ASVAB-SECTION-8 Online Practice Questions and Answers

Many criminal-law statutes permit more severe punishment of a person convicted of a crime if he or she intended to harm another person. For example, voluntary manslaughter carries a heavier penalty than involuntary manslaughter in most states. Planned crimes are also punished more severely than spur-ofthe-moment crimes. The problem is that juries find it difficult to know what the intent of a person was at the time he or she committed a crime. Many defendants will deny that they intended to harm the other person and claim that any harm that occurred was “accidental.” The law asks too much of juries when it expects them to determine what a person was thinking. Juries should only be asked to weigh objective evidence.

The author of this passage would agree that ___________.

A. laws should not punish people based on intention

B. juries aren't intelligent enough to weigh evidence

C. more laws should distinguish between crimes committed with intent and crimes committed on the spur of the moment

D. lawyers will lie about anything

You can put up to $3,000 a year into an individual retirement account (IRA) on a tax deductible basis if your spouse isn't covered by a retirement plan at work or as long as your combined incomes aren't too high. You also can put the same amount tax-deferred into an IRA for a nonworking spouse if you file your income tax return jointly.

The maximum amount that a married couple could possibly save in a tax-deferred IRA during a year is __________.

A. $3,000

B. $6,000

C. $9,000

D. The question can't be answered based on the information contained in the passage.

Presidential appointments are an ongoing effort. Some of a president's appointments require Senate confirmation. These appointments are for positions throughout the federal government, for the Cabinet and sub-cabinet, for members of regulatory commissions, for ambassadorships, for judgeships, and for members of numerous advisory boards.

Which of the following statements isn't true?

A. Presidential appointments require Senate confirmation.

B. A position on a regulatory commission is an example of a Presidential appointment.

C. Presidential appointments happen throughout the President's term in office.

D. All of the above statements are true.

Lasers and incandescent lights are different in an important way. Incandescent light from light bulbs emits light of different wavelengths and moves in many directions. On the other hand, laser beams are monochromatic, consisting of a single wavelength. They can travel great distances without spreading.

Any comparison of laser and incandescent lights must include a discussion of __________.

A. small and large light bulbs

B. wavelengths

C. soundwaves

D. echoes

A stranger meets you and shows you a wad of cash he has just "found." He says he wants to split it with you, but says that, in order to show your "good faith," you have to put up some of your own money. When you agree to give him your money, the stranger finds a reason to leave for a while. Do you see him again? Probably not – you have just been conned.

The main theme of this passage is __________.

A. don't ever speak to strangers

B. be careful of "get-rich-quick" schemes

C. how to make lots of money

D. don't believe anything a stranger says

Specialized warships are relatively recent in origin. They have always been expensive to build and need to be manned by crews with specialized skills. Their construction and operation therefore requires a great deal of the ruler's wealth. The earliest form of fighting at sea was probably piratical as opposed to political; even a pirate needs resources to get his start. The first navies may or may not have been pirate hunters but navies, by definition, cost more than individual ships. Whatever perspective one takes, fighting on water has cost more than fighting on land from the beginnings.

According to this passage, navies __________.

A. all started out as pirates

B. are more expensive to have and maintain than individual ships

C. normally cooperate with pirates to avoid attack

D. are suitable to be built by specialists

The Tao-te-ching (The Way and Its Power) is the basic text of Taoism, a Chinese religion and philosophy. The Tao-te-ching is composed of 81 short chapters or poems that describe a way of life marked by quiet effortlessness and freedom from desire. Taoism teaches that this can be achieved by following the creative, spontaneous life force of the universe, called the Tao. The book is attributed to Lao-tzu, but it was probably written in the third century B.C.

The Tao-te-ching __________.

A. is the basic text of Chinese poetry

B. describes a life way marked by quiet freedom

C. is made up of 81 chapters and a short poem

D. was probably not written by Lao-tzu, even though it is attributed to him

Although they last no longer than a fraction of a second, voltage variations can cause problems with sensitive electronic equipment. Variation in voltage causes digital clocks to blink and timers to be thrown off schedule.

Computers are especially __________.

A. useful when you transfer data to memory

B. easy to protect from variations in voltage

C. useful in publishing D. sensitive to voltage variations

Gerry Marpus is 78 years old and needs to use a cane for balance when walking. Many of her friends have given up driving and rely on their families to take them around town. Gerry, however, maintains that she is perfectly capable of driving herself. Knowing that her children were concerned about this, she decided to take advantage of a senior citizen driving course at the local community center. When she presented her completion certificate to her daughter and son, she could see the relief in their eyes and she knew she had done the right thing.

From the above passage, the reader can infer that Gerry __________.

A. wanted the people at the community center to decide if she could drive because she was afraid

B. wants to disregard whatever her children think and do what she wants to do

C. cares about her children's concerns and is an independent thinker

D. wants to be labeled disabled so she can get further treatments for balance issues

It is not surprising that John Fitzgerald Kennedy entered public service. He came from a family that valued such commitment, including his father, Joseph P. Kennedy. The elder Kennedy served as ambassador to Great Britain from 1937 to 1940. John served his country in the U.S. Navy after he graduated from Harvard University. During that time, Kennedy escaped death while serving as skipper of a PT boat in the Pacific. He even rescued another Navy man by swimming, with him in tow, to the shore of a safe island.

The word ambassador, as used in the above passage, most nearly means __________.

A. messenger

B. diplomat

C. dispatcher

D. courier

In Wiltshire, England, there is a fascinating site. Near Salisbury stands a creation called Stonehenge. No one is sure of the meaning of the monument that has stood there since ancient times. Some people theorize that it was a temple for people who worshiped the sun. Others have dubbed it a center for healing, a burial site, or even a very large calendar. Many questions remain, such as how in the world the tremendous stones were moved and arranged by primitive people who had only the most basic of tools. In spite of all these questions, Stonehenge remains an impressive site.

Which of these titles would best summarize the point of the above passage?

A. "An Unforgettable Mystery"

B. "Stonehenge in England"

C. "Visiting Wiltshire, England"

D. "Visiting Stonehenge"

If you want to visit the deepest lake in the United States, you’ll need to go to the southwestern part of Oregon. Since its establishment in 1902, Crater Lake has occupied 183,000 acres there and is 1,958 feet deep. This makes it one of the world's deepest lakes. It all began when the Mount Mazama volcano erupted over 7,000 years ago. There were glaciers around the eruption site and clear blue water from them filled the volcano basin, or caldera. When you visit the Crater Lake National Park to see this wonder of nature, you will also find 680 species of plants, 158 types of birds, and 74 different animals.

Based on the above passage, the author would agree that __________.

A. Crater Lake is considered one of the deepest lakes in both the United States and the world

B. Crater Lake is a man-made lake

C. Crater Lake National Park has very few plant species

D. Crater Lake is the only tourist attraction at Crater Lake National Park

One would not think that evidence of the existence of European people 2,000 years ago could be found in China, but Victor Mair might beg to differ. A group of archaeologists in western China came upon some mummified bodies. A college professor, Mair, helped examine them and was stupefied. What he found on the Tarim mummies were signs of blond hair and long noses. In 1993, after the mummies had been placed in a museum, Mair returned to take DNA samples from the specimens. The test results on these samples confirmed what Mair had suspected: the genes were most certainly European.

The word stupefied, as used in the above passage, most nearly means __________.

A. doubtful

B. foolish

C. impressed

D. puzzled

The maggot larvae may be more than just a repugnant animal. Maggot larvae, called Phaenica sericata, have recently been used in a treatment known as Maggot Therapy. Twice a week, larvae are placed on a wound and left there for 48 to 72 hours. The maggots only eat the dead tissue, leaving healthy tissue intact, a process called debridement. In a recent study, wounds that got presurgical maggot therapy developed no infections after surgery. While about one-third of wounds that didn't get maggot therapy developed an infection.

In the context, repugnant means __________.

A. distasteful

B. cute

C. friendly

D. jovial

Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or mycoplasmas. Bacterial pneumonia is the main type of pneumonia that follows an attack of the flu and a major precipitator (beginning cause) of pneumonia deaths.

Which kind of pneumonia is the most deadly?

A. bacterial

B. viral

C. fungi

D. flu