1Formulas and methods
Reading comprehension (entrance exams)
Method
- Read the question first so you know what you are looking for.
- Skim the passage for its topic and main point; the first or last sentence often states it.
- Go back to the exact lines that answer the question.
- For inferences, choose the option the clues most strongly support, not one that goes further.
- For labels and tables, apply every rule that fits the case and do the small calculation carefully.
English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)
Method
- Find the subject and the verb of the sentence before choosing a form.
- Strip away phrases (of the …, along with …) and extra people (you and …) to test agreement and pronoun case.
- Check each clause: can it stand alone? Join independent clauses with a comma + conjunction or a semicolon.
- Check modifiers and lists: the describing phrase next to its word, items in the same form.
- For word choice and register, pick the precise, formal and concise option.
Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)
Method
- Read the whole sentence and look for a context clue: a definition, a contrast, an example or a cause and effect.
- Split an unfamiliar word into prefix, root and suffix and translate each part.
- Read a medical term from the suffix back to the start (hepat-itis: inflammation of the liver).
- Put each option into the sentence and check that the meaning still fits.
- Choose the meaning used in this sentence, even if the word has another everyday meaning.
2Practice problems
1.Reading comprehension (entrance exams)Medium
At the start of the shift, the nurse counted the patient’s tablets: 30. At the end of the shift, there were 27. The patient takes one tablet three times a day, and all doses were given on time during the shift. What can you conclude?
- AThe count matches three doses given during the shift.
- BThe patient refused all three doses offered during the shift.
- CSome tablets are missing from the container.
- DThe patient took six tablets during the shift.
2.Reading comprehension (entrance exams)Hard
“The town’s only factory closed in March. By summer, several shops on the main street had shut, and the bus service was cut to twice a day.” What does the passage suggest?
- AThe bus service improved over the summer.
- BThe factory reopened later that year.
- CThe shops closed because of new laws.
- DThe factory closing hurt the wider town.
3.English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)Medium
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
- AAlthough it was late we, kept studying.
- BAlthough it was late, we kept studying.
- CAlthough it was late; we kept studying.
- DAlthough, it was late we kept studying.
4.English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)Hard
Which sentence correctly describes an unreal past condition with a result in the present (a mixed conditional)?
- AIf she had taken the medication, she would feel better now.
- BIf she has taken the medication, she would feel better now.
- CIf she would have taken the medication, she would feel better now.
- DIf she took the medication, she would have felt better now.
5.Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)Medium
Choose the meaning of the word in bold: “The pupils dilate in the dark.”
- AChange colour
- BBecome smaller
- CStop moving
- DBecome wider
6.Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)Hard
In anatomy, which word is the opposite of superior?
- ALateral
- BDistal
- CInferior
- DPosterior
3Solutions
1.Reading comprehension (entrance exams)
Answer: A · The count matches three doses given during the shift.
Why this is the answer
30 − 27 = 3 tablets, which matches three doses given during the shift, so the count is correct.
A · The count matches three doses given during the shift.
2.Reading comprehension (entrance exams)
Answer: D · The factory closing hurt the wider town.
Why this is the answer
After the factory closed, shops shut and buses were cut, suggesting that the loss of the factory harmed the town’s economy.
D · The factory closing hurt the wider town.
3.English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)
Answer: B · Although it was late, we kept studying.
Why this is the answer
When a dependent clause comes first, a comma separates it from the main clause. A semicolon cannot follow a dependent clause.
B · Although it was late, we kept studying.
4.English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)
Answer: A · If she had taken the medication, she would feel better now.
Why this is the answer
A mixed conditional uses the past perfect for the unreal past condition (had taken) and “would” + base verb for the present result (would feel). “Would have” does not belong in the if-clause.
A · If she had taken the medication, she would feel better now.
5.Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)
Answer: D · Become wider
Why this is the answer
To dilate is to widen or open up; pupils dilate to let in more light.
6.Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)
Answer: C · Inferior
Why this is the answer
Superior means above or toward the head, and inferior means below or toward the feet.