What kind of reading questions are on the OAR?

The Reading Comprehension Test gives you short passages and asks what they say or imply: the main idea, a stated detail, an inference, or which statement the passage supports. Everything you need is in the passage itself.

How do I avoid wrong answers on reading comprehension?

Check each answer against the passage. Wrong choices usually go beyond the text (“always”, “never”, “every”), swap a detail, or state something true in real life that the passage never says. Pick the answer the passage actually supports.

Does vocabulary matter for OAR reading?

A strong vocabulary helps you read passages quickly and accurately. The OAR vocabulary list on this site has the words from the OAR Prep verbal flashcards, with meanings and example sentences.

Read the passage, then answer. The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis was founded in 1845 by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft. It began with just fifty midshipmen and seven professors on a small Army post called Fort Severn. Today the Academy commissions officers not only into the Navy but also into the Marine Corps. According to the passage, the Naval Academy was originally located on:

Land donated by the state of Maryland

Read the passage, then answer. Sonar, short for Sound Navigation and Ranging, works by emitting sound pulses and listening for the echoes that bounce back off objects. Active sonar sends out its own pulses, while passive sonar simply listens to sounds produced by other vessels. Because passive sonar emits no signal of its own, it allows a submarine to search for other ships without revealing its own position. Why might a submarine crew prefer passive sonar over active sonar?

It does not reveal the submarine's location

It works better in shallow water

It requires less specialized training

It provides a clearer image of the ocean floor

Read the passage, then answer. A ship's log is a detailed record of a vessel's operational activities, kept by the officer of the deck. It typically includes the ship's position, speed, course, weather conditions, and any significant events such as equipment failures or personnel changes. Because the log is a legal document, entries must be made honestly and cannot be altered after the fact without formal correction procedures. What can be concluded about the ship's log from the passage?

Its entries require formal procedures to correct

It is updated only once per voyage

It is only used for weather forecasting

It is an informal document with no legal standing

Read the passage, then answer. Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor, yet they support roughly a quarter of all known marine species. This disproportionate richness has earned reefs the nickname 'rainforests of the sea.' Reefs are highly sensitive to changes in water temperature, and even a small rise can cause coral to expel the algae that give it color and nutrients, a process known as bleaching. Based on the passage, coral reefs are nicknamed 'rainforests of the sea' because they:

Support a disproportionately large number of species

Receive large amounts of rainfall

Are immune to temperature changes

Read the passage, then answer. Before radar, sailors relied on dead reckoning to estimate their position at sea. This method used a ship's last known location combined with its speed, heading, and elapsed time to calculate a new position. Dead reckoning was reasonably accurate over short periods, but small errors in speed or heading would accumulate over long voyages, sometimes leading ships far off course. According to the passage, a weakness of dead reckoning is that it:

Accumulates errors over long voyages

Read the passage, then answer. The chain of command is a fundamental principle of military organization. It establishes a clear line of authority, from the most senior officer down to the newest recruit, so that orders can be issued and carried out efficiently. Bypassing the chain of command, even with good intentions, can create confusion and undermine discipline, which is why service members are trained to route requests and concerns through their immediate superiors first. According to the passage, why are service members trained to route concerns through their immediate superiors?

To avoid confusion and preserve discipline

Because superiors always have the final say

Because it is required by international law

Read the passage, then answer. A carrier strike group is not simply an aircraft carrier sailing alone. It typically includes guided-missile cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, all working together to protect the carrier and project power over long distances. The escort ships handle air defense, anti-submarine warfare, and surface threats, freeing the carrier to focus on launching and recovering aircraft. What is the main idea of the passage?

A carrier strike group relies on escort ships for protection

Aircraft carriers operate independently of other ships

Carriers are primarily used for surface warfare

Submarines are the most important part of a strike group

Read the passage, then answer. Migratory birds travel thousands of miles each year between breeding and wintering grounds, often following the same routes generation after generation. Scientists believe birds navigate using a combination of the sun's position, the stars, the Earth's magnetic field, and even landmarks such as coastlines and mountain ranges. No single explanation fully accounts for their remarkable accuracy. According to the passage, bird navigation relies on:

Training passed down by older birds

A single, well-understood mechanism

Read the passage, then answer. Damage control is the term for the emergency repair and firefighting efforts performed by a ship's crew to keep the vessel operational after an attack, collision, or accident. Every sailor, regardless of specialty, receives basic damage control training, because a fire or flooding casualty can threaten the entire ship, not just one department. Why does the passage say every sailor receives damage control training?

Because a casualty can threaten the whole ship, not just one department

Because it is required for promotion

Because only officers are allowed to fight fires

Because damage control equipment is difficult to operate

Read the passage, then answer. The Panama Canal, completed in 1914, dramatically shortened the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Before the canal existed, ships traveling between the East and West Coasts of the United States had to sail around the southern tip of South America, a journey that could add thousands of miles and weeks of travel time. What was the main effect of the Panama Canal's completion, according to the passage?

It significantly shortened travel between the Atlantic and Pacific

It connected the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico

It eliminated the need for naval ships entirely

It made travel around South America faster

Read the passage, then answer. Groupthink is a phenomenon in which members of a tight-knit team suppress dissenting opinions in order to maintain harmony and consensus. While cohesion is generally valuable in a team, excessive agreement can prevent a group from noticing flaws in a plan. Effective leaders often designate someone to deliberately argue against the group's favored option, a role sometimes called the 'devil's advocate,' to counter this tendency. According to the passage, why might a leader assign someone to argue against the group's favored plan?

To counter the tendency to suppress dissenting opinions

To slow down decision-making on purpose

Because that person has the most experience

To punish team members who disagree

Read the passage, then answer. The phonetic alphabet used by militaries and aviators, in which 'Alpha' stands for A and 'Bravo' stands for B, was designed to eliminate confusion between letters that sound alike over radio, such as 'B' and 'D.' Each code word was chosen because it is difficult to confuse with any other word in the alphabet, even under poor radio conditions. What problem was the phonetic alphabet designed to solve?

Confusion between similar-sounding letters over radio

Difficulty reading handwritten messages

Language barriers between allied nations

Read the passage, then answer. Naval aviators must complete water survival training before their first solo flight. The training ensures that, after an over-water ejection, a pilot can escape a submerged cockpit and stay afloat until rescue arrives. Which statement is best supported by the passage?

Water survival training prepares pilots for emergencies over water.

Rescue always arrives within minutes.

Solo flights are forbidden over land.

Every naval aviator eventually ejects over water.

Read the passage, then answer. Although the engine showed no visible damage, the maintenance crew grounded the aircraft. A faint metallic vibration during the test run pointed to a problem that visual inspection alone could not confirm. The crew grounded the aircraft mainly because:

A symptom suggested a hidden mechanical problem.

The engine was obviously broken.

The pilot asked for a different aircraft.

Free tool · OAR Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension practice test

15 short passages from the OAR Prep question bank, each with one question on the main idea, a stated detail or what can be inferred.

What the Reading Comprehension Test asks

Every question in this test is one of four kinds: the main idea of the passage, adetail it states, an inference it supports, or the reason it gives for something.

A method that works

Read the question first, so you know what to look for.
Read the passage once, closely. They are short.
Before looking at the choices, say the answer in your own words.
Eliminate choices that add words like “always” or “every”, or that the passage never mentions, even if they sound true.

For the words behind the passages, see the OAR vocabulary list. For the other two subtests, try themath and mechanical comprehensionpractice tests.

FAQ

What kind of reading questions are on the OAR?: The Reading Comprehension Test gives you short passages and asks what they say or imply: the main idea, a stated detail, an inference, or which statement the passage supports. Everything you need is in the passage itself.
How do I avoid wrong answers on reading comprehension?: Check each answer against the passage. Wrong choices usually go beyond the text (“always”, “never”, “every”), swap a detail, or state something true in real life that the passage never says. Pick the answer the passage actually supports.
Does vocabulary matter for OAR reading?: A strong vocabulary helps you read passages quickly and accurately. The OAR vocabulary list on this site has the words from the OAR Prep verbal flashcards, with meanings and example sentences.

Sources

Naval Aerospace Medical Institute. ASTB-E Frequently Asked Questions

Original practice passages from the OAR Prep question bank — not actual OAR or ASTB-E test items. The U.S. Navy does not endorse this test.