Pony Express

Which definition best matches the meaning of the word stretch as it is used in paragraph 1?

• an idea that goes beyond the usual or normal

• a length or area of land or water

• a walk to help someone who is sore

• the time someone serves in prison

The author organizes the ideas in paragraph 1so the reader will better understand how

• it took many riders to finish a 2,000 mile journey

• each rider carried the mail in a different mail bag

• the riders only rode their horses during the daytime

• some horses needed to rest during the long journey

Based on paragraph 2, the reader can infer that...

• the pony express improved the delivery of the mail

• the pony express was replaced by email which was much faster

• Les Bennington was one of the first riders of the pony express

• Les Bennington invented the Pony Express in ten days.

Which statement best expresses the main idea of paragraph 4?

• The Pony express could not use ponies, so it used horses.

• The Pony Express used only the fastest and strongest horses.

• The Pony Express needed many station, riders, and horses.

• The Pony Express set records for the speeds of its horses

Which part of the selection would help the reader understand the dates during which the Pony Express operated?

• The map

• Riding the Pony Express (Subheading)

• The timeline

• Legacy of the Pony Express (Subheading)

Based on the ideas presented in the selection, what can a reader conclude about the Pony Express?

• The Pony Express was popular, but it increased the cost of delivering mail.

• It may have been replaced by the telegraph, but it was still the best way to deliver messages.

• The Pony Express was popular, but many riders were hurt delivering mail.

• It only lasted for a short time, but it is a famous part of the American West.

What is the BEST summary of the selection?

• The Pony Express began with a rider named Johnny Fry on April 3, 1860 as he began a journey by horseback starting in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Pony Express had 153 stations along its path and used somewhere between 80 riders and 500 horses. Riders typically rode between 75 and 100 miles during their part of the trip.

• The Pony Express delivered mail from Missouri to California over about a ten-day period. Many riders and horses carried mail bags and faced dangers as they rode through lands that were hard to travel across. The Pony Express was quickly replaced by the telegraph machine, but it is still a part of the story of the Old West.