15 Hardest ACT Reading Questions to Improve Your Score
Whatâs Covered:
- Overview of the ACT Reading Test
- 15 Hardest ACT Reading Questions
- How Does the ACT Impact Your College Chances?
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The ACT is a standardized test used in the college admissions process that tests a studentâs skills in five fundamental areas: English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing (which is optional). Each section equally affects your composite score, so doing well in each is paramount. Thankfully, in this post, we will cover some of the hardest questions a student will encounter in the ACT Reading section to help prepare!
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Overview of the ACT Reading Test
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The ACT Reading Test contains 40 multiple choice questions, and students are given 35 minutes to complete them. There are 4 passages in this section, each of which has 10 questions. The four passages are broken down into the following categories:
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- Prose fiction
- Social studies
- Humanities
- Natural sciences
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The score range is the same as the other sections of the ACT: 1-36. Overall, the ACT Reading Test measures reading comprehension, reasoning, critical thinking, and the ability to synthesize information. These skills are tested across the range of subject areas listed above.
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15 Hardest ACT Reading Questions
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Passage 1: Prose Fiction
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Question 1
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Answer: A
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This question tests the readerâs overall understanding of the passage. It asks the reader to identify which answer choice best represents the theme and message of the passage.Â
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The majority of the passage is spent on the narrator thinking about the importance of his swim, as he is swimming. The passage also spends a little time, in the beginning, explaining what led him to that swim meet, and also takes a break to reminisce on a past inspirational moment. Therefore, A is the best answer choice, as it explains that the passage was about the narrator recalling the swim and the factors that motivated him during it.Â
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Answer choice B is incorrect because the passage opens with the narrator already âgunning to qualify,â thus the events that occur after he has already been inspired to participate in the time trial.
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Answer choice C is incorrect because there is no contrast to earlier wins. Answer choice D is wrong because the passage does not chronicle his swimming career, and makes no reference to his childhood.
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Question 2
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Answer: G
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This passage does not follow a chronological timeline and makes references to past events whilst the main story is told in the present moment. This question asks readers to identify which event discussed happened first chronologically, not what happened first narratively. So, all you have to do is pay attention to the dates mentioned in the memories.
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Answer choices F and J happened in the present moment, so those can be eliminated. The narrator swam the 500-yard freestyle the day before, and the diving well incident happened in late September. The passage mentions that it was âlate September the year before,â so answer choice G is the correct answer.Â
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Question 3
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Answer: J
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This question is referring to the moment in the fourth paragraph where the narrator describes how âsometimes a moment comes along when the world slows down.â Reading that sentence, it is obvious that answer choices F and G are incorrect.
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The tricky part is deciding which of the slow-motion answers are correct. Here, you can read further to eliminate answer choice H. The narrator mentions that at the moment âeverything else moves around us at the same frenetic speed.â If you werenât sure what frenetic meant, the paragraph as a whole would still lead you to answer choice J. As time slows down, the narrator appreciates that he is able to âreflect in real-time rather than in retrospect.â
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Question 4
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Answer: C
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To answer this question, go to the portion of the passage where the narrator is discussing what âwhat [he] understood,â specifically starting in line 68. The passage says âWhat I understoodânot later, but right then, in the waterâwas how little the swim added up to in the worldâŠ.If no one else cared, then the swim was mine alone. It mattered because it was the task before me now.â Closely looking at and understanding what the narrator is saying here will help.Â
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Contrast the answer choices to this portion of the passage, as there will often be contradictions. Answer choice A is incorrect because the narrator says that the task (aka goal) was before him now, and therefore couldnât be one step farther on.Â
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Answer choice B is incorrect because it isnât something that he could understand for the first time, as he already knew the amount of time he had spent training.
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Answer choice D is incorrect because of another contradiction later on in the passage: âSwimming, I had long understood, is a constant choice between the now and the later.â The narrator says he had long understood this, meaning it couldnât have been something that he understood for the first time like the question is asking.
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Thus, we are left with answer choice C, which is correct because the narrator mentions that if no one else cared, then the swim was his alone.Â
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Passage 2: Social Studies
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Question 5
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Answer: G
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Here, what you need to focus on is not the fact that the wild apples looked like apples found in a local grocery store, instead focus on what point the passage is trying to make. There are many assumptions one could make from the statement that wild apples look like apples in a grocery store, but the author chose to include that fact as supporting evidence to their overarching claim.
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So, identify the claim the passage is making and the answer will become clear. The author is explaining how Vavilov had discovered the wild ancestors of the domesticated apple and later verifies that fact: âAs Vavilov predicted, itâs now believed that all of the apples known today are direct descendants of the wild apples that evolved in Kazakhstan.â The only answer choice that compliments this claim is G.Â
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Question 6
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Answer: A
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The âwhittlingâ is a reference to the ending of the previous paragraph, which states that âsociety whittles the resilience in our fields and orchards down to its breaking point.â The starting phrase âand whittle away we have doneâ indicates that the following paragraph is expanding on that previous claim. Therefore, the answer choice should be a piece of supporting evidence that proves society has reduced apple varieties.
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Answer choice B is describing a modification, not a reduction. Answer choice C places the blame on the scientists, but the passage does not state that the scientists actively harmed the apple varieties, instead it explains how they attempted to save them. Answer choice D mentions nursery catalogs wanting to feature certain varieties, which is different from a biological, unintentional loss.Â
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Therefore, answer choice A is correct because it successfully supports the claim that apple varieties have been whittled away, or gradually lost.
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Question 7
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Answer: G
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Here, you want to look for words that can replace ânamed and nurturedâ but still hold an agricultural connotation, as the context of the sentence is âsome 16,000 apple varieties have been named and nurtured over the last four centuries.â
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You canât nominate an apple, and you also cannot cite it, so answer choices F and J can be eliminated. Additionally, âpointed toâ is not a sufficient replacement as it doesnât assign the apple variety any sort of identity, as a name would. Therefore, answer choice G is the best answer choice as it doesnât change the meaning of the sentence and has agricultural connotations.
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Question 8
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Answer: H
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This question is asking about tone, so you want to focus on the intention of each passage. What exactly did each author intend to communicate, and how did they aim to make the reader feel about the topic?
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Passage A details Vavilovâs experience discovering the wild apples and how he was not only correct, but the legacy of the wild apples has lasted. Passage B instead focuses on the dwindling apple varieties in comparison to the original discovery.
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Passage A is not defensive or accusatory- it states facts instead of making argumentative claimsâso answer choices F and J can be eliminated. Passage B does not have an optimistic outlook on the decreasing apple varieties, so answer choice G can be eliminated.
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Passage 3: Humanities
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Question 9
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Answer: C
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After reading the passage, you leave with the impression that Berry was a quiet, modest, and friendly musician. As much of the passage centers around that, I wonât go into the details of how the author explains that component of Berryâs personality. Knowing that Berry was not as popular as many other musicians, but often worked with them on ensembles, means answers A and D can be eliminated.
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Answers B and C both describe Berryâs genial personality, but there is a distinction that makes Answer choice B incorrect. Answer choice B claims that Berryâs career suffered because he spent more time socializing than practicing. Looking back at the text, there is no mention of Berryâs social life or the detriment it caused to his career. So, answer choice C is correct.Â
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Question 10
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Answer: D
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To answer this question, first look at the context of it in the passage: âWhy youâve never heard of him is pretty simple: a lot of hard-core jazz buffs donât know much about him.â This is not meant to critique the jazz buffs that donât know him, but explain that Berry simply isnât talked about much. The sentence begins with âwhy youâve never heard of him.â Thus, you can deduce that the answer is D.
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Answer choice A references an unbalanced history of jazz, which is not discussed in the passage. Answer choice B is proven incorrect by the preceding phraseâthe author is mentioning this for the readerâs benefit, not his own. Finally, answer choice C is incorrect because there is no mention of Berryâs secrecy or his familyâs privacy in the passage.Â
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Question 11
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Answer: F
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This question requires you to understand the correct definition of court in the context given. So, if you go back to line 35, you can see that court is used in this context: âBerryâs geniality might help explain his failure to court historyâs favor.â Here, âcourtâ is used to explain how Berryâs geniality made it so that he didnât gain or seek out fame.Â
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A good strategy with these types of questions is to take each of the answer choices and substitute them into the place of âcourtâ in the original sentence. It wouldnât make sense for Berry to romantically pursue historyâs favor, or to dangerously provoke it, and it also would be difficult for him to pass judgment upon historyâs favor. Only when âcourtâ is replaced with âseek to attractâ does the sentence retain its original meaning: âBerryâs geniality might help explain his failure to seek to attract historyâs favor.â
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Question 12
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Answer: F
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Once again, looking at the overall context of this line is important to answer this question correctly. Here is an excerpt that provides more information: âThis may be Berryâs one and only instance of a solo in its flourishes, angles, ornamentations, reflexivity. If sunlight could pass through music, âA Ghost of a Chanceâ would funnel it out in the broadest spectrum of colors.âÂ
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Here, the author is heralding Berryâs solo work with wondrous imagery. The sunlight and spectrum of colors metaphor make it clear the author considers Berryâs work inspiring. Therefore, Answer choice F is correct.
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The piece is not described somberly, so G is incorrect. Also, the author is focusing on Berryâs great skill, so answer choices like H and J that demean his talent are incorrect.Â
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Passage 4: Natural Sciences
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Question 13
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Answer: H
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Letâs go-to line 33 to answer this question: âAn innovative analysis of the problem by Jeremy Bailin.â Obviously, this isnât enough information to infer what the problem is, so we must read it in the context of the whole paragraph to see what topics are being discussed. The answer lies in the previous sentence: âTheoretical and computational models have shown that a number of physical processes can warp a galaxy, so itâs a matter of figuring out which scenario applies.â
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The âproblemâ in line 33 is referencing this previous sentence, so the answer is H: âthe question of which physical processes caused the warp in the Milky Way.âÂ
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The key to answering questions like these is to only consider what information the passage has given you, never inferring. Inferring can lead you to some of these other answer choices, but close, direct reading will always reveal the answer.
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Question 14
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Answer: J
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In the fifth paragraph of the passage, the author explains that gravitation collisions between small satellite galaxies and big spiral galaxies have been considered possible culprits in the warping of our galaxyâs disk. Further, that the Sagittarius Dwarf seems the most likely candidate. The reason this theory is inconclusive is that scientists havenât been able to show a direct connection between the two.Â
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The next paragraph begins by stating âBailinâs study is the first to find such a link.â Therefore, Answer choice J is correct. Bailin had provided evidence with his study for an idea that had already existed.Â
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Question 15
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Answer: A
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Iâll explain why A is the correct answer choice here by breaking down why Answers B-D are incorrect, as eliminating answer choices is a great strategy for answering reading questions.
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Answer choice B is incorrect because it cites a specific angle when there is no mention of a forty-five-degree angle in the passage.
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Answer choice C claims that the Sagittarius Dwarf follows the movement of the stars in the Milky Way, but at a slightly faster rate. We know this is incorrect because the passage specifies that the study found the Sagittarius Dwarf and Milky Way moved identically.
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Answer choice D says that the Sagittarius Dwarf seems to now be moving erratically along its own path, and once again there is no textual evidence that supports this statement.Â
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How Does the ACT Impact Your College Chances?
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Many colleges (with the exception of UCs and some other schools, which have adopted a test-blind policy during and after COVID), use standardized tests like the ACT to assess a studentâs academic strength and thus the desirability of that candidate for their school. Unfortunately, some colleges automatically reject students whose test scores and GPA donât reach a certain threshold.Â
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If you want to see how you stack up and view your chances at getting into these colleges, check out CollegeVineâs free Chancing Engine. This tool will calculate your chances, taking into account GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and even background to evaluate your chances. Our free resource will even highlight weak spots in your profile and give tips on how to improve!
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