VOCAB
What is theme?
an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature.
Our team constantly grappled with technical difficulties and a large workload. We also experienced physical exhaustion that might have affected our performance. Just like space missions, there was no opportunity to return to the surface, and our mistakes or equipment failure could have been fatal.
What does grappled mean?
struggled
While lounging in a banyan tree one hot summer day, a child watches as a cobra and mongoose fight. Evenly matched, the cobra and the mongoose both attempt to best the other. Two birds watch the contest from a nearby cactus. Which two sentences should be added to summarize the passage?
A The banyan tree serves as a refuge for the child to read and relax amidst other animals.
B The day was so hot that the child considers heading down to the pond for a swim with a friend.
C Wanting to get in on the action, a myna and a crow dive into the fight, leaving the crow ultimately injured.
D Although the cobra is fast, the mongoose is quicker and is able to wound the cobra and win the fight.
E The myna sends up a shriek of congratulations to the mongoose after winning the fight.
C,D
RL.2
Read the sentence from paragraph 2. In Honolulu she was overwhelmed by the way that new acquaintances and guests at parties plied her with blossoms. Based on the context of paragraph 3, which two definitions of the word plied match its use in paragraph 2?
A blasted B heaped C operated D showered E worked
B heaped D showered
RI 8.4
What does it mean to summarize?
give a brief statement of the main points of (something
The most difficult and memorable moment of this mission occurred when, after some malfunctioning equipment was fixed at the last minute, I was able to finish the experiments during my extravehicular activities shift.
What is the meaning of the word malfunctioning as it is used in paragraph 12?
broken
RI. 8.4
My first friend was a small gray squirrel. Arching his back and sniffing the air, he seemed at first to resent my invasion of his privacy. But when he found that I did not arm myself with catapult or air gun, he became friendly, and when I started bringing him pieces of cake and biscuit, he grew quite bold and was soon taking morsels from my hand. What does the paragraph reveal about the narrator?
A The narrator is fearless and brave.
B The narrator is frustrated and lonely.
C The narrator is kind and gentle.
D The narrator is nosy and insensitive.
C The narrator is kind and gentle.
RL.3
My thoughts are with the Dead, with them I live in long-past years, 15 Their virtues love, their faults condemn, Partake their hopes and fears, And from their lessons seek and find Instruction with a humble mind. How can the speaker “live in long-past years” as stated in line 14?
A The speaker’s preferences could be considered old-fashioned.
B The speaker’s knowledge of ancient cultures is substantial.
C The speaker’s memory of his life is extensive.
D The speaker’s imagination transports him back in time through stories.
D The speaker’s imagination transports him back in time through stories.
RL 8.4
1 O’Keeffe is so closely associated with the American Southwest in the popular imagination that it is hard to envision her in anything other than the ascetic1 setting of New Mexico and its desert. Yet, in 1939, in the face of opposition from her husband and mentor Alfred Stieglitz, O’Keeffe accepted a commission from a New York advertising firm, N. W. Ayer & Son. The commission was to travel (all expenses paid) to the Hawaiian Islands and paint scenes for a pineapple juice promotional campaign. Stieglitz objected that serious artists didn’t accept commercial work; O’Keeffe, however, was won over by the glowing brochures about a still relatively remote tropical paradise. Which inference can be made based on paragraph 1?
A O’Keeffe was not concerned with other people’s perception of her and her work.
B O’Keeffe had never traveled outside of the continental United States.
C O’Keeffe was eager to work after suffering from a long period of unemployment.
D O’Keeffe had never traveled alone without her husband.
A O’Keeffe was not concerned with other people’s perception of her and her work.
RI 8.1
the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.
As NASA prepares to return to the Moon in the next couple of years and possibly even establish bases, it needs a better understanding of how the human body performs in such an inhospitable habitat. (paragraph 1) Our team also focused on sleep quality, changes in inflammation markers in the blood, heart rate, the microbes inside our bodies and body composition. (paragraph 9) Which statement describes the connection between the two excerpts? A The second excerpt provides details to explain the first excerpt. B The first excerpt describes the problem that the second excerpt seeks to solve. C The excerpts contrast the known data about human bodies with the data the mission sets out to collect. D The excerpts emphasize the complete lack of information about conditions in space and what to expect when traveling.
A
RI 8.3
. Which quotation supports the idea that the narrator is curious?
A “Its spreading branches, which hung to the ground and took root, forming a number of twisting passages, gave me endless pleasure.” (paragraph 2) B “When I did not feel like reading, I could look down through the leaves at the world below.” (paragraph 7)
C “The birds had seen these preparations for the battle and had settled on the cactus to watch the outcome. Had they been content only to watch, all would have been well.” (paragraph 12)
D “I saw the bird flung nearly twenty
B “When I did not feel like reading, I could look down through the leaves at the world below.” (paragraph 7)
RL.1
With them I take delight in weal1 , And seek relief in woe; And while I understand and feel 10 How much to them I owe, My cheeks have often been bedew’d With tears of thoughtful gratitude. What do lines 7-12 reveal about the speaker?
A The speaker has lived a difficult life.
B The speaker understands deep philosophical ideas.
C The speaker acknowledges the sources of his wisdom.
D The speaker turns to books in good times and in bad.
D The speaker turns to books in good times and in bad.
RL 8.3
Read the sentences from paragraph 11. “It has to become a part of one’s world,” she explained, “a part of what one has to speak with.” This new vocabulary surely influenced how the artist interpreted her familiar setting when she returned to the Southwest. What does the author mean by the figurative phrase “new vocabulary”?
A the praise O’Keeffe earned from her work in Hawaii B the language O’Keeffe learned in Hawaii
C the scenery O’Keeffe observed in Hawaii
D the painting techniques O’Keeffe mastered in Hawaii
C the scenery O’Keeffe observed in Hawaii
L8.5