NEW YORK STATE English Language Arts 6 New York Practice and Mastery
To the Student CONTENTS This book provides practice with the English language arts skills that students in grade 6 need. The book has two practice units. In each unit, you will read and listen to selections. You will answer questions about them. Your teacher will explain how to complete the practices. For the shortresponse and extended-response questions, you will write your answers directly in this book. For the multiple-choice questions, you will use the answer form at the back of this book. Be sure to fill in the answer bubbles completely. If you change an answer, be sure to erase your first answer fully. To help you choose the best answer to a question, use the following tips: Read each question carefully before you try to answer it. Be sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Look at all the answer choices. Cross out any choices that you know are wrong. Think about the answer choices that are left. Choose the one that you think is correct. Check your answer to be sure it makes sense. PRACTICE ONE Part One Reading......................... 1 Part Two Listening and Writing...... 15 Part Three Reading and Writing...... 23 PRACTICE TWO Part One Reading........................ 31 Part Two Listening and Writing...... 45 Part Three Reading and Writing...... 53 ANSWER FORM............................ 61 Product Development and Design by Chameleon Publishing Services Written by Susan DeStefano Illustrated by Leslie Alfred McGrath The Kingdom s End and Life s Dance are reprinted with permission of Susan DeStefano. Copyright 2006. ISBN 978-0-7609-4194-2 2007 Curriculum Associates, Inc. North Billerica, MA 01862 No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the publisher. All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA. 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PRACTICE Part One Reading TWO Read this article about animal behavior. Then answer questions 1 through 5. Swarm Intelligence Look up the word intelligence in the dictionary. You ll see that it means able to learn and apply what is learned to other information. Humans are intelligent. They can learn, and they can use what they learn to make the world a better place. We may not all be geniuses like Thomas Jefferson or Leonardo da Vinci. Our accomplishments may not improve the world in a dramatic way. (Inventions like the Pet Rock and those goofy umbrella hats prove this to be a fact.) However, we do try to use our heads, and for the most part, we are successful. Are other creatures intelligent? Many people think their pets are intelligent because they can obey commands and learn tricks. Some pets assist people with disabilities and help the people live full, active lives. Some pets have been called a hero for saving their owners from fires and other dangerous situations. Surely, these animals display some level of intelligence. Is it possible that creatures, even those as small and as lowly as ants and termites, also have intelligence? If you are about to answer absolutely not, it s because you don t have all the facts. No one is saying that ants or termites have brains like you and I have, or that there is an Einstein living in an anthill in your backyard. However, scientists do believe that insects that live collectively, or in groups, demonstrate a kind of swarm intelligence. Some grownups think that kids who swarm around in groups display a total lack of intelligence. But that s another story. Let s get back to insects. Relativity 31
According to scientists, swarm intelligence is the group behavior of individuals that respond to what is happening around them without being shown what to do. For example, if a group of ants needs to get from a dangling leaf to a tree branch, all the ants will pitch in to form a bridge so that the ants can get to the branch. The individual ants aren t thinking, This is what I have to do, so I ll do it. There isn t a boss giving them orders or showing them what to do. But they all understand what the goal is. Then they work together to achieve that goal for the good of the whole group. Termites also demonstrate swarm intelligence. Termites, which look like ants and are sometimes called white ants, live in colonies. They eat wood and other plant fibers. Termites that live in tropical environments build mounds, or towers, that can reach 15 feet high. These mounds are complex structures that have compartments for food, housing, and defense against other creatures. There is no head termite showing the individual termites what to do or how to construct the towers. Like the ants, they just seem to know what to do. Today, researchers have developed ways to apply swarm intelligence to robotics, computer science, and medicine. So although ants or termites don t have anything to learn from humans, it seems that humans are intelligent enough to know that there is a lot to learn from them. 32
1. Which statement best describes the way the author attracts the reader s interest in the first paragraph? A The author makes it shorter than other paragraphs in the article. B The author uses several short sentences in a row. C The author uses italics and unusual punctuation. D The author uses humor and a conversational tone. 2. Which sentence is supported by information in the article? F Only humans display intelligence. G Humans in a group lack a level of intelligence. H Swarms of ants accomplish tasks by working together. J Termites are smarter than ants. 4. Which of these is a result of swarm intelligence? F a fox den G a bee hive H a bird nest J a rabbit hole 5. Which sentence reflects an opinion expressed by the author of the article? A Humans have intelligence. B Some pets help people with disabilities live full, active lives. C Termites build mounds that can reach 15 feet high. D Humans can learn a lot from ants and termites. 3. Ants know how to form a bridge to get from one place to another because A of instinct B a boss ant orders them to C they have watched termites build bridges D they can think 33
Read this story about friendship. Then answer questions 6 through 12. Everybody Has a Secret Nathan opened his mouth to take a bite of the tuna with avocado sandwich that he had made this morning. So what s your secret? Ali asked What? Nathan asked. Don t mind her, Mike said. Ali persisted. What s your secret? Nathan put his sandwich down on the cafeteria table. I don t have a secret, he said, and if I did, why would I tell you? We just met. Gina chuckled. You may want to rethink hanging out with the three of us, she said. There are lots of great kids at our school. None of them is as weird as Ali. Nathan smiled and picked up his sandwich, but Ali wasn t about to give up. I m not talking about the kind of secrets you tell people in confidence and then make them swear not to tell, she said. I m talking about the secrets of our inner self. Gina was right, Nathan thought. Ali was weird, but he put his sandwich down again without taking a bite. At this rate, he was going to starve so he might as well figure out what she was talking about so he could finish his lunch. Okay, I give in, he said. Gina and Mike rolled their eyes. Ali was clearly delighted. See, she said. It s like this. We re all something on the outside good student, basketball player, band member. But we re also something on the inside, which we don t show to people. Our secret may be something we want to be when we grow up, or some goal we d like to achieve. Sometimes we are aware of our secret and sometimes we aren t. Want to know what Mike s secret is? Mike interrupted Ali. You should know that Ali has driven us all a little crazy with this nutty theory of hers. I went along with her idea so she d leave me alone. But Nathan was intrigued. So tell me Mike s secret, he said. Mike wants to create sound effects for movies and television, Ali said. Want to know how we discovered his secret? Sure, Nathan said. Well, whenever we would be watching TV, and a commercial would come on, he d turn down the sound and make his own sound effects to go with the commercial. Nathan smiled. Interesting, he said. But, with me, what you see is what you get. No secrets. Uh, oh! Mike said. 34
You ve just thrown down a challenge, Gina said. She ll haunt you until she figures out your secret. So make one up. Ali made a face at her friends and said, I d know if it was made up. You may think you don t have a secret, but you do. And I m going to help you figure it out. It actually took Ali only a couple of weeks of eating lunch together to figure out Nathan s secret. By then, the four of them were good friends. Ali, Mike, Gina, and Nathan were in the cafeteria when Ali announced that she knew Nathan s secret. Before she said anything out loud, however, she slipped Nathan a piece of paper. When he read what was written on it, he started to laugh. You can tell them, he said. Have any of you noticed what Nathan brings for lunch? He never has peanut butter and jelly, or just a plain ham-and-cheese sandwich, she said. And did you know that he fixes his own lunch every day, unlike the rest of us, who rely on our moms or dads to make our lunch? Nathan s secret is his passion for food. Nathan shrugged. I do love experimenting with different combinations of foods, he said. Sometimes the results are strange, but it s fun. Who knows? Maybe I ll be a chef or a restaurant critic some day. Ali suddenly became distracted. Oh, look, there s that new transfer student, Clarise. I wonder what her secret is, she said. She waved her hand to get Clarise s attention and to invite her to their table. Gina, Mike, and Nathan looked at each other and said, Here we go again! 35
6. Read these sentences from the story. Nathan put his sandwich down on the cafeteria table. I don t have a secret, he said, and if I did, why would I tell you? We just met. These sentences reveal all of these except F G H J the setting the relationship of the characters Nathan s personality Ali s character 7. What happens after Ali makes the comment about secrets of our inner self? A B C D Nathan ignores her and keeps eating. Gina tells Nathan to look for new friends. Nathan agrees to listen to Ali s theory. Mike reveals his secret. 8. What does Ali believe is true of all people? F They are afraid of sharing their inner feelings. G They aren t always aware of what they want in life. H They can t keep a secret. J They lack confidence. 9. How does Nathan s opinion of Ali change from the beginning of the story to the end of the story? A B C D In the beginning, he thinks she s weird; in the end, he thinks she makes sense. In the beginning, he thinks she s rude; in the end, he thinks she s kind. In the beginning, he thinks she s silly; in the end, he thinks she s brilliant. In the beginning, he thinks she s unkind; in the end, he thinks she s friendly. 36
10. Read these sentences from the story. But Nathan was intrigued. So tell me Mike s secret, he said. What does the word intrigued mean? F G H J puzzled interested upset amused 11. Based on story events and what you know about Ali, what do you think will happen after the story ends? A B C D Ali will tell Nathan her most private secrets. Ali will ask Nathan to fix her lunch every day. Ali will ask Clarise what her secret is. Ali will come up with a whole new theory about people. 12. The story Everybody Has a Secret is described as realistic fiction because it includes F G H J a plot, a setting, and characters that create a story that could actually happen an unusual setting, weird characters, and a surprise ending a serious storyline with several exciting events a reason for convincing readers to accept a particular point of view 37
Read this article about the Underground Railroad. Then answer questions 13 through 17. Friends Along the Way Imagine traveling from South Carolina to Canada, making much of the trip on foot and in the dead of night. Imagine wading through murky swamps and icy streams. Imagine trekking along dark forest paths and through hundreds of miles of treacherous mountain passes. Throughout your journey, you are afraid for your life. This is not just because of the elements. You also fear being captured and returned to the South. You are considered a piece of property. Your master has put a bounty on your head for your return. So you listen carefully for the sounds of dogs and men that may be tracking you. If you re caught, they will return you to your master and collect that bounty. You long for freedom, but until you reach your final destination, you are in constant danger. You will need friends along the way, but it s hard to know whom you can trust. This was the sad plight of thousands of runaway slaves who sought freedom along the Underground Railroad from around 1830 to 1865. After the Civil War ended, slavery was abolished. The Underground Railroad wasn t a real railroad with train cars and tracks. It wasn t underground either. It was a secret network of paths that led from the South to Canada. Slavery was illegal in Canada. Slaves who reached Canada were guaranteed freedom. The Underground Railroad did have passengers, stations, and conductors. The passengers were runaway slaves. The stations were the 3,000 or so safe houses, shops, and other places where the runaways stopped. There they received shelter, food, warm clothing, and supplies to help them continue on their journey. The conductors were people, both free blacks and whites, who ran the stations. Some conductors also led the runaways for part of the journey. In 1793 and in 1850, the United States passed the Fugitive Slave Acts. This made it illegal, even in northern states, to aid runaway slaves. People who worked for the Underground Railroad had to act in secret. They were so opposed to slavery that they were willing to take many risks. 38
To keep their actions hidden, a secret code was developed. A lantern hung on a hitching post meant that a house was a safe haven. Words, phrases, and sentences had hidden meanings, too. The River Jordan referred to the Mississippi River. The Promised Land was Canada. If someone said, The wind blows from the south today, that told members of the Underground Railroad that escaped slaves were arriving. Because it was illegal for slaves in the South to learn to read or write, they couldn t write down any of these codes. So they made up hymns, or songs, that contained code words. Follow the Drinking Gourd is one of the most famous of these songs. The phrase drinking gourd was code for the Big Dipper and the North Star. There was also a code name for Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad. Moses, as Harriet Tubman was known, was an escaped slave herself. She risked her own freedom by returning to the South to help more than 300 slaves escape. Historians believe that as many as 100,000 people traveled to freedom on the Underground Railroad. They and the people who helped them are true heroes. 39
13. Which statement best describes the way the author attracts the reader s interest in the first three paragraphs? A The author uses the same sentence pattern throughout the paragraphs. B The author uses dramatic and descriptive language to set the scene. C The author uses two short and one long paragraph. D The author repeats the word imagine. 14. Read this sentence from the article. This was the sad plight of thousands of runaway slaves who sought freedom along the Underground Railroad from around 1830 to 1865. What does the word plight mean? F normal route G secret location H empty feeling J difficult situation 15. According to the article, escaped slaves can best be described as A determined B foolish C quiet D secretive 16. Why was it risky for people to work for the Underground Railroad? F They could be captured by bounty hunters. G They couldn t trust the slaves that they helped. H They could be arrested for breaking the law. J They had to lead the runaways along dangerous paths at night. 17. Which of these statements best states the main idea of the article? A The Underground Railroad was a complex and secret network of paths. B Without the heroic workers of the Underground Railroad, thousands of brave slaves may not have made it to Canada and freedom. C Slavery was an evil practice that everyone should have opposed. D Because of the Fugitive Slave Acts, workers for the Underground Railroad took great risks helping escaped slaves. 40
Read this poem about old shoes. Then answer questions 18 through 22. Life s Dance by Susan DeStefano That s not just an old pile of shoes, Cluttering the closet floor. That s my life s dance that you re discarding. See those dingy white sneakers, with the knotted laces, Squashed like pancakes on the bottom of the pile? They whisked me to first place in the regionals. I ve got the blue ribbon to prove it. See those sandals, with the broken leather strap And floppy soles with ragged holes? I wore those all summer the year we moved, and Dad taught me to fly-fish to forget the pain. See those faded pink slippers with the blocked toes And tangled ties, two sizes too small? I stood tippy-toe in them, and skimmed the floor, And spun around, and danced my dance. 41
18. What do the old shoes represent to the speaker? F G H J dance lessons important memories friends and family painful losses 19. Which literary device does the poet use in line three of the poem? A B C D simile onomatopoeia personification metaphor 20. Which literary device does the poet use in line five of the poem? F G H J simile onomatopoeia personification metaphor 21. Read these lines from the poem. I wore those all summer the year we moved, and Dad taught me to fly-fish to forget the pain. What pain is the speaker referring to? A the pain of trying to learn something new B the pain of losing a race C D the pain of missing old friends the pain from wearing shoes that are too small 22. This poem is mostly about F the joys and sorrows that are part of growing up G learning how to dance and spin on toe shoes H painful memories of the past J old dirty shoes 42
Read this article about the sun. Then answer questions 23 through 26. Don t Forget About the Sun Humans take so many important things for granted. For example, how often do most of us think about the air that surrounds us? Just because we can t see it, touch it, smell it, taste it, or hear it, we tend to forget about it. However, without air and the oxygen that it provides, we wouldn t be able to breathe. Another thing that we don t always appreciate is the sun. When it s cloudy or rainy, we miss its light. But when it s there, shining high in the sky, day after day, are we truly grateful for its presence? The sun, as most of us learned in school, is a fiery star and the center of our solar system. It is approximately 93 million miles from Earth. As it turns out, that s just the right distance to support life on Earth. A few million miles closer or farther away, and we d just be another lifeless planet like Mercury or Pluto. The sun is a major source of energy. That energy reaches Earth as light and heat. The sun s energy powers the wind, ocean currents, and the water cycle (cloud formation, precipitation, and evaporation). Plants use the sun s energy to grow and to release oxygen into the air, which we breathe. We also rely on those plants for food. The sun s rays keep us warm. They also help the body produce Vitamin D, which keeps bones strong and prevents cancers and other diseases. As a result, most doctors encourage people to get a sensible amount of sun every day. The sun is a powerful source of energy. Even though it is 93 million miles away, its heat can be blistering, literally. Overexposure to the sun s rays can result in serious sunburns, which can cause skin damage and sometimes skin cancer. Long ago, people were so awed by the power of the sun that they worshipped it as a god. They held ceremonies to honor the sun god and offered it gifts to keep it happy. We do not worship the sun, but we should appreciate it for what it provides. 43
23. The main purpose of the opening paragraph is to A introduce the idea that people don t always appreciate what is important for their survival B describe how the lungs take in oxygen from the air and use it to survive C explain why we can t see, touch, smell, taste, or hear air D teach a lesson about the correct way to breathe 24. According to the article, all of these are a result of the sun s energy except F wind G ocean currents H heat J the odorless quality of air 25. According to the article, which of these statements would many doctors most likely support? A People should spend as much time in the sun as possible every day. B People should honor the sun. C People should go out in the sun every day, but for only a short while. D People should never expose their skin to direct sunlight. 26. After reading this article, a student wants to know more about ancient cultures that worshipped sun gods. Which section of a website about the sun would have the most information on this topic? F The Sun and Other Stars G Sun Dances and Other Religious Celebrations H The Sun s Damaging Rays J Solar Energy 44