Intensive Reading Quzz

Purple Dye

 

In Ancient Rome, purple dye—also known as Tyrian purple—was prized. The dye was valued because it did not easily fade. Instead, it became brighter with weathering and sunlight. This meant it was very expensive. It also meant that purple-dyed textiles became status symbols.

The high price of purple dye resulted mainly from its difficulty to make. The dye was made from a certain kind of sea snail called a Bolinus brandaris. In order to make the dye, the snails had to be boiled in large pots for many days. It took over 12,000 snails to make enough dye to color one piece of clothing.

 

Using the information in the passage as a guide, it can be understood that which of the following statements is most likely true?

• Pink dye—a dye made from madder root—was equally as expensive to make as purple dye.

• Boiled sea snails were a popular food among the lower classes in ancient Rome.

• Purple clothing was only worn by wealthy Romans and members of the Imperial Court.

• Although several different theories exist, no one really knows how the ancient Romans made their clothing purple.

• Purple shorts were twice as expensive to make as purple pants in ancient Rome.

Mekong Cruise

We boarded the boat in Chiang Rai. A woman named Anh sat on the bow and paddled. We moved slowly down a narrow canal that led out to the Mekong River.

We woke the next day in Huay Xay. From there we boarded a larger boat and moved east. We passed by hundreds of Buddhist monks dressed in bright orange robes.

The next stop was Pak Beng. There we saw herds of elephants moving freely along the water.

Days passed, and we arrived at Pak Ou. We got off the boat and stretched our legs. We spent the day exploring a number of wondrous caves.

After nine days on the boat, we arrived in Kuang Si. We took a short hike into the jungle. We ended the trip with a day of sun and swimming in the waterfalls found there.

"Mekong River Cruise." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

 

Which of the following choices gives the correct order of places visited during the narrator's trip?

• Chiang Rai, Pak Ou, Huay Xay

• Pak Ou, Kuang Si, Chiang Rai

• Huay Xay, Kuang Si, Pak Beng

• Huay Xay, Pak Beng, Pak Ou

• Kuang Si, Pak Beng, Pak Ou

An Honorable Tradition

 

The word "clown" is sometimes used to label a person as foolish. But being called a clown is not always an insult. The art of clowning is an old, honorable tradition. It includes not just modern-day circus clowns but court jesters, who performed for kings or emperors, and theatrical clowns, who were onstage as early as 500 years ago.

Throughout history, most cultures have had clowns. These clowns do more than just make people laugh. They are often shown as powerless fools, but sometimes clowns actually enjoy great freedom of speech. Using humor, clowns are able to question their leaders in a way ordinary people might not.

For example, in ancient China, the Emperor Shih Huang-Ti ordered the Great Wall of China to be built. During its construction, thousands of workers died due to poor working conditions. The Emperor planned to have the Great Wall painted, which would have resulted in even more lives lost. The Emperor’s jester, Yu Sze, was the only person who dared to criticize this plan. He did so jokingly, but his jokes persuaded the Emperor not to paint the Great Wall. For this Yu Sze is now celebrated as a national hero in China.

Clowns remind us that humor can be one of the most effective ways to influence people. The clowns of our culture— those who make us laugh and look at life in new ways— may not represent foolishness at all, but wisdom in disguise.

Based on its use in paragraph 1, it can be understood that honorable belongs to which of the following word groups?

• smart, wise, intelligent

• helpful, beneficial, useful

• ancient, old-fashioned, traditional

• respected, admirable, praised

An Honorable Tradition

The word "clown" is sometimes used to label a person as foolish. But being called a clown is not always an insult. The art of clowning is an old, honorable tradition. It includes not just modern-day circus clowns but court jesters, who performed for kings or emperors, and theatrical clowns, who were onstage as early as 500 years ago.

Throughout history, most cultures have had clowns. These clowns do more than just make people laugh. They are often shown as powerless fools, but sometimes clowns actually enjoy great freedom of speech. Using humor, clowns are able to question their leaders in a way ordinary people might not.

For example, in ancient China, the Emperor Shih Huang-Ti ordered the Great Wall of China to be built. During its construction, thousands of workers died due to poor working conditions. The Emperor planned to have the Great Wall painted, which would have resulted in even more lives lost. The Emperor’s jester, Yu Sze, was the only person who dared to criticize this plan. He did so jokingly, but his jokes persuaded the Emperor not to paint the Great Wall. For this Yu Sze is now celebrated as a national hero in China.

Clowns remind us that humor can be one of the most effective ways to influence people. The clowns of our culture— those who make us laugh and look at life in new ways— may not represent foolishness at all, but wisdom in disguise.

The author of this passage is most interested in

• presenting the history of clowns

• explaining why Yu Sze is a hero

• discussing the role clowns play in a culture

• making people feel better about being called a clown

An Honorable Tradition

The word "clown" is sometimes used to label a person as foolish. But being called a clown is not always an insult. The art of clowning is an old, honorable tradition. It includes not just modern-day circus clowns but court jesters, who performed for kings or emperors, and theatrical clowns, who were onstage as early as 500 years ago.

Throughout history, most cultures have had clowns. These clowns do more than just make people laugh. They are often shown as powerless fools, but sometimes clowns actually enjoy great freedom of speech. Using humor, clowns are able to question their leaders in a way ordinary people might not.

For example, in ancient China, the Emperor Shih Huang-Ti ordered the Great Wall of China to be built. During its construction, thousands of workers died due to poor working conditions. The Emperor planned to have the Great Wall painted, which would have resulted in even more lives lost. The Emperor’s jester, Yu Sze, was the only person who dared to criticize this plan. He did so jokingly, but his jokes persuaded the Emperor not to paint the Great Wall. For this Yu Sze is now celebrated as a national hero in China.

Clowns remind us that humor can be one of the most effective ways to influence people. The clowns of our culture— those who make us laugh and look at life in new ways— may not represent foolishness at all, but wisdom in disguise.

In paragraph 2, the author suggests that sometimes clowns have “great freedom of speech” compared to ordinary people because clowns are

• not afraid of their leaders

• able to use humor to make a point

• scrutinized more than ordinary people

• viewed as national heroes

An Honorable Tradition

The word "clown" is sometimes used to label a person as foolish. But being called a clown is not always an insult. The art of clowning is an old, honorable tradition. It includes not just modern-day circus clowns but court jesters, who performed for kings or emperors, and theatrical clowns, who were onstage as early as 500 years ago.

Throughout history, most cultures have had clowns. These clowns do more than just make people laugh. They are often shown as powerless fools, but sometimes clowns actually enjoy great freedom of speech. Using humor, clowns are able to question their leaders in a way ordinary people might not.

For example, in ancient China, the Emperor Shih Huang-Ti ordered the Great Wall of China to be built. During its construction, thousands of workers died due to poor working conditions. The Emperor planned to have the Great Wall painted, which would have resulted in even more lives lost. The Emperor’s jester, Yu Sze, was the only person who dared to criticize this plan. He did so jokingly, but his jokes persuaded the Emperor not to paint the Great Wall. For this Yu Sze is now celebrated as a national hero in China.

Clowns remind us that humor can be one of the most effective ways to influence people. The clowns of our culture— those who make us laugh and look at life in new ways— may not represent foolishness at all, but wisdom in disguise.

According to the author, Yu Sze persuaded the Chinese Emperor not to

• build the Great Wall

• paint the Great Wall

• mistreat the workers

• starve the workers

Clowns remind us that humor can be one of the most effective ways to influence people. The clowns of our culture— those who make us laugh and look at life in new ways— may not represent foolishness at all, but wisdom in disguise.

In this paragraph, the author suggests that clowns may represent “wisdom in disguise.” By this the author means that clowns

• are smarter than they appear

• should always be respected

• show up in unexpected places

• dress up in costumes

An Honorable Tradition

The word "clown" is sometimes used to label a person as foolish. But being called a clown is not always an insult. The art of clowning is an old, honorable tradition. It includes not just modern-day circus clowns but court jesters, who performed for kings or emperors, and theatrical clowns, who were onstage as early as 500 years ago.

Throughout history, most cultures have had clowns. These clowns do more than just make people laugh. They are often shown as powerless fools, but sometimes clowns actually enjoy great freedom of speech. Using humor, clowns are able to question their leaders in a way ordinary people might not.

For example, in ancient China, the Emperor Shih Huang-Ti ordered the Great Wall of China to be built. During its construction, thousands of workers died due to poor working conditions. The Emperor planned to have the Great Wall painted, which would have resulted in even more lives lost. The Emperor’s jester, Yu Sze, was the only person who dared to criticize this plan. He did so jokingly, but his jokes persuaded the Emperor not to paint the Great Wall. For this Yu Sze is now celebrated as a national hero in China.

Clowns remind us that humor can be one of the most effective ways to influence people. The clowns of our culture— those who make us laugh and look at life in new ways— may not represent foolishness at all, but wisdom in disguise.

According to the author, humor can be one of the most effective ways to

• entertain people

• change people

• influence people

• understand people

The First Woman in Space

The first woman to travel into space was Valentina Tereshkova. Valentina Tereshkova flew on the Russian space shuttle Vostok 6 in the year 1963. She orbited (flew around) the Earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. Tereshkova’s voyage made her a hero to women around the world. It also inspired people to become more interested in space exploration, as well as in the country of Russia itself.

Based on its use in the passage, it can be understood that the word voyage belongs to which of the following word groups?

• job, work, duty

• place, area, spot

• dream, thought, idea

• smarts, intelligence, wisdom

• trip, journey, flight

An Unusual Taste

 

Tim has an unusual taste in vegetables. For some reason, Tim will eat any vegetables that are NOT green. For example, he will eat carrots, squash, and parsnips. But he will not eat chard or kale.

Using the information in the passage as a guide, the reader can be certain that which of the following statements is true?

• Parsnips are green.

• Cauliflower is green

• Chard is green.

• Chard is green.

• Radishes are NOT green.