Understanding Text (RL.4.1)
Refer to Passage 1: Adapted selection from The Dragon Tamers (Part 1 by Edith Nesbit)
What is the greatest danger to John and his family in this story?
A. The castle is abandoned
B. There is no light in the stairwell
C. A dragon is living in the castle with John and his family
D. John is not paying rent for the two rooms in the castle
C. A dragon is living in the castle with John and his family
Read this short passage and then answer the question.
Dogs used to dig holes and bury their bones to keep them safe from dogs and other animals. Even though most dogs have enough food to eat today, they still want to bury their favorite bones and toys because of their natural instinct.
Based on the passage above, make an inference about why dogs today still hide their bones and toys?
A. They like to save it as a snack for later.
B. They want to hide them from other dogs.
C. They think it is a fun game to play with their owners.
D. They enjoy digging holes and finding bones.
B. The text states that dogs bury their toyes due to their natural insinct. Therefore, you can infer that their instincts still drie their actions today.
Read passage 1: The Princess and the Pea by Hans Chrisitan Andersen and answer the question.
Why does the queen require the princess to sleep on twenty mattresses on top of a pea?
A. She believes that the prince is being too picky about finding a wife.
B. She wants to prove to the prince that there's no such thing as a true princess.
C. She wants to determine if the young woman is truly a princess.
D. She wants to prove that the princess can detect a tiny pea.
C. The queen wants to determine if the young woman is truly a princess like she says. The other answer choices are unsupported by the text.
Read passage 1: Excerpt from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum. Then, answer the question.
From what point of view is the story told in passage 1?
A. first-person
B. second-person
C. third-person
D. limited view
C. The passage is told in third-person point of view by an outside narrator.
Frequently confused words.
Chose the correct answer to complete the sentence below.
There are ____________ dogs over ___________.
A. too; there
B. to; their
C. two; there
D. two; their
C. the corrected sentence should read "There are two (the number of) dogs over there (location)."
Refer to Passage 1: Adapted selection from The Dragon Tamers (Part 1 by Edith Nesbit)
Which statement best explains why John does not need to pay money (rent) to live in the castle?
A. John likes living with the dragon.
B. The two rooms that the family lives in are cramped.
C. John offers an important services to the community by making shoes for the town's horses.
D. No-one collects money for the castle's rent.
D. This is the correct answer since the best reason for John not paying rent is that the castle is abandoned and, "no one asked any rent."
Read the short passage and then answer the question.
Jerome was about halfway through his math homework when he glanced at his watch. "Oh no!", he said aloud. He threw on his soccer jersey and quickly put on his favorite cleats. He grabbed his soccer bag and sprinted out the door. "Nice of you to join us, Jerome," his coach bellowed as Jerome made his way onto the field.
What can you infer based on the evidence in the paragraph?
A. Jerome is late to soccer practice.
B. Jerome really loves soccer.
C. Jerome slept late and missed soccer.
D. Jerome isn't very organized.
A. You can infer that Jerome is late to soccer practice because he looks at his watch and says "oh no!", and because his coach says sarcastically "Nice of you to join us!".
Jerome could also be unorganized, but the text did not lead you to believe that he couldn't find his cleats, just that he was rushing to practice.
Read passage 1: The Princess and the Pea by Hans Chrisitan Andersen and answer the question.
Which detail from the story best supports the claim that the princess was a real princess?
A. "But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look."
B. "...she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds."
C. "...and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it."
D. "And yet she said that she was a real princess."
B. This detail from the story shows that the princess is truly a princess. The other details do not support that claim.
Read passage 2: Adapted Excerpt of the "The Myth of Icarus and Daedelus". Then, answer the question.
From what point of view is most of passage 2 told?
A. first-person
B. second-person
C. third-person
D. limited view
C. The passage is mostly told in third-person point of view by an outside narrator.
Form & Prepositional Phrases
Choose the best preposition to fill in the blank.
The power button is _______________ the computer monitor.
A. towards
B. across
C. underneath
D. between
C. The preposition 'underneath' is correct in this sentence because it is describing a location and a single object. 'Between' is not correct as the sentence does not contain a description of multiple objects.
Refer to Passage 1: Adapted selection from The Dragon Tamers (Part 1 by Edith Nesbit)
Re-read this sentence from the text: "There was once an old, old castle- it was so old that its walls, towers, and arches had crumbled to ruins, and of all its old splendor there were only two little rooms left."
What o you think the word splendor means in the above passage?
A. antiques
B. magnificence
C. sweetness
D. architecture
B. Magnificence is the correct synonym for splendor
Read Passage 1: Two Little Kittens by: Anonymous
Why are the kittens fighting?
A. One cat likes storms and the other doesn't.
B. One cat has a mouse and the other doesn't.
C. One cat has a bigger mouse than the other.
D. One cat wants to eat and one wants to play.
B. Lines 3-4 say, "One had a mouse, the other had none, And that's the way the quarrel begun".
Read passage 1: The Princess and the Pea by Hans Chrisitan Andersen and answer the question.
Based on the events in the story, which word best describes the prince at the end of the story.
A. satisfied
B. sleepy
C. concerned
D. sad
A. The word "satisfied" describes the prince because he has finally found a true princess to marry. The other word choices are not supported by details from the text.
Refer to passage 2: Adapted Excerpt of the "The Myth of Icarus and Daedelus"
In which paragraph of Passage 2 does the point of view shift to second-person for a moment?
A. paragraph 2
B. paragraph 3
C. paragraph 4
D. paragraph 5
A. In paragraph 2, the narrator slips into second person for a brief moment with the line addressed directly to the reader. "You can probably guess what happened next."
Use Correct Capitalization
Which word in the following sentence should be capitalized?
We got to the corner ticket office before dawn to buy concert tickets for sarah and her friends.
A. Corner
B. Office
C. Dawn
D. Sarah
D. "Sarah" is the only name or proper noun in the sentence so it should be capitalized.
Refer to Passage 1: Adapted selection from The Dragon Tamers (Part 1 by Edith Nesbit)
What is the most convincing reason that the dragon wants to be found?
A. The dragon wants someone to help it fix its wing.
B. The dragon is concered that the castle is falling down.
C. The dragon wants to play tag with John.
D. The dragon wants John to be scared and leave the castle.
A. The most convincing reason that the dragon wants to be found is because he wants someone to help him fix his wing.
Refer to passage 1: Two Little Kittens
What is the main moral of this poem?
A. It's better to get along than to fight.
B. Don't go outside on a stormy day.
C. It's better to play inside than outside.
D. Kittens should always be quieter than mice.
A. The kittens learn it's better to get along than to fight. When the kittens were fighting, the old lady put them outside in cold weather. When they stopped fighting and calmed down, the kittens were allowed back inside.
Read Passage 2: The Ants & the Grasshopper and answer the question.
Reread paragraph 1. The author uses the adjective humbly to describe how the grasshopper approaches the ants. Based on this adjective, how is the grasshopper feeling at this moment?
A. andry and demanding
B. meek and embarrassed
C. happy and full
D. sympathetic and giving
B. The word "humbly" allows the reader to know that the grasshopper is sheepishly asking the ants for food, embarrassed that he doesn't have any. The word "humbly" comes before the word "begged", which indicates that the grasshopper hopes to get something from the ants and therefore would probably not act 'angry and demanding'. Asking in a "generous" way does not make sense in this context. The grasshopper is starving so he would not feel "happy and full".
Refer to Passage 1: Excerpt from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Passage 2: Adapted Excerpt of the "The Myth of Icarus and Daedelus".
How would you best describe the narrator in both Passage 1 and Passage 2?
A. a friend
B. the Scarecrow
C. an outside observer
D. the mythical god
C. The speaker in both passages is an outside observer. The narrator describes all of the elements of the story, including what the characters think, say, and do.
Prefix/Suffix
Read the sentence below. Then identify the meaning of the suffix -ation.
In John's determination to get the capitalization right on his spelling test, he practiced every night, earning a reputation of a good student.
The suffix -ation means:
A. before
B. relating to
C. able to
D. action
D. The suffix -ation means action. In the sentence, this can be seen in the word "determination" (the action of being determined), capitalization (the action of capitalizing) and "reputation" (the action of being trustworthy or reputable).
Refer to Passage 1: Humpback Whales and answer the question.
Based on the information in the text, which is a unique feature of humpback whales?
A. The males are large.
B. They are endangered.
C. They jump out of the water.
D. They hunt prey.
C. Humpback whales breach, which means they jump out of water. While humpbacks are endangered, the article states that many types of whales are, so this isn't a unique feature. The other two answer choices are incorrect.
Refer to passage 1: Two Little Kittens to answer the question.
Which piece of evidence from the poem supports your answer from question 2?
A. "The old woman seized her sweeping broom, And swept the two kittens right out of the room."
B. "I told you before 'twas a stormy night When these two little kittens began to fight;"
C. "Then they crept in, as quiet as mice, All wet with the snow, andcold as ice..."
D. "For they found it was better, that stormy night, To lie down and sleep than to quarrel and fight."
D. These lines show that the kittens learned that things got better when they calmed down and got along rather than when they quarreled.
Refer to Passage 2: The Ants & the Grasshopper and answer the question.
What can you infer about the ants in the story?
A. They appreciate the grasshopper's music.
B. They are hopeful that the grasshopper will help them.
C. They believe the grasshopper was foolish.
D. They feel sorry for the grasshopper.
C. The reader can infer that the ants believe the grasshopper was foolish by the way they respond to him, ultimately ignoring him after making fun of him.
2 Part Question - Read Passage 1: The Greatest Swimmer of All and then answer the question.
Part A: What is the main idea of paragraph 2?
A. Michael Phelps is a better swimmer than a great white shark.
B. Michael Phelp's body shape helps him be a great swimmer.
C. Michael Phelps is the best Olympian ever.
D. Michael Phelps has big feet that act like flippers in the water.
Part B: Which detail from the text supports the answer for Part A?
A. "He is tall, with a long thin torso and shorter legs."
B. "Michael's body helps him swim well."
C. "Michael worked hard for 17 years to be the best."
D. "His size 14 feet are also large, and act like flippers in the water."
Part A: B. Michael Phelp's body shape helps him be a great swimmer.
Part B: The first sentence. "Michael's body helps him swim well."
Read the following sentence from "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves."
The troop, who were to the number of forty, all well mounted and armed, came to the foot of the rock on which the tree stood, and there dismounted.
The prefix "dis-" means "apart." In this sentence the prefix "dis-" is added to the word "mounted" which changes the meaning of "mounted." Which definition fits the word "dismounted?"
A. climbed on
B. climbed off
C. stood before
D. stood behind
B. Dismounted means that he climbed off of his horse. Without the prefix, it would say that he mounted, or climbed on. However, the prefix dis- means "apart," which changes the meaning.