WorksheetsReading SOL Warm up #2
Total questions: 7
Worksheet time: 8mins
AFGP
Scientists named the mysterious protein antifreeze glycoprotein, or AFGP; it exists in the bloodstream of all the fish that inhabit the Antarctic waters, such as the "borks," that dart in and out of the ice channels. Interestingly, the protein does not warm the blood; rather, it attaches to ice crystals and prevents them from connecting to one another. Only recently have scientists discovered that the fish's pancreas produces the protein and secretes it into its intestines. Scientists believe this process occurs because the ice crystals, which enter into the stomach and intestine, pose one of the first dangers to fish in very cold water. This salutary protein targets those ice crystals and also enters the bloodstream, thereby preventing freezing from taking place in the circulatory system.
1. In paragraph 6, the word "salutary" means...
individual
energetic
beneficial
invisible
That advice helped keep my situation in perspective; I was polishing my craft, getting experience, and establishing myself as a talented writer.
3. In this sentence from paragraph 1, the word "polishing" suggests...
2 Arriving at my desk promptly at 8 o'clock Thursday morning, I started the day in the usual fashion: going through the list of engagement announcements. I needed to write and review the wedding and anniversary passages destined for Sunday's publication. When the Lifestyles editor stopped by and slapped a ticket on my desk, I was stunned. I didn't think she even knew my name.
3 "Wylie is out sick, Jake, and you're going to cover for him tomorrow," she said. Wylie was our resident music/theater critic whose enviable job got him complimentary tickets for every play, concert, jazz club, and symphony opening that enriched our midsize city with culture.
4 I tried not to appear too eager, knowing that my good fortune came solely due to another writer's illness, but it was difficult to control my excitement. This ticket provided me with the opportunity to write an article far more significant than last month's feature on Mr. and Mrs. Judge Brown's 25th anniversary jubilee.
5 "Five hundred words by noon Saturday," she added before disappearing through the maze of desks into her corner office. I looked down at the tickets, hoping for a Shakespearean tragedy, a jazz concert, or a touring company presenting a version of a Broadway play. I gulped. The ticket was inscribed with the logo for KidsPop, the symphony orchestra's overt attempt to entice children away from video games and into the world of classical music. My heart plummeted to my knees. I was doomed; my knowledge of classical music was limited to melodies used as soundtracks for chase scenes in 50-year-old cartoons.
4. Which set of statements provides the best summary of paragraphs 2-5?
Jake envies his coworker Wylie, who reviews music and theater performances for the newspaper. He is pleased to learn that he will be given the chance to do Wylie's job for a day.
Jake does not think that the Lifestyle editor of the newspaper where he works even knows his name. To his surprise, she stops by and tells him he will be reviewing a classical concert.
Jake is asked to fill in for a coworker who normally reviews culturally performances for the newspaper. He feels excited until he sees that he will be reviewing classical music aimed at children.
Jake is busy reviewing his day's work when he learns he will also have to review a Kidspop concert that will take place the following afternoon. He feels that he does not know much about classical music.
The ticket was inscribed with the logo for Kidspop, the symphony orchestra's overt attempt to entice children away from video games and into the world of classical music.
5. What does the word "overt" mean?
A quick scan of Saint-Saens's biography provided little assistance- the information was nearly incomprehensible to a beginner such as myself.
6. The word "incomprehensible" from paragraph 6 contains a root word that means...
Now came a contrast in tempo- the lumbering sluggishness of giant tortoises, painfully trudging along, step by laborious step.
7. The author uses sensory language in this sentence in order to...
