How Green Is My City

The prefix “retro-” helps the reader know that the word “retrofitting” means

• modifying something that is already developed.

• taking apart something that is new.

• improving the way something looks on the outside.

• estimating the cost of something.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

CCSS.L.9-10.4B

How does the author’s use of the word “sustainability” inform the reader?

• It emphasizes that cities need to plan for the future.

• It implies that cities must continue on their current paths.

• It suggests that the main burden for energy efficiency rests on cities.

• It indicates that environmentally friendly cities will eventually be built.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

Based on information in the passage, how do white roofs on buildings relate to energy efficiency?

• The white roofs absorb heat from the sun to make buildings warm during the winter.

• The white roofs reflect sunlight to keep buildings cooler during the summer.

• The white roofs allow buildings to waste less water.

• The white roofs allow buildings to make less pollution.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

Which sentence from the passage contains an opinion?

• “Surrounding organic farms would supply food; sea breezes and the burning of husks of China’s staple crop, rice, would furnish power.”

• “Ensuring that sustainable supplies of freshwater continue flowing to growing urban populations is another daunting task facing the international community.”

• “It has earned this distinction by systematically checking, repairing and replacing pipes and by fixing leaks on the same day that they are identified . . .”

• “The leftover waste flows into tanks called biodigesters, where microbes turn it into solids that can be converted into meal for animal feed . . .”

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.6

CCSS.RI.9-10.8

What is the main idea of the passage?

• Cities are far more environmentally friendly than suburban areas are.

• It can sometimes be more wasteful to recycle things than to just throw them away.

• It is better to make existing cities more environmentally friendly than to build new cities.

• Preserving natural resources for the future is more important than meeting the needs of the present.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

Which sentence from the passage best supports the generalization that efforts to be more environmentally friendly are sometimes impractical?

• “It is one of numerous planned eco-cities around the world that have fizzled, many because of cost.”

• “All these reasons suggest that we cannot rely on new construction to fully address the challenges of feeding, housing and transporting urban populations in ecologically sound ways.”

• “Electric car systems require infrastructure, though, particularly to ensure that people can charge the cars.”

• “But policy tweaks and low-tech solutions can play an important role, too—for instance, changing building codes to require more energy efficiency, which could be achieved with better insulation.”

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.W.9-10.9

What is the effect of the third person point of view in the passage?

• It provides a thorough understanding of the feelings of Saskia Sassen.

• It gives a historical perspective of sustainability practices used by the author.

• It provides a mix of facts and observations that support the opinion of the author.

• It gives a humorous account of the recycling efforts employed by Michael Bloomberg.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.6

What effect do the headings have on the passage?

• They give the reader a list of environmental problems that cities must address.

• They help the reader identify a variety of subtopics that relate to environmental responsibility.

• They give the reader a sequence of steps that cities must take to become more environmentally friendly.

• They help the reader understand a contrasting set of approaches that cities have used to fix environmental damage.

How does the genre of the passage most influence its meaning?

• The genre allows the use of symbolism to reveal a universal truth.

• The genre encourages the use of imagery to inspire emotional responses.

• The genre relies on real-world examples, which illustrate possible remedies.

• The genre conveys first-hand experience, which enhances the strength of the argument.

The genre conveys first-hand experience, which enhances the strength of the argument.

Statistics make arguments more reliable. The author uses statistics to make the argument that cities are environmentally unfriendly and must be retrofitted. For example, the cost of transporting waste to landfills. The author states “New York City, for example, has closed its landfills in Brooklyn and Staten Island and now pays as much as $100 a ton to move waste hundreds of kilometers away.” This statistic backs up the argument the author is presenting by showing the cost inefficiency of transporting hundreds of tons of waste across vast distances to be dumped in a landfill.

What score did this response earn?

• 3

• 2

• 1

• 0

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.9-10.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.W.9-10.9