Lexile Test Practice

When caterpillars know that it is the right time, they each go and spin their own white cocoon. Then they slip inside and fall asleep. While they sleep, they dream the dreams of the Dream Tree. When they wake up, they have been transformed into beautiful butterflies.

Caterpillars rely on _____ to spin their cocoons.

• instinct

• instructions

• dreams

• neighbors

Junior knew that being a professional ballplayer was going to take some getting used to. He was here to mature and to improve, and his progress would be gradual. Still, as the weeks went by, the stress began to take its toll. He went into a slump at the plate. It seemed that he could not hit the ball. His batting average fell all the way to .175. For the first time since he'd started playing baseball, he was not having fun.

His performance was _____ .

• offensive

• extraordinary

• unimpressive

• average

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

She carried an armful of grass and climbed up again on the fence. None of the horses noticed her at first. Eventually some of them seemed to smell the grass and came over to where she was perched on the fence.

The horses became _____ .

• sleepy

• sleek

• interested

• fat

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

I had learned to ride before I could walk, and had grown up intending to be a jockey. But the fates weren't kind: I was six feet tall when I was seventeen, and whatever special something it took to be a racer, I did not have. I was _____

• disappointed

• careless

• honorable

• insensitive

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Samuel Adams stood before his friends, his coat frayed, his shoes scuffed, his cotton stockings darned. His friends said nothing about his appearance, but within a few days gifts began arriving at his house: When Samuel Adams left for Philadelphia, he was dressed as a representative of Massachusetts should be dressed. He was as stylish as his cousin John Adams, or his friend John Hancock, or indeed any of the other representatives. His friends were _____ .

• generous

• disgraceful

• misunderstood

• peaceful

John and Deborah Darnell are specialists in a field they call desert-road archeology. In 1992, they started exploring ancient caravan roads that once led through Egypt's Western Desert. They spent years picking through artifacts. The archeologists studied bits of broken pottery along the roads. They hoped to learn about the cultures of the people who had traveled there. In 2005, the Darnells discovered something huge—the ruins of a city that was more than 3,500 years old! The Darnells' commitment was _____ .

• rewarded

• deflated

• challenged

• questioned

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Robert E. Lee worked as a scout, exploring enemy territory to get information. He also directed the building of bridges that could support heavy army guns being dragged into battle. In the Battle of Veracruz, he helped plan some of the fighting. He was in the thick of the battles for Cerro Gordo and Mexico City. At one point, he was on his horse, riding and fighting, for thirty-six straight hours. Robert E. Lee was a _____ .

• leader

• lazy soldier

• procrastinator

• manipulator

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.W.9-10.9

He could pretend that he came to Washington to seek an appointment with his own congressman or senator. He was to keep his eyes and ears open and try, if possible, to learn the position and plans of the Union army. Once he had discovered such information, he was to report back to Longstreet.
He was to __________the Union army's plans. 

• predict
• ignore
• investigate
• accept 

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Laos is a remote, beautiful land of mist-wrapped mountains with a fertile valley that follows the mighty Mekong River. It is the Mekong that sustains life in this small country, which is about the size of the state of Utah. Most of its people live in the lowland areas along the river banks. The Mekong River is _______.

• dammed

• disrespected

• essential

• polluted

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

The sky above Pittsburgh was brown. Dirty air hung over the city like a blanket. As Carlos's jet came down, it was hard to see the airport buildings. And it was impossible to see the old church that marked the center of the city or the people who filled the streets.

• thin

• polluted

• cold

• bright

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4