PRETEST

FIRST PEOPLES OF THE NORTHEAST

Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) About 10,000 years ago, the first hunter-gatherers (мисливці-збирачі) arrived on the east
coast
of what is now the United States. They found forest-covered mountains
and valleys(долини), and hundreds of streams and lakes—natural resources that
could meet their needs.
Using Resources
(2) The trees provided supplies (запаси) for building. Forest and water animals, and nuts
and berries on land, provided food. People used the soil (ґрунт) and water to grow
their own food. They planted corn, or maize (кукурудза), and pumpkin, squash (кабачок), and
beans. Summer sun and rain made the crops thrive. Soon people didn’t need
to be constantly on the move in search of food. So they settled down and
built permanent homes.
(3) Villages of dome-shaped(куполоподібний) wigwams(житло корінного населення пн
Америки) sprang up(з’являтися) near lakes and streams.
Each wigwam was made by first sticking thin, bendable trees into the
ground to form a circle. Next, the poles were bent(зігнути) inward (всередину) and tied
together at the top. More thin branches were wrapped and tied around
the poles, leaving space for a door and a smoke hole above the center,
where an indoor fire would be. Finally, the whole structure was covered
with tree bark(кора, гавкати).
(4) The men also built a larger, rectangular, council house and a lodge to use
for ceremonies. Then they built a stockade (тюрма, огорожа) around the whole village. The
fence (огорожа, обгородити) helped protect the villagers from enemy attack.
Everyone Works
(5) Most of the year, the men hunted in swiftly moving birch-bark canoes (байдарки). But
in winter, the hunters needed sleds and snowshoes to get across the snowy
ground. The women raised and prepared the food, even tapping maple
trees for the sweet syrup. They made deerskin clothing, adding colored
porcupine-quill designs, and pottery(гончарство,кераміка) jars for cooking and storing food.
(6) After the fall harvest (врожай, збирати врожай), everyone helped prepare for winter. They
dried the
crops (посіви), and meat and fish from the hunt (полювання, полювати) , in the sun. Then
they hung them from the ceilings of their wigwams or stored them in underground pits.
Young and old worked together to assure (забезпечити) there would be enough food to
last until spring.

A CONTEST OF STRENGTH
Read the story, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) Wind and Sun were both important weather makers, but each thought he
was more powerful than the other was. Wind argued that his great strength
made him more powerful. Sun argued that the ability to persuade (спонукати) gave him
greater power.
(2) “Let’s have a contest to prove who’s more powerful!” suggested Wind
boastfully. Far below, he saw a man in a warm, winter coat walking along
the road. “Whoever (будь-хто) can make that man take off his coat will be more
powerful,” said Wind with a smile. “I’ll go first.”
(3) Now Wind knew that when he blew, leaves flew through the air and trees
bent. It should be easy to blow a man’s coat off! So Wind blew, gently at
first, then harder and harder. But the harder he blew, the more the shivering man pulled his
coat around him!
(4) “My turn,” said Sun, and he began to send warm rays toward the man
below. Soon the man unbuttoned (розстібнути) his coat. Sun glowed brighter and the
man became uncomfortable in the heat. Before long, he took off the coat!
(5) Wind sighed. “I guess you win. You’re more powerful.”
(6) Sun just beamed. And all day he was as busy as a bee, lighting the sky until
it was time for Moon to take over!
3 WILD HORSES
Read the poem, and then answer the questions that follow.
Proudly he runs free
Through the grasses growing high,
Then suddenly catches a sound
On the wind that’s passing by.
He knows that sound means danger,
So he neighs a resonant cry
To warn the other wild ones
Who are grazing there nearby.
Then off they all go racing,
Their hooves beating the ground,
And all that I can hear
Is a rumbling, thundering sound!
4 THE WITCH AT MURPHY’S POND
Read the story, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) “I don’t get it, Pete,” Janet said to her cousin. “Why do you fish at Murphy’s
Pond if old Mrs. Murphy is a witch?”
(2) “The fishing’s great . . . and the old Murphy house is over a hill behind the
pond,” Pete replied. “We’ll be okay . . . as long as we stay away from the
house,” he continued in a hushed voice. “They say kids who go into that
house are never seen again!”
(3) After they got to the pond, witches were forgotten. Pete sat on the old dock
and threw out his line. Suddenly Janet saw something shimmering in the
water and leaned over for a closer look. The rotting wood of the dock broke
under her! “H-e-l-l-p!” she screamed as she splashed down into the dark,
cold water.
(4) Pete jumped in to help her. “Quiet down!” he panted as they got to the
rocky shore. “You’re not hurt. If you keep hollering, you’ll wake the
witch!” Then he yelped, “OUCH-H-H!” and lifted his foot. There was a
deep cut on the bottom of his foot from a sharp rock!
(5) “Oh, Pete, you’re hurt!” Janet cried. “I’ll go for . . .” But before she could
say Help, she saw an old woman coming toward them. Without a word,
the woman picked up Pete and carried him up the hill. A cold, wet, and
confused Janet followed. She was frightened but had a strange feeling the
old woman meant no harm.
(6) At the top of the hill, the woman walked toward an old house. “Oh,
p-p-please, Ma’am,” a frightened Pete begged. “Please don’t go there.
That’s where the w-w-witch lives!”
(7) “That is my home, young man,” the woman said softly. “Do not be afraid.”
At the front door, she said to Janet. “Please open the door.” Janet did, and
the three went inside. Mrs. Murphy gently put Pete on a couch, then disappeared into another
room.
(8) Mrs. Murphy returned with warm blankets, which she wrapped around
the two cold and wet cousins. Then she carefully cleaned and bandaged
Pete’s foot. The still-frightened boy squeezed his eyes shut every time she
came near him. Finally, she offered Pete and Janet some freshly baked bread
and glasses of milk. They began to understand that Mrs. Murphy was a
very kind . . . but very lonely . . . woman.
(9) Pete reached out and touched Mrs. Murphy’s hand. “I’m Pete, and this is
my cousin, Janet,” he said. “Thank you for helping us.”
(10) Mrs. Murphy smiled shyly. She seemed to enjoy their company but said
sadly, “You’d best be on your way. It’s getting late.”
(11) Before they left, Mrs. Murphy reminded Pete to have a doctor check the cut
and they promised to return to see her another day. She waved good-bye
until they were out of sight. “Oh, Pete, she’s so nice!” said Janet. “How
could you have thought she was a witch?”
(12) Pete smiled as he hobbled along beside her. “Well, she still might be,” he
said, and as Janet gasped, he added, “but she’d be the good kind!”
A CLASS ACT
Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) First of all, let me start by saying that even though I had to recite an original poem in front of
the class Tuesday, I was cool . . . well, pretty cool about
it. On Monday night my little sister said, “I hate talking in front of the class.
Aren’t you scared?”
(2) “I have no trepidation!” I had replied, matter-of-factly. I love using big
words with her because I know she’ll run to look them up in the dictionary,
so it’s a win-win situation. I get rid of her and she gets a bigger vocabulary,
like finding out that trepidation means “fear.”
(3) Tuesday morning, Mom fixed my favorite breakfast: pancakes. She flipped
a few golden-brown circles off the griddle with a spatula and stacked
them on my plate. As usual, I took a big bite. And as usual, sticky syrup
dripped off the pancakes and onto my clean shirt.
(4) “Oh, you are such a pig,” my sister mumbled as she rolled her eyes at me.
(5) “It’s okay, Honey, you’re probably just nervous about your poem,” said
Mom sympathetically.
(6) I didn’t answer either one of them; I just raced to my room for a clean shirt!
I wanted to look my best. I barely made it out the door before the bus pulled
away! What a start to my day, I thought. Let’s hope things get better.
(7) Well, to make a long story short, I did recite my original poem that morning, but with a bit of
trepidation. The kid who read his poem ahead of me
was really good, I mean, he really knew how to put words together on
paper and read them with meaning! Then it was my turn. As I stood up,
my BFF Pat whispered, “You’ll be great!” And you know what? I kind of
was! I even surprised myself. Our teacher, Mr. Briggs, videotaped the presentations and played
them back so we could evaluate our work, and I was
good . . . I mean really good. As I went out the door at the end of class, Mr.
Briggs even stopped me and said, “Hope you’re trying out for the school
play this spring. It’s Shakespeare. I’m directing and I think you’d be a really
good actor. The auditions will be in three weeks.”
(8) So, I went to the auditions and . . . well, that’s another story. Let’s just say
I am now a thespian!
THE HIGH POINTS OF LIFE ON EARTH
Read the article and the chart, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) Mountains make up one-fourth of Earth’s surface. But what exactly is a
mountain? Scientifically speaking, it’s a land formation at an altitude of at
least 2,000 feet above its surroundings.
(2) Mountains come in various heights. One mountain may look like a dwarf
compared to Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro. But that looks small compared to
Asia’s giant Mt. Everest. Each of Earth’s seven continents has a high point
called the “Seven Summits.”
 1 multiple-meaning words
PRACTICE 1: A DAY AT THE PARK
Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) It’s a lazy Saturday. I’m happy just hanging out . . . doing nothing. Then my
little brother runs into my room and announces, “We’re going to the park!”
(2) “Have fun,” I reply.
(3) “No! Get up and get ready!” he whines, and pulls my arm. “Dad said we’re
going to make a day of it . . . the whole family!”
(4) Dad drops us off by the park entrance and goes to park the car. I help Mom
unload the picnic basket onto a table. She’s packed a huge covered plate
of sandwiches, a bowl of fruit, bags of chips, lots of cookies, and a gigantic pitcher of iced tea.
Mom always makes extra “just in case . . . ,” whatever that means!
(5) “Before we eat, will you help me fly my new kite?” pleads my brother. With
a sigh, I take his hand and lead him to a good spot for flying kites. Soon
the kite’s airborne and looping through the sky! Suddenly, it’s harder to
spot because it floats behind a tree.
(6) “Is it lost forever?” asks my brother.
(7) “No, just hiding. There . . . see . . . it’s back!” I chuckle as the kite pops back
into view.
(8) “Dude!” I hear someone behind me say. “Just the guy I was looking for!”
I turn to find Chris, one of my best friends.
(9) “I thought you went to visit your uncle this weekend!” I say.
(10) “No, he had to go away on business, so I’ll catch him another time,” Chris
replies. “Nice kite,” he adds, “but I was hoping to play ball today.”
(11) “I’m in,” I answer. “We’re about to stop. My brother wants Dad to push him
on a swing.”
(12) So we find more friends to play ball. Suddenly, it’s the last inning, the game
is tied, and I’m at bat. I see Mom waving me to come for lunch, so there’s
nothing to do but hit a homer! I swing, hear the crack of the bat, and head
for home plate. Then I invite the other kids to join us for lunch . . . knowing Mom had made
extra! I guess this was the “just in case!”
PRACTICE 2: CROSSING OVER
Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) Have you ever thought about how important a bridge is? After all, without bridges, how
would people get across rivers and wide gorges? Bridges
are an essential part of our transportation system for moving people and
goods.
(2) The first bridges were simply trees that fell or were placed across water or
canyons. The wood was strong enough to bear the weight of a person or
two at a time, but not for carrying heavy loads. People made bridges by
stretching rope cables across an open area. In China and other places,
rope bridges are still used. They’re strong enough to hold people and
pack animals with light loads.
(3) Later, people built arch bridges by wedging together large blocks of stone to
form a half circle. Arch bridges are among the strongest and longest-lasting:
Some built more than 1,500 years ago are still being used, Even today, people build arch
bridges, but usually from concrete, wood, or steel.
(4) Another kind of bridge is the cantilever. It has two independent steel or
concrete beams, one extending toward the center of a river from each
bank. A third beam is lifted up to connect the beams. Canada’s Quebec
Bridge is one of the world’s longest, spanning 1,800 feet (549 m) across the
St. Lawrence River.
(5) A suspension bridge spans even more space with its roadway hanging
from steel cables supported by massive towers. Each cable can hold thousands of pounds of
weight. Probably the most familiar suspension bridge
is California’s Golden Gate, with a main span of 4,200 feet (1,280 m).
When completed in 1937, it was the world’s longest, but in 1964, New
York’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge beat that with a span of 4,260 feet
(1,298 m). Then in 1981, England’s Humber Bridge beat that with a span
of 4,626 feet (1,410 m). And since 1998, Japan’s Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge has
held the record, with a span of 1,991 feet (6,529 m). Will that record be
beaten? Stay tuned!
6. What is the meaning of the word bridge as used in the article?
a. the upper bony part of the nose
b. the part of a ship where the captain works
c. a card game
d. pathway structure over a river or valley
7. Which is NOT a meaning of bear as used in the story?
a. hold
b. carry
c. furry mammal
d. support
8. What is the meaning of the word beam as used in the article?
a. long piece of heavy wood or metal used in construction
b. width of a ship at its widest part
c. ray of light
d. smile
9. Which of the following words from the last paragraph is a
multiple-meaning word?
a. familiar
b. record
c. steel
d. since
10. The meaning of still as used in the article is
a. “quiet.”
b. “unmoving.”
c. “calm.”
d. “even now.”
11. What is the meaning of the word light as used in the second paragraph?
a. beam
b. bright
c. not heavy
d. pale
PRACTICE 3: MAKING THINGS MOVE
Read this selection, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) Did you know that whatever you do, forces are at work on you? That’s
right. Forces keep your feet on the ground when you stand. Forces keep you
sitting on a chair without slipping off. And a force guarantees that if you
jump up, you’re going to come down! Without forces you couldn’t hold a
pen to write, no matter whether you use your right or left! In the world of
forces, things spin, stretch, twist, and fly, but only if something or someone applies a push or
pull!
(2) Here on Earth, gravity pulls anything at or near the surface toward the center of the planet.
Things have weight because of gravity’s pull. The greater
the pull, the more an object weighs. We use scales to measure weight.
When you step on a scale, the numbers tell how much force Earth’s gravity is pulling between
you and the planet itself.
12. What is the meaning of the word pen as used in the first paragraph?
a. cage
b. writing tool
c. scribble
d. corral
13. Which is NOT a meaning of the word step?
a. stair
b. stage or point of directions
c. stride
d. high
14. Which is the meaning of scales as used in the passage?
a. hard pieces that cover an animal’s body
b. climbs a steep, rocky hill
c. machines for weighing things
d. draws in relative proportion
ANSWERS
6. d
7. c
8. a
9. b
10. d
11. c
12. b
13. d
14. c