Context Clues
Figurative Language
The Echoing Green
Welcome Home
Cloned A Sheep
100

My friend and I will part company after dinner. I won't see him until he returns from vacation. What does the word part mean in this sentence?

A) separate

B) actor's role in a play

C) a line where hair is combed in different directions

D) piece

A) separate

100

Identify the type of figurative language used in the sentence.


"For the first time in forever, there'll be music, there'll be light."

A) alliteration

B) hyperbole

C) simile

D) metaphor


B) hyperbole

100

What arises at the beginning of the poem and descends at the end?

A) the Sun

B) a Bell

C) a Bird

D) an Oak Tree

A) the Sun

100

Amy and Joel hadn’t seen their mother in how many months? 

A) 4 Months

B) 6 Months

C) 8 Months

D) 18 Months

C) 8 Months

100

What did scientists remove from the egg cell of a sheep?

A) the nucleus                        B) the embryo 

C) DNA                                  D) udder cells

A) the nucleus  

200

Every positive endeavor, such as exercise and hard work, is a worthwhile thing.

What does the word 'endeavor' means as it is used in this sentence? 

A) idleness

B) activity

C) mission

D) attitude

B) activity

200
"The baby's skin was like a rose petal." What is the author trying to tell you about the baby? 

A) The baby's skin is very soft and delicate.

B) The baby's skin is rough. 

C) The baby's skin is dry. 

D) The baby's skin is sticky. 

A) The baby's skin is very soft and delicate.

200

What is the setting of this poem?

A) the nest of a bird

B) a bush where birds live

C) the echoing Green 

D) the home of Old John 

C) the echoing Green 

200

Which of the following sentences best describes the role Amy played in her family while her mother was away?

A) It had been eight months since Amy and Joel had seen their mother. 

B) Amy thought about the other soldiers and what role they played in their family back home. 

C) Amy read bedtime stories to Joel and tried to be brave and not think about war. 

D) Amy was used to her mother being in the army, but Joel didn’t understand war. 

C) Amy read bedtime stories to Joel and tried to be brave and not think about war. 

200

This passage describes the sequence of events involved in cloning a sheep. What happened after the scientists took udder cells and an egg cell from different sheep? 

A) The egg cell was joined to an udder cell using electricity. 

B) The embryo was placed inside another sheep. 

C) Scientists took udder cells from Dolly's DNA mother. 

D) The egg cell divided until it formed an embryo. 

A) The egg cell was joined to an udder cell using electricity.

300

Kelly's grandmother was so feeble she couldn't walk well or get out of bed much.

What does the word feeble mean as it is used in the text? 

A) happy, overjoyed

B) frail, weak

C) determined, strong

B) frail, weak

300

What does the idiom "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" mean?

A) Flies like vinegar more than honey.

B) It is a waste of time to argue.

C) People respond better to kindness.

D) It's easier to catch someone who eats honey.

C) People respond better to kindness.

300

Reread the second stanza of the poem.

What can you infer from this stanza about Old John?

A) Old John spends most of his time worrying. 

B) Old John used to play on the echoing Green. 

C) Old John likes being an old man more than he liked being a boy. 

D) Old John does not get along well with the other old folk.  

B) Old John used to play on the echoing Green.  

300

Read the following sentence from the passage: “And now, as they waited at the airport, time seemed to stand still.”

What is the author trying to convey to the reader?

A) They had been waiting at the airport for two hours, and then the clock stopped working. 

B) They were so eager to see their mom that it felt like time was not passing. 

C) They were waiting so long for the plane, and they couldn’t tell what time it was. 

D) They had not seen their mother in eight months, and then the plane was delayed. 

B) They were so eager to see their mom that it felt like time was not passing. 

300

As part of the process of cloning a sheep, scientists placed the embryo inside a sheep, which eventually gave birth to Dolly. Based on this evidence, what conclusion can be made?

A) Cloning a sheep requires many egg cells and udder cells. 

B) An embryo can develop into an animal on its own, outside another animal's body. 

C) The embryo had to develop inside a "mother" sheep for a period of time. 

D) The embryo has to develop in the "DNA mother's" body for the cloning process to be successful. 

C) The embryo had to develop inside a "mother" sheep for a period of time. 

400

Sue discovered that her favorite dress, which she had hung out to dry on a clothesline, had fallen and become bedraggled in the mud.


What does bedraggled mean?

A) small and helpless

B) smooth and colorful

C) limp and dirty

D) fresh and clean

C) limp and dirty

400

Astronauts Aim for the Moon - And Beyond

NASA announced plans that are out of this world - literally! The space agency hopes to send humans to the moon again by 2020. 

What is the author trying to tell the reader by using the phrase, "out of this world"?

A) The author is frightened about giving up the security of Earth life.

B) The author is enthusiastic about NASA's plans. 

C) The author is suspicious that there won't be enough money to complete the program. 

D) The author is used to the idea of space travel. 

B) The author is enthusiastic about NASA's plans. 

400

What is the theme of this poem?

A) the disappointments of old age 

B) the importance of hard work 

C) the power of dreams 

D) the joy of playing outdoors

D) the joy of playing outdoors

400

Read the following sentence: “In the blur of movement, Sergeant Green found her family.”

In this sentence the word blur means

A) something that cannot be seen clearly 

B) an object that moves slowly 

C) something that moves suddenly 

D) an object that stays in motion all the time 

A) something that cannot be seen clearly 

400

Based on the information in the text, what can you infer about the process of cloning a sheep?

A) Cloning cannot be done more than once. 

B) Cloning a sheep can happen overnight. 

C) Cloning does not happen naturally in sheep. 

D) Cloning is the easiest way to produce sheep. 

C) Cloning does not happen naturally in sheep. 

500

The archaeologists discovered an empty sarcophagus deep within the tomb. They were disappointed because Egyptian burial sites often contained well-preserved mummies.

What is the meaning of the word sarcophagus in the selection above?

A) a robe

B) a stone coffin

C) a small jar

D) a beetle

B) a stone coffin

500

Read the sentence below.

When Joe stopped stealing from his mother and started stealing from stores, he jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

What does the idiom OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE mean?

A) to get out of one bad place and into a worse one

B) to find something that one enjoys doing daily

C) to learn how to improve upon one's special skills

D) to do something today instead of waiting around

A) to get out of one bad place and into a worse one

500

What is the effect of using personification in lines 2 and 4?

A) Personification suggests that nature can be dangerous. 

B) Personification contrasts birds with human beings. 

C) Personification explains the difference between skylarks and thrushes. 

D) Personification creates a mood of happiness.

D) Personification creates a mood of happiness.

500

The primary purpose of this passage is to describe

A) the sound of a plane as it approaches the airport and lands on a runway

B) the way a brother and sister might act at an airport when they are nervous and excited 

C) how a family gets ready to go to the airport and then watches a plane land 

D) thoughts of a family as they wait for someone to return home from war

D) thoughts of a family as they wait for someone to return home from war

500

What is the main idea of this text?

A) An embryo is the early stage of an animal before it has been born or hatched. 

B) Dolly’s DNA mother provided the udder cells that helped scientists make Dolly. 

C) Scientists cloned a sheep using udder cells from one sheep and an egg cell from another. 

D) Udder cells and egg cells can be joined together using an electric current. 

C) Scientists cloned a sheep using udder cells from one sheep and an egg cell from another. 

M
e
n
u