Floods can cause a tremendous amount of damage. They can ruin houses, roads, and buildings, and they can take down trees and cause mudslides. These floods often leave behind mud and debris. It can take a length of time to clean up after a major floods, and a lot of money is invested.

What is the main idea of the passage?

• Floods cause mudslides.

• Floods can be extremely destructive.

• Floods damage houses and roads.

• Flood damage may takes months to clean up.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Psychologists say that a sigh can express satisfaction and contentment. Frequent sighing can suggest despair and depression. It can also express disgust or frustration. It can express many different emotions, but there is no one correct way to interpret its meaning.

What is the implied main idea?

• Psychologists say that a sigh can express satisfaction and contentment, and frequent sighing can suggest despair and depression.

• Sighing can express several emotions.

• A sign can express emotions, such as disgust or frustration.

• A sigh can express several emotions, but there is no one correct way to interpret its meaning.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

When tigers hunt, they hunt alone. In contrast, lions hunt in groups; they work together to drive their prey into an ambush. Cheetahs are known for their speed when they chase prey. Leopards are able to climb trees when they are prowling for prey. Surprisingly, jaguars often hunt in water. There is great diversity in the hunting habits of large cats. There is also great diversity in the places in which they hunt.

What is the implied main idea of the passage?

• When tigers hunt, they hunt alone, but in contrast, lions hunt in

  groups.

• Cheetahs, leopards, and jaguars have different methods of

  hunting.

• There is also great diversity in the places in which they hunt.

• There is great diversity in the hunting habits of large cats, and there is also great diversity in the places in which they hunt.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Do you ever wonder how you taste things? You owe your sense of taste to your taste buds. We have nine thousand taste buds just on the tongue alone. There are also taste buds on the roof of your mouth. You even have taste buds on the back of your throat.

What does the author want you to learn through this passage?

• Why we can taste only sweet things

• That we taste through our nose

• Where taste buds are found

• Without taste buds, life would be boring and tasteless.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.6

CCSS.RI.7.9

CCSS.RI.8.6

CCSS.RI.8.9

CCSS.RL.7.6

When a person decides to get a dog, he or she has many kinds to choose from. As a rule, short-haired dogs are best for cities. Beagles, Terriers, and Dachshunds make good city pets. Great Danes are short-haired, too. However, they are too big for city living. It is hard in a city to give them all the exercise that they need. Setters, Springer Spaniels, and Collies are especially good as country dogs.

What is the main idea of the passage?

• Dogs are amazing pets, and they are better than cats.

• Some dogs are better than others for city life.

• There are many kinds of dogs.

• Short-haired dogs are better for cities.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Could you be a record setter? If you want to be in the Guinness Book of World Records, you will need to do something better than anyone else in the world. First, read all of the current records. Decide if you want to break an existing record or set a new one. Write to Guinness Records to get the guidelines. Keep careful notes on your attempts. Two reliable persons or organizations must act as witnesses, and it must be recorded on videotape. If you think you can do it, give it a try!

Which is the topic sentence in the above paragraph?

• First, read all of the current records.

• If you want to be in the Guinness Book of World Records, you will need to do something better than anyone else.

• Decide if you will try to break an existing record or set a new one.

• Could you be a record setter?

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

A child with Asperger's Syndrome may move into the personal space of others, failing to recognize body language and even verbal cues that he or she has transgressed. Friends and new acquaintances alike may be acknowledged with tight and enthusiastic hugs. Bypassing typical greetings like "Hi, how are you?" an older child with Asperger's may launch into discourse on the latest topic of concern. This narrow special interest (e.g., Civil War maritime strategies, accuracy of train schedules) may be age-inappropriate (e.g., "Power Rangers" cartoons at age 16) or boring, but a child with this disorder will often continue to clarify, oblivious to disinterest, "looks," or snickers from the people close by.

What is the main idea of the passage?

• Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder that affects an afflicted child's social interactions.

• Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder that affects many different aspects of an afflicted child's life.

• Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder causing an afflicted child to have narrow special interests that are often age-inappropriate.

• Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder causing an afflicted child to act especially reserved around new experiences and people.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

High blood pressure is sometimes called the “silent killer” because there are no symptoms. Another disease that goes unnoticed is heart disease. The first signs of a heart are not always obvious. Diabetes is another illness that many do not know they have. In fact, the MSN website says that 16 million people are “silently at risk” for diabetes.

Which is the main idea of the passage?

• What you don’t know won’t hurt you.

• Heart disease is a serious health problem.

• Some serious medical conditions often go unnoticed.

• Heart disease and diabetes are two serious health concerns that often go undetected.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Wild koalas share their habitat with millions of people. That has created problems for the animals. Over the past 200 years, humans have cut down forests to build homes and businesses. Koalas live in trees, and they also depend on them for food. As a result, the koala population has shrunk. Fewer than 200,000 koalas may be left in the wild today. In 1800, there were millions of them.

What is the main idea of the passage?

• People love sharing their space with Koalas.

• Too many forests are being cut down and affecting Koalas and

  other wild animals.

• The Koala population and habitat is decreasing at a rapid pace.

• Koalas face many problems like the human population, businesses and people building homes.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Ebola, the deadly virus that has ravaged three countries in West Africa, has killed more than 10,000 people since an outbreak of the disease began in late 2013. But scientists have been working to find a way to fight the virus. A group of researchers recently announced that two new vaccines against Ebola have been successful in protecting monkeys from getting the current form of the disease. Vaccines are small amounts of live or dead samples of a pathogen. This is something, like the Ebola virus, that causes a disease. Vaccinations usually help the patient’s body learn how to fight the same or similar pathogens. Scientists successfully tested the new vaccines on monkeys. Being able to vaccinate monkeys against the virus is an important step in creating a vaccine for people. This is because humans are more closely related to monkeys than to most other animals.

Which is the main idea of the passage?

• Scientists are working extremely hard to find a vaccine and a cure for the virus.

• More than 10,000 people have died since the outbreak.

• Humans are most closely related to monkeys

• Vaccines are small amounts of a pathogen.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2