Central Idea Review

  When tourists remember South Dakota, most of them think of the Black Hills National Forest and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The Black Hills includes 100 miles of pine woods. Its main attraction is Mount Rushmore, which sports 70-foot-high faces of four Presidents, carved 600 feet above the valley. One of the most well-known presidents, Abraham Lincoln was known as “Honest Abe”. South Dakota is a truly beautiful place to visit.

Mount Rushmore is a famous monument that tourists often visit.

Which sentence best supports this idea?

• The Black Hills National Forest is over 100 miles of woods.

• The Black Hills National Forest is located in South Dakota.

• Mount Rushmore is the main attraction of the Black Hills.

• Abraham Lincoln is one of the most well-known presidents.

     Dogs, especially sniffer dogs, have a far better sense of smell than humans because their smell receptors are much longer than those in human noses. Human noses differ from person to person, but they can affect the way a person tastes food. Sniffer dogs are used by police and security personnel throughout the world to detect drugs in airports and other busy places. They are specially trained and can pick up even the lightest scents of drugs or firearms.

Which sentence supports the idea that sniffer dogs are excellent drug detectors?

• They can pick up the lightest scent of drugs or firearms.

• Sniffer dogs detect drugs in airports and other busy places.

• Dogs' smell receptors are smaller than humans' receptors.

• Human noses can affect the way a person tastes food.

     Every day for four years, I would drive to my job, and every day at the same time, on the same route, I would notice the city bus. It would pull up next to me, and I would see all the people on board. Some would be reading. Some would be sleeping. Some would stare back at me. Every day, at the same time, it would follow me right to work. As I pulled into my parking space at work, I would see it around the corner, about a block away from my job. Then, one day, my car broke down. I had no way to get to work, and then, I remembered the bus. I decided to take it since I knew it was on the same schedule as I was. Since then, I have never driven to work again. Taking the bus is a useful method with which to travel because you can save a lot of money by using public transportation.

     One reason public transportation is useful is because it saves money. My commute to work was long, and it required a lot of gas. When I drove to work, I was spending $30 a week on gas. There are 52 weeks in a year. That translates to $1,560.00 a year I was spending on gas to get to work. When I started taking the bus, it cost $2 ($1 to get to work and another $1 to get home). Another way to save money is to use the toll road. That translates to $10 a week. That means that it cost me $520 a year to get to work. That's less than a third of what it cost to drive. It saved me $1,040.00. The funny part is that the reason my car broke down in the first place was because I was driving it constantly.

Cars are not the most reliable way to get to work. Which sentence best supports this idea?

• The toll road is another inexpensive way to get to work.

• The bus also has to deal with traffic, and it moves slower.

• Cars tend to break down after they have been driven a lot.

• People can sleep, read, or just think while riding on the bus.

     Every day for four years, I would drive to my job, and every day at the same time, on the same route, I would notice the city bus. It would pull up next to me, and I would see all the people on board. Some would be reading. Some would be sleeping. Some would stare back at me. Every day, at the same time, it would follow me right to work. As I pulled into my parking space at work, I would see it around the corner, about a block away from my job. Then, one day, my car broke down. I had no way to get to work, and then, I remembered the bus. I decided to take it since I knew it was on the same schedule as I was. Since then, I have never driven to work again. Taking the bus is a useful method with which to travel because you can save a lot of money by using public transportation.

     One reason public transportation is useful is because it saves money. My commute to work was long, and it required a lot of gas. When I drove to work, I was spending $30 a week on gas. There are 52 weeks in a year. That translates to $1,560.00 a year I was spending on gas to get to work. When I started taking the bus, it cost $2 ($1 to get to work and another $1 to get home). Another way to save money is to use the toll road. That translates to $10 a week. That means that it cost me $520 a year to get to work. That's less than a third of what it cost to drive. It saved me $1,040.00. The funny part is that the reason my car broke down in the first place was because I was driving it constantly.

Which statement best supports the central idea of the passage?

• Cars break down when they are not driven all the time.

• Driving the toll road to work costs much less than driving in traffic.

• Toll roads are convenient, fun ways to drive to work and miss the traffic.

• The bus costs $10 a week while driving a car costs $30 a week.

 The art of training and cutting plants and trees into ornamental shapes is called topiary work. This art dates back to the days of the Romans. They enjoyed training plants to grow in geometric shapes and, later on, created animal designs and designs that resembled furniture. The Romans were also a dominant empire during their time. Because of topiary work, the Romans had many beautiful gardens.

What is the central idea of this paragraph?

• Topiary work dates back to the Romans.

• The Roman Empire existed a long time ago.

• Landscaping takes up a great deal of time.

• Natural furniture is easily made by hand.

     The art of training and cutting plants and trees into ornamental shapes is called topiary work. This art dates back to the days of the Romans. They enjoyed training plants to grow in geometric shapes and, later on, created animal designs and designs that resembled furniture. The Romans were also a dominant empire during their time. Because of topiary work, the Romans had many beautiful gardens.

Which statement supports the idea that the Romans experimented with topiary work?

• The Romans were a dominant empire with beautiful gardens.

• Topiary work goes back to before the days of the Roman Empire.

• The Romans created geometric shapes and animal designs with plants.

• Topiary work includes training and cutting plants into shapes.

Movie Credits

 

     How many times have you gone to a movie theater to see the latest release? After sitting through a two or three hour movie most people are ready to leave the theater and head home. Hopefully, they are eager to talk about the movie. However, how many of those people stay through the end credits? Movie credits can sometimes be just as entertaining as the movie they accompany, especially in the "special thanks" section; however, movie credits are made to be informative.

     If you've never stayed tuned past the end of a movie to watch its credits, you're missing out. The end credits list everyone who was involved in making a movie. It involves reading through a lot of text; however, this is beneficial to a moviegoer. If you enjoyed the movie, you can read the names of those involved. The next time they are involved in making a movie, you may decide you want to see it. The opposite is also true. If you thought the movie was terrible, you now know who made the movie. You can avoid any other movie they may be involved in. Knowing who made the movie can help you in deciding whether or not to see any of their movies in the future.

Movie credits help moviegoers decide what movies to see. Which statement best supports this idea?

• If an actor is involved in a bad movie, the moviegoer might not want to see him or her in another movie.

• Movie credits can be entertaining to watch, especially during the "special thanks" section.

• Movie credits require reading a lot of text to find information that might be helpful.

• Most people do not stay to watch the credits because they have been sitting for too long.

Gardening offers many more benefits than just healthy fruits and vegetables. Recent studies show that gardening reduces stress and improves mood when people spend 30 minutes a day in their gardens. It is also a great source of exercise. While gardening is not a great cardiovascular workout, the repetitive tasks of digging, weeding, and planting are effective forms of low-impact strengthening and stretching.

     Besides being good for the mind and body, garden preparation is key to successful growing. Once weeds are removed and soil is ready, seeds have a healthy place to grow. Time and energy spent preparing a garden reduces the amount of time that would be spent maintaining the garden throughout the growing season.

What is one of the central ideas of the passage?

• Garden preparation is vital to successful growth.

• Garden produce is healthier than vegetables from the grocery store.

• Gardening is a good source of low-impact physical activity.

• Garden soil should be turned and mixed before planting.

     During World War I, many soldiers died because their wounds became infected. Antibiotics had not been discovered at that time. During World War II, many more soldiers died while in combat. Antibiotics are used to treat infections because they kill bacteria in the body. They are easily the most widely prescribed drug in the world.

Which statement best supports the central idea of the passage?

• Antibiotics are used to treat infections.

• More World War II soldiers died while in combat.

• There were no antibiotics in World War I.

• Many World War I soldiers died from infections.

     Camp David is a secure location where the President can get away from it all. Established in 1942 by President Roosevelt, Camp David is located in Maryland, about 70 miles from Washington, D.C. in a heavily wooded area. U.S. Marines patrol the area providing optimal security. The Marines are part of the Navy. Because Camp David is so close to Washington, the president can be back at the White House very quickly in the event of a crisis.

Which sentence supports the idea that Camp David is secure?

• U.S. Marines patrol the surrounding area.

• Camp David is in a heavily wooded area.

• Camp David is very close to Washington, D.C.

• It was established by President Roosevelt.