NBT Academic and Quantitative Literacy (AQL) Test Exemplar Question

Organisation : National Benchmark Test
Exam : NBT Exam
Document Type : Sample Question Paper
Category or Subject : Academic and Quantitative Literacy (AQL) Test.

Website : http://www.nbt.ac.za/
Download Sample Question Paper : https://www.southafricain.com/uploads/7498-AQLExemplarQuestions.pdf

NBT AQL Test Exemplar Question

A: Academic Literacy :
Read the following passage on advertising and answer the multiple-choice questions that follow :
The Influence of Advertising
1. Advertising was initially meant to make people aware of the goods available in the market. It was as simple as announcing what you have in your store or the services you offer in your premises. Over the years, advertising has evolved into a major industry that goes beyond informing, to persuading and influencing. It is a form of brainwashing consumers.

2. The notion that the media are primarily in place to give us news is not very true. If the truth may be told, the media are there to gather a large enough audience, package them into a pricey commodity and sell it to the advertisers. The advertisers, on the other hand, are always on the lookout for a target audience to persuade them that this product or service is better than that of the competitor.

3. In a nutshell, advertising does influence people. Most of the advertisements are filled with images that equate emotional well-being with material acquisition and associate independence and leisure with consumption of alcohol. Advertising also makes people lavish their affect on products rather than real people, thereby destroying human relationships. We have become trapped in the web of advertising where products like brands of beer and cigarettes take over our minds, doing away with our core family values.

Sample Questions

1. The overall purpose of paragraph 1 is to do the following: (communicative function)
a. introduce the reader to the basics/fundamentals of advertising
b. inform the reader that advertising is brainwashing
c. indicate that advertising means announcing what you have in store
d. indicate that advertising has changed to become influencing

2. In paragraph 4, we read that “Most advertisements … associate independence and leisure with consumption of alcohol.” This suggests that advertisements mainly communicate the message that (inferencing)
a. independence and leisure encourage people to drink alcohol
b. independence and leisure are always accompanied by alcohol consumption
c. independence and leisure enable people to relax
d. lack of independence and leisure makes it impossible for people to relax

3. In the first sentence of paragraph 2, the phrase “has become” signals that the change in advertising: (grammar/syntax)
a. started in the past and ended in the past
b. started yesterday and ended yesterday
c. started in the past and is still in progress
d. started yesterday and will end tomorrow

4. In paragraph 2, the word “ardent” can be substituted with the word: (vocabulary)
a. passionate
b. obsessed
c. compassionate
d. energetic

5. In paragraph 2, we read: “This is a craving for harmful products that we are better off without.” In this sentence, the word “This” mainly refers to (cohesion)
a. enviable attention
b. excessive consumption
c. unnecessary wants
d. increasing demands

6. Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of this passage? (discourse)
a. Paragraph 2 takes over from paragraph 1.
b. Paragraph 2 solidifies the point made in paragraph 1.
c. Paragraph 2 corroborates the point made in paragraph 1.
d. Paragraph 2 develops the point made at the end of paragraph 1.

7. The main idea of paragraph 3 is that (essential/non-essential)
a. The media and advertisers aim to achieve different goals
b. The media and advertisers complement each other
c. Both the media and advertisers target the same consumers
d. The media and advertisers aim to outsmart competitors

8. In paragraph 2, the phrase “fancy an edge over” means: (metaphor)
a. take pleasure in pushing others to the edge
b. wish that someone falls over an edge
c. wish to have an advantage over others
d. hope to have an opportunity to win

9. The writer’s attitude towards advertising in this text can best be described as: (text genre)
a. neutral
b. positive
c. negative
d. supportive

Quantitative Literacy

1. Question 1: Data handling
1.1 Approximately what percentage of agricultural households were involved in “Crops only” activity in Limpopo?
A) 20 %
B) 33 %
C) 54 %
D) 80 %

1.2 Approximately what percentage of agricultural households in Limpopo province were not involved in “Crops only” and “Mixed farming” agricultural activity?
A) 4 %
B) 20 %
C) 50 %
D) 80 %

2. Question 2: Shape, dimension and space
The diagram below shows the side view of an apparatus in a laboratory, consisting of a conical glass flask, a cork, and some tubing. The flask has a circular base. The diagram is drawn to scale on a grid in which each block represents 5 mm x 5 mm.
2.1 What is the radius of the top end of the flask into which the cork fits?
A) 10 mm
B) 20 mm
C) 40mm
D) 80mm

2.2 Which graph represents the best relationship when fluid is pumped into the conical flask?
A) Graph A
B) Graph B
C) Graph C
D) Graph D

3. Question 3: Quantity, number and operations
A primary school has 40 teachers and 160 learners in the school. What is the ratio of teachers to learners?
A) 1:3
B) 1:4
C) 2:4
D) 3:4

Benefits of National Benchmark Test

The National Benchmark Test (NBT) is a standardized test that is used by many universities in South Africa as part of their admissions process. The NBT is designed to assess students’ readiness for tertiary-level education and their ability to succeed in university-level courses. Some of the benefits of the NBT include:

Helps universities make informed decisions:
The NBT provides universities with valuable information about a student’s academic readiness, which can help them make informed decisions about admissions and course placement.

Identifies areas of strength and weakness:
The NBT assesses students’ skills in areas such as mathematics, academic literacy, and quantitative literacy. This can help students identify areas where they may need to improve before starting their university studies.

Provides equal opportunities:
The NBT is designed to be fair and objective, and it helps to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their readiness for university-level studies.