Vocabulary
What does the word "devastating" mean as used in the context paragraph.
1) Powerful
2) Fierce
3) Angry
4) Deadly
4) Deadly
What is the central idea of the context box?
A) The Black Death was deadly.
B) Rats may not have cause the Black Death.
c) The Black Death is coming for you.
d) The Black Death is coming back.
B) Rats may not...
How does the context box help you understand the purpose of the article?
A) It give you something to look for.
B) It tells you the main idea of each section.
C) It gives you all the historical background.
D) It tries to make you laugh.
A) It give you something to look for.
Which sentence best shows the purpose of the article?
A) The Black Death was a devastating plague that spread through Europe from 1346 to 1353.
B) For a long time, rats were believed to be responsible for spreading this deadly plague.
C) New research shows that this may not be the case.
C) New research shows that this may not be the case.
Rats are known for their high intelligence. What is one way scientists have proven rats are smart?
A) They can solve mazes and remember solutions
B) They can read and write simple words
C) They can predict the weather
D) They can communicate with humans using sign language
A) They can solve mazes and remember solutions
Intro
What is the best meaning of "outbreak" as it's used in paragraph 2?
A) spread
B) start
C) share
D) miss
A) spread
What is the central idea of the introduction?
A) To explain how fleas feed
B) To give the history of the black death
C) To explain how people catch the black death
D) To teach about different kinds of fleas
C) To explain how people catch the black death
Intro
How does paragraph four support the main idea of the introduction?
A) By showing where the plague comes from.
B) By describing disease stays in rodents.
C) By connecting rodents to fleas.
D) By trying to frighten the reader.
B) By describing disease stays in rodents.
Intro
What evidence best describes why rats are blamed for the Black Death?
A) Black Death was an especially extreme outbreak of bubonic plague. (p2)
B) When these bacteria are not infecting people, they hang out in rodents... (P3)
C) The plague’s species “persists mostly because the rodents don’t get sick..." (P4)
D) Often, that next entrée is another rodent. But sometimes, it’s a person. (P5)
D) Often, that next entrée is another rodent. But sometimes, it’s a person. (P5)
What is unique about a rat's teeth?
A) They have only 2 teeth total
B) They never stop growing throughout their lifetime
C) They are made of plastic-like material
D) They fall out and regrow every month
B) They never stop growing throughout their lifetime
Flea vs. flea
What is the best meaning of "louse" as it's used in paragraph 7?
A) a type of rat
B) a type of insect
C) a type of person
D) a type of disease
A) live together
Flea vs. flea
What is the central idea of the section "Flea vs. flea"?
A) Fleas can spread the plague.
B) Certain types of rats live on certain types of fleas.
C) It's unlikely that fleas from medieval rats spread the plague.
D) Fleas from rats probably spread the plague.
C) It's unlikely that fleas from medieval rats spread the plague.
Flea vs. flea
How does paragraph 10 support the main idea of this section?
A) By making people think rats are dirty.
B) By creating doubt that rats could have been the most important spreader of the disease.
C) By describing the relationship between fleas and rats.
D) By blaming people for the spread of the disease.
B) By creating doubt that rats could have been the most important spreader of the disease.
Flea vs. flea
What evidence best describes why rats are unlikely to have been a major factor in spreading the disease?
A) The plague may not be a picky disease, but fleas can be picky eaters. (P7)
B) All these fleas and the louse can carry plague. (p8)
C) Rat fleas bit people, and people got the plague. (P8)
D) Rat fleas prefer to bite rats. (P9)
D) Rat fleas prefer to bite rats. (P9)
How long does a typical pet rat live?
A) 1 year
B) 2-3 years
C) 3-5 years
D) 5-8 years
B) 2-3 years
Ancient manuscripts and modern computers
What is the best meaning of "model " as it's used in paragraph 13?
A) someone who poses for pictures
B) a way of identifying something
C) an example
D) an old book
C) an example
Ancient manuscripts and modern computers
What is the central idea of the section?
A) Nobody is responsible for spreading the plague.
B) Humans are probably responsible for spreading the plague.
C) Rats parasites are probably responsible for spreading the plague.
D) Human parasites are probably responsible for spreading the plague.
D) Human parasites are probably responsible for spreading the plague.
Ancient manuscripts and modern computers
How does paragraph 13 support the main idea of the section?
A) It shows how scientists compared the different ways plague spreads.
B) It describes how scientists can use computer models.
C) It describes what computer models are.
D) It describes the different types of plague.
A) It shows how scientists compared the different ways plague spreads.
Ancient manuscripts and modern computers
What evidence best describes why rats are unlikely to have been a major factor in spreading the disease?
A) The team calculated plague death rates from the 1300s to the 1800s for nine cities in Europe and Russia. (P13)
B) Rat flea-based plague might lead to fewer deaths but those deaths might occur over a long time. (P13)
C) Dean and her colleagues compared their model results to the patterns of real deaths. (P14)
D) The model that assumed the disease was spread by human fleas and lice was the winner. (P14)
D) The model that assumed the disease was spread by human fleas and lice was the winner. (P14)
How do rats primarily communicate with each other?
A) By jumping up and down
B) Through written messages
C) By changing colors
D) Through sounds too high for humans to hear
D) Through sounds too high for humans to hear
Not a total surprise
What is the best meaning of "sanitation" as it's used in paragraph 21?
A) cleanliness
B) plumbing
C) medicine
D) science
A) cleanliness
Not a total surprise
What is the central idea of the section?
A) The plague was bad news.
B) Poor sanitation was the biggest cause of plague.
C) Plague could never happen again.
D) People are gross.
B) Poor sanitation was the biggest cause of plague.
Not a total surprise
How does paragraph 20 support the main idea of this section?
A) it describes how houses were built
B) it shows where rats like to live
C) it shows the conditions that allowed plague to happen
D) it makes you realize people are gross
C) it shows the conditions that allowed plague to happen
Not a total surprise
What evidence best describes why scientists continue to study the diseases of the past?
A) Scientists have suspected that rat fleas might not have played a big role in the Black Death (P17)
B) Studying illnesses of the past is important for the future (P18)
C) Can we predict the next big outbreak? (P19)
D) Even if rats played a role in the Black Death, they wouldn’t have been the biggest factor (p20)
C) Can we predict the next big outbreak? (P19)
Rats are highly social animals. What does this mean about how they live?
A) They live in large groups called colonies
B) They are solitary and prefer to live alone
C) They only socialize during mating season
D) They communicate only with other species
A) They live in large groups called colonies