Student Name ____________________________________________

Grade 7 practice test Page 1

English
Reading

Directions: In this practice test, you will show how well you understand written
English. There are two selections and some questions about each one. For each
question, mark the letter of the correct answer on your answer sheet.

Overtraining: Too Much of a Good Thing

1 Athletes work hard to train their bodies. They
practice often and for long periods of time. Many
people assume that the more athletes train, the better
they will become. However, this is true only to a
5 point. It is possible to train too much.

Athletes work out to strengthen and condition their

muscles. This training is essential. On the other hand,
muscles also need rest. They need time to recover from
exercise. Muscles actually become torn during training,
10 so they need time to heal. Overtraining happens when
an athlete works out so much that the muscles do not
have adequate time to rest. As a result, performance
does not improve. In fact, performance gets worse with
overtraining. How do some athletes respond to their
15 decreased performance? They train even harder. They
think that if they just practice more, their performance
will improve. In fact, the opposite is true.

There are many signs and symptoms that an athlete

may be overtraining. Some signs are physical and others
20 are emotional. The most obvious physical symptom is
decreased performance. Other physical symptoms
include difficulty sleeping and unusual muscle soreness.

Go on to the next page.

Page 2 Grade 7 - English

The most common emotional symptom of overtraining

is depression.

25 Overtraining affects up to 15 percent of top-level

athletes every year. Athletes in sports that require
endurance, such as running and biking, are most likely
to be affected. The best treatment for overtraining is
rest. Training less than usual for a few weeks or
30 months is the best way to correct the problem. Most
athletes eventually recover from overtraining, but it can
be a frustrating experience.

l
1 What is the selection mostly about? l
4 Imagine that your friend María is
overtraining. How will she probably feel?
A training to run a marathon
A scared
B how to build muscles quickly
B cheerful
C the problem of exercising too much
C sad
D the exercise schedule of famous athletes
D surprised

l
2 What happens to muscles when the body
is resting after exercise? l
5 Into?line 10, what does the word they refer
A They grow weaker.
A sports
B They get longer.
B muscles
C They shrink.
C exercises
D They heal.
D performances

l
3 How can an athlete recover from
overtraining?
A by getting a new coach
B by trying to learn a new sport
C by working harder at practices
D by training less for a few weeks

Go on to the next page.

Grade 7 - English Page 3
TCarlos
hirteen-year-old brothers
and Raúl García
found something unusual
on Monday. They found a
bag full of money.
Sophia Arroyo, a local
businesswoman, had earlier
taken $10,000 out of the
bank. Then she ran some
errands and bought supplies
for her business. When she
came out of the office
supply store, she slipped in
the rain and dropped all her
belongings. She thought she
had collected everything.
Carlos and Raúl found
the bag full of money a few
minutes later. The boys said
they looked around, but did
not see anyone who was
looking for something.
Then they talked it over.
“At first,” said Carlos,
“we thought about keeping
the money. We talked about
what we could buy. Then
we thought maybe we could
keep some and return the
rest.” In the end, however,
they decided against that
plan, too. “We started
thinking about the person
l
6 What happened first?
A Carlos and Raúl talked about what to do.
B A scholarship fund was set up.
C Sophia Arroyo talked to a journalist.
D Carlos and Raúl found a bag.
who lost that money. What
if that person lost a job
because of this? What if this
was all the money someone
had saved for a long time?”
Raúl said.
“We didn’t feel good
about keeping it. It wasn’t
our money,” added Carlos.
Ms. Arroyo’s business
was very pleased when the
boys brought the money
back to the bank. In ad-
dition to giving the boys a
reward, the company has
offered to set up a scholar-
ship fund for the boys’
education.
“These boys deserve
more than just a small thank
you,” said Ms. Arroyo. “We
hope that by setting up the
scholarship fund, we will be
encouraging more people to
follow their example.”
l
7 Based on information from the passage,
why did Sophia Arroyo probably drop
the money?
A Her shoes were uncomfortable.
B The weather was bad.
C There was a crack in the sidewalk.
D Someone bumped into her.
Go on to the next page.
Page 4 Grade 7 - English

l
8 The selection says the boys discussed
A how big their reward would be.
B how angry the bank workers must be.
C how the person who lost the money felt.
D how long it would take to find the owner.
l
10 Which sentence from the selection is an
OPINION?
A “They found a bag full of money.”
B “But in the end they decided against that
plan, too.”
C “These boys deserve more than just a
small thank you.”

l
9 Which statement would Sophia Arroyo
probably agree with?
D “We started thinking about the person
who lost that money.”

A Hard work is the key to success.

B A good deed should be rewarded.
C Everybody needs to relax sometimes.
D Good things come to people who wait.

Go on to the next page.

STOP
 Answer Key
7th Grade- English

1. E73.3, The student can identify the main idea.

A Incorrect. The selection is NOT mainly about training for a marathon.

B Incorrect. The selection is NOT mainly about how to build muscles quickly.

C Correct. The selection is mainly about the problem of exercising too much.

D Incorrect. The selection is NOT mainly about the exercise schedule of famous athletes.

2. E73.2, The student can recall sequence of events from a selection read.

A Incorrect. The selection does NOT say that muscles grow weaker when resting after exercise.

B Incorrect. The selection does NOT say that muscles get longer when resting after exercise.

C Incorrect. The selection does NOT say that muscles shrink when resting after exercise.

D Correct. The selection states in paragraph 2 that muscles heal when resting after exercise.

3. E73.3, The student can identify the main idea.

A Incorrect. The selection does NOT state that the best treatment for overtraining is to get a new
coach.

B Incorrect. The selection does NOT state that the best treatment for overtraining is to learn a new
sport.

C Incorrect. The selection does NOT state that the best treatment for overtraining is to work harder
at practices.

D Correct. Paragraph 4 states that the best treatment for overtraining is rest.
4. E73.5, The student can predict outcomes.

A Incorrect. The selection does NOT state that a person who is overtraining will feel scared.

B Incorrect. The selection does NOT state that a person who is overtraining will feel cheerful.

C Correct. Lines 23 and 24 state that the most common symptom of overtraining is
depression.

D Incorrect. The selection does NOT state that a person who is overtraining will feel surprised.

5. E73.1, The student can identify details.

A Incorrect. The word “they” does NOT refer to sports.

B Correct. The word “they” refers to the subject of the sentence, muscles.

C Incorrect. The word “they” does NOT refer to exercises.

D Incorrect. The word “they” does NOT refer to performances.

6. E73.2, The student can recall sequence of events from a selection read.

A Incorrect. The passage does NOT state that the boys first talked about what to do with the
money.

B Incorrect. The passage does NOT state that the first thing that happened was that a scholarship
fund was set up.

C Incorrect. The passage does NOT state that the first thing that happened was that Sophia Arroyo
talked to a journalist.

D Correct. The passage states that Carlos and Raúl found the bag of money first.
7. E73.4, The student can draw inferences.

A Incorrect. The passage does NOT say that Sophia’s shoes were uncomfortable.

B Correct. This is the best answer because paragraph 2 states that she slipped in the rain.

C Incorrect. The passage does NOT say that there was a crack in the sidewalk.

D Incorrect. The passage does NOT say that someone bumped into Sophia.

8. E73.1, The student can identify details.

A Incorrect. The passage does NOT say that the boys discussed how big their reward would be.

B Incorrect. The passage does NOT say that the boys discussed how angry the bank worker were.

C Correct. Paragraph 4 states that the boys started thinking about the person that lost the
money.

D Incorrect. The passage does NOT say that the boys discussed how long it would take to find the
owner.

9. E73.4, The student can draw inferences.

A Incorrect. The passage does NOT talk about hard work or success.

B Correct. Because Sophia rewards the boys in the story for their good deed, she would most
likely agree with this statement.

C Incorrect. The passage does NOT talk about people needing to relax.

D Incorrect. The passage does NOT talk about good things coming to people who wait.
10. E73.6, The student can distinguish between fact and opinion.

A Incorrect. This sentence is a FACT from the passage.

B Incorrect. This sentence is a FACT from the passage.

C Correct. This sentence is an OPINION from the passage.

D Incorrect. This sentence is a FACT from the passage.