FOUNDATIONAL TEXTS – INFORMATIONAL TEXTS

On the GED® test, you will sometimes read from foundational texts—these are important historical documents that helped shape the United States. You may see passages from the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or other writings from the early years of the country. These documents often explain the rights and freedoms that American citizens have.

Below is a sample passage from the Bill of Rights, which is part of the U.S. Constitution. After reading, you’ll be asked a question about its meaning.

Amendment I
Congress cannot make laws that create a national religion or stop people from practicing their religion. It also cannot limit free speech, the press, or the right of people to gather peacefully and ask the government to fix problems.

Amendment II
Because a well-trained group of citizen soldiers is important for safety, people have the right to own and carry weapons.

Amendment III
In peacetime, soldiers cannot stay in someone’s home without the owner’s permission. Even during war, it must follow the law.

Amendment IV
People have the right to be safe in their homes, with their belongings and personal information protected from unreasonable searches or being taken by the government. If the government wants to search or take anything, it needs a warrant based on probable cause, and the warrant must clearly describe what is being searched and why.

Question: What is the main idea of Amendment IV?
A. People may be subjected to unreasonable searches under certain circumstances.
B. People have the right to be free from unreasonable searches.
C. Unreasonable searches are permitted if done in certain ways.
D. The government has the right to administer unreasonable warrants.

✅ Correct Answer: B. People have the right to be free from unreasonable searches.
This amendment protects personal privacy. It says the government needs a valid reason and a clear warrant before they can search your home or take your property.

QUESTIONS

Directions: Read the following text, which is excerpted from The Hurricane by John James Audubon. Then answer the questions.

       Various portions of our country have at different periods suffered severely from the influence of violent storms of wind, some of which have been known to traverse nearly the whole extent of the United States, and to leave such deep impressions in their wake as will not easily be forgotten. Having witnessed one of these awful phenomena, in all its grandeur, I will attempt to describe it. The recollection of that astonishing revolution of the ethereal element even now bringing with it so disagreeable a sensation, that I feel as if about to be affected by a sudden stoppage of the circulation of my blood.

       I had left the village of Shawaney, situated on the banks of the Ohio, on my return from Henderson, which is also situated on the banks of the same beautiful stream. The weather was pleasant, and I thought not warmer than usual at that season. My horse was jogging quietly along, and my thoughts were, for once at least in the course of my life, entirely engaged in commercial speculations. I had forded Highland Creek, and was on the eve of entering a tract of bottom land or valley that lay between it and Canoe Creek, when on a sudden I remarked a great difference in the aspect of the heavens. A hazy thickness had overspread the country, and I for some time expected an earthquake, but my horse exhibited no propensity to stop and prepare for such an occurrence. I had nearly arrived at the verge of the valley, when I thought fit to stop near a brook, and dismounted to quench the thirst which had come upon me.

       I was leaning on my knees, with my lips about to touch the water, when from my proximity to the earth, I heard a distant murmuring sound of an extraordinary nature. I drank, however, and as I rose on my feet, looked toward the southwest, where I observed a yellowish oval spot, the appearance of which was quite new to me. Little time was left me for consideration, as the next moment a smart breeze began to agitate the taller trees. It increased to an unexpected height, and already the smaller branches and twigs were seen falling in a slanting direction towards the ground. Two minutes had scarcely elapsed, when the whole forest before me was in fearful motion. Here and there, where one tree pressed against another, a creaking noise was produced, similar to that occasioned by the violent gusts which sometimes sweep over the country. Turning instinctively toward the direction from which the wind blew, I saw, to my great astonishment, that the noblest trees of the forest bent their lofty heads for a while, and, unable to stand against the blast, were falling into pieces. First, the branches were broken off with a crackling noise; then went the upper part of the massy trunks; and in many places whole trees of gigantic size were falling entire to the ground. So rapid was the progress of the storm, that before I could think of taking measures to insure my safety, the hurricane was passing opposite the place where I stood. Never can I forget the scene which at that moment presented itself.

 The tops of the trees were seen moving in the strangest manner, in the central current of the tempest, which carried along with it a mingled mass of twigs and foliage, that completely obscured the view. Some of the largest trees were seen bending and writhing under the gale; others suddenly snapped across; and many, after a momentary resistance, fell uprooted to the earth. The mass of branches, twigs, foliage, and dust that moved through the air, was whirled onward like a cloud of feathers, and on passing, disclosed a wide space filled with fallen trees, naked stumps, and heaps of shapeless ruins, which marked the path of the tempest. This space was about a fourth of a mile in breadth, and to my imagination resembled the dried-up bed of the Mississippi, with its thousands of planters and sawyers, strewn in the sand, and inclined in various degrees.

 The horrible noise resembled that of the great cataracts of Niagara, and as it howled along in the track of the desolating tempest, produced a feeling in my mind which it is impossible to describe.

 1.   What is the author’s viewpoint toward the storm?

 A.   He is terrified that he will be injured by the storm.

 B.   He is in awe of the power of the storm.

 C.   He fears that the storm may have killed people.

 D.   He loves being in storms because he finds them exciting.

 2.   Which quotation expresses an opinion?

 A.   “I had left the village of Shawaney, situated on the banks of the Ohio, on my return from Henderson, which is also situated on the banks of the same beautiful stream.”

 B.   “I had forded Highland Creek, and was on the eve of entering a tract of bottom land or valley that lay between it and Canoe Creek, when on a sudden I remarked a great difference in the aspect of the heavens.”

 C.   “I had nearly arrived at the verge of the valley, when I thought fit to stop near a brook, and dismounted to quench the thirst which had come upon me.”

 D.   “The mass of branches, twigs, foliage, and dust that moved through the air, was whirled onward like a cloud of feathers, and on passing, disclosed a wide space filled with fallen trees, naked stumps, and heaps of shapeless ruins, which marked the path of the tempest.”

 3.   What primary cause-and-effect relationship is found in the text? Between the

 A.   storm and the trees

 B.   author and the trees

 C.   storm and the stream

 D.   author and the stream

 4.   Why is this text reliable?

A.   It was written by an eyewitness to the storm.

 B.   It is excerpted from a story in a much longer book.

 C.   It describes something that many people have experienced.

 D.   It was written long before people understood what causes storms.

ANSWERS

Excerpt from The Hurricane by John James Audubon

1. What is the author’s viewpoint toward the storm?
✅ Answer: B. He is in awe of the power of the storm.
Explanation: The author uses vivid, dramatic language to describe the storm’s effects (“never can I forget the scene,” “horrible noise,” “feeling…impossible to describe”), showing admiration and fear for its sheer power, not panic or terror for his own safety.

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2. Which quotation expresses an opinion?
✅ Answer: D. “The mass…resembled the dried-up bed of the Mississippi…”
Explanation: This is a simile and a subjective comparison based on the author’s perception, not a factual observation, making it an opinion.

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3. What primary cause-and-effect relationship is found in the text?
✅ Answer: A. storm and the trees
Explanation: The storm is the cause, and the destruction of trees (falling, snapping, being uprooted) is the effect. The author focuses heavily on how the trees react to the storm.

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4. Why is this text reliable?
✅ Answer: A. It was written by an eyewitness to the storm.
Explanation: The author describes what he personally experienced, lending credibility as an eyewitness account.