Short Passage Questions

Native Americans dried strips of meat, pounded it into a paste, and then mixed it with fat. Sometimes they added berries and sugar. Then they pressed it into small cakes. They called these cakes pemmican. Pemmican didn't spoil, and it provided lots of energy for people traveling or going hunting. Today explorers still carry and eat this food.
What is the passage mostly about?

• who uses pemmican today

• what can be put into pemmican

• how pemmican was prepared by Native Americans.

• why people eat pemmican today

What is the main idea?

• Floods can cause a lot of damage.

• Floods cause mudslides.

• Floods damage houses and roads. 

Seated on his throne, King Midas wore a golden crown. He had golden rings on each finger and held a golden scepter. His vest was embroidered with golden thread and even his shoes had golden ornaments. He had a golden box filled with gold coins. He named his daughter Marigold.
What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• King Midas loved gold.

• King Midas sold lots of gold.

• King Midas had a heart of gold.

• King Midas hated gold.

Weather reporters have to give out a lot of information. That's why they use pictures. The pictures help them tell us about the weather without using so many words. Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is. They need to know where the warm air is. They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area. Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short. The pictures help weather reporters get the information out in a fast way.
Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?

• Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is

• Pictures help weather reporters get information out in a fast way

• Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short

• They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area

After using the multiple choice questions to highlight key lines in the passage, what should you do?

• read the passage thoroughly

• answer the questions

• create a pretty pattern on your scantron page

• move on to the next story

When you've tried your best on the short response, but the story was really tough and you don't get the question, you should...

• skip it

• copy the question on the lines

• write about how the question makes no sense to you

• find key words from the question in the passage and copy them

What is the main theme of the passage?

• Friendship and loyalty

• Betrayal and revenge

• Love and sacrifice

• Courage and fear

Which character is the protagonist in the passage?

• John

• Mary

• Alex

• Sarah

What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

• To inform

• To entertain

• To persuade

• To describe

What is the tone of the passage?

• Optimistic

• Pessimistic

• Neutral

• Sarcastic