Select the correct answer from each drop-down menu.

Anna is writing a proposal to convince her school council to pay for a new soccer field. Which word choices would best create an enthusiastic mood in her readers?

If you fund this_______________recreational area, you can be sure that_________________________

• supurb, your classmates will cheer you on

• small, your classmates may not use it

• expensive, your classmates could play other sports

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which words in the excerpt have positive connotations?

excerpt from Fierceby Aly Raisman

Watching TV with my mom was our special time together, and I cherished it. Raising four young children didn’t leave a lot of time for kicking back, but whenever she wasn’t too busy, we would sit down on the couch and pick out a tape to watch.

Our choice usually involved our favorite sport—you guessed it: gymnastics. Gymnastics wasn’t broadcast as often as the endless stream of football and basketball games, but on the rare occasions gymnastics competitions were televised, we made sure to tape them. I would watch those tapes over and over until I knew all the routines by heart.

My mom would eventually get tired of yet another screening of a US Championships or an invitational, but I couldn’t get enough. When I wasn’t doing homework or at gymnastics practice, I was parked in front of the TV, watching one of those tapes.

One day I want to be just like them, I thought, enchanted by the figures flying across the screen. I had already decided that I would be a gymnast when I grew up. Well, either that or a pop star, like Britney Spears, my favorite singer. That sounded good, too.

• enchanted

• invitational

• cherished

• gymnastics

• broadcast

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Select the correct text in the passage.

Which paragraph conveys the idea that animals should be treated as equals to humans?

Who are we, as humans, to decide that our lives are more valuable than the jumping days of a hare, the prowling vivacity of a panther, or the gentle power of an elephant? We could not sooner decide whether water or air is more important. They are distinct, but they are each valuable, necessary, and worth protecting.

However, the fact remains that animals have varying levels of intelligence. For example, while certain birds—such as turkeys—are said to be quite simple, crows can solve complex puzzles and even put on funerals for their deceased brethren. The same is true of marine life. Fish often have quite poor memories, but octopuses have nine brains and may rival crows in intelligence.

A fuzzy companion can have a notable effect on your mood. Adopting a tiny kitten or a playful puppy could help you better cope with stress and anxiety, according to a recent study. After thirty days with a new canine or feline pet, experts found that participants were more relaxed and happier, despite various stressors in their lives.

• Paragraph 3

• Paragraph 2

• Paragraph 1

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Select the correct texts in the passage.

Which two phrases contribute to the accusatory tone of

the excerpt?

excerpt from the Declaration of Independenceby Thomas Jefferson

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain fundamental rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act, which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. They have been deaf to the voice of justice and of brotherhood.

• instituted among men

• In every stage

• pursuit of happiness. 

• repeated injury

• unwarrantable jurisdiction

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Select the correct answer.

What do the underlined phrases suggest about the setting of the text?

Zachary awoke and rubbed his eyes. He opened his sleeping chamber and got up, putting on his socks in a daze. He yawned and looked down at the time. 9:42!? He was late for school! Zachary slipped into his school clothes and frantically pushed the exit button.

• It takes place in a big metropolitan city

• It takes place in a simple, rustic environment

• It takes place at a boarding school

• It takes place in a futuristic society

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.4