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WorksheetsMain Idea Test 1
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 50mins
Birds and Dinosaurs
Though we think of dinosaurs as being extinct, recent research suggests that their modern relatives live among us in the form of birds. Like birds, many dinosaurs built nests, laid eggs, and had feathers. Over the last twenty years, scientists have collected more and more evidence suggesting that dinosaurs evolved into birds. For example, thousands of fossils of dinosaurs with feathers have been found in China, and fossilized dinosaur eggs are similar in size and shape to birds' eggs. Fossils have also revealed information about dinosaurs' skeletons. Birds have hollow bones to enable flight, and so did some dinosaurs. In addition, birds and dinosaurs exhibit many similarities in their legs, feet, and claws.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Fossil evidence shows that dinosaurs and birds share many features, suggesting that they are related.
Fossil evidence shows that some dinosaurs had hollow bones, which probably enabled them to fly.
Fossil evidence shows that the legs, feet, and claws of dinosaurs and birds are similar.
No Taxation Without Representation
In the 1760s and early 1770s, the British government wanted to raise money by taxing the residents of its colonies in North America. They taxed goods such as sugar and tea and even placed a tax on the printing of documents. These actions angered the colonists, who thought that taxation was unfair since they had no representation in the British government. For this reason, a group of colonists dumped hundreds of chests of tea from Britain into Boston Harbor in 1773, in what became known as the Boston Tea Party. As a result, England passed a series of harsh new laws to punish the colonists, further angering them. The Continental Congress met to voice the colonists' grievances, and eventually, on July 4, 1776, the colonists declared their independence from Britain.
What is the main idea of the passage?
The colonists' protests against British taxation led England to institute harsh laws as punishment.
Taxes and other laws imposed on the colonies led the colonists to declare independence from England.
The colonists protested British taxes by dumping chests of tea into Boston Harbor.
The Impact of Arts Programs
Art museums around the country host programs for teens every year. Are these programs worthwhile? Four museums around the country conducted a study to determine their effects. More than three hundred past participants, ranging in age from eighteen to thirty-six, were asked to rate their experiences. Three-quarters of respondents said that the arts programs had a more positive impact on their lives than school, neighbors, or family. Two-thirds said that the experience had an effect on their later ideas and actions. According to the study, nearly all of the participants continued to visit art museums, and nearly a third worked in arts-related fields.
What is the main idea of the passage?
A study found that teen arts programs have a lasting positive influence on the participants' lives.
A study was conducted to determine what effects teen arts programs have on the participants.
A study found that about one-third of students who participate in arts programs at museums go on to work in the arts.
Saving the Apollo 13 Mission
On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 was launched for a planned moon landing. Two days into the mission, however, one of the oxygen tanks in the spacecraft exploded, causing a loss of air, electricity, and water. The moon landing had to be canceled, and the astronauts had to figure out how to get home. Their solution was to move into the lunar module, the small craft that was supposed to land on the moon, for much of the remaining trip. The lunar module contained fewer supplies, however. Therefore, the astronauts had to conserve as much food and water as possible. By firing the lunar module's engine, the men were able to get the spacecraft on the correct course to return to Earth. On April 17, Apollo 13 landed safely in the Pacific Ocean.
What is the main idea of the passage?
After an explosion on Apollo 13, the spaceship began to lose air, water, and power.
After an explosion on Apollo 13, the astronauts had to conserve supplies.
After an explosion on Apollo 13, the astronauts took shelter in the lunar module.
Saving the Rhinos
Poachers in Africa are killing large numbers of rhinos for their horns. Rhinoceros horns, valued for use in traditional medicines in Vietnam and China, can fetch as much as thirty-six thousand dollars a pound. Officials have tried to protect the rhinos: they have created fenced areas for the animals, patrolled their habitats, and even tried removing their horns. Despite these efforts, the number of rhinos in Africa has been dwindling. One creative solution to the poaching problem is to remove the rhinos from Africa altogether. Ray Dearlove, the founder of the Australian Rhino Project, came up with a plan to relocate eighty rhinos to a safari park outside Adelaide, Australia, where a breeding herd can be established.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Because other attempts to protect African rhinos from poachers have failed, the Australian Rhino Project is relocating the rhinos to Australia.
Officials have tried to protect African rhinos from poachers by guarding their habitats and removing their horns, but their efforts have been largely unsuccessful.
What's Beneath Your Plane?
As Shane Loeffler, a geology student at the University of Minnesota, was flying home from Europe, he looked down at the landscape and began to wonder what he was flying over. He realized that a plane flight would be a good opportunity for people to learn about the geological features of the earth below them. As a result of this experience, with a grant from the National Science Foundation, he created a free app called Flyover Country. The app provides users with information on natural formations, man-made features like dams, and even where fossils can be found. The features are pinpointed on a map that corresponds to the landscape below the plane.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Shane Loeffler's experience in a plane led him to create an app that would provide information to flyers about the land below them.
Shane Loeffler's plane flight home from Europe led him to think about the geological features of the land below him.
The Pony Express
In the Gold Rush of 1849, some one hundred thousand immigrants were lured to California by the promise of gold. Towns and businesses popped up to accommodate the growing population, but a problem remained: how to communicate across the vast reaches of the United States. Three businessmen thought they had an answer: faster mail delivery via the Pony Express, a relay system of horses and riders. The Pony Express made its first delivery on April 14, 1860. Mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, reached San Francisco in just eleven days, rather than a month or more, which was standard for mail delivery at the time. The Pony Express was a short-lived solution, however. After just eighteen months, it was replaced by a national telegraph wire.
What is the main idea of the passage?
On April 14, 1860, the Pony Express delivered mail from Missouri to California in just eleven days.
The Pony Express was a chain of horses and riders across the country used to deliver mail.
The Pony Express allowed for faster communication in the rapidly growing United States.
Creating Lake-Effect Snow
Situated on Lake Erie, the city of Buffalo, New York, is one of the snowiest cities in the United States. Like other cities on large lakes, it is subject to a phenomenon called lake-effect snow. Water retains heat, so lake water is often warmer than the air. In the lake effect, cold air moves over warmer lake water, initiating a process that can produce large snowstorms. Moisture from the lake evaporates into the cold air, warming it. Because warm air is less dense than cold air, it begins to rise. As it rises and moves away from the lake, it cools down. As the air cools, moisture condenses and forms into clouds. If the temperature is cold enough, the moisture falls to the ground as snow.
What is the main idea of the passage?
When cold air moves over the warmer water of a lake, lake-effect snow can be produced.
In the lake effect, warm air, which is lighter than cold air, rises and moves away.
Buffalo, New York, gets more snow than most cities in the United States.
Publishing Doctor Zhivago
Boris Pasternak's 1956 novel Doctor Zhivago tells the story of a Russian doctor living at the time of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which led to the establishment of the Soviet Union. Because the book dealt with hardships people faced after the revolution, publishers in the Soviet Union refused to release it, calling it anti-Soviet. Pasternak's solution was to have the book smuggled out of the Soviet Union and published in Europe. Though Soviet authorities tried to prevent it, the book was published in Italy in 1957 and was immediately well received. In 1958, it was translated into English and went on to become one of the most popular novels of the 1950s.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Doctor Zhivago showed the problems that Russians faced following the Russian Revolution, so it was considered anti-Soviet.
Boris Pasternak couldn't get his book Doctor Zhivago published in the Soviet Union, so he had the book smuggled out of the country.
When Heidi Transformed Televised Football
On November 17, 1968, football fans across the United States sat glued to their televisions. A close game between two top teams—the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders—was being broadcast. When the Jets pulled ahead with only fifty seconds remaining, viewers went wild. But then, just as the Raiders were bringing the ball across midfield, the game disappeared from the screen! In its place, a previously scheduled children's movie, Heidi, started playing. Callers flooded the TV network's phone lines, but it was too late. The Raiders scored two touchdowns in the very final moments—touchdowns that were unseen by all but West Coast viewers. As a result of the interrupted event, dubbed "the Heidi game," television networks began delaying their regularly scheduled programs until football games had ended.
What is the main idea of the passage?
After Heidi interrupted a crucial moment during a televised football game, the TV network received numerous calls from angry viewers who were unable to watch the final moments of the game.
After Heidi interrupted a crucial moment during a televised football game, networks began to delay regularly scheduled shows until football games were over.
