TEAS practice test

TEAS Reading Practice Test

Passages with main idea, detail, inference and structure questions. Here are 10 TEAS reading questions, each with the answer and the reason.

Updated 2026-11-14 by the Tigertest team. Matched to the ATI TEAS 7 blueprint and timing. Includes select-all-that-apply, fill-in and ordered-response items like the real exam; image hot spots are not modelled. Not affiliated with ATI.

1. Alcohol-based hand rubs kill most germs in about 20 seconds, which makes them faster than washing at a sink. However, they do not remove visible dirt, and they work poorly against certain spores, such as those of C. difficile. For these situations, soap and running water remain the better choice. Health care workers therefore need to know when each method fits the task.

   1.

   Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?

   • A.

     Hand rubs are always better than soap and water.

   • B.

     Each hand-cleaning method suits different situations.

   • C.

     Soap and water kill germs faster than hand rubs.

   • D.

     C. difficile spores are the most common hospital germ.

   Answer: B.

   The passage weighs the strengths and limits of both methods and concludes that workers must know when each fits. The claim that hand rubs are always better ignores the exceptions for visible dirt and spores.

2. To use the nasal spray, first shake the bottle gently and remove the cap. Blow your nose to clear the nostrils. Tilt your head slightly forward, place the tip in one nostril, and close the other nostril with a finger. Press the pump once while breathing in gently through the nose.

   2.

   According to the directions, what should the user do immediately after removing the cap?

   • A.

     Blow the nose to clear the nostrils.

   • B.

     Tilt the head slightly forward.

   • C.

     Press the pump while breathing in.

   • D.

     Close the other nostril with a finger.

   Answer: A.

   The second sentence, right after removing the cap, tells the user to blow the nose. Tilting the head comes next, after the nostrils are cleared.

3. Beginning March 1, all staff must complete the new online safety module. The module takes about 45 minutes and can be paused and resumed. Employees who finish by March 15 will receive a $25 meal card. Managers will receive a weekly report showing which team members have not yet started.

   3.

   According to the memo, what happens to employees who finish the module by March 15?

   • A.

     They receive a $25 meal card.

   • B.

     They are excused from future training.

   • C.

     They receive a weekly progress report.

   • D.

     They earn 45 minutes of paid leave.

   Answer: A.

   The memo states that finishing by March 15 earns a $25 meal card. The weekly report goes to managers, not to the employees who finish.

4. Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor, yet they shelter about a quarter of all marine species. Reefs also protect coastlines by breaking up waves during storms. Rising ocean temperatures, however, can cause corals to expel the algae they depend on, a process called bleaching. Repeated bleaching can kill large sections of a reef.

   4.

   Which sentence best summarizes the passage?

   • A.

     Coral reefs cover most of the ocean floor.

   • B.

     Reefs are valuable habitats that warming waters can damage.

   • C.

     Bleaching occurs when algae attack and weaken corals during large storms.

   • D.

     Reefs protect coastlines but provide very little habitat.

   Answer: B.

   The passage describes the value of reefs and the threat that warming poses through bleaching. Reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor, and bleaching is caused by heat, not storms.

5. I had read about the rain forest in textbooks, but nothing prepared me for the noise. Howler monkeys roared before sunrise, and insects hummed all day. By the third morning, I no longer jumped at every sound; I had started to listen for them.

   5.

   From which point of view is the passage told?

   • A.

     Second person

   • B.

     Third person limited

   • C.

     Third person omniscient

   • D.

     First person

   Answer: D.

   The narrator uses I and me to tell about personal experience, which is first person. Third person limited would describe one character as he or she, not I.

6. After the double shift, Andre dragged himself to the parking lot. His legs were lead, and his eyelids kept sliding shut. When he finally reached his car, he sat in the driver's seat for ten minutes before he trusted himself to drive home.

   6.

   The phrase His legs were lead is an example of which type of figurative language?

   • A.

     Simile

   • B.

     Personification

   • C.

     Onomatopoeia

   • D.

     Metaphor

   Answer: D.

   The phrase compares legs to lead directly, without like or as, which makes it a metaphor. A simile would need like or as, as in legs like lead.

7. The researchers had to table their study after the funding ended. They stored the samples in a freezer, archived the data, and wrote a short report so that another team could pick up the work later.

   7.

   As used in the passage, what does table most nearly mean?

   • A.

     Present formally

   • B.

     Postpone

   • C.

     Organize in rows

   • D.

     Cancel permanently

   Answer: B.

   Storing samples so another team can pick up the work later shows the study is set aside, not ended, so table means postpone. Cancel permanently is tempting but ignores the plan to resume.

8. A history student is researching the 1918 influenza pandemic. She has collected a nurse's diary written during the outbreak, a 2005 textbook chapter on the pandemic, a documentary filmed in 2018, and a biography of a doctor published in 1990.

   8.

   Which of these is a primary source?

   • A.

     The 2005 textbook chapter

   • B.

     The documentary filmed in 2018

   • C.

     The nurse's diary

   • D.

     The biography published in 1990

   Answer: C.

   A diary written by a witness during the event is a firsthand, primary source. The biography and documentary were created decades later by people interpreting the past, so they are secondary.

9. The old fisherman had caught nothing for eleven days. Each morning, the younger men on the dock laughed as he loaded his small boat. On the twelfth day, he returned at dusk towing the largest fish the village had ever seen. He said nothing to the men; he simply began cleaning his catch.

   9.

   Which statement best expresses the theme of the passage?

   • A.

     Younger people know more than their elders.

   • B.

     Persistence can succeed despite others' doubt.

   • C.

     Fishing is a dangerous way to earn a living.

   • D.

     Success should be celebrated loudly with others.

   Answer: B.

   The fisherman keeps going out despite mockery and finally succeeds, showing the value of persistence. He celebrates quietly, so the idea of loud celebration contradicts the story.

10. A student placed identical bean seedlings in three rooms. Plants in the sunny room grew 12 centimeters in two weeks, plants in the dim room grew 5 centimeters, and plants in the dark closet grew 2 centimeters and turned pale. All plants received the same amount of water and soil.

    10.

    Which conclusion do the results best support?

    • A.

      Water is the main factor in seedling growth.

    • B.

      Pale seedlings grow faster than green ones.

    • C.

      Bean seedlings grow more with greater light.

    • D.

      Soil type determines how tall seedlings grow.

    Answer: C.

    Growth rose steadily with more light while water and soil were held constant. Because water was the same for every plant, it cannot explain the differences.