us a little bit about
the process by which he created it, the passage does not tell us very much about his life. Instead, it tells us about his most famous
artwork. This means that its main purpose cannot be to inform readers about the life of a Japanese artist. Therefore (B) is incorrect.
Although the passage contains a description of a dramatic moment in the lives of some fishermen, this description is relatively brief.
The passage also contains many other things. For example, it contains information about the life of the artist who created a famous
artwork. It also contains information about how that artist created his famous artwork. This means that the main purpose of the
passage cannot be to entertain readers with a story about fishermen. Therefore (C) is incorrect.
2) B
Question Type: Inference
In paragraph 2, the author writes, “The wave is incredibly tall, and its front edge appears to have a number of claw-like fingers
extended and ready to attack.” In this sentence, the important detail is that the wave "is incredibly tall" and seems to have many
“claw-like fingers ready to attack.” In an earlier sentence, the author tells us that "The wave in the picture is certainly great. It
appears tremendously powerful and frightening." Because being incredibly tall and having claw-like fingers are both reasons why
something would appear powerful and frightening, we can understand that the author's statement is intended to support an earlier
statement. Therefore (B) is correct. The author does not attempt to contradict an argument, because no argument is introduced in
the passage. Therefore (A) is incorrect. The author does not attempt to answer a later question, as no question is asked later in the
passage. Therefore (C) is incorrect. The author introduces a new idea in paragraph 3, when he or she begins to talk about how the
artwork was made. However this does not happen until paragraph 3. Therefore (D) is incorrect.
3) B
Question Type: Detail
To answer this question correctly, we need to find where in the passage the author discusses what kind of artwork The Great Wave
is. A good way to do this is to scan the topic sentence of each paragraph, since this sentence will likely tell us what information can
be found in the rest of the paragraph. The topic sentence of paragraph 2 reads, “People often think ‘The Great Wave’ is a painting,
but it is not.” This lets us know that the detail we are looking for can likely be found in paragraph 2. In paragraph 2, the author of the
passage tells us that although many people think The Great Wave is a painting, it is in fact a “print made from a carved woodblock
stamp.” This tells us that The Great Wave is a print. Therefore (B) is correct. In paragraph 2, the author of the passage describes
the process by which Hokusai created his artwork. Although he tells us that the process begins with “drawing a design on paper,” he
also tells us that this is only the first step in the process. Also in paragraph 2, the author of the passage tells us that The Great Wave
is a print. This tells us that The Great Wave is not a drawing. Therefore (A) is incorrect. In paragraph 2, we learn that, although
many people think The Great Wave is a painting, it is not. Therefore (C) is incorrect. In paragraph 2, the author of the passage
describes the process by which Hokusai created his artwork. Although he tells us that the process includes a step in which a design
is carved into a block of wood, he also tells us that this is only one step in the process, and that the final step in the process is to
create a print made from pressing the inked woodblock against paper. This tells us that The Great Wave is not a carved piece of
wood. Therefore (D) is incorrect.
4) C
Question Type: Vocabulary
complex (adjective): consisting of many different and connected parts.
In paragraph 3, the author outlines the steps required to make a print made from a carved woodblock stamp, “This means that the
first thing the artist did was draw a design on paper. Then he carved the design into a block of wood. Next, he covered the carved
block of wood with ink. Finally, he pressed the inked block against new paper. When the artist removed the inked block of wood
from the paper, ink was left transferred to the paper according to the design that he carved into the wood. Relative to the creation of
other forms of art (for example, in which paint is applied to canvas), this was a very complex process." The author includes four
steps in this description. The author then says that, "Relative to the creation of other forms of art (for example, in which paint is
applied to canvas), this was a very complex process." This lets us know that painting is NOT a complex process, because it only
involves one step (applying paint to canvas). From this we can understand that the word complex means having many different
parts or steps. Therefore (C) is correct. Using the above information, we can understand from the context that something that is
complex involves many parts or steps, but this does not mean that it is expensive. Although a process involving many steps can
sometimes be expensive, it is not so always. From this we can understand that the word complex does not most nearly mean
expensive. Therefore (A) is incorrect. Using the above information, we can understand from the context that something that is
complex involves many parts or steps, but this does not mean that it is physically difficult. Although a process involving many steps
can sometimes be time consuming, this is not always the case. From this, we can understand that the word complex does not most
nearly mean time consuming. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Using the above information, we can understand from the context that
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Answers and Explanations
something that is complex involves many parts or steps, but this does not necessarily mean that it is hard to understand. Although a
process involving many steps can sometimes be hard to understand, it is not so always. For example, although Hokusai’s creative
process involves many steps, it is not hard to understand. From this, we can understand that the word complex does not most
nearly mean hard to understand. Therefore (D) is incorrect.
5) D
Question Type: Global
In the final paragraph, the author describes how The Great Wave was created. He or she tells us that "the first thing the artist did
was to draw a design on paper. Then he carved the design into a block of wood. Next, he covered the carved block of wood with ink.
Finally, he pressed the inked block against new paper." Notice how the author uses the introductory elements "The first thing..." and
"Next..." and "Finally" to discuss this process. The author is essentially giving a step by step breakdown of how the artwork (or any
artwork of its kind) was made. This lets us know that the author explains a process in the final paragraph. Therefore choice (D) is
correct. The author of this passage never introduces an argument. This mean choice (A) is incorrect. The author does tell us the
individual steps that Hokusai used to make his artwork. However, these are not examples. An example is one of a number of things,
or a part of something, taken to show the character of the whole. But the author is not giving us a part of something, and is not trying
to show us the character of the whole. Rather, the author is giving us the whole. He or she is giving us a general outline of the
whole. This is intended to help us understand the way in which a specific example (Hokusai's painting) was created. Using this
information, we can understand that the author does not give a series of examples in the final paragraph. So choice (B) is incorrect.
Choice (C) is incorrect because the author does not illustrate an idea in the final paragraph. Rather, the author illustrates, or
explains, a process.