Informational Text Review

The Constitution of the United States has worked well for over 200 years, but sometimes it needs some changes. There have been a total of 27 amendments, or changes, to the Constitution. If an amendment is needed it takes two steps. First, someone has to ask for it. This can be done either through a 2/3 vote in Congress, or by 2/3 of the states asking for it at a National Constitutional Convention. Next the amendment has to be ratified, or agreed to. This takes either 3/4 of the state legislatures voting for it, or by 3/4 of the states voting yes in a state convention. What percentage of state legislatures must agree to ratify any new Constitutional amendment?

• 2/3

• 3/4

• 1/2

• 100%

Becoming a veterinarian is very exciting, but it takes a lot of work. There are 30 veterinarian schools in the United States. Each year 6,800 people apply to get into these schools. Only 2,700 get in. The more prepared you are, the more likely you can get in! If you want to be a veterinarian take courses in biology and the physical sciences. It is also a good idea to volunteer to do free work with a local veterinarian to see what the job is really like. What inference can you draw from the following sentences? “Each year 6,800 people apply to get into these schools. Only 2,700 get in. ”

• Many people want to be veterinarians.

• Not everyone who wants to get into veterinary school is able to do so.

• More veterinarians are needed.

• Being a veterinarian is exciting.

Martha was really tired and it was late at night. She could hardly stay awake. She had been reading a book about flying saucers. All of a sudden she saw one come racing into her window! A strange little green man was inside. She jerked up, rubbed her eyes and yawned. There was no spaceman in sight. The statement that “She jerked up, rubbed her eyes and yawned” most strongly suggests that:

• The spaceman is still in her room.

• She needs to go to sleep.

• She dreamed that there was a spaceman.

• There is a spaceman outside.

Jack wished he had read the manual. He was trying to fix his friend’s washing machine. He had told his friend there was nothing to it! What was he thinking? The statement that “Jack wished he had read the manual” most strongly suggests that

• Jack had done something wrong.

• His friend’s washing machine could not be fixed.

• His friend is angry.

• He didn’t need the manual.

Knights were soldiers who fought for their king. To become a knight a boy as young as seven would become a page. They would work, learn archery, horsemanship and swordfighting. At about 10 to 14 years old he would become a squire and help one particular knight. He would clean stables, polish armor, and keep the weapons ready. At about the age of 21 the squire could vow to protect and serve the king, and would be knighted. Which sentence below best summarizes the text above?

• It’s hard to be a knight

• A knight must be strong.

• The hardest job for a squire is cleaning the stables.

• To become a knight a boy must work for many years.

On television a cowboy’s life looks very exciting, however a real cowboy of the old west had a very hard life. Many cowboys worked on cattle drives. They would move a large herd of cattle from the ranch to the place where they would be sold. Some cowboys became cooks for the men on a cattle drive. Many of these drives went from Texas to Kansas. Cowboys also would work on ranches. There they would fix fences, find stray animals and brand cows. Cowboys did all of the following except:

• herd cattle

• fix fences

• grow corn

• cook on cattle drives

Space flight is always dangerous. Apollo 13 in 1970 had a big problem that could have killed all of the astronauts on board. An oxygen tank exploded while the ship was in space. They had very little power, lost heat, and didn’t have enough water. The next issue was that they could only fix the problem with things that were already on the ship! With the help of the ground crew, they found a way! The mission was supposed to land on the moon, instead everyone was happy that it could get back to earth! According to the passage, what were the two Problems Apollo 13 had?

• An oxygen tank exploded, and they could only use items on board to fix the problem.

• They had no heat, and they had no oxygen.

• They didn’t have 2 items they needed to fix the problem.

• The astronauts were not trained well, and the ground crew didn’t know what to do.

Logrolling is a sport that started with lumberjacks. The men would often have a contest to see which lumberjack could stay on a rolling log the longest. Logs are put in the river and then the fun begins. Two men stand on the log. Then one starts “walking” or rolling the log in the water. The idea is to get the other person to loose his balance and fall off. There are still logrolling contests today! Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the text above?

• Logrolling is a contest between two people.

• Logrolling is dangerous.

• Logrolling is done on water.

• Logrolling is no longer done.

Windmills are becoming an important part of energy production. The wind turns the large blades of the windmill. That spins a turbine inside of a generator, and that makes electricity. If you have seen a wind farm before, you may have noticed that there can be a few, or many of these large windmills. When it comes to making electricity, bigger is better! The more wind the blades can pick up, the more electricity is made. That means larger blades can make the turbine spin faster, making more energy. A typical large windmill from the base to the tip of the blade can be 406 feet. This size can support very large blades needed for producing more energy. What is the most important feature that determine how much energy a wind turbine will produce?

• The size of the base of the windmill

• the size of the windmill, size of the blades

• the size of the generator, thickness of blades

• weather, number of windmills used

Socrates is known as a great philosopher, or thinker. He lived in Athens, Greece. He believed that people should ask many questions, and challenge everything about their thinking. Many young men in Athens liked the way Socrates questioned everything. He became their teacher. Many rich people in Athens thought Socrates was making fun of the gods. They were very unhappy that he was putting “foolish ideas” in the heads of the young men of the city. They put Socrates on trial, and he was found guilty. His sentence was death. An important contrast in the text above is between

• The young men of Athens and Socrates

• Socrates and the women of Athens

• Socrates and the men of Troy

• The rich people in Athens and Socrates