Worth More than Gold

What is the author's purpose in writing this article? 8

• to persuade people to eat different kinds of vegetables

• to explain how DNA gene banks can help protect crops

• to detail the history of potato farming since the mid-1800's

• to suggest that scientist may soon be able to uses crop DNA

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CCSS.RI.6.6

CCSS.RI.6.9

CCSS.RI.7.9

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

Which sentence from the article BEST supports the answer to part A? 8b

• "American farmers grow wheat, soybeans, corn, and other foodstuffs, and it's an impressive sight." (paragraph 1)

• "The Irish potato famine in 1845 was caused by a fungus that is extremely harmful to potatoes." (paragraph 2)

• "DNA is a molecule, too-a long molecule at the center of the cell." (paragraph 5)

• "If crops are in trouble, what's in those vaults is worth more than gold." (paragraph 8)

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CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

What is a central idea of the article? 9

• Growing monocultures can be risky.

• People have studied DNA for hundreds of years.

• Gene banks store different types of pests.

• The Irish potato famine began in 1845.

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CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

Which sentence from the article BEST supports the answer to part A? 9b

• "That means it has the same instructions for building itself." (paragraph 1)

• "Because all the potatoes in Ireland at the time were so similar, most of the potato crop died." (paragraph 2)

• "If you want molecules that will fight potato fungus, you need the genes for making those molecules." (paragraph 5)

• "Formerly a coal mine, this bank stores backup copies of seeds that are in other banks around the world." (paragraph 8)

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CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

What is the main purpose of paragraph 5? 11

• It introduces the topic of worldwide famine.

• It provides a definition of the key term "fungus"

• It shows how genes can solve the problem of crop disease.

• It poses and answers logical questions about DNA and genes.

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CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

Which sentence from paragraph 5 best supports the answer to part A? 11b

• "DNA is a molecule, too-a long molecule at the center of the cell."

• "We call the recipe for each molecule a gene."

• "If a potato doesn't have those genes, that potato can't fight the fungus."

• "Then all we have to do is put that plant's genes into the unprotected potato plants."

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CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

What is the meaning of the word isolated as it is used in paragraph 8? 12

• remote

• large

• unusual

• popular

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CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.4

Which of the phrases from paragraph 8 best helps the reader to understand the meaning of the word isolated?

• "...more than 1,600 plant gene banks"

• "...one of the most famous..."

• "...between Norway and the North Pole."

• "Formerly a coal mine..."

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CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

Which claim is best supported by evidence in the article?

• Potato plants catch diseases more easily than other kinds of plants.

• The safest way to successfully grow large crops is in a monoculture.

• Plant diseases and pests are a threat to crops throughout the world.

• The best gene banks are located in abandoned coal mines.

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CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RI.6.8

Which excerpt from the article BEST supports the answer to part A? 13b

• "If one cornstalk in the field can be killed easily by an attacker, so can all the rest." (paragraph 2)

• "When new potatoes were planted, the fungus killed them, too." (paragraph 2)

• "Formerly a coal mine, this bank stores backup copies of seeds that are in other banks around the world." (paragraph 8)

• "That's the extent to which scientist and farmers around the world go to protect those crops growing all across the Midwest-and Brazil, and Russia, and China." (paragraph 9)

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CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.5.2