Name: English Test MP3
Read the passage and answer the questions 1-17 that follow.
Dogs of the USDA from Nosing Around U.S. Borders
Susan Essoyan
1 The well-dressed tourist took her eyes off the baggage carousel for a moment, smiled and cooed in Japanese, “Hello, little Mr. Woof-Woof. Here you are.”
2 She plopped her bag on the ground for the veteran detective, a beagle called Junior, who trotted forward to get a whiff. When the dog finished and turned away, signaling that the bag had passed inspection, the woman dissolved into laugher.
3 “They think he’s cute,” said Junior’s handler, Mike Simon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) senior canine officer in Honolulu. Travelers don’t object to Junior’s search, which is not always the case with traditional inspections. “He’s more like a mascot,” Simon said.
4 Despite Junior’s engaging personality, the 6-year-old dog has a serious mission: to help protect U.S. agriculture from foreign pests and diseases. He and the 60 other dogs in the USDA’s Beagle Brigade cruise international airports across the country in search of forbidden fruit, vegetables, plants, and meat.
5 Many international travelers don’t realize that even a single piece of fruit packed in a suitcase has the potential to unleash a pest that could devastate U.S. crops. Working in concert with X-ray and visual searches conducted by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Beagle Brigade helps to prevent prohibited goods from crossing U.S. borders.
6 The brigade began in 1984 with one dog at Los Angeles International Airport but has proved so effective that teams now patrol 20 international airports in the United States. John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York has the largest contingent with 10 dogs, and Bangor, Maine, the smallest with just one working part time. Across the country, the Beagles and their handlers are responsible for about 60,000 seizures of prohibited agricultural products yearly.
1.The passage is an example of ____________ writing.
a. fiction b. nonfiction c. conflict d. instructional
2. What is the author’s purpose for the entire passage?
a. entertain b. persuade c. inform d. none
3. What is the passage’s setting in time?
a.1984 b. the past c. the future d. the present
4. From the information in the passage, you can predict that--
a. the USDA Beagle Brigade will continue to be used to protect U.S. agriculture
b. Junior will soon be replaced on the Beagle Brigade
c. other dogs in the Beagle Brigade will learn from Junior
d. travelers will quit carrying forbidden agricultural products into the United States
5. What is the connotation for the word cooed as used in the following passage from paragraph 1?
The well-dressed tourist took her eyes off the baggage carousel for a moment, smiled and cooed in Japanese, “Hello, little Mr. Woof-Woof. Here you are.”
a. positive b. negative c. a denotation d. not enough information to tell
6. Use the following passage from paragraph 5 to answer:
“the Beagle Brigade helps to prevent prohibited goods from crossing U.S. borders.”
The word prohibited in this passage means
a. tropical b. agricultural c. forbidden d. perishable
7. The author of the passage gives you enough information to conclude that--
a. John F. Kennedy Airport probably has the greatest number of international flights
b. tourists slow the process of bag inspection by playing with the dogs
c. the United States has little reason to fear forbidden fruits and vegetables
d. other breeds of dogs might successfully be trained to work in the USDA
8. Which of these is the best summary of the passage?
a. The author uses a scene from Honolulu International Airport to illustrate an ongoing danger to U.S. agriculture.
b. The author explains how beagles like Junior help protect U.S. agriculture from foreign pests and diseases.
c. The author shows that beagles like Junior make not only good pets but also good workers.
d.The author shows how searches by the USDA’s Beagle Brigade amuse rather than offend tourists.
9. The author wrote about the incident with the Japanese tourist to show that--
a. tourists don’t mind inspections from the Beagle Brigade
b. tourists should be treated with respect
c. animals get nicknames from the sounds they make
d. people speak respectfully to dogs in the Beagle Brigade
10. Which of the following is an opinion found in the passage?
a. The brigade began in 1984 with one dog at Los Angeles International Airport.
b. The beagles are cute.
c. The 6-year old dog has a mission.
d. The Beagle Brigade helps to prevent prohibited goods from crossing the U.S. borders.
11. Which paragraph contains all facts and no opinions?
a. paragraph 1 b. paragraph 3 c. paragraph 4 d. paragraph 6
12. Which of these questions does the passage NOT answer?
a. What is the danger in bringing illegal food and plant items into the United States?
b. What does USDA stand for?
c. What is the punishment for bringing illegal food and plant items into the United States?
d. How has the Beagle Brigade grown since the program’s beginning?
13. In paragraph 6, what would the root word of international be?
a. inter b. al c. national d. nation
14. What part of speech is the word Junior, as it is used in paragraph 2?
a. noun b. adjective c. pronoun d. preposition
15. What part of speech is the word Junior’s, as it is used in paragraph 3?
a. noun b. adjective c. pronoun d. preposition
Use the following to answer 16. Definitions for the word contingent are:
adjective
1. dependent for existence, occurrence, character, etc., on something not yet certain; conditional (often followed by on or upon ): Our plans are contingent on the weather.
2. happening by chance or without known cause; fortuitous; accidental: contingent occurrences.
noun
3. a quota of troops furnished.
4. the proportion that falls to one as a share to be contributed or furnished.
16. Which best defines the word contingent as it is used in paragraph 6?
“John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York has the largest contingent with 10 dogs, and Bangor, Maine, the smallest with just one working part time.”
a. definition 1 b. definition 2 c. definition 3 d. definition 4
Use the following to answer 17. Definitions for the word seize are:
verb
1. to take hold of suddenly or forcibly; grasp: to seize a weapon.
2. to grasp mentally; understand clearly and completely: to seize an idea.
3. to take possession of by force or at will: to seize enemy ships.
4. to take possession of by legal authority; confiscate: to seize smuggled goods.
17. Seize is the root word for seizure. Which best defines the word seizure as it is used in paragraph 6?
“Across the country, the Beagles and their handlers are responsible for about 60,000 seizures of prohibited agricultural products yearly.”
a. definition 1 b. definition 2 c. definition 3 d. definition 4
The Three Wishes
Once upon a time there lived a poor old woodcutter and his wife in a little cottage at the edge of the forest. Every day the poor man came back home tired, hungry, and weary after the heavy work he had done.
“Ah, he said to his wife one evening, “if only my wishes could come true, how happy we should be!”
“What do you mean, husband?” asked the wife crossly. “You are never satisfied. We have health and strength and a cottage to live in, so why grumble?”
But the poor man was not content and he kept on thinking how nice it would be if his wishes could come true.
One morning he was just about to fell a huge tree with his axe, when a little elf appeared at his elbow from nowhere and said, “Good morning, Mr. Woodcutter, please don’t cut this tree down. If you don’t, I will grant you any three wishes that may be made in your cottage.”
The old woodcutter was so dazed he did not know what to say or do. So he muttered in confusion:
“All right, just as you say.” And the elf disappeared into thin air and was never seen again.
The old woodcutter rushed home to his wife and in great excitement told her what happened. But instead of being delighted as he expected she would be, she was more cross than ever and said:
“Silly husband, fancy listening to an elf. We need that firewood. Don’t let it happen again.” And she went on scolding the poor woodcutter all day long until suppertime came. And she was still cross even then and would not give him any supper.
“Ah!” said the man as he sat by the empty table almost famished, “I wish I had a good string of sausages. I’m fair starvin’.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than there was a great clatter, clatter, clatter, the door flew open, and a long string of juicy red sausages came to land on the table in front of him.
Was his wife surprised? Not at all! She became crosser than ever.
“What a silly thing to wish!” she cried. “I only wish they had landed at the end of your nose.” No sooner had she said these words than -- SWISH, SWIZZLE, and YAKKITY-DOZE and the sausages hung at the end of his nose.
“Goodness gracious me,” cried the wife, “I didn’t know that my wishes would come true as well.”
“Yes, yes!” said her poor husband. “Any wishes that are made in this cottage. That’s what the elf said.”
Well, he started to pull at the sausages. He pulled and pulled with all his might and main, but they still stuck to his nose.
“Help me, good wife,” he pleaded. “Please help me!”
His wife realized he looked rather silly like that so she began to tug as well. They both tugged and tugged until they nearly pulled the poor woodcutter’s nose off. But the sausages stuck fast and refused to budge.
“What will the neighbors think?” thought the wife.
“Well, I’ve got one wish left,” said the husband, “I wish these sausages were off and gone.”
No sooner had he said these words than – SWISH, SIZZLE, and YAKKITY-BON and the juicy sausages were off and gone!
So now all three wishes had been made. And so the woodcutter and his wife settled down once more to their usual life at the cottage, but from now on the husband remained content with his work and never again spent his time dreaming of wishes coming true.
18. This story is an example of what type of writing?
a. nonfiction b. science c. personal narrative d. fiction
19. What is the author’s purpose for the entire passage?
a. entertain b. persuade c. inform d. none
20. What is the setting of this story?
a. in the middle of a forest b. modern day time
c. in a castle in a magical time d. in a cottage in a magical time
21. What is the type of conflict is demonstrated when the wife wishes for the sausages to be on her husband’s nose?
a. person vs. person b. person vs. himself
c. person vs. technology d. person vs. nature
22. What is the theme of the story?
a. Don’t ever wish for sausages, they may get stuck on your nose.
b. Be happy with what you have and don’t wish for more.
c. Always wish for more than you have.
d. Don’t ever trust an elf.
23. Which sentence best summarizes the story?
a. A woodcutter doesn’t use the three wishes he is given wisely.
b. A woodcutter hates the life that he has.
c. An elf tries to trick a simple woodcutter.
d. A woodcutter’s wife tricks him into uses his wishes unwisely.
24. The woodcutter’s wife thinks that her husband might run into the elf again and get 3 more wishes.
This is an example of:
a. inference b. prediction c. conclusion d. summary
25. What does the underlined word fell mean in the following passage from the story?
One morning he was just about to fell a huge tree with his axe, when a little elf appeared at his elbow from nowhere and said, ”Good morning, Mr. Woodcutter, please don’t cut this tree down.
a. to trip b. to grow c. to cut d. to cook
26. What does the underlined word famished mean in the following passage from the story?
“Ah!” said the man as he sat by the empty table almost famished, “I wish I had a good string of sausages. I’m fair starvin’.”
a. asleep b. angry c. lonely d. hungry
27. Which of the following contains a synonym for the underlined word, as it is used in the passage?
“But the poor man was not content and he kept on thinking how nice it would be if his wishes could come true.”
a. The content of the book was written above grade level.
b. The teacher was pleased with the student’s work.
c. The wife was unhappy with the meal.
d. When someone tells a lie, it makes me angry!
28. Which of the following distinguishes fiction from nonfiction?
a. a narrator describes events in the selection
b. one or more characters and events are imagined
c. conversations take place among characters
d. events make up the action in the selection
29. A conflict in a story is
a. the highest point of excitement
b. the most interesting part
c. the outcome of a fight
d. a problem between characters or within the mind of a character
30. Which of the following best demonstrates a conflict between a character and society?
a. A woman wants to take her children into a quiet restaurant
b. A man cannot decide which color suit to wear to court
c. The neighbor’s dog keeps barking at night
d. A woman is angry because her city has banned owning cats and she has three