8th Grade Reading SOL Review

Read the sentences below:
Nate wanted everything his older brother had.  When his parents bought his brother new clothes, he wanted new clothes too.  When his older brother went to the movies with his friends Nate was angry.
What can you infer about Nate?

• Nate doesn't have enough clothing. 
• Nate likes to go places with his brother.
• Nate is jealous of his brother.
• Nate is too young to go to the movies.

Read the sentences below:
Sarah loved to swim.  She was the best swimmer on her team.  When they chose teams in gym class, she was always the first one choosen.  On the weekends she played soccer, volleyball, and softball.
What character trait is Sarah displaying?

• Integretty
• Intelligence
• Athleticism
• Bravery

A hyperbole:

• Is a saying that is not to be taken literally.

• Is comparing two unlike things.

• Is an extreme exaggeration.

• Is a sound word.

Which of the following is a simile?

• He was a tiger leaping on his prey.

• They were louder than a rock concert.

• She was like a ninja, fighting the criminals.

• My computer haves me!

During a baseball game, Tanner tried to tag a player leaving first base. When the umpire called the player out, Tanner immediately informed the umpire that he in fact did not tag the runner. Two weeks later, the very same umpire was at another one of Tanner’s baseball games. Tanner was playing short stop and tagged a runner as they approached third base. When the umpire called the player safe, Tanner didn’t say a word, but the umpire noticed the surprised look on Tanner’s face. “Did you tag the runner?” she asked Tanner. When Tanner told her that he did tag the runner, the umpire changed her decision and called the player out. The coaches and parents were furious, but the umpire stood by her decision.
What is the theme?

• You should cheat to win.
• Always work hard.
• It pays to be honest.
• Teamwork is best.

 “Remember, Cinderella,” warned her fairy godmother, “you must leave the ball at midnight. If you stay later, everything will turn back as it was. Your coach will become a pumpkin again. Your gown will become rags. Promise me you will remember.”
“Of course, I’ll remember,” said Cinderella, but as her coach carried her toward the ball, the warning was replaced in her mind with images of dancing and music.

• Flashback
• Foreshadowing

Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of them helping drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins, the more we realize that their society is more complex than people previously imagined. They look after other dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers and protect the weakest in the community, as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a language but it is much more probable that they communicate with each other without needing words. Could any of these mammals be more intelligent than man? Certainly the most common argument in favor of man's superiority over them that we can kill them more easily than they can kill us is the least satisfactory. On the contrary, the more we discover about these remarkable creatures, the less we appear superior
It is clear from the passage that dolphins ----.

• don't want to be with us as much as we want to be with them
• are proven to be less intelligent than once thought
• have a reputation for being friendly to humans
• are the most powerful creatures that live in the oceans

Naval architects never claim that a ship is unsinkable, but the sinking of the passenger-and-car ferry Estonia in the Baltic surely should have never have happened. It was well designed and carefully maintained. It carried the proper number of lifeboats. It had been thoroughly inspected the day of its fatal voyage. Yet hours later, the Estonia rolled over and sank in a cold, stormy night. It went down so quickly that most of those on board, caught in their dark, flooding cabins, had no chance to save themselves: Of those who managed to scramble overboard, only 139 survived. The rest died of hypothermia before the rescuers could pluck them from the cold sea. The final death toll amounted to 912 souls. However, there were an unpleasant number of questions about why the Estonia sank and why so many survivors were men in the prime of life, while most of the dead were women, children and the elderly.
One can understand from the reading that ---

• the lifesaving equipment did not work well and lifeboats could not be
   lowered
• design faults and incompetent crew contributed to the sinking of the
   Estonia ferry
• naval architects claimed that the Estonia was unsinkable
• most victims were trapped inside the boat as they were in their cabins

We often travel to New England in the autumn to see the bright colors of the fall foliage.

What does foliage mean?

• hurricane

• plays

• snow

• leaves

What is the text structure? 
The dodo bird used to roam in large flocks across America.  Interestingly, the dodo wasn’t startled by gun shot.  Because of this, frontiersmen would kill entire flocks in one sitting.  Unable to sustain these attacks, the dodo was hunted to extinction.

• Cause and effect 
• Chronological
• Problem and Solution
• Compare and Contrast