Upper Level ISEE Reading Practice Test 64

1 Every year, hundreds of hopeful
2 students arrive in Washington, D.C., in
3 order to compete in the National Spelling
4 Bee. This competition has been held
5 annually since 1925 and is sponsored by
6 E.W. Scripps Company. The sponsors
7 provide both a trophy and a monetary award
8 to the champion speller. In the competition,
9 students under 16 years of age take turns
10 attempting to properly spell words as
11 provided by the moderator. The champion
12 is the sole remaining student who does not
13 make a mistake.
14 Most American students are familiar
15 with the concept of a spelling bee because
16 it is practiced in many schools throughout
17 the country. The National Spelling Bee,
18 however, is a much bigger setting and
19 showcases only the best spellers from all
20 parts of the nation. Students who appear
21 at the National Spelling Bee have already
22 won competitions at local and state levels.
23 Winning the competition nowadays requires
24 the ability to perform under intense pressure
25 against very talented students in front
26 of a large audience. A student who wins
27 the event in the twenty-first century will
28 experience a much different challenge than
29 the first winner, Frank Neuhauser, did in
30 1925 when he defeated only nine other
31 competitors.
32 Clearly, the 90 years of the National
33 Spelling Bee's existence attests to the
34 importance of spelling in the English
35 language. However, struggles with spelling
36 English words go back much more than
37 80 years. The captivating thing about
38 spelling correctly in English is that it is in
39 many ways without rules. English language
40 has a powerful capacity to absorb new
41 words from other languages and in doing so
42 make them "English" words. As a result of
43 this ability to borrow from other languages,
44 the sheer number of words in English is
45 much higher than any other language. Thus,
46 spelling in many other languages involves
47 fewer words, fewer rules, and fewer odd
48 exceptions to those rules. It turns out that a
49 spelling bee in most other languages would
50 be a waste of time. Why is that? Well,
51 without the myriad exceptions to common
52 vocabulary, there would be very few words
53 that everyone didn't already know.

1. The author mentions "other languages" in line 41 in order to point out that

• A. English-language spelling bees are unnecessarily complex
• B. one challenge in English-language spelling bees is the number of words that can be tested
• C. spelling bees are at least 90 years old
• D. words are harder to spell in English than in any other language

2. According to the passage, what is a major difference between the first National Spelling Bee and today's competition?

• A. Spellers in the past did not expect the competition to grow so large.
• B. The competition no longer focuses on only English words.
• C. There are more competitors.
• D. The words used today are significantly harder.

3. In line 51, the word "myriad" most nearly means

• A. confusing
• B. dangerous
• C. linguistic
• D. numerous

4. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

• A. A competitor at the National Spelling Bee has already won at least one smaller spelling bee.
• B. E.W. Scripps Company desires to eliminate poor spelling in America.
• C. Frank Neuhauser would not do well in today's competition.
• D. The competition has grown too large.

5. The author of the passage intends to

• A. compare the presentation of the current National Spelling Bee with the structure in the past
• B. contrast the English language with other languages
• C. investigate the role that vocabulary plays in our lives
• D. review the history and current form of the National Spelling Bee

6. The author's attitude toward winners of the National Spelling Bee is

• A. admiring
• B. critical
• C. indifferent
• D. questioning