SBAC Practice

Why do we take SBAC?

Question 1: Part A

Read this section from the text and the directions that follow.

Weeks ago, before engineers pumped in mud and cement to plug the gusher, scientists began finding specks of oil in crab larvae plucked from waters across the Gulf coast.

The government said last week that three-quarters of the spilled oil has been removed or naturally dissipated from the water. But the crab larvae discovery was an ominous sign that crude had already infiltrated the Gulf's vast food web -- and could affect it for years to come.

"It would suggest the oil has reached a position where it can start moving up the food chain instead of just hanging in the water," said Bob Thomas, a biologist at Loyola University in New Orleans. "Something likely will eat those oiled larvae ... and then that animal will be eaten by something bigger and so on."

What is the central idea of the section?

What is the central idea of the section?

• Other organisms in the Gulf waters feed on the larvae of blue crabs.

• Most of the spilled oil that contaminated the Gulf waters recently has been cleaned up.

• Scientists recently discovered oil droplets on blue crab larvae in waters along the Gulf coast.

• Scientists fear long-term negative effects on Gulf coast organisms from contaminated blue crab larvae.

Question 1: Part B

Which sentence from the text best expresses the same central idea you chose in part A?

• The government said last week that three-quarters of the spilled oil has been removed or naturally dissipated from the water.

• "Something likely will eat those oiled larvae...and then that animal will be eaten by something bigger and so on." 

•  She told the magazine there are two encouraging signs for the wild larvae—they are alive when collected and may lose oil droplets when they molt.

• “But what's going to happen next year, if this water is polluted and it's killing the eggs and larvae? I think it's going to be a long- term problem.”

2) What does the conflicting information about the effects of oil on blue crab larvae reveal about the author's point of view?

• It reinforces the author's belief that scientists do not yet know how the oil will affect the blue crab population.

• It suggests that the author disagrees with scientists who predict long-term damage to the blue crab population.

• It reinforces the author's feeling that scientists may never know the true effects of oil on the blue crab population.

• It suggests that the author feels scientists have not devoted enough attention to the effects of oil on blue crab larvae

 How does the last paragraph affect the presentation of information? Select three options.

• It illustrates the possible economic effects of the Gulf oil spill.

• It makes the report more personal by showing its effects on one individual.

• It provides a contrasting point of view to those expressed earlier in the text.

• It reinforces the idea that the oil contamination in the Gulf will have long-lasting effects.

Select the two sentences from the text that best support the inference that blue crabs may be less impacted by the oil spill than some scientists predict.

• Tiny creatures might take in such low amounts of oil that they could survive, Thomas said.

• “In my 42 years of studying crabs I've never seen this,” Perry said. 

• She told the magazine there are two encouraging signs for the wild larvae—they are alive when collected and may lose oil droplets when they molt.

• “Crabs are very abundant. I don't think we're looking at extinction or anything close to it,” said Taylor, one of the researchers who discovered the orange spots.