GED Language Arts Practice Test: Reading, Arguments and Grammar

Most people who own a power drill use it for only a few minutes a year. That fact led the Riverton Public Library to try something new. Next to the cookbooks and travel guides, the library now keeps shelves of items that patrons can check out like books: drills, sewing machines, telescopes and even cake pans. Each item comes with a printed guide, and staff members test the tools after every return. Librarians admit that the collection creates extra work, since batteries need charging and some items come back dirty. Still, the program has drawn in people who had not visited the library in years, and many of them leave with a book as well as a hedge trimmer.

Until the 1880s, most American towns kept their own local time, based on the position of the sun. When it was noon in one city, clocks in a town a short distance to the west might read a few minutes before noon. For travelers on horseback, the difference hardly mattered. For railroads, it was a constant problem: each company printed its timetables using its own reference times, and passengers changing trains had to convert from one system to another. In November 1883, the major railroads adopted a set of standard time zones across the country. Many towns quickly followed the railroads' lead, although the zones did not become federal law until 1918.

Every two years, inspectors climb under the Mill Creek Bridge with flashlights, hammers and notebooks. They tap the steel beams to listen for weak spots, measure cracks in the concrete and photograph any rust. This spring, residents worried that the 70-year-old bridge would have to close. After a week of tests, however, the engineers reported that the structure was still sound. They recommended repainting the beams and repairing two small cracks, work that can be done without stopping traffic.

When Dana took over the corner bakery, she kept the old recipes but changed the hours. The shop now opens at 6 a.m. instead of 8 a.m., and a small table by the door holds a coffee urn and a stack of newspapers. Within a month, the morning line often reached the sidewalk, and most of the people in it were wearing work boots or hospital scrubs.

(1) Every branch of the city library now closes at 6 p.m., before many residents finish work. (2) Students who need quiet space and computers after school have few other places to go. (3) The city council should extend library hours to 9 p.m. on weeknights. (4) Longer hours would cost money for staff and electricity, but the library is one of the few public spaces that serves people of every age.

Some residents argue that a skate park would bring noise and litter to Elm Park. These are fair concerns, but the city's other parks show how they can be handled: trash cans are emptied every day, and all parks close at 9 p.m. A skate park would give teenagers a safe place to practice instead of parking lots and store steps.

Our district should move to a four-day school week. Districts that have switched say they save money on buses and heating. Teachers in those districts report higher morale. Everyone knows that students learn better when they are well rested. A free weekday would also give families time for medical appointments without missing class.

Speaker 1 (shop owner): When Harbor Street was closed to cars for last summer's festival, my bakery had its busiest weekends of the year. A permanent pedestrian zone would bring that kind of foot traffic every week.

Speaker 2 (resident): The festival weekends were busy because they were special events. On an ordinary Tuesday, a closed street would mostly mean that older customers could no longer park near the shops they depend on.