We have compiled all the stories (and answers) of Reading Plus – Level L so you won’t have to waste your time searching elsewhere. This post is perfect for students who want to enhance their reading skills and foster a deeper understanding of various texts

Reading Plus Answers – Level L

Making a Difference with Song

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: Two prominent singers who are advocates for social change use their music to generate support for their causes.

Question 2: Put these events in the life of Pete Seeger in the order in which they occurred, from first to last.
Answer 1: He became inspired by hearing the banjo being played at a music festival.
Answer 2: He taught music and performed with a puppet troupe.
Answer 3: He got a job in the Library of Congress’ musicology department.
Answer 4: He served in the U.S. Army first as a mechanic, then as a musician.

Question 3: Which sentence probably describes Seeger’s state of mind when he refused to testify before Congress about suspected communist sympathizers?
Answer: Seeger was adamant that freedom of speech and thought should be upheld, even though there would be negative repercussions to his career.

Question 4: Which two songs did Seeger perform with his quartet, the Weavers?
Answer 1: “Wimoweh”
Answer 2: “Goodnight Irene”

Question 5: Why did South African government officials take away Miriam Makeba’s passport?
Answer: Makeba was openly critical of apartheid and, as a successful singer, she could influence others to oppose the system.

Question 6: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that best demonstrates the author’s attitude about the power of song.
Answer: “If you doubt the capacity of singing as a catalyst for positive social change, you’ve probably never viewed movies depicting civil rights era protestors walking arm in arm singing, “We Shall Overcome” as they marched to demonstrate their opposition to racial discrimination.”

Question 7: In this excerpt, what does the inscription on Seeger’s banjo mean?
Answer: Music is a way to bring people together to confront hostility and turn it into harmony.

Question 8: Which of the following marked a turning point in Makeba’s career?
Answer: Her marriage to Stokely Carmichael

Question 9: How does this image reflect the issues in South Africa that Makeba addressed in her songs?
Answer: It depicts the deplorable living conditions for black people under apartheid.

Question 10: Which sentence supports the author’s statement that a song can be used as a catalyst for change?
Answer: “We Shall Overcome” became an anthem for proponents of the civil rights movement and an inspiration to freedom seekers internationally.

Question 11: Why was Makeba’s performance in South Africa in 1990 so satisfying to her?
Answer: She was elated to be able to return to her home country at the moment when apartheid was ending

Question 12: What does the word “trifle” mean in this Revolutionary War song?
Answer: A small, unimportant matter

Sports Bloopers/Timeout for Laughs

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: Many memorable moments in pro sports, like basketball, are remembered not for being amazing, but for being humorous.

Question 2: Flicked, flocked, brandishing
Answer: Flicked, flocked, brandishing

Question 3: How does this image relate to an occurrence in the selection?
Answer: The author uses it as a simile for how Marc Jackson’s body looked as he prepared to shoot a two-point layup while blindfolded.

Question 4: Read these two excerpts. For which two of the following reasons could the Hornets’ optimism in their April 7, 2006, game against the Suns be considered commendable?
Answer 1: The Hornets had been stuck in the midst of a losing streak.
Answer 2: The Hornets were forced to play in an unfamiliar arena after being displaced by a natural disaster.

Question 5: Put the following NBA bloopers in the order in which they occurred in NBA history, from first to last.
Answer 1: Darius Songalia scored a shot in the wrong basket after a ball bounced off his shoulder.
Answer 2: Amar’e Sroudemire accidentally blindfolded Marc Jackson, who still managed to score a shot.
Answer 3: Amar’e Sroudemire lost the number off of his jersey during a decisive moment of an important game.
Answer 4: DeMar Rozan took a shot that got stuck on top of a blackboard camera during an NBA playoffs game.

Question 6: Which of the following words could replace “proliferating” in this excerpt?
Answer: surging

Question 7: From a psychological perspective, why might fans find a sports blooper so captivating?
Answer: It makes them feel better to know that even pro athletes make mistakes

The Heritage of Capoeira

Question 1: What is the main…
Answer: A former disguised…

Question 2: According to the selection…
Answer: They both focus on the interaction, and they both teach participants to control

Question 3: What was the primary…
Answer: To disguise the martial…

Question 4: Which two of the following…
Answer 1: The negative evasion…,
Answer 2: The aerial roll…

Question 5: Put the following actions…
Answer 1:Both capoeiristas sway back,
Answer 2: One capoeira provokes,
Answer 3: One capoeirista executed,
Answer 4: Both capoeiristas…

Question 6: The selection makes a comparison. It states…
Answer: Mining for gems…

Question 7: What evidence does the author…
Answer: Escaped slaves…

Question 8: How do these two excerpts work together?
Answer: They both illustrate…

Question 9: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that uses…
Answer: They were treated as commodities

Question 10: In this excerpt, the word “moreover” signals that the author is going to
Answer: Make an additional point related to the last

Question 11: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that explains…
Answer: Capoeiristas never stand still, making it difficult…

Question 12: In this excerpt, what is the rationale…
Answer: The car company changed the wording…

They Marched in Protest

Question 1: Which of the following quotes best summarizes the central…
Answer: Rights…

Question 2: This is Inez Milholland. Who was she, and why…
Answer: This is an organizer…

Question 3: What is the meaning of the word milieu
Answer: It mainly means setting…

Question 4: The eleven marches identified…
Answer: They demonstrate…

Question 5: The crowd estimate for the Million…
Answer: Systemic racism…

Robots in Disguise

Question 1: Which statement reflects the central idea
Answer: Although much

Question 2: The author describes humans as robots
Answer: Unlike robots, humans have the power

Question 3: Together, what do these excerpts show about addiction
Answer: Excerpts take multiple

Question 4: Choose the sentence that best helps readers judge the validity
Answer: Indeed

Question 5: Place the four phrases
Answer 1: The dog,
Answer 2: No food given,
Answer 3: While the dog,
Answer 4: No food is presented

Aretha Franklin

Question 1: What statement best expresses the central idea
Answer: Aretha Franklin was a deeply admired musician…

Question 2: In this sentence from the selection, the term…
Answer: Clapped enthusiastically

Question 3: The first excerpt about Aretha Franklin…
Answer: Reverential and celebratory

Question 4: The first excerpt is from this selection…
Answer 1: Aretha was unable
Answer 2: Aretha’s career flourished

Question 5: Based on this selection, which one of the following…
Answer: Laws that enforced racial segregation…

Question 6: Place these events in order (First to last)
Answer 1: She traveled across the country with Martin Luther King Jr.
Answer 2: Her version of Otis Redding’s song “Respect”
Answer 3: President George W. Bush
Answer 4: She sang at President Barack Obama

Frederick Law Olmsted: Architect

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection
Answer: A master landscape architect created…

Question 2: Put these events in Olmsted’s early life in the order in which they occurred, from first to last
Answer 1: His mother died from an accidental…
Answer 2: He became sick and could not attend…
Answer 3: He worked various jobs, including sailor…
Answer 4: He published his first book following a…

Question 3: For what reason did Olmsted like to cover rocky, broken terrain with lush plants
Answer: To create a sense of nature’s abundance and peacefulness

Question 4: Which two landscape features did Olmsted alter in order “to lend the landscape a sense of mystery”
Answer 1: Shade
Answer 2: Light

Question 5: What period in history influenced Olmsted’s belief that it was essential to preserve green and open spaces…
Answer: Industrial revolution

Question 6: Which of the following would be most surprising to a visitor to the central park today
Answer: It had once been a reeking swampland filled with rubbish and industrial waste

Question 7: What did writer Adam Gopnik mean when he described Central Park as “a stage set”
Answer: It was a man-made site with every detail added for a specific purpose

Question 8: Which quote supports Olmsted’s reputation as a mastermind of urban park design
Answer: Only a genius could have created a system that over 100 years still works

Question 9: In what way are Central Park and Disney World comparable
Answer: They were both planned as artificial environments meant to create an illusion

Question 10: In this excerpt, what two figures of speech does Elizabeth Barlow Rogers use in her description of central park
Answer 1: Metaphor
Answer 2: Alliteration

Third-Culture Kid / Living Abroad

Question 1: This selection is mainly about
Answer: How living abroad helped the author develop and appreciate a global identity.

Question 2: This selection is an example of
Answer: Autobiography

Question 3: When the narrator saw people in Japan bowing instead of shaking hands and wearing masks when they had colds, she mentions that, unlike in her native culture, this behavior shows
Answer: Consideration for the welfare of the larger group over the individual.

Question 4: Read these two excerpts. How do they relate to one another?
Answer: The first offers evidence of the atypical experience of the narrator, and the second offers a typical experience.

Question 5: What is the point of view of this selection?
Answer: First-person

Question 6: During the uprising against the Marcos government in the Philippines…
Answer 1: The narrator is awoken at a sleepover…
Answer 2: The parents take the narrator home…
Answer 3: The family waits in the night…
Answer 4: The family and the people celebrate…

Discover Diplomacy

Question 1: This selection mainly
Answer: Describes…

Question 2: This is an image of the U.S. Embassy…
Answer: An embassy often has a very large staff

Question 3: The 1961 Vienna…
Answer: Representatives…

Question 4: This excerpt supports the idea that…
Answer: The public is more inclined…

Question 5: What is the purpose of the second sentence…
Answer: To prove…

Question 6: The word subtle…
Answer: Hard to perceive

Question 7: This selection mentions three benefits…
Answer: The staff creates U.S. policies…

The Key to Preserving Culture/Saving a Dying Language Part 1

Question 1: Which statement best summarizes the central idea of this selection?
Answer: HSL is a language on the verge of disappearing and researchers are helping to keep it alive.

Question 2: American Sign Language has been called “the gravest threat” to the existence of Hawaii Sign Language (HSL). Choose the sentence in this excerpt that suggests there is only one way to preserve this language.
Answer: “For it to survive, local signers will have to make a deliberate choice to use it.”

Question 3: What evidence from the selection does the author give that HSL could be more beneficial to deaf humans than ASL?
Answer: HSL has a bigger “signing space” than ASL-meaningful signs that can be made anywhere from the top of the head to the bottom of the torso.

Question 4: Which quote from the text best reflects the author’s point of view in writing this selection?
Answer: “But the gravest threat to HSL is American Sign Language (ASL), which is advancing across the globe from Hawaii to Thailand to Togo-just as fast as English.”

Question 5: Which statement best describes why the author includes this excerpt?
Answer: To provide the perspective of an individual who uses HSL everyday

The Key to Preserving Culture / Saving a Dying Language Part 2

Question 1: What is the central idea of this selection?
Answer: The issue of whether or not to formalize HSL as a language has many linguists divided

Question 2: In this excerpt, Wanda Andrew describes HSL as “chop suey.” She uses this analogy to imply that HSL
Answer: Had become something other than the original language.

Question 3: Read the two excerpts. An individual who does not support HSL would make which two of the following claims?
Answer 1: HSL is not a real language.
Answer 2: The existence of pure HSL is questionable.

Question 4: Place the following events in the correct order, from earliest to most recent, to show the introduction of ASL into Hawaii.
Answer 1: French Sign Language becomes the first modern system of sign language for formal instruction.
Answer 2: French Sign Language is fused with other sign languages to create ASL.
Answer 3: Missionaries push for ASL integration into various countries around the world.
Answer 4: At the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind, ASL becomes the standard.

Question 5: Which quote from the selection confirms why it is vital that linguists prevent HSL from becoming extinct?
Answer: “The impending disappearance of a language puts enormous stress on a community.”

Question 6: An individual who does not support HSL…
Answer: HSL is not a real language, the existence of pure

Frauds, Forgeries, and Fakes

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: A little-known Chinese painter duped the art world.

Question 2: Forgers often use this tool. What do they do with this tool, and why do they do it?
Answer: They remove paint from old paintings, which leaves a canvas that looks old and worn.

Question 3: Read these excerpts from the selection. Which two of the following statements are correct based on the information provided in the excerpts?
Answer 1: The artworks created by Qian were mainly imitative
Answer 2: Qian’s artistic talents were apparent during his childhood and he retained those talents as an adult.

Question 4: An attorney working for one of the duped art collectors compared the discovery of the 31 “unseen masterpieces” created by Qian to
Answer: Winning the lottery 31 times.

Question 5: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that includes a metaphor.
Answer: The smoking gun…

Question 6: Put these events in the order in which they occurred, from first to last.
Answer 1: Qian painted
Answer 2: Qian began
Answer 3: Jack
Answer 4: The Knoedler

Question 7: According to the selection, “provenance” is the
Answer: History of painting’s creation, ownership, custody, and location.

Question 8: Motherwell, Rothko, Pollock, and de Kooning can all be classified as
Answer: Abstract expressionist painters.

The Feathers Tell a Story

Question 1: Which statement best expresses the central idea of this selection?
Answer: Scientists are collaborating to correctly identify and catalog artifacts in the Powell collection, which offers a host of information about Native American culture.

Question 2: The text describes scientist Carla Dove’s name as patronymic. Considering the topic of this selection, what other name could also be considered patronymic?
Answer: Kay Fowler

Question 3: Put these events from John Wesley Powell’s life in the order in which they happened.
Answer 1: He fought for the Union during the Civil War.
Answer 2: He collected Native American artifacts while mapping and exploring the Colorado River and Grand Canyon.
Answer 3: He made his home in Washington, D.C., where he had considerable success as a scientist.
Answer 4: He established the Bureau of Ethnology and became chief of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Question 4: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that best validates why an examination of the Powell collection, which has never been on display, is valuable now.
Answer: The Powell collection hasn’t been received…

Question 5: Based on these excerpts, it is reasonable to infer that
Answer: The primary directive in correctly identifying and cataloging the bird materials used in the artifacts is to provide information for future researchers.

Smart, Green, and Sky-High

Question 1: What is the central idea of this selection?
Answer: The development of new smart cities is a detriment to environmental and humanistic principles and practices.

Question 2: Read these two excerpts. What significant claim do both excerpts share?
Answer: Both reveal that the development of specialized cities is constructed at the expense of a country’s citizens and natural ecosystems

Question 3: Read this excerpt. Bassey’s tone can best describe as
Answer: Derisive

Question 4: Read this excerpt. Which statement about newly built tech-eco-utopias is correct?
Answer: Developers claim that these cities are made to resolve population issues, yet they actually contribute to global issues that deter mentally affect citizens

Question 5: Which of the following statements best describes why the author begins the selection by discussing Kim Jong-win’s apartment?
Answer: To provide the reader with a concrete example of how new smart devices impact people in all aspects of their lives.

Precious Cargo – Part 1

Question 1: The central idea of this text is that moving priceless artwork
Answer: can be an exacting, expensive, and risky venture.

Question 2: The text describes the process of arranging loans among museums as “a ton of quid pro quo.” This is another way of saying that the loans
Answer: these are complex negotiations that rely heavily on a “this for that” relationship.

Question 3: How does this image connect to what you have read in this selection?
Answer: If masterpieces on loan to museums attract so many visitors that nobody can get near them, one may wonder if it is worth the cost.

Question 4: Caroline Campbell describes planning a major loan exhibition as a “herculean effort” that can take years. Based on what you have read, what are two reasons these projects can be extremely difficult?
Answer 1: There are many complex decisions to be agreed upon…
Answer 2: Loan exhibitions require tedious negotiation between the museums…

Question 5: Based on this excerpt, an insurance “indemnity” program helps a museum by
Answer: covering the cost of valuable artwork on the loan that is accidentally damaged.

Thinking Computers / Monsters or Machines?

Question 1: Which statement best
Answer: Artificial intelligence is ubiquitous

Question 2: Put these events…
Answer 1: Arab Scholar
Answer 2: Computer
Answer 3: IBM computer deep blue
Answer 4: IBM Watson

Question 3: Read this excerpt. For an iron…
Answer: Learn to shut

Question 4: In this excerpt from the
Answer: Overabundance

Question 5: What 2 pieces of info do apps
Answer 1: The behavior
Answer 2: The choices

Question 6: What evidence does the author
Answer: Industrial Robots

Question 7: This selection explains how artificial
Answer: Machines do not double

Question 8: This selection states that people
Answer: Rebellious machines have

Question 9: Why does the author ask
Answer: To show that there

Question 10: This selection can be the best
Answer: Informational text

My Friend Jane

Question 1: This selection is mainly
Answer: A recount of…

Question 2: In this selection, Dr. Jane Goodall took…
Answer: Other scientists could be able to study…

Question 3: Technology has been an important asset…
Answer: Computers allow us…

Question 4: This text is best described as
Answer: Narrative nonfiction

Question 5: In this excerpt, the author uses the phrase…
Answer: Motivated and ambitious

Cold War Crisis/A Captured Spy

Question 1: This selection is mainly about
Answer: Global confrontation.

Question 2: Based on the selection, which statement is accurate?
Answer: The United States developed the NASA cover-up plan far in advance of Power’s U-2 flight.

Question 3: Which two of the following phrases could best replace the words “provocative actions” in this excerpt?
Answer 1: Tactics of intimidation
Answer 2: Aggressive behavior

Question 4: Which words best describe the Soviet’s intent toward the United States following the U-2 incident?
Answer: To embarrass and humiliate

Question 5: Read the excerpt from the selection and the 2012 CNN news report. Based on these, which statement about Francis Gary Powers is correct?
Answer: Under duress, he may have revealed the nature of his mission, but the U.S. government did not consider him to be a traitor.

Question 6: Immediately following the announcement that Powers’ plane was missing…
Answer: It grounded all U-2 planes for inspection of their oxygen systems

Question 7: At the summit meeting in Washington,…
Answer 1: US condemnation…
Answer 2: Assurance…
Answer 3: A public…
Answer 4: US punishment

Turkey’s Vibrant Capital / A Modern Ancient City

Question 1: Another title for this selection can be
Answer: The point where east meets west

Question 2: What is the name of this historic site, which attracts many visitors to Istanbul
Answer: Grand Bazaar

Question 3: Put these events in order…
Answer 1: The Hagia
Answer 2: The Istanbul Archaeology
Answer 3: The Basilica
Answer 4: The Istanbul Modern

Question 4: Based on this excerpt, which of the following is an opinion?
Answer: Today it is one of the world’s most vibrant, fascinating, and diverse cities.

Question 5: Which of the following was NOT a former name for the city of Istanbul
Answer: Golden horn

Question 6: In this excerpt, when the author describes kumpir as “a glorious, delectable mess”, he is
Answer: Appreciating a local specialty

African American Pioneers / First and Free

Question 1: This selection primarily
Answer: Describes the migration of African Americans into the Northwest Territory and their struggles and successes.

Question 2: Read this excerpt. In responding to a question about the ideals of the Revolution, Harvard historian Anna-Lisa Cox argues that modern readers
Answer: Can rightly fault historical white people for being racist because they did, in fact, know better.

Question 3: In the interview, Anna-Lisa Cox states that the Northwest Territories were “not an uncomplicated space, even from the beginning.” What is she referring to?
Answer 1: Native Americans were losing their rights in these territories at the same time African Answer 2: Americans were settling here to exercise their rights

Question 4: Read this excerpt. The author’s intent in including this information is to
Answer: Explain the attraction of the Northwest Territory to African American settlers.

Question 5: Choose the one sentence that provides evidence that African American farmers in the Northwest Territories were successful
Answer: Over and over again I would come across stories…

Techmobile

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: Science, just like the fine arts, stirs the imagination and inspires creativity.

Question 2: What does the word “glitch” mean in this excerpt?
Answer: Defect in a mechanism

Question 3: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that best supports Ariel’s future hopes for her dune buggy.
Answer: By putting a blind person in control of a car, we can shape policy and technology for the visually impaired.

Question 4: How does Richard Feynman’s quote at the end of the selection mirror Ariel’s own life philosophy?
Answer: They both believe that innovative ideas, even if they seem crazy, should be encouraged, not blocked.

Question 5: When Ariel’s teacher approached her about the contest, his tone could be described as
Answer: Straightforward and encouraging.

Question 6: In this excerpt, what does Ariel mean when she says her team came together “synergistically”?
Answer: The team as a whole was greater than any single person

Question 7: What does the author’s purpose in writing this selection?
Answer: To show that if you think “outside the box”

Question 8: What evidence does the author give out that Ariel and Brock have thoroughly done their research before their….?
Answer: Both Brock and Ariel easily answered the questions and concerns the Virginia Tech students put before them.

Question 9: Put in order the last things Ariel and her team added to or adjusted in the dune buggy before they took it for a test drive
Answer 1: They replaced
Answer 2: They put
Answer 3: They mounted
Answer 4: Brock adjusted

Black Soldiers on the Front Lines Part 1

Question 1: What is the central idea of this selection?
Answer: The shift in Civil War policy to support abolition and the resulting formation of black army regiments

Question 2: Black soldiers were paid $10 a month with a $3 deduction for their uniforms. White soldiers were paid
Answer: $13 with no deduction.

Question 3: Abolitionists were frustrated by the president’s hesitancy to oppose slavery. Which of the following phrases from the text best summarizes this idea?
Answer: The Second Confiscation Act gave the Union army the authority to seize slaves of Confederate supporters in Union-controlled areas, but the policy was not being enforced.

Question 4: Read this excerpt. The tone can best be described as
Answer: Jubilant.

Question 5: Choose the one sentence that provides evidence that racism was a factor no matter where a person fought during the Civil War.
Answer: The discrimination against African American…

Black Soldiers on the Front Lines Part 2

Question 1: What is the central idea of this selection?
Answer: The struggles of the reconstruction period

Question 2: Choose the one sentence in this excerpt that shows readers why the author believes the Freedmen’s Bureau did not succeed.
Answer: But the Freedmen’s…

Question 3: Read these two excerpts from the text. In contrast to Lincoln’s plan, Johnson’s plan
Answer: Was not as favorable to freed African Americans.

Question 4: What two pieces of legislation did Congress pass in an attempt to counter Johnson’s weakening of reconstruction?
Answer 1: The Civil Rights Act of 1866
Answer 2: The Reconstruction Act of 1867

Question 5: Read this excerpt. From this excerpt, the reader is persuaded that
Answer: Reconstruction was not an easy path to equality for black Americans.

Ending the Slave Trade / The Legacy of Slavery

Question 1: Which sentence from the text best encapsulates the main idea of this selection?
Answer: The transatlantic slave trade ended, but it left a legacy that’s still evident today.

Question 2: Read these excerpts. While banning the importation of slaves in 1808 may seem like a victory, what was the actual effect?
Answer: An increase in the domestic slave market

Question 3: Put the following events in the order in which they occurred.
Answer 1: Britain abolishes slavery in Britain.
Answer 2: Britain abolishes slavery in any of its territories.
Answer 3: Britain creates a network of treaties to pressure other countries to abolish slavery.
Answer 4: Britain and the United States sign a treaty allowing them to search one another’s ships for slavery violations.

Question 4: Even after slavery ended, its effects endured on an international level. Which of the following was NOT an after-effect of international slavery?
Answer: The election of an American as president of Liberia

Question 5: The selection explains how the slave trade depleted Africa’s population and also allowed Africa to be exploited due to
Answer: Increased familiarity with the resources of the African continent.

Black Heroes of WWI / Of Race and War

Question 1: This selection is mainly about
Answer: A group of brave African American soldiers overcoming racism and other obstacles to fight in World War I, and how their legacy lives on.

Question 2: This image supports which idea presented in the text?
Answer: James Reese Europe’s infantry band became popular due to its unique sound and jazz roots.

Question 3: Initially, the African American soldiers in the 369th Infantry Regiment were assigned
Answer: To menial military service tasks, but soon after were reassigned to valiantly fight for the French on the Western Front.

Question 4: Read this quote from the text. What is Harlem Hellfighters enlistee Arthur P. Davis communicating?
Answer: For African Americans living in and around Harlem, joining the 15th Infantry was the ultimate proof of bravery and patriotism.

Question 5: Read this excerpt from the beginning of the text. The author opens the text this way to
Answer: Draw the reader into a historical, factual piece of writing with a harrowing, action-packed narrative

A New World of Opportunity / The Age of Reptiles

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection
Answer: Mass extinctions on Earth periodically kill off many species and allow others to prosper

Question 2: Place these events in chronological order, earliest to latest
Answer 1: Most of Earth’s land is bound together…
Answer 2: A series of volcanic eruptions…
Answer 3: The Great Dying marked the end…
Answer 4: The Chicxulub Asteroid marked the end…

Question 3: Based on these two excerpts, why did the author transition from the extinction of the dinosaurs to the Great Dying
Answer: The demise of the dinosaurs is a well-known example of mass extinction

Question 4: The author argues that mass extinction creates opportunities for some groups of species. Choose two sentences from these excerpts that support this claim.
Answer 1: While the most severe natural cataclysms…
Answer 2: Mass extinction eliminated many of the amphibious species…

Question 5: Based on this excerpt, which happened last during the coalification process
Answer: The underground heat and pressure squeezed the water out of plant remnants

Question 6: Which two periods of geological history does the author collectively refer to as the “Age of the Amphibians”?
Answer 1: Permian Period
Answer 2: Carboniferous Period

Question 7: Based on what you have read about the greenhouse effect…
Answer: Greenhouse gases absorb infrared energy…

Question 8: Based on this excerpt what does the word “epoch” mean?
Answer: A chain of natural disasters that devastate life on Earth…

Question 9: The central idea of this text can be explained as
Answer: Childhood friends who become best-selling authors and the issues that challenged their adult friendship.

Question 10: Lee published “To Kill a Mockingbird” as Harper Lee because she thought people would mispronounce her first name, Nelle. Based on this text, you can also conclude that
Answer: Mistaking the author for a man may have boosted the book’s success.

Question 11: Read these two excerpts from the text. The author suggests that Capote was envious of Lee. Which events from the text support this?
Answer 1: Capote was a published author long before “To Kill a Mockingbird” came out, but without Lee’s fame.
Answer 2: Lee had won a major book award for her first novel while Capote was still working on “In Cold Blood.”

Question 12: In this excerpt, why does the author use the words “now reversed” to describe Lee and Capote’s relationship?
Answer: As children Lee protected Capote from unkind boys, and as adults he looked out for her in the writing world.

Question 13: Based on this selection, what led Harper Lee and Truman Capote to become inseparable childhood friends?
Answer: They had unconventional personalities and did not fit in with other children in the neighborhood.

Question 14: The author notes that Lee was upset to learn Capote had “merely” dedicated the book to her. The author uses the word “merely” to emphasize that
Answer: “In Cold Blood” would not have been possible without Lee’s significant contributions

53C and Melted Shoes / Is This the World’s Toughest Race?

Question 1: What is the central idea…
Answer: Runners need to prepare…

Question 2: From this excerpt, you can conclude that an…
Answer: Is dependent upon personal…

Question 3: Which detail from the selection best supports the claim…
Answer: The race traverses…

Question 4: Read the excerpt. Which of these best describes…
Answer: To reveal…

Question 5: What does the phrase crown jewels…
Answer: This ultramarathon is the most difficult…

Self-Driving Cars

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: SDCs are developing rapidly.

Question 2: Based on the way it is used in this excerpt, the phrase “watershed moment”…
Answer: Critical point that marks.

Question 3: Which two of the following statements are valid, based on this excerpt?
Answer 1: California is a pioneer.
Answer 2: U.S. states have been fairly slow to embrace.

Question 4: In this excerpt, what is the author’s purpose in mentioning the headline, “MACHINE KILLS BOY”?
Answer: To give an example.

Question 5: Which feature of SDCs would be most helpful in this setting?
Answer: Rear cross-traffic alert.

Question 6: Based on these two excerpts, you could conclude the author presents…
Answer: An equal assessment of the future of self-driving cars.

Question 7: Place the steps an SDC would make to navigate a city street, from first to last…
Answer 1: Vehicle sensors feed information to the steering system.
Answer 2: Sensor data is used to create a 3D map of the SDCs.
Answer 3: The map informs the cars what to expect.
Answer 4: Onboard sensors compare map data to real-world conditions.

Question 8: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that provides evidence of the value of forward-collision warning systems…
Answer: Researchers have seen a seven percent reduction in crashes for vehicles with a basic.

How We Get to the Polls / Voting in America Today Part 1

Question 1: Central idea
Answer: Having the right to vote…

Question 2: What is the main drawback of relying on the Section 2 provision of the Voting Rights Act instead of Section 5?
Answer: Section 2 may delay persecution of civil rights violations, leaving those harmed vulnerable as they wait for an outcome.

Question 3: Which two voting concepts are best linked to this image?
Answer: Voter ID and voter fraud

Question 4: In this sentence, the word sovereignty is best replaced by
Answer: Authority.

Question 5: The authors included this sentence in the selection mostly to
Answer: Give evidence supporting their claim about the 2008 election voter turnout.

It’s a Superpower! / Step By Step to a Smarter You

Question 1: Which of the following quotes from this selection captures the central idea?
Answer: “Walking makes us healthier, happier, and brainier.”

Question 2: Based on these two excerpts, it can be reasonably inferred that
Answer: If walking promotes the growth of synapse formation in learning, it may also help improve depression.

Question 3: Read this excerpt. The author cites a 2018 study to support Shane O’Mara’s claim that walking makes us healthier and happier. Which statement is supported by the findings of this study?
Answer: Maintaining a higher level of activity today may have a positive effect on one’s outlook for decades to come.

Question 4: Some people think that relying on a GPS to navigate diminishes the brain’s abilities. Choose the sentence that shows O’Mara does not agree.
Answer: “That’s absolute garbage,” says O’Mara.

Question 5: The author writes that “it’s easy to start feeling like a brainless polyp” when sitting at a desk all day. Which statement expresses this comparison in a different way?
Answer: Like a jellyfish that only develops a brain while swimming, moving around activates our brains.

How We Get to the Polls / Voting in America Today Part 2

Question 1: What is the central idea of this selection?
Answer: Recent social and political phenomena in America reveal voting rights may be granted in theory, yet they are not guaranteed in practice

Question 2: Which one of the following could happen if the electoral college didn’t exist?
Answer: Candidates would focus campaigns in more populous places, ignoring the interests of those in rural areas.

Question 3: How does this image of a Permanent Resident card relate to the selection?
Answer: Some people believe that noncitizens in the U.S. who have this card and meet the other conditions should be allowed to vote, while others disagree.

Question 4: Based on what you have read, why did the author most likely include this quote from Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner in the selection?
Answer: To show that Republicans are not the only party that is guilty of gerrymandering districts to skew elections

Question 5: In this sentence from the selection, the word “incarcerates’ ‘ most likely means…
Answer: imprisons

Is It a Crime? / In Her Own Words

Question 1: This speech is mainly
Answer: A plea to grant women…

Question 2: Which of the following sets of words…
Answer: Logical and persuasive

Question 3: Based on… what is the most likely meaning for the word “disenfranchisement?
Answer: The state of being deprived of a right

Question 4: What evidence in the text supports your answer to the previous question…
Answer: Anthony creates a logical argument…

Question 5: Shortly before her trial for voting…
Answer: The newspaper was mocking Anthony and expressing…

Ending Employment Discrimination

Question 1: What is the central idea of this selection about affirmative action?
Answer: Progress has been made in reducing discriminatory employment practices, but there is more to be done.

Question 2: The author covers at length a series of lawsuits that challenged the discriminatory hiring practices of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. Why?
Answer: To emphasize state officials’ intentional refusal year after year to comply with judicial decisions

Question 3: The federal program in Excerpt 1 is known as the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE). Excerpt 2 is from the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause. Based on both excerpts, which question most strongly suggests why the lawsuits in Excerpt 1 were filed?
Answer: Does the MBE violate the right of every citizen to impartial treatment

Question 4: In the case of the Alabama Department of Public Safety and a discrimination lawsuit, the author describes a court order meant to “level the playing field.” This refers to the
Answer: One-for-one hiring and promotion practices intended to make up for past discrimination.

Question 5: Based on these two excerpts, which two of the following are reasonable conclusions?
Answer 1: In addition to its racial disparities, the police workplace suffers from gender inequalities
Answer 2: Alabama is not alone in failing to adequately diversify its law enforcement workforce.

The Legacy of the Bard

Question 1: This selection provides an account of Shakespeare’s
Answer: Considerable prosperity and creativity

Question 2: Read this excerpt from the text. Which of the following words is the correct term for creating a new word or expression?
Answer: Neologism

Question 3: What factor has influenced the controversial opinion that Shakespeare may not have written the works attributed to him?
Answer: The death of personal letters, notes, and other documentation left by Shakespeare

Question 4: In his will, Shakespeare stated…
Answer: Some interpret this as an insult reflecting an unhappy marriage…

Question 5: The text is a work of nonfiction. Which of the following subgenres of nonfiction best describes this text?
Answer: Historical biography

The Coordinates to Greatness

Question 1: This is primarily about…
Answer: Katherine Johnson’s life and accomplishments.

Question 2: The author’s tone…
Answer: Reverential and celebratory.

Question 3: Read these two excerpts. Which of the following…
Answer: Excerpt 1… is the author’s historical reimagining.

Question 4: Katherine is described as…
Answer: She became the first African American.

Question 5: From this excerpt, you can conclude that…
Answer: John Glenn was revered and trusted.

Equality at Work

Question 1: What is the central idea of this selection about affirmative action?
Answer: Progress has been made in reducing discriminatory employment practices, but there is more to be done.

Question 2: The author covers at length a series of lawsuits that challenged the discriminatory hiring practices of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. Why?
Answer: to emphasize state officials’ intentional refusal year after year to comply with a judicial decision.

Question 4: In the case of the Alabama Department of Public Safety and a discrimination lawsuit, the author describes a court order meant to “level the playing field.” This refers to the…
Answer: one-for-one hiring and promotion practice intended to make up for past discrimination.

Question 5: Based on these two excerpts, which two of the following are reasonable conclusions?
Answer 1: In addition to its racial disparities, the police workplace suffers from gender inequalities.
Answer 2: Alabama is not alone in failing to adequately diversify its law enforcement workforce.

The Little Rock Nine/An Order to Integrate

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: Nine black students successfully integrated Central High School at great personal cost.

Question 2: Put these events in the order in which they occurred, starting with the first.
Answer 1: The Supreme Court rules segregated schools violate citizens’ rights to equal protection under the law.
Answer 2: The school board stipulates that Central High School would be open to black students.
Answer 3: Superintendent Blossom explains the rules governing the attendance of the Little Rock Nine.
Answer 4: Governor Faubus announces plans to bring the Arkansas National Guard to Central High School.

Question 3: Which of the following was the main reason the Supreme Court ruled that schools had to be integrated?
Answer: The education provided in the segregated black schools was inferior to that in the white schools.

Question 4: Which two rules of attendance did the Little Rock Nine have to obey?
Answer 1: To refrain from reacting to any provocations from other students
Answer 2: To leave the school immediately at the end of each day

Question 5: Why did white students tend not to make friends with the Nine?
Answer: They were afraid of retaliation from segregationists

Question 6: In this excerpt, what is the meaning of the word “incessant”?
Answer: Constant

Question 7: What is the most likely reason the Nine decided to proceed with their plans to enter Central High School even though they would not be permitted to participate in extracurricular activities?
Answer: They knew Central had better course offerings, facilities, and equipment than their all-black school.

Question 8: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that could be described as foreshadowing.
Answer: “They were prepared, or so they thought.”

Question 9: Based on this selection, what was the likely state of mind of Ernest Green’s parents at his graduation?
Answer: Relieved and proud

Question 10: What was the author’s purpose in listing a selection of Central’s extracurricular activities in this excerpt?
Answer: To highlight that all students are now welcome to participate in these activities

Question 11: Which sentence indicates the state of mind of the Nine today?
Answer: They are gratified that their sacrifice at Central was worthwhile and has been recognized

Question 12: What evidence does the author present that many segregationists in Little Rock have had a change of heart in the decades since Central was integrated?
Answer: A large interracial crowd cheered the Nine at a commemoration ceremony at Central in 1997.

A Tradition of Feathers

Question 1: Which statement best expresses the central idea of this selection?
Answer: Scientists are collaborating to correctly identify & catalog artifacts in the Powell collection, which offers a lot of information about Native American culture.

Question 2: The text describes scientist Carla Dove’s name as patronymic. Considering the topic of this selection, what other name could also be considered patronymic?
Answer: Kay Fowler.

Question 3: Put these events from John Wesley Powell’s life in the order in which they happened…
Answer 1: He fought for the Union during the Civil War.
Answer 2: He made his home in Washington, D.C., where he had considerable success as a scientist.
Answer 3: He established the Bureau of Ethnology and became chief of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Answer 4: He collected Native American artifacts while mapping and exploring the Colorado River and Grand Canyon.

Question 4: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that best validates why an examination of the Powell collection, which has never been on display, is valuable now…
Answer: The Powell collection hasn’t been received.

Question 5: Based on these excerpts, it is reasonable to infer that…
Answer: The primary directive in correctly identifying and cataloging the bird materials used in the artifacts is to provide information for future researchers.

Sky Rovers

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: The potential uses of drones are virtually unlimited.

Question 2: Why does the author mention the wedding ring stunt?
Answer: To illustrate that drones are being used in novel ways

Question 3: Place the following uses for drones in the order the author describes them in the selection in detail, from first to last.
Answer 1: For military purposes
Answer 2: In the farm business
Answer 3: In the energy industry
Answer 4: For package delivery

Question 4: What is the objective of “Gliderpalooza”?
Answer: To capture a picture of the Atlantic’s underwater movements

Question 5: According to this excerpt, the ACLU says drones potentially “could profoundly change the character of public life” because of their use by
Answer: Law enforcement to invade our privacy.

Question 6: As a result of the proliferation of drones in the future, some people expect which two things to happen?
Answer 1: Number of jobs to increase
Answer 2: The economy to expand

Question 7: In this excerpt, the author describes an aspect of a marine drone by alluding to a glacier’s
Answer: Sluggish movement.

Question 8: Which of the following is one of the author’s strongest arguments for the use of drones in agriculture?
Answer: Replacing crop dusters with unmanned aircraft could potentially save hundreds of lives.

Question 9: The author bases many of his strongest arguments for the use of drones on their
Answer: Cost-effectiveness.

Question 10: How could a drone be used in the setting pictured?
Answer: To inspect the structures for damaged parts

Question 11: In Texas, the operator of a drone
Answer: Could be fined for using it to record a neighbor without permission.

Question 12: In this sentence, the word “feasible” is best replaced by the word
Answer: Viable.

Question 13: Based on this excerpt, you could classify the future of drones in which two ways?
Answer 1: Still developing
Answer 2: Encouragingly promising

Fake Art, Big Money

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: A little-known Chinese painter duped the art world.

Question 2: Forgers often use this tool. What do they do with this tool, and why do they do it?
Answer: They remove paint from old paintings, which leaves a canvas that looks old and worn.

Question 3: Read these excerpts from the selection. Which two of the following statements are correct based on the information provided in the excerpts?
Answer: The artworks created by Qian were mainly imitative.
Answer: Qian’s artistic talents were apparent during his childhood and he retained those talents as an adult.

Question 4: An attorney working for one of the duped art collectors compared the discovery of the 31 “unseen masterpieces” created by Qian to…
Answer: Winning the lottery 31 times.

Question 5: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that includes a metaphor…
Answer: The smoking gun.

Question 6: Put these events in the order in which they occurred, from first to last…
Answer: Qian painted, Qian began, Jack, The Knoedler.

Question 7: According to the selection, “provenance” is the…
Answer: History of painting’s creation, ownership, custody, and location.

Question 8: Motherwell, Rothko, Pollock, and de Kooning can all be classified as…
Answer: Abstract expressionist painters.

Put-Downs Can Leave Deep Scars / Bullying Hurts

Question 1: Choose the statement that best expresses the central idea of this selection
Answer: Childhood bullying…

Question 2: Copeland and his co-workers…What were the two objectives
Answer 1: To observe
Answer 2: To discover

Question 3: The text states that not all unkind behaviors… Which two of the following qualifies as bullying
Answer 1: Repeatedly behaving
Answer 2: Targeting

Question 4: Based on what you have read, the Roots program works…
Answer: Training students who get the attention…

Question 5: Based on these two excerpts, you may reasonably conclude…
Answer: Promote better long-term…

How War Changes Men

Question 1: What was the main idea of the selection
Answer: An unexpected friendship changes…

Question 2: The beginning of the selection states that Hardimont was at Aix in Savoy,…
Answer: He was wealthy enough not only to own… but able to take it to a spa

Question 3: In this excerpt, the word “dainty” could be best replaced by
Answer: picky

Question 4: What about Jean-Victor strikes Hardimont as “startling”?
Answer: Jean-Victor’s struggle with starvation

Question 5: Put these events in the life of Jean-Victor in the order in which they occurred, starting with the earliest
Answer 1: Sent to live in an orphanage
Answer 2: He was an apprentice
Answer 3: He did odd jobs
Answer 4: He enlisted in the army

Question 6: What does the animal in this image have to do with Jean-Victor?
Answer: The narrator describes Jean-Victor…

Question 7: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that includes personification
Answer: The torn and shattered arbors under…

Question 8: Reread these two excerpts. The change in Hardimont’s perception regarding life’s “difficult existence” can best be summarized by the saying
Answer: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure

Question 9: What event does this excerpt indicate?
Answer: and returned to his aristocratic life

Question 10: Based on these excerpts, how does the figurative significance of the piece of bread change?
Answer: Hunger, sacrifice

Robots Have Arrived

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: Robot technology is contributing to a safer and higher quality of life.

Question 2: Today’s mitral valve surgery is different from former conventional heart surgery because the surgeon now
Answer: Insert a robot through a small incision.

Question 3: The prefix of the word “telesurgical” indicates it refers to a surgery that is performed
Answer: at a distance.

Question 4: The use of robots as a means of border patrol might stir controversy because of the robot’s ability to
Answer: discharge weapons in response to illegal activity.

Question 5: The most inventive feature of the lawn-mowing robot would probably be its ability
Answer: to sound an alarm if taken by a thief.

Question 6: One of the first uses of robots to replace humans in the workplace was in
Answer: the automotive industry.

Question 7: Based on this selection, some people have expressed concern about the proliferation of robots because they think robots
Answer: will become more intelligent than real human beings.

Question 8: In this excerpt, which sentence is the key to understanding the role of robots in modern life?
Answer: Robots are ultimately controlled by humans so we can maximize their potential while minimizing the risks.

Question 9: In this selection, the author bases her information on the value of robotic pets on
Answer: research results.

Question 10: From this excerpt, you can tell that the author’s tone in regard to robots is
Answer: optimistic

Tennis Titan: Novak Djokovic

Question 1: Why does the author mention Djokovic’s impression of other players?
Answer: To illustrate his mischievous sense of humor

Question 2: Put these events in the order in which they occurred, starting with the earliest.
Answer 1: Yugoslavia
Answer 2: Djokovic makes
Answer 3: Time
Answer 4: Djokovic earns

Question 3: Which of the following sentences supports the statement that Djokovic is a “complete player”?
Answer: He has developed

Question 4: What does the author mean when he says Djokovic is surrounded by a “coterie”?
Answer: He collaborates

Question 5: From this image, you can tell by the surface of the tennis court that Djokovic
Answer: is playing at Roland-Garros stadium in Paris

Question 6: What do these two excerpts say about Djokovic’s feelings about his childhood
Answer: He had both good and bad experiences

Question 7: In this excerpt, which group of words best contributes to its mood
Answer: Crouched, screeched, prayed

Question 8: Which of these sentences reflects Djokovic’s early development as a tennis player?
Answer: He had a natural talent

Question 9: Which of the following show that Djokovic has useful skills that transcend the world of tennis?
Answer: He is successful…, he is fluent in several languages

Question 10: What is the main idea of the selection?
Answer: A pro tennis with immense natural ability earns the title of the most perfect player of all time

The Measure of Freedom / The Path to the Moon

Question 1: This is primarily about
Answer: Katherine Johnson’s life and accomplishments as a mathematician for NASA.

Question 2: Place these events leading to the Apollo-11 lunar landing mission in the order in which they occurred.
Answer 1: The IBM computer plots Apollo 8’s orbital flight paths coordinates and John Glenn recommends Katherine to review them.
Answer 2: NASA conducts a trial lunar mission with Apollo 8 where the astronauts completed 10 orbits of the moon.
Answer 3: Katherine plots the lunar module needed to ensure that astronauts on their missions get to and from the moon safely.
Answer 4: The lunar module Eagle ensures that all astronauts on the Apollo 11 mission are successful.

Question 3: Katherine is described as “a pioneer who broke the barriers of race and gender” by President Obama. Which of the following statements confirms this?
Answer: She became the first African American woman to be promoted to the Space Task Group.

Question 4: From this excerpt, you can conclude that
Answer: John Glenn revered and trusted Katherine’s intellect.

Question 5: Read these two excerpts. Which of the following statements about these two excerpts is correct?
Answer 1: Excerpt 1 explains facts about Katherine’s life in an informational tone while
Answer 2: Excerpt 2 is the author’s historical reimagining of Katherine’s experiences.

Horror in the Dungeon

Question 1: The events in this tale could best be described as the expression
Answer: “Stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

Question 2: Literary consonance is a poetic device in which consonant sounds are repeated, often to emphasize a certain sensation. At one point, the narrator states the pendulum “hissed” through the air. Which words from this excerpt employ literary consonance to accentuate this “hiss”?
Answer: Sweep, steel, surcingle, scimitar

Question 3: How do the items in this image figure into the narrator’s irrational state of mind?
Answer: He believes they are angels who will save him.

Question 4: Based on its use in the excerpt, the word “viand” means
Answer: Food.

Question 5: Poe is known for his stories evoking terror at supernatural, unearthly, inexplicable events. However, this piece varies from that construct in one key regard. Based on this excerpt, what is it?
Answer: The events in this tale are realistic, not supernatural or inexplicable.

Question 6: Place these items that exist in the dungeon in the dungeon in the order in which the narrator finds them.
Answer 1: A cold, slimy wall
Answer 2: A deep circular pit
Answer 3: Massive metal plates
Answer 4: A painting on the ceiling

Question 7: The purpose of these two excerpts is to
Answer: Illustrate how disoriented the narrator was in his initial examination of the question

Question 8: Why didn’t Poe reveal what was on the bottom of the pit?
Answer: He preferred to leave it to the reader’s imagination.

A Preacher Of Nonviolence

Question 1: Another title for this selection could be
Answer: “The Life of a Civil Rights Leader”

Question 2: Dr. King learned about segregation from
Answer: personal experience

Question 3: Which two early childhood experiences influenced Dr. King to devote his life to the cause of equality?
Answer 1: He and his father were not allowed to sit in the only seats available in a shoe store
Answer 2: He was required to attend an all-black school, separating him from his white childhood friend

Question 4: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that best explains why Dr. King chose to go to prison.
Answer: Dr. King decided to go to jail instead of paying a fine because he reasoned that he could make more people aware of the unfairness of segregation if he was imprisoned

Question 5: What happened in 1954 that caused great tension in the South?
Answer: The Supreme Court issued a ruling to integrate public schools

Question 6: Which sentence demonstrates that Dr. King and Coretta Scott had “much in common”?
Answer: They both were victims of the injustices of segregation

Question 7: Which words in this excerpt indicate how Rosa Parks was feeling on the day she was arrested?
Answer: wearily, long day’s work

Question 8: Which sentence indicates a reason why the Montgomery bus boycott was successful?
Answer: The Montgomery boycott had a negative effect on the city’s finances

Question 9: The most important reason Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize was because he
Answer: led non-violent protests in the Civil Rights Movement

Question 10: In this concluding paragraph, the author creates a mood of
Answer: optimism

Being Female In America

Question 1: Which statement from this selection best expresses the central theme?
Answer: For centuries…

Question 2: The author compares novelists…
Answer: As an example of why people…

Question 3: Read this excerpt from the selection… Based on these 2 excerpts and the context…
Answer: It is a literary interpretation of what it feels like…

Question 4: This image shows a 1913 march for…
Answer: African American women were asked to…

Question 5: This excerpt from the selection supports the overall text by demonstrating that…
Answer: Even women of color who were well-known…

Question 6: Despite uniting people…
Answer: Any fight for…

New Era of Equality

Question 1: The main idea of this selection is related to
Answer: how the Americans with Disabilities Act was a declaration of equality for individuals with disabilities

Question 2: The successful passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act can be described as a
Answer: a collaborative effort

Question 3: Why does President Bush compare the day of the signing of the ADA with July 4th, Independence Day?
Answer: Disabled individuals welcomed a new era of equality, independence, and freedom

Question 4: President Bush describes Lisa Carl as
Answer: a “brave girl” with cerebral palsy who, thanks to the ADA, is now allowed into her local theater

Question 5: After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but prior to the passage of the ADA, life for people with disabilities could be classified as
Answer: trying and troublesome

Question 6: Read this excerpt. Based on what you have read, you can infer that “Points of Light” are
Answer: community members involved in volunteer service

Question 7: In this excerpt, the President is
Answer: addressing concerns about the economic impact of the act on business practices and profits

Question 8: Place these guarantees of the ADA in the order President Bush lists them, from first to last.
Answer 1: prohibition of discrimination by employers
Answer 2: access to public places such as restaurants
Answer 3: expanded access to transportation
Answer 4: availability of equivalent telephone services

Question 9: In this excerpt, the tone of the author could be described as which two of the following?
Answer 1: Passionate
Answer 2: wholehearted

Question 10: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that supports the President’s statement, “This act does something important for American business.”
Answer: Remember, this is a tremendous pool of people who will bring to jobs diversity and loyalty.

Removing Racism From Athletics / Racial Stereotypes in Sports Part 1

Question 1: What is the central idea of this selection?
Answer: Racial stereotypes have long existed in athletics, impacting not only fans’ perspectives of athletes but also athletes’ careers and performances.

Question 2: Based on what you have read, you could classify the 100-meter freestyle swimming race as a
Answer: Sprint event

Question 3: Consider what you have read about racial stereotyping. Compared to White athletes, Black athletes today
Answer: May experience more difficulty landing a spot on a team when being recruited to participate in a sport.

Question 4: Read this excerpt. Why does the author include this statistic in the text?
Answer: To demonstrate that athletic racial stereotypes can have serious consequences outside the elite sports community.

Question 5: In this sentence from the selection, the word “entropy” most closely means
Answer: Chaos.

Removing Racism From Athletics / Racial Stereotypes in Sports Part 2

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: Generations of athletes from diverse backgrounds are breaking down racial, gender, and other stereotypes in sports from amateur to professional leagues.

Question 2: Ice hockey is most commonly stereotyped as
Answer: A white sport, with a lack of diversity in both players and fans.

Question 3: The author of this text included information about the Blackhawks’ G.O.A.L. program most likely for which reason?
Answer: To provide readers with an example of an effort to boost diversity in hockey.

Question 4: Writer Antonio De Loera-Brust differs from some of his LatinX peers in that he
Answer: id does not face any economic barrier to playing hockey.

Question 5: The author includes this excerpt in the text to
Answer: To show how white people internalized a sport…

Question 6: Alt answer:
Answer: Show how a white basketball player…

A Carriage Ride

Question 1: Main Idea
Answer: A traveler…

Question 2: Genre can be best described as
Answer: Horror or suspense fiction

Question 3: The author’s descriptions of light and darkness…
Answer: Menacing

Question 4: What do these 2 excerpts have in common
Answer: Both use the horses’

Question 5: Which characteristic about the stranger…
Answer: His extraordinary strength

Question 6: Choose the sentence that shows an example of a simile
Answer: In and out…

Question 7: Why did the driver stop the carriage…
Answer: He knew Jonathan was scheduled…

World Heritage

Question 1: What is the main idea?
Answer 1: Workers used excavation equipment
Answer 2: Workers extracted the blocks from the site
Answer 3: Workers used heavy equipment to transport -Workers secured the blocks together

Question 2: Choose the sentence.
Answer: The dam construction project would result in the flooding of the river valley.

Question 3: The great wall of China was originally built as
Answer: a form of protection

Question 4: Why is the ongoing degradation of the Great Wall of China?
Answer: Tourists deface the site even though it is legally protected as a world heritage site.

Question 5: Based on this selection, which human activity?
Answer: burning of fossil fuels

Question 6: Read this excerpt, If it were part of a news story
Answer: It would probably include a quote from one of the

Question 7: What is likely to have influenced the white appearance of this sample?
Answer: higher ocean temperatures.

Question 8: Read these excerpts. Which two statements are about the World Heritage Sites?
Answer 1: Both World Heritage sites described face the threat of deterioration.
Answer 2: The World Heritage Site in the first excerpt is a cultural site, while the site in the second is a natural site.

Question 9: Which of the following sentences from the selection expresses the author’s opinion…
Answer: It is important to learn about your global heritage to better understand…

Question 10: Based on this excerpt, the Abu Simbel project
Answer: Herculean effort.

No Driver Needed

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: SDCs are developing rapidly

Question 2: Place the steps an SDC would make to navigate…
Answer 1: Vehicle sensors
Answer 2: Sensor data
Answer 3: The map
Answer 4: On-board

Question 3: What is the biggest concern about SDCs?
Answer: Safety and reliability

Question 4: In what way will SDCs be safer than conventional cars?
Answer: They will reduce the number of accidents

Question 5: What distinguishes Google’s SDC from a conventional car?
Answer: Its SDC has no steering column, brakes, or accelerator

Question 6: What are the similarities between SDCs and autopilot? (Or something similar)
Answer: Both allow the operator to control complex situations

Question 7: In this excerpt, what is the author’s purpose in mentioning the headline, “MACHINE KILLS BOY”?
Answer: To give an example…

Question 8: Based on these two excerpts, you could conclude the author presents
Answer: An equal assessment

Question 9: Based on the way it is used in this excerpt, the phrase “watershed moment” means a
Answer: Critical point

Question 10: Which of the following statements are valid, based on this excerpt?
Answer 1: California is a pioneer
Answer 2: U.S. states have been fairly

A Sunken Steamer / Stranded at Sea Part 1

Question 1: What is the main idea of Part 1 of this selection?
Answer: The survivors of a shipwreck face great peril

Question 2: Place these characters from the selection in the order in which they were introduced, starting with the first
Answer 1: Cook
Answer 2: Oiler
Answer 3: Correspondent
Answer 4: Captain

Question 3: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that includes an example of the figure of speech called simile
Answer: The sun swung steadily up the sky…

Question 4: Which is correct about the sunken ship’s captain?
Answer: Through feeling despondent about the loss of his ship…

Question 5: Look at this image. What did it represent to the men?
Answer: The men felt gulls were a sign that something bad would happen

A Sunken Steamer / Stranded at Sea Part 2

Question 1: Which phrase best summarizes the main idea of this selection?
Answer: Man versus nature.

Question 2: In this selection, the men rely on the small dinghy for survival in the vast, churning sea. The author uses the boat as a symbol of
Answer: Human beings move through the uncertainties and hardships of life.

Question 3: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that shows why the captain seems to trust the oiler with the navigation of the dinghy.
Answer: “The oiler was a wily surfman.”

Question 4: Who is Billie?
Answer: The oiler.

Question 5: Based on the context of this excerpt, the word “opprobrious” means
Answer: Disparaging.

Question 6: Which two statements about the people on the shore are correct?
Answer 1: Their message to the four men in the dinghy is unclear.
Answer 2: They wave to the four men in the dinghy.

Question 7: A motif is a recurring story element that has a mood or tone. symbolic importance. A repeated motif is often used to set a story’s mood or tone. What is one motif of this selection?
Answer: drowning.

Question 8: What does the object in this image have to do with the selection?
Answer: It is used as a comparison to the motion of the man swinging his coat.

Question 9: The four men in the dinghy grow excited when they see people and things on shore. But what they see in order from first to last
Answer 1: A waving man
Answer 2: A man on a bicycle
Answer 3: An omnibus
Answer 4: A man waving a black coat

Question 10: At the end of part 2 of this selection, what new danger threatens the men in the lifeboat?
Answer: A shark is circling the lifeboat.

Question 11: What happens as the correspondent lows, and what does the captain do in response?
Answer: The correspondent is wondering why nature is being so cruel, and the captain encourages him to continue rowing.

Question 12: The first excerpt is from part 1 and the second excerpt is from part 2. Which statement correctly states what is happening in these two excerpts?
Answer: Despite the growing desperation, the men remain compassionate and civil toward each other.

Question 13: Which is correct?
Answer: The men cannot row to the shore because the waves are too rough and might sink the dinghy.

A Sunken Steamer / Stranded at Sea Part 3

Question 1: The main idea
Answer: Men cannot defeat nature

Question 2: The author of this selection used the four men in the dinghy…
Answer: The oiler

Question 3: What does the narrator mean
Answer: The men’s experience has provided them

Question 4: After the men jump out of the dinghy, (First to last)
Answer 1: The oiler
Answer 2: The correspondent
Answer 3: The cook
Answer 4: The Captain

Question 5: While adrift, the correspondent remembers
Answer: a poem

Question 6: The poem is relevant because the correspondent acknowledges he never…
Answer: The subject of the poem is a dying sailor

Don Quixote / A Courageous Knight

Question 1: What is the main idea…
Answer: A simple but…

Question 2: Based on this excerpt, the main
Answer: Noble but impoverished

Question 3: Read this excerpt. From it…
Answer: Pearls

Question 4: Whit mean
Answer: tiny…

Question 5: What ultimately motivates the gentleman?
Answer: He is convinced

Question 6: Based on this excerpt, the word “scoured”.
Answer: Burnished

Question 7: Why did he rename the horse?
Answer: He believed the horse needed an appropriate

Question 8: Chose the sentence in this excerpt that best.
Answer: This, he considered

Question 9: In this selection, de Cervantes.
Answer: A knight errant

Ancient Teeth and Human Roots

Question 1: The central idea of this selection is.
Answer: Archaeological analyses…

Question 2: This excerpt from the text best demonstrates how
Answer: Scientific discoveries are often…

Question 3: The author included these two quotes in the selection.
Answer: To back up, to put recent…

Question 4: Hypoplasias. What does this word closely mean?
Answer: Underdevelopment

Question 5: Which two of the following traits?
Answer 1: We have jaws,
Answer 2: We experience a longer…

Question 6: Imagine you’re about to visit.
Answer: More teeth…

American Slang

Question 1: What is Mencken’s primary thesis?
Answer: American vernacular, with all of its idiosyncrasies and eccentricities, is worthy of the same academic analysis and literary dignity as dialects found in European countries.

Question 2: Mencken includes these quotes from other American authors in order to?
Answer: highlight the differences of opinion that existed even among his compatriots.

Question 3: Mencken asserts the efforts of some to differentiate slang from idiomatic expressions are “largely in vain.” Why?
Answer: Language is too fluid and constantly shifts between the two domains.

Question 4: How do these pieces of text work together?
Answer: They propose cooperation, as opposed to a struggle, between “British” English and “American” English dialects.

Question 5: Based on the text, some etymologists claimed Shakespeare displayed a “feeble taste in language” by incorporating slang into his works. Does Mencken refute this?
Answer: arguing the terms used at that time had not yet become the overused slang we know today, but rather were the inventive and necessary use of language to fill a void.

Question 6: According to Mencken, who creates slang?
Answer: singular people with linguistic dexterity and inventiveness

Question 7: Mencken claims that slang terms lose their substance and significance when they
Answer: are misused and overused by the masses.

Question 8: In Mencken’s experience, what was the public’s preference regarding the use of slang, especially as it pertained to sports?
Answer: Most approved of the use of slang, explaining that it made the game more exciting for those who were unable to watch it in person and had to read about it in the papers.

Question 9: In this excerpt, the phrase “stage of bombast” is used in reference to what event?
Answer: the use of pretentious words and phrases for simple things

Question 10: The quotes in the conclusion leave the overall impression that?
Answer: while Mencken ultimately saw American slang as having a significant role in language, he recognized others’ valid concerns regarding the potential adverse effects of its ubiquitous “muddy tide.”

Canine Cops

Question 1: What is the main idea of this selection?
Answer: Dogs are hardworking animals, mentally and physically well-suited to working in law enforcement.

Question 2: Which type of training method is used to teach police dogs how to perform scent detection or tracking tasks?
Answer: positive reinforcement

Question 3: Why are dogs so highly valued by law enforcement agencies for use in scent detection or tracking work?
Answer: Dogs can detect specific scents and track down people much faster than a human officer could because they have a sensitive sense of smell.

Question 4: What could happen if a police dog exhibited an “aggressive alert” behavior while searching for an explosive device?
Answer: The dog could accidentally injure or kill itself and its handler.

Question 5: When preparing police dogs for scent-detection work, which step in the dogs’ training process occurs last?
Answer: A handler has the dog reflexively dig or scratch on detecting an odor.

Question 6: In this excerpt, the author creates a mood of?
Answer: astonishment.

Question 7: What evidence does the author give to support the claim that modern canines have evolved by selective breeding?
Answer: Some breeds of domesticated dogs are mentally and physically very different from their ancestor, the wolf.

Question 8: Based on this selection, why is the job of a police dog handler described as “demanding”?
Answer: Handlers are required to train, work, and constantly accompany their dogs.

Question 9: In this excerpt, the idiom “working like a dog” is an example of?
Answer: simile.

Question 10: What feature of the dog in this image would contribute to its strong sense of smell?
Answer: sloping, muscular neck