Reading Bank 8

Based on the information in Passage 1, how did water most benefit New Orleans?

• It helped the city fight off unwanted settlers.

• It made the city rich because ships could go in and out.

• It helped water crops and made the city a major farming area.

• It led to the city’s growth because people wanted drinking water.

According to Passage 1, which group of people lived in the New Orleans area first?

• the French

• the Spanish

• the Americans

• the Chitimacha

Read this sentence from Passage 1. “It had a lot of successful trade, but that wasn’t all.” (paragraph 6) What is the meaning of trade in this sentence?

• hard work

• discovery

• making new things

• buying and selling

Which detail from Passage 1 supports the idea that New Orleans culture has affected other parts of the United States?

• However, some ways of life remained French.

• The Senegalese brought with them the culture of their own homeland.

• Its music and art flowed upriver and on to the rest of the country.

• It was, and is, a city like no other, built on a great highway of water.

Which detail from Passage 1 best explains the meaning of the sentence “For years, the Mississippi and the rivers that flow into it were the highways of America”?

• Before trains, cars, and planes, people often used water to travel or to send goods a long way.

• That made the cities that ships could sail to and from important.

• In the early 1700s, French settlers came to the area where the Mississippi joins the Gulf.

• Ships could sail into New Orleans from all over Europe and Africa.

This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B. Part A: In Passage 2, what is the next step after getting your soil ready?

• add sand

• get long stilts

• build the house

• use waterproof materials

Part B: What sentence in Passage 2 supports your answer in Part A?

• “First, check the soil where you want to build.” (paragraph 2)

• “So, once you know that your soil is firm, you need to get stilts.” (paragraph 4)

• “Finally, you build the house itself on top of the stilts.” (paragraph 6)

• “If a material can rot, like carpeting, do not use it.” (paragraph 6)

According to Passage 2, what is a reason that stilts need to be long?

• so they will not rot

• so they can go deep into the soil

• so they will make your house waterproof

• so they can reach the bottom of the swamp

Select one sentence from Passage 2 that explains how stilts help keep a swamp house dry.

• Stilts will raise your house above the highest level of the water.

• Yes, stilts!

• It rises and falls.

• Building your house on stilts, or long posts, is very important.

• Water in a swamp is not always at the same level.

How does the author’s point of view in Passage 1 compare to the author’s point of view in Passage 2?

• The author of Passage 1 wants to describe a place. The author of Passage 2 wants to convince readers to agree with an opinion.

• The author of Passage 1 wants to convince readers to agree with an opinion. The author of Passage 2 wants to describe a place.

• The author of Passage 1 wants to share information about a topic. The author of Passage 2 wants to explain how to do something.

• The author of Passage 1 wants to explain how to do something. The author of Passage 2 wants to share information about a topic.