8th Grade Review

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a $1.35 trillion tax cut package. This is the biggest reduction in twenty years. The measure lowers all income tax rates. The package now goes to a House-Senate conference committee. In the committee, Congressional and White House negotiators will quarrel over the size and timing of the tax cuts. In the final tally, 62 senators voted for the bill and 38 voiced against it. All 50 Republicans and 12 Democrats joined in support of the package.

What is this news story mainly about?

• The vote on the tax cut was 62 to 38.

• Negotiators will argue about the timing.

• The Senate passed a large tax cut.

• Taxes are way too high in America.

It's no surprise that exercise increases energy. The physical challenge prepares your body in a variety of ways. Blood sugar is more quickly converted to fuel, more oxygen is supplied to your cells, and fight-or-flight hormones are released. Instead of leaving you exhausted, exercise energizes. Do it in the morning for an all-day high or later in the afternoon for a pick-me-up.

This paragraph is mostly about how

• exercise increases your energy.

• exercise is easier than it looks.

• everyone should exercise daily.

• exercise makes you live longer.

Before weight machines, stationary bikes, and step aerobics, people practiced yoga for spiritual and physical health. Yoga's origins predate written history. Archaeologists have found stone carvings that show figures in yoga positions. These stones, from the Indus Valley, are at least 5,000 years old! Yoga can still contribute plenty to your weight loss program in the 21st century.

Which statement best describes the main idea of this paragraph?

• Aerobics is very similar to yoga.

• Yoga has existed for centuries.

• Yoga came from the Indus Valley.

• Everyone needs to try yoga.

School uniforms are far cheaper than the currently popular fashions. Many students work long hours at a paying job instead of doing homework because they feel they have to "keep up appearances." If students wore uniforms, there would be no need for most of them to have jobs that take away from their study time.

This passage is mostly about

• popular fashions being expensive.

• school uniforms being a good idea.

• students working many hours at jobs.

• teens enjoying wearing uniforms.

Climate is influenced by many factors. One of the most important factors is latitude. For example, areas nearest the equator are warm and wet.

The structure of the selection above can best be described as

• compare and contrast.

• sequence.

• definition.

• cause and effect.

Although much more common than hurricanes and tornadoes, thunderstorms can be equally dangerous.

The structure of the selection above can best be described as

• cause and effect.

• classification.

• sequence.

• compare and contrast.

First, the wind starts to blow and swirl. Before long, bolts of lightning streak across the sky and thunder booms. Then, when enough electrical force builds up, a powerful current of electricity zigzags down an electrically charged pathway between the two, causing the flash of lightning.

The structure of the selection above can best be described as

• cause and effect.

• sequence.

• definition.

• compare and contrast.

The clap of thunder you hear after a lightning flash is created by rapidly heated air that expands as the lightning passes through it. The distant rumbling is caused by the thunder's sound waves bouncing back and forth within clouds or between mountains.

The structure of the selection above can best be described as

• cause and effect.

• compare and contrast.

• sequence.

• definition.

While Italy has many rivers, they tend to be short. At four hundred miles, the Po is the longest. South America, on the other hand has many long rivers. The Amazon, South America's longest river, is 3,500 miles longer than the Po.

The structure of the selection above can best be described as

• compare and contrast.

• definition.

• sequence.

• cause and effect.

Writers try to let us know what is central to their writing. When we notice words such as "meanwhile," "afterward," "before," or "previously," an author is letting us know the order in which events happen. A paragraph that mostly uses these key words is arranged in what structural form?

• problem and solution

• definition

• sequence

• compare and contrast