CLAST Reading Comprehension Practice

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow: The Spider has a bad name: to most of us, she represents an odious, noxious animal, which every one hastens to crush under foot. Against this summary verdict the observer sets the beast's industry, its talent as a weaver, its wiliness in the chase, its tragic nuptials and other characteristics of great interest. Yes, the Spider is well worth studying, apart from any scientific reasons; but she is said to be poisonous and that is her crime and the primary cause of the repugnance wherewith she inspires us. Poisonous, I agree, if by that we understand that the animal is armed with two fangs which cause the immediate death of the little victims which it catches; but there is a wide difference between killing a Midge and harming a man. However immediate in its effects upon the insect entangled in the fatal web, the Spider's poison is not serious for us and causes less inconvenience than a Gnat-bite. That, at least, is what we can safely say as regards the great majority of the Spiders of our regions.

Nevertheless, a few are to be feared; and foremost among these is the Malmignatte, the terror of the Corsican peasantry. I have seen her settle in the furrows, lay out her web and rush boldly at insects larger than herself; I have admired her garb of black velvet speckled with carmine-red; above all, I have heard most disquieting stories told about her. Around Ajaccio and Bonifacio, her bite is reputed very dangerous, sometimes mortal. The countryman declares this for a fact and the doctor does not always dare deny it. In the neighborhood of Pujaud, not far from Avignon , the harvesters speak with dread of Theridion lugubre, first observed by Leon Dufour in the Catalonian mountains; according to them, her bite would lead to serious accidents. The Italians have bestowed a bad reputation on the Tarantula, who produces convulsions and frenzied dances in the person stung by her. To cope with 'tarantism,' the name given to the disease that follows on the bite of the Italian Spider, you must have recourse to music, the only efficacious remedy, so they tell us. Special tunes have been noted, those quickest to afford relief. There is medical choreography, medical music. And have we not the tarentella, a lively and nimble dance, bequeathed to us perhaps by the healing art of the Calabrian peasant?

Must we take these queer things seriously or laugh at them? From the little that I have seen, I hesitate to pronounce an opinion. Nothing tells us that the bite of the Tarantula may not provoke, in weak and very impressionable people, a nervous disorder which music will relieve; nothing tells us that a profuse perspiration, resulting from a very energetic dance, is not likely to diminish the discomfort by diminishing the cause of the ailment. So far from laughing, I reflect and enquire, when the Calabrian peasant talks to me of his Tarantula, the Pujaud reaper of his Theridion lugubre, the Corsican husbandman of his Malmignatte. Those Spiders might easily deserve, at least partly, their terrible reputation.

1. The main idea of the passage is:
A: Though most spiders are not dangerous, there are some whose bites may be harmful to humans.
B: Spiders are dangerous and should be stepped on whenever possible.
C: Spiders are the most interesting creatures on Earth.
D: Peasants are not very smart.

2. The purpose of the passage is to:
A: persuade the reader to purchase spiders
B: entertain and inform the reader
C: describe the tarantula
D: describe the author

3. Which of the following words describes the author's attitude to spider bites?
A: terrified
B: lazy
C: unafraid
D: uninformed

4. This passage is meant to be read by:
A: children
B: adults
C: scientists
D: preachers

5. This passage was probably written by:
A: a professor of biology
B: an amateur entomologist
C: a peasant
D: a schoolteacher

6. The phrase 'the doctor does not always dare deny it' is an example of:
A: personification
B: assonance
C: synecdoche
D: alliteration

7. What origin does the author ascribe for the tarantella?
A: as a cure for spider bites
B: as a pet for small children
C: as a delicious dessert
D: as a method of discipline

8. Which word best describes the author's attitude towards folk remedies?
A: indifferent
B: curious
C: supercilious
D: carefree

9. What do the peasants probably have in mind when they describe 'frenzied dances'?
A: tarantellas
B: tangos
C: conversations
D: seizures

10. The larger work from which this passage is taken would probably have the title:
A: 'The Spiders of Europe'
B: 'The Peasants of Europe'
C: 'Folk Remedies of the Old Midwest'
D: 'The Spiders of South America'

Answer Key

1. A. The passage describes how most spiders are harmless, but then mentions a few that can be harmful.

2. B. The passage is written at a level to be enjoyed by a novice to the study of spiders.

3. C. The author insists that the bites from most spiders are not dangerous.

4. B. The vocabulary and subject matter of the passage is most appropriate for adults who do not know too much about spiders.

5. B. The author appears to have a personal interest in the study of spiders, without being too technical.

6. D. Alliteration is the repetition of opening consonant sounds.

7. A. The author mentions that peasants believe the poison of the tarantula can be cured with dancing.

8. B. The author declares that he likes to inquire into the basis for these remedies.

9. D. The physical gyrations of a seizure might be described as a 'frenzied dance'.

10. A. This passage seems to be part of a larger work of non-fiction.

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