Building the Transcontinental Railroad

Which sentence best supports the idea that the author uses a chronological text structure to organize the information in this passage?

• Building a railroad across the country would be a huge project.

• Each company would receive 6,400 acres of land and $48,000 in government bonds for each   

      mile of track built.

• The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, seven years earlier than expected.

• The trip from New York to San Francisco took about a week and cost far less than the long 

      journey by sea or across land.

What is the central idea of this passage?

• The railroad was designed by Theodore Judah

• Abraham Lincoln was the one who approved the transcontinental railroad.

• The cost of cross-country travel dropped by a lot after the railroad was built.

• The transcontinental railroad was built quickly and changed the way people traveled.

Which sentence BEST states the author's claim about the transcontinental railroad?

• The railroad helped to unit the nation.

• The railroad was an interesting idea, but not needed

• The railroad laborers were forced to work too hard to complete the task.

• The railroad was dangerous to build and shouldn't have gone through the mountains.

Which TWO details should be included in a summary of the passage?

• Each company received 6,400 acres of land.

• The trip from New York to San Francisco took about a week.

• The men were paid more money in exchange for strenuous labor.

• Less than a week after the last rail was laid, train service began.

• The Union-Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad would both lay tracks and meet in the middle.

Which of the following statements would the authors of "Rail Tycoons" and "Building the Transcontenintal Railroad" most likely agree with?

• Railroad tycoons were greedy people.

• Railroads were expensive and unnecessary.

• Railroad helped America to progress as a country.

• Railroads were not as convenient as traveling by sea.

A student is writing a passage about the life of a famous inventor. Which of the following changes would best improve the passage’s chronological structure?

• Adding specific dates and transition words like “first,” “next,” and “finally” to show the order of events.

• Rearranging the events so that the most exciting moment comes first, no matter when it happened.

• Removing unnecessary details and only keeping the most important facts.

• Replacing all time-related words with more descriptive adjectives.

Samantha is researching the first moon landing for her history project. She uses the following sources. Which TWO are primary sources?

• A newspaper article written in 1969, the day after the moon landing.

• A biography about Neil Armstrong published in 2020.

• A video recording of the astronauts stepping onto the moon.

• A textbook chapter explaining the space race.

Maria is reading an article that argues that school recess should be longer. The author claims that more recess time helps students focus better in class.

Which piece of evidence would best support the author's claim?

• A. A story about one student who likes recess the most.

• B. A study showing that students who have longer recess perform better on tests.

• C. A teacher’s opinion that recess is a fun break during the day.

• D. A list of games students like to play at recess.

Liam is writing a sentence using a word with the prefix semi-. Which sentence best shows he understands the meaning of the prefix?

• A. The artist painted a semicircle, which looked like a full moon.

• B. The chocolate was semisweet, meaning it was completely bitter.

• C. The team celebrated their victory after winning the semifinal game, knowing they had one more round to play.

• D. The submarine was semisubmerged, meaning it floated on top of the water.