Instructions: Copyright 2000-2002 Measured Progress, All Rights Reserved
: Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow. Dear Grandma and Grandpa, How are you? I am doing fine. What s new? I ve been enjoying my summer. I have a paper route to earn some extra money. I am putting some of it in the college fund that you started for me. Besides my paper route, I ve been taking swimming lessons from Uncle Vincent. I asked him to help me with my front crawl. I always seem to get water in my nose and mouth whenever I do that stroke. I m really good at swimming the backstroke and the dog paddle. And, if I ever get into any real trouble in the water, I can always tread water. How s the weather in Florida? Here in Georgia it s been very warm. To keep cool, I ve been running through the sprinkler and drinking lots of lemonade. I m thinking of opening a lemonade stand after my swimming lesson today. School starts in about four weeks. I m going to be in 3rd grade. Can you believe it? My teacher will be Mrs. Reese. I have heard that she is very nice and makes you work really hard. I will do my best to make you proud of me. Mom says that if I keep my grades up that I can take flute lessons at school. I want to be able to play a song or two for you when you come for the holidays. I can t wait to see the two of you. You might not be able to recognize me! Maybe, I ll wear a nametag! I ve grown two inches and I have grown my hair to my shoulders. Finally, Mom has let me grow my hair to where I want it. Now, I can wear my fancy barrettes and put my hair in a ponytail. Well, that s all for now. Give each other a hug from me. Keep healthy and keep safe. 2
: 1. Which of the following BEST describes this passage? A. fiction B. nonfiction C. letter D. folktale 2. What can the reader find out about Marybeth s grandparents from this passage? A. They are good swimmers. B. They play musical instruments. C. They like to drink lemonade. D. They live in Florida. 3. Who is teaching Marybeth to swim? A. Mrs. Reese B. Uncle Vincent C. her grandparents D. her mother 4. Which BEST completes the analogy? Flute is to musical instruments as lemonade is to A. refreshing drinks. B. hot afternoons. C. fresh lemons. D. drinking glasses. 3
: 5. What is the purpose of this passage? A. to tell an entertaining tale B. to teach a lesson C. to describe things that have happened D. to convince someone to do something 6. Which of the following is a compound word? A. backstroke B. swimmer C. paddle D. barrettes 4
: Good Earth Necklace gives directions for making a necklace out of dirt! Read the directions and then answer the questions that follow. Good Earth Necklace by Kathy Ross Here is what you need: clean dirt, such as packaged potting soil white glue cup and spoon old plastic or china plate for drying paintbrush blue and green poster paint clear nail polish small paper clip scissors blue yarn Here is what you do: 1. Use the cup and spoon to mix about two tablespoons of dirt with enough white glue to hold it together. Roll as much of the dirt mixture as you need to form a small ball for your necklace. Push one end of a paper clip into the ball to form a hanger. Wash the cup and spoon immediately. Let the ball dry on an old plate for several days until it is very hard. 5
: 2. Paint the ball blue. When the blue paint has dried, paint on green land forms. Let the green paint dry. 3. Tie a long piece of blue yarn through the paper clip to make your necklace. Paint the ball with clear nail polish and hang it up to dry. Remember to wash off your drying plate to save and use with other projects. 7. What does the blue paint on the ball stand for? A. land B. oceans C. sky D. rivers 8. How long will it probably take to make a good earth necklace, from start to finish? A. two to four days B. one day C. one hour D. two weeks 9. Which will happen if you forget to push the paper clip into the ball? A. The ball will fall apart into little pieces. B. The ball will not dry all the way. C. You will not be able to paint the ball. D. You will have no way to hang the ball from the yarn. 6
: What kind of person has a name like Tooter? Read the story to find out and then answer the questions that follow. from Tooter Pepperday by Jerry Spinelli Bye, old house. Chuckie waved as they drove off. He rode in the truck with his mother. Tooter and her father followed in the car. Tooter did not wave. She did not even look. She grumped in the backseat. The Pepperdays were moving to Aunt Sally s farm, two states and three hundred miles away. They were moving because they could live for free at Aunt Sally s. Living for free was a good idea, because the Pepperdays did not have much money. Mr. Pepperday had quit his job, and Mrs. Pepperday did not earn much driving a school bus. Aunt Sally had said they would all be happy as hogs in slop. Mr. Pepperday was happy. Now he could spend all his time writing books for children. Mrs. Pepperday was happy. Now she would have help with the chores. And she could give more time to her beekeeping. And Chuckie was happy. Now he would get to sleep with Harvey. Harvey was Aunt Sally s rusty, shaggy dog. I m a hog in slop! Chuckie kept laughing. Everybody was happy but Tooter. Tooter had a perfectly good life in Morgantown. McDonald s. The tire tunnel at the playground. Saturday morning yard sales. T-ball. Her friends. Especially Matthew Kain, her sidewalk skating buddy. 7
: Tooter had no desire to move to a stupid farm. Farms didn t even have sidewalks. 10. Who is Harvey? A. Aunt Sally s dog B. Tooter s friend C. the Pepperdays dog D. Tooter s brother 11. Which sentence BEST shows how Tooter and Chuckie feel about moving? A. Tooter and Chuckie are both looking forward to farm life. B. Tooter is happy to be moving, while Chuckie does not care. C. Tooter and Chuckie are both angry that the family is moving. D. Chuckie is happy to be moving, while Tooter is sad to leave Morgantown. 12. How were the Pepperdays traveling to Aunt Sally s farm? A. in a car and a truck B. on a train C. on a bus and a train D. in a plane 8
: Amazing Babies by Lelia Novak When a blue whale calf is born, it weighs as much as 5,000 pounds. That s half the weight of a fullgrown elephant! The mother whale feeds her calf by squirting milk into its mouth. The mother can squirt 33 gallons (125 liters) of milk at a time enough milk to fill a bathtub! Not all large mothers have large babies. A polar bear weighs as much as 650 pounds (295 kilograms), but her cub weighs less than a pound and a half. It is about the size of a guinea pig. The cub huddles close to its mother for warmth and milk. In three months, the cub is ready to face the cold winds of the arctic spring. A newborn kangaroo is barely bigger than a baked bean. It must seek the protection of its mother s pouch as soon as it is born. Using its tiny front claws, the baby crawls up the mother s fur into the pouch. There it drinks milk and grows. Six months later, it emerges from the pouch a full-sized joey (baby kangaroo) ready to hop and explore. 13. What is this passage mainly about? A. food that baby animals eat B. animal babies and their mothers C. how baby animals travel D. where baby animals live 14. The author compares how big a baby blue whale is to A. a house B. an automobile C. a bear D. an elephant 9
: 15. The passage says that the polar bear is different from the whale. How is it different? A. The baby of the whale is larger. B. The polar bear weighs more. C. The polar bear gives more milk. D. The baby of the whale is smaller. 16. What is the FIRST thing a kangaroo does after it is born? A. hops off to explore on its own B. goes off to find food C. climbs into its mother s pouch D. finds friends to play with 17. As used in the passage, what is the meaning of the word huddles? A. eats near by B. plays with C. gets close to D. climbs on top of 10
: Read the article about toads and then answer the questions that follow. Toad in Your Garden by Priscilla Y. Huff There s a nice little warty animal that lives in gardens and flower beds. To most people it s a plain old toad, nothing to get excited about. That s because they haven t watched one. A toad is a remarkable hunter. It can eat 10,000 insects and 2,000 cutworms during one summer. But a toad doesn t stalk its prey the way a lion or a tiger does. It waits quietly in the dark for a bug to pass by. Then ZAP. Its tongue darts out about half the length of its body and the bug disappears. It s almost too fast for your eyes to see. Of course, you may have to wait for quite a while for a bug to come by. One way to hurry things up is to find some insects for the toad. But don t try a dead fly or grasshopper. Anything that doesn t move won t work. A toad wants to see motion. A wiggly worm or anything that creeps will get attention. And when it gets within tongue s length it will disappear into the toad. It doesn t even get chewed, because a toad has no teeth. Even thought it s not very cuddly, a toad is a valuable friend to have in your garden, because it eats bugs that could damage crops. 18. A toad will not eat a dead fly or grasshopper because they A. are too big. B. have wings. C. do not move. D. are too small. 11
: 19. How does a toad get food? A. A toad sits and waits for it to come by. B. A toad hides and then it jumps out at its prey. C. A toad chases its prey until it is caught. D. A toad catches its prey in a pool of water. 20. The writer of this story thinks that if you watch a toad for a while you will be A. tired. B. angry. C. sad. D. surprised. 21. What is the MAIN reason a person would read Toad in Your Garden? A. to tell how frogs and toads are different B. to find out how to get rid of garden bugs C. to learn more about the life of a toad D. to find out how to care for a pet toad 22. Then ZAP. Its tongue darts out about half the length of its body and the bug disappears. Why is the word ZAP written in capital letters? A. It is the name of a kind of toad. B. It is the sound a toad makes. C. It shows that something happens suddenly. D. It is the sound a bug makes. 12