Summarizing

The storm that blew through Wichita, Kansas, last night dropped buckets of rain before turning more severe. Between 9 PM and 1 AM, Wichita Airport reported six inches of rain. Reports from residents in surrounding counties recorded the rainfall up as high as eight inches in the same time period. Reports of tornados were not correct. However, very strong winds were experienced all over the area.

Around 11 PM, some residents on the western edge of the city reported large hail. The hail was originally reported to be the size of dimes or nickels. Within an hour, reports were received describing hail the size of golf balls or tennis balls. Millions of dollars in damage are expected to be announced. This includes hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses at several local car dealerships.

Which of the following best summarizes the passage?

• The severe storm last night in Wichita, Kansas, brought hail that caused millions of dollars in damage and reports of tornadoes that were not correct.

• Last night's severe storm caused millions of dollars in damage including hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage at local car dealerships.

• The severe storm that struck Wichita, Kansas, last night dropped between six and eight inches of rain and caused millions of dollars in damage.

• A severe storm in Wichita, Kansas, last night brought strong wind, rain, and hail that caused millions of dollars in damage.

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Bathing has been a part of religious ceremonies for thousands of years. However, bathing has not always been a common practice in the United States. Some early-19th century Americans believed that taking a bath was bad for their health. At the same time, other people were beginning to learn about the benefits of bathing. As they learned that bathing could help prevent the spread of disease, they demanded more clean water. Cities across the country heard this demand and began building water and sewer systems. Cities made water and sewer services available to the people who could pay for them. Because of this, most water and sewer lines were located in wealthy neighborhoods. By the middle of the century, many wealthy people had indoor plumbing. It would be many years before indoor plumbing was made available to people in poorer neighborhoods.

Which of the following best summarizes this passage?

• Bathing has been a part of religious ceremonies for thousands of years. People started to demand more clean water after they began learning about the benefits of bathing during the 19th century. Water and sewer lines were built in American cities.

• There was a time when people did not bathe regularly. People did not know that bathing could prevent diseases from spreading. Then, people started to demand clean water. Cities had to build water and sewer systems in the richest neighborhoods first.

• Bathing has not always been a common practice in the United States. In the 19th century, people found out that bathing helps prevent the spread of disease. Cities built water and sewer systems. Wealthy people had better access to indoor plumbing.

• About two hundred years ago, people used to think that bathing was bad for their health. Cities across the country started to build water and sewer systems to prevent the spread of disease. It was many years before poorer neighborhoods got plumbing.

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. Many places will have record levels of pollen this spring. This is just one reason Americans are expected to spend $4.7 billion this year on prescription allergy medicines. The top three medications are Claritin, Allegra, and Zyrtec. A new study finds that almost two-thirds of those people who take these drugs do not need them.

"It is very obvious to anyone in the allergy field that many patients are being misdiagnosed," said Dr. Beth Corn. Corn is an allergist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.

Which statement best summarizes this passage?

• Americans are expected to spend billions of dollars on allergy medication. Many of these people taking the medicine do not actually need it.

• Dr. Beth Corn is an allergist in New York. She works at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She often gives her patients Zyrtec, Allegra, and Claritin.

• Americans could spend well over $4 billion this year on different allergy medications. Zyrtec, Claritin, and Allegra are three kinds of medication.

• Record amounts of pollen aggravate the allergies of people each year. Some people take Claritin, while others take Allegra to ease their allergies.

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Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Jet lag is a problem suffered by many flight attendants, pilots, and frequent flyers. When people travel rapidly across numerous time zones, as they do when flying long distances, they sometimes develop a condition called jet lag. These long trips disturb normal body rhythms. After a trip, travelers may have trouble falling asleep at night and staying awake during the day. Experts advise travelers flying eastbound to go to bed later than usual before traveling and those flying west to go to bed earlier than usual. These changes should help minimize the effects of jet lag.

Which statement best summarizes this paragraph?

• Flight attendants, pilots, and frequent flyers often suffer jet lag. Experts have many tips for travelers that will help prevent jet lag.

• Jet lag is a problem for people who fly a lot. To prevent jet lag, people can change the time they go to sleep before they take a trip.

• People who suffer jet lag have trouble falling asleep and staying awake. This is because people's body rhythms get thrown off by travel.

• Long-distance travel is unsafe because of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag happens when people travel across many time zones.

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Small newspaper seeks writers. Writers must work well under pressure and focus on details. Good writing skills are necessary. Related experience preferred. Must be flexible with hours. May need to work overtime, nights, and weekends. Call 555-1234 for information.

What is the best summary of this advertisement?

• Most newspapers want flexible workers. They want people who are able to work nights, weekends, and even overtime.

• A small newspaper is looking to hire writers. They would like someone who can work under pressure and have flexible hours.

• Writers at newspapers work long hours. They often have to work at night or on weekends. They also have to deal with stress.

• You need experience to get a good job. For example, in order to get a writing job, it is helpful to have some writing experience.

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Bad Chocolate

by Bryan Ellett

It was Tabitha's turn to give her presentation on one of the countries in Africa to our social studies class. The assignment was for each student to pick a country, research it, and then give a short speech on something that was interesting to the student. Tabitha walked up to the dry-erase board, grabbed the red marker, and wrote in large letters at the top of the board, “Republic of Côte D’Ivoire.” She said, “In English, we usually call this country the Ivory Coast. In my research, I found it interesting that the Ivory Coast produces 43% of the world’s cocoa. This means that most of the chocolate in the world comes from the Ivory Coast.” Like most kids, we all enjoy chocolate, so several of us in the class made happy sounds and began to listen more closely.

“I know,” Tabitha said. “I thought that was great, too! But the story is not all happy. A study in 2002 found that almost 300,000 children are forced to work on African cocoa plantations as slaves. Usually, they are working in very unsafe conditions and are not given enough to eat. Here in the United States, we have laws against child labor. In the Ivory Coast, the same laws do not exist.” I was getting a little uncomfortable, hearing about this terrible problem. Everyone around me seemed a little uneasy, too. And then Tabitha brought out the worst fact of all. “Unfortunately,” she said, “most of the chocolate we eat comes from these plantations I’m talking about.”

The class murmured unhappily. “How terrible!” I yelled. “Isn’t there anything we can do to stop it?” Tabitha looked at me and smiled.

“Yes!” she cried. “I was worried too, but then I found out that it is really easy to help fix this problem. All we have to do is make sure that the chocolate we buy has this symbol on it.” She held up a poster with an outline of a person holding two baskets. Above the drawing, it said “Fair Trade Certified.” “If you make sure that all the chocolate you eat has this symbol on it, then you are helping the problem. If enough of us stop buying chocolate that is not Fair Trade Certified, then the people doing these terrible things will not be able to make any money. We can all help!” Everyone clapped and Tabitha handed around samples of Fair Trade Certified chocolate. It tasted great!

Which of these best summarizes the passage?

• Tabitha gave a report about child slavery used to produce chocolate in the Ivory Coast and told her class how to help the problem.

• Tabitha gave a report about how most of the world's chocolate is produced in the Ivory Coast by child slaves in terrible conditions.

• Tabitha's report about the Ivory Coast ended with a suggestion that her class should only purchase Fair Trade Certified chocolate.

• Tabitha's report about the Ivory Coast focused on the country's production of most of the world's cocoa and chocolate.

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In the mountainous rain forest of Peru sits one of the world's greatest treasures: Machu Picchu. Known as the "Lost City of the Incas," Machu Picchu is an ancient stone village built sometime in the 1400s. When the Spanish conquered the Incan empire, they missed Machu Picchu. It was too well hidden in the jungle. The Incas abandoned the city, but it was not destroyed. Eventually, the jungle grew over the city, and the city was forgotten for over 400 years.

In 1911, Hiram Bingham was led to Machu Picchu by Peruvian natives. Bingham was a historian at Yale University in the United States. Though the jungle had taken over, Bingham knew that he had found something spectacular. He led the excavation and restoration of the city and took away many items for study.

The architecture is what Machu Picchu is most known for. The buildings were constructed of heavy stones brought from far below up to the top of the mountain. They were designed according to the location of the Sun, stars, and the Moon at certain times of the year. A visit to Machu Picchu amazes most visitors, thinking about the abilities of such an ancient civilization.

Which of these is the best summary of the first paragraph?

• Machu Picchu was not conquered by Spanish invaders because of its location, but it was later abandoned by the Incas.

• Machu Picchu is an important treasure that was built in the 1400s high in the mountains of Peru and was lost in the jungle.

• Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan city in Peru that was abandoned, overlooked by invaders, and lost for over 400 years.

• Machu Picchu was forgotten for over 400 years because it was so well hidden in the mountains and jungle.

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Have you always wanted to own your own boat but thought you couldn't afford to? Now there's a way to purchase a small skiff for less than retail price. All you need is time, patience, and skill in working with carpentry tools. For $175 you can obtain a kit to build your own eight-foot rowboat. The kit contains complete instructions, precut wooden parts, metal fittings, sandpaper, sealant, and paint. The only decision left up to you is choosing the color of the hull; everything else has been provided. For purchasing information, log on to our Web site.

Which is the best summary of this passage?

• Some people think that boats are really expensive. Only large boats cost a lot of money; small ones do not.

• You can buy a small boat for under $200. Most people think that boats cost thousands of dollars.

• You can build a small, inexpensive rowboat from a kit. The kit has all of the pieces and paint that you need.

• People can actually buy a rowboat on the Internet. You can find out more information on the Web site.

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When you imagine a desert, what do you see? If you are like most people, you probably picture sand, sand, and more sand. But did you know that only one-fifth of the world's largest non-polar desert, the Sahara, is covered by sand? The rest of the 3.5 million square miles of the desert, in Africa, is made up of rock and rubble. Most people think the Sahara is covered by sand because of the many pictures of the sand dunes of the desert. The sand dunes are very expansive—they measure over one hundred miles wide and two hundred feet tall. These great sand dunes, called whalebacks, are what photographers and filmmakers focus on when they film the Sahara. So, naturally, the image of the Sahara as a sand-covered wasteland is what most people picture.

Which of the following best summarizes this paragraph?

• Many people think the Sahara Desert is covered by sand, but it is not. The Sahara is made mostly of rock and rubble, though it has hundreds of miles of sand dunes.

• The Sahara Desert is an interesting place to photograph. Photographers and filmmakers especially like to focus on the hundreds of miles of sand dunes.

• The sand dunes of the Sahara are called whalebacks. They are called this because they look like the backs of whales barely peeking out from the ocean.

• The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world. It is over 3.5 million square miles large, and people usually picture it as a sand-covered wasteland.

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Walker Evans was a photographer. He is best known for the photographs he took while working for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression. His photos documented the effects of the Dust Bowl on average Americans. Evans’ best photographs do not include images that people often find in many Dust Bowl photographs. There are no dirty, starving children. There are no sad adults who look as though they have lost the will to live. There are no families gathered in filthy, collapsing shacks. Instead, people see something that is often missing from Dust Bowl photographs: dignity.

Evans does not use his art to enforce ideas. He does not use his art to show that the people he takes pictures of are different from the people who see the pictures at museums. He uses his photographs to show the dignity of his subjects to the viewer. He shows his subjects’ run-down shacks for what they are—simple, well-kept homes. He does this to remind the viewer that shacks may look different, but they are similar to the viewer’s home. The families who live in these shacks are similar to the viewer’s own family.

What is the best summary of this passage?

• Walker Evans was a photographer who worked for the U.S. government. He used his camera to document the effects that the Dust Bowl had on families across America.

• Walker Evans worked as a photographer during the Great Depression. He took photographs of the effects of the Dust Bowl on people. His pictures were very popular.

• Walker Evans used his camera to document the Dust Bowl. He took pictures of poor people. His photographs have a lot in common with the work of other photographers.

• Walker Evans was a photographer who photographed the effects of the Dust Bowl. In his photographs, he focuses on how people kept their dignity during hard times.

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