Name__________________
Date__________________
Directions: Read each selection and circle the letter that best defines the underlined word.
1. The Witch of Blackbird Pond pg. 17
But in that instance a harsh call from the hatchway sent her scurrying. With a pang Kit realized that not once
since they boarded the ship had she glimpsed the wooden doll. Had her own rash performance only served to
cheat the child of the one toy she possessed?
a. an itchy skin condition
b. silly
c. tired
d. a lack of caution or thought
2. Witch pg. 30
Two of the sailors had already started back along the road, but Nat still stood beside the trunks and looked down
at her. As their eyes met, something flashed between them, a question that was suddenly weighted with regret.
But the instant was gone before she could grasp it, and the mocking light had sprung again into his eyes.
a. of heavy mass
b. full of
c. lacking
d. a passage of time
3. Witch pg. 75
Scandalized to see Kit wearing out her finery with scrubbing and cooking, Rachel and Mercy had made her a
calico dress exactly the same as Judith’s. It was coarse-woven and simply made, without so much as a single
bow for trimming, but it was certainly far more suited to the menial work she had to do in it. Beyond a doubt,
too, it had made for an easier relationship with her cousin. This morning Judith seemed almost friendly.
a. work appropriate for a servant
b. easy
c. difficult
d. work appropriate for a king
4. Witch pg. 88
From the corner of her eye Kit glimpsed the two tall figures in the kitchen doorway. Then, before she could
reach the tussling children, a cane swung from nowhere and landed on an unwary back. A smart crackle of
blows, a few agonized howls, and silence and order descended suddenly on the room. Across the subdued
children’s heads Kit and Mercy faced their two visitors, Mr. Eleazer Kimberley, the schoolmaster, and
Reverend John Woodbridge.
a. sitting
b. roughhousing
c. happy
d. angry
5. Witch pg. 83
What patience Mercy had! If only patience were contagious like mumps.
a. easily spread
b. cannot be spread
c. itchy
d. harmful
6. Water on Earth pg. 30
One of Yellowstone’s main tourist attractions is a geyser called Old Faithful. Erupting every 60 to 70 minutes,
Old Faithful sends a plume of steam and scalding-hot water as high as 60 meters into the air.
a. a place where heated water escapes from the ground
b. a narrow crack in the Earth’s surface
c. a rock formation
d. a place where lava flows from the Earth
7. Water on Earth pg. 31
The threat comes from efforts to make the Mississippi more useful. Large portions of the river bottom were
dredged to make the river deeper for ship traffic. Underwater channels were built to control flooding.
a. flooded
b. filled with sand
c. dug out
d. sprinkle with flour
8. Water on Earth pg. 33
Seventy-one percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by ocean water. However, large portions of the oceans,
especially the deepest parts and the parts nearest the poles, remain completely unexplored. In the past several
decades, new technologies have made underwater exploration possible, allowing scientists to gather important
information about the Earth’s greatest resource.
a. to get lost
b. to swim
c. to fish
d. to search
9. Water on Earth pg.45
Geosat, a once top-secret military satellite, has been used to measure slight changes in the height of the ocean’s
surface. Different underwater features, such as mountains and trenches, affect the height of the water above
them, thus reflecting the underwater topography of the ocean floor.
a. a coat
b. a military defense
c. a natural indention in the ground
d. a natural mound in the ground
10. Water on Earth pg. 50
Harvesting food from the ocean is a multibillion-dollar industry. Of all the seafood taken from the ocean, fish
are the most abundant. Almost 75 million tons of fish are harvested each year. With improved technology,
such as sonar and drift nets, fishermen have become better at locating and taking fish from the ocean.
a. few
b. delicious
c. plentiful
d. ill