Mixed Skills #1

Pacy sat by the door and fretfully waited for a knock. She looked at the clock and realized that there was no way they would make the movie at this point. Her dad had already given up on driving her anywhere and had gone back to work in his office. Pacy looked back at the text conversation between her and Alexis from earlier that day. Alexis had said she wanted to go see a movie with Pacy and she promised she would come on time.

Pacy checked her phone after the buzz of a new message. “Sorry. Can’t make it today.” Pacy sighed and threw her phone on her bed. She had lost count of how many times Alexis had canceled at the very last minute. After talking about it with her mom and sister, Pacy decided that she was tired of being disappointed and would not try to hang out with Alexis again.

What is the meaning of fretfully?

• anxiously

• happily

• casually

• angrily

Ms. Rojas assigned the project in class a month before it was due. It was an alphabet booklet that showed different examples of math with 26 required pages and it

seemed easy enough at the time. Rachel’s best friend, Ayanna, immediately began working on it and completed one page a night. Rachel thought it was silly that Ayanna

had already started working on it because the due date was weeks away. As the due date loomed closer, Ayanna tried to bring up the project but Rachel was very rude about it. Rachel finally began the project two days before it was due but quickly became overwhelmed with all the work she had to do. The next day Rachel stayed up until early in the morning finishing the project even though she skipped many of the required parts. When the projects were returned, Ayanna received an A while Rachel was unwilling to show her grade to anyone.

What is the meaning of loomed?

• stopped

• left

• approached

• looked

Eating contests have been around for years. More recently, many competitive eating contests have focused on consuming as many hot dogs in a specific amount of time as possible. There are some annual competitions that receive a lot of media attention. One event has even aired on television. The winners of some hot dog eating competitions have consumed as many as 70 hot dogs in a span of ten minutes. There are a number of strategies that competitors use in order to win. Some people will avoid eating anything in the days leading up to the competition. Another

popular strategy is to dunk the food in water, which will help with chewing. Nearly every competitor will shove as much food into their cheeks as they can in the last few moments of the competition, in order to get their numbers up.

What is the central idea of the passage?

• Eating competitions have a long history.

• Eating competitions are popular and competitors have specific strategies.

• Dunking food in water helps during competitions.

Eating contests have been around for years. More recently, many competitive eating contests have focused on consuming as many hot dogs in a specific amount of time as possible. There are some annual competitions that receive a lot of media attention. One event has even aired on television. The winners of some hot dog eating competitions have consumed as many as 70 hot dogs in a span of ten minutes. There are a number of strategies that competitors use in order to win. Some people will avoid eating anything in the days leading up to the competition. Another popular strategy is to dunk the food in water, which will help with chewing. Nearly every competitor will shove as much food into their cheeks as they can in the last few moments of the competition, in order to get their numbers up.

What inference can be made about competitive eaters from the passage?

• It is difficult to consume more than 10 hot dogs.

• The strategies people use are generally unhelpful.

• Successful competitors enjoy some degree of fame.

Most students today go to school in large buildings that contain multiple rooms, but this wasn’t always the case. Years ago, in rural parts of the United States, children went to school in buildings that only had one room. The students that attended school there would be in the same class as everyone else that lived nearby, regardless of their age. The students all had the same teacher, but learned different things throughout the day. The older students would often help the younger students in their studies and may also have had to help maintain the fire in the building during the winter months. Often children did not go to school through the 12th grade, as many students had to stay home and take on more responsibility as they got older.

What is the central idea of the passage?

• Students in rural areas went to smaller schools with fewer options.

• Education has changed very much over the course of history.

• In the past, children did not always go to school for 12 years as they do today.

Most students today go to school in large buildings that contain multiple rooms, but this wasn’t always the case. Years ago, in rural parts of the United States, children went to school in buildings that only had one room. The students that attended school there would be in the same class as everyone else that lived nearby, regardless of their age. The students all had the same teacher, but learned different things throughout the day. The older students would often help the younger students in their studies and may also have had to help maintain the fire in the building during the winter months. Often children did not go to school through the 12th grade, as many students had to stay home and take on more responsibility as they got older.

What inference can be made from the passage?

• Education was not considered as important as working or staying home to help the family in rural areas many years ago.

• Children in different grades all did the same thing while in the same classroom many years ago.

• Older students had less responsibility since they would only be helping kids in school younger than them

After several English explorations of North America, a permanent settlement was attempted by Queen Elizabeth in 1587. Over 100 settlers departed England to build a new colony in the Chesapeake Bay area on the coast of North Carolina. John White was the leader of the colonists, as he had previous experience in the area. The colonists attempted to build relationships with the local Native Americans that lived nearby, but the relationship was arduous because of some difficult experiences in the past. After some challenging months, John White went back to England for more supplies for the settlement.

What does arduous mean as it is used in the passage?

• easy

• difficult

• expensive

• able

After several English explorations of North America, a permanent settlement was attempted by Queen Elizabeth in 1587. Over 100 settlers departed England to build a new colony in the Chesapeake Bay area on the coast of North Carolina. John White was the leader of the colonists, as he had previous experience in the area. The colonists attempted to build relationships with the local Native Americans that lived nearby, but the relationship was arduous because of some difficult experiences in the past. After some challenging months, John White went back to England for more supplies for the settlement.

What does departed most nearly mean as it's used in the passage?

• were banned from

• shifted

• left

• deported

After several English explorations of North America, a permanent settlement was attempted by Queen Elizabeth in 1587. Over 100 settlers departed England to build a new colony in the Chesapeake Bay area on the coast of North Carolina. John White was the leader of the colonists, as he had previous experience in the area. The colonists attempted to build relationships with the local Native Americans that lived nearby, but the relationship was arduous because of some difficult experiences in the past. After some challenging months, John White went back to England for more supplies for the settlement.

What inference can be made from the passage?

• John White did not want to stay.

• The colonists didn’t have enough resources to support their needs.

• John White returned to England because of difficulties with the natives.

• None of the above.