We are open Saturday and Sunday!

Call Now to Set Up Tutoring:

(647) 556-2460

Create an account to track your scores
and create your own practice tests:

Create an Account Create a Practice Test

All TACHS Reading Resources

28 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept

Want to review TACHS Reading but don’t feel like sitting for a whole test at the moment? Varsity Tutors has you covered with thousands of different TACHS Reading flashcards! Our TACHS Reading flashcards allow you to practice with as few or as many questions as you like. Get some studying in now with our numerous TACHS Reading flashcards.

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Adapted from Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads by John A. Lomax (1910)

The big ranches of the West are now being cut up into small farms. The nester has come, and come to stay. Gone is the buffalo, the Indian warwhoop, the free grass of the open plain—even the stinging lizard, the horned frog, the centipede, the prairie dog, the rattlesnake, are fast disappearing. Save in some of the secluded valleys of southern New Mexico, the old-time round-up is no more; the trails to Kansas and to Montana have become grass-grown or lost in fields of waving grain; the maverick steer, the regal longhorn, has been supplanted by his unpoetic but more beefy and profitable Polled Angus, Durham, and Hereford cousins from across the seas. The changing and romantic West of the early days lives mainly in story and in song. The last figure to vanish is the cowboy, the animating spirit of the vanishing era. He sits his horse easily as he rides through a wide valley, enclosed by mountains, clad in the hazy purple of coming night,—with his face turned steadily down the long, long road, "the road that the sun goes down." Dauntless, reckless, without the unearthly purity of Sir Galahad though as gentle to a woman as King Arthur, he is truly a knight of the twentieth century. A vagrant puff of wind shakes a corner of the crimson handkerchief knotted loosely at his throat; the thud of his pony's feet mingling with the jingle of his spurs is borne back; and as the careless, gracious, lovable figure disappears over the divide, the breeze brings to the ears, faint and far yet cheery still, the refrain of a cowboy song.

Why does the author open the passage with a list of disappearing species of the plains?

To compare the cowboy to other disappearing figures of the American West

To describe the sparse economic resources that cowboys had available to them

To give the reader important quantitative data about the ecology of the American West

To highlight the bravery of the cowboys

Report an Error Copyright Notice

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Why does the author open the passage with a list of disappearing species of the plains?

Your answer:

To describe the sparse economic resources that cowboys had available to them

Your answer:

To give the reader important quantitative data about the ecology of the American West

Your answer:

To highlight the bravery of the cowboys

Correct answer:

To compare the cowboy to other disappearing figures of the American West

Explanation:

The author starts the paragraph by describing how the whole of the western landscape, including the animals that live there, is changing. He then shifts into a discussion of cowboys with this transition: “The last figure to vanish is the cowboy, the animating spirit of the vanishing era.” In this way, the author puts the cowboy into context by comparing him to other classic—and disappearing—figures of the American West.

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Adapted from Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads by John A. Lomax (1910)

The big ranches of the West are now being cut up into small farms. The nester has come, and come to stay. Gone is the buffalo, the Indian warwhoop, the free grass of the open plain;—even the stinging lizard, the horned frog, the centipede, the prairie dog, the rattlesnake, are fast disappearing. Save in some of the secluded valleys of southern New Mexico, the old-time round-up is no more; the trails to Kansas and to Montana have become grass-grown or lost in fields of waving grain; the maverick steer, the regal longhorn, has been supplanted by his unpoetic but more beefy and profitable Polled Angus, Durham, and Hereford cousins from across the seas. The changing and romantic West of the early days lives mainly in story and in song. The last figure to vanish is the cowboy, the animating spirit of the vanishing era. He sits his horse easily as he rides through a wide valley, enclosed by mountains, clad in the hazy purple of coming night,—with his face turned steadily down the long, long road, "the road that the sun goes down." Dauntless, reckless, without the unearthly purity of Sir Galahad though as gentle to a woman as King Arthur, he is truly a knight of the twentieth century. A vagrant puff of wind shakes a corner of the crimson handkerchief knotted loosely at his throat; the thud of his pony's feet mingling with the jingle of his spurs is borne back; and as the careless, gracious, lovable figure disappears over the divide, the breeze brings to the ears, faint and far yet cheery still, the refrain of a cowboy song.

Which of the following options best expresses the meaning of the underlined and bolded section of the passage?

Arthurian knights and cowboys are exactly the same

While cowboys might not be spoken about in as lofty terms, their behavior is as praiseworthy as that of Arthurian knights

None of these

While their behavior is similar, cowboys are more venal and greedy than Arthurian knights

Report an Error Copyright Notice

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Which of the following options best expresses the meaning of the underlined and bolded section of the passage?

Your answer:

Arthurian knights and cowboys are exactly the same

Your answer:

None of these

Your answer:

While their behavior is similar, cowboys are more venal and greedy than Arthurian knights

Correct answer:

While cowboys might not be spoken about in as lofty terms, their behavior is as praiseworthy as that of Arthurian knights

Explanation:

This sentence makes a comparison between Arthurian heroes and cowboys. The key distinction here is one of class, while the knights are high class, and thus ascribed in legend a level of "purity" the cowboys are working class people. They are not valorized as pure or virtuous in the same way, but according to the author his behavior would justify such a comparison.

DMCA Complaint

If you believe that content available by means of the Website (as defined in our Terms of Service) infringes one or more of your copyrights, please notify us by providing a written notice (“Infringement Notice”) containing the information described below to the designated agent listed below. If Varsity Tutors takes action in response to an Infringement Notice, it will make a good faith attempt to contact the party that made such content available by means of the most recent email address, if any, provided by such party to Varsity Tutors.

Your Infringement Notice may be forwarded to the party that made the content available or to third parties such as ChillingEffects.org.

Please be advised that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that a product or activity is infringing your copyrights. Thus, if you are not sure content located on or linked-to by the Website infringes your copyright, you should consider first contacting an attorney.

Please follow these steps to file a notice:

You must include the following:

A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf; An identification of the copyright claimed to have been infringed; A description of the nature and exact location of the content that you claim to infringe your copyright, in \ sufficient detail to permit Varsity Tutors to find and positively identify that content; for example we require a link to the specific question (not just the name of the question) that contains the content and a description of which specific portion of the question – an image, a link, the text, etc – your complaint refers to; Your name, address, telephone number and email address; and A statement by you: (a) that you believe in good faith that the use of the content that you claim to infringe your copyright is not authorized by law, or by the copyright owner or such owner’s agent; (b) that all of the information contained in your Infringement Notice is accurate, and (c) under penalty of perjury, that you are either the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf.

Send your complaint to our designated agent at:

Charles Cohn Varsity Tutors LLC
101 S. Hanley Rd, Suite 300
St. Louis, MO 63105

Or fill out the form below:

Do not fill in this field

Contact Information

* Full legal name

Company name

* Phone number

* Email address

Address

* Address1

Address2

* City

* State

* Zipcode

* Country

Complaint Details

* URL of copyrighted work (where your original material is located)

* Please describe the copyrighted work so that it may be easily identified

I am the owner, or an agent authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

I have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

This notification is accurate.

I acknowledge that there may be adverse legal consequences for making false or bad faith allegations of copyright infringement by using this process.

* Signature (your digital signature is legally binding)

View Tutors

Mourad
Certified Tutor

Faculté des Lettres, des Arts et des Humanités de la Manouba, Bachelor's (in progress), French and English Literature, Civili...

View Tutors

Krittika
Certified Tutor

University of Dhaka, Master's/Graduate, Statistics. University of Waterloo, Master's/Graduate, Biostatistics.

View Tutors

Mahdieh
Certified Tutor

Iran University of Science and Technology, Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering. Seneca College, Ontario, Bachelor of ...

Popular Subjects

Computer Science Tutors in Dallas Fort Worth, LSAT Tutors in Miami, Spanish Tutors in Atlanta, Biology Tutors in New York City, GMAT Tutors in San Francisco-Bay Area, LSAT Tutors in Washington DC, LSAT Tutors in Denver, Physics Tutors in Los Angeles, SAT Tutors in Miami, GRE Tutors in San Francisco-Bay Area

Popular Courses & Classes

GRE Courses & Classes in Chicago, GMAT Courses & Classes in New York City, ISEE Courses & Classes in Boston, GRE Courses & Classes in Phoenix, MCAT Courses & Classes in Atlanta, LSAT Courses & Classes in Phoenix, GMAT Courses & Classes in Boston, ACT Courses & Classes in New York City, SSAT Courses & Classes in Houston, SSAT Courses & Classes in Miami

Popular Test Prep

ACT Test Prep in San Diego, MCAT Test Prep in Chicago, LSAT Test Prep in Washington DC, GMAT Test Prep in New York City, SSAT Test Prep in Miami, GRE Test Prep in Chicago, SAT Test Prep in Phoenix, SSAT Test Prep in Washington DC, ISEE Test Prep in Philadelphia, GMAT Test Prep in Miami

HIGH SCHOOL

GRADUATE SCHOOL

K-8

Search 50+ Tests

math tutoring

science tutoring

foreign languages

elementary tutoring

other

Search 350+ Subjects

Create an account to track your scores
and create your own practice tests:

All TACHS Reading Resources

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Report an issue with this question

DMCA Complaint

Contact Information

Address

Complaint Details

Email address:
Your name:
Feedback:

HIGH SCHOOL

GRADUATE SCHOOL

K-8

Search 50+ Tests

math tutoring

science tutoring

foreign languages

elementary tutoring

other

Search 350+ Subjects

Create an account to track your scores and create your own practice tests:

All TACHS Reading Resources

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Flashcards: Social Science Passages

Report an issue with this question

DMCA Complaint

Contact Information

Address

Complaint Details

Create an account to track your scores
and create your own practice tests: