The Wolf Within

According to new studies, what did every modern dog descend from?

• the Taco Bell Chihuahua

• English setters and Labrador retrievers

• American wolves in North, Central, and South America

• approximately five female Asian wolves

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CCSS.RI.5.2

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What does the author describe in the section "From Wolf to Woof"?

• The author describes how dogs that were not afraid of people ate well, survived, and multiplied.

• The author describes how researchers say some theories about the way in which dogs evolved from wolves are wrong.

• The author describes how researchers extracted DNA from the cells in the bones of dogs.

• The author describes how genes determine a dog's inherited characteristics, such as eye and fur colors.

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CCSS.RI.4.5

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CCSS.RI.8.5

Read these sentences from the text.

"Some [scientists] said dogs evolved as two separate species 135,000 years ago in two parts of the world. Now, researchers say, those theories are wrong."

What evidence in the text supports the conclusion that those theories are wrong?

• Each year we spend billions of dollars on our canine pals

• Asian wolves came to the Americas with Christopher Columbus in 1492.

• Scientists found that the genes of the ancient American dogs were similar to the genes of dogs born in Europe and Asia.

• Five female Asian wolves developed an uncanny ability to pick up human signals.

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CCSS.RI.5.8

CCSS.RI.6.8

Scientists have long known that dogs evolved from wolves. But no one knows exactly how dogs became domesticated.

Based on these sentences, what can you infer about wolves?

• Wolves are not domesticated.

• Wolves became extinct.

• Wolves come when people call them.

• Wolves were raised by scientists

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What is the main idea of this text?

• Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492.

• Researchers say every modern dog, including American dogs, descended from Asian wolves.

• A land bridge once linked northern Asia and North America.

• Dogs are the most popular type of pet in the United States.

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CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

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Read these sentences from the text.

"Scientists have long known that dogs evolved from wolves. Just when the transformation from wolf to dog actually took place, however, remained a mystery."

Based on these sentences, what does the word "evolve" most likely mean?

• to develop and change

• to die off completely

• to outlive

• to tame

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CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

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CCSS.RL.5.4

Read this sentence from the text.

"Scientists suspect dogs first set paw in North America by following settlers across a land bridge that once linked northern Asia and North America."

What word or phrase could replace "once linked" without changing the meaning of the sentence?

• later linked

• always linked

• still links

• used to link

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CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4