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Section II
Reading Comprehension--NonFiction
Read the following selections. Then answer the questions that follow. You may want to preview the questions
before reading.
Going for Broke
by Sarah Hughes
When I finished third at the 2002 national championships, behind Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen, I
knew exactly what I was supposed to say afterward. That it didn’t really matter where I had placed, that I was
just honored to make the Olympic team and thrilled to be headed to Salt Lake City. And all that was true. But I
was really upset too. I knew I could do better. I wasn’t pleased to be heading to the Olympics as the third body
5 on our team.
All the way back home from Los Angeles to New York’s Long Island, I was thinking, “What can I do?” By
the time my coach, Robin Wagner, and I sat down to discuss it, I pretty much knew the answer: we had to make
big changes. That may have seemed radical, given that Salt Lake was weeks, not months, away. But both of us
understood that change was required if I wanted a different result at the Olympics.
It started with the music. My coach had wanted me to perform in a graceful, lyrical fashion, believing
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that the judges preferred a more classical style. But I found it really boring. And if we were doing it just to please
the judges, it wasn’t working. I was 16 years old—confident and strong—and wanted something truer to my real
character. I had dreamed about the Olympics since I was a little girl. Now that I had made it, I wanted to show
people the real me and hope they liked it.
The new selection from Rachmaninoff’s “Daphnis and Chloe” was fiery, with more gusto, allowing me to
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speed up my footwork and show off more dramatic movements. Along with a more vibrant program, I got a
snazzier hairdo and a jazzier dress with tons of sparkling beads. Everything had a new look and feel. But the
biggest decision still loomed. What should I do about the critical triple-jump combinations that I had been
struggling with for two years?
At the nationals I had omitted the only one I had planned. Now for the Olympics I was hoping to perform
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two in the same program. Could I risk that on the biggest stage of all? If I eliminated those jumps and performed
a less difficult routine, I was sure I could skate clean and probably win a bronze medal. But I wouldn’t have a
shot at the gold. If I kept the triple-triples in my program and botched them, I probably wouldn’t get any medal
at all.
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Both my coach and my dad said that it would have to be my call because, ultimately, I was out there on
the ice by myself. I am not a risk taker by nature. But when I stopped and thought about the Olympic moments
that I remembered, they were not the ones where people played it safe and just did what they could. The
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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greatest moments were when people put themselves on the line and then pulled it off. I wanted one of those
amazing, unbelievable, edge-of-the-seat Olympic moments.
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That’s the thing with the Olympics. We make our own destinies. You have to be willing to change the
whole game plan for that shot at the glory of that moment. And when I stepped onto the ice in Salt Lake City—
even though I had rarely pulled off both triple-triples in practice—I knew that I was ready. All the changes had
really prepared me to be the best I could be.
Pretty soon the crowd knew something special was happening, I could feel the excitement building. All
35 my hours and weeks and months and years of training came together, and I was really in the moment. As my
program came to an end, the crowd was so loud I couldn’t even hear my music. My coach stopped me as I was
about to leave the ice and told me, “Take it all in. It’s never going to be like this again.”
I will never forget that moment. I had skated into this gargantuan Olympic arena, and now everything
seemed so small and intimate. The people were cheering, but it wasn’t just for me. It was one of those Olympic
40 moments I had dreamed about. And it was really cool to be part of it. I don’t want to sound like an inarticulate
16- year-old. But that sums it up perfectly. At that moment I didn’t think about all the nuances and implications.
It was just really cool.
From “Going for Broke” by Sarah Hughes, Newsweek, January 23, 2006. Copyright © 2006 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
COMPREHENSION
Answer the following questions about “Going for Broke.”
19. What point of view does the author use?
A. first person
B. second person
C. omniscient
D. third person limited
20. Which words or phrases in lines 1–8 help you follow the chronological order of the selection?
A. “finished third,” “behind”
B. “Olympic team,” “Salt Lake City”
C. “honored,” “thrilled”
D. “afterward,” “by the time”
21. Reread lines 2–6. You can infer that the Olympics were held in:
A. New York
B. Long Island
C. Salt Lake
D. Los Angeles
22. You can draw the conclusion from lines 10-14 that the author
A. lacks grace
B. likes herself
C. hides her dreams
D. challenges everyone
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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23. Hughes uses foreshadowing to build suspense in the essay by discussing
A. her coach’s desire for her to skate in a graceful, lyrical fashion
B. changes she made in her music and appearance
C. her dilemma about including triple-jump combinations in her Olympic program
D. the appreciation that the Olympic audience showed for her performance
24. The supporting details about footwork and movements in lines 18–20 help Hughes make the point that
A. Hughes’s coach wanted her to design her own program
B. her performance at the national championships had been disappointing
C. Olympic judges are not interested in graceful skating moves
D. she changed her routine to reflect her character
25. Which of the following contains a detail to support the point that the author struggled with triple-jump
combinations?
A. lines 2
B. lines 20–21
C. lines 24–25
D. lines 26–27
26. Reread lines 30-37. The words that help you follow the chronological order of the selection are
A. “That’s the thing”
B. “willing to change”
C. “Pretty soon”
D. “in the moment”
27. What is the correct chronological order of the events in lines 34-37?
A. Hughes took in the moment, the excitement built, the program ended
B. the excitement built, the program ended, Hughes took in the moment
C. the program ended, the excitement built, Hughes took in the moment
D. Hughes took in the moment, the program ended, the excitement built
28. Based on lines 38-39, you can infer that the Olympic arena
A. became empty during Hughes’s program
B. was the largest Hughes had skated in
C. seemed intimidating to Hughes at first
D. was near Hughes’s Long Island home
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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29. Which idea from the selection helps you conclude that the author wants to be the best?
A. She was unhappy finishing third at the national championships.
B. Judges at high-level competitions expected more than graceful skating.
C. Her coach and her dad advised her to make her own decisions.
D. The Olympic audience cheered loudly during her performance.
30. Which detail foreshadows the author’s Olympic success?
A. the decision to change her music
B. her memory of great Olympic moments
C. her third-place finish at nationals
D. the coach’s advice to “take it all in”
31. What could Hughes convey writing from her own point of view that someone else telling her story might not
have known?
A. what changes she made in her appearance
B. how she felt about her Olympic moment
C. what music she chose for the Olympics
D. how she skated at the Olympics
32. What conclusion can you draw about Hughes’s relationship with her coach, Robin Wagner?
A. Wagner offered Hughes support while allowing her control over her own destiny.
B. Disagreements between Hughes and Wagner affected their friendship.
C. Wagner hid her concerns about Hughes’s abilities to build the skater’s confidence.
D. Hughes relied on Wagner to make the significant decisions about her skating.
33. What is the author’s purpose in this article?
A. To persuade readers that gymnastics is the best sport
B. To entertain the audience with her success story from the Olympics
C. To inform the audience about the steps it takes to become a great athlete
D. To convince audience members that she is a better athlete than her competitors
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Vocabulary
Use context clues and the Latin root definitions to answer the following questions based on “Going for Broke.”
34. The Latin root radic means “root.” What is the most likely meaning of radical as it is used in line 8?
A. changed completely
B. performed beautifully
C. designed to surprise
D. decided quickly
35. The Latin root grat means “pleasing.” What is the most likely meaning of graceful as it is used in line 10-11?
A. copying someone’s actions
B. showing great strength
C. having a loud sound
D. using beautiful movements
36. The Latin root mit means “let go.” What is the most likely meaning of omitted as it is used in line 20?
A. failed to make use of
B. moved into position
C. divided into parts
D. conducted with precision
37. The Latin root vibr means “to shake.” What is the meaning of the word vibrant as it is used in line 16?
A. attractive
B. difficult
C. musical
D. energetic
Reading Comprehension--Fiction
Directions Read the following selection. Then answer the questions that follow. You may want to preview the
questions before reading.
from The Mystery of Coincidence
by Frank Conroy
Neither one of us had any money, but we fell into a domestic routine shakily financed by freelance
journalism and jobs I got as a jazz piano player. Maggie’s vivacity was not limited to her face. She was quick,
funny, energetic and optimistic, and she steadily coaxed me out of my self-absorption and back into the land of
the living. Like most lovers, we lived very much in the moment. And then one afternoon the telephone rang.
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Maggie got it in the kitchen and called upstairs. I picked up the extension, heard Maggie hang up and then had a
conversation with my half-sister, who bears the rather exotic name of India and is a good deal younger than
myself. I hadn’t talked to her for perhaps six months, and we chatted about this and that. I hung up the phone
and went downstairs.
“Who was that?” Maggie asked. “Did she say her name was India?”
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“My half-sister. You know, the baby in the book. She’s grown up now.”
“There was a girl in my class at the Brearley whose name was India.”
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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“You went to the Brearley?” I was stunned. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“Just for a little while. It was between São Paulo and Cali. We were in New York for a while.”
It came to me that Maggie and India were the same age.
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“That was her,” I said. “She went to Brearley. It’s the same person.”
“You’re kidding. That was your sister in my class? I had a fight with her once.” We laughed.
“I can’t believe you went there,” I said. “How old were you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Eight or nine.”
“You know, my mother even taught sewing there, to cut the tuition.”
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Maggie suddenly got serious. “You don’t mean Mrs. Trudeau?”
It was discombobulating. “You knew her? That was my mother. Her second husband’s name was
Trudeau.”
Having met by accident on a small island thirty miles at sea in the off-season, having come from
different cities, and given the differences in our ages, we had assumed that our pasts could have nothing in
25 common. We sat pondering the coincidence that they did.
Maggie’s eyes widened. “I just thought of something.” She stood up.
“Come upstairs for a second.”
We went up to the bedroom, and she pointed to a silver cigar box on the bureau. “Didn’t you say that
was your mother’s?”
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I nodded. “She inherited it from her father and then it came to me.”
“Wow.”
I didn’t understand what she was getting at. She picked up the silver box and we sat on the edge of the
bed. “Why did I always keep it with me? In Cali, Sydney, Montreal, Boston and then here, I always took it along
for some reason.”
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“What on earth are you talking about?”
“My project,” she said. “My project with Mrs. Trudeau was to make a little needle case, a little flannel
book with my initial embroidered on the front. We made it together.” She opened the silver box. “Here it is.”
Indeed, there it was, along with the other sewing paraphernalia she kept there. A tired-looking flannel
rectangle with wide, childish stitches and the letter M.
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“It was supposed to be for Mother’s Day, but for some reason I kept it,” she said. “It’s been in here for
months now. Isn’t that strange? You could say the two objects wanted to come together.” She looked up with a
smile. “And they used us to do it.”
We were silent for a time, contemplating the silver box and needle case. An eerie moment, but for some
reason, oddly reassuring. The two objects seemed to exist in a state of profound calmness, a stillness which I
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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noticed for the first time, and which suggested a sort of otherworldly peace. A peace safely beyond the
possibility of disturbance.
“Hey, I know it’s old-fashioned,” Maggie whispered, “but you ought to write this up.”
From “The Mystery of Coincidence,” From Dogs Bark, But the Caravan Rolls On: Observations from Then and
Now by Frank Conroy. Copyright © 2002 by Frank Conroy. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin
Company. All rights reserved.
COMPREHENSION
Answer the following questions about the excerpt from “The Mystery of Coincidence.”
38. The exposition occurs when
A. the narrator describes how he earns a living
B. Maggie answers the telephone in the kitchen
C. Maggie shows the narrator her handmade needle case
D. the narrator realizes the coincidence in his and Maggie’s pasts
39. In lines 2-4, what method of characterization does the author use to describe Maggie?
A. comments from the narrator
B. direct quotations from Maggie
C. description of Maggie’s actions
D. dialogue from other characters
40. The description of the setting “on a small island thirty miles at sea in the off-season” in line 23 helps create a
mood of
A. isolation
B. disbelief
C. suspense
D. expectation
41. The phrase “she pointed to a silver cigar box on the bureau” in lines 28-29 appeals to your sense of
A. hearing
B. touch
C. sight
D. smell
42. In lines 33-34, the author characterizes Maggie by
A. explaining her actions
B. quoting her directly
C. describing her appearance
D. revealing her thoughts
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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43. The narrator of “The Mystery of Coincidence” tells the story from which point of view?
A. first person
B. second person
C. third-person omniscient
D. third person limited
44. Based on the excerpt, you can predict that the next time his sister India calls, the narrator will
A. tell her that Maggie is still angry with her
B. share the story of the coincidence
C. complain about living with Maggie
D. ask his sister where she went to school
45. What conclusion can you draw about the personalities of Maggie and the narrator?
A. Maggie is intellectual, and the narrator is practical.
B. Both Maggie and the narrator try to avoid taking risks.
C. Maggie is outgoing, and the narrator is introspective.
D. Both Maggie and the narrator enjoy the bustle of urban life.
Reading Comprehension—Comparing Texts
Directions Read the following selection. Then answer the questions that follow.
from Why Write?
By Paul Auster
I was eight years old. At that moment in my life, nothing was more important to me than baseball. My team was
the New York Giants, and I followed the doings of those men in the black-and-orange caps with all the devotion
of a true believer.
Even now, remembering that team which no longer exists, that played in a ballpark which no longer
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exists, I can reel off the names of nearly every player on the roster. Alvin Dark, Whitey Lockman, Don Mueller,
Johnny Antonelli, Monte Irvin, Hoyt Wilhelm. But none was greater, none more perfect nor more deserving of
worship than Willie Mays, the incandescent Say-Hey Kid.
That spring, I was taken to my first big-league game. Friends of my parents had box seats at the Polo
Grounds, and one April night a group of us went to
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watch the Giants play the Milwaukee Braves. I don’t know who won, I can’t recall a single detail of the game, but
I do remember that after the game was over my parents and their friends sat talking in their seats until all the
other spectators had left. It got so late that we had to walk across the diamond and leave by the centerfield exit,
which was the only one still open. As it happened, that exit was right below the players’ locker rooms.
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Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
11
Just as we approached the wall, I caught sight of Willie Mays. There was no question about who it was. It
was Willie Mays, already out of uniform and standing there in his street clothes not ten feet away from me. I
managed to keep my legs moving in his direction and then, mustering every ounce of my courage, I forced some
words out of my mouth. “Mr. Mays,” I said, “could I please have your autograph?”
He had to have been all of twenty-four years old, but I couldn’t bring myself to pronounce his first name.
His response to my question was brusque but amiable. “Sure, kid, sure,” he said. “You got a pencil?” He
was so full of life, I remember, so full of youthful energy, that he kept bouncing up and down as he spoke.
I didn’t have a pencil, so I asked my father if I could borrow his. He didn’t have one either. Nor did my
mother. Nor, as it turned out, did any of the other grown-ups.
great Willie Mays stood there watching in silence. When it became clear that no one in the group had
anything to write with, he turned to me and shrugged.
“Sorry, kid,” he said. “Ain’t got no pencil, can’t give no autograph.” And then he walked out of the
ballpark into the night.
I didn’t want to cry, but tears started falling down my cheeks, and there was nothing I could do to stop
them. Even worse, I cried all the way home in the car.
Yes, I was crushed with disappointment, but I was also revolted at myself for not being able to control
those tears. I wasn’t a baby. I was eight years old, and big kids weren’t supposed to cry over things like that. Not
only did I not have Willie Mays’s autograph, I didn’t have anything else either. Life had put me to the test,
and in all respects I had found myself wanting.
After that night, I started carrying a pencil with me wherever I went. It became a habit of mine never to
leave the house without making sure I had a pencil in my pocket. It’s not that I had any particular plans for that
pencil, but I didn’t want to be unprepared. I had been caught empty-handed once, and I wasn’t about to let it
happen again.
If nothing else, the years have taught me this: if there’s a pencil in your pocket, there’s a good chance
that one day you’ll feel tempted to start using it.
As I like to tell my children, that’s how I became a writer.
From “Why Write?,” from The Red Notebook by Paul Auster. Copyright © 2002 by Paul Auster. Reprinted
by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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COMPREHENSION
Answer the following questions about the excerpt from “Why Write?”
46. Which quotation from the excerpt is an example of imagery?
A. “That spring, I was taken to my first big-league game.”
B. “There was no question about who it was.”
C. “I couldn’t bring myself to pronounce his first name”
D. “he kept bouncing up and down as he spoke”
47. Which detail is an example of foreshadowing?
A. “I can reel off the names of nearly every player on the roster”
B. “that exit was right below the players’ locker rooms”
C. “His response to my question was brusque but amiable.”
D. “And then he walked out of the ballpark into the night.”
48. The description in lines 27-32 creates a mood of
A. devastation
B. anxiety
C. bewilderment
D. confusion
49. Which detail supports the author’s statement, “Life had put me to the test, and in all respects
I had found myself wanting”?
A. “When it became clear that no one in the group had anything to write with, he turned to me and shrugged.”
B. “I didn’t want to cry, but tears started falling down my cheeks, and there was nothing I could do to stop them.”
C. “Not only did I not have Willie Mays’s autograph, I didn’t have anything else either.”
D. “It became a habit of mine never to leave the house without making sure I had a pencil in my pocket.”
50. Based on the excerpt, you can predict that as a result of his encounter with Willie Mays, the narrator will
A. stop asking athletes for autographs
B. remain disappointed with himself
C. try to be ready for any situation
D. start following a different sport
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Read the following selection. Then answer the questions that follow.
Mays Pays Homage to Jackie Robinson
by George Vecsey
Willie Mays sat in the Mets’ clubhouse yesterday before their 4-2 victory here over the Giants and
pronounced himself “blessed.” Then he traced his blessing back to one human being named Jack Roosevelt
Robinson.
“Without Jackie, I wouldn’t have gotten out of Birmingham,” said one of the greatest baseball players
5
ever.
In this 50th anniversary of Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, everybody wants to pay tribute.
The Mets are planning a celebration at their April game against the Dodgers, complete with video highlights of
Robinson’s life.
Mays feels so strongly about his old opponent that he made a special trip to the ball park yesterday to
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talk about Robinson. They played for baseball’s two greatest rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York
Giants, but they had something much more important in common.
“They knew Jackie was hard-headed and they said, ‘You give us two years and we’ll give all your friends
a chance,’” Mays said. “If he had gotten in a fight within those two years, it would have been all over.”
Maybe yes, maybe no, but it certainly seemed that way at the time. The hopes of every young black
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athlete were riding on Jackie Robinson that April.
“Don’t forget Larry Doby,” Mays cautioned. “Larry came right after Jackie in the American League. From
what I hear, Jackie had Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges and Ralph Branca, but Larry didn’t have anybody.”
20
It is a little unnerving to an old Brooklyn fan like me to hear Willie Mays speaking with such reverence
for the Dodgers, but Mays says that is exactly what it was like in 1947.
“We all rooted for the Dodgers,” he said. “From the day he signed, I knew I had a chance to play major
league ball. When I got married, my wife was a Dodgers fan.”
By the time Mays came up, four years after Robinson, the worst of the racial slurs had vanished, at least
25 from the dugouts. “And I had Leo,” Mays says softly, referring to the fiery Leo Durocher, who had previously
managed Robinson. “Leo took care of me. A lot of people took care of me.
25
“For a while we couldn’t stay in the same hotels. We’d get to Chicago, we’d get off on the South side,
they’d get off on the North Side. But they gave us $40 in meal money instead of $20, and we could have a lot of
fun with that.” Mays will always appreciate what Robinson went through.
30
“Don’t forget his wife, Rachel,” Mays said. “She was there when he came home. He had somebody to
relate to. The Dodgers picked him because he and his wife were educated people.
30
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
14
“He would have made the Hall of Fame anyway, but he was also a great player. I remember that last day
of the 1951 season. We won our game up in Boston, and they needed to win to get into the playoff. Jackie
caught a ball over second base to save the game, and then he won it a few innings later.”
The Giants won that three-game playoff on Bobby Thomson’s homer, still a sore point with fans of a
certain age, but Mays said there was a softer side to the rivalry.
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“Campy had a liquor store in Harlem,” Mays said of the Dodgers’ catcher, Roy Campanella. “Junior
Gilliam lived over in New Jersey. Joe Black used to come up to Harlem. Don Newcombe came around, but he
would still knock me down every chance he got. Jackie lived in Connecticut. He didn’t come around.”
After the wraps came off, Robinson became the most fiery Dodger, even the enforcer, who wiped out
Davey Williams, the Giants’ second baseman, damaging his back and shortening his career.
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“Jackie didn’t start that,” Mays said softly. “Sal Maglie started that by throwing at him. Jackie bunted
down the first-base line and he even slowed down, but Maglie wouldn’t come over. Whitey Lockman picked up
the ball and threw to Williams who was covering first, and Jackie ran into Williams.
“Right after that we had a meeting in the dugout. We agreed that the first guy to get to second base
would just keep going. Alvin Dark was the first guy. He ran to third and he knocked the ball right out of Jackie’s
45 hands. Jackie reached down, picked up the ball, rubbed it, and threw it back to the pitcher.
“Jackie knew there were times when you don’t fight, you just play harder. That was one thing I learned
from him.
“You know, we traded for Jackie after 1956, but he wouldn’t play for the Giants. I could understand that,
but still I would have loved to play with him, just to learn from him.”
50 The great Giant knows one thing about the great Dodger: “I couldn’t have done what he did.”
“Mays Pays Homage to Jackie Robinson” by George Vecsey, The New York Times, April 7, 1997. Copyright © 1997, The New York Times Co..
COMPREHENSION
Directions Answer the following questions about “Mays Pays Homage to Jackie Robinson.”|
51. Which lines contain an example of flashback?
A. lines 2–3
B. lines 21–33
C. lines 31–33
D. lines 65–66
52. Which detail supports the idea that Jackie Robinson “was also a great player”?
A. The Giants won the three-game playoff against the Dodgers.
B. Robinson won the game that got the Dodgers into the playoffs.
C. Robinson ran into Davey Williams in order to reach first base.
D. The Giants tried to trade another player for Robinson.
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
15
53. You can make the generalization that the baseball community views Jackie Robinson as
A. a vicious competitor
B. an important leader
C. a thoughtful coach
D. an unknown player
54. Which sentence best states the main idea of the article?
A. Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays had a longstanding rivalry.
B. The Mets are planning a celebration to honor Jackie Robinson.
C. Everyone wants to pay tribute to Jackie Robinson on his 50th anniversary.
D. Jackie Robinson made an invaluable contribution to the game of baseball.
COMPREHENSION
Directions Answer the following questions about both selections.
55. By synthesizing the selections, you can draw the conclusion that both Mays and Robinson
A. played for the Dodgers
B. disliked their managers
C. came from the South
D. were skilled players
56. By synthesizing information from both selections, what can you conclude about the New York Giants?
A. Although they no longer exist, the Giants were once a great team.
B. Many of the best players in the game got their starts as Giants.
C. Unlike the Dodgers, the Giants had no rivalries with other teams.
D. Several black players refused to play for the Giants or the Dodgers.
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
16
Writing and Grammar
Directions Read the school paper editorial and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Have you ever wished that you had longer school breaks during holidays? (2) There is a way that you
can—year-round schools. (3) Switching to year-round schools would provide not only longer holiday breaks, but
it also would provide other benefits.
(4) One aspect of changing to year-round schools is the elimination of a long summer vacation. (5) Three
months of vacation is an infuriatingly and ridiculously lengthy span of time. (6) During this wasteful time away
from school, students are likely to forget information that they learned during the school year. (7) The long
break also makes it harder for students and teachers to resume daily habits when a new school year begins. (8)
Some people may think that losing three months of vacation would be horrible. (9) Students and teachers would
still be given one month in the summer. (10) One month is long enough to feel like a solid break, but short
enough to allow retention of information and school habits.
(11) A long summer break would be eliminated. (12) Several short breaks would be added. (13) The
school year would be broken up by several one-week breaks. (14) These evenly spaced breaks would help break
up class time. (15) Students would have time to relax. (16) They could spend extra time with their families. (17)
Teachers would have time to relax grade papers, and plan lessons.
(18) The choice to switch to year-round school is as easy as pie. (19) The benefits of a shorter summer
break and added mini-breaks are easy to discern. (20) Teachers will be happy with lots of time for planning. (21)
Students will retain more information from year to year. (22) Both will enjoys the short breaks that make the
year go faster. (23) All schools should become year-round schools.
57. Which issue is the editorial about?
A. remembering information
B. going to school year-round
C. improving study habits
D. making lesson plans
58. Which words might you add at the end of sentence 3 to present a clear thesis statement?
A. but they are too many to name
B. for a lot of different people
C. to both students and teachers
D. that everyone will like
59. Which part of sentence 5 would you change to make the persuasive language more effective?
A. Three months
B. of vacation is an
C. infuriatingly and ridiculously
D. lengthy span of time.
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
17
60. To make persuasive language more effective, you might change “wasteful” in sentence 6 to
A. horrible
B. extensive
C. enjoyable
D. silly
61. Which word is a transition that you might add at the beginning of sentence 9?
A. However
B. If
C. All
D. While
62. In which sentence does the writer include an opposing viewpoint?
A. sentence 7
B. sentence 8
C. sentence 12
D. sentence 13
63. How might you rewrite sentences 11, 12, and 13 as one compound-complex sentence?
A. he summer break would be eliminated, and several short breaks would be added, and
the school year would be broken up by several one-week breaks.
B. A long summer break would be eliminated, and several short breaks would be added.
The school year would be broken up by several one-week breaks.
C. A long summer break would be eliminated; several short breaks would be added; the school year
would be broken up by several one-week breaks.
D. Even though a long summer break would be eliminated, several short breaks would be added, and the
school year would be broken up by several one-week breaks.
64. How might you rewrite sentences 14, 15, and 16 as one compound-complex sentence?
A. These evenly spaced breaks would help break up class time; students would have time to relax. They
could spend extra time with their families.
B. These evenly spaced breaks would help break up class time, students would have time to relax, they
could spend extra time with their families.
C. Since these evenly spaced breaks would help break up class time, students would have time to relax,
and they could spend extra time with their families.
D. These evenly spaced breaks would help break up class time as well as students
would have time to relax and spend extra time with their families.
65. To correct the punctuation in sentence 17, you add a comma after
A. Teachers
B. would
C. relax
D. plan
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66. Which change corrects the subject-verb disagreement in sentence 22?
A. Change “will” to “willing.”
B. Change “enjoys” to “enjoy.”
C. Change “make” to “makes.” D. Change “go” to “goes.”
Primary and Secondary Sources
Read the following selections. Then answer the questions that follow.
SECONDARY SOURCE
The following article discusses Sir Ernest Shackleton’s unsuccessful attempt to reach the South Pole by crossing
the Antarctic continent.
from Sail of the Century
by Harold Briley
On 8 August 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail from Plymouth bound for the
Antarctic. Their aim was to be the first to cross the continent from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea via the South
Pole. The
expedition was to include a 1,609 kilometers sledge journey over glaciers and unmapped mountain ranges of up
to 3,353 meters high. Shackleton declared it was to be “the last great Antarctic adventure.”
From the start, the portents were ominous. The expedition’s ship, the Endurance, set sail from England
just four days after the First World War broke out. Although Shackleton offered to place his ship and crew at the
service of the Royal Navy, he was turned down by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, who
telegraphed him with a one-word response to his offer: “Proceed.”
By January 1915, the Endurance had become totally trapped by ice in the Weddell Sea, surrounded by
unstable, shifting 30-meter high icebergs, lashed by kilometer per hour blizzards, with temperatures falling to
minus 50°Celsius.
Nine months later, the vessel was crushed matchwood by the ice and sank. Shackleton’s fate was
unknown to the outside world. The expedition had no radio and most of their supplies were trapped in the ship.
To survive they had to shoot their 69 dogs and live on a diet of seal and penguin meat, lighting fires from the
blubber.
From “Sail of the Century” by Harold Briley, Geographical Magazine, April 1999. Copyright © 1999
Geographical. Reprinted by permission.
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
19
PRIMARY SOURCE
In this excerpt from his journal, Sir Ernest Shackleton reflects on the destruction of his ship.
from South: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition 1914–17
by Sir Ernest Shackleton
“But though we have been compelled to abandon the ship, which is crushed beyond all hope of ever
being righted, we are alive and well, and we have stores and equipment for the task that lies before us. The task
is to reach land with all the members of the Expedition. It is hard to write what I feel. To a sailor his ship is more
than a floating home, and in the Endurance I had centered ambitions, hopes and desires. And now she is slowly
giving up her sentient life at the very outset of her career…. The distance from the point where she became
beset to
the place where she now rests mortally hurt in the grip of the floes is 573 miles, but the total drift through all
observed positions has been 1,186 miles, and we probably covered more than 1,500 miles.
“We are now 346 miles from Paulet Island, the nearest point where there is any possibility of finding
food and shelter.”
Answer the following questions about the primary and secondary sources.
67. The primary source gives you firsthand information about how
A. the crew feels about their leader
B. Shackleton feels as his ship is destroyed
C. the crew will reach Paulet Island
D. Shackleton learned to sail ships
68. The secondary source is useful for
A. understanding the structure of the Endurance
B. reviewing Shackleton’s previous expeditions
C. learning the reasons for the start of World War I
D. gaining an overview of the expedition’s circumstances
69. Which of the following statements is supported by both sources?
A. The Endurance began its journey at the start of WorldWar I.
B. The expedition included almost thirty men and over sixty dogs.
C. Shackleton and his crew went to great lengths to survive.
D. Shackleton considered how to get safely to Paulet Island.
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.
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70. The purpose of a Works Cited list is to
A. show the sources used in your research
B. record notes about your research
C. summarize your sources’ main ideas
D. tell readers how to find more information
Copyright © McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin Company.