Main Idea
As you may know, the boomerang was invented by the Aborigines of Australia. When Thrown, the boomerang hits something or comes soaring back to the thrower for another try. The trouble is that pictures are curved wooden objects that certainly look like boomerangs have been dug up from Egyptian tombs. These objects are at least 3,000 years old. "Nonsense. Our heritage is under attack," reported one Australian newspaper. The article calls the Egyptian artifacts mere "throwing sticks" and challenges anyone to throw them in such a way that they soar back. Because nobody is going to throw an ancient treasure, the argument continues.
The main idea of this passage is
A. Why there is a dispute over the origins of the boomerang
B. how the Egyptians used the boomerang
C. how the Australian boomerang works
D. why the Egyptians do not throw their ancient throwing sticks
What is Why there is a dispute over the origins of the boomerang
For as long as she could remember, Yvette's parents had given her a rare coin to add to her collection on each of her birthdays. And for just as long, the young girl looked forward to the gift.
But as she grew older, Yvette found that her interests changed. No longer interested in coins, she longed for a different gift, such as some new clothes. How disappointed Yvette was when her parents presented her with still another rare coin on her sixteenth birthday.
Based on the passage, what can you conclude?
A. Yvette is an ungrateful daughter.
B. Yvette's parents wanted her to sell the coins and buy herself something.
C. Her parents were unaware that Yvette's interests had changed as she grew into a young woman.
D. Yvette's parents didn't care what she really wanted and liked.
What is C. Her parents were unaware that Yvette's interests had changed as she grew into a young woman?
A tiny red submarine named Alvin allowed scientists to take startling photographs of the unusual life-forms living around a crack in the ocean floor int eh eastern Pacific Ocean. There were giant clams and large white crabs and fish. Most startling were the blood-red, 12-foot worms that had one end attached to the ocean floor. They swayed eerily back and forth in the warm waters. Creatures that looked like dandelions were anchored by delicate threads and floated in the water. At a similar location scientists discovered chimney-shaped rock formations that spewed out black clouds of hot water.
Scientists have proof of what they saw on the ocean floor because they-
A. brought back samples
B. took many photographs
C. took detailed notes
D. performed tests
What is B. took many photographs?
What type of figurative language is being used in the following passage?
"When you awaken, be sure to record the remnants of your dream on your Purple Pages of Passion, Persuasion, and Poetry with your Purple Plume of Poetic Penmanship."
A. Hyperbole
B. Simile
C. Personification
D. Alliteration
What is D. Alliteration?
Fire-breathing dragons are nothing more than legends, but one rare dragon actually exists today on the islands of Indonesia. the Komodo dragon's long, narrow, forked tongue looks like its fairy-tale counterpart. Komodo dragons use their tongues to smell, not taste. They have excellent hearing and eyesight but rely on their sense of smell to find food. The dragon swings its head back and forth and flicks its tongue in and out until it picks up the scent of food. Komodo dragons' tongues can detect smells from miles away.
This paragraph tells mainly-
A. what the Komodo dragon's tongue looks like
B. how Komodo dragons use their tongues
C. what Komodo dragons eat
D. why the Komodo dragon's tongue is forked
What is B. how Komodo dragons use their tongues
No matter how hard she tired, Kelli couldn't see the movie screen in front of her. First, she shifted to the right-hand side of her seat; then she moved toward the let. Finally, she asked the lady in front of her to remove her hat. But even after the lady did so, Kelli couldn't see the screen. "What am I going to do?" she thought. "No one else seems to be having this problem."
Based on the passage, which of these is most likely true?
A. Kelli is not a very big person; she is vertically challenged.
B. The woman in front of Kelli removed her hat but put it back on to be mean.
C. Kelli was sitting on the floor, instead of in her seat.
D. The woman in front of her, who was abnormally large, purposefully blocked Kelli's view of the screen.
What is A. Kelli is not a very big person; she is vertically challenged?
"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" This is what type of figurative language?
A. simile
B. metaphor
C. oxymoron
D. allusion
What is B. metaphor?
Identify the point of view:
Mark got in the car and turned on the engine as his cellphone rang. "I'm on my way right now," he said to Mary.
What is third person limited?
Maureen shrieked in delight as the roller coaster hurtled downward and then swooped upward on its tracks at the county fair. "After this ride ends," she thought, "I'll go again."
But then, as the roller coaster ground to a halt, Maureen saw her parents beckoning frantically to her through a kind of haze from the midway. She noticed also that many people at the fairgrounds were running toward the exits. ow alarmed, the girl wrinkled her nose and she finally detected.
What is most likely happening?
A. a fire had broken out at their house.
B. Maureen's parents beckoned her frantically because they were in a hurry to go eat dinner.
C. A skunk had sprayed the roller coaster.
D. There was a fire on the grounds, somewhere near the ride she was exiting.
What is D. There was a fire on the grounds, somewhere near the ride she was exiting?
In Greek mythology, there is a story about a large island state called Atlantis. It was supposedly destroyed by an earthquake and vanished under the sea. The earthquake was caused by the gold of the sea, who had become angry with the people. The Greek writer Plato wrote about Atlantis in great detail. Of course, he had never seen it, because it supposedly existed 9,000 years fore he was born. For centuries scientist have tried without success to find proof of the place that Plato described. Perhaps Plato made up the details he wrote about, or maybe he just recorded an old story he heard.
What is one effect of Plato's writing about Atlantis?
A. People have searched for it for centuries
B. People were killed by the earthquake
C. The island disappeared into the sea
D. The sea god destroyed the island
What is A. People have searched for it for centuries?
Identify the type of irony used in the passage.
In real life, an ambulance comes to a woman's house to take her to the hospital, hopefully, to save her life. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance is hit by a semi truck and everyone on board the ambulance is killed.
A. dramatic irony
B. situational irony
C. verbal irony
What is B. situational irony?
Identify the point of view:
Once you have the cake in the oven, start to make the whipped cream frosting. Combine whipping cream, powdered sugar, and food color in a small mixer bowl. Make sure you add just a small amount of food color.
What is second person point of view?
What tree can produce 200 pounds of fruit in a single year and continue producing for more than 100 years? It is the stately date palm. Were it not for this single tree, some arid parts of Earth would be uninhabitable. One of the world's most nutritious foods, thick sweet dates are a staple of diets in northern Africa and the Middle East. food is not the only product of this valuable tree. It's parts furnish building materials, fuel, baskets, and rope; the buds are eaten as a vegetable, and even the ground up seeds are fed to livestock.
The main idea is-
A. how long the date palm lives
B. how useful the date palm is
C. how sweet and thick dates are
D. how rope is made using the date palm
What is B. how useful the date palm is
The pilot of the airplane had just moments to make a decision. Not far away, from the north, a vicious storm was moving toward the aircraft. In minutes the storm would strike, and the plane and its passengers would be in some danger for a short period of time. The pilot realized that beyond the storm lay peaceful skies where they would be no danger. She knew, however, that she could easily change her route to avoid the storm. That would be the safer course to follow, even though it would consume more time.
What can you conclude?
A. the pilot cared more about the safety of those onboard than about keeping her schedule.
B. The storm was too far away to go around it.
C. The pilot was psychic and knew the plan would go down if she went through the storm.
D. The pilot didn't care much about the passengers, only about being on time.
What is A. the pilot cared more about the safety of those onboard than about keeping her schedule?
Many people have ordinary jobs. They may be interesting and rewarding, but they are not very unique. Unusual jobs often relate to interests people had as children. A child who is fascinated with dinosaurs may grow up to be a paleontologist like Dr. James Jensen. He found the bones of the largest dinosaur ever discovered. In his huge labortory, he is using the bones he found to construct a dinosaur he calls "Ultrasaurus." He doesn't have all the bones, so he uses artificial ones for the ones that missing. The complete skeleton of this massive creature would be as tall as a six-story building.
According to the writer, people often end up doing unusual jobs because-
A. they can't do anything else
B. they can't make up their minds
C. they follow an interest they had as a child
D. they wanted to do something completely different
What is C. they follow an interest they had as a child?
Which of the following is an example of dramatic irony?
A. A mother expects her children to do well in school and they make the honor roll.
B. A man meets his long-lost son and the reader knows it, but he doesn't.
C. A little girl can see the future and predicts a storm is going to come.
D. A teacher tells her students they did well on a test, but actually, they all failed.
What is B. A man meets his long-lost son and the reader knows it, but he doesn't?
Identify the point of view of the excerpt:
As Teresa walked down the hall, Victor walked the other way, looking back, admiring how gracefully she walked, one foot in front of the other. So much for being in the same class, he thought.
What is third person limited?
No woman was among the signers of the Declaration of Independence, but it was a woman who printed the document that was to change the course of history: Mary Cathrine Goddard, who was born in 1738 and died in 1819. She spent much time in the print shop of her brother, William, from who she learned what was then called the "Mystick Art of Printing." Although the Declaration had been approved in 1776, Congress didn't have it printed and distributed until 1777. As publisher of the leading newspaper in town, Mary Goddard did the job. Printers signed their work in those days, and she usually added only her initials. For the history-making Declaration, however, she used her full name.
This passage tells mainly-
A. what Mary Katherine Goodard is remembered for
B. how the Declaration of Independence was printed
C. when the Declaration of Independence was printed
D. how Mary Katherine Goddard become publish of a newspaper
What is A. what Mary Katherine Goodard is remembered for
The idea of a toothbrush was invented more than 500 years ago, but people used a wide variety of materials to keep their teeth clean long before that. Keeping teeth clean helps keep them free from decay, and even in ancient times, people did everything they could to avoid the agony of a toothache. The Greeks used mint leaves to sweeten their breath. In India, people scrubbed their teeth with small roots from the arak tree. The wood has chemicals that kill germs and whiten teeth. Humans and animals can benefit from clean teeth. People are beginning to keep their pet's teeth as clean as their own.
What is one effect of keeping clean teeth?
A. Many different materials were used.
B. People avoid decay and toothaches.
C. Many pets get their teeth cleaned.
D. The toothbrush was invented.
What is B. People avoid decay and toothaches?
Everyone was so happy when the bullies were expelled, but it was just icing on the cake when we found out that they had to repeat their eighth-grade year! Serves them right.
What does the idiom ICING ON THE CAKE mean?
A. A sweet substance used to cover a cake
B. A horrible piece of news
C. Something that hurts someone else
D. Something that makes a good situation even better
What is D. Something that makes a good situation even better?
Identify the point of view:
Amy sprinted as fast as she could with her neighbor’s dog running right behind her. Amy was terrified of him and thought that he would bite her. In reality, the dog just wanted to play and thought of Amy as a friend.
What is third person omniscient?