Read the letter and answer the questions.
Dear Students
We are about to embark upon another school year, so many of you will be looking forward to participating in the school's athletic teams. This year, we intend to field several athletic teams for both boys and girls. However, there are a couple of changes you ought to be conscious of.
First of all, Coach Jenkins is no longer with us. After fourteen years of coaching and teaching health classes at our school, Coach Jenkins resigned to take a job elsewhere. He has been replaced by Jeremy Sloan. Coach Sloan will be the head coach of the boys' football and basketball teams. He will also serve as an assistant coach of the track and field team.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of interest in the area, there will not be a girls' softball team this year. Only two schools in the county expressed an interest in fielding teams. Therefore, we regret that the girls' softball season has been canceled. Girls will, however, be permitted to try out for the boys' baseball team.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Steve Hollister
Athletic Director
What is this letter mostly about?
In paragraph 1, the phrase "embark upon" is closest in meaning to _____.
In paragraph 2, the word "resigned" is closest in meaning to _____.
Based on the letter, which is probably true about Coach Jenkins?
Who is Jeremy Sloan?
According to the letter, all of the following sports will be played EXCEPT _____.
Read the notice and answer the questions.
Attention, all students:
In the past week, several students have been caught violating the school's dress code. On account of that, I would like to list which clothes are acceptable and which are not.
Boys must wear long pants and button-down shirts. These shirts must have collars since all boys have to wear neckties as well. Furthermore, boys must wear either dress shoes or nice shoes. Sneakers, sandals, jeans, shorts, T-shirts, sleeveless shirts, tank tops, and other similar casual articles of clothing are not allowed.
Girls must wear slacks or skirts as well as blouses. All skirts must go down below the knees of the students wearing them. Girls may also wear dresses so long as they are not too formal. The clothes that are prohibited for boys may also not be worn by girls.
Students who violate the dress code will be sent to their homes to change and be given detentions or suspensions. Multiple violations of the dress code will result in them being sent to the principal's office.
We insist that all students comply with the dress code. Should you have any objections to the school's dress code, I am willing to speak with you about them.
Tina Wimberley
Principal
What is the purpose of the notice?
What does the author say about clothing for boys?
In paragraph 3, the word "prohibited" is closest in meaning to ______.
In paragraph 4, the word "them" refers to _____.
What can be inferred from the notice about Tina Wimberley?
In paragraph 5, the phrase "comply with" is closest in meaning to ______.
Read the story and answer the questions.
"You'd better hurry up, or we're going to be late," said Eric.
"Relax, Eric," responded Martin. "I've got everything under control. Besides, we have to finish this science experiment before we can leave the classroom. That's what Ms. Chandler told us."
Eric and Martin both looked at the clock. It was three o'clock, and the school had already ended. However, the boys were still working on their science experiments, so they couldn't leave the classroom. Unfortunately, they only had a few minutes to get to the gym. As members of the football team, they had to be on the bus no later than three twenty. Their team was playing an away game later in the evening and had to leave very soon in order to get to the site of the game on time.
After working for five more minutes, Eric said, "That does it. We're all done with the experiment. Now, let's get out of here."
"Hold on," Martin said to him. "We've got to clean up this mess first. Ms. Chandler will berate us if we don't put away everything."
"But what about the bus?" Eric asked worriedly. "I'm more afraid of Coach than I am Ms. Chandler."
"I've got everything under control," stated Martin. After having said that, Martin began to clean up the lab table while Eric put the chemicals away. In just a few minutes, the boys were done.
"Great," said Eric. "Let's roll. We've only got five more minutes."
Eric and Martin both ran out of the classroom. They grabbed their football equipment, and then they rushed all the way to the front of the gym. The rest of the team was already on the bus while Coach Jackson was standing beside it.
"It's about time you boys got here," he said impatiently. "I didn't think you were going to make it for a moment."
"We wouldn't let you down, Coach," said Martin. "We just had to get some schoolwork done."
"Okay," responded Coach Jackson. "Now get on that bus so that we can get out of here."
What is the best title for the story?
Why are Eric and Martin going to take a bus?
In paragraph 5, the word "berate" is closest in meaning to _____.
In paragraph 9, the word "it" refers to _____.
At the end of the story, Eric and Martin have done all of the following activities EXCEPT _____.
Read the passage and answer the questions.
Since ancient times, one of the most common materials people have utilized to make things with is wood. Wood is used to make houses, buildings, and other structures. People also make a large number of smaller objects with it.
The desire to make finished products more beautiful appears to be ingrained in human nature. On account of this fact, for thousands of years, people have carved and shaped wooden objects to make them more appealing to the eye. Humans have additionally tended to create both religious and ceremonial objects from wood. In fact, all around the world, countless cultures have made use of ceremonial wood carvings. These objects often reflect the spirit of the people who made them, and each of them tends to hold a special significance as well.
One of the most common types of wood carvings is the mask. People in many cultures in Asia, Africa, and North America have made ceremonial wooden masks. In Africa, for instance, large numbers of tribes use wooden masks for various spiritual rituals. These masks are often in the form of animals that were sacred to the tribes. In other cases, the masks have human forms. The faces, however, may not be exactly humanlike. For instance, the faces can be distorted, having wider, longer, smaller, or larger features than normal. The masks may be carved to give them ugly or frightening appearances as well. And, on other occasions, the masks are made to look as beautiful as possible.
While masks tend to be fairly small, other wood carvings can be enormous. Among the largest of all, ceremonial wood carvings are the totem pole. Totem poles have been built by several Native American tribes that reside in the northwestern part of North America. They are normally made to represent families, or they may honor significant historical events. Some even tell stories. A typical totem pole has several individual carvings on it. Each carving represents a different part of the family history, event, or story. Most totem poles have human or animal faces, as well as other figures, carved in them. They are so large that they are made from entire trees. Once the trees are cut down, master craftsmen work on them. When completed, they may or may not be painted. Then, the totem poles are positioned in places of honor and placed upright.
What is this passage mainly about?
In paragraph 2, the word "ingrained" is closest in meaning to ______.
Why have some people carved wooden objects?
In paragraph 3, the phrase "sacred to" is closest in meaning to ______.
What does the author say about masks?
The author uses "totem poles" as an example of _____.
In paragraph 4, the word "they" refers to _____.
What does the author imply about wood carvings?
The author mentions all of the following about totem poles EXCEPT _____.
Read the passage and answer the questions.
Virtually any night of the year, a person can look up at the sky and see the moon. The moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It takes slightly more than twenty-seven days for it to orbit Earth. And it does so from a little more than 380,000 kilometers away. Despite being Earth's closest celestial neighbor, there is much about the moon that scientists do not know.
For instance, no one is exactly sure when the moon was formed. Earth is estimated to have been created around 4.5 billion years ago. No later than 100,000 years after that, the moon was in orbit around Earth. Yet the question remains: How did the moon form? There are several theories, but astronomers have thus far failed to prove any of them correct.
The most widely accepted idea is the collision theory. It states that the moon formed when an object crashed into Earth. According to this hypothesis, when Earth was first created, it had no satellite. But, at some point in time, an object approximately the size of Mars collided with Earth. This caused part of the planet to break off. The largest part eventually transformed into the moon.
Another theory is that Earth and the moon formed at the exact same time billions of years ago. However, many astronomers discount this theory. They point out that Earth and the moon are comprised of different substances. They claim that if the two bodies were formed at the same time, then they should be composed of the same materials. Yet, as an example of their differences, the moon has much less iron than Earth does.
A third theory proposes that the moon formed somewhere else in the solar system. As it wandered past Earth, it was captured by Earth's gravity and began to orbit the planet. A fourth theory declares that, when it first formed, Earth spun much more rapidly than it does at the present time. Due to its swift rotation, part of the crust was stripped away from the planet and cast into space. This material then formed the moon.
Each of the four theories has its supporters and detractors. Thus far, however, no astronomer has been able to prove one theory while disproving all of the others.
What would be the best title for the passage?
Which of the following statements does paragraph 1 support?
In paragraph 2, the word "estimated" is closest in meaning to _____.
In paragraph 3, the phrase "crashed into" is closest in meaning to _____.
Which of the following is true regarding the collision theory?
Why do many astronomers doubt that Earth and the moon formed at the same time?
In paragraph 5, the word "proposes" is closest in meaning to _____.
In paragraph 5, the word "it" refers to _____.
Read the passage and answer the questions.
For thousands of years, humans survived by living as hunter-gatherers. Since they neither grew their own crops nor raised their own animals, they lacked easy access to food supplies. Instead, they ate whatever animals they could hunt, trap, or fish and whatever fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts they could gather.
In more recent times, the global food supply has increased greatly thanks to advanced farming methods. While there are still places on the Earth where some people starve, it is no longer a major problem like it was in the past. In fact, in the developed world, starvation is a minor problem only experienced by a relatively small number of people. As a result of this excess of food, more and more people are becoming pickier about what they consume.
Thus people have adapted a number of eating styles. This is especially true of individuals who live in the Western world. One of these movements is vegetarianism. A vegetarian is an individual who does not eat meat. Since most meat is high in protein, vegetarians must replace this lost nutrient by eating other types of food. For the most part, they can eat fish, soy products, and various kinds of beans to get the nourishment they require.
There are actually a wide variety of vegetarian lifestyles. Many individuals who opt for vegetarian diets have different standards of what they consider meat. For instance, some vegetarians refuse to eat both beef and pork but consume chicken and other poultry. Other vegetarians do not eat beef, pork, and poultry but have no problem with fish and other types of seafood. There are some vegetarians who reject all kinds of meat and fish but eat eggs, cheese, milk, butter, and other animal-based food products. Finally, there are a few vegetarians who are so strict that they do not eat any kind of food that comes from an animal.
For the most part, people choose a vegetarian lifestyle for two reasons. The first is that they believe eating meat is unhealthy. They claim that consuming meat can cause obesity, heart disease, and other health problems. The second is that some people do not want to cause harm to any animals. They believe it is inhumane to kill animals for food, so they do not eat meat as a result.
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a method of obtaining food used by hunter-gatherers?
In paragraph 2, the word "pickier" is closest in meaning to _____.
What does the author imply about starvation?
What can vegetarians eat to get more protein in their diets?
In paragraph 4, the phrase "opt for" is closest in meaning to ____.
Why does the author talk about vegetarian lifestyles?
In paragraph 5, the word "inhumane" is closest in meaning to _____.
According to the passage, why do people become vegetarians?