Summarizing a Passage

Turn over a bag of potato chips. Is the label interesting? A simple food recipe may use several ingredients. These come from the soil and from chemistry labs around the world. Surprises also show up in the labels on clothing and other products. Look at the label on a package of lipstick. The tube seems small and shiny, but inside lipstick there is soap, oil, fish scales, and wax! Which is the best way to summarize this passage?

• A bag of potato chips seems like a simple recipe. There are many ingredients from the soil and from chemistry labs.

• Clothes and other products have many ingredients as well. Lipstick alone has soap, oil, wax, and fish scales.

• Labels show what goes into food, clothing, and other products. A simple product may have many ingredients.

• Lipstick seems small and shiny. Look at the label sometime. It has at least four different ingredients.

It started when they got to the bears. Peter felt tired and his stomach hurt. He dragged himself over to see the elephants, which were eating from a stack of hay. Normally, the elephants were his favorite. Without much interest, Peter followed his classmates to the camels, which were busy swatting flies with their tails. Peter knew he should be having fun at the zoo, but he just felt terrible and all he wanted to do was lie down and rest. Even the lions and tigers did not interest him now. The Summary of this passage is:

• Peter's favorite animals were the elephants.

• The camels were swatting flies with their tails.

• It was really hot at the zoo.

• Peter didn't enjoy the zoo because he felt really bad.

Which of the following statements about SUMMARIZING is true?

• The Summary is a thought that is true but is not in the passage.

• The Summary is what the passage is mostly about.

• The Summary is specific, detailed information contained in the passage.

• The Summary is always found in the first sentence of the passage.

What is the following paragraph mainly about?

• John's fear of Dr. Majors

• what John experiences during a visit to the dentist

• how Dr. Majors removed John's tooth

• why John wasn't happy about the dentist's mask and gloves

Which detail front he story belongs in the empty box?

• The judge proclaimed that Brandie was part of the McNamara family.

• Brandie will never forget this day.

• Brandie was excited to be adopted by her foster family.

• The judge was adopting Brandie.

• They put the coffee table on the outside.

• Dad and his children decided to make a blanket fort.

• Dad tried to convince the children to build a fort.

• They had a great time in the blanket fort.

• Monica named her horse Rylie

• Monica had a promising futrue in barrel racing.

• Monica recently became interested in barrel racing.

• Monica had many cats and dogs, but she didn't really like them.

San Francisco is located on the coast of California in an area often called the Bay Area. The weather is generally very mild, seldom getting really cold or really hot. Its mild climate is one reason many people live there. It seldom snows in San Francisco and generally does not get below freezing during the winter. Even in the middle of summer, temperatures may be in the mid 80s with a cool breeze from the bay keeping the weather very comfortable.

The summary of this passage is:

• San Francisco has many neat things to do.

• It seldom snows in California.

• Many people choose to live in California.

• The weather in San Francisco is generally very mild.

Which of the below statements best summarizes the passage?

• After a field trip to the animal shelter, April makes flyers to increase animal adoption because she cares about animals.

• April's class takes a field trip to an animal shelter, and April learns how to take care of animals with the rest of her class.

• The local animal shelter manager tells April that animals come to the shelter because their owners do not care for them.

• April's parents have too many dogs to care for, and April works to keep their dogs from being taken to an animal shelter.

Which detail from the second paragraph would be most important to include in a summary of this passage?

April's parents were dog breeders and their kennels were often filled with a litter of puppies. April helped care for the dogs by bathing them and giving them the best food and water.

April's class had also been learning how to care for animals in their science lessons, so she was thrilled when her teacher announced a field trip to an animal shelter. The shelter manager, Rachel, led the class into the kennel area where dogs and cats sat along opposite walls of the building. April was stunned by what she saw. Some dogs looked like they had been starved before coming to the shelter.

"What happened to these dogs?" April asked.

"These dogs are here because their owners did not care for them properly," Rachel replied. "We try to keep the animals healthy so they can go to good homes. If you know someone who wants to adopt a pet, please tell them about our shelter."

April decided to take action and she printed flyers with information about the shelter. April's parents handed them out to people who bought their puppies. The following day April received permission to post a flyer at her school. That afternoon, April received a phone call at home.

"Hi, April, this is Rachel. I wanted to thank you for creating flyers for the shelter. Our adoptions have already started to increase!"

"You're welcome! I just wanted to help rescue the puppies."

• The shelter manager named Rachel gave April a tour.

• April's class took a field trip to the local animal shelter.

• April's class had been learning about animals in their classes.

• April received a phone call at home in the afternoon.