Mysteries at Cliff Palace

Ruben thinks that when he sees Cliff Palace up close, he will

• find his missing notebook.

• learn why the Puebloans disappeared.

• use his lucky pen to draw a picture of the dwellings.

• climb into the sandstone alcoves in the cliff dwellings.

Rosa thinks that Ruben will

• find his lucky pen.

• fail to solve any mystery.

• learn how to make sandstone bricks.

• discover what happened to the Puebloans.

The Spanish word verde means

• green.

• plant.

• table.

• tree.

The alcoves in the cliff dwellings were caused by

• people digging them out.

• towers that fell down through the years.

• crumbling and breaking sandstone.

• water rushing through the cliff dwellings.

What is the most likely reason the Ancestral Puebloans built their homes in the side of a cliff?

• to store food for times of drought.

• to catch rainwater as it flowed down the cliff.

• to protect themselves from being attacked by others.

• to make sure they had a good place to live for generations.

Which of the following is NOT a reason why the Ancestral Puebloans may have left the Mesa Verde area?

• Other people kept stealing their food.

• They had to fight others for good land.

• It became too dry for them to grow food.

• Another group of people moved into Cliff Palace.

What happens to Ruben's lucky pen?

.

• Dad borrows it.

• Mom picks it up.

• Rosa hides it from him.

• Ranger Jenkins loses it.

Read the chart above.

Which of these completes the empty box?

• Ruben finds his lost items.

• Ruben tells Rosa there was drought at Mesa Verde.

• Ruben researches how the Cliff Palace was built.

• Ruben learns that the Puebloans moved away because of a war.

The passage and the article are both about places that are

• underwater.

• filled with mystery.

• crumbling and broken down.

• located at the top of a mountain.

Read this text from “Cave of the Crystals.”

Should the owners stop pumping out the water . . . Or should they

keep on pumping out the water, so that people can visit the cave?

Based on Ruben's behavior in “Mysteries at Cliff Palace,” he would most likely support

• keeping the water out, so that he can explore the cave himself.

• letting the water back in, so that the cave will never be visited again.

• keeping the water out, so that someday all of the crystals will be gone.

• letting the water back in, so that scientists can concentrate on the heat in the cave.