Paragraph comprehension tests the ability to obtain information from written material. Students read different types of passages of varying lengths and respond to questions based on information presented in each passage. Concepts include identifying stated and reworded facts, determining a sequence of events, drawing conclusions, identifying main ideas, determining the author's purpose and tone, and identifying style and technique.

Nations are political and military units, but they are not necessarily the most important units in economic life, nor are they very much alike in any economic sense. All that nations really have in common is the political aspect of their sovereignty. Indeed, the failure of national governments to control economic forces suggests that nations are irrelevant to promoting economic success.