Terms to Know
This term means to create an educated guess using the text.
What is inference?
What inference can be made from this passage?
“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” (Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White)
What inference can be made from this passage?
A. Wilbur misses Charlotte but not her grandchildren.
B. Charlotte was a good friend but not a good writer.
C. Wilbur misses Charlotte deeply and thinks of her fondly.
D. Charlotte misses Wilbur and her grandchildren.
What is C. Wilbur misses Charlotte deeply and thinks of her fondly?
What is the main idea of the passage?
When a person decides to get a dog, he or she has many kinds to choose from. As a rule, short-haired dogs are best for cities. Beagles, Boston Terriers, and Dachshunds make good city pets. Great Danes are short-haired, too. However, they are too big for city living. It is hard in a city to give them all the exercise they need. Setters, Springer Spaniels, and Collies are especially good as country dogs.
A. Dogs make better pets than cats.
B. Some breeds of dogs are better than others for city life.
C. There are many breeds of dogs.
D. Short-haired dogs are better for cities.
What is B. Some breeds of dogs are better than others for city life?
Read the following passage. Summarize it in one sentence using your own words.
McDonald's is the king of a subgroup of restaurants called fast-food restaurants. Chances are, no matter where you live, there is a McDonald's restaurant near you. There are even McDonald's in the Soviet Union. Now McDonald's is trying something new. It is called McDonald's Express and there is a test site in Peabody, Massachusetts. It is part of a Mobil gas station. This allows you to fill up with gas and fill up on food at the same time. What will they think of next?
What is - People enjoy the perks of fast food as seen with the expansion of McDonalds.
What is the literary theme of the passage?
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.” (Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss)
A. You are in charge of your own destiny.
B. Always know where you are going.
C. Loss of innocence comes at a price.
D. Power is the eye of the beholder.
What is A. You are in charge of your own destiny?
This term means to pull something from the text to support a claim.
What is textual evidence?
What inference can be made from this passage?
“What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t.” (“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros)
A. The speaker is learning how to count backwards.
B. The speaker is turning 11 but doesn't feel her age.
C. The speaker is turning 11 and feels very mature.
D. The speaker is turning 11 but everyone forgot.
What is B. The speaker is turning 11 but doesn't feel her age?
What is the main idea of the passage?
Midas is the name of at least three members of the royal house of Phrygia. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched with his hand into gold. This came to be called the Golden touch, or the Midas touch. The Phrygian city Midaeum was presumably named after this Midas, and this is probably also the Midas that according to Pausanias founded Ancyra. According to Aristotle, legend held that Midas died of starvation as a result of his "vain prayer" for the gold touch
A. Kings are obsessed with wealth, as epitomized by King Midas.
B. King Midas was lucky and therefore had the Golden Touch.
C. King Midas had a heart of gold as evidenced by his generosity.
D. Although he loved gold, King Midas learned the hard way that wealth isn’t everything.
What is D. Although he loved gold, King Midas learned the hard way that wealth isn't everything.
Read the following passage. Summarize it in one sentence using your own words.
La Llorona ("The Weeping Woman") is a widespread legend throughout the region of Hispanic America. The basic story tells of a beautiful woman named Maria who drowns her children in order to be with the man that she loved. Maria is forced to wander the Earth for all eternity, searching in vain for her drowned offspring, with her constant weeping giving her the name "La Llorona". She is trapped in between the living world and the spirit world. Parents often use this story to prevent their children from wandering out at night. Legend says you can hear her cry, "¡Ay, mis hijos!" ("Oh, my children!")
What is - La Llorona is a Hispanic legend about a woman looking for her children.
What is the literary theme of the passage?
“Teresa is going to be my girl this year, he promised himself as he left the gym full of students in their new fall clothes. She was cute. And good in math, too, Victor thought as he walked down the hall to his homeroom.” (“Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto)
A. To get a girlfriend, you must be good in math.
B. The beginning of the school year brings new hope.
C. Self-confidence and belief in oneself will get you what you want.
D. Societal pressure is a universal struggle for most teens.
What is C. Self-confidence and belief in oneself will get you what you want?
This term means what the author is trying to say about a certain topic.
What is central or main idea?
What inference can be made from this passage?
“Not far away from here lies a poor woman with a little newborn baby. Six children are huddled into one bed to keep from freezing, for they have no fire. There is nothing to eat over there, and the oldest boy came to tell me they were suffering hunger and cold. My girls, will you give them your breakfast as a Christmas present?” (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)
A. The mother doesn’t understand the spirit of Christmas.
B. The mother has six children and a newborn baby who are napping.
C. The mother wants her girls to eat breakfast and open their Christmas gifts.
D. The mother is teaching her girls about sacrificing for the good of others.
What is D. The mother is teaching her girls about sacrificing for the good of others?
What is the main idea of the passage?
The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floor of the mouth, which manipulates food for chewing. It is the primary organ of taste (gustation), as much of its upper surface is covered in taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels. The tongue also serves as a natural means of cleaning one's teeth. The ability to perceive different tastes is not localized in different parts of the tongue, as is widely believed. This error arose because of misinterpretation of some 19th-century research.
A. Tongues are a vital organ for tasting and chewing food.
B. Don’t worry about brushing your teeth; that’s what tongues are for.
C. Taste buds are found in different areas of your tongue.
D. Tongues keep the mouth healthy and clean.
What is A. Tongues are a vital organ for tasting and chewing food?
Read the following passage. Summarize it in one sentence using your own words.
"The Catcher in the Rye" is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. A controversial novel originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage angst and alienation. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major languages. Around 250,000 copies are sold each year with total sales of more than 65 million books. The novel's protagonist Holden Caulfield has become an icon for teenage rebellion. The novel also deals with complex issues of identity, belonging, loss, connection, and alienation.
What is - "The Catcher in the Rye" is a popular novel dealing with complex adolescent themes.
What is the literary theme of the passage?
“I believe the universe wants to be noticed. I think the universe is improbably biased toward the consciousness, that it rewards intelligence in part because the universe enjoys its elegance being observed. And who am I, living in the middle of history, to tell the universe that it-or my observation of it-is temporary?” (The Fault in Our Stars by John Green)
A. Self-identity is a universal rite-of-passage for most adolescents.
B. The universe is filled with many galaxies that have yet to be discovered.
C. The meaning of life is a mystery we are not meant to comprehend.
D. Intelligent people thrive more than their counterparts.
What is C. The meaning of life is a mystery we are not meant to comprehend?
This term refers to the creation of something that includes the key details and main idea of the text and does not include opinionated statements.
What is an objective summary?
What inference can be made from this passage?
“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” (Emma by Jane Austen)
A. Emma Woodhouse is attractive but poor.
B. Emma Woodhouse is wealthy but unattractive.
C. Emma Woodhouse exasperates other people.
D. Emma Woodhouse has lived a charmed life.
What is D. Emma Woodhouse has lived a charmed life?
What is the main idea of the passage?
Astronomer Carl Sagan was born on November 9, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from the University of Chicago, where he studied planets and explored theories of extraterrestrial intelligence. He was named director of Cornell’s Laboratory for Planetary Studies in 1968 and worked with NASA on several projects. An anti-nuclear activist, Sagan introduced the idea of “nuclear winter” in 1983. He wrote one novel, several books and academic papers and the TV series Cosmos, which was reborn on TV in 2014, before his 1996 death.
A. The University of Chicago owes much to astronomer, Carl Sagan.
B. Carl Sagan knows secret theories about aliens and extraterrestrial life.
C. Carl Sagan was a pacifist who warned against nuclear proliferation.
D. Prominent astronomer Carl Sagan explored many planetary theories and projects.
What is D. Prominent astronomer Carl Sagan explored many planetary theories and projects?
Read the following passage. Summarize it in one sentence using your own words.
The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids — huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the world's largest constructions. They are shaped as a reference to the rays of the sun. Most pyramids had a polished, highly reflective white limestone surface, in order to give them a shining appearance when viewed from a distance. The capstone was usually made of hard stone - granite or basalt - and could be plated with gold, silver, or electrum and would also be highly reflective.
What is - The world’s most famous, monumental pyramids are located in Egypt.
What is the literary theme of the passage?
“Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now.” (The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
A. To be happy, you must be self-sufficient.
B. Some people need therapy to deal with life.
C. If you want to be spiritually enlightened, live alone.
D. It is rare to find honesty and truth in most people.
What is D. It is rare to find honesty and truth in most people?
This term refers to a generic and unifying idea that appears in literature and appeals to the reader.
What is theme?
What inference can be made from this passage?
“Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.”- (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
A. Boo is head of the Neighborhood Giving Committee.
B. The narrator feels regret about not giving back to Boo.
C. The narrator suffers from depression.
D. Things are often exchanged in the narrator’s neighborhood.
What is B. The narrator feels regret about not giving back to Boo?
What is the main idea of the passage?
The Indian cobra is a species of the genus Naja found in the Indian subcontinent and a member of the "big four", the four species which inflict the most snakebites on humans in India. This snake is revered in Indian mythology and culture, and is often seen with snake charmers. The cobra is deaf to the snake charmer's pipe, but follows the visual cue of the moving pipe and it can sense the ground vibrations from the snake charmer's tapping. Sometimes, for the sake of safety, all the venom in cobra's teeth is removed.
A. Revered in Indian culture, the cobra is often seen with snake charmers.
B. Cobras are deaf but feel vibrations of snake charmers.
C. Cobras are a member of the “big four” because of their venomous snake bite.
D. Cobras are an endangered species.
What is A. Revered in Indian culture, the cobra is often seen with snake charmers?
Read the following passage. Summarize it in one sentence using your own words.
Police depend on evidence to solve crimes. Forensic scientists collect evidence to solve many different kinds of cases, including robberies, missing persons, and even murders. Examining the crime scene with precise methods, they collect hair, fibers, trash, and many other tiny bits of material, which help them, determine the individual who committed the crime. They are particularly interested in evidence, such as fingerprints, that can be linked to a specific person.
What is - Forensic scientists collect and examine evidence to solve many different kinds of crimes, including robberies, missing persons, and murders.
What is the literary theme of the passage?
“Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnum villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess; the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical chances, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.” (“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs)
A. Beware of strangers who bring cursed objects into the house.
B. Only wish for simple things that do not involve money or greed.
C. Chess is an intellectual game that breeds competitiveness.
D. A place of safety and shelter is a blessing.
What is D. A place of safety and shelter is a blessing?