Reading Information Exam Review

Which detail supports the main idea, "P.T. Barnum discovered a tiny person called Tom Thumb and made him a star."

• at the time Tom Thumb's name was Charles S. Stratton.

• Phineas Taylor Barnum was famous for making the American circus.

• Under Barnum's guidance, Tom Thumb became the most famous little person of all time.

• Fine miniature clothing was handmade especially for him.

Read this passage from an article about the job of a circus ringmaster.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages . . .” If you have heard these words while attending a circus, they were probably spoken by the ringmaster. It is the ringmaster’s job to introduce all of the circus acts and to guide the audience through the show. Some ringmasters also perform in one or two of the acts, but most ringmasters stay on the sidelines where they can direct your attention to a certain area of the stage. Another important job of the ringmaster is to make sure the show goes on—that it keeps running smoothly, even if an act is late getting to the stage. If there is a problem, the ringmaster is supposed to fill the time with jokes and announcements.

Which phrase would work best as a direct quote in a summary?

• another important job of the ringmaster

• to make sure the show goes on—that it keeps running smoothly

• if there is a problem, the ring master is supposed to

• they were probably spoken by the ringmaster

Which sentence best summarizes the article, “Starting Small,” about circus children?

• People who become circus performers usually start their training as young children.

• Circus children don’t always get the education they might get living outside of the circus.

• Life in the circus is particularly difficult for children who don’t get to perform.

• Children who grow up in the circus get to see more of the world than most other children.

Which of these sentences would work as the main idea for an article about famous lion tamers?

• Lion taming was not a common circus act until sometime in the twentieth century.

• Most famous lion tamers started their circus careers performing a less dangerous act.

• Elephant trainers were usually less famous to crowds than lion tamers and trapeze artists.

• Lion tamers are not thinking of the lion’s needs when they force them to perform for roaring crowds.

Why would you want to use some direct quotes to summarize an article?

• To make the summary more interesting for readers

• To prove that you read the book or article closely

• To make summary a little longer than it would be otherwise

• To show your reader how smart you are

If you use a direct quote in a summary, how should you show readers where the direct quote starts and stops?

• Make the direct quote a separate paragraph.

• Put the direct quote in boldface font.

• Underline the direct quote.

• Put quotation marks around the direct quote

Read this passage and think about how to summarize it.

Circus dogs have been trained to do everything from walking on their hind legs in human costume to jumping over hurdles while carrying monkeys on their backs and even performing magic tricks with cards. These tricks make dogs seem incredibly smart. In fact, audiences often think that circus dogs are reading the minds of their trainers. In reality, though, the trainers just give the dogs really small signals that are difficult for audiences to see or hear. The dogs have been trained to react to those slight signals in specific ways.

Which answer gives the best summary of the passage?

• Audiences often think that circus dogs are even smarter than they are. An audience may think that a dog is reading its trainer’s mind or performing a magic trick when actually the dog is reacting to “slight signals” that the audience doesn’t notice.

• Circus dogs are trained to do many crazy things that dogs don’t normally do, such as imitate humans or allow other animals to ride on their backs while jumping over hurdles.

• When circus dogs perform, they make dogs seem like the smartest species of animal. They probably are the smartest since they are able to behave like other animals—humans or horses, for instance.

Look for the main ideas in this passage about people who don’t like how circuses treat animals.

Animal rights groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are opposed to the use of wild animals as circus performers. These groups claim that it is cruel to make wild animals live in conditions that are not similar to their natural environments. For example, on their Web site, PETA points out that wild animals do not naturally ride bicycles or jump through flaming hoops or even run around in tight circles. Forcing animals to do these things in a circus ring does not respect their rights, according to PETA and other animal rights groups.

Which answer includes both of the main ideas in the passage?

• Animal rights groups oppose using wild animals in circuses because circuses force the animals to live in a way that is unnatural for them.

• Asking an elephant to ride a bicycle or a lion to jump through fire is not a good source of entertainment.

• Animal rights groups don’t like the way that circuses treat elephants or big cats like lions and tigers.

Use this paragraph as a reference to answer the question below. The boldfaced phrase is used as a direct quote in the question.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages . . .” If you have heard these words while attending a circus, they were probably spoken by the ringmaster. It is the ringmaster’s job to introduce all of the circus acts and to guide the audience through the show. Some ringmasters also perform in one or two of the acts, but most ringmasters stay on the sidelines where they can direct your attention to a certain area of the stage. Another important job of the ringmaster is to make sure the show goes on—that it seems to be running smoothly, even if an act is late getting to the stage. If there is a problem, the ringmaster is supposed to fill the time with jokes and announcements.

Which of these sentences uses punctuation correctly to show that guides the audience through is a direct quote?

• “According to the article, the ringmaster guides the audience through the circus.

• According to the article, the ringmaster “guides the audience through the circus.”

• According to the article, the ringmaster “guides the audience through” the circus.

• According to the article, the ringmaster guides the audience through the circus.

Which detail supports the main idea, “Conjoined twins used to be viewed with fear and suspicion by the people around them”?

• The midwife at the birth of the famous conjoined twins, Eng and Chang, was afraid to touch them when they were born.

• Although Eng and Chang were threatened by the king, their mother protected her sons and raised them like any other children.

• Eng and Chang sold eggs to help their mother feed the family as soon as they were old enough.