Inferring / Text Connections

Excerpt from The Stars and Stripes Forever: John Philip Sousa

Lance Carson

Sousa and his wife were enjoying a European vacation in 1896, when they saw a startling newspaper article. Sousa's band manager, David Blakely, had died a few days earlier. Soon Sousa and his wife were on a ship heading home to New York. On the journey home, Sousa started hearing "the rhythmic beat of a band playing within my brain. It kept on ceaselessly, playing, playing, playing. Throughout the whole tense voyage, that imaginary band continued to unfold the same themes, echoing and re-echoing the most distinct melody." When he got home he wrote down the music for what would become "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Sousa said the song was about the feeling of coming home to America and how "in a foreign country the sight of the Stars and Stripes seems the most glorious in the world."

Which BEST describes an event that directly led to the writing of "Stars and Stripes Forever"? (Choose all that apply)

• David Blakely's death

• Sousa and his wife's enjoyment of Europe

• John Phillip Sousa's development of perfect pitch

• Sousa's reliance of "higher power" for inspiration

• Seeing the American flag as the boat neared the American shore

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Excerpt from The Great Wall of China

Natalie Stewart

The Great Wall of China isn’t just the world’s largest military structure; it’s also a fascinating architectural masterpiece. The wall that once protected the country from invading forces is now one of China’s most popular tourist attractions, as well as a significant historical landmark.

When people think about this monument, most imagine a long wall snaking its way across the country. The Great Wall, however, is not a continuous structure, but rather a large network of several walls and towers constructed over hundreds of years. Work on the first portion began during the Qin Dynasty in 221 B.C. At this time, several independent kingdoms united to form a larger nation.

What is main way the passage connects to the reader's background knowledge?

• The passage gives facts that are assumed the reader already knows.

• The passage gives facts that seem to be contrary to what the reader probably thinks.

• The passage challenges the reader to think about something they thought they already knew about.

• None of these accurately describe a way that the text connects to the reader's background knowledge.

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Excerpt from Social Media and Social Skills

Nancy Floyd

When used properly, social media can strengthen old relationships and help cultivate new connections, but if relied on too heavily, our virtual friendships can consume us. This could leave many without the necessary social skills to survive in the real world. Many people are in danger of becoming so accustomed to impersonal interaction online that they could soon lose sight of the importance of face-to-face communication. Many of us sit in classrooms, coffee shops, or offices, ignoring the world around us to focus on the virtual world. As a result, many people have thousands of acquaintances but very few true friends.

According to the editorial, social media is harmful because it ...

• prevents people from forming real relationships.

• provides strangers with personal information.

• makes everyday life more hectic.

• harm professional reputations.

Excerpt from Feature Story: North Valley Updates Curriculum, Goes Green

Matthew Ramirez

⁴While most citizens were in favor of making the environment a key component of the curriculum, a small minority had an aversion to change and thwarted the plans by organizing demonstrations. In response to these demonstrations, a group of concerned students wrote editorials in the local newspaper supporting the environmentally focused curriculum. One of the students wrote, “The school board's proposed curriculum may be unconventional, but it is also more inventive and pragmatic than many of the obsolete courses the school offers annually.”

⁵After the publication of the pupils' editorials, the contemptuous debate subsided, and the school board approved the new curriculum. Consequently, the educators of North Valley began utilizing the new syllabus in their lesson plans. Although the environment may seem like a science-specific subject, teachers in the school found imaginative ways to interject the topic into their classes.

Which factor was most decisive in eliminating opposition to the new green curriculum?

• support from the school board

• editorials written by students

• donations from enthusiastic parents

• the poem written by Adrianne Hooper

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Excerpt from The Flags of Georgia

Elizabeth Kibler

⁵It wasn’t until January 2001 that Georgia adopted a new state flag. This flag had a blue background with the state seal in the middle. The bottom of this flag had a gold banner that displayed other flags that had flown over Georgia in the past. Although Georgia had a new flag, the disagreement was not over. People who liked the 1956 flag were outraged. They even staged protests against the new flag. Some people believed that the 2001 flag was too detailed, making it unattractive. Finally, in 2003, Georgia got another flag. This flag looked similar to the Stars and Bars, but the blue square included the coat of arms surrounded by thirteen white stars. Although this flag was more popular than the 2001 flag, not everyone was pleased. Today, Georgia still flies the 2003 flag.

What can the reader infer about what most people think makes an attractive flag based on this excerpt from the passage?

• Most people think that the most effective flag designs are the simplest.

• Most people think that the best flags cause the most controversy and outrage.

• Most think that the best flags always closely resemble the traditional American flag.

• Most people think that a flag with a large amount of detail is more attractive than a simpler flag.

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Excerpt from Visit Iceland

Rebecca Sparling

Iceland’s temperatures are actually mild. In the summer, the average high is about sixty degrees. Winter temperatures are not as cold as one might expect. Nighttime lows are usually around twenty-eight degrees. Iceland experiences an extreme seasonal change in the length of day and night. During midwinter, the sun stays below the horizon all day long. In midsummer, the sun shines all night. Pack a sleep mask if you plan to visit Iceland in June or July. It might be the only way for you to get some shuteye!

What is the MOST LIKELY reason the author suggests packing a sleep mask?

• The number of activities in Iceland is limited.

• The capital city of Reykjavik can be quite noisy.

• The flight from New York City to Iceland is long.

• The sun shines all night in Iceland during summer.

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Excerpt from Waterloo, Chapter I

Hilaire Belloc

The prime military object of a general is to “annihilate” the armed force of his opponents. He may do this by breaking up their organisation and dispersing them, or by compelling the surrender of their arms. He may achieve success in this purely military object in any degree. But if, as an end and consequence of his military success, the political object be not achieved—if, for instance, in the particular case we are considering, the neighbouring community does not in the future obey laws dictated to it by the conqueror, but remains autonomous—then the campaign has failed.

What, according to Belloc, is the primary purpose of a military campaign?

• A conquering force should be more interested in compelling surrender in its opponent than in winning battles.

• Military campaigns are commonly misunderstood, but are inevitably successful.

• Would-be conquerors in truth have no right to impose their ways upon neighboring states.

• War campaigns are often bloody and fraught with heartbreak.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When

the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the

Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a

promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a

promise that all men - yes, black men as well as white men - would be

guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of

happiness.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream

Read the paragraph. Which sentence would be the most logical conclusion?

• And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

• Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

• It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.

• This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

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Excerpt from Preventing Backovers in America's Driveways

National Highway Transportation Safety Administration

¹ Vehicle backover injuries and deaths occur when someone, without a driver’s knowledge or awareness, is positioned behind a vehicle as the driver is backing out of a driveway or other parking spot. Most victims of backovers are the elderly and children.

² To add to the tragedy of backover injuries and deaths, the driver is often a neighbor or relative. When a child is the victim, the driver may even be the child’s mother or father.

³ Since most of these heartbreaking incidents occur in private driveways rather than on the road, they are not typically included in traffic-crash fatality data. Therefore, experts often don’t agree on the exact number of children injured or killed in backover incidents each year.

⁴ But even one child who dies from a backover incident is one too many. Awareness and understanding of the problem are the first steps toward reducing the risk of backover deaths.

What inference does the passage support regarding backover data?

• that the data presented so far is inconclusive

• that backovers make up a number of traffic-crash fatalities

• that more children are injured than are actually killed in these accidents

• that backovers do not make up a significant number of traffic-crash fatalities

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Excerpt from Mounds of History

Elizabeth Kibler

Scientific Research

⁵Scientists who study ancient cultures discovered much information about the mounds. They believe that Mound A at Etowah was reserved for the chief of the area. The chief of the town had his home on the mound. The other citizens of the town lived around this mound. The closer a person lived to Mound A, the more significant he or she was in the society. Mound A reaches about 60 feet high. It is also more than 300 square feet wide at its base. Some scientists believe that every time a chief died, a new layer was added to mound. Then, a new house was built on the top.

⁶The only Etowah mound to be fully dug up and researched is Mound C. Mound C was used as a burial mound. Inside Mound C, scientists found jewelry, clothing, and other important relics.

Which is the MOST LIKELY reason that only Mound C has been dug up?

• The others are being preserved.

• Scientists discovered it first.

• It is the largest of the mounds.

• Mound C was the easiest to access.

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