There are many theories about why the dinosaurs vanished from the planet. One theory is that a gigantic meteorite smashed into the Earth. Scientists believe that the meteorite was very big. The impact may have produced a large dust cloud that covered the Earth for many years. The dust cloud may have caused plants to not receive sunlight. The large plant eaters, or herbivores, may have died off, followed by the large meat eaters, or carnivores. This theory may or may not be true, but it is one explanation on why these giant reptiles no longer inhabit the Earth.

How do you know what the text structure of this passage is?

It's important to think critically about things or else you may be led astray. For example, the brontosaurus never really existed. Yet many people still believe in the brontosaurus today. You see, the "brontosaurus" is actually the body of an apatosaurus with the head of a camarasaurus. This concocted creature was made from two mismatched fossils. People should think critically about such findings. They should analyze the presented components carefully, with a critical mind. If more people had done this, entire generations of school children may not have been misinformed. One should always think critically about the information that one receives. Keep these problems in mind when conducting your studies.

The above passage is an example of which TEXT STRUCTURE?

It's important to think critically about things or else you may be led astray. For example, the brontosaurus never really existed. Yet many people still believe in the brontosaurus today. You see, the "brontosaurus" is actually the body of an apatosaurus with the head of a camarasaurus. This concocted creature was made from two mismatched fossils. People should think critically about such findings. They should analyze the presented components carefully, with a critical mind. If more people had done this, entire generations of school children may not have been misinformed. One should always think critically about the information that one receives. Keep these problems in mind when conducting your studies.

How do you know what the TEXT STRUCTURE of this passage is?

Sir Isaac Newton was contemplating the universe in his garden one day in 1665 when he noticed an apple fall from a tree. Newton wondered to himself, “Why should the apple always fall to the ground? Why does it not go sideways or upwards but directly toward the Earth’s center?” After much contemplation Newton concluded that objects are pulled to the Earth through a force that he called gravity, which means heaviness in Latin. On July 5^th, 1687, Newton formally expressed his law of universal gravitation in a series of books called, The Principia.

What would be an appropriate title for the above passage?

Sir Isaac Newton was contemplating the universe in his garden one day in 1665 when he noticed an apple fall from a tree. Newton wondered to himself, “Why should the apple always fall to the ground? Why does it not go sideways or upwards but directly toward the Earth’s center?” After much contemplation Newton concluded that objects are pulled to the Earth through a force that he called gravity, which means heaviness in Latin. On July 5^th, 1687, Newton formally expressed his law of universal gravitation in a series of books called, The Principia.

What is the CENTRAL IDEA of the above passage?

There are many thoughtful ways to express your love for another person without spending money: you could write a song or cook a meal, but perhaps the best way to express yourself is to create a card. Creating a card is easy if you have the proper materials. Get yourself some nice, thick resume paper or cardstock and fold it in half. Draw some imagery of love on the front of the card; if you're not good at drawing, you can clip out pictures. If you decide to use markers, be careful not to let them bleed through the paper and ruin the other side. Lastly, write a poem or heartfelt statement on the inside to your beloved and you're done. Now isn't that a much better way to express your love than a rose from the gas station?

Identify the TEXT STRUCTURE, CENTRAL IDEA, and APPROPRIATE TITLE of the above passage.

There are many thoughtful ways to express your love for another person without spending money: you could write a song or cook a meal, but perhaps the best way to express yourself is to create a card. Creating a card is easy if you have the proper materials. Get yourself some nice, thick resume paper or cardstock and fold it in half. Draw some imagery of love on the front of the card; if you're not good at drawing, you can clip out pictures. If you decide to use markers, be careful not to let them bleed through the paper and ruin the other side. Lastly, write a poem or heartfelt statement on the inside to your beloved and you're done. Now isn't that a much better way to express your love than a rose from the gas station?

How do the SUPPORTING DETAILS contribute to the CENTRAL IDEA and the TEXT STRUCTURE of the passage?

Choose the two words that have the same relationship as the words below.

SUNSCREEN : SUNBURN

Choose the two words that have the same relationship as the words below.

Aluminum: metal

Tools of Persuasion

Persuasion is the art of convincing someone to agree with your point of view. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, there are three basic tools of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos.

Ethos is a speaker’s way of convincing the audience that she is a credible source. An audience will consider a speaker credible if she seems trustworthy, reliable, and sincere. This can be done in many ways. For example, a speaker can develop ethos by explaining how much experience or education she has in the field. After all, you would be more likely to listen to advice about how to take care of your teeth from a dentist than a firefighter. A speaker can also create ethos by convincing the audience that she is a good person who has their best interests at heart. If an audience cannot trust you, you will not be able to persuade them.

Pathos is a speaker’s way of connecting with an audience’s emotions. For example, a speaker who is trying to convince an audience to vote for him might say that he alone can save the country from a terrible war. These words are intended to fill the audience with fear, thus making them want to vote for him. Similarly, a charity organization that helps animals might show an audience pictures of injured dogs and cats. These images are intended to fill the viewers with pity. If the audience feels bad for the animals, they will be more likely to donate money.

Logos is the use of facts, information, statistics, or other evidence to make your argument more convincing. An audience will be more likely to believe you if you have data to back up your claims. For example, a commercial for soap might tell you that laboratory tests have shown that their soap kills all 7,000,000 of the bacteria living on your hands right now. This piece of information might make you more likely to buy their brand of soap. Presenting this evidence is much more convincing than simply saying “our soap is the best!” Use of logos can also increase a speaker’s ethos; the more facts a speaker includes in his argument, the more likely you are to think that he is educated and trustworthy.

Although ethos, pathos, and logos all have their strengths, they are often most effective when they are used together. Indeed, most speakers use a combination of ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade their audiences. The next time you listen to a speech, watch a commercial, or listen to a friend try to convince you to lend him some money, be on the lookout for these ancient Greek tools of persuasion.

As used in Paragraph 2, what is the best antonym for credible?

Tools of Persuasion

Persuasion is the art of convincing someone to agree with your point of view. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, there are three basic tools of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos.

Ethos is a speaker’s way of convincing the audience that she is a credible source. An audience will consider a speaker credible if she seems trustworthy, reliable, and sincere. This can be done in many ways. For example, a speaker can develop ethos by explaining how much experience or education she has in the field. After all, you would be more likely to listen to advice about how to take care of your teeth from a dentist than a firefighter. A speaker can also create ethos by convincing the audience that she is a good person who has their best interests at heart. If an audience cannot trust you, you will not be able to persuade them.

Pathos is a speaker’s way of connecting with an audience’s emotions. For example, a speaker who is trying to convince an audience to vote for him might say that he alone can save the country from a terrible war. These words are intended to fill the audience with fear, thus making them want to vote for him. Similarly, a charity organization that helps animals might show an audience pictures of injured dogs and cats. These images are intended to fill the viewers with pity. If the audience feels bad for the animals, they will be more likely to donate money.

Logos is the use of facts, information, statistics, or other evidence to make your argument more convincing. An audience will be more likely to believe you if you have data to back up your claims. For example, a commercial for soap might tell you that laboratory tests have shown that their soap kills all 7,000,000 of the bacteria living on your hands right now. This piece of information might make you more likely to buy their brand of soap. Presenting this evidence is much more convincing than simply saying “our soap is the best!” Use of logos can also increase a speaker’s ethos; the more facts a speaker includes in his argument, the more likely you are to think that he is educated and trustworthy.

Although ethos, pathos, and logos all have their strengths, they are often most effective when they are used together. Indeed, most speakers use a combination of ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade their audiences. The next time you listen to a speech, watch a commercial, or listen to a friend try to convince you to lend him some money, be on the lookout for these ancient Greek tools of persuasion.

According to the passage, the most effective tool of persuasion is?

Summer Rain

The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. All of winter, with its dreary gray days and bitter cold, we dream of those endless days at the beach, laying on the sand and soaking in the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.

As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t fair. We suffered through months of school and miserable weather for those scant ten weeks of freedom and balmy weather. Any day that I could not spend at the beach or playing ball with my friends seemed like a punishment for something I didn’t even do.

On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a Dickensian orphan. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was technically at work. It was those days that I would resign myself to whatever was on television or any books that I could find lying around. I’d crawl through the day and pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day.

As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as eagerly anticipated. Mostly, the days run together, bleeding into each other so that they no longer seem like separate entities and instead feel like continuations of the same long day. Everything seems monotonous and dull, and an ennui or listlessness kicks in. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I complain about how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which offers a reprieve—admittedly one that is all too short—from the torture of 100° and humid days. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful—and considerably cooler—weather tomorrow.

According to the passage, which of the following is a true statement about the narrator as a child?

Summer Rain

The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. All of winter, with its dreary gray days and bitter cold, we dream of those endless days at the beach, laying on the sand and soaking in the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.

As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t fair. We suffered through months of school and miserable weather for those scant ten weeks of freedom and balmy weather. Any day that I could not spend at the beach or playing ball with my friends seemed like a punishment for something I didn’t even do.

On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a Dickensian orphan. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was technically at work. It was those days that I would resign myself to whatever was on television or any books that I could find lying around. I’d crawl through the day and pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day.

As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as eagerly anticipated. Mostly, the days run together, bleeding into each other so that they no longer seem like separate entities and instead feel like continuations of the same long day. Everything seems monotonous and dull, and an ennui or listlessness kicks in. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I complain about how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which offers a reprieve—admittedly one that is all too short—from the torture of 100° and humid days. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful—and considerably cooler—weather tomorrow.

Compared to how he or she was as a child, as an adult the narrator was?

Summer Rain

The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. All of winter, with its dreary gray days and bitter cold, we dream of those endless days at the beach, laying on the sand and soaking in the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.

As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t fair. We suffered through months of school and miserable weather for those scant ten weeks of freedom and balmy weather. Any day that I could not spend at the beach or playing ball with my friends seemed like a punishment for something I didn’t even do.

On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a Dickensian orphan. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was technically at work. It was those days that I would resign myself to whatever was on television or any books that I could find lying around. I’d crawl through the day and pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day.

As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as eagerly anticipated. Mostly, the days run together, bleeding into each other so that they no longer seem like separate entities and instead feel like continuations of the same long day. Everything seems monotonous and dull, and an ennui or listlessness kicks in. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I complain about how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which offers a reprieve—admittedly one that is all too short—from the torture of 100° and humid days. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful—and considerably cooler—weather tomorrow.

As used in the final paragraph, the word reprieve most nearly means what?

Hummingbird Migration

Migration News: April 22, 2016

By Mary Hosier

Hummingbirds surge north on the winds, making 2016 an early migration season. Females have arrived in Hoschton, Georgia.

News: A River Of Wind

Ruby-throats were carried north on a river of wind over the weekend. Some flew 500 miles beyond the leading edge - up to Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario, and into the northeast. "This is the earliest spring migration I've ever mapped," wrote Lanny Chambers, hummingbird bander and our consulting expert, "but its progression up the major river valleys has been quite typical." "Twelve years ago, my first sighting was in mid-May. Now males start arriving between April 10th and 15th," reported Leonard in Nottingham, New Hampshire on April 15th. "Our feeder goes out when the Bradford Pear blossoms open, which was yesterday, April 15th. Today we had our first hummingbird, a male." wrote Jean in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Other Western Species:

Rufous are moving further east with more sightings in Montana this week. Calliopes, Broad-tails, and Black-chinned hummingbird populations are being sighted. Many endured recent cold and snowfall in the Colorado and New Mexico Rockies.

Based on the passage above, it can be inferred that hummingbirds what?

Hummingbird Migration

Migration News: April 22, 2016

By Mary Hosier

Hummingbirds surge north on the winds, making 2016 an early migration season. Females have arrived in Hoschton, Georgia.

News: A River Of Wind

Ruby-throats were carried north on a river of wind over the weekend. Some flew 500 miles beyond the leading edge - up to Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario, and into the northeast. "This is the earliest spring migration I've ever mapped," wrote Lanny Chambers, hummingbird bander and our consulting expert, "but its progression up the major river valleys has been quite typical." "Twelve years ago, my first sighting was in mid-May. Now males start arriving between April 10th and 15th," reported Leonard in Nottingham, New Hampshire on April 15th. "Our feeder goes out when the Bradford Pear blossoms open, which was yesterday, April 15th. Today we had our first hummingbird, a male." wrote Jean in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Other Western Species:

Rufous are moving further east with more sightings in Montana this week. Calliopes, Broad-tails, and Black-chinned hummingbird populations are being sighted. Many endured recent cold and snowfall in the Colorado and New Mexico Rockies.

According to the passage, what is one of the MOST SIGNIFICANT changes to the migration of hummingbirds over the years?

Hummingbird Migration

Migration News: April 22, 2016

By Mary Hosier

Hummingbirds surge north on the winds, making 2016 an early migration season. Females have arrived in Hoschton, Georgia.

News: A River Of Wind

Ruby-throats were carried north on a river of wind over the weekend. Some flew 500 miles beyond the leading edge - up to Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario, and into the northeast. "This is the earliest spring migration I've ever mapped," wrote Lanny Chambers, hummingbird bander and our consulting expert, "but its progression up the major river valleys has been quite typical." "Twelve years ago, my first sighting was in mid-May. Now males start arriving between April 10th and 15th," reported Leonard in Nottingham, New Hampshire on April 15th. "Our feeder goes out when the Bradford Pear blossoms open, which was yesterday, April 15th. Today we had our first hummingbird, a male." wrote Jean in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Other Western Species:

Rufous are moving further east with more sightings in Montana this week. Calliopes, Broad-tails, and Black-chinned hummingbird populations are being sighted. Many endured recent cold and snowfall in the Colorado and New Mexico Rockies.

In the top left hand corner, observe the picture of the hummingbird. Why would the author choose to include this picture in his/her article?

Which IS NOT an example of a text feature used to enhance informational text?