Name ______________________
Date ________________
Weekly Packet #10
Part 1: Grammar
1.
Which sentence best expresses the idea?
1.
2.
3.
4.
2.
Which of the following sentences best expresses the idea?
1.
2.
3.
4.
3.
My sister asked me if I knew Oscar and will he be at the dance.
My sister asked me whether I knew Oscar and whether he would be at the dance.
My sister's asking me whether I know Oscar and would he be at the dance?
My sister asks me whether I knew Oscar and would he be at the dance?
Which of the following sentences best expresses the idea?
1.
2.
3.
4.
4.
Max likes to tinker with his car and searching junk heaps for parts.
Max likes searching junk heaps for parts and to tinker with his car.
Max likes to tinker with his car and to search junk heaps for parts.
Max likes tinkering with his car to search junk heaps for parts.
Students in high school gain knowledge and formulate plans for the future.
Knowledge is gained in high school and students formulate plans for the future.
In high school knowledge is gained and plans for the future are formulated by the students.
Knowledge and plans for the future are gained and formulated by high school students.
Which of the following sentences best expresses the idea?
1. The judge listened to the pleas of the opposing lawyers, and when he had retired to his chambers,
considering the implications of what he had heard.
2. The judge listened to the pleas of the opposing lawyers, and after he had retired to his chambers,
considered the implications of what he had heard.
3. The judge, listened to the pleas of the opposing lawyers, and, after he will have retired to his chambers,
considered the implications of what he had heard.
4. Having listened to the pleas of the opposing lawyers, the implications of what he had heard were
considered by the judge after he had retired to his chambers.
5.
Which sentence best expresses the idea?
1.
2.
3.
4.
6.
Not only has he violated the law, but also he has escaped a penalty.
Not only having violated the law, the penalty was escaped by him.
The law having been violated, he not only escaped the penalty.
The penalty escaped, he has violated not only the law.
Which sentence best expresses the idea?
1. Those who live in the suburbs often enjoying the cultural offerings of a nearby city even more than those
who live in the city enjoy them.
2. Suburbanites often enjoy the cultural offerings of a nearby city even more than the city residents do.
3. The cultural offerings of a nearby city are often enjoyed more by those who live in the suburbs than if
the people lived in the city.
4. Living in the suburbs so that you can enjoy the cultural offerings of a nearby city more than the city
residents.
7.
Which sentence best expresses the idea?
1.
2.
3.
4.
8.
Start the motor and then remove the blocks.
Start the motor removing the blocks.
Starting the motor, and then remove the blocks.
Start the motor, and then the blocks should be removed.
Which sentence best expresses the idea?
1. Reading the book carefully and taken extensive notes, Brandon felt confident about the test.
2. The book having been read carefully and extensive notes having been taken, Brandon felt confident
about the test.
3. Brandon, who read the book carefully and having taken extensive notes felt confident about the test.
4. Because he had read the book carefully and had taken extensive notes, Brandon felt confident about the
test.
9.
Which of the following sentences best expresses the idea?
1.
2.
3.
4.
10.
I play soccer to stay in shape, to qualify for a scholarship, and to be outdoors in the fall.
I play soccer to stay in shape, qualifying for a scholarship, and to be outdoors in the fall.
I play soccer to stay in shape, to qualify for a scholarship, and because of the outdoors.
I play soccer for fitness, to qualify for a scholarship, and being outdoors in the fall.
Decide whether the underlined portion is correct, or choose the appropriate correction.
This book is about spies, mystery, intrigue, and involved with politics.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Correct as is
politics
is involved with politics
about politics
The Little Ice Age
[1] The term ice age brings to mind extended periods of frozen waters and barren land in which only the
hardiest animals survive and many perish leaving no survivors. This is accurate enough for the true ice ages
such as the one that peaked about 20,000 years ago, a period known as the Last Glacial Maximum, when much
of North America, Europe, and Asia were covered with huge ice sheets.
[2] Not all ice ages are equal, however. Within one, there can be periods of extreme cold called “glacial period”
or simply “glacials,” as well as warmer periods called “interglacials.” Any time period during which there are
large ice sheets in the northern and southern hemispheres can be termed an ice age. Since ice sheets still cover
much of Greenland and the Antarctic, we are still today in an ice age, one that began over 2.5 million years ago.
[3] And then there is the period known as the Little Ice Age, a period that started in the 1500’s and didn’t end
until 1850 or so. Within this span, there were three intensely cold intervals: one starting in 1650, another about
1770, and one in 1850. This “ice age” followed what is sometimes called the “Medieval Warm Period,” though
both terms must be used cautiously, because there is not enough evidence to say that there really was either a
significant decrease or increase on a global scale.
[4] Which is not to say that there wasn’t substantial cooling in widespread parts of the world during the Little
Ice Age. There was increased glacier formation in Alaska, New Zealand, and Patagonia, for example; but the
timing of these events suggests they were possibly regional climate changes that occurred independently.
Possible causes include a decreasing human population, changes in ocean circulation, low solar radiation, and
increased volcanic activity.
[5] For much of Europe and North America, winters were not surprisingly especially cold during the Little Ice
Age. This could have disastrous consequences: In the mid 1600’s, entire villages were destroyed in the Swiss
Alps by encroaching glaciers. Violent storms caused terrible floods and permanent loss of land in Denmark,
Germany, and Holland. There were famines in France, Norway, and Sweden; and it is estimated that Finland
lost one-third of its population. In Iceland, the population was forced to respond by altering their diet which had
been based largely on grains. In North America, Indians formed leagues as a way to conserve and manage
limited resources.
[6] In some areas, the Little Ice Age actually provided some benefits. People in New York could walk from the
borough of Manhattan to Staten Island. England and the Netherlands enjoyed winter festivals and skating on
frozen canals and rivers. Sledge rides were now possible from Poland to Sweden as the Baltic Sea had frozen.
The famous Italian violin maker, Antonio Stradavari, produced his instruments, still valued highly today, during
this period; and the tone associated with them may have been impossible if not for the denser woods that came
from colder temperatures. Some militaries took advantage of icy temperatures. A Swedish army marched across
the Great Belt to Denmark to invade the city of Copenhagen. The French army marched on the frozen rivers of
the Netherlands which could not defend itself as their fleet was trapped in ice in the harbor.
[7] Accurate meteorological records are a relatively recent phenomenon, so one must turn to other sources in
determining past climates. Curiously enough, works of art from the time provide clues. Paintings of winter
scenes were almost unheard of in Western art until the period roughly corresponding with the start of the Little
Ice Age. Nor are there many paintings of this sort after this initial period, perhaps due to some combination of
warmer temperatures and an overuse of the subject matter. In Scotland, paintings of this period – the
approximate start of the Little Ice Age – show the popularity of ice sports such as skating and curling.
[8] Again, there is some skepticism about whether what we now call the Little Ice Age was indeed global – in
other words, whether it fits the definition of an ice age at all. Some recent evidence does, however, support the
notion that the southern hemisphere did indeed go through periods of dropped temperatures as the north
certainly did. Sediment cores taken from Lake Malawi in Southern Africa indicate colder conditions during this
period. In addition, scientists have been able to reconstruct 3,000 years of temperature change by analyzing how
quickly stalagmites grew in a cave in South Africa; and the results advocate for a drop in temperature during the
years 1500 to 1800.
[9] Ice cores have proven useful in determining past temperatures in the West Antarctic and Greenland. The
results suggest a pattern that fits with the approximate dates of the Little Ice Age. Sediment cores in the
Antarctic Peninsula support the notion both the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period affected the
climate in this part of the world.
[10] Tree rings, whose width is dependent on local condition, also provide us with natural records of climates in
much earlier times. In Patagonia, South America, the data shows cold episodes from 1520 to 1670. Cooler and
wetter conditions also are now believed to have been prevalent in southeastern South America concurrent with
the Little Ice Age.
[11] It is hard to conclude much from statements such as “This last winter was a harsh one.” However, there is a
place for this sort of anecdotal evidence, alongside, if somewhat beneath, scientifically verifiable proof. In
1675, Antonio de Vea, the Spanish explorer, passed through what is now known as Rîo Témpanos (Spanish for
Ice Floe River). He did not, however, have anything to say about any ice floes he may have encountered. He
also writes that the San Rafael Glacier did not reach very far into the San Rafael Lagoon. However, ninety-one
years later, another expedition exploring the same area noted that the glacier did reach well into the lagoon,
indicating a significant cooling.
[12] As mentioned earlier, one of the causes linked to the Little Ice Age is the decrease in the human
population. It is well known that destroying forests increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, leading to
warmer temperatures. In the period leading to the Little Ice Age, the number of people in Europe and parts of
Asia declined dramatically largely because of the plague known as the Black Death. As a result, there was a
decline in agricultural activity which led to greater forest growth and, therefore, less carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. In North America, a similar effect may have been caused by the decline in the native population
after the arrival of Europeans. Given our concern today regarding the effect that human behavior has on the
planet, specifically, on the increased temperatures we’ve seen of late, it is worth understanding as much as we
can about the various causes and effects of the Little Ice Age.
Which of the following is required for a period to be properly termed an “ice age”?
1.
2.
3.
4.
An extended period of increased glaciation over an entire continent
At least three intensely cold periods
Large sheets of ice in the southern and northern hemispheres
The interruption of extremely cold periods with warmer “interglacial” periods.
When did the Medieval Warm Period take place?
1.
2.
3.
4.
During the Little Ice Age
Before the Little Ice Age
After the Little Ice Age, ending round 1850
After the Little Ice Age and continuing into the 21st century
What is the purpose of the colon in Paragraph 3?
1.
2.
3.
4.
list series of dates
introduce a topic
pose a question
clarify a definition
Why is the increased glacier formation in Alaska and New Zealand and elsewhere not definite proof of the
effects of an ice age?
1. The conditions that caused the glacier formation in each of these places may have been local in origin
and unrelated to each other.
2. The glacier formation in these places was not substantial enough to prove an actual ice age.
3. The glacier formation in one of these places may have produced the glacier formation in the other.
4. Changes in ocean circulation may have caused the formation of glaciers in both places.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
1.
2.
3.
4.
The Little Ice Age caused most people in Europe to alter their basic diets.
The Little Ice Age changed the kinds of crops that could be grown in Iceland.
The Little Ice Age was largely responsible for the plague known as the Black Death.
There were as many positive as negative effects due to the Little Ice Age.
According to the passage, works of art provide hints regarding past climate conditions because of the
1.
2.
3.
4.
style in which paintings were done.
subject matter in paintings.
popularity of various artists.
influence of Western art on artists around the world.
According to the passage, in what way does the evidence taken from caves in South Africa support the idea that
the Little Ice Age was indeed a true ice age?
1.
2.
3.
4.
The growth of stalagmites lasted for an unusually long time period.
The sediment in the caves indicates periods of dropping temperatures.
It matches the evidence taken from the West Antarctic and Greenland.
It supports the idea that the southern hemisphere had unusually cold temperatures.
What is meant by the term “advocate for” as it is used in the passage?
1.
2.
3.
4.
disprove
explain
defend
suggest
What is the author’s opinion regarding written records from the past that comment on climate conditions of the
day?
1.
2.
3.
4.
The author believes that they have limited value.
The author believes that they have just as much value as does scientific evidence.
The author believes that they have no real value when determining climate conditions in the distant past.
The author believes that they are as useful as anecdotal evidence.
It is suggested that the number of people on the planet affected the temperature during the Little Ice Age by
1.
2.
3.
4.
increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
adding to the number of trees that existed at the time.
decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
increasing the total number of people in North America