2020 Test B English

Practice questions from 2020 Test B English, with an explanation of every answer.

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The land on Earth

Which revision corrects the error in sentence structure in the paragraph? The land on Earth has not always been separated into the seven continents, at one time a massive supercontinent,…
- Type Sentence structure
- NYS standards 7L1, 7L2
- Difficulty 2 of 5
- Level Below grade 7
Walking dogs, cleaning kennels, hand-feeding newborn kittens

Read this paragraph. (1) Walking dogs, cleaning kennels, hand-feeding newborn kittens, and supporting the pet-adoption process, the animal shelter is looking for volunteers to help with a variety of tasks.…
- Type Sentence structure
- NYS standards 7L1
- Difficulty 3 of 5
The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

Which edit should be made to correct the sentence? The Colosseum in Rome, Italy which is considered one of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World, is the largest amphitheater…
- Type Punctuation
- NYS standards 7L2
- Difficulty 2 of 5
- Level Below grade 7
To promote their club

How should this sentence be revised? To promote their club, a bake sale will be sponsored by members of the debate team on Wednesday.
- Type Sentence structure
- NYS standards 7L1
- Difficulty 2 of 5
The Free College Debate

Which sentence should replace sentence 3 to best state the topic of the passage?
- Type Introductions and conclusions
- NYS standards 7W2a
- Difficulty 2 of 5
The Free College Debate

Read this sentence. Some note that several states have made their community or state colleges low-cost or free for students with limited resources. Where should the sentence be added to…
- Type Organization
- NYS standards 7W2a
- Difficulty 3 of 5
The Free College Debate

Which sentence presents information that shifts away from the topic of the third paragraph (sentences 8–13) and should be deleted?
- Type Supporting details
- NYS standards 7W2b
- Difficulty 3 of 5
The Free College Debate

Which phrase should be added before sentence 14 to best transition to the ideas in the fourth paragraph (sentences 14–17)?
- Type Transitions
- NYS standards 7W2d
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
The Free College Debate

Which concluding sentence should be added after sentence 19 to support the topic of the passage?
- Type Introductions and conclusions
- NYS standards 7W2e
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

Read this sentence from paragraph 1. As one Scottish traveler observed during his visit to America, “Niagara and Lowell are the two objects I will longest remember in my American…
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

Which sentence from paragraph 2 best supports the idea that Lowell became “a bustling industrial city” (paragraph 1)?
- Type Textual evidence
- NYS standards 7R1
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

Read this sentence from paragraph 3. From the early to mid-1800s, women left the constricted lifestyle of small rural towns and rural areas for independent industrial city life. Which statement…
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

Read this sentence from paragraph 5. Although Lowell received an influx of Irish families during this time, the Irish were a part of the city’s history from its birth, and…
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5, 7R3
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

Which sentence best summarizes the mill girls’ experience as the dominant workforce in Lowell?
- Type Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R2, 7R3
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

A central idea that Lowell was “one of America’s most significant industrial cities” (paragraph 1) is conveyed in the passage primarily through a description of the
- Type Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R2, 7R5
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

The reason Lowell lost its status as an industrial leader is best illustrated through the
- Type Textual evidence
- NYS standards 7R1, 7R3
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

The phrase “those wonderful Swiss and African ones which vote, keep drilled armies,… and dispute about religion” in paragraph 1 shows that the author
- Type Author's purpose and point of view
- NYS standards 7R6, 7R4
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

In paragraph 2, how do the words “grabs,” “yanks,” and “tearing away” contribute to the meaning of the excerpt?
- Type Word meaning and figurative language
- NYS standards 7R4, 7L5c
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

Read this sentence from paragraph 2. At the end of half an hour he fetches up within six inches of the place he started from, and lays his burden down.…
- Type Text structure, Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R5, 7R2
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

The description at the end of paragraph 2 of the ant repeating his actions conveys the idea that
- Type Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R2, 7R1
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

Which sentence from paragraph 2 best supports the idea that sheer “leather-headedness” (paragraph 2) amounts to “ignorance” and “idiocy” (paragraph 4)?
- Type Textual evidence
- NYS standards 7R1, 7L4a
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

How does the presence of the friend in paragraph 3 influence the first ant’s behavior?
- Type Development of ideas and characters
- NYS standards 7R3
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

Which of the following best explains the author’s fascination with the ants?
- Type Author's purpose and point of view
- NYS standards 7R6, 7R1
- Difficulty 5 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

Read this sentence from paragraph 3. Evidently the friend remarks that a last year’s grasshopper leg is a very noble acquisition, and inquires where he got it. Which statement best…
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad

The central idea that “the average ant is a sham” (paragraph 1) is conveyed mainly through the
- Type Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R2, 7R5
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy

According to the passage, how did fires started by natural causes prompt American Indians to begin practicing controlled burns?
- Type Key details
- NYS standards 7R1, 7R3
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy

Targeting red cedar trees in controlled burns affects the animals that live on the prairie mostly by
- Type Development of ideas and characters
- NYS standards 7R3, 7R1
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy

Read this sentence from paragraph 6. The patch-burn system is so successful that the conservationists at the preserve provide training to prairie farmers about conducting controlled burns on their own…
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy

Which details from the passage best convey the central idea that using the patch-burn method is an effective way to protect and manage prairie land?
- Type Textual evidence, Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R1, 7R2
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy

Which sentence supports the idea that farmers and people who manage land may be concerned about using fire as a way to benefit the land?
- Type Textual evidence
- NYS standards 7R1, 7R6
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy

Read this sentence from paragraph 6. Burning land to make it healthy may seem counterintuitive, but strategic controlled fires have helped the prairie sustain life for hundreds of years and,…
- Type Word meaning and figurative language
- NYS standards 7R4, 7L4b
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy

With which statement would the author most likely agree?
- Type Author's purpose and point of view
- NYS standards 7R6, 7R1
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy

How do the diagram and its text provide additional support for the topic presented in the passage?
- Type Textual evidence, Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R1, 7R2
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Cross-Purposes

How does the similar construction of the sentence in line 1 and the sentence in line 8 contribute to the meaning of the poem?
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5, 7R6
- Difficulty 5 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Cross-Purposes

Read lines 2–4 and lines 12–14 from the poem. I am what every athlete wants: to remain at the apex of the leap, up in the air. I am the…
- Type Text structure, Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R2, 7R5
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Cross-Purposes

The use of the words “siblings” and “my sisters and brothers” in lines 31–32 conveys the idea that the
- Type Word meaning and figurative language
- NYS standards 7R4, 7L5a
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Cross-Purposes

The comparison to sewing in lines 33–35 helps show that the structure
- Type Word meaning and figurative language
- NYS standards 7L5a, 7R4
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Cross-Purposes

The last stanza (lines 36–42) conveys a central idea of the poem by
- Type Text structure, Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R2, 7R5
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Cross-Purposes

Read lines 41–42 from the poem. Because I am, above all else, patient. I will wait for you. Which of the following supports what is implied in these lines?
- Type Textual evidence
- NYS standards 7R1
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Cross-Purposes

How does the poet develop the points of view of the structure and the water?
- Type Author's purpose and point of view
- NYS standards 7R6, 7L5a
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Cross-Purposes

How does the form of the poem contribute to its meaning?
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5, 7R6
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

In paragraph 1, the phrases “cool morning breezes swept freely” and “wafting the perfume of sweet grasses” affect the tone of the excerpt by suggesting
- Type Word meaning and figurative language
- NYS standards 7R4, 7L5c
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

The phrase “just as an artist arranges the paints upon his palette” in paragraph 2 suggests that
- Type Word meaning and figurative language
- NYS standards 7L5a, 7R4
- Difficulty 1 of 5
- Level Below grade 7
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

The author’s use of sequence in paragraphs 1 and 2 contributes to the development of ideas in the excerpt by
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5, 7R3
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

The details in paragraph 3 convey a central idea of the excerpt by suggesting that
- Type Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R2, 7R1
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

Which sentence best summarizes the process of beading that is described in the excerpt?
- Type Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R2, 7R1
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

The idea that mastering moccasin design and creation requires experience is best illustrated in the excerpt through
- Type Textual evidence
- NYS standards 7R1
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

How does the author distinguish her point of view from that of her mother?
- Type Author's purpose and point of view
- NYS standards 7R6, 7R1
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

Read this sentence from paragraph 7. Always after these confining lessons I was wild with surplus spirits, and found joyous relief in running loose in the open again. Which sentence…
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5, 7R3
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

The table after paragraph 7 expands on a central idea in the excerpt because it shows that
- Type Text structure, Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R5, 7R2
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Excerpt from “Niagara Falls”

The central idea that the Falls communicate a feeling of “unintelligible disaster” (paragraph 1) is conveyed in paragraph 2 through a description of
- Type Textual evidence, Central idea and theme
- NYS standards 7R1, 7R2
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Excerpt from “Niagara Falls”

Read this sentence from paragraph 2. They are extraordinarily level, one long curtain of lacework and woven foam. What is the effect of comparing the American Falls to a “long…
- Type Word meaning and figurative language
- NYS standards 7R4, 7L5
- Difficulty 2 of 5
Excerpt from “Niagara Falls”

Read this sentence from paragraph 3. These are the lower rapids, a sight more terrifying than the Falls, because less intelligible. Which statement best describes how the sentence fits into…
- Type Text structure
- NYS standards 7R5
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from “Niagara Falls”

Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the idea that the essence of the Falls lies in their emotional impact?
- Type Textual evidence
- NYS standards 7R1, 7R2
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Excerpt from “Niagara Falls”

Read this sentence from paragraph 4. There one can sit and let great cloudy thoughts of destiny and the passage of empires drift through the mind; for such dreams are…
- Type Text structure, Development of ideas and characters
- NYS standards 7R5, 7R3
- Difficulty 3 of 5
Excerpt from “Niagara Falls”

In paragraph 4, the idea that human life and history travel toward the same ending is illustrated mainly through
- Type Textual evidence
- NYS standards 7R1, 7L5
- Difficulty 4 of 5
- Level Above grade 7
Excerpt from “Niagara Falls”

With which statement would the author of this excerpt most likely agree?
- Type Author's purpose and point of view
- NYS standards 7R6, 7R1
- Difficulty 5 of 5
- Level Above grade 7