Basic Skills Testing On Trac, Inc., requires persons applying for employment to complete Basic Skills Testing (BST) to evaluate general aptitude. The test consists of basic math skills, reading comprehension, and a demonstration of analytical skills. You will have 40 MINUTES to complete as much of the BST as possible (attempt to complete all sections). A facilitator will help you to find a desk/table to conduct the test and a pen/pencil if you need one. YOU MAY NOT USE A CELL PHONE OR CALCULATOR! Feel free to use as much of the answer pages as necessary for notes or calculations. Please also INITIAL at the top right corner of each page. Please remember that a successful score on the BST does not guarantee employment, but only offers management the ability to more accurately select persons for interview. For Office U se Only Applicant Name and Date (please print clearly): Composite Score of: _______________________________________________ Signature of Applicant: _______________________________________________ Location of Testing Site (city):
_______________________________________________ 08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 1 of 10 ________________ Scored/graded by: ___________________ 10/13/11 BST: Section 1 Basic Math and Analytical Skills Addition: 1. 3289 + 328451 = 2. 32.5 + 0.25 = 3. 325 + 12 + 7521 + 86214 = 4. Fifty Seven Dollars + Forty One Dollars + Three Dollars = Subtraction: 5. 6649 – 524 = 6. 8754261 – 54217 = 7. 798.65 -­‐ 52.33 = 8. 2.8 – 1.007 = 08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 2 of 10 10/13/11 Multiplication: 9. 413 x 206 = 10. 2.7 x .5 = 11. 642 x 729 = 12. 504 x .25 = Division: 13. 468 / 18 = 14. 8428 / 28 = 15. 34.2 / .6 = 16. 225 / 5 = General Math Problems: 17. The 5:15 train takes 2 hours and 10 minutes to get to Clarksville. Today the train will be 15 minutes late. What time will the train get to Clarksville? 18. How much is 4.53 pounds of meat at $1.39 per pound (to the nearest cent). 08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 3 of 10 10/13/11 19. If oranges cost five for .75 cents how many can you buy for $2.70? (assuming they can be bought singly) 20. If a plane travels at a speed of 400 miles-­‐per-­‐hour how many hours will it take to travel 3000 miles? 21. What is the missing letter in this series? A C E ? I 22. What is the missing letter in this series? B E H K N ? T 23. What would be the next object in this series? 24. If John starts work at 8:00 am and finishes at 5:30 pm. How many hours does he work in five days? He has 90 minutes of break time total for the whole week. Find the missing number in the blank: 25. 7 = – 5 26. 56 = 17 + ________ 27. 44 – _______ = 15 28. 17 + 47 = 7 + ________ 08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 4 of 10 10/13/11 29. 54 – 32 = 25 – _________ 30. 1 . . . . . 3 . . . . . 9 . . . . . _______ . . . . . 81 . . . . . 31. 3 . . . . . 6 . . . . . 10 . . . . . 15 . . . . . ________ . . . . . 28 . . . . . BST: Section 2 Reading Comprehension-­‐ Part A Read the following short excerpt on the Golden Gate Bridge then answer the questions in the section that follows. THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the symbols of the United States of America. It is located in San Francisco, California, and spans the Golden Gate Strait -­‐ a mile-­‐wide strait that connects the Pacific Ocean to the San Francisco Bay. It is surely one of the most beautiful bridges in the world, and also one of the tallest (the height of a bridge is the height of the towers). The bridge as it is today was designed by architects Irving and Gertrude Morrow. However their art deco project was not the first Golden Gate Bridge. The original plans for the bridge were drawn in 1916, but they were of a very complicated and ugly structure, certainly not something America could ever be proud of. The bridge was a true experiment in its time; such a long suspension bridge had never been tried before. It had the highest towers, the thickest cables and the largest underwater foundations ever built. The foundations were a real problem, because they had to be cast in a depth of more than 100 feet. Extreme depth wasn’t the sole problem. The real challenge lay in the sinking of the piers in the violent waves of the open sea, which was thought to be almost impossible. 08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 5 of 10 10/13/11 The construction began in 1933, and was finished in 1937, when the bridge opened to pedestrians. (It was opened to cars one year later.) The bridge was finished ahead of schedule and cost much less than was estimated. Today, the Golden Gate Bridge has a main span of 4,200 feet (almost a mile) and a total length of 8,981 feet. The towers supporting the huge cables rise 746 feet above the water. Each steel cable is 7,650 feet long and has a diameter of 36 inches. ‘International orange’ is the color the bridge has always been painted. The architects chose it because it ‘blends well with the span’s natural setting’. However, if the Navy had had its way, the bridge would have been painted black with yellow stripes -­‐ in favor of greater visibility for passing ships. There are foghorns to let passing ships know where the bridge is, and aircraft beacons on the tops of the towers to prevent planes from crashing into them. The Golden Gate Bridge is the first sight for many people approaching the United States by boat. It is almost the West Coast’s “Statue of Liberty”, and is something everyone should visit at least once. READING QUESTIONS: For multiple choice answers, circle the letter that best answers the question. Otherwise, write the answer in the place provided. 1) The Golden Gate Bridge ............... . a)
b)
c)
d)
spans the San Francisco Bay is the best-­‐known symbol of the United States spans the Golden Gate Strait is painted gold and has a gold-­‐plated gate at each end 2) The first plans of the bridge .............. . a) were designed by Irving and Gertrude Morrow in 1916 b) were designed by Irving Morrow but were too complicated c) were something America could be proud of d) were not designed in art deco style 3) The construction of the foundations was very complicated because ........... a) it was thought to be almost impossible b) the piers had to be sunk in the open sea through violent waves c) they had to be the largest ones ever built d) they had to be cast by teams of divers, which was very expensive 08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 6 of 10 10/13/11 4) Which one is true? a) The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge took four years. b) The bridge was opened to car traffic in 1939. c) People were allowed to cross the bridge in 1939. d) The construction of the bridge began exactly seventeen years after the first plans were made. 5) Draw a line from the letter to the corresponding number to form a correct pair that goes together: a) 7,650 feet 1. length of bridge b) 3 feet 2. length of main span c) 4,200 feet 3. diameter of cable d) 8,981 feet 4. length of cable 6) What kind of safety precaution concerning marine traffic is used today, and what kind was proposed by the US Navy? _________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ Reading Comprehension -­‐ Part B Read the following short excerpt on Mount Everest then follow the instructions to answer the questions in the section that follows. MOUNT EVEREST At an elevation of 29,028 feet (8848 meters) above sea level, Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain. Mount Everest is relatively young, having been formed only 60 million years ago, and it is still growing a few millimeters every year! Mount Everest is in the mountain range called the Himalayas. The summit ridge of Mount Everest separates Nepal and Tibet. Each place has a special name for this giant mountain. The Nepalese name is Sagarmatha, which means “goddess of the sky”. The Tibetan name is Chomolungma, which means “mother goddess of the universe”. In English, Mount Everest is named after Sir George Everest, the first person to record the height and location of the mountain. 08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 7 of 10 10/13/11 A climb to the summit was attempted by George Mallory in 1922, who famously gave his reason for wanting to climb Everest as “because it’s there.” He attempted to reach the summit again in the company of Andrew Irvine in 1924, but on this trip both climbers disappeared. The first successful ascent (and descent) of Mount Everest was accomplished by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on May 29th, 1953. The first ascent by a woman was on May 16th, 1975, by Junko Tabei from Japan. Between 1921 and 2007, over two thousand people have climbed Mount Everest, some more than once. Since the first ascent in 1953, more than 600 climbers from 20 different countries have reached the summit. However, over two hundred climbers have died attempting to climb Mount Everest, most commonly from avalanches, but also from falls in crevasses, cold, or high-­‐altitude sicknesses. READ AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT MOUNT EVEREST Instructions: Read the questions carefully, you may refer to the narrative for your answers, then circle “a” for every answer. 1. How high is Mount Everest?
a) 8848 feet
b) 29,028 meters
c) 29,028 feet
d) 8848 meters
2. In what way does Mount Everest change annually?
a) It is shrinking a very small amount.
b) It is getting a little wider.
c) It is shifting slightly to the north.
d) It is growing a very small amount taller.
3. Mount Everest is in the mountain range called the ________.
a) Rocky Mountains
b) Andes
c) Himalayas
d) Alps
08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 8 of 10 10/13/11 4. Who wanted to climb Mount Everest “because it’s there”?
a) George Mallory
b) Edmund Hillary
c) Tenzing Norgay
d) Junko Tabei
5. The first team to successfully reach the summit was _________.
a) George Mallory and Andrew Irvine
b) Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
c) George Mallory and Edmund Hillary
d) Tenzing Norgay and Andrew Irvine
6. Since 1953, how many people have reached the summit?
a) about 20
b) fewer than 600
c) exactly 600
d) more than 600
BST: Section 3 General Writing Skills Using only 50 to 200 words, use the spaces provided below to describe any of the following: How you prepare your favorite meal. How you would change a light bulb. Your favorite hobby. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 9 of 10 10/13/11 ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Chose the word that completes the sentence correctly: “ In recent years, Fiber Optics has ______________ quite popular. “ a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
became become becoming becomes becomed ______________________________________________________________________________ Thank you for taking the time to complete this Basic Skills Test. If you have finished in under the
40 minute time frame then you may now return this test instrument to the facilitator. Please
remember to sign your initials on the top right hand of each page in the space provided.
08.06 – OTI Basic Skills Test 10 of 10 10/13/11