December 23, 2014
Dear 603 & 604:
Being that it is the season of giving, we have decided to give you an opportunity to
strengthen your skills over your well-deserved break from school. Attached you will find
passages with multiple-choice questions and a few short answer questions. It is very
important you follow the instructions below in order to get the highest grade possible.
 Read each passage
 Multiple Choice Questions
o Using the process of elimination
 Put an “X” next to the choices you are eliminating.
o Determining the distractor
 Put a * next to the choice you think is the distractor.
o Circle the correct answer (your final answer choice)
 Short Answer Questions
o Use RAD2 (Restate, Answer, Details x2).
 If the question does not require you to cite two pieces of textual
evidence make sure you are using details from the text in your answer.
We wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season. We are looking
forward to seeing you next year.
Ms. Dean and Ms. Colangelo
Learning to Skate
W.M. Akers
“I don’t want to go out there.”
“Come on.”
“Schmabsolutely not.”
“Schmabsolutely? What does that mean?”
“It’s what you say when absolutely, positively isn’t strong enough. I schmabsolutely,
schmositively will not go out on that ice.”
Linda’s father crossed his arms and looked at his skates. Linda returned the gesture,
staring back at him with frosty determination, far colder than the skating rink behind her. She
and her father were at the climax of a very literal cold war.
It had started months earlier, when the weather started to turn.
“Oh, look at that,” Linda’s mother said one night over dinner. “It’s supposed to be under thirty
this week. Winter’s really coming.”
“Woo‐hoo,” said Linda. She was a summer girl, through and through. While other kids talked
about ski trips and snowball fights, Linda closed her eyes and transported herself to the beach.
While
her family sang “Winter Wonderland,” Linda hummed “Surfin’ USA” and “Take Me Out to the
Ballgame.” And when her little brother threw himself into the snow to make snow angels,
Linda
imagined she was in the park, lying on her back in a field of thick green grass, the sun baking
her skin
like she was a calzone in a pizza oven. But there was one winter activity she dreaded most of
all.
“I have an idea!” said her mother. “When the weather gets a little colder, why don’t we all go
ice skating?”
“That sounds awesome,” yelped Linda’s little brother.
“No thanks,” said Linda.
“Why not?” asked Mom.
“She doesn’t want to go because she doesn’t know how to skate,” said her brother. “She’s
scaaaaaared.”
“Oh, baby! You don’t have anything to be scared of. Ice skating is so much fun. When I was
a kid, in the winter time, we went at least twice a week. I’d still go all the time, if I didn’t have
to work, and if your father ever wanted to go.”
“That is not right,” said Linda. “Not right at all. I’m not scared. I just never wanted to learn.”
“Well, this winter that’s going to change.”
Every week, her mother tried to make her threat come true. She would needle Linda,
talking about how thick the ice on the rink at the park was getting, and how beautiful the
weather was for going outside. Linda did not want to go outside until April. She wanted to sit
in the chair by the window, and look at the blue sky, and think of heat. Every weekend, by
feigning illness or homework, or simply hiding, she managed to avoid her mother. And then,
the last week of February, her mother trapped her at last.
Linda was reading when her mother walked up and dropped a pair of skates onto Linda’s lap.
“This is the last weekend the rink is open,” her mother said. “I’m going out of town for work.
And you’re going skating with your father.”
“But—”
“Ah! Don’t even try. I’ve heard all your excuses. Your brother was right. You’re just afraid. It’s
time to get past it.”
Mom left, and Linda stared at the skates. The only thing she wanted to get past was winter.
“Come on, sweetheart. Just one time around the rink and we can go home.”
Linda and her father had been standing by the rink for 15 minutes, arguing with their eyes.
Children, adults, and old people shuffled around them to get to the ice. Linda felt
embarrassed. She felt in the way. But mostly she felt bad for her dad. He loved summer as
much as she did, and she could tell he was ready for winter to be behind them.
“Please, sweetie. It’s not so bad, you know. Just a few minutes out there, and you’ll be figure
skating like you’re in the Olympics.”
“The summer Olympics?”
“The winter Olympics.”
“Those are the worst Olympics.” Linda watched her father. He was out of arguments. If she
pushed him, she knew, they could leave right now. But she didn’t want to win that badly. She
gripped the wooden wall of the rink and clomped toward the entrance. She was going skating.
It was much harder than she’d imagined. She clung to the wall, slipping forward one step at a
time, her father gripping her hand to keep her from falling. All around her, kids from school
were skating like professionals, doing spins and skating backward and laughing like they were
having the most fun in the world. Linda’s heart pounded, her palms sweated, and the entrance
to the rink seemed to get farther and farther away.
“Doing great, sweetheart. We’re almost there.”
Linda turned to her father, planning to deliver some snarky remark, when she felt the world tip
out from under her. She fell on her stomach, knocking the wind out of her chest. From down
there, the whole world looked like ice. A skater sped toward her, big as a giant, and apparently
unaware of Linda’s existence. His skate was headed right toward Linda’s index finger—her
favorite finger!—and Linda felt like she was moving in slow motion as she yanked it out of the
way. As she pulled her hand to safety, she felt ice shavings on her palm from the passing
skater, who had no idea he had just missed slicing off a little girl’s finger.
Linda waited for her father to yell at the skating giant, but there was no sound but the slicing
of metal on ice, and the laughing of happy, winter‐loving children. Linda propped herself up on
her elbows. Her father seemed to be miles away. The swirling mass of skaters had carried him
away from her. She was on her own.
“Okay, that’s it. I am through with this stupid sport!”
She climbed to her feet, falling three times. Her knees felt bruised, her elbows were aching,
and she was pretty sure she had frostbite. Linda didn’t care. She was getting out of there. She
hugged the wall and caught her breath. She had two options: continue with the mass of
skaters, moving counter‐clockwise around the rink, until she got back to safety. Or she could
go back the way she came, a salmon battling upstream past 200 happy people wearing razors
on their feet.
She turned around and stared over the wood wall into the park. In the distance she could see
her favorite bench, where she liked to spend summer afternoons reading beneath a tree,
watching squirrels play, and marveling at the massive height of the oak trees around her. She
knew what she would have to do.
Using the last of her strength, Linda hauled herself over the rink wall. With an awkward front
flip, she landed on her back in the grass, winded again, but safe. She yanked off her skates,
resisting the urge to pelt them into the woods, and looked back at the rink. She waved to get
her father’s attention, but he was busy on the other side of the ice, slipping and falling on his
way back to the changing rooms.
He couldn’t skate either! As Linda realized this, she laughed so hard she forgot how scared she
had been on the ice.
“Next winter, ice skating lessons,” said her father, as they sipped hot chocolate and compared
bruises. “For both of us.”
Name: Date: _______________________
1. Whom does Linda argue with at the skating rink?
A her mother
B her father
C her brother
D someone who almost skates over one of her fingers
2. What is the main setting of this story?
A a skateboard park
B a ski slope
C a roller skating rink
D an ice skating rink
3. Read the following sentences from the story:
“‘Oh, look at that,’ Linda’s mother said one night over dinner. ‘It’s supposed to be under
thirty this week. Winter’s really coming.’
‘Woo-hoo,’ said Linda. She was a summer girl, through and through. While other kids
talked about ski trips and snowball fights, Linda closed her eyes and transported herself
to the beach.”
What can be concluded from these sentences?
A Linda likes winter more than summer.
B Linda likes summer more than winter.
C Linda’s mother likes summer more than winter.
D Linda’s mother likes winter more than summer.
4. Why might Linda have stopped arguing with her father at the rink?
A
B
C
D
She felt bad for him.
She got her way.
She decided that she was more angry with her mother.
She decided that she was more angry with her brother.
5. What is the theme of this story?
A People are sometimes better at activities they do not enjoy than they are at activities
they enjoy.
B Girls are similar to their mothers, and boys are similar to their fathers.
C Sharing a bad experience can bring two people closer together.
D The best way to learn something new is to try it on your own.
1
6. Read the following sentences from the story: “Linda’s father crossed his arms and
looked at his skates. Linda returned the gesture, staring back at him with frosty
determination, far colder than the skating rink behind her.”
Why does the author use the word “frosty” above?
A
B
C
D
to explain why Linda does not want to go ice skating
to suggest that Linda enjoys spending time with her father
to make a connection between Linda and the skating rink
to hint that Linda secretly wants to go ice skating
7. Select the word that best completes the sentence.
Linda’s mother and brother enjoy ice skating; _______, Linda and her father cannot
skate.
A
B
C
D
on the other hand
as a result
as an illustration
in particular
8. What almost happens to Linda as she is lying on the ice?
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9. Describe the actions of Linda’s father on the ice.
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10. Why does Linda laugh so hard when she sees her father on the ice? Support your
answer with evidence from the story.
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Ice Harvest
Edward I. Maxwell
Before refrigerators were invented to keep our food fresh, people needed to find more
creative ways.
Some people would construct their houses with basements, so food could be kept cool there.
Others built sheds that were used to store dried and preserved foods all year round. But there
were certain items that needed to be kept cold—not cool or dry, but cold. For this reason
people would harvest ice.
During the wintertime in places like Pennsylvania, freshwater lakes and streams would freeze.
A one‐foot thick sheet of ice would form on top of the water. Then the ice‐ cutters would ride
their horse‐drawn sleds to the lakes and streams.
Using different hand tools, including saws, picks and hooks, the harvesters would cut long
sheets of ice. Using their horses, they would drag the ice onto the river or lake banks, and
begin to cut the sheet into blocks. It was long and patient work. Once all the blocks had been
cut, the ice harvesters would pack up their sleds and ride back to town. There, they would
store the large blocks in an ice house. The ice house was usually a large, insulated building that
would allow ice to be stored year‐round without it melting.
Ice deliverymen, known as icemen, would make their rounds, bringing the ice to homes, stores
and restaurants. Individual homes might have an icebox to store food. This icebox could be
made out of wood, and would have a place to put the block of ice to keep food cold.
Underneath the icebox would be a pan or pot for collecting any water that would drip down as
the ice melted.
A very interesting practice for storing food with lake and river ice involved digging a very large
hole. Buffalo hunters, after killing a buffalo during the winter months, would dig the hole and
line it with blocks of ice. Once the hole was well lined, the meat would be lowered into it and
covered up. Over the winter these cuts of meat would freeze solid and stay preserved well into
the summer. During the height of the summer, the hunters would go back to these meat
lockers and unearth some tender and well‐preserved buffalo meat.
In the early 1900s there were many large businesses built around the harvesting, storage, and
distribution of ice. There was a lot of money to be made by ice businessmen as cities grew
larger and more people needed to keep food fresh in a single city block. But once the
refrigerator was invented and became easier for more people to buy, there was little need for
ice harvesting. Now in the United States large chunks of ice are only harvested rarely to make
sculptures and other large artistic structures.
Name: _____________ Date: _______________________
1. Why did ice used to be harvested?
A
B
C
D
to catch dripping water
to build refrigerators
to keep food cold
to make sculptures
2. What is the sequence of events in an ice harvest?
A
B
C
D
the ice is stored, the ice is sold, ice forms, water freezes, the ice is cut
the ice is cut, the ice is stored, the ice is sold, water freezes, ice forms
water freezes, ice forms, the ice is cut, the ice is stored, the ice is sold
ice forms, water freezes, the ice is cut, the ice is stored, the ice is sold
3. People eventually started using refrigerators instead of blocks of ice. What sentence
from the passage supports this statement?
A “In the early 1900s there were many large businesses built around the harvesting,
storage, and distribution of ice.”
B “But once the refrigerator was invented and became easier for more people to buy,
there was little need for ice harvesting.”
C “A very interesting practice for storing food with lake and river ice involved digging a
very large hole.”
D “The ice house was usually a large, insulated building that would allow ice to be
stored year-round without it melting.”
4. How can ice harvesting be described?
A
B
C
D
easy work that people of all ages could do with their hands
work that required the use of buffalos, iceboxes, and sculptures
long, hard work that was not very useful to anyone
hard work that once allowed businessmen to make a lot of money
5. What is this passage mostly about?
A how and why ice used to be harvested
B wintertime in Pennsylvania
C the holes that buffalo hunters used to dig
D the invention of the refrigerator
6. Read the following sentence: “In the early 1900s there were many large businesses
built around the harvesting, storage, and distribution of ice.”
What does the word “harvesting” mean in the sentence above?
A melting B collecting C attacking D traveling
7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
Many people used blocks of ice to keep their food fresh ______ they started using
refrigerators.
A before
B after
C although
D primarily
8. What is an icebox?
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9. Why did hunters put dead buffaloes into holes lined with ice?
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10. How are iceboxes and the holes hunters used to store dead buffaloes alike?
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