7ELA 4.5 #3 Study Guide
Reading Comprehension: General Advice
●Reading passages are drawn from many different disciplines and sources, so you may encounter material with which you are not familiar. Do not be discouraged if you encounter unfamiliar material; all the questions can be answered on the basis of the information provided in the passage. However, if you encounter a passage that seems particularly hard or unfamiliar, you may want to save it for last.
●Read and analyze the passage carefully before trying to answer any of the questions, and pay attention to clues that help you understand less explicit aspects of the passage.
○Try to distinguish main ideas from supporting ideas or evidence.
○Try to distinguish ideas that the author is advancing from those he or she is merely reporting.
○Try to distinguish ideas that the author is strongly committed to from those he or she advances as hypothetical or speculative.
○Try to identify the main transitions from one idea to the next.
○Try to identify the relationship between different ideas. For example:
■Are they contrasting? Are they consistent?
■Does one support the other?
■Does one spell the other out in greater detail?
■Does one apply the other to a particular circumstance?
●Read each question carefully and be certain that you understand exactly what is being asked.
●Answer each question on the basis of the information provided in the passage and do not rely on outside knowledge. Sometimes your own views or opinions may conflict with those presented in a passage; if this happens, take special care to work within the context provided by the passage. You should not expect to agree with everything you encounter in the reading passages.
Nonfiction Reading Test
Honey Badgers
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Refer to the text to check your answers when appropriate.
(1) What's fiercer than a lion but smaller than a beagle? The honey badger, one of the toughest mammals in Africa and western Asia. Honey badgers stand less than a foot high. They are only a couple feet long. They weigh just over 20 pounds. Yet they have a reputation for toughness that is far greater than their size. Some honey badgers will chase away lions and take their kills. I guess that goes to show you that size isn't the only thing that matters in a fight.(2) So what makes the honey badger so tough? They have speed, stamina, and agility, but so do many animals. They aren't stronger than lions, so how do they stop them? The thing that sets the honey badger apart is their skin. Their skin is thick and tough. Arrows, spears, and bites from other animals can rarely pierce it. Small bullets can't even penetrate it. Not only is their skin thick and tough, it is also loose. This allows them to twist and turn to attack while another animal is gripping them. The only safe grip one can get on a honey badger is on the back of their necks.
(3) Honey badgers have long, sharp claws. These claws are good for attacking and even better for digging. Honey badgers are some of nature's most skilled diggers. They can dig a nine-foot tunnel into hard ground in about 10 minutes. They love to catch a meal by digging up the burrows of frogs, rodents, and cobras. They also use their digging skills to create their homes. They live in small chambers in the ground and defend them fiercely. They will attack horses, cows, and even water buffalo if they are foolish enough to poke around a honey badger's den. / (4) You don't get a reputation like the honey badger by running from danger. The honey badger is fearless and a tireless fighter. They will attack any creature that threatens them, man included. Because of the honey badger's reputation, most predators avoid them. Some animals use the honey badger's rep to their advantage. Adult cheetahs have spotted coats, but their kittens have silver manes and look like honey badgers. Some scientists believe that their coloring tricks predators into avoiding them. Wouldn't you walk the other way if you saw a honey badger?
(5) You might be wondering: "If honey badgers are so tough, how did they get a name that makes them sound like a piece of candy?" The answer makes sense. Since honey badgers have such thick skin, bee stings rarely harm them. So honey badgers love to raid beehives. I can't blame them. Who doesn't like free honey? Honey badgers chase after honey aggressively. So much so that beekeepers in Africa have to use electric fencing to hold them back. There's nothing sweet about that.
(6) Beekeepers aren't the only people who have grown to hate honey badgers. Honey badgers may be fun to read about, but they are nasty neighbors. They attack chickens, livestock, and some say children, though they usually leave people alone. But if a honey badger moves in your backyard, there's not a whole lot that you can do about it. I mean, are you going to go and tangle with an animal that eats the bones of its prey? An animal with teeth strong enough to crunch through turtle shells? An animal that never tires, gives up, or backs down? Yeah, I wouldn't either...
1. Which best expresses the main idea of the third paragraph?
a. Honey badgers have sharp claws that they use for fighting.
b. Honey badgers digging skills assist them in many ways.
c. Honey badgers use their claws to defend their homes.
d. Honey badgers will defend their homes to the death against any animal.
2. Which statement would the author most likely agree with?
a. What makes the honey badger so tough is their speed and strength.
b. Honey badgers are large in size and tireless in fighting spirit.
c. What makes honey badgers so tough is their thick, loose skin.
d. Honey badgers got their name from the sweet taste of their meat.
3. Which best defines the meaning of the word burrowsas it is used in the third paragraph?
a. Lily pads or other seaweeds in which animals hide
b. Holes or tunnels in which animals live
c. A nest or animal dwelling in a tree or bush
d. A water supply where small animals come to drink
4. Which best expresses the main idea of the last paragraph?
a. Honey badgers are a nuisance to the neighborhood.
b. Beekeepers and honey badgers do not get along well.
c. Honey badgers have very strong jaws and teeth.
d. Honey badgers eat chicken and livestock.
5. Which best describes one of the author's main purposes in writing this text?
a. To persuade readers to join the efforts to protect honey badgers
b. To compare and contrast honey badgers with beagles and lions
c. To describe how honey badgers select their partners
d. To explain why honey badgers are so tough
6. Which statement would the author most likely disagree with?
a. Honey badgers like to raid beehives to eat honey.
b. Honey badgers are not the biggest animals, but they may be the toughest.
c. Honey badgers disguise their young to look like cheetah kittens.
d. Honey badgers are not afraid to fight with humans.
7. Which person is most likely to be disturbed by a honey badger moving in next door?
a. A beekeeper b. A biologist
c. A bus driver d. A salesman
8. Which animal is the honey badger afraid to attack?
a. Lion b. Water buffalo
c. Poisonous snake d. None of these
9. Which is not one of the honey badger's strengths?
a. Thick skin b. Powerful jaws and strong teeth
c. Poisonous claws d. Tireless fighting spirit
10. Which title best expresses the main idea of this text?
a. Battle on the Savannah: Honey Badgers Vs. Lions
b. Little Badger, Big Fight: One of Nature's Toughest Scrappers
c. Ace in the Hole: How Honey Badgers Build and Protect Their Homes
d. Little Game: Interesting Animals That Live in Africa
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Read the descriptions of the texts and determine the author’s purpose.
11. I’m Still in School by Mr. Morton: This is Mr. Morton’s life story, which he wrote himself.
A. Entertain B. Persuade C. Inform D. Describe
12. Breaking Dawn (the Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer: The story of a teenage girl named Bella Swan who is in love triangle with a teenage vampire and werewolf. She must choose to either join the dark world of immortals or pursue a fully human life.
A. Entertain B. Persuade C. Inform D. Describe
13. “Paul Bunyan” retold by James MacGillivray: A collection of hilarious stories about a 40 foot lumberjack adventuring across the American frontier: It took three storks to carry Paul Bunyan to his parents, he sawed the legs of his parents’ bed at seven months old, Paul dug the Grand Canyon while dragging his axe behind him, and so forth.
A. Entertain B. Persuade C. Inform D. Describe
14. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry: A fictional story set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943 telling of a 10-year-old girl who undertakes a dangerous mission to save her best friend, Ellen Rosen, on the eve when Nazi’s will capture Jews.
A. Entertain B. Persuade C. Inform D. Describe
15. Define and give an example of a primary source.
A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.
●ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records
●CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama, novels, music, art
●RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings
16. Define and give an example of a secondary source.
What is a secondary source?
A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Some types of secondary sources include:
●PUBLICATIONS: Textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopedias
Examples of secondary sources include:
●A journal/magazine article which interprets or reviews previous findings
●A history textbook
●A book about the effects of WWI
17. Define topic sentence.
A topic sentence expresses the main idea of the paragraph in which it occurs.
18. Where is the topic sentence located?
The topic sentence often can be found at the beginning of a paragraph
19. What are supporting details?
Supporting details are reasons, examples, facts, steps, or other kinds of evidence that back up and explain a main idea. Details make up most of the information in what a person reads. Details generally follow a main idea or topic sentence.
20. What are transition words?
Transitions are words or phrases that show the relationship between sentences, paragraphs, or sections of a text or speech. Transitions provide greater cohesion by making it more explicit or signaling how ideas relate to one another.
Read the following paragraph and answer the questions below.
(1) As a young seminarian in Nashville, John Lewis attended a workshop onnonviolence and soon joined other students in conductingsit-ins. (2) One of the originalFreedom Riders in 1961, he helped create theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and spoke as its representative at theMarch on Washington. (3) In addition, Lewis was a key organizer of 1964'sFreedom Summer in Mississippi.(4) Subsequently, Lewis was beaten by police during the 1965"Bloody Sunday" march in Selma. (5)He left SNCC the following year because of what he saw as its increasing militancy. (6)He was elected to Congress in 1986, defeating fellow activistJulian Bond in the Democratic primary, and continues to serve as a representative from Georgia.
21. Which sentence is the topic sentence? Sentence 1
22. Which sentence (s) contain supporting details? Sentences 2-6
23. Name the transitional words and/or phrases in the paragraph above. soon, In addition, Subsequently
______
24. What is the medium of a source? What are possible choices? The way that you receive the information-most common are Print or Web
25. When do you use quotes when researching? When using someone’s exact words to make a point, strengthen an argument, to describe something they have experienced or witnessed
26. What do you capitalize when completing an MLA citation? Titles of articles and websites (first words and all important words), author’s names (first, last, middle, initials, suffixes, and titles), months in published and accessed dates, titles of books
27. What is the correct way to write the published and/or accessed date for a source? Day Month Year-no commas Example- 22 April 1999
28. When do we use quotation marks? (list all instances)
-When using someone’s exact words
-For some titles
29. Why is it important to give credit to a source? You are recognizing and acknowledging where your information came from, to avoid plagiarism
30. What is a URL? Should it be part of your MLA citation? Why or why not? URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, and is used to specify addresses on the World Wide Web. A URL is the fundamental network identification for any resource connected to the web (e.g., hypertext pages, images, and sound files). URLs have the following format: protocol://hostname/other_information
*URLs should not be part of MLA citations because websites change frequently; it is easier to search for your topic or author than by taking the time to write down the URL
*MLA no longer requires the use of URLs in MLA citations. Because Web addresses are not static (i.e., they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the Web (e.g., on multiple databases), MLA explains that most readers can find electronic sources via title or author searches in Internet Search Engines.
31. Define plagiarism. How do you avoid plagiarism?
Research-based writing in American institutions, both educational and corporate, is filled with rules that writers, particularly beginners, aren't aware of or don't know how to follow. Many of these rules have to do with research and proper citation. Gaining familiarity with these rules, however, is critically important, as inadvertent mistakes can lead to charges of plagiarism, which is the uncredited use (both intentional and unintentional) of somebody else's words or ideas.
*To avoid plagiarism, use quotation marks, and use in text citations/create a Bibliography for sources you have used
*Answer the questions about the Civil Rights Timeline Below.
The Civil Rights Movement Questions
- A
- 1909
- 10
- 1946
- 150
- 1896
- No
- Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
- The Civil Rights Movement
- Martin Luther King Jr.
SENTENCE TYPES
There are 4 types of sentences -simple, compound, complex, and compound complex.
Simple: A simple sentence is complete thought made up of a subject and a predicate, i.e. an independent clause.
Example: Joe waited for the train.
Compound: A compound sentence is a complete thought made up of two subjects and two predicates (not to be confused with a compound subject or a compound predicate). Think: Independent clause + independent clause or simple sentence + simple sentence. The clauses may be combined by a semicolon (;) or by a comma coordinating conjunction combination (,and). Remember FANBOYS is an acronym for coordinating conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.
Examples: Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, and they left on the bus before I arrived.
OR
Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon; they left on the bus before I arrived.
Complex: A complex sentence is a combination of an independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The dependent clause(s) cannot stand alone and won’t make sense without the independent clause. A dependent clause will sound odd because it will start with a subordinating conjunction. Examples of subordinating conjunctions are:
although, as. because, before, even though, if, since, though, unless, until, when, whenever, whereas, wherever, while
Examples: Because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, I did not see them at the station.
OR
I did not see them at the station because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon.
Compound- Complex: These sentences are a combination of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
Example: Until he graduates, he will live in the apartment, but then he wants to move.
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