Jason knew that he would be in trouble if his parents

caught him coming into the house. His muddy feet and
clothes had to come off. Jason had made a huge mud
puddle in his backyard, and before he knew it, he was
covered with mud from head to toe. If he could just get
upstairs without being caught, then he could get in the
shower, and he wouldn't get in trouble. Quietly he sneaked
into the house and peeked around the corners as he
moved toward the stairs. He was almost to his room! His
heart was pumping and the blood was roaring in his ears.
He put his foot on the last stair when his sister stepped out
on to the landing and yelled, "You better not let mom see
you!" Jason rolled his eyes and ran into his room. He drew
a breath of relief; he had made it to his room undetected
by his parents. Before he could enjoy the moment, he
heard a loud, familiar voice, "Jason, come down here
immediately! I need to talk to you!"

1. You can tell that

a. Jason has a good relationship with his sister.
b. Jason was scared that his parents would discover how muddy
he was.
c. Jason is out of shape.
d. Jason played in the mud at a neighbor's house.
2. At the end of the passage, you can infer that
a. Jason's parents are angry.
b. Jason's parents want to ask him how is day was.
c. his sister is calling his name.
d. Jason's bedroom is downstairs.
3. When Jason reaches his room, he plans to
a. call his best friend.
b. take a shower.
c. work on the computer.
d. change his clothes and go back outside.

Horses were his life. He was hoping that he would get

a horse for Christmas, but he knew his family couldn't
afford one. He had been working at the local barn
taking care of others' horses and saving his money.
He knew he didn't have enough money to buy a
horse. Daydreaming and dragging along to work on
Saturday morning, he stumbled into his boss. That
was odd, James didn't know why his boss was there.
The boss rarely worked with horses since he had a lot
of paperwork to do. Just then, his parents drove up
along with the owner of his favorite horse, Oreo. His
boss began to explain that Oreo's owner had to move
out of state and couldn't take his horse with him.
James stood there shocked and bewildered as they
told him that Oreo would be his if he wanted him.
Oreo's owner said, "I think you'll need this," as he
handed him Oreo's saddle.

4. You can tell that Jason's boss

a. knows that Jason deserves the horse.
b. doesn't like Oreo's owner.
c. works in stalls with Jason most of the time.
d. wants Jason to take better care of Oreo.
5. When the owner gives Jason Oreo's saddle, you can infer
a. that the owner wants Jason to saddle the horse, so the owner
can ride him.
b. that Oreo has not been trained with a saddle.
c. that Jason has enough money to pay for this saddle.
d. the owner wants to give Oreo to Jason.
6. The mood (the feeling created by reading a selection) at the
beginning of the story is
a. hopelessness.
b. confidence.
c. confusing.
d. mysterious.

Superstitions came to be in ancient times

because people didn't understand what was
happening in the world. For example, the people
didn't understand diseases. When someone was
sick, they thought that spirits or demons made
him ill. To cure the sick person, they followed
superstitious customs, hoping to control the evil
sprits. A long time ago in Greece, mothers had
ways to protect their sleeping babies from
witches and other evil spirits. When a mother put
the baby to sleep, she would sing a lullaby. Next,
she would stand in front of the fire and turn
around three times. By performing this ritual, the
mother would believe her baby was safe.
Superstitions are still believed today.

7. You can tell that people in ancient Greece were

a. very superstitious.
b. like to sing.
c. sick a lot.
d. afraid of fire.
8. When a mom put her baby to sleep, you can
infer that
a. she thought that evil spirits would do harm to
her baby.
b. the baby had to listen to a song, or the infant
wouldn't go to sleep.
c. she put garlic around the baby's neck.
d. she put the fire out.

Jewelry is one way that people show their love

for gemstones. One of the most popular
gemstones is the blue topaz. Topaz comes in
several different colors after it is heat-treated,
but it starts off as a clear stone. It is mined from
the earth, and it comes out as a plain, clear
stone called white topaz. To get the light blue
and dark blue colors, the white topaz is "heattreated." The stones are placed in extreme heat
to turn them blue. The light blue stone is called
"Swiss blue topaz." The darker, deeper blue
stone is called the "London blue topaz." There is
another topaz is that is heated and makes a
kaleidoscope of colors called "mystic blue
topaz."

9. You can tell that

a. the color of the stone determines what the stone
will be called.
b. the London blue topaz is the most popular
gemstone.
c. for the topaz to turn colors, it has to be heattreated.
d. the blue topaz is very expensive because it has to
be heat-treated.
10. The author suggests that
a. many people have not heard of the blue topaz.
b. topaz is found in the mountains of Peru.
c. topaz starts off colorless.
d. it takes a very long time for a topaz to turn colors.

1. b.
2. a.
3. b.
4. a.
5. d.
6. a.
7. a.
8. a.
9. c.
10. c.

What are fossils? Fossils serve as a blueprint for

what happened on the earth millions of years ago.
By studying fossils, scientists can learn what kinds
of animals and plants lived on the earth a long time
ago. Fossils are the preserved remains or imprints
of plants and animals that lived in other geological
eras on earth. For a fossil to form, a plant or animal
must have been buried, so that neither air nor
other animals could get at it. Living things have
always been buried or encased in mud. For
example, have you ever seen a fish fossil?
Scientists even discovered a wooly mammoth deep
in the ice in North America. When fossils have been
collected and categorized, it is called a geological
record. As a result, we have a better understanding
of what happened on earth.

1. You can tell that

a. it must have been difficult for the mammoth to get stuck in
ice.
b. no one uses geological records.
c. fossils are sometimes blue.
d. all different sizes of animals can become fossils.
2. The reader can infer that
a. fossils no longer exist.
b. what we know about the past is due to studying fossils.
c. fish fossils are the most common type of fossil.
d. only animals can become fossils.
3. Based on the information, you can say that
a. fossils are able to form even if an animal gets in.
b. just recently we have discovered fossils.
c. fossils are worth a lot of money.
d. fossils won't form if air gets in it.

Have you ever seen a peacock? You probably

have seen the peacock from the Channel Two
television station from Houston; they use the
colorful bird as a station symbol. The beautiful tail
of the peacock has many shiny colors. The
peacock roosts in tops of trees. During the day,
they forage for food on the ground. The male
peacock tries to lure the female "peahen" by
using his colorful tail. Some people believe that if
a peacock's feather gets inside the house that it
is bad luck. They say that the "eye" or circle at
the top of the feather is an "evil" eye that brings
bad luck to the owner. The peacock has a
beautiful tail, roots in trees, and is a symbol for a
television station.

4. The peacock can best described as

a. a good luck symbol.
b. a shy and timid bird.
c. an animal that has a lot of intrigue about it.
d. ugly creature.
5. From the evidence in the passage, you can say
a. that people would throw away a peacock
feather if it was in the house.
b. that the peacock's feather is mostly black.
c. that the peacock's feathers are used in pieces
of art.
d. that the peacock is used at all television
stations

Katy sadly put her last suitcase in the car. She planned to walk
inside the only home she had known for thirteen years. Her dad
had been transferred to another state, and he had to move
because they needed the money. Katy had already said
goodbye to her best friend, Gabby, who lived next door. She
had told Gabby not to come over because Katy and her family
had to pack their belongings. The truth was that she couldn't
bear to say goodbye to her friend and the house she loved.
Katy made her final walk through the house as she silently said
goodbye to each room. When she finally reached her room, she
took a good, long look at it, and closed the door. As she turned
around to head for the front door, her parents were standing a
few feet from her. Her mom
started, "We know you are sad, Katy, but you'll love the new
house and make new friends." Katy nodded her head as the
tears dripped out her eyes. Her dad gave her an envelope. As
Katy opened it, she began to smile. She pulled a round-trip
airplane ticket out of the envelope and hugged her parents.
Saying goodbye to Gabby wouldn't be that bad after all since
they had something to look forward to in the near future.

6. Based on the evidence in the passage, you can tell that Katy
a. will miss her old home.
b. is looking forward to seeing her new home.
c. will not write or call Gabby.
d. is mad at her parents.
7. The mood at the end of the selection after Katy opened the
envelope is
a. excited.
b. depressed.
c. apathetic or she didn't care.
d. boredom.
8. What will Katy probably do with the airplane tickets?
a. She will sell the tickets to Gabby.
b. She will fly to Europe.
c. She will fly back to see Gabby.
d. She will keep them and not use them for several years.

Not many days were left. Juanita was going to be

skiing down a mountainside in three days.
Sometimes she felt like her insides would explode
when she thought about the trip. She was so
excited that it was getting harder and harder to
sleep at night. It was her first time to ski, but
Juanita felt like she was "born to ski." Every night
she talked to her dad about skiing, and he
explained how to ski to her. She thought she could
do it. They finally made it to the ski slopes, and
Juanita was ready to solo. Her heart was racing as
she pushed off from the top. Trees, bushes, and
children zoomed past her as she glided herself
down the slope. At the bottom of the bunny slope,
Juanita was thrilled. She had made it without
falling.

9. You can infer that Juanita

a. was anxious about her trip.
b. didn't want to take ski lessons.
c. panicked on top of the mountain.
d. fell down the mountain.
10. The author suggests that beginning
skiers use the
a. bunny slope.
b. most challenging slope.
c. any slope they want to ski on.
d. black slope.

1. d
2. b
3. d
4. c
5. a
6. a
7. a
8. c
9. a
10. a