reading-main idea and supporting details-

Storytelling: A Disappearing Art

Most of us grew up listening to bedtime stories from our parents or grandparents. The idea of listening to a magical tale while we are tucked under a warm blanket is very comforting. Not everyone can narrate a story well. Storytelling is an art that has social and educational advantages. Effective storytelling requires the speaker to narrate the story in such a way that the listeners can actually imagine the events unfolding before them, slowly and in detail.

The ritual of storytelling was more common when there were no televisions, mobile phones, or the Internet. Children would eagerly look forward to listening to fairy tales or folk tales during the evening hours and would flock toward their elders or parents to hear a new story. Evening time was ideal for this ritual, as both children and their parents and grandparents would be done with their respective chores. Elders narrated stories in great detail and with expressions and emotions. Children found it easy to visualize everything. Unknowingly, children would also learn the art of modulating voice, tone, pitch, and expressions. The stories would be chosen with care and would either be informative or have a moral. Parents often chose stories as a means to teach important values and lessons to their children. Through the actions and choices of the characters in these stories, children learned to differentiate the good from the bad. They learned how one should behave and treat others. Storytelling was done in such a way so as to prompt children to ask more questions. Parents encouraged their children's curiosity. Sometimes, parents would leave a story midway and ask the children to complete it. This helped them nurture and develop their kids' imaginations and creativity. Reading stories aloud also helped children to become familiar with new words, thus strengthening their vocabulary. Children also learned to become good and attentive listeners.

Sadly, today, with the use of the Internet and cell phones, the art of storytelling is disappearing. Parents do not have much time to spend with their children. Most children now choose to spend time surfing the Internet, chatting with their friends, or watching television. They hardly interact with family members. The bond that the siblings shared is no longer as strong as it was in the past.

directions:Select all the correct answers.

Which two sentences best convey the central idea of the passage?

• Children studied to be master storytellers from a young age.

• Stories help children learn behavioral and critical thinking skills.

• Texting and watching shows help children keep themselves busy.

• Television and the Internet should be banned so that children pay attention and listen to stories from their elders.

On October 11, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first president to fly in a plane. The flight took place after Roosevelt's last term as president. The plane had been built by the Wright brothers. The plane was flown by Arch Huxley for about four minutes. Roosevelt and Huxley took off from Kinloch Field in St. Louis, Missouri. Today, that field is home to that city's major airport.

This passage is mostly about

• Kinloch Field turning into St. Louis's major airport.

• Roosevelt being the first president to fly in a plane.

• Roosevelt being the first president to fly in a plane.

• the Wright brothers making a plane in St. Louis.

The Nobel Prize for Literature went to Doris Lessing of Britain. She won for her book The Golden Notebook, which was written in 1962. Lessing has been named a candidate for the award for 30 years. She once said, "I'll never get it." Less than two months after her 88th birthday, she received her award. She was the oldest person to win this prize. Lessing was honored at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden in December.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• The Nobel Prize ceremony takes place in Sweden.

• Lessing turned 88 years old before getting her award.

• Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

• was written in 1962.

Stingrays are fish, closely related to sharks. They can be found in salt water oceans and seas throughout the world. There are some fresh water species in Asia, Africa, and Florida. Stingrays swim with a "flying" motion. Instead of fins, they have wings on their sides. The wings' movement allows the stingrays to "fly" through the water. Their stinger is a spine that grows from the tail. It can grow to be over 14 inches long. The spine is poisonous.

What is this paragraph mainly about?

• flying fish

• stingers

• sharks

• stingrays

Daylight savings is a system of setting clocks 1 or 2 hours ahead. This causes sunrise and sunset to happen at a later hour. Daylight savings results in an extra hour of daylight in the evening. This idea was first jokingly mentioned in an essay by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. British builder William Willet wrote seriously about the idea in 1907. Daylight savings has been used in the U.S. and many European countries since World War I. The system was started to conserve fuel needed to get electric power. Homes and businesses did not have to turn their lights on as early. Some places in the U.S. went back to standard time after the war. During World War II, U.S. Congress passed a law putting the whole country on "war time." This set the clocks ahead 1 hour for the rest of the war. The Uniform Time Act in 1966 set up a daylight savings schedule for most of the U.S. Each state voted on whether the state would follow daylight savings time.

What is the main idea of this passage?

• how to set the clocks for daylight savings time

• what daylight savings time is and why we use it

• the people who invented daylight savings time

• how daylight savings time helps conserve fuel

Bobsledding has been in the Olympics since 1932. However, the 2002 Winter Olympics marked the first time women competed for a bobsled medal. You can bet 15,000 fans lined the track, screaming for their favorite teams. The women's race was a tight competition. It was different from the men's race. Only countries with winter sports or well-trained winter athletes competed. There were not any teams from countries like Jamaica.

This paragraph is mainly about

• the history of bobsledding

• the fans of women's bobsledding.

• women's Olympic bobsledding.

• a description of bobsledding.

1) You can't see them, but vitamins and minerals are some of the important nutrients that come to you in good foods, especially in vegetables and fruits. 2) Frozen vegetables are less expensive than fresh vegetables. 3) To be as healthy as you can be, your body needs the right combination of vitamins and minerals every day. 4) Without enough vitamins and minerals, you could get very sick.

Which sentence does NOT support the main idea?

• 2

• 1

• 3

• 4

1) Potatoes were brought from the new world by the Spanish. 2) They brought them to Europe in the 1500s. 3) Europeans fell in love with potatoes. 4) They learned new ways to farm from the Native Americans. 5) Many countries started growing potatoes by the end of the 1500s. 6) Recipes were created based on local cooking traditions. 7) Potato salad was just one of the many potato recipes that came out of this experimentation.

Which sentence from this passage does not support the main idea?

• 3

• 4

• 7

• 5

Environmentalists are worried that carp will invade the Great Lakes and cause other fish to die of starvation. The carp eat up to 40 percent of their body weight each day. They can reach 100 pounds in weight and 4 feet in length. These large freshwater fish feed on plankton, which make up the base of the food chain for water animals. The carp have already reached the Mississippi River and the Illinois River.

Which of the following sentences least supports the main idea of the passage?

• Scientists do not know if carp will survive in the cold Great Lakes.

• They have migrated from ponds in the southern United States.

• The carp have already driven the native fish out of several areas.

• Carp are not the best fish to eat because they are full of bones.

1) Nearly all sports balls have a tough outer covering or surface and a somewhat springy inside. 2) Super-ball style balls are springy almost all the way through. 3) Sports balls all bounce to some degree. 4) Curling is played with a kind of stone instead of a ball. 5) Many sports balls, like basketballs, were originally made of strong leather. 6) Basketballs used in the National Basketball Association are still made of leather.

adapted from http://www.billnye.com/

Which sentence in the passage does not support the main idea?

• 4

• 1

• 2

• 5