Reading Bank 3

You can infer from the title of Passage 1 that the passage will be about memory. Which two sentences from paragraph 2 best support this inference by using words or phrases that suggest memory?

• So I will.

• Back in 1811, when I was six years old, Grandma Mercy brought me to the Adams home in Boston.

• It was winter.

• The carriage ride was rough, cold, and creaky.

• She wanted me, above all, to remember.

What was the trip to visit Abigail Adams like for the narrator in Passage 1?

• quiet and dark

• long and tiring

• exciting and entertaining

• bumpy and uncomfortable

Which sentence from paragraph 2 of Passage 1 supports the answer to Part A?

• Back in 1811, when I was six years old, Grandma Mercy brought me to the Adams home in Boston.

• The carriage ride was rough, cold, and creaky.

• Grandma Mercy was getting old, and I think she felt that this might be the last chance I would get to see two of America’s important women talking about events that defined the story of our country.

• She wanted me, above all, to remember.

How are the characters of Grandma Mercy and Abigail Adams alike?

• They both respect forgotten heroes of the Revolution.

• They both want to write books about the Revolutionary War.

• They are both intimidating to others, including men.

• They are both worried they will not be featured in history books.

How does the narrator’s point of view in Passage 1 affect how the events are described?

• The third-person point of view makes the passage sound like a history textbook.

• The first-person point of view presents historical events as personal memories.

• The third-person point of view describes the events as if they are unimportant.

• The first-person point of view makes the events seem unrealistic and imaginary.

This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B. Part A: Which of the following identifies a main theme of Passage 2?

• Poems and books cannot be trusted.

• Paul Revere’s statue should be removed.

• History doesn’t always give the whole story.

• Prescott was actually braver than Paul Revere.

Part B: Which sentence from Passage 2 provides evidence for the answer in Part A?

• The night of April 18, 1775, was warm and moonless. (paragraph 2)

• “Two if by sea!” he whispered, informing us that this was the secret signal he was to send. (paragraph 2)

• They had captured Paul Revere, who, in fact, never made it to Concord at all. (paragraph 4)

• Longfellow wrote his poem about Paul Revere. (paragraph 5)

Read this excerpt from Passage 2. The two riders flew like the wind through the night, and after midnight they made it to Lexington, where Prescott awaited them at a tavern. (paragraph 4) Which of the following is the best definition of the idiom “to fly like the wind”?

• to narrowly escape

• to move quickly

• to try very hard

• to go in all directions

Read paragraphs 5 and 6 from Passage 2. “Longfellow wrote his poem about Paul Revere. In truth, it was patriot Samuel Prescott who saved the day! Writes Longfellow in his poem: ‘And so through the night went his cry of alarm / To every Middlesex village and farm. / A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door / And a word that shall echo forevermore.’ The British are coming!” “That’s how Samuel Prescott alerted American forces about the British ships. If ever a statue is built, it should be of Prescott, not Revere. For otherwise, people may never know the real story—the story of Samuel Prescott’s ride!” Which of the following best describes how the Longfellow poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” is used in these paragraphs?

• The poem is used to emphasize the length Paul Revere’s ride.

• The poem is used to show that Longfellow told an accurate story.

• The poem is used to contrast the story people know with the real story.

• The poem is used to fill in important details about Paul Revere’s ride.

How does the image of the statue of Paul Revere from Passage 2 add to the story?

• It answers the story’s biggest question.

• It gives important details about Paul Revere.

• It makes readers think of the statue in a new way.

• It shows why Paul Revere is important in history.