ACT Reading practice pack

[1] On the first Saturday I helped at the neighborhood repair shop, I arrived with a notebook divided into neat columns: object, problem, solution. My aunt Lena had asked me to record the repairs while she worked. I expected the third column to fill as quickly as the first two. By noon I had written 'radio: silent' four times, and none of the four radios had made a sound.

[2] Lena did not seem troubled. She opened each case, set the screws in a saucer and drew a small diagram before touching the wires. When I offered to copy her diagram into my notebook, she shook her head. 'Leave room for what we don't know yet.' I had already ruled the columns in ink. I turned the page.

[3] The next visitor brought a desk lamp with a crooked shade. He set it down carefully and said it had belonged to his sister. Lena asked when it had last worked. He couldn't remember. I wrote 'lamp: broken' and reached for the next line, but Lena asked him to show us what happened when he switched it on. He pressed the switch. The bulb lit, flickered and went out. Lena watched his hand rather than the bulb.

[4] She unplugged the lamp and examined the switch. I leaned closer, waiting for her to name the faulty part. Instead she asked me to describe what I had seen. 'It flickered,' I said. 'When?' I tried the sentence again: 'It stayed on while he held the switch, then went out when he let go.' She nodded. For the first time that morning I felt that writing something down had advanced the repair.

[5] While Lena replaced the switch, the visitor told us that his sister had used the lamp beside her sewing machine. The shade had been crooked for as long as he could remember. I offered to straighten it. He smiled and said he preferred it that way. In my notebook I crossed out 'broken' and wrote 'switch fails to stay on.' Beneath that, outside any column, I added 'leave shade alone.'

[6] At closing time, only one radio was working. The other owners had agreed to return the following week, when Lena hoped to have found the parts she needed. I had filled six pages with descriptions, sketches and questions. My original columns occupied half of the first page. I did not redraw them. Before leaving, I looked over the three unfinished radio entries and added a space beside each for what we would try next.

[1] A neighborhood library is considering a cabinet of tools that residents could borrow. Supporters have proposed filling it with whatever equipment people donate. That approach would give the library an impressive inventory quickly, but the number of tools on a shelf would tell us little about whether the cabinet was useful. A tool that nobody knows how to maintain may spend more time awaiting repair than out on loan.

[2] I would begin with a short list chosen from residents' requests, then accept only tools that library staff can inspect and maintain. A volunteer has offered twenty garden rakes. We should thank her, but we should first find out how many borrowers need one. If the cabinet's space is limited, keeping twenty copies of a rarely requested tool could mean turning away equipment people would use each week.

[3] Borrowing records should guide later purchases. If a tool is repeatedly reserved while other tools sit untouched, that is a reason to buy another copy. The first inventory need not settle the question for good. Starting with a manageable collection would let the library learn from its borrowers before committing its budget and storage space.

[1] The proposed tool cabinet could give residents access to equipment they use too rarely to buy. Its success, however, will depend on more than selecting useful tools. A borrower might reserve the right drill and still return home unable to use it. We should consider the instructions and help that accompany each loan before opening the cabinet.

[2] A basic demonstration could show how to fit a drill bit, secure it and stop the tool. Written instructions would let borrowers check those steps later. Neither would turn a beginner into an experienced carpenter. For unfamiliar jobs, staff should help borrowers identify the instruction they still need instead of treating the loan itself as sufficient preparation.

[3] This work takes time. I favor opening with fewer kinds of tools so that staff can prepare clear instructions and learn which questions borrowers ask most often. As the collection grows, demonstrations and written guidance should grow with it. A cabinet crowded with tools but offering no practical help would meet only part of the need it was meant to address.