RI.8.5/RL.8.5

Most people think of a person lying on the couch reflecting on memories to a doctor when they think of psychology. In fact, psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Although psychology was studied as a philosophical subject in ancient civilizations, it began to be studied experimentally in nineteenth-century Germany. German physician Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory in 1879. It was Sigmund Freud, the Austrian physician, who made psychology widely popular.

However, psychology is more complex than that and includes many branches. Biological psychology is focused on the study of the biological reasons for human or animal actions. Similarly, clinical psychology is concerned with the treatment of diseases or problems of the mind. While cognitive psychology is about the mental processes or thoughts, behavioral psychology is mostly about the study of behavior. Another interesting branch of psychology is the comparative one: it is mostly limited to the study of animal behavior and mental life. Developmental psychology seeks to understand how people change their behavior as they age. Another important branch is social psychology as it studies human beings in social situations. There are many branches of psychology that study specific fields such as sports, industrial, and educational psychology. Researchers have spent a lot of time studying the mind and behavior of people and animals.

How does the organizational structure of this passage support the author's purpose?

• It compares psychology with other sciences.

• It defines the idea of a psychologist by examples.

• It classifies the mental processes of animals.

• It shows how psychology is in fact complex.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

A string instrument or a stringed instrument is popular around the world. It uses vibrating strings to produce music. The strings may be of gut, metal, fiber, or plastic. These may be plucked, bowed, or struck.

Although there are many string instruments native to the cultures and tribes around the world, there are five common types used in the orchestra. These are the violin, viola, cello, double bass, and harp.

The violin family of stringed instruments includes the violin, viola, cello, and sometimes the double bass. These are supported by a neck and about and are played using a bow. Harps are instruments in which the strings are contained within a frame and are plucked.

Which of these is true about this passage?

• It shows how string instruments have various distinct features.

• It compares the metal strings to gut, plastic, and fiber strings.

• It explains the concept of tribal music around the world.

• It shows the influence of string instruments on the orchestra.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

Both Lahiri and Desai are notable authors of Bengali Indian descent. While Jhumpa Lahiri was born in England and has lived in America since the age of 3, Kiran Desai moved to England at the age of 14, and to America a year later. Lahiri and Desai received great success with their works of fiction. Desai's second novel, The Inheritance of Loss, won her the Man Booker Prize in 2006. Lahiri's debut short story collection, The Interpreter of Maladies won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000.

These powerful writers create characters that live in two worlds. Often the characters find themselves lost in between the East (India) and the West (England or America). While they swing between the two worlds, their lives tell stories of many immigrants and children of the immigrants. In The Inheritance of Loss, the characters are ruined by their encounters with the West. Lahiri, however, mostly writes about Bengali Indians and Indian Americans of Bengali origins in her works. Like Lahiri, her characters face two forms of identity—Indian and American—as they try to find themselves.

The organizational structure used in this passage is compare/contrast because the author shows:

• the groups and subgroups in which Lahiri and Desai's works belong.

• how the works and lives of Lahiri and Desai are similar yet different.

• the sequence of development in the characters found in these writer's works.

• why these writers choose to live in the West and what their effect on India is.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

Discovering King Tut's Tomb

Tutankhamun (also known as King Tut) became an Egyptian pharaoh in 1332 BC when he was just a young boy. His father was a controversial leader who closed sacred temples and overturned ancient religions. When Tut became pharaoh, he undid many of the unpopular decisions made by his father. However, the reputation of Tut was still viewed negatively. Tut was not considered an influential ruler. His name was left out of historical records after his death. When Tutankhamun died around the age of 19, he was buried in a royal tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.

The fame of King Tut began with English Egyptologist Howard Carter, who decided to look for King Tut's tomb in 1914. Other archaeologists dismissed the idea. The tombs in the Valley of the Kings contained precious treasure, which made them targets for robbers. Most archaeologists believed that all the tombs in that region had either been discovered or looted. But Carter insisted he would find Tut in the hot, arid Valley of the Kings located close to the Nile River. Lord Carnarvon, a British earl, provided the money for Carter's search. After seven years, Carnarvon was ready to pull the funding because Carter had not made any discoveries. Finally, in early November 1922, steps to a sealed door were uncovered from the desert sand that had buried them for centuries.

On November 23, 1922, Carter broke through the sealed door and found a passage filled with rubble. He was worried that the grave had been robbed because there were artifacts on the ground that appeared to have been dropped. After clearing the passage, Carter came to another sealed door engraved with Tutankhamun's royal symbols. When he saw the markings, Carter knew they had found the young pharaoh's tomb. He was, however, still unsure what was left to find if grave robbers had discovered it long ago.

What Carter found was astonishing. Three large rooms were contained in the tomb: the antechamber, the annex, and the burial chamber of Tutankhamun. All three rooms were full of priceless treasure, including golden chariots, golden statues, perfume, jewelry, toys, and Tut's gold throne. Tut's coffin was surrounded by a huge golden shrine. In the pharaoh's burial chamber, Carter found a fleet of miniature ships. According to the Egyptian belief of Tut's era, the ships would have been needed to take him to the afterworld.

Carter and his team removed, tagged, and processed the artifacts found in King Tut's tomb. Carter's findings not only launched the legacy of King Tut, but they provided the world with an immeasurable amount of information about ancient Egypt.

Which sentence from the passage helps develop the idea that most archaeologists of the time were unwilling to go in search of King Tut’s tomb?

• After seven years, Carnarvon was ready to pull the funding because Carter had not made any discoveries.

• The fame of King Tut began with English Egyptologist Howard Carter, who decided to look for King Tut's tomb in 1914.

• Most archaeologists believed that all the tombs in that region had either been discovered or looted

• However, the reputation of Tut was still viewed negatively.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Although many people confuse yoga with Pilates, these are, in fact, very different practices. Pilates is a form of fitness program while yoga is more of a lifestyle. Popularly practiced physical exercises like asanas of yoga aim on creating a harmony between mind, body, and spirit. Yoga is a form of meditation that whole the body helps achieve through breathing, balance, and relaxation. Yogis of ancient India practiced yoga to unite and heal the mind and body. All one needs to practice yoga is a knowledgeable instructor and willingness. This ancient tradition is being practiced in various forms all over the world.

Pilates was also developed for healing purposes. Joseph Pilates, a German self-defense instructor, developed a system of exercise in early twentieth-century England. Joseph rigged springs to hospital beds and enabled patients to exercise. To this day, Pilates makes a use of machines to develop abdominal strength, lengthen the spine, and improve balance. Many ballet dancers practiced Pilates when Joseph moved to America. Today, it is a very popular system of exercise.

How does the author's use of the organizational structure support his or her purpose?

• It helps explain how Pilates is used for healing purposes.

• It describes the influence of yoga during modern times.

• It relates how both yoga and Pilates make use of machines.

• It shows why people should not confuse yoga and Pilates.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

The latest fad in school, Silly Bandz—colored, stretchy bracelets—are extremely popular among young children. Loudly colored items like these have always been popular among children. Strong colors get the children's attention easily. In fact, children like these bracelets because when taken off the wrist, they can take the form of animals.

Many schools have banned Silly Bandz because they consider them distractions. School officials also claim that Silly Bandz can be shot like rubber bands. They also warn that wearing too many of them at once puts a person at the risk of cutting off blood circulation.

How does the organizational structure support the author's purpose in this passage?

• It gives a timeline to outline the events that led to the development of Silly Bandz.

• It shows what causes Silly Bandz to be popular and be banned in some schools.

• It divides Silly Bandz into the popular categories to describe its importance.

• It describes the idea of Silly Bandz and gives examples to define the concept.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

Because of the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook, a growing number of people spend many hours on the Internet. Many games offered by these networking sites also have a growing number of users. Farmville is not just another game in Facebook. It consists of a series of chores on a digital farm. While the tasks may seem boring, many people spend hours doing them. Many of these hours are spent clicking a mouse to plant and harvest crops. The popularity of Farmville increased because people got pleasure "farming" the easiest way possible. More than 10% of Americans have digital farms thanks to Farmville.

Which of the following sentences best shows how the passage is organized?

• The popularity of Farmville increased because people got pleasure "farming" the easiest way possible.

• Many of these hours are spent clicking a mouse to plant and harvest crops.

• Many games offered by these networking sites also have a growing number of users.

• While the tasks may seem boring, many people spend hours doing them.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Samuel Morse

As a little boy, Samuel Morse liked to try experiments with magnets and electricity, so he often attended lectures on electricity. During these lectures, he often heard the remark,"If only electricity could be made to write!" This sentence greatly influenced Samuel's mind and resulted in him inventing something great later on.

When Morse was traveling as a young man, he met a group of men who talked about some experiments they had seen in Paris with a magnet and electricity. Morse asked them about the experiment. As they explained, he got the idea of using dots and dashes as a coded language. He took out a notebook and began to make dots and dashes, and he got more and more excited as the hours went by, and he realized he had invented a coded alphabet for sending messages from one part of the world to another! By morning, he had written out an alphabet of dots and dashes that stood for every letter and number in the English language. In the future, this came to be known as Morse code. Morse wanted to make a machine which would help him send messages using the code to different parts of the world, so he tried to get help from other inventors such as, Joseph Henry and Alfred Vail. With the help he received, Morse was able to build the first telegraph line in the United States, from Baltimore to Washington. This telegraph line helped Morse send messages from one place to another using Morse code.

Soon, the whole world began to use this innovative signaling code, and by the beginning of the 20th century, it led to the continents of the world being linked telegraphically. People found it as an advancement in communication because they were able to send quick messages, and Samuel Morse was soon called the greatest champion of the time.

According to the passage, what effect did the invention of the telegraph lines have?

• The telegraph became the easiest means of communication in the world.

• Baltimore began to build telegraph machines for the United States.

• Washington became the center of communications for the United States.

• Communication among different parts of the world improved greatly.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.3

CCSS.RI.5.3

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RI.7.3

CCSS.RI.8.3

It was the most beautiful banana split that I had ever seen. In the middle of the bowl, there were three scoops of ice-cream: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. On top of the ice-cream were a banana and a thick web of chocolate and caramel sauces. A huge puff of whipped cream covered the sauces and a handful of crushed nuts dappled the whipped cream. On top of it all was a cherry, but I’ve never liked the soggy squish of cherries.

The author organizes this paragraph to contribute to the main idea that banana splits are delicious by--

• telling how to eat a banana split

• comparing banana splits to cherries

• describing what a banana split is made of

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

During World War II, the United States government began to enforce food rationing to ensure that supplies would not run out. The government also began to look for creative solutions to provide food for its citizens. One of the most effective solutions was a national victory garden campaign instituted by the War Food Administration in 1941. The campaign encouraged people to grow vegetables in window boxes, rooftops, school grounds, backyards, city parks, and vacant lots. This would lessen the demand for commercially grown vegetables and help stretch the food supply as far as possible. The U.S. government began to produce inspirational posters and informational publications to educate the public about home gardening.

Victory gardens began to crop up across the United States, and in 1942, more than five million people participated in the program by purchasing and planting seeds. During the next year, more than 300,000 pressure cookers were sold to American families who wanted to can and store their homegrown vegetables. The home gardens were very successful, and in 1943, more than 20 million Americans were growing their own produce. By 1944, 40% of all vegetables in the U.S were grown in victory gardens. The victory garden campaign not only increased the amount of food available, but it also helped to maintain the morale of Americans on the home front.

How does the author of this passage organize the information?

• The passage shows the development of events through time.

• The passage compares and contrasts two historical events.

• The passage explores a series of unrelated events from history.

• The passage introduces a problem and offers the author's solution.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.11-12.5