Black Death CFA Analysis

1. 1. What is the central idea of the text?

• A. While humans were responsible for spreading plague in the past, it is largely rats that are responsible for plague outbreaks today.

• B. The Black Death could have easily been prevented if humans had made a greater effort to keep black rats and their fleas out of their homes.

• C. It is likely that human fleas and unclean living conditions were the most responsible for the spread of the Black Death, rather than flea-carrying rats.

• D. The Black Death was spread quickly by humans because they didn’t understand that the disease was transmitted through rats.

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2. PART B: Which TWO details from the text best support the answer to Part A (number 1)?

• A. “The black rats that lived in Europe during the Middle Ages have their own species of flea..” (Paragraph 8)

• B. “Dean’s team went digging for death records. ‘We were at the library a lot,’ she says. The researchers looked through old books for records of how many people died of plague per day or per week.” (Paragraph 12)

• C. “The model that assumed the disease was spread by human fleas and lice was the winner. It most closely matched the patterns in death rates seen from human transmissions.” (Paragraph 14)

• D. “In 1994, for example, rats and their fleas spread plague through India, killing almost 700 people.” (Paragraph 15)

• E. “environmental conditions that allowed rats, fleas, and lice to spend so much time around people would have played a larger role.” (Paragraph 19)

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3. What is the author’s main purpose in the text?

• A. to prove that rats are completely free of blame for spreading plagues

• B. to propose and provide evidence that humans largely contributed to the spread of the Black Death

• C. to show people what they can do to prevent another outbreak of disease from occurring

• D. To warn people about the potential dangers of being in close contact with infected animals

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4. Which statement best describes the relationship between humans’ cleanliness and preventing the spread of disease?

• A. Cleaner living conditions result in stronger human immune systems

• B. People who do not practice good hygiene build up immunities to diseases and are less likely to be infected.

• C. Human cleanliness does not prevent the spread of diseases, but the development of vaccines does.

• D. Cleaner living conditions can prevent humans from coming in contact with infected animals and insects carrying disease.

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What is the meaning of the word 'exonerate' in paragraph 15?

• A. To liberate or be free from blame

• B. To help or aid something

• C. To be guilty of something

• D. Regretful or sorry for something

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6. 6. What evidence supports the idea that rats could be exonerated?

• A. Even if rats played a role in the Black Death, they wouldn’t have been the biggest factor.

• B. It most closely matched the patterns in death rates seen from human transmissions.

• C. Plague is still around, hiding out in rodents.

• D. In 1994, for example, rats and their fleas spread plague through India, killing almost 700 people.

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7. Which of the following statements BEST summarizes the text?

• A. The humans were completely responsible for the spread of the Black Death.

• B. The rats were the only factor that contributed to the spread of the Black Death.

• C. Rat fleas couldn’t have been responsible for the Black Death because they don’t like humans.

• D. New research shows that rats may not have been completely responsible for the spreading of the Black Death.

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8. 8. How does the information in paragraph 20 contribute to the central idea of the passage?

• A. It helps prove that humans were partly responsible for the spread of the Black Death.

• B. It proves that rats and mice were responsible for the spread of the disease without the assistance of humans.

• C. It provides evidence that rats were unclean and caused the Black Death to spread.

• D. It shows that environmental conditions did not play a role in spreading the Black Death.

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9. 9. What is the central idea of paragraph 13?

• A. Scientists created computer models of the travel patterns of all rats during the Middle Ages.

• B. Scientists used computer models to track the spread of the Black Death throughout Europe and Russia.

• C. Scientists studied the number of fleas infesting Europe and Russia.

• D. Scientists published their findings from the computer models on January 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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10. 10. Which evidence best supports the central idea of paragraph 13?

• A. Rat flea-based plague might lead to fewer deaths but those deaths might occur over a long time.

• B. Death rates from human flea-based plague would fall somewhere in between.

• C. The scientists published their findings January 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

• D. Then the scientists created computer models of the three ways plague can spread — person to person (via human fleas and lice), rat to person (via rat fleas), or person to person (via coughing).

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