RI 3.8

Which statement best explains why the author included words such as regeneration, planaria, and molts in the article?

• They are technical terms that help to clarify specific ideas in the subject area.

• They are words with negative connotations used to show the author's feelings.

• They are words used in figurative language that create vivid comparisons.

• They are words with positive connotations used to capture the reader's interest.

Read this sentence from paragraph 6 of the article.

Currently, human regeneration may sound like something out of a science-fiction movie.

Which statement best captures the effect of the figurative language in it?

• The author uses the comparison to describe how amazing such a medical discovery would be.

• The author uses the comparison to alert readers that this discovery could only happen in movies.

• The author uses the comparison to show how likely it is that such a discovery could occur.

• The author uses the comparison to communicate his positive feelings about the latest scientific discovery.

As used in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of the article, the word powers is closest in meaning to

• influence

• authority

• forcefulness

• abilities

Read this sentence from paragraph 3.

People had been relocating to the West long before the Dust Bowl winds raged like wild beasts.

What does the author's word choice suggest about the Dust Bowl winds?

• The winds were uncontrollable.

• The winds were extremely loud.

• The winds were an exciting presence.

• The winds were a new phenomenon.

Reread the sentences from paragraph 6.

I'd plant the seed. You'd plant it down in the furrow where it'd be leveled over like you'd taken a bulldozer and bulldozed it..."

How does the analogy contribute to the meaning of the article?

• It describes the difficulty of leveling a field.

• It suggests the great force of the dust storms.

• It describes the problems of inexperienced farmers.

• It explains the careful preparation of the prairie soil.

Reread the sentence from paragraph 7.

If all of the stories were strung together, they would form a chain as long as the highway on which the Dust Bowl migrants traveled.

What tone does the analogy help to establish?

• It establishes a humorous tone.

• It establishes a critical tone.

• It establishes a sarcastic tone.

• It establishes a sympathetic tone.