True but not the answer
Question 1 of 61
2026 Practice Test A English, question 8Passage The Best Laid Plans of Ravens
The Best Laid Plans of Ravens
In Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven,” a raven visits a lonely man’s home and responds to the man’s pleading questions with only the word “nevermore.” The poem’s narrator interprets the word as a prediction of doom for his future. A talking, prophetic raven may seem to be the wild imaginings of the poet, but a new study published in the journal Science hints that one particular idea behind the poem might not be as far-fetched as it seems. For most of human history, people assumed that animals do not understand the passage of time in the same way people do. Some people believed that animals might remember events from the past and that instinct might drive them to make preparations in order to guarantee survival, but most people did not think that animals had the ability to plan. At Lund University in Sweden, researchers argue that ravens may be able to think ahead and even plan for the future.
It can be difficult to test an animal’s ability to plan because human observers must be certain they are not mistaking instinctual behavior for intentional planning. For example, many animals hoard food so that they will not run out later, but scientists who study animals would not call hoarding a decision to plan for the future. This action is merely instinctual. Cognitive scientists argue that in order for an animal’s behavior to qualify as preparing for the future, the animal must use specific decision-making skills to solve a problem.
To avoid mistaking instinctual behavior for evidence of decision-making, the Lund University researchers designed two experiments to test ravens’ ability to plan. Ravens belong to the corvid family, a group of birds known for their intelligence. A study in 2007 showed that corvids have the tendency to save only certain types of food, which suggests that they are planning for the future rather than acting on instinct. In order to investigate that theory, the researchers had to design experiments that would achieve results that could not be explained by an instinctual behavior of food hoarding. Therefore, the ravens were taught two behaviors that they do not normally perform in the wild.
For the first experiment, the researchers showed the birds how to use a small stone to open a box and get treats. Once the ravens learned the behavior, the researchers presented the birds with four stones. Only one stone was the right size to open the box. The birds learned to select that stone and set it aside until the researchers presented the box. The second experiment involved bartering. A researcher would trade the ravens a large treat for a bottle cap. Later, the researchers presented the ravens with a group of items, including small treats and the bottle cap. The ravens chose the bottle cap over the treats and waited for the original researcher to trade with them again so that they could get more treats. In both experiments, the ravens waited patiently for up to seventeen hours for the researcher to return.
The results of these experiments are exciting, but more evidence needs to be gathered before scientists can fully conclude that ravens can plan for the future. Some scientists argue that the ravens might be choosing the stone and bottle cap because the ravens have been trained to do so, not necessarily because the ravens are thinking ahead. Regardless, like other recent advances in animal science, these experiments show that ravens could be much smarter than first believed, and scientists now believe that ravens do actually think about their own future.
Question
Read this sentence from paragraph 1.
At Lund University in Sweden, researchers argue that ravens may be able to think ahead and even plan for the future.
Which sentence from paragraph 4 provides support for this argument?
- A“Once the ravens learned the behavior, the researchers presented the birds with four stones.”
- B“A researcher would trade the ravens a large treat for a bottle cap.”
- C“Later, the researchers presented the ravens with a group of items, including small treats and the bottle cap.”
- D“The ravens chose the bottle cap over the treats and waited for the original researcher to trade with them again so that they could get more treats.”
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks which sentence from paragraph 4 supports the argument presented in the sentence from paragraph 1.
A. Incorrect. This sentence from paragraph 4 refers to the ravens’ ability to adapt and learn but not to plan and think ahead.
B. Incorrect. This sentence from paragraph 4 relates the actions of the researcher rather than the actions of the ravens and does not provide evidence in support of the argument that ravens have the ability to think and plan ahead.
C. Incorrect. This sentence from paragraph 4 does not describe a behavior of the ravens that would support the argument in the sentence from paragraph 1; instead it relates the actions of the researchers without giving any information about the ravens’ responses.
D. CORRECT. This sentence from paragraph 4 shows that the ravens seem to make a decision, which involves a thought process. The ravens chose to wait for the researcher rather than take the treats, suggesting that the ravens understood that the researcher would trade a larger treat for the bottle cap.
Question analysis
This evidence question on the science article “The Best Laid Plans of Ravens” quotes the claim from paragraph 1 that ravens may be able to think ahead and plan for the future. Students choose the sentence from paragraph 4, where two experiments are described, that supports it. Every choice comes from the same experiments, so each must be weighed against the claim.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Choosing the sentence that backs a quoted claim is standard grade 7 evidence work. The claim is printed in the question and all four choices come from one paragraph, so the search is short, though each sentence must be tested against the claim.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 599 words; question and choices: about grade 8, 107 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The claim is about what ravens can do, and only one of the four sentences shows the birds deciding anything. Students who read quickly accept any sentence about the experiments, especially the one where the ravens have just learned a skill, because learning sounds like intelligence. Asking who acts in each sentence, the birds or the researchers, settles the question in seconds.
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The right sentence never says “plan”; students must see that choosing the cap over the treats and waiting “so that they could get more treats” is acting now for a later reward. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
All four sentences come from paragraph 4’s experiments, and three of them report what the researchers did, so each must be checked for a decision made by the ravens. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Strategy: Underline “think ahead” and “plan” in the quoted claim, then ask of each sentence whether it, on its own, would convince a doubter that ravens can do that.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Takes “Once the ravens learned the behavior” as proof of planning, but learning to open a box shows only that the birds can be taught, and the rest is the researchers’ act.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the opening of the bartering test because it mentions the trade, yet the sentence reports only what a researcher offered, not anything the ravens decided.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Knows the bottle-cap test holds the evidence and picks its setup, the researchers laying out treats and the cap, one sentence before the ravens make their choice.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence: the sentence that best supports a claim. The claim is that ravens “may be able to think ahead and even plan for the future.” To plan is to decide now what you will do later, so you get something you want. You need a sentence from paragraph 4 that shows ravens doing that.
Ask who acts in each sentence
Only something the ravens do can prove what ravens can do. So check each choice for its doer. In A, B and C, the researchers do most of the acting. They hand out stones, offer a trade and set out items. Only one sentence shows the ravens making a choice of their own.
Find the ravens’ choice
Paragraph 4 says “The ravens chose the bottle cap over the treats and waited for the original researcher to trade with them again so that they could get more treats.” The ravens could have eaten a small treat right away. Instead they took a bottle cap, which is worthless by itself. They kept it because the researcher would trade a large treat for it later.
Explain why this shows planning
The words “so that” give the reason for the choice. The ravens gave up something now to get something better later. That is exactly what planning ahead means. You do the same thing when you save your allowance for a bigger toy next month.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. The ravens have only learned a skill. The rest of the sentence tells what the researchers did next.
- B does not fit. It tells what a researcher offered, not what the ravens decided.
- C does not fit. It is the setup of the test, before the ravens choose anything.
- D fits. The ravens choose now and wait for a later reward.
Watch out: A sounds smart because the ravens “learned the behavior.” But being taught a skill is not the same as thinking ahead.
Choose the answer
Only one sentence shows the ravens making a choice now for a reward later. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong choice, because learning a skill sounds clever. But learning to open a box shows only that the birds can be taught. It says nothing about the future. In D, the ravens pass up treats today to get more treats later. That is planning.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “The Best Laid Plans of Ravens” as printed (page 12)
Question 2 of 61
2026 Practice Test A English, question 10Uses the passage above: “The Best Laid Plans of Ravens”.
Question
In the first experiment described in paragraph 4, which of the ravens’ behaviors provides the strongest evidence for the claim that the birds are capable of planning?
- AThey accepted treats from the box.
- BThey set aside the stone that would open the box.
- CThey learned which stone could open the box.
- DThey waited for researchers to bring the box.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks which of the ravens’ behaviors in the first experiment described in paragraph 4 most strongly supports the claim that the birds are capable of planning.
A. Incorrect. While “the researchers showed the birds how to use a small stone to open a box and get treats” (paragraph 4), the acceptance of the treats does not demonstrate planning.
B. CORRECT. Once the ravens learned which stone would open the box, they consistently selected only that stone.
C. Incorrect. Although the birds learned which stone opened the box, this behavior demonstrates not their ability to plan but rather their intelligence.
D. Incorrect. The birds’ patience shows their anticipation for and understanding of the future gain of a treat but does not provide the strongest evidence of their ability to plan.
Question analysis
This evidence question on “The Best Laid Plans of Ravens” asks which of the ravens’ behaviors in the first experiment, the one with a stone and a box of treats, gives the strongest evidence that the birds can plan. Several behaviors seem to fit, so students must weigh them against the passage’s own idea of what planning is.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 evidence questions usually ask which detail supports a claim. This one asks which of the ravens’ behaviors gives the strongest support, and several seem to fit, so students must apply paragraph 2’s test for planning to paragraph 4.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer major
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Evidence in several places minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 599 words; question and choices: about grade 5, 58 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every choice describes something the ravens really did, so the work is ranking, not finding. The passage’s dramatic detail, birds waiting up to seventeen hours, draws attention away from the quieter act of keeping the right stone ready, which is the behavior that most clearly prepares for the future. Students who weigh each behavior against paragraph 2’s idea of decision-making, rather than against how impressive it sounds, separate the two.
A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer
Setting the stone aside and waiting for the box both come from one sentence, “set it aside until the researchers presented the box”; only the first is an action taken now for a later need. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The passage never says which behavior counts as planning, so students must apply paragraph 2’s test, that the animal “must use specific decision-making skills to solve a problem,” to each one. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The waiting that tempts students is stressed at the end of paragraph 4, “up to seventeen hours,” well after the stone sentence, and paragraph 2 holds the standard for judging both. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Use paragraph 2’s description of what counts as planning as a yardstick, then rank the four behaviors by how well each meets it instead of taking the first that seems clever.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the payoff of the experiment, taking treats from the box, which any trained animal does and which shows nothing about thinking ahead.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees intelligence in learning which of the four stones fits, but knowing the right tool is not the same as keeping it ready for a box that comes later.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Is drawn by the stress on waiting “up to seventeen hours,” which shows the birds expect the box, but waiting is passive; holding the right stone ready is the planning act.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks which thing the ravens did in the first experiment, the one with the stone and the box, is the strongest evidence that they can plan. More than one choice really happened. You must rank them and pick the best one.
Decide what counts as planning
Paragraph 2 gives a test. To count as preparing for the future, “the animal must use specific decision-making skills to solve a problem.” In plain words, planning means doing something now to get ready for something later. Use that as your measuring stick.
Find the key sentence
Paragraph 4 says “The birds learned to select that stone and set it aside until the researchers presented the box.” To set something aside is to put it away to use later. When the birds did this, the box was not there yet.
Explain why this is planning
The ravens had nothing to open at that moment. Still, they picked the one stone that would work and saved it. They did this because they expected to need it later. It is like packing an umbrella in the morning because rain is coming in the afternoon. That is a choice made now to solve a future problem.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. Taking treats is the reward. Any trained animal does that.
- B fits. Saving the right stone gets the bird ready for a box that comes later.
- C does not fit. Learning which stone works shows the birds can be taught. Knowing the right tool is not the same as keeping it ready.
- D does not fit as well. Waiting shows the birds expected the box. But waiting is doing nothing, so it is weaker proof.
Watch out: D is tempting because the passage stresses waiting “up to seventeen hours.” Long waiting is impressive, but it is not an action.
Choose the answer
Setting the stone aside is the clearest act of getting ready for the future. So the answer is B.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest wrong choice. Waiting and setting the stone aside come from the same sentence. But while a bird waits, it does nothing. Setting the stone aside is a choice. The bird keeps the right tool ready for a box that is not there yet. That act of getting ready makes B stronger evidence.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 3 of 61
2026 Practice Test A English, question 17Passage Excerpt from A Voice in the Wilderness
Excerpt from A Voice in the Wilderness
by Grace Livingston Hill
With a lurch the train came to a dead stop and Margaret Earle, hastily gathering up her belongings, hurried down the aisle and got out into the night.
It occurred to her, as she swung her heavy suit-case down the rather long step to the ground, and then carefully swung herself after it, that it was strange that neither conductor, brakeman, nor porter had come to help her off the train, when all three had taken the trouble to tell her that hers was the next station; but she could hear voices up ahead. Perhaps something was the matter with the engine that detained them and they had forgotten her for the moment.
The ground was rough where she stood, and there seemed no sign of a platform. Did they not have platforms in this wild Western land, or was the train so long that her car had stopped before reaching it?
She strained her eyes into the darkness, and tried to make out things from the two or three specks of light that danced about like fireflies in the distance. She could dimly see moving figures away up near the engine, and each one evidently carried a lantern. The train was tremendously long. A sudden feeling of isolation took possession of her. Perhaps she ought not to have got out until some one came to help her. Perhaps the train had not pulled into the station yet and she ought to get back on it and wait. Yet if the train started before she found the conductor she might be carried on somewhere and he justly blame her for a fool.
There did not seem to be any building on that side of the track. It was probably on the other, but she was standing too near the cars to see over. She tried to move back to look, but the ground sloped and she slipped and fell in the cinders, bruising her knee and cutting her wrist.
In sudden panic she arose. She would get back into the train, no matter what the consequences. They had no right to put her out here, away off from the station, at night, in a strange country. If the train started before she could find the conductor she would tell him that he must back it up again and let her off. He certainly could not expect her to get out like this.
She lifted the heavy suit-case up the high step that was even farther from the ground than it had been when she came down, because her fall had loosened some of the earth and caused it to slide away from the track. Then, reaching to the rail of the step, she tried to pull herself up, but as she did so the engine gave a long snort and the whole train, as if it were in league against her, lurched forward crazily, shaking off her hold. She slipped to her knees again, the suit-case, toppled from the lower step, descending upon her, and together they slid and rolled down the short bank, while the train . . . ran giddily off into the night.
The horror of being deserted helped the girl to rise in spite of bruises and shock. She lifted imploring hands to the unresponsive cars as they hurried by her—one, two, three, with bright windows, each showing a passenger, comfortable and safe inside, unconscious of her need.
A moment of useless screaming, running, trying to attract some one’s attention, a sickening sense of terror and failure, and the last car slatted itself past with a mocking clatter, as if it enjoyed her discomfort.
Margaret stood dazed, reaching out helpless hands, then dropped them at her sides and gazed after the fast-retreating train, the light on its last car swinging tauntingly, blinking now and then with a leer in its eye, rapidly vanishing from her sight into the depth of the night.
She gasped and looked about her for the station that but a short moment before had been so real to her mind; and, lo! on this side and on that there was none!
The night was wide like a great floor shut in by a low, vast dome of curving blue set with the largest, most wonderful stars she had ever seen. Heavy shadows of purple-green, smoke-like, hovered over earth darker and more intense than the unfathomable blue of the night sky. It seemed like the secret nesting-place of mysteries wherein no human foot might dare intrude. It was incredible that such could be but common sage-brush, sand, and greasewood wrapped about with the beauty of the lonely night.
No building broke the inky outlines of the plain, nor friendly light streamed out to cheer her heart. Not even a tree was in sight, except on the far horizon, where a heavy line of deeper darkness might mean a forest. Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the blue, deep, starry dome above and the bluer darkness of the earth below save one sharp shaft ahead like a black mast throwing out a dark arm across the track.
As soon as she sighted it she picked up her baggage and made her painful way toward it, for her knees and wrist were bruised and her baggage was heavy.
A soft drip, drip greeted her as she drew nearer; something plashing down among the cinders by the track. Then she saw the tall column with its arm outstretched, and looming darker among the sage-brush the outlines of a water-tank. It was so she recognized the engine’s drinking-tank, and knew that she had mistaken a pause to water the engine for a regular stop at a station.
cinders: track bed made from the residue of burnt coal
From A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS by Grace Livingston Hill—Public Domain
Question
How do Margaret’s earlier interactions with the conductor, brakeman, and porter affect the plot?
- AThey prompt Margaret to get off the train without further assistance.
- BThey cause Margaret to think that she knows what to do once she gets off the train.
- CThey compel Margaret to wonder whether the train has not pulled all the way into the station.
- DThey lead Margaret to believe that train stations in rural areas lack platforms.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how Margaret’s earlier interactions with the conductor, brakeman, and porter affect the plot.
A. CORRECT. Because the conductor, brakeman, and porter have all “taken the trouble to tell her that hers was the next station” (paragraph 2), Margaret assumes that the next time the train stops, she will have reached her station. This assumption causes Margaret to get off the train at the next stop without waiting for help or confirmation, but the stop turns out to be just “a pause to water the engine” (paragraph 15). This mistaken assumption creates the main problem that Margaret confronts in the passage.
B. Incorrect. Although Margaret’s earlier interactions with the three railroad employees cause her to think that she knows when to get off the train, it is clear from paragraph 4 that Margaret is deeply confused and does not know what to do once she has exited the train car. She muses uneasily, “Perhaps she ought not to have got out until some one came to help her. Perhaps the train had not pulled into the station yet and she ought to get back on it and wait” (paragraph 4).
C. Incorrect. Margaret wonders in paragraph 3 whether the train is “so long that her car had stopped before reaching [the station]” and speculates in paragraph 4 that “the train had not pulled into the station yet.” These thoughts reflect her assumption (based on her interactions with the three railroad employees) that the next stop is her station. However, Margaret’s speculation that the train has not fully pulled into the station does not significantly affect the plot.
D. Incorrect. Margaret wonders in paragraph 3 whether they “have platforms in this wild Western land” and is expecting to see a platform because her interactions with the three railroad employees have led her to believe that she has reached a station. However, it is unclear whether Margaret really believes that rural stations all lack platforms, and her speculation on this point is not further developed in the passage and does not affect the plot.
Question analysis
This plot question on A Voice in the Wilderness asks how Margaret’s earlier dealings with the conductor, brakeman and porter, mentioned only in passing in paragraph 2, affect what happens to her. Students must connect that brief remark to later events in the excerpt. Several choices describe things that do happen, so students must judge which one those conversations truly cause.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 plot questions ask how story elements affect one another, usually through an event and its result. Here the cause is a clause inside a long sentence of century-old prose, and students must trace its effect across the excerpt rather than within one paragraph.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Evidence in several places moderate
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Complex sentences minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 981 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 72 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The talks with the trainmen are mentioned once, in the middle of a long sentence, and the question asks students to see them as the start of the whole plot. Several choices describe thoughts Margaret really has right after she steps down, which makes them feel connected, but those thoughts change nothing. The point goes to students who trace cause to consequence: told her stop was next, she gets off alone at a water tank.
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The cause sits in paragraph 2, where all three men had told her “hers was the next station,” and the effect shows only in paragraph 15, when the stop proves to be a water tank. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The excerpt never says the men’s words made her step off; students must infer that their assurance is why she left the train at the first stop without waiting for anyone. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Complex sentences minor Understanding the question
The interactions appear in a 66-word sentence in paragraph 2, tucked into a “when” clause after a run of commas, so they read as a passing detail rather than a cause. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)
Strategy: Reread paragraph 2 to find what the three men told Margaret, then trace how that information shapes the events that follow, and choose the effect that matters most to the plot.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
B Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Rightly links the men’s words to her confidence about when to get off, but stretches it to knowing what to do afterward, when paragraph 4 shows her at a loss.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Names a real result of the men’s words, her guess in paragraphs 3 and 4 that the train has not yet reached the station, but that passing worry changes nothing in the plot.
D Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Turns her puzzled question about platforms in “this wild Western land” into a firm belief about rural stations, an idea the excerpt never develops.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks how something from earlier affects the plot. The plot is the chain of events in a story. What did the three train workers tell Margaret, and what did that cause?
Find what the workers told her
Paragraph 2 says it was strange that “neither conductor, brakeman, nor porter had come to help her off the train, when all three had taken the trouble to tell her that hers was the next station.” A conductor, a brakeman and a porter are all people who work on a train.
Trace what happened because of it
Three workers told her that her stop was next. So when the train stopped, she was sure she had arrived. She got off alone, without waiting for anyone to help. But in paragraph 15 she learns it was only “a pause to water the engine.” Their words set off the whole problem: she is left alone in the dark.
Check each choice
- A fits. Their words led her to get off by herself.
- B does not fit. They told her when to get off, not what to do next. In paragraph 4 she is lost: “Perhaps she ought not to have got out until some one came to help her.”
- C does not fit. She does wonder this, but the thought changes nothing in the story.
- D does not fit. She only asks a question about platforms. She never decides anything about country stations.
Choose the answer
The workers’ words made Margaret step off the train on her own at the wrong stop. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong choice. The workers’ words do make her guess that the train has not reached the station yet. But that guess goes nowhere. What changes the story is that she gets off alone at a stop that is not a station. That is A.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from A Voice in the Wilderness” as printed (pages 128–129)
Question 4 of 61
2026 Practice Test A English, question 29Passage Excerpt from “The Spirit of the Herd”
Excerpt from “The Spirit of the Herd”
by Dallas Lore Sharp
In this excerpt, published in 1914, author and professor Dallas Lore Sharp describes a summer cattle roundup in Oregon. The heat and dust had been relentless for three days. The cowboys were exhausted, and the cattle were restless. The ranch boss, Wade, had led the drive to a watering place, only to find it empty.
Along with the wagon had come the fresh horses—one of them being Peroxide Jim, a supple, powerful, clean-limbed buckskin, a horse, I think, that had as fine and intelligent an animal-face as any creature I ever saw. Wade had been saving this horse for emergency work. And why should he not have been saved fresh for just such a need as this? Are there not superior horses as well as superior men—a Peroxide Jim to complement a Wade?
The horse knew the cattle business and knew his rider perfectly; and though there was nothing like sentiment about the boss of the P Ranch riders, his faith in Peroxide Jim was complete. . . .
The desert, where the herd was camped, was one of the highest of a series of tablelands, or benches; it lay as level as a floor, rimmed by sheer rock, from which there was a drop to the bench of sage below. The herd when overtaken by the dusk had been headed for a pass descending to the next lower bench, but was now halted within a mile of the rim rock on the east, where there was a perpendicular fall of about three hundred feet. . . .
In the taut silence of the stirless desert night, with the tension of the herd at the snapping-point, any quick, unwonted sight or sound would stampede them. The sneezing of a horse, the flare of a match, would be enough to send the whole four thousand headlong—blind, frenzied, trampling—till spent and scattered over the plain.
And so, as he rode, Wade began to sing. The rider ahead of him took up the air and passed it on until, above the stepping stir of the hoofs rose the faint voices of the men, and all the herd was bound about by the slow plaintive measures of some old song. It was not to soothe their savage breasts that the riders sang to the cattle, but rather to preempt the dreaded silence, to relieve the tension, and so to prevent the shock of any sudden startling noise.
So they sang and rode and the night wore on to one o’clock, when Wade, coming up on the rim-rock side, felt a cool breeze fan his face, and caught a breath of fresh, moist wind with the taste of water in it.
He checked his horse instantly, listening as the wind swept past him over the cattle. But they must already have smelled it, for they had ceased their milling, the whole herd standing motionless, the indistinct forms close to him in the dark showing their bald faces lifted to drink the sweet wet breath that came over the rim. Then they started on again, but faster, and with a rumbling now from their hoarse throats that tightened Wade’s grip on the reins.
The sound seemed to come out of the earth, a low, rumbling mumble, as dark as the night and as wide as the plain, a thick, inarticulate bellow that stood every rider stiff in his stirrups. . . .
Then the breeze caught the dust and carried it back from the gray-coated, ghostly shapes, and Wade saw that the animals were still moving in a circle. He must keep them going. He touched his horse to ride on with them, when across the black sky flashed a vivid streak of lightning.
There was a snort from the steers, a quick clap of horns and hoofs from far within the herd, a tremor of the plain, a roar, a surging mass—and Wade was riding the flank of a wild stampede. Before him, behind him, beside him, pressing hard upon his horse, galloped the frenzied steers, and beyond them a multitude borne on, and bearing him on, by the heave of the galloping herd.
Wade was riding for his life. He knew it. His horse knew it. He was riding to turn the herd, too, back from the rim, as the horse also knew. The cattle were after water—water-mad—ready to go over the precipice to get it, carrying horse and rider with them. Wade was the only rider between the herd and the rim. It was black as death. He could see nothing in the sage, could scarcely discern the pounding, panting shadows at his side. He knew that he was being borne toward the rim, how fast he could not tell, but he knew by the swish of the brush against his tapaderos and the plunging of the horse that the ground was growing stonier, that they were nearing the rocks.
To outrun the herd was his only chance for life. If he could come up with the leaders he might not only escape, but even stand a chance of heading them off upon the plain and saving the herd. There were cattle still ahead of him; how many, what part of them all, he could not make out in the dark. But the horse knew. The reins hung on his straight neck, where his rider had dropped them, as, yelling and firing over the wild herd, he had given this horse the race to win, to lose.
They were riding the rim. Close on their left bore down the flank of the herd, and on their right, under their very feet, was a precipice, so close that they felt its blackness—its three hundred feet of fall! . . .
. . . Then Wade found himself racing neck and neck with a big white steer, which the horse, with marvelous instinct, seemed to pick out from a bunch, and to cling to, forcing him gradually ahead, till, cutting him free from the bunch entirely, he bore him off into the swishing sage.
The steers coming on close behind followed their leader, and in, after them, swung others. The tide was turning from the rim. More and more were veering, and within a short time the whole herd, bearing off from the cliffs, was pounding over the open plains.
Whose race was it? It was Peroxide Jim’s, according to Wade, for not by word or by touch of hand or knee had the horse been directed in the run. From the flash of the lightning the horse had taken the bit, had covered an indescribably perilous path at top speed, had outrun the herd and turned it from the edge of the rim rock, without a false step or a tremor of fear.
From “The Spirit of the Herd” by Dallas Lore Sharp—Public Domain
tablelands: plateaus, flat areas of land sharply elevated from the surrounding area
tapaderos: leather covers for stirrups
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt best explains why Wade reserved Peroxide Jim for “emergency work” (paragraph 1)?
- A“Are there not superior horses as well as superior men—a Peroxide Jim to complement a Wade?” (paragraph 1)
- B“Before him, behind him, beside him, pressing hard upon his horse, galloped the frenzied steers, and beyond them a multitude borne on, and bearing him on, by the heave of the galloping herd.” (paragraph 10)
- C“He knew that he was being borne toward the rim, how fast he could not tell, but he knew by the swish of the brush against his tapaderos and the plunging of the horse that the ground was growing stonier, that they were nearing the rocks.” (paragraph 11)
- D“From the flash of the lightning the horse had taken the bit, had covered an indescribably perilous path at top speed, had outrun the herd and turned it from the edge of the rim rock, without a false step or a tremor of fear.” (paragraph 16)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks which sentence from the excerpt best explains why Wade reserved Peroxide Jim for “emergency work” (paragraph 1).
A. Incorrect. While the sentence from paragraph 1 refers to Peroxide Jim as being a superior horse, it does not tell why he would be useful in an emergency. The mention of Peroxide Jim’s superiority does not describe the attributes that would make him an appealing choice for use in an emergency.
B. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 10 does not describe the actions of Peroxide Jim. The sentence describes what Wade and the horse were experiencing, but it does not include any reference to how Peroxide Jim was responding to the situation.
C. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 11 describes Wade’s experiences and does not focus on the actions of Peroxide Jim. It reveals Wade’s awareness of the danger he was in, but the only reference to Peroxide Jim in this sentence is the description of the horse having to work harder to run on the stonier ground as they neared the edge: from “the plunging of the horse,” Wade knew “that the ground was growing stonier, that they were nearing the rocks.” This quotation does not show that Peroxide Jim was the right horse to use for emergency work because it does not indicate, at this point in the text, that he was responding in a way that saved the herd or Wade.
D. CORRECT. The sentence from paragraph 16 describes Peroxide Jim’s high level of skill and ability to perform in a life-and-death situation. Not only did Peroxide Jim recognize the emergency immediately (“From the flash of the lightning the horse had taken the bit”), but the horse also proved to have the physical capability (“had covered an indescribably perilous path at top speed, had outrun the herd and turned it from the edge of the rim rock”) and the mental toughness (“without a false step or a tremor of fear”) required to respond appropriately to the dangerous situation.
Question analysis
This evidence question on Dallas Lore Sharp’s “The Spirit of the Herd,” a 1914 account of a night stampede on an Oregon cattle drive, asks which sentence best explains why the ranch boss Wade kept his horse Peroxide Jim for “emergency work.” The four quoted sentences come from different parts of the excerpt and are long, so the choice takes careful reading.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Finding the sentence that best explains a detail is regular grade 7 evidence work. The four quotations, though, are long sentences from across a dense excerpt written in 1914, so the reading load is heavier than usual.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence in several places moderate
- A lot to read minor
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 1160 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 160 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The question links the start of the excerpt to its end, and the nearest quotation is the most tempting: the narrator’s rhetorical question about “superior horses” sits beside the phrase and seems to explain it. It praises the horse without showing what he can do. The two stampede sentences show the emergency itself, so the point goes to students who look for the horse acting on his own and find it in the final paragraph.
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The phrase “emergency work” is in paragraph 1, but the proof of the horse’s worth comes only at the very end, in paragraph 16, after the stampede has been turned. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
A lot to read minor Understanding the question
Three of the quotations run 33 to 46 words, and two of them describe the stampede in vivid detail without saying what the horse does, so sorting them takes time. (Kintsch, 1998; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
Students must decide what an emergency horse needs, speed, nerve and judgment without a rider’s guidance, before the last sentence reads as an answer to paragraph 1. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Decide what a horse saved for emergencies would need to be able to do, then pick the quotation that gives the clearest proof that Peroxide Jim can do it.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Stays beside the phrase in paragraph 1 and accepts the claim that Peroxide Jim is “superior,” which praises him but gives no sign of what makes him useful in a crisis.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the most vivid picture of the stampede, which shows the emergency itself but says nothing about how Peroxide Jim handles it.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Notices “the plunging of the horse” at a tense moment, but the sentence is about Wade sensing the rocks ahead, not about the horse meeting the danger.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence. In paragraph 1, Wade was saving Peroxide Jim for “emergency work.” Which sentence best explains why? You need a sentence that shows what this horse can do when something goes wrong.
Decide what to look for
An emergency is a sudden, dangerous event. A horse saved for one should be fast, steady and smart. It should act quickly when things go wrong. So look for the sentence that shows the horse himself doing that.
Read the last sentence of the excerpt
Paragraph 16 says “From the flash of the lightning the horse had taken the bit, had covered an indescribably perilous path at top speed, had outrun the herd and turned it from the edge of the rim rock, without a false step or a tremor of fear.”
Put the sentence in plain words
The bit is the metal bar in a horse’s mouth that the reins attach to. A horse that “had taken the bit” runs on its own. Perilous means dangerous. A tremor is a small shake. So the moment the stampede began, the horse took charge. He raced along a dangerous path, got ahead of the herd and turned it from the cliff. He never stumbled or showed fear.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. It calls him “superior,” but it shows no skill.
- B does not fit. It shows the stampede, but not how the horse handles it.
- C does not fit. It is about Wade sensing the rocks ahead.
- D fits. It shows the horse saving the herd in a real emergency.
Watch out: A sits right next to “emergency work” in paragraph 1, so it seems to explain it. But praise is not proof.
Choose the answer
The last sentence shows exactly why the horse was worth saving for emergencies. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong choice. It sits beside the words “emergency work” and praises the horse. But calling a horse “superior” does not say what it can do. D shows the horse in action: fast, sure-footed and fearless in a real emergency. That explains why Wade saved him.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “The Spirit of the Herd”” as printed (page 41)
Question 5 of 61
2026 Practice Test A English, question 34Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “The Spirit of the Herd””.
Question
How do the details in paragraphs 14–16 help convey a central idea of the excerpt?
- AThey highlight Peroxide Jim’s natural ability to control the herd.
- BThey emphasize the danger of the situation from which Peroxide Jim rescued the herd.
- CThey show that Peroxide Jim’s physical strength allowed him to force the herd to turn.
- DThey indicate that Peroxide Jim anticipated the herd’s stampede before the men did.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how the details in paragraphs 14–16 help convey a central idea of the excerpt.
A. CORRECT. Paragraphs 14–16 describe how Peroxide Jim’s “marvelous instinct” headed off the herd and drove it away from the cliff. Wade acknowledged that without his instruction, Peroxide Jim knew to find the leader of the herd, cut him off from the rest of the herd, and then lead him to safety, confident that the remainder of the herd would follow. Paragraph 16 confirms this: “Whose race was it? It was Peroxide Jim’s, according to Wade, for not by word or by touch of hand or knee had the horse been directed in the run.” This reinforces a central idea of the excerpt regarding the horse’s amazing intellect and ability.
B. Incorrect. Although paragraphs 14–16 mention the “rim,” the “cliffs,” and the “indescribably perilous path,” these details are not the focus of the paragraphs. They are descriptions of the setting where Peroxide Jim’s able and effective actions saved the stampeding herd, and it is these actions that are the central idea being conveyed.
C. Incorrect. Although Peroxide Jim is called “powerful” in paragraph 1, his physical strength is neither a central idea of the excerpt nor the focus of paragraphs 14–16. His success at turning the herd was attributed to his intellect and instinct, not his physical strength.
D. Incorrect. The excerpt does not suggest that Peroxide Jim anticipated the herd’s stampede before the men did. In fact, the excerpt indicates that Wade led the men in singing to cover sudden noises that might cause the herd to stampede, indicating that Wade was alert to that possibility. Paragraph 7 also indicates that Wade anticipated the stampede, as he “checked his horse instantly” and “tightened [his] grip on the reins” as soon as he smelled water on the wind and heard the low rumbling of the herd that preceded the lightning strike. The narrator notes Wade’s actions well before the horse’s actions. Paragraphs 14–16 describe how Peroxide Jim acted after the stampede began.
Question analysis
This central-idea question asks how the details in the last three paragraphs of “The Spirit of the Herd,” where the stampede is finally turned away from the cliff, help convey a central idea. Students must decide what those details mainly show about Peroxide Jim. Several choices touch on something real in the story, so the paragraphs’ main emphasis decides it.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Linking a passage’s final paragraphs to its central idea is a familiar grade 7 task. Paragraphs 14–16 are short and vivid, but several choices mention something those paragraphs touch on, so students must judge what the details mainly emphasize.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what moderate
- The right answer is reworded minor
- Complex sentences minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 1160 words; question and choices: about grade 8, 66 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- Details in the explanation that are not in the excerpt were corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The three paragraphs mix danger with skill, so a choice about danger can quote them and still miss what they emphasize. The detail that carries the central idea is that no word or touch directed the horse: he picked out the lead steer himself and the herd followed. Students who remember that Peroxide Jim was called “powerful” credit his strength, and a few reverse the order of events, putting his reaction before Wade’s.
How, not what moderate Working it out
The question asks what the details in paragraphs 14–16 do, so students must see that the rim and the “perilous path” are background and the horse’s choices are the point. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer
The right choice calls the horse’s skill a “natural ability,” a plain paraphrase of “marvelous instinct,” while a wrong choice repeats the danger words the paragraphs use. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Complex sentences minor Understanding the question
Paragraph 14 tells how the horse turns the herd in one 50-word sentence full of commas, “which the horse, with marvelous instinct, seemed to pick out from a bunch, and to cling to.” (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)
Strategy: Note what paragraphs 14–16 mostly focus on, then test each choice by asking whether it names that focus or only a detail mentioned along the way.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
- Reversed relationship: Cause and effect, or the order of events, turned around.
The wrong answers, classified
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Notices the “rim,” the “cliffs” and the “indescribably perilous path,” but these details set the scene; the paragraphs dwell on how the horse turned the herd.
C Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Gets right that the horse turned the herd, perhaps recalling “powerful” from paragraph 1, but the paragraphs credit his “marvelous instinct,” not his strength.
D Reversed relationship (King et al., 2004)
Puts the horse’s reaction before the men’s, but Wade sensed trouble in paragraph 7 when the wind changed, and the horse took the bit only at the lightning.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The handbook’s explanation of Option D says Wade reacted “as soon as he smelled the rain and heard the low rumble of thunder that preceded the lightning strike.” The excerpt has no rain and no thunder. In paragraph 6 Wade catches “a breath of fresh, moist wind with the taste of water in it,” and in paragraph 7 the rumbling comes “from their hoarse throats,” the cattle’s; that rumbling is what “tightened Wade’s grip on the reins.” The site now says “as soon as he smelled water on the wind and heard the low rumbling of the herd that preceded the lightning strike.”
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks how the details in paragraphs 14 to 16 help show a central idea, a main idea of the excerpt. What do these last three paragraphs mostly focus on?
Read paragraphs 14 to 16
In paragraph 14, the horse, “with marvelous instinct, seemed to pick out from a bunch” a big white steer. Paragraph 15 says “The steers coming on close behind followed their leader.” Paragraph 16 says the race was the horse’s, “for not by word or by touch of hand or knee had the horse been directed in the run.”
Work out what the details show
An instinct is a natural sense of what to do, without being taught or told. A steer is one of the cattle. The horse picked out one big steer and pushed it off into the sage, away from the cliff. The rest followed it as their leader. No one guided the horse. So the horse controlled the whole herd using his own natural skill.
Check each choice
- A fits. The details show the horse’s natural ability to control the herd.
- B does not fit. The “rim” and the “cliffs” set the scene. The focus is how the horse turned the herd.
- C does not fit. The horse does not overpower the herd. He picks the leader, and the others follow.
- D does not fit. In paragraph 7, Wade sensed trouble first. The cattle’s rumbling “tightened Wade’s grip on the reins.” The horse took charge only “From the flash of the lightning.”
Choose the answer
The last three paragraphs show the horse’s natural skill at turning the herd. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong choice, because the paragraphs do mention the rim and a “perilous,” or dangerous, path. But the danger is the background. The paragraphs mostly show what the horse did: he chose the lead steer and turned the herd with no one guiding him. That natural skill is A.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 6 of 61
2026 Practice Test A English, question 37Passage Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park
Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park
During the first half of the 19th century, Lowell, Massachusetts, quickly transformed itself from a farm town to a bustling industrial city. In time, Lowell became a model of industry, gaining global recognition for its state-of-the-art technology, innovative canal and dam system, mill architecture, boardinghouses, churches, and ethnic neighborhoods. Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills, or visit the industrious city that was becoming a popular tourist destination. As one Scottish traveler observed during his visit to America, “Niagara and Lowell are the two objects I will longest remember in my American journey, the one the glory of American scenery, the other of American industry.” Today, Lowell National Historical Park welcomes visitors to enjoy the sights of Lowell and learn about the history of one of America’s most significant industrial cities.
The Boston merchants who founded Lowell in 1821 and named it after Francis Cabot Lowell chose to locate the town along Massachusetts’s Merrimack River to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls. Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell’s mills, whose massive five- and six-story brick buildings dominated the city’s landscape. . . . The most recognized of these buildings are the Lowell Manufacturing Company chartered in 1821, the Suffolk or Wannalancit Mill completed around the 1880s, the Boott Mill Company established in 1835, and the Boott Mill Boardinghouse that opened in 1838. By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river. . . .
The city’s female workforce was significant in the history of Lowell. From the early to mid-1800s, women left the constricted lifestyle of small rural towns and rural areas for independent industrial city life. Most were young single Yankee girls, who were tired of the limited opportunities offered by their domestic work. Women found that Lowell’s mills offered monthly wages for their services and provided them room and board. Although these women gained economic independence in Lowell, the mill boardinghouse keepers constantly supervised their social activities, for which they hardly had any time, considering their daily 12- to 14-hour work schedules. At the end of the day, the factory bell signaled the “mill girls” to return to their boardinghouses. They were expected to adhere to the strict code of conduct respecting curfew and attending church.
Yankee “mill girls” continued to dominate the Lowell workforce until the 1840s, when the city began to find it difficult to compete with the growing industrial development in other New England communities. As profits fell, the mill industry cut wages. These wage cuts, deteriorating working conditions, and long workdays led the “mill girls” to protest and organize strikes. When their demands went unheard, the women left Lowell, and immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce. Despite the low wages and unhealthy work conditions, immigrants were eager to find work.
The immigrants replacing the Yankee “mill girls” during the 1840s were predominantly Irish Catholics, who traveled to America during the Great Potato Famine. 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 before the “mill girls” arrived, they built Lowell’s historic canals, mills, and boardinghouses. Initially, Lowell’s Protestant community was slow to welcome Irish immigrants, but the hostility between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics eventually disappeared. Irish immigrants dominated the industrial scene until the Civil War, when other immigrant groups began to work in the city mills.
Like the Irish, the French-Canadians, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese, Russian Jews, and Armenians who came to work in Lowell’s mills faced long work hours, low wages, and poor living conditions in the city’s crowded tenements. By the time Lowell’s industry declined, the city had become an ethnic melting pot, where each group claimed its own distinct neighborhood, like the Irish immigrants’ “New Dublin” or “Acre,” and the French-Canadians’ “Little Canada.” The city officially began to close down its mills in the 1920s and ’30s after Lowell’s outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities and working conditions continued to decline as Lowell’s companies stopped reinvesting in their mills. . . . Despite a brief resurgence during World War II, the city shut down its last surviving mill by the mid-1950s.
From “Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park”—Public Domain/National Park Service
Yankee: native to New England
Niagara: a town in northwestern New York State well known as the location of Niagara Falls, a series of waterfalls on the Canadian border
domestic work: household duties like cooking and cleaning
Question
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
- Acanals, mills, and boardinghouses that were built by immigrants.
- Bmill girls and immigrants who comprised Lowell’s workforce.
- Cdevelopment of the mills and the workforce established to support them.
- Dcultural diversity of the people who lived in the area.
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks which description conveys the central idea that Lowell was “one of America’s most significant industrial cities” (paragraph 1).
A. Incorrect. While the passage does state that the city’s canals, mills, and boardinghouses were built by early immigrants from Ireland, these details do not contribute to the development of the overall idea that Lowell was a significant industrial city.
B. Incorrect. The details about the women and immigrants who worked in the mills are important to the passage, but these details alone do not show that Lowell was a significant industrial city.
C. CORRECT. The details throughout the passage about the development of the mills and the people who worked in them convey the significance of Lowell in early American industry. Paragraph 2 shares details about the businesses that started in the 1800s and contributed to the development of industry in the region (“The most recognized of these buildings are the Lowell Manufacturing Company chartered in 1821, the Suffolk or Wannalancit Mill completed around the 1880s, the Boott Mill Company established in 1835, and the Boott Mill Boardinghouse that opened in 1838”). Then paragraphs 3–6 provide specific details about the people who worked in the mills at different points in time.
D. Incorrect. Although the passage references Lowell’s culturally diverse community (“Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills” [paragraph 1]), these groups alone are not what marked Lowell as a significant industrial city.
Question analysis
This central idea question asks which kind of description in an article about the Massachusetts mill city of Lowell does most to show that it was one of America's most significant industrial cities. Students need a map of all six paragraphs, because every choice names something the passage really describes, and the question turns on which description does the main work.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 students trace how a central idea is developed, usually through a few supporting details. Here the strands to weigh run through six dense paragraphs of dates, mills and worker groups, and the stem is long and passive, so it asks more than typical.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer major
- Evidence in several places moderate
- A lot to read minor
- Complex sentences minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 15, 764 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 63 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A grammatical error in the explanation was corrected.
- An inaccurate detail in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every choice names something the passage really describes, so truth rules nothing out; the question turns on which description carries the claim that Lowell mattered as an industrial city. Because four of the six paragraphs follow the workers, the workforce alone looks like the passage's main thread, and students who forget paragraph 2's mills take the half for the whole. Diversity and the immigrant builders are real themes too, but neither says anything about Lowell's industrial standing.
A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer
The workforce choice is the key with one half removed: both describe the people who worked the mills, but only the key also names the development of the mills, which paragraph 2 builds with dates and numbers. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The industrial picture is built in two stages, the canals and mills of paragraph 2 and the successive workforces of paragraphs 3 to 6, so each choice must be measured against the whole passage. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
A lot to read minor Understanding the question
Six paragraphs pack in mill names, dates from 1821 to the 1950s and a string of worker groups, from Yankee mill girls to Irish, French-Canadian and Greek immigrants. (Kintsch, 1998; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Complex sentences minor Understanding the question
The stem is a long passive sentence that quotes paragraph 1 inside it and holds the real question, “primarily through a description of the,” until its last words. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)
Strategy: Note in a phrase what each of the six paragraphs is about, then test each choice against the stem's claim: would that description make a reader see Lowell as a major industrial city?
Traps
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Seizes on paragraph 5's clause that Irish workers built the canals, mills and boardinghouses, one fact about construction rather than the account of mills and workers that shows Lowell's importance.
B Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Sees that paragraphs 3 to 6 follow the mill girls and the immigrants who replaced them, but leaves out the mills themselves, the heart of paragraph 2's industrial picture.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Recalls paragraph 6's “ethnic melting pot” and paragraph 1's “ethnic neighborhoods,” which are real, but the city's diversity says nothing about its standing as an industrial city.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The handbook’s explanation of Option B says “The details about the women and immigrants who worked in the mills is important to the passage.” The subject is “details,” so the site now says “are important.”
- Explanation: The handbook’s explanation of Option C says paragraph 2 describes “the businesses that started in the early 1800s,” but the sentence it then quotes includes “the Suffolk or Wannalancit Mill completed around the 1880s,” late in the century. The site now says “the businesses that started in the 1800s.”
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This is a central idea question. A central idea is a main point that the whole passage builds. The point here is that Lowell was “one of America’s most significant industrial cities.” Significant means important. You need the description that does the most to show this.
Map the six paragraphs
- Paragraph 1: Lowell grows from a farm town into a famous industrial city.
- Paragraph 2: The mills: canals, huge brick buildings, mills started across the 1800s, and by the 1850s, “40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers.”
- Paragraphs 3 and 4: The Yankee “mill girls” who worked in the mills.
- Paragraphs 5 and 6: The Irish and other immigrants who took their place.
See how the picture is built
The passage shows Lowell’s importance in two parts. First it describes the mills: how they were built and how big they grew. Then it follows the workers who ran them, group after group. Together, the mills and the workforce show a major industrial city. Workforce means all the people who do the work. Either part alone tells only half the story.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. Paragraph 5 does say the Irish built the canals, mills and boardinghouses. But that is one fact in one sentence, not the main description.
- B is wrong. The mill girls and immigrants fill paragraphs 3 to 6. But this choice leaves out the mills themselves, the heart of paragraph 2.
- C is right. It covers both parts: how the mills grew and the workers who kept them running.
- D is wrong. Lowell did become an “ethnic melting pot.” But a mix of cultures doesn’t show that a city was an industrial leader.
Watch out: Four of the six paragraphs are about workers, so B looks like the main thread. It is only half of it.
Choose the answer
The central idea is carried by the growth of the mills plus the workforce gathered to run them. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer. It matches the second half of C, the people who worked in the mills. But it drops the mills, with their six miles of canals and, by the 1850s, 40 mills. Workers alone don’t make a city an industrial giant. C keeps both halves, so it fits the whole passage.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park” as printed (page 50)
Question 7 of 61
2026 Practice Test A English, question 38Uses the passage above: “Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park”.
Question
Which sentence from paragraph 2 best supports the idea that Lowell became “a bustling industrial city” (paragraph 1) in a short period of time?
- A“The Boston merchants who founded Lowell in 1821 and named it after Francis Cabot Lowell chose to locate the town along Massachusetts’s Merrimack River to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls.”
- B“Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell’s mills, whose massive five- and six-story brick buildings dominated the city’s landscape.”
- C“The most recognized of these buildings are the Lowell Manufacturing Company chartered in 1821, the Suffolk or Wannalancit Mill completed around the 1880s, the Boott Mill Company established in 1835, and the Boott Mill Boardinghouse that opened in 1838.”
- D“By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river.”
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks for the sentence in paragraph 2 that best supports the idea that Lowell became “a bustling industrial city” (paragraph 1) in a short period of time.
A. Incorrect. While the sentence provides details on when the town of Lowell was founded and the natural features of the area, it does not support the idea that the city became “a bustling industrial city” in a short period of time.
B. Incorrect. Although this sentence indicates that the mill buildings were a noticeable feature of the city and provides details on how the mills worked, it does not specifically show that Lowell had become “a bustling industrial city” in a short period of time.
C. Incorrect. While this sentence lists some recognizable mill buildings along the river and notes when their associated businesses were established, it does not support the idea that Lowell had become “a bustling industrial city” in a short period of time.
D. CORRECT. This sentence indicates that within only a few decades of the city’s founding, it experienced massive industrial growth, with “40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers,” supporting the idea that Lowell became “a bustling industrial city” in a short period of time.
Question analysis
Here students choose which sentence from the second paragraph of an article about Lowell, Massachusetts, best supports the claim that the town became a bustling industrial city in a short period of time. All four sentences describe Lowell's founding, mills or canals, and several carry dates, so students must weigh what each one actually shows about how fast the city grew.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Picking the sentence that best supports a claim is standard grade 7 evidence work. The claim carries a time condition as well as a description, and all four choices come from one short paragraph, so the demand is typical of grade 7.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Every choice must be checked minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 15, 764 words; question and choices: about grade 14, 131 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The claim has two parts, a bustling industrial city and a short time to get there, and most sentences in paragraph 2 meet only one. The list of mills with their founding dates is the strongest pull, because its dates seem to answer the time half, yet they run into the 1880s and show four buildings, not a busy city. The question rewards pairing the 1850s figures with the 1821 founding.
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The 1850s sentence shows speed only beside the founding date in the paragraph's first sentence: getting from 1821 to 40 mills and 10,000 workers took about thirty years, a span students must work out. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
All four sentences come from paragraph 2 and describe Lowell's mills or canals, and three carry dates, so each must be tested for both the scale and the speed of growth. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Strategy: Split the claim into its two parts, a busy industrial city and a short span of time, and check each sentence for evidence of both rather than accepting one that fits only half.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Takes the founding year, 1821, as evidence about time, but the sentence only explains why the merchants built beside the Pawtucket falls and says nothing about how the city grew.
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees six miles of canals and “massive five- and six-story brick buildings” as proof of a bustling city, but the sentence gives no date, so it cannot show speed.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Treats the list of charters and openings as proof of fast growth, but it names only four buildings, and the Wannalancit Mill's 1880s date stretches the list over some sixty years.
Working it out, step by step
Split the claim into two parts
This is an evidence question. You need the sentence that best supports a claim, and the claim has two parts. First, Lowell became “a bustling industrial city,” a busy factory town. Second, it happened “in a short period of time.” The best sentence must support both parts, not just one.
Find the starting date
Paragraph 2 opens with the town’s start. The Boston merchants “founded Lowell in 1821.” That gives you a starting point. Now look for a sentence that shows how big Lowell got, and by when.
Work out how long it took
The last sentence of paragraph 2 says: “By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river.” From 1821 to the 1850s is only about 30 years. In that time, Lowell went from a new town to 40 mills and over 10,000 workers. That is fast growth, and it is clearly bustling.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. It tells why the town was built by the waterfalls. It says nothing about how the city grew.
- B is wrong. Six miles of canals and “massive five- and six-story brick buildings” do sound busy. But there is no date, so it can’t show speed.
- C is wrong. It has dates, but they run from 1821 to the 1880s, about 60 years. And it names just four buildings, not a whole busy city.
- D is right. It shows a big city of mills and workers only about 30 years after Lowell began.
Watch out: C is tempting because it is full of dates. But dates alone don’t prove speed, and these are spread over decades.
Choose the answer
Only one sentence shows both a busy industrial city and a short time to get there. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong answer, since its dates seem to answer the time part. But they stretch from 1821 to the 1880s, and they cover only four buildings. D gives the size of the whole mill city, 40 mills and over 10,000 workers, about 30 years after the founding.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 8 of 61
2026 Practice Test A English, question 42Uses the passage above: “Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park”.
Question
The reason Lowell lost its status as an industrial leader is best illustrated through the
- Adescription of poor living and working conditions.
- Bexplanation for why some immigrant groups struggled to live together.
- Ccomparison with other mills that used modern methods.
- Dinformation about the mills opening temporarily during World War II.
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks for the reason that best illustrates why Lowell lost its status as an industrial leader.
A. Incorrect. While the passage discusses the “long work hours, low wages, and poor living conditions in the city’s crowded tenements” (paragraph 6) in Lowell, these details highlight the living and working conditions of immigrant groups. The author does not state that poor living and working conditions are the reason Lowell lost its status as a “model of industry.”
B. Incorrect. Paragraph 5 in the passage acknowledges that there was some tension between the different ethnic and religious groups in Lowell, but this idea is not what led to Lowell’s decline as a “model of industry.”
C. CORRECT. When Lowell was initially established, the mills in the city thrived because of their advanced manufacturing methods (“gaining global recognition for its state-of-the-art technology, innovative canal and dam system, [and] mill architecture” [paragraph 1]). However, manufacturing technology changed and improved over time, and many mill owners chose to close the mills rather than modernize them, resulting in Lowell’s loss of status as a “model of industry” (“The city officially began to close down its mills in the 1920s and ’30s after Lowell’s outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities” [paragraph 6]).
D. Incorrect. The details about the temporary revival of the mills during World War II do not show why Lowell is no longer considered a “model of industry.” The mills were used briefly during wartime because of an increased need for supplies, but this use of the mills was short-lived.
Question analysis
Why did Lowell lose its place as an industrial leader, a decline that ended with its last mill closing by the mid-1950s? This evidence question asks which part of the article best illustrates the reason, so students must find where the passage explains the cause and match it to a choice worded in general terms, while other late details compete for attention.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Using a text to explain a cause is typical grade 7 work. The reason is stated directly near the end of the passage, but the choices name it in abstract terms, so a careful match is needed, as in ordinary grade 7 reading.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- The right answer is reworded moderate
- Complex sentences minor
- Evidence in several places minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 15, 764 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 50 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The reason is stated, but in a sentence that pairs it with worsening working conditions, and conditions get far more space in the passage, from paragraph 4's wage cuts to paragraph 6's crowded tenements. Students who match the choices to familiar words land on the conditions, which the passage presents as a result of companies not reinvesting. The key has to be recognized in new wording, as a comparison with modern mills elsewhere.
The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer
The key's “comparison with other mills that used modern methods” rewords “could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills,” while wrong choices repeat the text's “poor living conditions,” “working conditions” and “World War II.” (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Complex sentences minor Understanding the question
The 47-word sentence that gives the reason joins two clauses under one “after,” outdated mills that “could no longer compete” and working conditions that “continued to decline,” so both can look like causes. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The cause echoes earlier hints, paragraph 1's “state-of-the-art technology” and paragraph 4's trouble competing with “other New England communities,” which confirm that competition is the passage's explanation. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Find the sentence that tells why Lowell's mills shut down, restate the cause in your own words, then choose the description that matches that cause rather than a detail that merely appears nearby.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Finds the sentence about the closings but takes its declining working conditions as the reason, though they follow from companies no longer reinvesting, the same neglect that left the mills outdated.
B Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Recasts paragraph 5's hostility between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics, which “eventually disappeared,” as a struggle among immigrant groups, though the passage never ties it to the decline.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the World War II detail because it belongs to the mills' last years, but a “brief resurgence” describes a short revival, not why Lowell fell behind.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This evidence question asks why Lowell lost its place as an industrial leader. First find where the passage gives the reason. Then pick the choice that matches it, even if it uses different words.
Find the reason in paragraph 6
Look near the end of the passage, where the mills close. Paragraph 6 says the city began to close its mills “after Lowell’s outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities.” This is the reason the passage gives.
Put the reason in plain words
Outdated means old-fashioned. State-of-the-art means the newest and best. To compete is to keep up with rivals. So mills in other places had newer machines, and Lowell’s old mills couldn’t keep up. That is a comparison: Lowell’s mills next to more modern mills elsewhere. It is a big change, too. In paragraph 1, Lowell was famous for its own “state-of-the-art technology.”
Rule out the working conditions
Choice A is the hard one to rule out. The same sentence says working conditions got worse “as Lowell’s companies stopped reinvesting in their mills.” Reinvesting means putting money back in, for repairs and new machines. Mills that get no new money also fall out of date. So the worse conditions came along with the decline. Falling behind modern mills elsewhere is what cost Lowell its lead. The passage’s longer descriptions of poor conditions, in paragraphs 4 and 6, tell how hard life was for workers. They don’t explain why the mills closed.
Check the other choices
- B is wrong. The passage tells of tension between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics, which “eventually disappeared.” It never links this to the mills closing.
- C is right. It matches the reason: Lowell’s mills fell behind more modern mills.
- D is wrong. The World War II “brief resurgence” was a short comeback. It doesn’t explain why Lowell fell behind.
Watch out: A repeats words from the passage, so it feels safe. But matching the words is not the same as matching the reason.
Choose the answer
The passage says Lowell’s outdated mills could not keep up with modern mills in other places. Choice C names that comparison. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer, because the closing sentence also says “working conditions continued to decline.” But the passage ties that to the companies no longer spending on their mills. A leader loses its place when others get ahead. C names that: other mills used modern methods, and Lowell’s did not.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 9 of 61
2026 Practice Test B English, question 10Passage A Miracle Mile
A Miracle Mile
In the 1950s people compared running one mile in four minutes to scaling Mount Everest and nicknamed the feat a “dream mile.” Although such an accomplishment was considered humanly impossible, several elite runners aimed to break that supposedly impenetrable barrier. One of them was a twenty-five-year-old medical student named Roger Bannister.
Roger Bannister had tasted failure during the 1952 Olympics. There, he was favored to win the 1,500-meter competition, a distance slightly shorter than a mile, but he finished in a dismal fourth place instead. Bannister’s performance was a disappointment for him and his country, Great Britain. Determined to redeem himself, Bannister postponed his plans to retire from racing and focused on the ultimate prize—breaking the four-minute-mile barrier.
Bannister attacked the elusive milestone with a positive attitude and logical planning. The amateur athlete decided to use intensive interval training to develop endurance and speed. For these workouts, Bannister ran an interval of ten consecutive laps on a quarter-mile track, aiming for sixty seconds each lap. In between intervals, he let his body recover for two minutes.
By early 1954, Bannister had succeeded in lowering his quarter-mile pace to sixty-one seconds, but he had to shave off at least one more second in order to reach his target. Frustrated by the plateau he had reached, Bannister took a break from training and went mountain climbing for three days. The rest from running permitted his muscles to recuperate and left him feeling refreshed. When Bannister returned to the track, he completed ten quarter-mile-long intervals at fifty-nine seconds each. He finally felt prepared to attempt to break the world record.
As a member of the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), Bannister joined the AAA team for a track meet against Oxford University. The event took place on a cinder track in Oxford on May 6, 1954. Bannister and his two AAA teammates, Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher, were close friends and frequent running partners. Chataway and Brasher agreed to help Bannister accomplish his goal by being his “rabbits.”
In track and field, rabbits are runners who enter the race solely to pace a teammate for a segment of the course. Typically, a runner settles in behind the rabbit and allows the rabbit to set an appropriate tempo. Additionally, by running behind the rabbit, the runner conserves about 15 percent of his or her effort. When the starting pistol fired, Brasher pounced into the lead, and Bannister followed behind his first rabbit.
Propelled by the excitement, Bannister lost his instinctive feel for his pace and shouted “Faster!” at Brasher. Brasher, however, remained composed and maintained his current steady but grueling pace, completing the first two laps in a desirable one minute and fifty-eight seconds. Then Chataway surged forward, leading Bannister at this same punishing rate for another lap and a half. At the beginning of the back straightaway of the track, Bannister bolted past Chataway. Bannister said, “I felt that the moment of a lifetime had come. There was no pain, only a great unity of movement and aim.” Bannister crossed the finish line in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. The ecstatic crowd erupted the moment the timekeeper announced the word “three.”
Soon after Bannister’s achievement, four other athletes matched his performance. A new mindset had taken root among runners. Over the years, the record continued to fall. However, the current record, 3 minutes 43.13 seconds, has stood unbroken since 1999. Some question whether this record represents the limits of human ability. But perhaps there is another Bannister, an athlete who, with willpower and dedication, will accomplish the miraculous.
Question
Which sentence best supports the idea that Bannister needed an alternative to “logical planning” (paragraph 3) in order to accomplish his goal?
- A“Bannister’s performance was a disappointment for him and his country, Great Britain.” (paragraph 2)
- B“The amateur athlete decided to use intensive interval training to develop endurance and speed.” (paragraph 3)
- C“For these workouts, Bannister ran an interval of ten consecutive laps on a quarter-mile track, aiming for sixty seconds each lap.” (paragraph 3)
- D“Frustrated by the plateau he had reached, Bannister took a break from training and went mountain climbing for three days.” (paragraph 4)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks which sentence best supports the idea that Bannister needed an alternative to “logical planning” (paragraph 3) in order to accomplish his goal.
A. Incorrect. The outcome of the 1952 Olympics, referenced in the sentence from paragraph 2, is what prompted Bannister to seek a new goal: “Determined to redeem himself, Bannister . . . focused on the ultimate prize—breaking the four-minute-mile barrier” (paragraph 2).
B. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 3 does not show an alternative to Bannister’s training plan to “develop endurance and speed” (paragraph 3) and his focus on using logical planning in order to accomplish his goal.
C. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 3 focuses on details of his training plan, explaining the “intensive interval training” (paragraph 3) that Bannister used to build his endurance and speed, not an alternative form of preparation.
D. CORRECT. The sentence from paragraph 4 explains that Bannister reached a point where he could not improve his time despite the strict training plan he had created. Taking a break from his training to spend time mountain climbing “permitted his muscles to recuperate and left him feeling refreshed” (paragraph 4).
Question analysis
This textual evidence question on “A Miracle Mile” asks which sentence best supports the idea that Roger Bannister needed an alternative to the “logical planning” described in paragraph 3. Students must understand what his plan was before they can recognize a departure from it. The four sentences come from paragraphs 2 to 4, which cover his Olympic loss and his training.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Matching a sentence to an idea is standard grade 7 evidence work, and the four sentences come from three short, plain paragraphs. The idea itself is worded abstractly, so students must first decide what an alternative to “logical planning” would look like.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 587 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 92 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A wrong paragraph number in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The question turns on one decision: the interval training is the logical plan, so a sentence describing it cannot show an alternative to it. Once that is settled, three days of mountain climbing stand out as the only break from the plan. Students lose the point when they read “alternative” loosely and pick the sentence that introduces the training, or when they treat the Olympic disappointment as the moment his methods had to change.
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The stem never says what the “logical planning” was; students must see that it is the interval training of paragraph 3, so the alternative has to be a step away from that training. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The stem points to paragraph 3, where two of the four sentences sit, but the departure from the plan comes in paragraph 4, after Bannister stalls at sixty-one seconds a lap. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: First reread paragraph 3 to see what Bannister’s “logical planning” was, then ask of each sentence whether it shows that plan or something different from it.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the 1952 disappointment, an accurate sentence that explains why Bannister took up the goal, but it comes before the plan and shows no step away from it.
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Takes the decision to use intensive interval training as the alternative, missing that this training is the logical plan itself, so the sentence shows the plan, not a departure from it.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Chooses the workout details, ten laps aimed at sixty seconds each, which spell out the plan’s routine rather than any change to it.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of Option C begins “The sentence from paragraph 4 focuses on details of his training plan.” Option C quotes a sentence from paragraph 3 (“For these workouts, Bannister ran an interval of ten consecutive laps on a quarter-mile track, aiming for sixty seconds each lap”) and labels it “(paragraph 3),” and the explanation goes on to describe the “intensive interval training” of paragraph 3. The site now says “The sentence from paragraph 3.” The DOE’s 2021–2022 guide, where this question first appeared, has the same slip.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence: the sentence that best supports an idea. The idea is that Bannister needed an alternative to his “logical planning.” An alternative is a different way of doing something. So first find out what his plan was. Then look for a sentence where he steps away from it.
Find the logical plan in paragraph 3
Paragraph 3 says “Bannister attacked the elusive milestone with a positive attitude and logical planning.” The next sentence tells what the plan was: “The amateur athlete decided to use intensive interval training to develop endurance and speed.” Interval training means running hard for a set stretch, resting, then running hard again.
Find where the plan stopped working
Paragraph 4 says he got down to sixty-one seconds a lap, but he needed sixty. Then “Frustrated by the plateau he had reached, Bannister took a break from training and went mountain climbing for three days.” A plateau is a point where you stop getting better. Climbing was not part of his plan. Afterward, he ran each lap in fifty-nine seconds.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. It is from paragraph 2. It tells why he chose the goal, before he had any plan.
- B does not fit. Interval training is the logical plan, not an alternative to it.
- C does not fit. It is from paragraph 3. It gives details of the same plan: ten laps, sixty seconds each.
- D fits. He stops training, does something else, and it works.
Watch out: B is tempting because it describes a choice Bannister made. But that choice was the plan itself.
Choose the answer
Only D shows Bannister trying something outside his plan. So the answer is D, “Frustrated by the plateau he had reached, Bannister took a break from training and went mountain climbing for three days.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong choice. It names a decision Bannister made. But that decision, interval training, was his logical plan. The question asks for a step away from the plan. Only D shows him leaving training behind. The rest “permitted his muscles to recuperate,” which means recover.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “A Miracle Mile” as printed (page 13)
Question 10 of 61
2026 Practice Test B English, question 16Passage Excerpt from In Search of the Unknown
Excerpt from In Search of the Unknown
by Robert W. Chambers
It was at that time the policy of the trustees and officers of the Zoological Gardens neither to employ collectors nor to send out expeditions in search of specimens. The society decided to depend upon voluntary contributions, and I was always busy, part of the day, in dictating answers to correspondents who wrote offering their services as hunters of big game, collectors of all sorts of fauna, trappers, snarers, and also to those who offered specimens for sale, usually at exorbitant rates.
To the proprietors of . . . mangy lynxes, moth-eaten coyotes, and dancing bears I returned courteous but uncompromising refusals—of course, first submitting all such letters, together with my replies, to Professor Farrago.
One day towards the end of May, however, just as I was leaving Bronx Park to return to town, Professor Lesard, of the reptilian department, called out to me that Professor Farrago wanted to see me a moment; so I . . . retraced my steps to the temporary, wooden building occupied by Professor Farrago, general superintendent of the Zoological Gardens. The professor, who was sitting at his desk before a pile of letters and replies submitted for approval by me, pushed his glasses down and looked over them at me with a whimsical smile that suggested amusement, impatience, annoyance, and perhaps a faint trace of apology.
“Now, here’s a letter,” he said, with a deliberate gesture towards a sheet of paper impaled on a file—“a letter that I suppose you remember.” He disengaged the sheet of paper and handed it to me.
“Oh yes,” I replied, with a shrug; “of course the man is mistaken—or—”
“Or what?” demanded Professor Farrago, tranquilly, wiping his glasses.
“—Or a liar,” I replied.
After a silence he leaned back in his chair and bade me read the letter to him again, and I did so with a contemptuous tolerance for the writer, who must have been either a very innocent victim or a very stupid swindler. I said as much to Professor Farrago, but, to my surprise, he appeared to waver.
“I suppose,” he said, with his near-sighted, embarrassed smile, “that nine hundred and ninety-nine men in a thousand would throw that letter aside and condemn the writer as a liar or a fool?”
“In my opinion,” said I, “he’s one or the other.”
“He isn’t—in mine,” said the professor, placidly.
“What!” I exclaimed. “Here is a man living all alone on a strip of rock and sand between the wilderness and the sea, who wants you to send somebody to take charge of a bird that doesn’t exist!”
“How do you know,” asked Professor Farrago, “that the bird in question does not exist?”
“It is generally accepted,” I replied, sarcastically, “that the great auk has been extinct for years. Therefore I may be pardoned for doubting that our correspondent possesses a pair of them alive.”
“Oh, you young fellows,” said the professor, smiling wearily, “you embark on a theory for destinations that don’t exist.”
He leaned back in his chair, his amused eyes searching space for the imagery that made him smile.
“Like swimming squirrels, you navigate with the help of Heaven and a stiff breeze, but you never land where you hope to—do you?”
Rather red in the face, I said: “Don’t you believe the great auk to be extinct?”
“Audubon saw the great auk.”
“Who has seen a single specimen since?”
“Nobody—except our correspondent here,” he replied, laughing.
I laughed, too, considering the interview at an end, but the professor went on, coolly:
“Whatever it is that our correspondent has—and I am daring to believe that it is the great auk itself—I want you to secure it for the society.”
When my astonishment subsided my first conscious sentiment was one of pity. Clearly, Professor Farrago was on the verge of dotage—ah, what a loss to the world!
I believe now that Professor Farrago perfectly interpreted my thoughts, but he betrayed neither resentment nor impatience. I drew a chair up beside his desk—there was nothing to do but to obey, and this fool’s errand was none of my conceiving.
Together we made out a list of articles necessary for me and itemized the expenses I might incur, and I set a date for my return, allowing no margin for a successful termination to the expedition.
“Never mind that,” said the professor. “What I want you to do is to get those birds here safely. Now, how many men will you take?”
“None,” I replied, bluntly; “it’s a useless expense, unless there is something to bring back. If there is I’ll wire you, you may be sure.”
“Very well,” said Professor Farrago, good-humoredly, “you shall have all the assistance you may require. Can you leave to-night?”
The old gentleman was certainly prompt. I nodded, half-sulkily, aware of his amusement.
“So,” I said, picking up my hat, “I am to start north to find a place called Black Harbor, where there is a man named Halyard who possesses, among other household utensils, two extinct great auks—”
We were both laughing by this time. I asked him why on earth he credited the assertion of a man he had never before heard of.
“I suppose,” he replied, with the same half-apologetic, half-humorous smile, “it is instinct. I feel, somehow, that this man Halyard has got an auk—perhaps two. I can’t get away from the idea that we are on the eve of acquiring the rarest of living creatures. It’s odd for a scientist to talk as I do; doubtless you’re shocked—admit it, now!”
But I was not shocked; on the contrary, I was conscious that the same strange hope that Professor Farrago cherished was beginning, in spite of me, to stir my pulses, too.
“If he has—” I began, then stopped.
The professor and I looked hard at each other in silence.
“Go on,” he said, encouragingly.
But I had nothing more to say, for the prospect of beholding with my own eyes a living specimen of the great auk produced a series of conflicting emotions within me which rendered speech profanely superfluous.
From IN SEARCH OF THE UNKNOWN by Robert W. Chambers—Public Domain
Audubon: John James Audubon, an ornithologist and artist who created scientific illustrations of birds
dotage: a loss of reasoning brought about by old age
Question
How does the exchange between the professor and the narrator in paragraphs 8–11 contribute to the development of the characters?
- AIt establishes the conflict between the professor and the narrator concerning the validity of the letter.
- BIt suggests a theme of collaboration because the narrator and the professor regularly work together.
- CIt reveals the characters’ traits by contrasting the narrator’s distrust with how easily the professor is deceived by what he reads.
- DIt hints that the resolution will involve the narrator accepting the professor’s opinion about the content of the letter.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how the exchange between the professor and the narrator in paragraphs 8–11 contributes to the development of the characters.
A. CORRECT. Paragraphs 8–11 help develop the characters by revealing the difference between the opinions of the narrator and the professor. The narrator believes without any doubts that Halyard, the man who wrote the letter about the auks, is either “ ‘a liar or a fool’ ” (paragraph 9), while the professor believes in the possibility that the writer of the letter could actually be telling the truth (“I said as much to Professor Farrago, but, to my surprise, he appeared to waver” [paragraph 8]).
B. Incorrect. In paragraph 8, the narrator reacts to the letter writer with “a contemptuous tolerance,” and he is shocked to learn that the professor actually agrees with the man (paragraph 11) whom the narrator has bluntly condemned as a liar or a fool (“ ‘In my opinion,’ said I, ‘he’s one or the other.’ ” [paragraph 10]). The exchange presents an emphatic disagreement between the narrator and the professor, and it does not show them working together in a collaborative manner.
C. Incorrect. Although the narrator initially distrusts the contents of the letter and shows “contemptuous tolerance for the writer” (paragraph 8), the excerpt portrays the professor as experienced and intelligent, not as one who is easily deceived.
D. Incorrect. While the narrator does begin to consider the professor’s perspective at the end of the excerpt, paragraphs 8–11 primarily serve to establish the difference of opinion between the narrator and the professor about the writer of the letter.
Question analysis
This question on the excerpt from In Search of the Unknown asks how a short exchange in paragraphs 8–11, in which the narrator and Professor Farrago discuss a letter about a bird, contributes to the development of the two characters. Students must read what each man says and decide what the exchange adds. Some choices describe the pair accurately in part only.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 The task matches the grade 8 standard on how lines of dialogue reveal character, but the four paragraphs are short and the two speakers’ positions are stated outright, so the demand stays at a typical grade 7 level.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- How, not what minor
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 9, 1066 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 90 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The four paragraphs are short and the disagreement is plain, so most students see that the men differ about the letter. The difficulty lies in the wording of the choices. One describes the contrast in terms of character, which suits the stem, but calls the professor easily deceived, a judgment only the narrator holds. The right choice speaks of a conflict, which sounds like plot rather than character, so students must trust that the conflict is what reveals the two men.
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The choice that contrasts the narrator’s distrust with an easily deceived professor and the right one both set the men’s views of the letter against each other; they part on whether the professor is fooled. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
How, not what minor Working it out
The stem asks about the characters, while the right choice names a conflict over the letter, so students must see that the disagreement itself is what reveals each man. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The professor’s side is four words, “He isn’t—in mine,” and students must read them as openness to the letter’s truth, set against the narrator’s flat “one or the other.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Sum up in a phrase what each man says and does in paragraphs 8–11, then check every part of each choice against those four paragraphs, since a choice can describe one character correctly and the other not.
Traps
- Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Rests on a true fact, that the narrator submits his work to the professor, but in paragraphs 8–11 the two disagree sharply and nothing shows them cooperating.
C Half right (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Gets the narrator’s distrust right but adopts his view that the professor is gullible, though the professor only declines to call the writer a liar or a fool and stays calm.
D Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Knows that the narrator later comes to share the professor’s hope, in paragraph 34, but in paragraphs 8–11 he still insists the writer is “one or the other.”
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks what paragraphs 8–11 show about the two characters. Look at what each man says about the letter. Then compare their views.
Find the narrator’s view
In paragraph 8, the narrator reads the letter with “a contemptuous tolerance for the writer.” Contemptuous means full of scorn. He thinks the writer is “either a very innocent victim or a very stupid swindler.” A swindler is a cheat. In paragraph 10, he says the writer is a liar or a fool: “he’s one or the other.”
Find the professor’s view
The professor does not agree. In paragraph 8, the narrator notices that “to my surprise, he appeared to waver.” To waver means to be unsure. In paragraph 11, the professor answers, “He isn’t—in mine.” He means that in his opinion the writer is not a liar or a fool. So the two men clash over whether the letter is true. A clash like this is a conflict.
Check each choice
- A fits. The two men disagree about whether the letter can be trusted. Validity means whether something is true.
- B does not fit. They do work together, but here they disagree.
- C does not fit. The narrator’s distrust is right, but the professor is not fooled. He calmly refuses to call the writer a liar.
- D does not fit. The narrator starts to hope later, in paragraph 34. In paragraphs 8–11 he does not budge.
Watch out: C is tempting because half of it is true. The narrator does distrust the letter. But the idea that the professor has been fooled is only the narrator’s view.
Choose the answer
Paragraphs 8–11 set the narrator’s scorn against the professor’s open mind. So the answer is A, “It establishes the conflict between the professor and the narrator concerning the validity of the letter.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong choice. It is right about the narrator’s distrust. But it speaks of “how easily the professor is deceived.” Deceived means tricked. The story never shows that. He stays calm and thinks for himself. A describes both men correctly: they disagree about the letter.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from In Search of the Unknown” as printed (page 21)
Question 11 of 61
2026 Practice Test B English, question 19Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from In Search of the Unknown”.
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt best explains why the professor is eager to send the narrator on an expedition?
- A“I believe now that Professor Farrago perfectly interpreted my thoughts, but he betrayed neither resentment nor impatience.” (paragraph 25)
- B“Together we made out a list of articles necessary for me and itemized the expenses I might incur, and I set a date for my return, allowing no margin for a successful termination to the expedition.” (paragraph 26)
- C“ ‘What I want you to do is to get those birds here safely.’ ” (paragraph 27)
- D“ ‘I can’t get away from the idea that we are on the eve of acquiring the rarest of living creatures.’ ” (paragraph 33)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks which sentence from the excerpt best explains why the professor is eager to send the narrator on an expedition.
A. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 25 says that the professor “perfectly interpreted” the narrator’s thoughts: in paragraph 24, the narrator suspects the professor is losing his ability to reason because his request (to secure the great auk for the society) seems impossible. The professor is excited about the discovery, but the narrator doubts whether the discovery is real. The sentence does not explain why the professor is excited, however.
B. Incorrect. Paragraph 26 shows the professor and the narrator planning the logistics of the trip, but it does not explain why the professor is eager to send the narrator on the expedition.
C. Incorrect. Although the sentence from paragraph 27 expresses the professor’s interest in having the narrator bring the birds back safely, it does not show the underlying reason why the safety of the birds is so crucial, which is that the great auk is extremely rare.
D. CORRECT. The sentence from paragraph 33 reveals the professor’s excitement to get “ ‘the rarest of living creatures,’ ” the great auk. In paragraph 14, the narrator states that “it is generally accepted . . . that the great auk has been extinct for years,” which would make a living auk incredibly rare and explains the professor’s eagerness for the narrator to go on the expedition.
Question analysis
This textual evidence question asks which sentence from In Search of the Unknown best explains why Professor Farrago is eager to send the narrator to collect a pair of great auks from a man who wrote to the zoo. Students must find the sentence that gives the professor’s reason, and the four quotations, from paragraphs 25 to 33, all concern the expedition in some way.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Choosing the sentence that best explains a character’s motive is standard grade 7 evidence work. The four quotations are short and labeled, but students must tell a reason for the professor’s eagerness apart from sentences that merely relate to the trip.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 9, 1066 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 109 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A detail in the explanation was attributed to the wrong paragraph; it was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every quotation concerns the expedition, so the question rests on the difference between a sentence that relates to the trip and one that gives the professor’s reason for wanting it. The order to bring the birds back safely shows his eagerness plainly and draws students who stop there. Only the sentence about “the rarest of living creatures” supplies a motive, and it gains its weight from the narrator’s earlier claim that the great auk is extinct.
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The professor’s order to “get those birds here safely” and the right sentence are both his words about the birds; one says what he wants, the other why he wants it. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The right sentence never mentions the expedition, and its force depends on paragraph 14, where the narrator says the great auk “has been extinct for years.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
“On the eve of acquiring” is an idiom for being about to obtain, and a student who takes “eve” as evening misses that the professor feels the prize is near. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Restate the question as “Why does the professor want the narrator to go?” and ask of each quotation whether it gives a reason or only describes part of the plan.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- Word match: Repeats striking words or phrases from the text, so it looks supported, but its meaning does not fit the question.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the professor reading the narrator’s doubts with “neither resentment nor impatience,” a true picture of his calm that says nothing about why he wants the birds.
B Word match (Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Is drawn by “the expedition” at the end of the sentence, but the list of supplies, costs and a return date is planning, not the professor’s motive.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Takes the professor’s instruction to bring the birds safely as his reason, but it states what he wants done; why the birds matter appears only in paragraph 33.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of Option A says “In the sentence from paragraph 25, the narrator suspects the professor is losing his ability to reason.” That suspicion is in paragraph 24 (“Clearly, Professor Farrago was on the verge of dotage,” where dotage is “a loss of reasoning brought about by old age”). The sentence from paragraph 25, which is Option A, says that the professor “perfectly interpreted my thoughts” and showed “neither resentment nor impatience.” The site now says: “The sentence from paragraph 25 says that the professor ‘perfectly interpreted’ the narrator’s thoughts: in paragraph 24, the narrator suspects the professor is losing his ability to reason.” The rest of the explanation is unchanged: Option A is still wrong because the sentence does not explain why the professor is eager to send the narrator.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence: the sentence that best explains why the professor is eager to send the narrator. So look for a reason, not a plan or an order.
Recall what the narrator believes
In paragraph 14, the narrator says “that the great auk has been extinct for years.” Extinct means no longer alive anywhere on Earth. So a living great auk would be amazingly rare. The letter writer claims to have two of them.
Find the professor’s reason
In paragraph 33, the professor says, “I can’t get away from the idea that we are on the eve of acquiring the rarest of living creatures.” On the eve of means just about to. Acquiring means getting. He thinks the zoo is close to getting the rarest animal alive. That is why he is eager to send the narrator.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. It is from paragraph 25. It says the professor understood the narrator’s thoughts. Those thoughts are in paragraph 24: the professor was “on the verge of dotage,” or losing his reason in old age. A shows the professor’s calm, not his reason.
- B does not fit. It describes planning the trip, not why.
- C does not fit. It says what the professor wants done, but not why the birds matter.
- D fits. It gives his reason: a chance at the rarest of creatures.
Watch out: C is tempting because the professor is talking about the birds. But it is an order, not a reason.
Choose the answer
Only D explains what makes the trip so exciting to the professor. So the answer is D, “I can’t get away from the idea that we are on the eve of acquiring the rarest of living creatures.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong choice. In C, the professor says “What I want you to do is to get those birds here safely.” That tells what he wants. D tells why he wants it: the birds may be “the rarest of living creatures.” The question asks for the reason, so D fits better.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 12 of 61
2026 Practice Test B English, question 21Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from In Search of the Unknown”.
Question
Which sentence best demonstrates the professional relationship between the narrator and the professor?
- A“He disengaged the sheet of paper and handed it to me.” (paragraph 4)
- B“Clearly, Professor Farrago was on the verge of dotage—ah, what a loss to the world!” (paragraph 24)
- C“I drew a chair up beside his desk—there was nothing to do but to obey, and this fool’s errand was none of my conceiving.” (paragraph 25)
- D“ ‘Very well,’ said Professor Farrago, good-humoredly, ‘you shall have all the assistance you may require.’ ” (paragraph 29)
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks which sentence best demonstrates the professional relationship between the narrator and the professor.
A. Incorrect. Although the professor’s handing of the paper to the narrator indicates that they are beginning to discuss the letter about the great auk, the sentence from paragraph 4 does not convey the relationship between a subordinate employee (the narrator) and a superior (the professor).
B. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 24 presents the narrator’s immediate internal reaction to the professor’s words. The sentence emphasizes that the professor’s belief in the great auk’s existence is so outrageous that the narrator initially thinks the professor is starting to lose touch with reality. This is a momentary reaction to the professor’s words, not a demonstration of the professional relationship between the two.
C. CORRECT. The sentence from paragraph 25 reveals that while the narrator disagrees with the professor (“this fool’s errand was none of my conceiving”), he obeys because he works for the professor (“there was nothing to do but to obey”).
D. Incorrect. The professor’s good-humored offer of assistance in the sentence from paragraph 29 does not best demonstrate the underlying employer-employee relationship between the professor and the narrator. The narrator has to go on the expedition because the professor, his boss, told him to.
Question analysis
This textual evidence question on In Search of the Unknown asks which sentence best demonstrates the professional relationship between the narrator, who answers letters for a zoological society, and Professor Farrago. The four quotations come from different points in their conversation about a letter. Several show the two men dealing with each other, so students must weigh which one shows the relationship most clearly.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Picking the sentence that best shows a relationship between characters is typical grade 7 evidence work. The four quotations are short and labeled, and the main step is deciding what a professional relationship would look like in this scene.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Every choice must be checked minor
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 9, 1066 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 84 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Several quotations show the two men interacting, and the professor’s offer of “all the assistance you may require” even shows him controlling the society’s resources. The best evidence is the sentence in which the employee’s position is plain: he disagrees, yet he must obey. Students who read “professional” loosely as anything that happens at work pick the handing over of the letter, and those who look only at the professor’s authority stop at his offer of help.
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
Students must first decide what a professional relationship looks like here, a superior and an employee bound to carry out his orders, before they can see it in “nothing to do but to obey.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
All four sentences show the two men dealing with each other, from handing over a letter to granting help, so each must be weighed for what it shows about rank. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
The right sentence ends “this fool’s errand was none of my conceiving,” old-fashioned wording for saying the pointless trip was not his idea, which shows the disagreement that makes his obedience telling. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Decide first what a professional relationship between these two men involves, then ask of each quotation whether it shows that relationship or only a passing moment between them.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
A Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Treats the handing over of a letter as a boss giving an order, though the gesture only opens their discussion and shows nothing about who must answer to whom.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Chooses the narrator’s private verdict that the professor is near “dotage,” an accurate view of his thoughts in paragraph 24 but a passing reaction, not a sign of their working roles.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees the professor granting help as a superior’s power, which is partly right, but the sentence shows his good humor more than the narrator’s duty to follow orders.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for the sentence that best shows their professional relationship. That means how they relate at work: who is the boss, and who must follow orders. Paragraph 3 calls Professor Farrago the “general superintendent of the Zoological Gardens.” He is the man in charge. The narrator sends him letters for approval.
Look for a sign of boss and worker
Paragraph 25 says “I drew a chair up beside his desk—there was nothing to do but to obey, and this fool’s errand was none of my conceiving.” To obey means to do what you are told. A fool’s errand is a pointless task. “None of my conceiving” means it was not his idea.
Put it in your own words
The narrator thinks the trip is silly. Still, he must do it, because the professor is his boss. A worker who disagrees but follows orders anyway shows a work relationship clearly. That is what this sentence does.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. Handing over a letter starts their talk. It shows nothing about who is in charge.
- B does not fit. It is the narrator’s private thought that the professor is losing his reason in old age. It is a passing reaction.
- C fits. The narrator must obey even though he disagrees.
- D does not fit. It shows the professor in a good mood. It does not show the narrator’s duty to follow orders.
Watch out: D is tempting because a boss is the one who offers help. But the sentence mostly shows his good humor.
Choose the answer
Only C shows the narrator following an order he does not agree with. So the answer is C, “I drew a chair up beside his desk—there was nothing to do but to obey, and this fool’s errand was none of my conceiving.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest wrong choice. The professor does have the power to offer “all the assistance you may require.” But that sentence mainly shows him being friendly. C shows the heart of the work relationship. The narrator thinks the job is foolish, yet he has “nothing to do but to obey.”
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 13 of 61
2026 Practice Test B English, question 29Passage Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy
Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy
Inside the 40,000-acre Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northern Oklahoma, herds of bison roam on the scenic land that is home to hundreds of different species of plants and animals. While one of the greatest threats to the prairie is wildfire, the use of controlled fires is actually an effective way to protect this idyllic landscape.
Fires that are started by lightning or other natural circumstances are inevitable, and the results can be disastrous. However, hundreds of years ago the American Indian people who inhabited the Great Plains area between Minnesota and Texas realized that these fires could also be helpful. The bison in the area seemed to prefer grazing on tender new grass on the recently burned land rather than on grass in the unburned areas. The American Indian people began to deliberately burn areas of land for bison to graze on, which enticed the herds away from the people’s crops.
Today conservationists at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve and farmers in the Great Plains continue to use controlled burns for land management. Intentionally burning a portion of land can dramatically improve the quality of the vegetation that regrows there. The fires burn away weedy undergrowth and help limit the overcrowding of shrubs and trees in the burn area, creating less competition for water and nutrients. Additionally, the process of burning excess plant matter adds nitrogen, an essential element for plant growth, to the soil.
One common target of controlled burns at the preserve and the surrounding area is the invasive red cedar tree. A single red cedar tree can consume up to 40 gallons of water per day, taking this vital resource away from other plant life. These tall trees also cast shade that prevents sunlight from reaching the plants beneath them. The fast-growing red cedar trees tend to crowd out prairie grasses, the primary food source for wild and domestic animals that make the prairie their home. An imbalance in one component of the prairie’s ecosystem affects the entire web of life. Controlled burns help maintain this ecosystem’s delicate balance.
Of course, these controlled fires are intended to burn only a portion of an area. A total burn, which is a risk with an uncontrolled wildfire, would destroy all wildlife as well as the crops farmers plant for income. The key to using controlled fires is knowing which areas of land to burn and when. Conservation experts at the preserve employ the “patch-burn” approach, meaning they rotate which portion of land is burned each year. They study the land to find out which areas would most benefit from being burned, and then they arrange about a dozen burns over one-third of the land. This patch burning contains the fire within a specific area and allows animals in the burn area to safely relocate. The following year, conservationists will burn a different section of the preserve, while the land burned the previous year regrows healthier than before.
Researchers have tracked and studied the variety of plant species and animals that live on the preserve, and their studies show that the patch-burn approach has restored biodiversity to the area by promoting the growth of species that were at risk of being crowded out. 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 land. Burning land to make it healthy may seem counterintuitive, but strategic controlled fires have helped the prairie sustain life for hundreds of years and, with careful management, will continue to do so.
Question
According to the passage, how did fires started by natural causes prompt American Indians to begin practicing controlled burns?
- Aby drawing animals in to the area to feed on the new growth sprouting from the burned land
- Bby destroying tall trees and reducing the shade that had hindered the growth of planted crops
- Cby burning off excess vegetation and increasing the availability of nutrients for the remaining plants
- Dby causing changes to the bison’s migration habits as bison herds fled from the wildfires on the prairie
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how observing the effects of the fires started by natural causes prompted American Indians to begin practicing controlled burns.
A. CORRECT. In paragraph 2, the author states that American Indians observed bison “grazing on tender new grass on the recently burned land rather than on grass in the unburned areas.” These observations prompted the practice of controlled burns as a means of enticing “the herds away from the people’s crops.”
B. Incorrect. Although the author mentions in paragraph 4 that the primary targets of a controlled burn are red cedar trees and that “these tall trees also cast shade that prevents sunlight from reaching the plants beneath them,” this detail supports why conservationists use controlled burns today, not what initially prompted the use of controlled burns.
C. Incorrect. While the author states in paragraph 3 that “the process of burning excess plant matter adds nitrogen, an essential element for plant growth, to the soil” and that “intentionally burning a portion of land can dramatically improve the quality of the vegetation that regrows there,” these details do not explain the initial observations that prompted American Indians to practice controlled burning.
D. Incorrect. While paragraph 2 mentions that bison moved to a new area to graze because they preferred the “tender new grass on the recently burned land,” there is no indication in the passage that bison changed their migration habits in order to flee wildfires.
Question analysis
This key-details question about an article on controlled burns at an Oklahoma tallgrass prairie preserve asks how fires started by lightning or other natural causes led American Indians to begin burning land on purpose. Students must find the passage's account of that early practice, and since the article describes several effects of fire, each choice has to be checked against what those first observers actually saw.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Finding a stated cause in an informational text is regular grade 7 reading. The answer sits in one short paragraph, but the article describes several effects of fire, old and new, and the choices draw on them, which keeps the demand typical.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 598 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 86 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The stem points to one short paragraph, but the article goes on to list many more benefits of fire, and two wrong choices borrow them: shade cleared from under red cedars and nutrients returned to the soil. Both are true of controlled burns today, not of what the Great Plains peoples first noticed. Students who return to paragraph 2 and restate the bison’s taste for freshly burned grass find the answer quickly.
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
Two wrong choices name real benefits of burning from later paragraphs, cedar shade removed in paragraph 4 and nutrients freed in paragraph 3, so each must be tested against what the early peoples saw. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
Paragraph 2 never says the bison’s grazing caused the practice; students connect “realized that these fires could also be helpful” to the preference for burned land and the deliberate burns that follow. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Go to the paragraph about the Great Plains peoples of hundreds of years ago, restate in your own words what they noticed after natural fires, and test each choice against that observation.
Traps
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
The wrong answers, classified
B Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Borrows paragraph 4’s red cedars, whose shade blocks sunlight from the plants beneath them, and adds “planted crops,” though that shade explains modern burns, not the first deliberate ones.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
States paragraph 3’s real benefits, weedy undergrowth burned away and nitrogen added to the soil, but the article gives them as reasons for burning today, not as what the early peoples observed.
D Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Remembers that bison moved onto burned land but turns their preference for “tender new grass” into herds fleeing wildfire, a change in migration the passage never describes.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This question asks about a cause. Long ago, fires started by lightning gave American Indians an idea. They began to burn land on purpose. You need to find what they saw that led them to do it. A controlled burn is a fire that people set and keep inside a planned area.
Find the right paragraph
Paragraph 2 tells this part of the story. It says the people “realized that these fires could also be helpful.” Then it says what they noticed: “The bison in the area seemed to prefer grazing on tender new grass on the recently burned land rather than on grass in the unburned areas.”
Put it in your own words
Grazing means eating grass. After a fire, soft new grass grew, and the bison liked it best. So the people began to burn land on purpose. The new grass pulled the herds to that land. That kept the bison away from the crops. The paragraph says the burning “enticed the herds away from the people’s crops.” Enticed means tempted or drew.
Check each choice
- A is right. The burned land drew animals, the bison, to eat the new grass.
- B is wrong. The shade of tall trees comes from paragraph 4. It explains why people burn red cedars today, not how burning began.
- C is wrong. Burning off weeds and adding nutrients come from paragraph 3. Nutrients are what plants need to grow. These are reasons for burning today.
- D is wrong. The bison moved toward the fresh grass. The passage never says herds fled from fires.
Watch out: C is true about controlled burns. But the question asks what first gave the people the idea. Paragraph 2 says it was the bison.
Choose the answer
The early people saw bison come to burned land to eat the new grass. So the answer is A: “by drawing animals in to the area to feed on the new growth sprouting from the burned land.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong answer, because it names real good effects of fire. But paragraph 3 gives those as reasons people burn land “today.” The question asks how burning began hundreds of years ago. Paragraph 2 says it began when people watched bison feed on burned land.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy” as printed (page 41)
Question 14 of 61
2026 Practice Test B English, question 32Uses the passage above: “Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy”.
Question
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?
- A“While one of the greatest threats to the prairie is wildfire, the use of controlled fires is actually an effective way to protect this idyllic landscape.” (paragraph 1)
- B“The American Indian people began to deliberately burn areas of land for bison to graze on, which enticed the herds away from the people’s crops.” (paragraph 2)
- C“This patch burning contains the fire within a specific area and allows animals in the burn area to safely relocate.” (paragraph 5)
- D“The following year, conservationists will burn a different section of the preserve, while the land burned the previous year regrows healthier than before.” (paragraph 5)
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks 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.
A. CORRECT. The sentence from paragraph 1 supports the idea that farmers and people who manage land may be concerned about using fire as a way to benefit the land because it acknowledges that “one of the greatest threats to the prairie is wildfire.”
B. Incorrect. Although the sentence from paragraph 2 relates how American Indians “began to deliberately burn areas of land for bison to graze on” and to protect people’s crops, the sentence does not support the idea that farmers and people who manage land may be concerned about using fire as a way to benefit the land. Instead, it focuses on the cause-and-effect relationship between bison and newly burned areas.
C. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 5 provides details about how “patch burning contains the fire” and “allows animals in the burn area to safely relocate,” but it does not adequately support the idea that farmers and people who manage land may be concerned about using fire as a way to benefit the land, because it does not mention that wildfires can be a threat to the prairie.
D. Incorrect. While the sentence from paragraph 5 does explain how “conservationists will burn a different section of the preserve” in order to rotate the process year after year so that the burned land has time to regrow, the sentence does not support the idea that farmers and people who manage land may be concerned about using fire as a way to benefit the land because it does not mention the potential for total burns.
Question analysis
This evidence question asks which sentence from the article on controlled prairie burns supports the idea that farmers and others who manage land may be concerned about using fire to benefit it. The passage never states that concern directly, so students must infer it, and all four quoted sentences, taken from across the article, talk about burning land in some way.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 evidence questions usually ask for support of an idea the text states. This idea, that people who manage land may worry about using fire, is never stated outright, so students must infer which sentence implies it, more than typical.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines major
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Every choice must be checked minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one sentence or line
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 598 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 123 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The idea to support is about people’s feelings, yet none of the four sentences mentions farmers worrying, so students have to decide what would justify such worry. The opening sentence does it by naming wildfire as a great threat before praising controlled fire, a concession many students read past as background. The strongest pull is the sentence on containing the fire, which implies caution but presents patch burning as the answer, not the concern.
Reading between the lines major Working it out
No sentence mentions worry; students must see that calling wildfire “one of the greatest threats to the prairie” gives landowners a reason to fear fire, and that “actually” answers that fear. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The patch-burn sentence about containing the fire “within a specific area” also hints at fire’s danger; it differs from the right one by describing the safeguard without ever naming a threat. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
The four sentences come from paragraphs 1, 2 and 5, and each is about burning land, so each must be tested for a hint of risk rather than for its topic. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Strategy: Before rereading the choices, decide what a sentence would need to say to show that landowners have reason to be wary of fire, then test each quoted sentence for exactly that.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Links “the people’s crops” to farmers, but the sentence tells how early burns drew bison away from the crops and shows no worry about fire itself.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees caution in containing the fire “within a specific area,” but the sentence explains how patch burning keeps animals safe and never says fire threatens the land.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Takes the yearly rotation as a careful precaution, but the sentence describes the schedule and land that “regrows healthier than before,” which backs the benefit, not the worry.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This is an evidence question. Evidence is the words in a text that back up an idea. The idea here is that farmers might worry about using fire to help land. No sentence says farmers are worried. So look for a sentence that gives them a reason to fear fire.
Decide what the evidence needs
A sentence that supports this idea must show that fire can be dangerous. If fire can harm land, people have a reason to be careful with it. So test each sentence with one question: does it say fire is a threat?
Look closely at paragraph 1
Choice A quotes paragraph 1. Its first half says “one of the greatest threats to the prairie is wildfire.” That is a reason to fear fire. Its second half says controlled fires are “actually” helpful. The word “actually” pushes back against that fear. It means: you might expect fire to hurt the land, but here it helps.
Check each choice
- A is right. It names wildfire as a great threat. That gives farmers a reason to worry about fire.
- B is wrong. It tells how early burns drew bison away from crops. It shows no danger from fire.
- C is wrong. It tells how patch burning keeps the fire in one area. It describes a safety step but never names a threat.
- D is wrong. It describes burning a new section each year. It shows a benefit: land that “regrows healthier than before.”
Watch out: C hints that fire must be contained, or kept in, so it sounds careful. But it describes the solution, not the danger.
Choose the answer
Only one sentence names fire as a danger. So the answer is A, the sentence from paragraph 1: “While one of the greatest threats to the prairie is wildfire, the use of controlled fires is actually an effective way to protect this idyllic landscape.” Idyllic means peaceful and lovely.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong answer, because keeping fire “within a specific area” suggests caution. But C only explains how patch burning works. It never says fire can harm the prairie. A does, by calling wildfire one of the greatest threats.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 15 of 61
2026 Practice Test B English, question 35Uses the passage above: “Using Fire to Keep a Prairie Healthy”.
Question
How do the diagram and its text provide additional support for the topic presented in the passage?
- Aby depicting how the landscape in a given area changes as the patch-burn method is applied
- Bby indicating that patch-burn fires are best suited for use in areas with certain features
- Cby revealing that the patch-burn method is used primarily on uninhabited areas of land
- Dby comparing the size of the area burned by the patch-burn method with that of unburned areas
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how the diagram and its text provide additional support for the topic presented in the passage.
A. CORRECT. The text of the diagram states that “by using a patch-burn method, conservationists and farmers can reduce the risk of unintentional fires and control where grazing animals, such as bison, roam.” By showing the pattern of controlled burns and the resulting bison migration in a given area, the diagram depicts how the landscape changes as the patch-burn method is applied.
B. Incorrect. Although the text mentions areas “where grazing animals, such as bison, roam,” the diagram does not depict distinctive features of the land such as trees or brush and therefore does not indicate that patch-burn fires are best suited for use in areas with certain features.
C. Incorrect. While the text mentions “grazing animals, such as bison” and the diagram shows the bison grazing in only one area, the diagram and its text do not indicate that the patch-burn method is used on uninhabited land.
D. Incorrect. While the areas of land depicted in the diagram do indicate that the sizes of the areas differ, the text provided does not compare the sizes of the areas burned by the patch-burn method with those of unburned areas or indicate that this factor is important in reducing the risk of uncontrolled fires or controlling “where grazing animals, such as bison, roam.”
Question analysis
This question asks how a diagram titled “Overview of the Patch-Burn Method,” printed with the article on controlled burns at an Oklahoma prairie preserve, supports the passage's topic. The diagram shows a stretch of land divided into three areas, each with a caption, so students must take in what the picture and its text show together and tie that to the article.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Explaining how a graphic adds to a text is a grade 7 skill. This diagram is simple and clearly labeled, but students must take in its three areas and captions together and match them to an abstract description, a typical demand.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Reading a figure, table or graph moderate
- Reading between the lines moderate
- How, not what minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 598 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 79 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The diagram shows three areas side by side, and the key insight is that they are one piece of land at three moments in the patch-burn cycle. Students who read it only as a map look for spatial claims instead, about land features, people or the sizes of the areas. The caption calling the unburned area “overrun with weeds” is the likeliest snare, since it sounds like advice on which land to burn.
Reading a figure, table or graph moderate Understanding the question
The diagram’s meaning is split among a map of three shaded areas, an introduction and three captions, which must be read together to see what the picture adds to the passage. (Lesh, Post & Behr, 1987; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
Nothing in the diagram mentions the passing of time; students must infer that the unburned, recently burned and previously burned areas are stages the same land passes through as the burns rotate. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
How, not what minor Working it out
The stem asks how the diagram supports the passage, a question of function, so describing what is drawn is not enough; it must be tied to the yearly rotation of paragraph 5. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Strategy: Read the diagram's title, introduction and three captions before the choices, sum up in one sentence what the diagram shows, and check each choice against something you can actually point to in it.
Traps
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Reads the caption calling the unburned area “overrun with weeds” as advice on which land suits a burn, though the captions describe each stage, not features that make land suitable.
C Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Sees no houses or people on the map and decides patch burns are kept to empty land, though bison graze there and a caption mentions crops growing.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Notices that the three shaded areas differ in size, which is true of the drawing, but no caption compares them, and size is not what the diagram explains.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This question asks how the diagram helps the passage. A diagram is a drawing that explains how something works. You need to say what it adds, not just what it shows. So read its title, its short introduction and its three captions. Captions are the short notes under a picture.
Read the diagram
The title, printed in capital letters, is “Overview of the Patch-Burn Method.” The drawing shows one stretch of land. A stream splits it into three areas, labeled “Unburned Area,” “Recently Burned Area” and “Previously Burned Area.” A herd of bison stands in the recently burned area.
Read the three captions
- The unburned area “is overrun with weeds and has the greatest risk of catching fire.”
- The recently burned area “has been cleared of all plants.” Bison come to eat the fresh grass that grows there.
- The previously burned area “is cleared of weeds, and young trees and crops grow freely and thrive.”
These are three stages the same land goes through: weedy, burned, then healthy. Paragraph 5 says the experts burn a different section each year, while “the land burned the previous year regrows healthier than before.”
Check each choice
- A is right. The diagram shows land changing from weedy, to burned, to healthy as the method is used.
- B is wrong. The captions describe each stage. They don’t say some kinds of land suit burning best.
- C is wrong. Bison live in the drawing, and a caption mentions crops. Uninhabited means with no one living there, and nothing says that.
- D is wrong. The areas are different sizes in the drawing. But no caption compares sizes.
Watch out: B is tempting because “overrun with weeds” sounds like a reason to burn. But that caption describes the first stage. It is not a rule for choosing land.
Choose the answer
Depicting means showing in a picture. So the answer is A: “by depicting how the landscape in a given area changes as the patch-burn method is applied.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer, because the weedy unburned area does sound like land that needs a fire. But the diagram gives no rules for picking land. It shows one piece of land changing, stage by stage, as the burns rotate. That is what A says.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 16 of 61
2026 Practice Test C English, question 27Passage Serpent Mound
Serpent Mound
The Great Serpent Mound, located in Adams County, Ohio, is a human-made mound of earth that researchers believe was created between 300 B.C. and A.D. 1100 by an indigenous culture.
Ohio, 1846
Brush Creek stood low when the museum men came
with their measuring tapes and sketchbooks.
It was winter. Fringed with ice,
the creek doubled back on itself
as if it had forgotten something.
Pa was in Cincinnati, or else on his way home,
so Ma told me to lead the men
into the marshy low grounds. It being winter,
there was little underbrush to speak of—
in the summer there would have been
briars, poison ivy, biting flies. I listened
for the swish of a beaver’s heavy tail,
the chitter of a chickadee, or the cry of a hawk,
but the winter silence of the creek pressed
down on all of us like a weight.
The humps in the ground were all but
invisible until you were right up on them. The figure
was even less obvious: the sinuous body,
the tail coiled three times around,
and at the other end, the mouth wide open.
In the summer the creek bottom was crowded
with so much life that you could trip over
the ridges of earth before you saw
anything at all. In winter you could climb
a tree and get some idea of the whole thing:
the serpent’s body undulating, slithering
silently across the ancient
earth. At the mouth end, there was an oval mound
as if the snake were about to swallow an egg—
as snakes sometimes did in our rickety
henhouse—my Pa always said, or
as if swallowing the sun, one of the museum
men suggested, taking notes with his quill pen,
an old-style inkhorn slung at his side.
I liked that: swallowing the sun,
just the sort of thing a snake might do,
might want to do. When, later, I told my sister Ruth,
she disagreed. It is singing to the sun,
she insisted. That is why its mouth
is wide open. She said, “Sometimes I think
I hear it on summer nights. Not swallowing, singing.”
Question
Which lines reveal how the setting affects the speaker and the men from the museum?
- A“It being winter, / there was little underbrush to speak of—” (lines 8–9)
- B“but the winter silence of the creek pressed / down on all of us like a weight.” (lines 14–15)
- C“The humps in the ground were all but / invisible until you were right up on them.” (lines 16–17)
- D“In the summer the creek bottom was crowded / with so much life that you could trip” (lines 21–22)
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks which lines reveal how the setting affects the speaker and the men from the museum.
A. Incorrect. The words “being winter” (line 8) work to establish the setting, but lines 8 and 9 do not describe the effect the winter setting has on the speaker and the men.
B. CORRECT. The imagery in lines 14 and 15 describes how the winter silence makes the speaker and the men feel emotional heaviness: it “pressed / down on all of us like a weight.”
C. Incorrect. Although the words “the humps in the ground were all but / invisible” describe how the setting appears to the speaker and the men, lines 16 and 17 do not describe how the setting affects them.
D. Incorrect. Although lines 21 and 22 do describe the setting, the lines do not describe how the setting affects the speaker and the men. The lines describe the setting in the summer, which is before the men from the museum show up.
Question analysis
This evidence question on the poem “Serpent Mound” asks which lines reveal how the setting, a creek in the Ohio winter of 1846, affects the young speaker and the museum men. All four quotations come from the poem’s description of the creek and the land around the mound, in winter and in summer, so the four choices look much alike at first glance.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 A routine grade 7 evidence task: the four quotations are short, numbered and in plain modern language. What takes care is that all of them describe the setting, while the question asks about its effect on particular people.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- Figurative or literary language minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one sentence or line
- Reading level
- Passage: 354 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 5, 77 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every quotation describes the setting, so a student who checks only for setting can defend almost any of them. The question turns on the people: only one quotation says what the place does to them, in the words “on all of us.” The summer lines tempt with someone tripping over the ridges, but they describe another season, not the winter day of the visit.
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
All four quotations describe the creek and the land, so each must be asked whether it shows the place acting on the speaker and the men or only tells what the place is like. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Figurative or literary language minor Understanding the question
The answer is a simile, silence that “pressed / down on all of us like a weight,” and students must read the weight as a mood the winter quiet puts on the group. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Paraphrase each quotation, then ask whether it shows the setting acting on the speaker and the museum men or only tells what the place is like.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Treats the thin winter underbrush as an effect because it would make the walk easier, but lines 8–9 only describe the ground and say nothing of how anyone feels or acts.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees that the humps are hard to spot until “you were right up on them,” which involves a viewer, but the lines report how the land looks, not what it does to the group.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Matches “you could trip” to the word “affects,” but the lines describe the creek bottom in summer, not the winter day when the speaker leads the museum men.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence about setting. Setting is where and when a story or poem takes place. Here it is a creek in Ohio, in winter. You need the lines that show how this place affects the speaker and the museum men. In other words, what does the place do to them or make them feel?
Read the lines that mention people
Lines 14–15 say “but the winter silence of the creek pressed / down on all of us like a weight.” The words “all of us” mean the speaker and the museum men together. This is a simile, a comparison using “like.” The quiet felt like something heavy pressing down on them. So the silent winter creek made the whole group feel heavy and gloomy.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. Lines 8–9 say there was little underbrush, or low bushes. That describes the ground, not how anyone felt.
- B fits. The silence “pressed / down on all of us,” so the place acts on the whole group.
- C does not fit. Lines 16–17 tell how hard the humps are to see. They describe the land, not its effect on the group.
- D does not fit. Lines 21–22 describe the creek in summer. The museum men came in winter.
Watch out: D says “you could trip,” which sounds like an effect on people. But it describes another season, not the day of the visit.
Choose the answer
Only lines 14–15 show the winter creek acting on the speaker and the men. So the answer is B, lines 14–15: “but the winter silence of the creek pressed / down on all of us like a weight.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is a close wrong choice, because it has a person in it: the humps stay hidden “until you were right up on them.” But it only reports what the land looks like. B is different. The silence “pressed / down on all of us like a weight.” Only B shows the place changing how the speaker and the men feel.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Serpent Mound” as printed (page 40)
Question 17 of 61
2026 Practice Test C English, question 29Uses the passage above: “Serpent Mound”.
Question
Read line 28 from the poem.
At the mouth end, there was an oval mound
How does the line contribute to the development of ideas in the poem?
- AIt describes a feature of the mound that the men from the museum need to document.
- BIt introduces a comparison of the body of the mound with the head of the mound.
- CIt introduces a feature of the mound that has a different meaning to different people.
- DIt describes a part of the mound that is difficult to see from far away.
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks how line 28 contributes to the development of ideas in the poem.
A. Incorrect. Although the museum men are documenting the shape of the mound in line 33, lines 29–32 and 35–41 focus on what the oval mound represents as interpreted by the museum men, the speaker, and the speaker’s sister.
B. Incorrect. While the lines preceding line 28 describe the body of the snake in detail (“you could climb / a tree and get some idea of the whole thing: / the serpent’s body undulating, slithering / silently across the ancient / earth” [lines 24–28]), the purpose of line 28 is to begin the development of the ideas about the oval shape at the end of the mound: the serpent’s mouth.
C. CORRECT. Line 28 introduces the presence of the oval mound at the mouth of the snake. The meaning of this oval is of great interest to the museum men and the speaker. Line 28 leads to the idea that there is speculation about the oval mound (“as if the snake were about to swallow an egg” [line 29], “as if swallowing the sun” [line 32], and “It is singing to the sun” [line 38]).
D. Incorrect. The speaker does not say that the oval shape near the end of the mound is difficult to see. Earlier, the speaker says that the ridges of earth are difficult to see unless you are near them, but the speaker does not say this about the oval shape.
Question analysis
Students explain how line 28 of “Serpent Mound,” which introduces an oval mound at the serpent’s mouth end, contributes to the development of ideas in the poem. The line is a plain piece of description in a poem about museum men surveying the mound, so students must work out what part it plays in the poem as a whole.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Explaining how one line contributes to a poem is standard grade 7 structure work. The line is a plain description, but its role depends on how it connects to the lines around it.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- How, not what moderate
- Evidence in several places minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: 354 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 5, 89 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Because the museum men came to measure and sketch, a line naming a new feature looks like a note for their records, and that reading is the strong pull. Others see a comparison with the serpent’s body described just before, or carry over the earlier point about humps that are hard to see. The line’s job shows in what follows it: the oval is where Pa, a museum man and Ruth each see something different.
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The documenting choice and the key both say line 28 presents a feature of the mound; they differ in what follows, the men’s records or the egg, sun and singing readings in lines 29–41. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
How, not what moderate Working it out
The line is plain description, so its role shows only in what it sets up: the oval becomes the egg, the swallowed sun and the open singing mouth that the rest of the poem weighs. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The readings are spread over thirteen lines and three people, Pa in lines 29–31, a museum man in lines 32–33 and Ruth in lines 37–41, so students must gather them. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Read line 28 together with the lines on either side of it, then test each choice against what those lines actually show.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
- Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Knows the men came “with their measuring tapes and sketchbooks,” so any new feature seems one to record, but the lines after 28 dwell on what the oval means, not on recording it.
B Wrong purpose or structure (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Notices that lines 24–28 describe the serpent’s body just before the oval appears, but line 28 moves on to the mouth end and never sets head and body side by side.
D Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Carries over lines 16–17, where the humps are “all but / invisible” until you are close, to the oval mound, which the poem never calls hard to see.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks how one line helps build the poem’s ideas. Line 28 is a plain description: “At the mouth end, there was an oval mound.” Oval means egg-shaped. To see the line’s job, look at what comes right after it.
Read what follows line 28
The next lines give three ideas about the oval mound.
- Pa always said it was “as if the snake were about to swallow an egg,” as snakes did in the family’s henhouse (lines 29–31).
- A museum man says “as if swallowing the sun” (line 32).
- Ruth says “It is singing to the sun” (line 38).
Name the line’s job
Line 28 brings in the oval mound. Then each person sees something different in it: an egg, the sun being swallowed, or a song. Each idea comes from that person’s own life. Pa thinks of his henhouse. Ruth thinks of what she seems to hear on summer nights. So the line sets up a feature that means different things to different people.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. The men did come to measure and sketch. But the lines after 28 are about what the oval means, not about recording it.
- B does not fit. Line 28 moves on from the body to the mouth. It never compares the two.
- C fits. The oval gets three different meanings from three people.
- D does not fit. Lines 16–17 say the humps are hard to see. The poem never says that about the oval.
Watch out: A is tempting because the men came “with their measuring tapes and sketchbooks.” But the poem spends its last 13 lines on meanings, not measurements.
Choose the answer
Line 28 brings in the oval mound that Pa, a museum man and Ruth each see in their own way. So the answer is C, “It introduces a feature of the mound that has a different meaning to different people.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong choice. The museum men are there to document, or record, the mound, and one is taking notes. But the lines after 28 are not about notes. They give an egg, a swallowed sun and a singing snake. That is a feature with a different meaning to different people, just as C says.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 18 of 61
2026 Practice Test C English, question 31Uses the passage above: “Serpent Mound”.
Question
What impact do the words “swish,” “chitter,” and “cry” in lines 12–13 have in the poem?
- AThey illustrate how lively the mound’s surroundings are during the summer.
- BThey show how the mound disrupts natural life in the marsh.
- CThey indicate the variety of wildlife found in the area around the mound.
- DThey suggest that the speaker prefers the mound’s appearance in winter.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks what impact the words “swish,” “chitter,” and “cry” in lines 12–13 have in the poem.
A. CORRECT. The words highlight the sounds of the animals that visit the mound in the summer: the “swish of a beaver’s heavy tail” (line 12), the “chitter of a chickadee” (line 13), and the “cry of a hawk” (line 13). These words help contrast the quiet stillness of the setting around the mound in the winter.
B. Incorrect. While the words in lines 12–13 convey the sounds certain animals make in the summer, the sounds of the animals that live near the mound are a natural part of life in the area, not a disruption.
C. Incorrect. The speaker is contrasting the sounds of the animals around the mound during the rest of the year with the silence of the winter months, not merely indicating the variety of wildlife.
D. Incorrect. The speaker expresses the idea that the mound is more visible in the winter because of the lack of brush (“It being winter, / there was little underbrush to speak of” [lines 8–9]). Then lines 12–13 describe sounds, not the appearance of the mound in winter.
Question analysis
This question about word choice asks what impact the sound words “swish,” “chitter” and “cry” in lines 12–13 of “Serpent Mound” have in the poem. They belong to a beaver, a chickadee and a hawk near the creek, and more than one choice sounds like a fair account of them, so students must read the surrounding lines closely.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 students often explain what sensory words add to a description. These three words sit inside a long sentence that runs across several lines, so their effect has to be worked out from the lines around them, beyond typical grade 7 work.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer major
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Complex sentences minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: 354 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 6, 61 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Three vivid animal sounds invite the easy reading that the poem is showing off the creek’s wildlife, and that choice is true as far as it goes. The words matter because they are missing: the speaker listens for them, and “the winter silence” answers. Students must also accept that the key’s “during the summer” comes from the poem’s later picture of a crowded summer creek, not from lines 12–13 themselves.
A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer
The variety choice is literally true, since a beaver, a chickadee and a hawk are three kinds of animal; it differs from the key in missing why the sounds are named, as a contrast with winter. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The speaker listens for these sounds and does not hear them, so students must infer that they stand for the creek’s life in warmer months, which lines 21–22 call “crowded / with so much life.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Complex sentences minor Understanding the question
The three words sit in one sentence that runs from “I listened” in line 11 to “like a weight” in line 15 and turns on “but,” so their point arrives only at its end. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)
Strategy: Read the full sentence that holds these words, from “I listened” in line 11 to the end of line 15, then decide what the three sound words add to the scene.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
The wrong answers, classified
B Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Notices that the beaver, chickadee and hawk go unheard but blames the mound for the hush, though line 14 calls it “the winter silence of the creek.”
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Rightly counts three different animals in lines 12–13, but the speaker listens for them in vain, so the point is their absence in winter, not the range of species.
D Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Remembers from lines 8–9 and 24–25 that winter makes the mound easier to see, but lines 12–13 are about sounds and state no preference for either season.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks what three sound words do in the poem. They are “swish,” “chitter” and “cry,” in lines 12–13. Read the whole sentence they sit in. It starts at “I listened” in line 11 and ends with “like a weight” in line 15.
Read the full sentence
Lines 11–15 say “I listened / for the swish of a beaver’s heavy tail, / the chitter of a chickadee, or the cry of a hawk, / but the winter silence of the creek pressed / down on all of us like a weight.” A chickadee is a small bird, and a chitter is its quick, chirping sound. The speaker listens for these sounds. But the word “but” tells you they never come. Only silence answers.
Work out why the sounds are named
A beaver, a chickadee and a hawk are signs of a creek full of life. The speaker hears none of them in winter. Later lines tell you when the creek is lively. Lines 21–22 say “In the summer the creek bottom was crowded / with so much life.” So the missing sounds remind you how lively the place is in summer. They also make the winter silence feel even emptier.
Check each choice
- A fits. The sounds stand for the busy life around the mound in the warm months.
- B does not fit. The quiet comes from the season: “the winter silence of the creek.” The mound does not cause it.
- C does not fit. There are three kinds of animals, but the point is that their sounds are missing.
- D does not fit. These lines are about sounds. The speaker says nothing about liking how the mound looks in winter.
Watch out: C is true as far as it goes. But it misses why the speaker names the sounds at all: to set them against the silence.
Choose the answer
The sounds the speaker listens for, and doesn’t hear, show how lively the creek is in summer. So the answer is A, “They illustrate how lively the mound’s surroundings are during the summer.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong choice, because a beaver, a chickadee and a hawk really are three kinds of wildlife. But the speaker listens for them and hears nothing. The word “but” turns the sentence to “the winter silence.” The sounds matter because they are missing. They show the creek in its lively season, which line 21 names as summer.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 19 of 61
2026 Practice Test C English, question 36Passage Excerpt from “Growing Peppers on the ISS Is Just the Start of Space Farming”
Excerpt from “Growing Peppers on the ISS Is Just the Start of Space Farming”
by Melanie Canales
The author, Melanie Canales, is a first-generation Peruvian American farmer and beekeeper based in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, on lands of the indigenous Monacan and Manahoac tribes. Her work focuses on creating healthy relationships between people and their surrounding ecosystems.
Unburdened by the constraints of gravity, red and green peppers jut out at 45-degree angles inside the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH), a sort of space terrarium not much larger than a microwave. Four chile pepper plants stand effortlessly upright, despite the dozens of glossy fruits weighing them down. These plants have lived entirely in space; their leaves have never been chewed on by insects or rustled by a summer breeze, [and] their stems are unfamiliar with bending toward the sun’s arc across the sky. Scissors glint under the tank’s white and blue lights as astronaut Mark Vande Hei and his team snip the stems of those that are ready for harvest. The peppers whirl around their heads until the astronauts catch them and tape them against a board to photograph.
Back on Earth, the Plant Habitat-04 team of engineers and plant scientists are observing and conferring with the astronauts. Of the 26 peppers in this batch, only the 14 finest will stay on the International Space Station [ISS] for consumption. The rest will be wrapped in foil, sealed in a Ziploc bag, then frozen at a brisk −80 degrees, until they can come roaring back to Earth in the next cargo capsule to be studied later. Now, after a 137-day growth cycle, the astronauts remove the plants from the module and trash them. Project Plant Habitat-04 is complete. It’s taco night on the ISS.
Since 2014, NASA1 has experimented with growing lettuces, brassicas,2 and zinnias3 in space, an endeavor that relies on highly specialized technology over 50 years in the making. [Fall 2021’s] two successful pepper harvests . . . will provide data on the nutritional and psychological benefits of growing vegetables on-craft, as well as a crop’s ability to reliably produce long-term in microgravity. While controlled environmental agriculture is not new, the APH experiment represents an evolution in specialized growth habitats. It doesn’t aim to re-create Earth’s conditions, but to perfect each isolated variable of plant growth in the clinical environment of a spaceship.
“The Advanced Plant Habitat is the most complex plant growth system on orbit today,” says Lashelle Spencer, a plant scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Its more than 180 sensors control and monitor temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide. The astronauts can adjust the color and intensity of the light, and how much moisture the plants’ roots are getting. It waters itself.
It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and Spencer has been at Kennedy since 5 a.m. to facilitate the peppers’ final harvest. As part of the project team, she played a crucial role in preparing the seeds that were sent hurtling into space in June and guiding the astronauts through maintaining the plants in orbit. . . . Though astronauts can spend upwards of 100 days in space, their on-mission meals come dehydrated and pre-packaged; their vitamins and minerals are isolated in supplements, which lose nutritional value the longer they’re stored. Spencer’s goal is to create the conditions necessary for cultivating healthy plants in space, so those plants can sustain healthy astronauts on long-term missions. Astronaut food is great, she says—“especially the shrimp cocktail. But you’re missing that crunch. You’re missing that fresh pop of flavor, the green flavor that’s not there in that packaged food.”
The sensory experience of growing productive crops can also help mitigate4 the psychological effects of long-term space travel. . . . Spencer says the team cracked open the door of the APH every day to observe their vegetable companions with all the tenderness of home gardeners. When harvest day came, they batted their bounty around the ISS, taking selfies and delighting in watching the fruits pirouetting around the spacecraft. . . .
“We were thinking no heat, so that [the peppers] wouldn’t be dangerous, but maybe the astronauts need a little spice in their life,” says Paul Bosland, who along with his colleagues at the Chile Pepper Institute genetically engineered5 the NuMex Española Improved chile pepper seeds grown in Plant Habitat-04. . . .
Working with NASA, Bosland cultivated a variety that could accommodate both the nutritional needs of astronauts as well as the logistics of growing a plant in space. . . .
. . . The experiment is helping gather the data necessary to determine the nutritional content of crops grown in space, and therefore how many people they can feed, and for how long. Though much is still unknown, Spencer is certain of one thing that future astronauts will need to do: “I think in an optimal world, a scientist like me would say that they would be growing plants from day one. From the day they left to the day they came back, they would be growing them.”
From “Growing Peppers on the ISS Is Just the Start of Space Farming” by Melanie Canales from WIRED, December 21, 2021. Copyright © 2021 Condé Nast. All rights reserved.
1NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
2brassicas: a large genus of herbs, such as broccoli and cabbage
3zinnias: a genus of herbs and low shrubs that have flowers at their heads
4mitigate: to make something less severe or harmful
5genetically engineered: combined parts of DNA from different plants to produce a new plant
Question
Which statement best explains why Lashelle Spencer is a relevant source of information for the excerpt?
- AShe works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
- BShe is part of the APH project team.
- CShe is sensitive to the astronauts’ need for healthy food in space.
- DShe witnessed how astronauts aboard the APH responded when harvesting their food.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks which statement best explains why Lashelle Spencer is a relevant source of information for the excerpt.
A. Incorrect. While paragraphs 4 and 5 do mention that Lashelle Spencer works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, that fact does not explain her direct expertise on growing plants in space.
B. CORRECT. In paragraph 4, Spencer is identified as a “plant scientist” at NASA, and paragraph 5 states that she is directly involved with the Advanced Plant Habitat as “part of the project team,” making her a relevant source of information for the excerpt’s discussion of growing plants in space.
C. Incorrect. Although the details in paragraph 5 do indicate that Spencer is interested in providing better food choices to astronauts, her empathy toward the astronauts’ needs does not make her a relevant source of information for the excerpt.
D. Incorrect. Paragraph 5 does mention that Spencer helped facilitate the harvest from the Kennedy Space Center, so she likely did witness the astronauts’ reactions as they harvested the peppers; however, this inference does not explain Spencer’s relevance as a source of information for the excerpt.
Question analysis
Why is Lashelle Spencer, the NASA plant scientist quoted throughout the article on growing peppers in space, a relevant source of information? This question asks students to judge what qualifies a person quoted in an informational text to speak on its subject. Several choices state facts about her, so students must decide which one actually explains her value as a source.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Grade 7 readers often judge whether evidence is relevant, though asking why a quoted expert deserves trust is a less common form of the task. The facts about Spencer sit in two neighboring paragraphs, so the reading demand itself is typical.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence in several places minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 890 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 55 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A wrong paragraph number in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The pull of this question is that the first thing the excerpt says about Spencer, her job at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, sounds like a credential. Paragraph 5 gives the stronger one: she helped prepare the seeds and guided the crew, so she knows this experiment firsthand. Students lose the point by stopping at the job title, or by treating her sympathy for the astronauts or a harvest she supposedly watched as expertise.
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
Her Kennedy workplace, her concern for well-fed astronauts and her role on the project all come from paragraphs 4 and 5, so truth rules out little; each must be weighed as a qualification. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The excerpt never says why Spencer is quoted; a reader must connect “part of the project team” and “guiding the astronauts” to her firsthand knowledge of this particular experiment. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
Spencer is introduced in paragraph 4 as a NASA plant scientist, but her place on the pepper project appears only in paragraph 5, after a sentence about Thanksgiving. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Find every detail paragraphs 4 and 5 give about Spencer, then ask of each choice whether it explains why her statements about this experiment deserve a reader’s trust.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Takes her workplace, named when paragraph 4 introduces her, as the credential, though many people work at Kennedy; her role on the pepper project is what gives her firsthand knowledge.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Notices her goal of plants that “sustain healthy astronauts” and treats that caring attitude as expertise, though concern for the crew says nothing about what she knows of growing plants.
D Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Assumes that facilitating the harvest from Kennedy, on Earth, means she watched the crew’s reactions, which the excerpt never says, and watching would not make her an expert anyway.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The handbook’s explanation of Option A says “paragraphs 5 and 8 do mention that Lashelle Spencer works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.” Spencer is introduced in paragraph 4 as “a plant scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center,” and paragraph 5 says she “has been at Kennedy since 5 a.m.” Paragraph 8 is about Paul Bosland and does not mention her. The site now says “paragraphs 4 and 5.”
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
A source is a person whose words an article uses. A relevant source is one who really knows the topic. This question asks why Lashelle Spencer is worth quoting in an article about growing peppers in space. Several choices are true facts about her. You need the one that shows why she knows this subject.
Find what the article says about her
Paragraph 4 introduces her as “a plant scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.” Paragraph 5 says she “has been at Kennedy since 5 a.m. to facilitate the peppers’ final harvest.” To facilitate means to help make something happen. Then comes the key sentence: “As part of the project team, she played a crucial role in preparing the seeds that were sent hurtling into space in June and guiding the astronauts through maintaining the plants in orbit.”
Explain what that tells you
Spencer didn’t just watch this project from far away. She helped run it. She got the seeds ready. She coached the astronauts as they cared for the plants. So she has firsthand knowledge, meaning she learned it by doing it herself. That is what makes her a good source for this article.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. It is true, and paragraphs 4 and 5 both say it. But many people work at Kennedy. A job there doesn’t make someone an expert on growing plants in space.
- B is right. Being on the project team means she helped plan and guide this exact experiment.
- C is wrong. She does care about healthy food for astronauts. But caring is not the same as knowing.
- D is wrong. The article never says she watched how the crew reacted. Even if she did, watching a harvest wouldn’t make her an expert.
Watch out: A is the first fact you learn about her, so it feels like her main qualification. Paragraph 5 gives a stronger one.
Choose the answer
Spencer helped prepare and guide the pepper experiment herself. So the answer is B, “She is part of the APH project team.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer. Working at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center sounds impressive, and it is true. But a job at a big space center doesn’t prove she knows this experiment. B does. Being on the project team means she prepared the seeds and guided the crew.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “Growing Peppers on the ISS Is Just the Start of Space Farming”” as printed (pages 50–51)
Question 20 of 61
2026 Practice Test C English, question 37Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “Growing Peppers on the ISS Is Just the Start of Space Farming””.
Question
How does the author support the claim in paragraph 4 that the APH is a complex plant growth system?
- Aby indicating how many sensors help control the variables of plant growth
- Bby detailing how the method of growing plants has been adapted to the conditions of space
- Cby explaining the steps required to package and return the plants to Earth
- Dby describing how NASA has spent years experimenting with plants grown in a controlled environment
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how the author supports the claim in paragraph 4 that the APH is a complex plant growth system.
A. CORRECT. The author supports the claim that the APH is a complex plant growth system by stating that it has “more than 180 sensors” that control and monitor temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide (paragraph 4). These details, along with the description of how astronauts can adjust light and moisture via these sensors, directly illustrate the system’s complexity.
B. Incorrect. Although paragraph 4 describes some of the APH’s features, such as monitoring “temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide,” it does not focus on how the key elements of plant growing are adapted to space conditions. The details instead emphasize the number of sensors and the variety of variables they control.
C. Incorrect. Although paragraph 2 mentions packaging and returning plants to Earth, the process does not directly contribute to the complexity of the APH system of growing plants in space.
D. Incorrect. While paragraph 3 references NASA’s experimentation “with growing lettuces, brassicas, and zinnias in space” since 2014 and how it relied “on highly specialized technology,” there is no indication in the paragraph that the APH system existed during the same time period or that the experiments relied on the complexity of a similar system.
Question analysis
Paragraph 4 of the excerpt quotes a NASA scientist calling the Advanced Plant Habitat “the most complex plant growth system on orbit today.” This evidence question asks how the author supports that claim. Students must trace a claim to the evidence offered for it and tell that evidence apart from other true facts the article gives about the pepper project.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Tracing how an author supports a stated claim is standard grade 7 work, and the stem names the paragraph where the claim appears. The technical vocabulary of the article adds some load, but the task itself is routine.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what minor
- An unfamiliar subject minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 890 words; question and choices: about grade 8, 74 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A misquotation of the excerpt in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The claim and its support sit side by side in paragraph 4, so a student who rereads it finds the sensors at once. The wrong choices come from neighboring paragraphs: the habitat that does not copy Earth’s conditions, the frozen peppers and NASA’s work since 2014. Each is true of the article, so the question rewards matching the support to the claim’s own paragraph rather than to the article’s general themes.
How, not what minor Working it out
The stem asks how the claim is supported, so the answer is the evidence in the sentences right after the quotation, the “more than 180 sensors” and the controls they run. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
An unfamiliar subject minor Understanding the question
Paragraph 4 describes a growth chamber in technical terms, sensors for temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide, and adjustable light and moisture, which students must picture without having seen anything like it. (Recht & Leslie, 1988; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Find the sentence in paragraph 4 that makes the claim, read the sentences right after it, and choose the description that matches what those sentences actually offer as support.
Traps
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Draws on paragraph 3’s point that the habitat perfects each variable instead of re-creating Earth’s conditions, but paragraph 4 supports its claim by counting sensors and controls, not by describing adaptation.
C Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Recalls the foil, the sealed bag and the freezing at −80 degrees in paragraph 2, a procedure after the harvest that says nothing about how the habitat works.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Remembers that NASA’s work since 2014 relies on “highly specialized technology,” which sounds like complexity, but it is paragraph 3’s history of the program, not evidence about this habitat.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The handbook’s explanation of Option D says NASA’s experimentation relied “on specialized technology.” Paragraph 3 says the endeavor “relies on highly specialized technology over 50 years in the making,” so the site now quotes “on highly specialized technology.”
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
A claim is an idea the writer wants you to believe. Support is the proof given for it. Paragraph 4 claims the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) is complex. Complex means it has many parts that work together. You need to find how the author backs that up.
Find the claim and what follows
Paragraph 4 opens with Spencer’s words: “The Advanced Plant Habitat is the most complex plant growth system on orbit today.” On orbit means circling Earth in space. The very next sentence gives the proof: “Its more than 180 sensors control and monitor temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide.” Then the paragraph adds that the astronauts can change the light and the water.
Explain what the proof means
A sensor is a small device that measures something, like a thermometer. Humidity is how much water is in the air. To monitor means to keep checking. So the habitat has more than 180 measuring tools. They watch and control each condition the plants need. These conditions are called variables, things that can change, like heat and light. That big number of sensors shows how complex the habitat is.
Check each choice
- A is right. The author gives a number, “more than 180 sensors,” and says what they control.
- B is wrong. Paragraph 4 doesn’t explain how growing methods were changed for space. It counts sensors and lists what they control.
- C is wrong. Packing the peppers to send home is in paragraph 2. It says nothing about how the habitat works.
- D is wrong. Paragraph 3 says NASA’s work since 2014 relies “on highly specialized technology.” But that is the program’s history, not proof about this habitat.
Watch out: B sounds like it could describe a complex machine. But the proof sits right after the claim, and it is about sensors.
Choose the answer
The author shows the habitat is complex by counting its sensors and naming what they control. So the answer is A, “by indicating how many sensors help control the variables of plant growth.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer. Paragraph 3 does say the habitat “doesn’t aim to re-create Earth’s conditions.” But the question asks how paragraph 4 supports its own claim. Paragraph 4 does it with a count of sensors and a list of what they control. That matches A.
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The original DOE question
Question 21 of 61
2026 Practice Test C English, question 42Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “Growing Peppers on the ISS Is Just the Start of Space Farming””.
Question
How is the discussion of the genetic engineering of the peppers consumed on the ISS (paragraphs 7–8) important to the excerpt as a whole?
- AIt provides a detail that helps the reader identify a particular variety of pepper consumed on the ISS.
- BIt indicates that the peppers eaten on the ISS resulted from a collaboration between scientists and astronauts.
- CIt allows the reader to understand how the peppers consumed on the ISS differ from most peppers grown on Earth.
- DIt suggests that the peppers consumed on the ISS are of a type that could be grown in natural conditions.
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks how the discussion of the genetic engineering of the peppers consumed on the ISS (paragraphs 7–8) is important to the excerpt as a whole.
A. Incorrect. Although paragraph 7 names the NuMex Española Improved chile pepper as the variety grown on the ISS, this detail is not further developed and does not play a significant role in the overall focus of the excerpt. The passage emphasizes the process and purpose of developing the pepper rather than the pepper itself.
B. Incorrect. While paragraph 7 notes that Paul Bosland collaborated with colleagues to develop the seeds for the experiment, this fact alone is not the reason why the discussion of genetic engineering is important to the excerpt. The key point is that the pepper variety in the experiment was specifically modified to meet the needs of both astronauts and space cultivation. Who participated in the development of the peppers is secondary.
C. CORRECT. Paragraph 7 explains how specialists selected a pepper variety and genetically engineered the seeds for the experiment, while paragraph 8 adds that the variety developed also needed to provide astronauts with proper nutrition and be capable of growing in space. These details are important to the excerpt as a whole because they illustrate how the peppers grown on the ISS differ from most peppers cultivated on Earth in both purpose and design.
D. Incorrect. The details about the genetic engineering of the pepper seeds highlight that the variety was modified to suit specific space-related requirements. However, the excerpt does not discuss whether this type of pepper could be grown in natural conditions on Earth or if doing so is even a goal. Instead, these paragraphs are important because they explain how the pepper was adapted to address astronauts’ nutritional needs and the constraints of space farming.
Question analysis
Paragraphs 7–8 of the ISS pepper excerpt explain that a scientist at the Chile Pepper Institute genetically engineered the seeds grown aboard the space station. This text-structure question asks why that discussion matters to the excerpt as a whole. Students must look past what the two paragraphs say to what they add to the article’s larger account of farming in space.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Explaining how a section contributes to a whole text is standard grade 7 reading. The two paragraphs in question are short and the four choices are brief single sentences, so the demand matches ordinary grade 7 structure questions.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what moderate
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 890 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 98 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The paragraphs are short, but the question asks what they add, not what they say, and the key states something the article leaves implicit. The trap is the collaboration choice: “Working with NASA” and Bosland’s colleagues suggest teamwork, and the excerpt as a whole does pair scientists with astronauts, but the peppers were developed on the ground. Students who instead pick the named variety have found a true detail without a purpose.
How, not what moderate Working it out
The stem asks why paragraphs 7–8 matter to the excerpt as a whole, so naming what they say, a variety bred at Bosland’s institute, is not enough; their contribution to the account must be stated. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The excerpt never says the space peppers differ from Earth peppers; that follows from a variety bred for “the nutritional needs of astronauts” and “the logistics of growing a plant in space.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
Paragraph 8 turns on “cultivated,” “accommodate” and “logistics,” and paragraph 7 needs its footnote for “genetically engineered,” words a reader must decode to see why the variety is special. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Restate what paragraphs 7 and 8 say about how the pepper was developed and why, then ask what that information adds to the excerpt’s account of farming in space as a whole.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
- Outside knowledge: A choice is plausible in the real world but not supported by this text.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Notices that paragraph 7 names the NuMex Española Improved variety, a true detail, but naming it is not why the discussion of genetic engineering matters to the excerpt.
B Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Reads “Working with NASA” as teamwork with the crew, though Bosland worked with his Chile Pepper Institute colleagues and the space agency; the astronauts only grew what he developed.
D Outside knowledge (King et al., 2004; Recht & Leslie, 1988)
Knows that chile peppers grow in ordinary fields and assumes this one could too, though paragraphs 7–8 present a variety designed for space and say nothing about natural conditions.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This question asks why paragraphs 7 and 8 matter to the whole article. Those paragraphs tell how the peppers’ seeds were made. Don’t just repeat what they say. Ask what they add to the article’s story of farming in space.
Find what paragraphs 7 and 8 say
Paragraph 7 says Paul Bosland and his colleagues “genetically engineered the NuMex Española Improved chile pepper seeds grown in Plant Habitat-04.” The footnote explains that they “combined parts of DNA from different plants to produce a new plant.” Paragraph 8 says Bosland developed “a variety that could accommodate both the nutritional needs of astronauts as well as the logistics of growing a plant in space.”
Put it in plain words
A variety is one special kind of a plant. To accommodate means to meet the needs of. Logistics are the practical details of getting a job done. So this pepper was made for space. It had to feed astronauts well. It also had to grow in a small box in orbit. The scientists even chose how hot it would be: “maybe the astronauts need a little spice in their life.”
Check each choice
- A is wrong. The pepper’s name is a true detail. But knowing its name is not why these paragraphs matter.
- B is wrong. Bosland worked “with NASA” and his colleagues, not with the astronauts. The crew only grew the seeds he made.
- C is right. The paragraphs show that this pepper was designed for space. Most peppers on Earth were never made to meet astronauts’ needs or to grow in orbit.
- D is wrong. The paragraphs never say this pepper could grow in a normal field. They show it was made for space.
Watch out: “Working with NASA” can sound like teamwork with the crew. That is the trap in B.
Choose the answer
These paragraphs show that the space peppers were specially made, unlike ordinary peppers. So the answer is C, “It allows the reader to understand how the peppers consumed on the ISS differ from most peppers grown on Earth.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer, since the article does show scientists and astronauts working together. But paragraphs 7 and 8 are about seeds made on the ground by Bosland’s team. What they add is that the pepper was designed for astronauts’ needs and for space. That is how it differs from most peppers, as C says.
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The original DOE question
Question 22 of 61
2026 Practice Test D English, question 1Passage A Memory Revolution
A Memory Revolution
A high school senior logs on to a computer at the library to double-check the application due date listed on a college admissions website. Nearby, a librarian helps a group of biology students use a database to search for recent studies about mammals. In the past few decades, the Internet has become an integral component of daily life for many people. The seemingly limitless power of search engines made the Internet search extremely common, and today people increasingly rely on the Internet’s vast accumulation of sources to access all types of information. Scientists are beginning to examine how this reliance is modifying the strategies people use to store and prioritize information in their mind.
A Dependable and Valuable Asset
Psychologist Benjamin Storm from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and researchers Sean Stone and Aaron Benjamin devised an experiment to study students’ tendency to depend on the Internet for facts. To begin, the scientists divided sixty participants into multiple groups, including an “Internet” group and a “memory” group, and placed them in front of computers. The Internet group was required to use the search engine Google to answer eight challenging trivia questions. In contrast, participants in the memory group were permitted to use only their personal knowledge to answer the questions. In the second round, the researchers administered notably easier questions. This time, they allowed each group the option of using Google as they answered. Their results showed that 83 percent of the Internet group continued to consult Google in the second round, while only 63 percent of the memory group chose to do so.
People’s growing inclination to rely on the Internet in order to retrieve information, particularly facts and figures, is called cognitive offloading. Canadian researcher Evan F. Risko and British researcher Sam Gilbert, who have written extensively about the topic, say a similar process has been taking place for centuries. In the past, people used resources like encyclopedias to assist their memories; however, today the Internet, serving as a vast extended memory, allows people to digitally access and retrieve much larger volumes of information. Consequently, people’s minds are free for other cognitive feats, such as connecting data, learning new information, or solving problems.
Filing Information Away
The use of the Internet also appears to be modifying the strategies people use to store information in their mind. Researchers Betsy Sparrow from Columbia University, Jenny Liu from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Daniel Wegner from Harvard University conducted several studies to discover how people efficiently manage their information intake.
To begin, the researchers examined how people evaluate which information deserves their effort to remember. For this experiment, participants read forty trivia facts, such as “An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain,” and typed the statements into a computer file. Half the participants had been previously told the file would be saved, while half believed it would be erased. Next, the participants wrote down every fact they could recall. Those who believed the information would be erased and no longer available could recall 40 percent more facts than those who thought the information would be saved.
In another experiment, the same researchers tested the ability of study participants to remember where to access information. For this trial, participants read and typed trivia statements, which they saved in folders with generic names such as “Facts” and “Items.” After spending ten minutes writing down all the facts they could recall from memory, participants were asked which folder contained a particular fact based on a keyword. For example, “Which folder has the fact about ostriches?” Overall, participants recalled the information’s location more often than the content itself, correctly identifying 49 percent of the folders for specific facts while remembering only 23 percent of the actual trivia. The researchers concluded that our memory is adapting to the Internet age by prioritizing where to locate information even when the specific details are forgotten. According to Sparrow, the Internet has become an important form of transactive memory, an external source of the recollections and associative networks that constitute memory.
As the Internet’s resources continue to expand our “external” memory, some question whether the process may cause people to depend too heavily on technology. However, Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, says, “Knowledge is increasing exponentially; human brainpower and waking hours are not. Fortunately, the Internet and information technologies are helping us manage, search and retrieve our collective intellectual output at different scales, from Twitter and previews to e-books and online encyclopedias. Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart.”
Question
The details in paragraph 3 about cognitive offloading convey a central idea of the passage by
- Asuggesting that reliance on the Internet for information is inevitable.
- Bdemonstrating how the methods used to store and find information have changed over time.
- Cexplaining how encyclopedias and the Internet are similar sources of information.
- Dimplying that more information can be understood now than ever before.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks how the details in paragraph 3 about cognitive offloading convey a central idea of the passage.
A. Incorrect. Although paragraph 3 describes the Internet as “a vast extended memory,” it does not present reliance on the Internet for information as inevitable. The paragraph states that the Internet “allows people to digitally access and retrieve much larger volumes of information” and indicates that this benefit leaves people free to focus on “connecting data, learning new information, or solving problems.” However, these details about the benefits of the Internet do not express an opinion about the inevitability of Internet reliance.
B. CORRECT. A central idea of the passage is that the Internet is changing how people retain information. Paragraph 3 supports this idea by stating that “a similar process has been taking place for centuries” and that “in the past,” resources such as encyclopedias were used to store and find information. The details provided in paragraph 3 about encyclopedias and the Internet show that people have always used resources to remember information and that these resources change over time as people develop new ways to “assist their memories.”
C. Incorrect. While paragraph 3 does compare the use of encyclopedias to obtain information in the past with the use of today’s Internet, this comparison fails to convey the central idea of the passage that the Internet is changing how people remember information.
D. Incorrect. Although paragraph 3 states that “much larger volumes of information” are available on the Internet than what has been available in previous methods of information storage, such as encyclopedias, this fact does not relate to an increase in the ability to understand that information and is not a central idea of the passage.
Question analysis
This central-idea question on “A Memory Revolution,” an article about how relying on the Internet affects the way people remember, asks how the details about cognitive offloading in paragraph 3 convey a central idea of the passage. The paragraph mentions encyclopedias, the Internet and freed-up minds, and the choices each build on a different detail, so students must see what the paragraph adds to the article as a whole.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Tying one paragraph’s details to a central idea is regular grade 7 work. Paragraph 3 is short, but terms such as “cognitive offloading” and “extended memory” are abstract, and students must settle on the article’s central idea before judging the paragraph.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- The right answer is reworded moderate
- A very close wrong answer minor
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 14, 763 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 61 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- An inaccurate statement about paragraph 3 in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Paragraph 3 is built on a then-and-now contrast: encyclopedias once helped people remember, and today the Internet does the same job on a far larger scale. Students who notice only the pairing take it for a likeness, while those who stop at the opening “growing inclination to rely on the Internet” are tempted to call the reliance unstoppable. The point goes to students who first name the article’s central idea, that the Internet is changing how people remember, and then read the paragraph as one stage in a long history.
The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer
The key’s “methods used to store and find information have changed over time” appears nowhere in paragraph 3, while the wrong choices stay near its own wording: reliance on the Internet, encyclopedias beside the Internet, and more information. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer
The choice calling encyclopedias and the Internet similar sources sets up the same old-and-new pairing as the key; it parts only on likeness versus change, which the paragraph’s “however, today” decides. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
The paragraph explains its idea in abstract terms, “cognitive offloading,” “a vast extended memory” and “other cognitive feats,” which must be decoded before its then-and-now structure shows. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Put the article’s central idea about the Internet and memory into your own words first, then test each choice against what paragraph 3’s sentences actually say, not against a word it shares with them.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
- Too broad or too strong: A choice overstates, generalizes, or uses absolute words the text does not support.
The wrong answers, classified
A Too broad or too strong (King et al., 2004)
Builds on the “growing inclination to rely on the Internet” and a process “taking place for centuries,” then hardens them into “inevitable,” a claim the paragraph never makes.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Sees, accurately, that paragraph 3 sets encyclopedias beside the Internet as aids to memory, but stops at the likeness and misses the “however” that turns the comparison into a change.
D Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Matches “much larger volumes of information” to more information and swaps the paragraph’s “access and retrieve” for “understood,” though reaching more facts is not grasping them better.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of Option A says that paragraph 3 “does not discuss reliance on the Internet for information.” It does: the paragraph opens “People’s growing inclination to rely on the Internet in order to retrieve information, particularly facts and figures, is called cognitive offloading.” What the paragraph does not do is present that reliance as inevitable, which is why Option A is wrong, as the explanation’s last sentence says. The site now reads “it does not present reliance on the Internet for information as inevitable.”
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This is a central idea question. A central idea is a main point the whole article makes. Here the main point is that the Internet is changing how people remember. The question asks how paragraph 3 adds to that point. Paragraph 3 is about “cognitive offloading,” so first work out what that term means.
Read paragraph 3 closely
Paragraph 3 begins: “People’s growing inclination to rely on the Internet in order to retrieve information, particularly facts and figures, is called cognitive offloading.” Then it says “a similar process has been taking place for centuries.” Next comes the key sentence: “In the past, people used resources like encyclopedias to assist their memories; however, today the Internet, serving as a vast extended memory, allows people to digitally access and retrieve much larger volumes of information.”
Put the paragraph in plain words
An inclination is a habit of leaning toward something. Cognitive means having to do with thinking. To offload is to hand a load to someone else. So cognitive offloading means letting an outside tool do some of your remembering. People have done this for a long time. Long ago they used encyclopedias, books full of facts. Today they use the Internet. The word “however” marks the change from then to now. So the paragraph shows the tools for storing and finding facts changing over time.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. The paragraph does talk about people relying on the Internet. But it never says that reliance is inevitable, which means it cannot be avoided.
- B fits. The paragraph moves from encyclopedias “in the past” to the Internet “today.” That is a change in how people store and find information.
- C does not fit. The paragraph does set the two side by side. But it uses them to show a change, not to say they are alike.
- D does not fit. People can “access and retrieve” more information. That means find it and pull it up, not understand it.
Watch out: C is tempting because encyclopedias and the Internet both help memory. Read past the likeness to the word “however.”
Choose the answer
Paragraph 3 shows people moving from encyclopedias to the Internet to help them remember. That supports the article’s point that the Internet is changing memory. So the answer is B, “demonstrating how the methods used to store and find information have changed over time.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong choice. Paragraph 3 does compare encyclopedias and the Internet. But the comparison makes a point about change: the Internet now holds “much larger volumes of information.” B names that change. C stops at the likeness, so it misses what the paragraph adds to the article.
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The original DOE question
The passage “A Memory Revolution” as printed (pages 3–4)
Question 23 of 61
2026 Practice Test D English, question 6Uses the passage above: “A Memory Revolution”.
Question
Which evidence from the passage is most relevant to the claim in paragraph 7 that “ ‘far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart’ ”?
- Athe revelation that most people opted to use the Internet to answer relatively easy trivia questions rather than relying on their own brainpower (paragraph 2)
- Bthe assertion that the storage of information on the Internet frees people to focus on higher-order tasks such as problem solving (paragraph 3)
- Cthe connection between how people organize information in their mind and their ability to recall that information (paragraph 5)
- Dthe description of transactive memory as an expansive external source that people can use to store information (paragraph 6)
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks for the evidence from the passage that is most relevant to the claim in paragraph 7 that “ ‘far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart.’ ”
A. Incorrect. Whether the participants decided to use the Internet to answer easy trivia questions varied based on the options that the participants were given during the first part of the experiment and, therefore, cannot be relevant to the claim in paragraph 7. Even when given the option of using the Internet, some participants chose to recall information from memory instead.
B. CORRECT. The assertion made in paragraph 3 that states that cognitive offloading allows for “people’s minds [to be] free for other cognitive feats, such as connecting data, learning new information, or solving problems” is relevant to the claim in paragraph 7 because it indicates that the ability to store large amounts of information within the brain does not necessarily make someone smart. It also suggests that if people did not have to use so much effort simply organizing and storing information, their brain would be free to conduct higher-order tasks: “the Internet, serving as a vast extended memory, allows people to digitally access and retrieve much larger volumes of information. Consequently, people’s minds are free for other cognitive feats, such as connecting data, learning new information, or solving problems” (paragraph 3).
C. Incorrect. The discussion in the passage connecting how people organize information in their mind and their ability to recall that information focuses on the process of organizing information within human memory rather than on how technology helps keep people’s minds available for complex thoughts.
D. Incorrect. Although the passage provides an accurate description of transactive memory, it provides no indication of how using such memory would advance a person’s ability to maintain or improve intelligent thought.
Question analysis
This evidence question on “A Memory Revolution” quotes the claim, made by Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker at the end of the article, that technologies such as the Internet are the only things that will keep us smart. Students choose the finding from earlier in the passage that is most relevant to it. Each choice summarizes a point about technology or memory, so relevance, not accuracy, decides.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Judging which evidence is most relevant to a claim is standard grade 7 argument work. The claim is short and quoted in the question, and each choice names its paragraph, but students must recall what each paragraph actually showed.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence in several places minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 14, 763 words; question and choices: about grade 14, 112 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every choice reports something the article really says, so the question turns on relevance: which finding would persuade a reader that technology keeps us smart. The transactive-memory finding is the trap, because Pinker himself speaks of retrieving “our collective intellectual output,” and an outside store of facts sounds like his point. That finding shows only that technology holds information; paragraph 3 adds what people do with the freed space, and that step is the claim.
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The transactive-memory choice and the key both describe the Internet storing information for people; only the key adds the result, minds free for “connecting data, learning new information, or solving problems,” which is what keeps us smart. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The key never says smart; students must see that freeing minds for “other cognitive feats” is exactly what Pinker means by technology that keeps us smart rather than stupid. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The four findings come from paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 6, and each choice’s summary has to be matched back to what its paragraph actually showed before its relevance can be judged. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Restate Pinker’s claim in your own words, then ask of each finding whether it would persuade a doubter of that claim itself or only of something related to it.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Pairs paragraph 2’s Google users with the “brainpower” in Pinker’s quotation, but people choosing a search engine for easy questions fits the worry he answers, not his claim that technology keeps us smart.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Hears smartness in organizing and recalling information, but paragraph 5 found people recalled fewer facts when a computer would save them, which hardly shows technology keeping anyone smart.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Matches transactive memory to paragraph 7’s “external” memory and Pinker’s “retrieve,” but an outside store shows only that technology holds facts, not that it frees minds for harder thinking.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence: the detail that best supports a claim. The claim comes from Steven Pinker in paragraph 7: “Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart.” Put it in your own words first. Pinker says the Internet does not make us dumb. It helps us think better.
Ask what would prove the claim
To support this claim, a detail must show technology helping people think. A detail that only shows people using the Internet is not enough. Neither is one that only shows the Internet storing facts. Look for a result: something people can do better because of the Internet.
Find that result in paragraph 3
Paragraph 3 says the Internet, “serving as a vast extended memory, allows people to digitally access and retrieve much larger volumes of information.” The next sentence gives the result: “Consequently, people’s minds are free for other cognitive feats, such as connecting data, learning new information, or solving problems.” Consequently means “as a result.” Cognitive feats are hard thinking tasks. Since the Internet holds the facts, your mind has room for harder work.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. People choosing Google for easy questions sounds more like the worry Pinker answers. It does not show anyone getting smarter.
- B fits. Higher-order tasks are harder kinds of thinking. Freeing minds for them is how technology could keep us smart.
- C does not fit. It is about how well people recall facts. In paragraph 5, people even recalled fewer facts when a computer would save them.
- D does not fit. It shows only that the Internet can store information. It does not say what people gain from that.
Watch out: D is tempting because transactive memory sounds like the “external” memory in paragraph 7. But storing facts outside your head is only half the idea. B adds the payoff: room for harder thinking.
Choose the answer
Only paragraph 3 shows the Internet freeing people for harder thinking. So the answer is B, “the assertion that the storage of information on the Internet frees people to focus on higher-order tasks such as problem solving” (paragraph 3).
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest wrong choice. It is true that the Internet works as an outside store of facts. But that alone does not show anyone getting smarter. B goes one step further. Because the Internet holds the facts, minds are free for “connecting data, learning new information, or solving problems.” That step is what Pinker’s claim needs.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 24 of 61
2026 Practice Test D English, question 10Passage Excerpt from “How We Made the First Flight”
Excerpt from “How We Made the First Flight”
by Orville Wright
In 1903 brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted experiments related to flying machines. These experiments would eventually lead to air travel becoming a reliable form of transportation.
During the night of December 16, 1903, a strong cold wind blew from the north. When we arose on the morning of the 17th, the puddles of water, which had been standing about camp since the recent rains, were covered with ice. The wind had a velocity of 10 to 12 meters per second (22 to 27 miles an hour). We thought it would die down before long, and so remained indoors the early part of the morning. But when ten o’clock arrived, and the wind was as brisk as ever, we decided that we had better get the machine out and attempt a flight. We hung out the signal for the men of the Life Saving Station.1 We thought that by facing the flyer into a strong wind, there ought to be no trouble in launching it from the level ground about camp. We realized the difficulties of flying in so high a wind, but estimated that the added dangers in flight would be partly compensated for by the slower speed in landing.
Final Preparations
We laid the track on a smooth stretch of ground about one hundred feet north of the new building. The biting cold wind made work difficult, and we had to warm up frequently in our living room, where we had a good fire in an improvised stove made of a large carbide2 can. By the time all was ready, J. T. Daniels, W. S. Dough and A. D. Etheridge, members of the Kill Devil3 Life Saving Station; W. C. Brinkley of Manteo, and Johnny Moore, a boy from Nags Head,4 had arrived.
We had a “Richard” hand anemometer with which we measured the velocity of the wind. Measurements made just before starting the first flight showed velocities of 11 to 12 meters per second, or 24 to 27 miles per hour. . . .
Audacity—and Calculation
Wilbur having used his turn in the unsuccessful attempt on the 14th, the right to the first trial now belonged to me. After running the motor a few minutes to heat it up, I released the wire that held the machine to the track, and the machine started forward in the wind. Wilbur ran at the side of the machine, holding the wing to balance it on the track. Unlike the start on the 14th, made in a calm, the machine, facing a 27-mile wind, started very slowly. Wilbur was able to stay with it till it lifted from the track after a forty-foot run. One of the Life Saving men snapped the camera for us, taking a picture just as the machine had reached the end of the track and had risen to a height of about two feet. The slow forward speed of the machine over the ground is clearly shown in the picture by Wilbur’s attitude. He stayed along beside the machine without any effort.
Flight
The course of the flight up and down was exceedingly erratic, partly due to the irregularity of the air, and partly to lack of experience in handling this machine. The control of the front rudder was difficult on account of its being balanced too near the center. This gave it a tendency to turn itself when started; so that it turned too far on one side and then too far on the other. As a result the machine would rise suddenly to about ten feet, and then as suddenly dart for the ground. A sudden dart when a little over a hundred feet from the end of the track, or a little over 120 feet from the point at which it rose into the air, ended the flight. As the velocity of the wind was over 35 feet per second and the speed of the machine over the ground against this wind ten feet per second, the speed of the machine relative to the air was over 45 feet per second, and the length of the flight was equivalent to a flight of 540 feet made in calm air. This flight lasted only 12 seconds, but it was nevertheless the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started.
From “How We Made the First Flight” by Orville Wright—Public Domain/Federal Aviation Administration
1Life Saving Station: one of the rescue stations along the Atlantic coastline that provided assistance to mariners in distress
2carbide: a very hard material composed of carbon and other heavy metals
3Kill Devil: the town of Kill Devil Hills in eastern North Carolina
4Nags Head: a town in eastern North Carolina
Question
The photograph mentioned in paragraph 4 is significant because it
- Adocuments that the machine rose into the air as soon as the tethering wire was released.
- Bprovides proof of the critical moment the machine took flight.
- Cdocuments that the wind reduced the speed of the plane at the start of the flight.
- Dprovides proof that the pilot had to gradually increase the height of the plane in the air.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks why the photograph mentioned in paragraph 4 is significant.
A. Incorrect. According to paragraph 4, the photograph was not taken immediately after the tethering wire was released but rather after an intervening period during which “Wilbur ran at the side of the machine, holding the wing to balance it on the track.” The picture was not taken until “the machine had reached the end of the track,” which occurred after a “forty-foot run” (paragraph 4).
B. CORRECT. The photograph mentioned in paragraph 4 is significant because it provides proof that the machine did, in fact, take flight: “One of the Life Saving men snapped the camera for us, taking a picture just as the machine had reached the end of the track and had risen to a height of about two feet. The slow forward speed of the machine over the ground is clearly shown in the picture by Wilbur’s attitude. He stayed along beside the machine without any effort.”
C. Incorrect. The photograph mentioned in paragraph 4 is described as showing the plane moving forward through the air at a height of two feet, but while the effect of the wind may be visible, it is not why the photo is significant. Instead, the photograph provides proof that the plane is, in fact, moving through the air (“One of the Life Saving men snapped the camera for us, taking a picture just as the machine had reached the end of the track and had risen to a height of about two feet. The slow forward speed of the machine over the ground is clearly shown in the picture by Wilbur’s attitude”).
D. Incorrect. Although the plane is shown at a height of two feet in the photograph mentioned in paragraph 4, the picture documents only one moment of the plane’s flight and does not provide proof that the pilot had to gradually increase the height of the plane in the air.
Question analysis
This question on Orville Wright’s account of the first airplane flight asks why the photograph mentioned in paragraph 4, taken by one of the Life Saving men, is significant. The photograph itself is not printed with the excerpt, so students must work from Orville’s description of the moment it was taken. Several choices describe the machine’s movement, so each must be checked against that description.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 readers often explain why a detail matters. This photograph is not printed, so students must picture it from Orville’s description, which uses “attitude” in an old sense meaning posture, and then judge why the picture mattered.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines moderate
- The right answer is reworded moderate
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 7, 816 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 68 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The photograph is not printed, so students work from three sentences of description, and the last two tell what Orville thinks the picture shows: the machine’s slow speed, visible in Wilbur’s easy pace. That stated detail is the strongest lure. The question asks for significance instead, which the excerpt leaves unstated; students must link the moment captured, the machine just off the track at the end of its run, to paragraph 5’s closing claim that this was the first such flight in history.
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
Orville never says why the picture matters; students must notice it was taken “just as the machine had reached the end of the track and had risen to a height of about two feet,” the instant of lift-off. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer
The key’s “critical moment the machine took flight” appears nowhere, while the wrong choices echo the paragraph’s released wire, the slow speed Orville says the picture shows, and the “height of about two feet.” (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
Orville says the slow speed shows “by Wilbur’s attitude,” using attitude in an old sense, Wilbur’s posture as he keeps pace, which students must decode to follow the description of the picture. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Reread the three sentences about the picture in paragraph 4, note when it was taken and what Orville says it shows, then weigh which choice explains why such a picture would matter.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
A Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Collapses the release of the wire and the lift-off into one moment, skipping Wilbur’s run beside the machine; it rose only after a forty-foot run, when the picture was taken.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Takes Orville’s own remark that the picture shows “the slow forward speed of the machine” as its significance, but that is a detail in the picture, not why a picture of this moment matters.
D Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Treats the two-foot height as one step in a steady climb, though a single picture catches one instant and paragraph 5 describes sudden rises to ten feet and darts toward the ground.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks why the photograph in paragraph 4 matters. The photograph is not printed with the excerpt. You have to picture it from Orville’s words. Find when it was taken. Then ask why a picture of that moment would be important.
Read the description of the photograph
Paragraph 4 says “One of the Life Saving men snapped the camera for us, taking a picture just as the machine had reached the end of the track and had risen to a height of about two feet.” The next sentences say “The slow forward speed of the machine over the ground is clearly shown in the picture by Wilbur’s attitude. He stayed along beside the machine without any effort.”
Work out what the picture shows
The machine had just left the track and was two feet in the air. So the picture caught the moment it lifted off. Here “attitude” means the way Wilbur held his body. He kept up with the machine easily, so it was moving slowly. Paragraph 5 says this flight was “the first in the history of the world” of its kind. A photo of that lift-off is proof that it really happened.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. The machine did not rise at once. It lifted “after a forty-foot run.”
- B fits. The picture caught the moment the machine first took flight.
- C does not fit. The picture does show the slow speed. But that is a detail in the photo, not why the photo matters.
- D does not fit. One picture shows one moment. It cannot show a steady climb. In fact, paragraph 5 says the machine rose and dropped suddenly.
Watch out: C is tempting because Orville himself says the slow speed is “clearly shown in the picture.” But the question asks why the picture is significant, which means important.
Choose the answer
The photo captured the very moment the first flight began. So the answer is B, “provides proof of the critical moment the machine took flight.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong choice. Orville does say the picture shows the machine’s slow speed. But slow speed is not what makes this photo special. It was taken just as the machine “had risen to a height of about two feet” at the end of the track. That is proof of the first moment of flight, as B says.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “How We Made the First Flight”” as printed (pages 13–14)
Question 25 of 61
2026 Practice Test D English, question 11Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “How We Made the First Flight””.
Question
How do the details in paragraph 5 about the uneven nature of the flight convey a central idea of the excerpt?
- Aby explaining how the flawed design of the machine caused it to turn unpredictably in the air and brought the first flight by a person to an abrupt end
- Bby indicating that the difficulty in controlling the flight was caused by the rudimentary instruments of the machine and the inexperience of the pilot
- Cby explaining how the pilot and the plane overcame adverse conditions in order to complete the first piloted flight
- Dby indicating that the gradual change in wind velocity created an extreme environment in which to maneuver the plane and maintain its flight
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks how the details in paragraph 5 about the uneven nature of the flight convey a central idea of the excerpt.
A. Incorrect. Paragraph 5 explains that the rudder was unbalanced and the effect that this issue had on the flight, but the rudder was only part of the reason for the short flight. The length of the flight is not a central idea of the excerpt.
B. Incorrect. Although paragraph 5 does explain that the equipment contributed to the difficulty of controlling the plane’s flight, the lack of control over the flight is not a central idea of the excerpt, which focuses instead on the Wright brothers’ achievement of a successful flight despite the challenges involved.
C. CORRECT. The details in paragraph 5 describe the difficulties that the weather conditions and mechanical issues presented and how Orville’s flight was successful despite those problems. The Wright brothers’ ability to overcome difficult circumstances and complete the first flight is a central idea of the excerpt.
D. Incorrect. While paragraph 5 does emphasize the difficulty caused by the wind, it does not describe a “gradual change” in the wind, only that it was irregular.
Question analysis
This central-idea question asks how the details in paragraph 5 of Orville Wright’s “How We Made the First Flight,” which describe the machine darting up and down because of uneven air, a hard-to-control front rudder and the pilot’s inexperience, convey a central idea of the excerpt. The paragraph also includes speeds and distances, and students must decide what its details mean for the account as a whole.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Linking a paragraph’s details to a central idea is regular grade 7 work. This paragraph is long and technical, with a rudder problem and a calculation of speeds, and most choices restate its problems accurately, so students must decide what the details add up to.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- The right answer is reworded moderate
- A lot to read minor
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 7, 816 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 115 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Most of paragraph 5 is about trouble, the uneven air, a rudder balanced too near the center, an inexperienced pilot and a dart that ended the flight, and two wrong choices describe that trouble accurately. What turns the details into a central idea is the paragraph’s last sentence, which calls the 12-second flight the first of its kind in history. Students who stop before it, or who take the problems as the point, miss that the excerpt is a story of success.
The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer
The key’s “overcame adverse conditions” sums up the paragraph in new words, while the wrong choices repeat its own: the rudder’s “tendency to turn itself,” the dart that “ended the flight,” the “lack of experience” and “the velocity of the wind.” (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
A lot to read minor Understanding the question
Paragraph 5 runs about 250 words, and its problems and a 61-word speed calculation all come before the closing sentence, the only one that presents the flight as a success. (Kintsch, 1998; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The paragraph never says anyone overcame anything; students must set its problems beside its last sentence, a machine that “sailed forward” and landed “as high as that from which it started,” to see success despite them. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Note what each part of paragraph 5 describes, from its first sentence to its last, then decide what the excerpt as a whole is about and choose the option that ties the two together.
Traps
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
The wrong answers, classified
A Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Gets the rudder and the dart that ended the flight right but builds on that one failure, dropping the paragraph’s closing point that the short flight was still history’s first.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Restates the paragraph’s own explanation of the erratic course, inexperience and a hard-to-control rudder, which is accurate, but treats the lack of control as the point when the excerpt builds toward success.
D Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Picks up “the velocity of the wind” and the hard flying but invents a “gradual change” in the wind, when the paragraph speaks only of “the irregularity of the air.”
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This is a central idea question. A central idea is a main point of the whole excerpt. Paragraph 5 describes an uneven, bumpy flight. The question asks how those details support a main point. So read the whole paragraph, including its last sentence.
Find the problems in paragraph 5
Paragraph 5 begins “The course of the flight up and down was exceedingly erratic, partly due to the irregularity of the air, and partly to lack of experience in handling this machine.” Erratic means jumpy and hard to predict. The front rudder, a part that steers, was hard to control. The machine “would rise suddenly to about ten feet, and then as suddenly dart for the ground.”
Read the last sentence
Then the paragraph turns. It says “This flight lasted only 12 seconds, but it was nevertheless the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight.” Nevertheless means “even so.” The wind, the hard steering and the pilot’s inexperience all worked against him. Even so, the flight worked. Conditions that work against you are called adverse.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. The rudder problem and the sudden end are real. But A stops there and misses that the flight was a first.
- B does not fit. Paragraph 5 does blame the rudder and the pilot’s inexperience. But the excerpt is about success, not about the lack of control.
- C fits. The problems show what Orville overcame to make the first flight.
- D does not fit. The paragraph never says the wind changed gradually, or slowly. It speaks of “the irregularity of the air.”
Watch out: B is tempting because it repeats the paragraph’s own reasons for the bumpy flight. But true details are not the same as the main point.
Choose the answer
The problems in paragraph 5 make the success at the end more impressive. So the answer is C, “by explaining how the pilot and the plane overcame adverse conditions in order to complete the first piloted flight.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong choice. It is true that the rudder and the pilot’s “lack of experience” made the flight hard to control. But that is only the first part of paragraph 5. The last sentence calls the flight the first of its kind. The problems show what had to be overcome. C ties the details to that success.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 26 of 61
2026 Practice Test D English, question 13Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “How We Made the First Flight””.
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the idea that the Wright brothers had to adapt their plans for the flight in order to accommodate the weather conditions?
- A“When we arose on the morning of the 17th, the puddles of water, which had been standing about camp since the recent rains, were covered with ice.” (paragraph 1)
- B“We realized the difficulties of flying in so high a wind, but estimated that the added dangers in flight would be partly compensated for by the slower speed in landing.” (paragraph 1)
- C“After running the motor a few minutes to heat it up, I released the wire that held the machine to the track, and the machine started forward in the wind.” (paragraph 4)
- D“The course of the flight up and down was exceedingly erratic, partly due to the irregularity of the air, and partly to lack of experience in handling this machine.” (paragraph 5)
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks which sentence from the excerpt best supports the idea that the Wright brothers had to adapt their plans for the flight in order to accommodate weather conditions.
A. Incorrect. Although the sentence from paragraph 1 mentions the rainy weather and frozen puddles, it does not specifically explain how these weather conditions forced the brothers to adapt their plans for the flight.
B. CORRECT. The sentence from paragraph 1 reveals that the Wright brothers adapted by making a risk calculation, based on the wind speed, before the flight. The high speed of the wind could cause difficulties in flight while simultaneously allowing for a slower, more controlled landing.
C. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 4 does mention wind, but it describes what Orville was doing during the attempted flight, not the factors he considered before the flight in order to adapt the plan.
D. Incorrect. Although the sentence from paragraph 5 mentions the “irregularity of the air” during the flight, the sentence does not describe how the brothers adapted their plans for the flight based on the weather.
Question analysis
This evidence question on Orville Wright’s account of the first flight asks which sentence best supports the idea that the Wright brothers had to adapt their plans for the flight to the weather conditions. The four quotations come from paragraphs 1, 4 and 5 and all mention ice, wind or air, so students must look past the weather words to what each sentence shows the brothers doing.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Choosing the sentence that best supports an idea is core grade 7 evidence work. The four quotations are printed in full with their paragraph numbers, and the idea has two parts, weather and a change of plans, so the check is careful but typical.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 7, 816 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 148 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The idea has two parts, the weather and a change in the brothers’ plans, and every quotation carries the first. Students who look only for weather words can be drawn to the erratic flight or the launch into the wind. Only one sentence shows the brothers thinking about the wind before they flew and deciding how to proceed, and once the second half of the idea is in view the choice is quick.
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
All four quotations mention ice, wind or air, so the weather half of the idea rules nothing out; each must be checked for the other half, a decision the brothers made because of it. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The key never says plan or adapt; students must see that weighing “the added dangers in flight” against “the slower speed in landing” is the brothers fitting their decision to the wind. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Split the idea into its two parts, the weather and a change in the brothers’ plans, and keep only a quotation that shows both, not one that shows the weather alone.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the frozen puddles as proof of harsh weather, which they are, but the sentence only sets the scene and shows nothing the brothers did or decided because of it.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Takes running the motor “to heat it up” and starting “in the wind” as adjustments to the cold, but the sentence narrates the launch and never says a plan changed.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Notices “the irregularity of the air” linking the weather to the flight, but this sentence explains why the course was erratic once the machine was up, not how the brothers prepared.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for the sentence that best supports an idea. The idea has two parts. First, there was bad weather. Second, the brothers had to adapt, or change, their plans because of it. All four choices mention ice, wind or air. So look for the one that also shows a decision.
Check each sentence for both parts
- A shows the weather: icy puddles. But no one decides anything.
- B shows the wind and the brothers’ thinking about it before the flight.
- C describes the launch. It tells what Orville did, not a change of plans.
- D explains why the flight was bumpy once it was in the air. It shows no plan.
Read the sentence that fits
Paragraph 1 says “We realized the difficulties of flying in so high a wind, but estimated that the added dangers in flight would be partly compensated for by the slower speed in landing.” To estimate is to make a careful guess. Compensated for means “made up for.” The brothers knew the strong wind made flying harder. They weighed that against a good effect: a slower landing. Then they decided to fly anyway.
Explain how this shows adapting
The brothers did not just notice the wind. They thought about how it would change the flight, the bad and the good. They also planned on “facing the flyer into a strong wind.” Making plans that fit the weather is what adapting means.
Watch out: D is tempting because it links “the irregularity of the air” to the flight. But it tells what happened during the flight, not how the brothers planned for it.
Choose the answer
Only one sentence shows the brothers fitting their decision to the wind before they flew. So the answer is B, “We realized the difficulties of flying in so high a wind, but estimated that the added dangers in flight would be partly compensated for by the slower speed in landing.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest wrong choice. It does connect the weather to the flight. But it describes what happened in the air, after the plans were made. The idea needs the brothers changing plans because of the weather. Only B shows them thinking through the wind’s dangers and benefits before they decided to fly.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 27 of 61
2026 Practice Test D English, question 18Passage Wolves of the Sea
Wolves of the Sea
The cool and misty landscape of the Great Bear Rainforest can be found along the coast of British Columbia, Canada, and its nearby islands, from Vancouver Island to the Alaskan border. Within this protected area, wolves roam the forests, islands, and beaches. When biologist Chris Darimont began to study these wolves, he wanted to confer with local First Nations groups, as aboriginal Canadians are known, in order to learn what they knew about these wolves. He spoke with Chester Starr, an elder of the Heiltsuk Nation that has occupied the Great Bear Rainforest for thousands of years. What Starr had to say about the wolves changed Darimont’s perception of the animals.
Starr asked Darimont which wolves he and his team were going to study—the timber wolves (mainland wolves) or the coastal wolves on the islands. The question took Darimont by surprise. Biologists had always believed that the wolves that are sometimes spotted swimming between islands and eating salmon are the same wolves that live on the mainland. Darimont was intrigued by Starr’s classification of the wolves as two different groups. At first, he was hesitant to accept the idea. The distances between the mainland and the islands are small, less than a mile. Why would the wolves on the islands be any different from the wolves on the mainland? To find out, Darimont and his research team studied the wolves on the islands and in the densely forested territory of the Great Bear Rainforest for ten years.
Throughout the study, Darimont recorded several significant, observable differences between the “sea wolves,” as they are nicknamed, and the mainland wolves. Compared with the mainland wolves, the sea wolves are smaller in size and are strong swimmers. In 1996 sea wolves were spotted on an island nearly eight miles from any other land formation. While mainland wolves almost exclusively eat meat, such as deer and elk, and teach their young to hunt for land animals, sea wolves get as much as 90 percent of their nutrition from the sea and teach their young to dig for clams and to catch fish. Sea wolves regularly swim between islands and have been known to sneak up on a seal sunning itself on a rock and make a leaping attack from the water. Some salmon-eating mainland wolves come and go from the islands with the fish-spawning season, but the sea wolves are full-time island residents. Darimont suspects that some sea wolves live their entire life on the islands.
The sea wolves displayed not only physical and behavioral differences but also genetic variations from the mainland wolves. After collecting and analyzing the DNA in 800 samples of gray fur and wolf waste, researchers could produce hard biological evidence that sea wolves had genetic markers that made them distinct from the mainland wolves. A genetic marker is a variation in a DNA sequence that can be used to identify individuals or a species because it is passed down to offspring. Darimont hypothesizes that a change in habitat led to the eventual genetic differences between sea wolves and mainland wolves. Many years ago, loss of habitat and food sources forced some mainland wolves out to the islands. They learned to eat everything from kelp and fish eggs to the remains of sea creatures that washed up on the beach. Wolves living on the islands and mainland wolves became more isolated and rarely mated with each other. Over time the two types of wolves became more distinct.
It turned out that Chester Starr was right all along. “It sounded totally bizarre at first,” admits Darimont, “that there could be two versions of the species.” But he now realizes that this skepticism “definitely reflected my ignorance of indigenous knowledge at the time.” Learning to trust the wisdom of the Heiltsuk people opened Darimont up to knowledge accumulated over millennia and positioned him so that he could gather new scientific evidence about one of British Columbia’s most elusive species, the sea wolf.
Question
The author uses the word “admits” in paragraph 5 most likely to
- Anote that Darimont’s genetic research verified a theory based solely on field observations.
- Bimply that Darimont’s study was disappointing because the conclusion that he reached was not original.
- Cemphasize that Darimont’s study ultimately confirmed an idea that he had initially doubted.
- Dhighlight that Darimont’s results led him to draw a conclusion from his research that his team did not agree with.
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks for the most likely reason why the author uses the word “admits” in paragraph 5.
A. Incorrect. The word “admits” highlights the surprising difference between Darimont’s initial idea and the conclusion he ultimately drew from the results of the study. Though Darimont’s genetic research did, in fact, verify the field observations of the wolves, this does not explain the author’s use of the word “admits” in paragraph 5.
B. Incorrect. The conclusion that Darimont reached was actually quite original, since biologists widely believed the two separate groups of wolves to be one (“Biologists had always believed that the wolves that are sometimes spotted swimming between islands and eating salmon are the same wolves that live on the mainland” [paragraph 2]). The author uses the word “admits” in paragraph 5 to emphasize how unexpected Darimont found the conclusion to be (“The distances between the mainland and the islands are small, less than a mile. Why would the wolves on the islands be any different from the wolves on the mainland?” [paragraph 2]), not to indicate that the study was a disappointment.
C. CORRECT. The use of “admits” emphasizes that Darimont found the idea of two species of wolves “ ‘totally bizarre at first’ ” (paragraph 5) but ultimately proved it to be correct. Paragraph 2 suggests that Darimont, like other scientists, “had always believed that the wolves that are sometimes spotted swimming between islands and eating salmon are the same wolves that live on the mainland.” Therefore, the results of the study were likely to strike biologists as bizarre, and the use of the word “admits” in paragraph 5 highlights Darimont’s shift from doubt to confirmation.
D. Incorrect. Darimont’s team conducted the research that helped him confirm Starr’s idea and draw the conclusion that the wolves were separate species (“After collecting and analyzing the DNA in 800 samples of gray fur and wolf waste, researchers could produce hard biological evidence that sea wolves had genetic markers that made them distinct from the mainland wolves” [paragraph 4]). However, the opinions of Darimont’s research team are not described in the passage, and the word “admits” does not indicate that they disagreed with his conclusion.
Question analysis
This word-choice question asks why the author of “Wolves of the Sea” uses the verb “admits” to introduce Darimont’s own comment in paragraph 5, the passage’s last paragraph. Students must weigh what this one verb adds to the quotation, beyond simply reporting speech, and test four explanations that each make a claim about Darimont’s study.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Explaining why an author picked one word is typical grade 7 work. “Admits” is a familiar verb and the quotation it introduces is short, though students must look beyond that one sentence to judge what the verb conveys.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what moderate
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 662 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 72 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A stray comma in the explanation was removed.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Two choices describe what the study did, and both are accurate, so truth alone does not settle the question; the stem asks what one verb adds. Students who remember that the DNA backed up what had been observed can stop there without asking why Darimont would need to admit anything. The other two choices read the concession in “admits” as disappointment or as a dispute with the team, neither of which the passage describes.
How, not what moderate Working it out
The stem asks why the author chose “admits” over a neutral verb like “says,” so students must hear the verb’s sense of conceding an earlier mistake and link it to Darimont’s “totally bizarre” first reaction. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The verification choice and the key both say the study confirmed an earlier idea; only the key adds that Darimont had doubted it, which is the part “admits” actually conveys. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Strategy: Compare “admits” with a neutral verb such as “says,” decide what extra meaning it carries, and then check which choice that meaning explains, rather than which choice is simply true of the study.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Wrong tone or attitude: Misjudges the tone, attitude or point of view, such as reading admiration as criticism, or taking a character's or subject's feelings for the author's.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Chooses a fact the passage supports, that the DNA work backed up what had been observed, but that says nothing about why Darimont “admits” his first reaction.
B Wrong tone or attitude (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Hears “admits” as a reluctant confession that the study let him down, perhaps because Starr knew first, though the finding was new to biologists and Darimont sounds grateful.
D Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Takes “admits” as giving way in an argument and imagines a team that rejected the conclusion, though the passage never reports what Darimont’s team thought.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: In its explanation of Option B, the DOE ends the quotation from paragraph 2 with a comma before the citation: “…the same wolves that live on the mainland,” [paragraph 2]. Nothing follows in the sentence, and the passage has a period there, so the site drops the comma.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks why the author chose one word, “admits.” The author could have written says. So ask what extra meaning “admits” adds.
Find the word in paragraph 5
Paragraph 5 opens, “It turned out that Chester Starr was right all along.” Next comes “It sounded totally bizarre at first,” admits Darimont, “that there could be two versions of the species.” Bizarre means very strange. He now sees that this “skepticism” showed his “ignorance of indigenous knowledge at the time.” Skepticism means doubt. Indigenous means belonging to the people who first lived in a place.
Work out what “admits” means
To admit something is to say it is true, even if you would rather not. People often admit a mistake. So “admits” tells you Darimont first doubted Starr’s idea and now owns up to it. Back in paragraph 2, he “was hesitant to accept the idea.” Then his study proved that same idea right.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. The DNA work did back up what people had seen. But that fact does not explain why Darimont has to admit anything.
- B is wrong. Nothing says Darimont was let down. He sounds thankful for what he learned.
- C is right. “Admits” shows a change from doubt to agreement. His study confirmed, or proved true, an idea he once found strange.
- D is wrong. The passage never says what his team thought. No one argues with him.
Watch out: A is true about the study, so it is tempting. But the question asks what the word “admits” does, not what the study found.
Choose the answer
“Admits” stresses that Darimont once doubted Starr’s idea but came to see it was right. So the answer is C, “emphasize that Darimont’s study ultimately confirmed an idea that he had initially doubted.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer. Like C, it says the study confirmed an earlier idea. But A leaves out the doubt. You only admit something you once got wrong or pushed away. C includes that change, from finding the idea “totally bizarre” to accepting it. That change is what “admits” adds.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Wolves of the Sea” as printed (pages 23–24)
Question 28 of 61
2026 Practice Test D English, question 19Uses the passage above: “Wolves of the Sea”.
Question
Which sentence from the passage best supports the idea that sea wolves had successfully adapted to living on the islands?
- A“While mainland wolves almost exclusively eat meat, such as deer and elk, and teach their young to hunt for land animals, sea wolves get as much as 90 percent of their nutrition from the sea and teach their young to dig for clams and to catch fish.” (paragraph 3)
- B“Sea wolves regularly swim between islands and have been known to sneak up on a seal sunning itself on a rock and make a leaping attack from the water.” (paragraph 3)
- C“Darimont suspects that some sea wolves live their entire life on the islands.” (paragraph 3)
- D“Darimont hypothesizes that a change in habitat led to the eventual genetic differences between sea wolves and mainland wolves.” (paragraph 4)
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks for the sentence from the passage that best supports the idea that sea wolves had successfully adapted to living on the islands.
A. CORRECT. This sentence from paragraph 3 describes a significant difference in the diets of the mainland and sea wolves: the mainland wolves “almost exclusively eat meat, such as deer and elk, and teach their young to hunt for land animals,” whereas the sea wolves had adapted to the point where they derive “as much as 90 percent of their nutrition from the sea and teach their young to dig for clams and to catch fish.” This sentence emphasizes the dietary difference between the two groups of wolves and best supports the idea that sea wolves had successfully adapted to living on the islands.
B. Incorrect. Although this sentence from paragraph 3 describes one technique that the sea wolves used to hunt, it does not offer evidence as strong as that provided by the preceding sentence, which explains that sea wolves were able to derive “as much as 90 percent” (paragraph 3) of their sustenance from the sea alone (versus the mainland wolves, which “almost exclusively eat meat” from land animals [paragraph 3]).
C. Incorrect. Although this sentence from paragraph 3 states that “some sea wolves live their entire life on the islands,” it does not provide strong evidence of the necessary adaptations—namely, how these wolves were able to successfully live their whole lives on the islands. Living on the islands was not necessarily an adaptation in and of itself; the adaptation was the sea-based diet that enabled the sea wolves to live on the islands without access to land animals.
D. Incorrect. Although this sentence from paragraph 4 presents Darimont’s hypothesis that “a change in habitat led to the eventual genetic differences” between the wolves, the sentence does not describe any of the sea wolves’ adaptations nor best support the idea that the sea wolves successfully adapted to living on the islands.
Question analysis
This evidence question on “Wolves of the Sea” asks which sentence best supports the idea that sea wolves had successfully adapted to living on the islands. Three choices come from paragraph 3’s list of differences between sea wolves and mainland wolves and one from paragraph 4, so students must rank closely related sentences by how directly each shows the wolves thriving there.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 evidence questions often have one clearly relevant sentence. Here three neighboring sentences all describe the sea wolves’ island life, so students must decide what counts as successful adaptation and rank strong evidence against nearly as strong.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Every choice must be checked minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 662 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 131 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
All four sentences are about sea wolves, and three describe their island lives, so the question turns on ranking evidence rather than spotting it. The seal attack is one of the passage’s most vivid images and shows a real island skill, which makes it hard to give up for a sentence about diet. The key wins because it shows a whole way of life changing, most food from the sea and the young taught to fish, while the other sentences offer one habit, a hedged guess or a cause.
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The seal-hunting sentence sits right after the key in paragraph 3 and also shows sea wolves living off the sea; it differs in showing one hunting trick instead of up to 90 percent of their food. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
No sentence uses the word “adapted,” so students must first decide what would prove an animal thrives in a new place, such as getting its food there and teaching that skill to its young. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
Three of the four sentences come from paragraph 3’s list of island habits, and all four mention sea wolves or their habitat, so none can be dismissed at a glance. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Strategy: Before reading the choices, decide what would prove that an animal has adapted well to a new place, then rank the four sentences by how fully each one shows that, not merely whether it fits.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Is impressed by the leaping attack on a seal, a real island skill, but one hunting technique shows less than wolves getting up to 90 percent of their food from the sea.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Matches “live their entire life on the islands” to the claim’s “living on the islands,” but it is Darimont’s guess about where the wolves stay, not how they manage there.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Sees “change in habitat” and thinks of adaptation, but the sentence gives Darimont’s theory of what caused the genetic differences, not evidence that the wolves thrive.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence: the sentence that best supports a claim. The claim is that sea wolves “had successfully adapted to living on the islands.” To adapt is to change so you can live well in a new place.
Decide what strong proof looks like
Before you read the choices, ask what would prove an animal is doing well somewhere new. It can find its food there. It can also teach its young to live there. One clever trick is weaker proof. A guess is weaker still. So look for a sentence that shows a whole way of life built around the new home.
Test the diet sentence
Choice A comes from paragraph 3. It says “sea wolves get as much as 90 percent of their nutrition from the sea and teach their young to dig for clams and to catch fish.” Nutrition is the food a body needs. So almost all their food comes from the sea. They also pass those skills on to their pups. Mainland wolves, by contrast, “almost exclusively eat meat, such as deer and elk.” Exclusively means only.
Check the other choices
- B shows one hunting trick, a leap at a seal. It is a real island skill. But it shows less than a diet that is up to 90 percent from the sea.
- C uses the word “suspects,” so it is only Darimont’s guess. It also tells where some wolves live, not how they manage there.
- D gives Darimont’s idea about what caused the genetic differences. It does not show the wolves doing well.
Watch out: The seal attack in B is the most exciting picture. But one exciting hunt is weaker proof than a whole new diet.
Choose the answer
Sentence A shows sea wolves getting most of their food from the sea and training their young to do the same. So the answer is A, the sentence “While mainland wolves almost exclusively eat meat, such as deer and elk, and teach their young to hunt for land animals, sea wolves get as much as 90 percent of their nutrition from the sea and teach their young to dig for clams and to catch fish.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer. It comes right after A in paragraph 3 and also shows sea wolves living off the sea. But B shows one way of hunting. A shows where nearly all their food comes from, and that they teach it to their young. That is stronger proof that they adapted well.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 29 of 61
2025 Practice Test A English, question 9Passage Excerpt from “Scribe Like an Egyptian”
Excerpt from “Scribe Like an Egyptian”
by Hilary Wilson
In ancient Egypt, literacy was the key to success. However, contrary to popular belief, not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs. Many relied instead on the simpler hieratic script for the multitude of everyday documents generated by the Egyptian bureaucracy.
Hieroglyphs—“the Words of God”—compose a writing system with more than 1,000 distinct characters, the meanings of which were lost for 1,500 years before they were deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822. Including both ideograms (which convey a whole word or idea, either concrete or abstract, in a single sign) and phonograms (representing either an alphabetic sound or a group of consonants), [the writing system] was used in formal inscriptions on tomb and temple walls as well as on elaborate funerary papyri. For everyday purposes, however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic script known as hieratic, which was quicker to write and more economical of space. The two writings existed side by side for at least 2,500 years.
Scraps of ancient hieratic writing, mostly penned by student scribes on limestone flakes called ostraca, suggest that no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could achieve almost anything. Horemheb (d.1292 B.C.) is a good example. Born of middle-ranking parents, his scribal training led to an army career. From Scribe of Recruits, during the reign of Akhenaten (1353–1336 B.C.), Horemheb rose through the military ranks and, by the rule of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.), he was commander in chief of the Egyptian forces. As a close adviser of the young Pharaoh, Horemheb was appointed “Deputy of the King throughout the Two Lands,” and might have expected to succeed to the throne should the king die childless. He had to wait a few years, but eventually Horemheb achieved the pinnacle of his career by becoming the last king of the 18th Dynasty, making his mark by instituting dramatic reforms to the organisation of the army, the judiciary and administration in general. The lasting success of these changes owed much to his scribal background. . . .
But education was not available to all. Government departments and major temples supported schools, where boys commenced their training at six or seven, sometimes earlier. To these boarding establishments . . . family or household servants delivered the students’ food and drink rations daily for several years, during which time the student was not contributing to the family’s income. Boys from poorer families could only hope to be educated with support from a wealthier relative or patron, or through apprenticeship to an older scribe, perhaps the local clerk or land agent, who would teach them the basics of the scribe’s craft. This limited the scope for employment but such “on the job” training allowed apprentices to help out at home while learning. . . .
Scribal education began with the elementary principles of the hieratic script. The lowliest scribes, who trained for just five or six years, probably learned only the rudiments of the hieroglyphic script. Students were set exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to copy, to practice their hieratic handwriting on basic-format letters, reports and contracts, while absorbing the good advice contained in the texts. Surviving examples of copy-work sometimes include tutors’ corrections added in red. Some significant Egyptian literary works survive almost exclusively from student copies.
A schoolboy “dictionary” of hieroglyphs with their hieratic equivalents shows that a knowledge of more than 450 signs was required for everyday writing purposes. Lessons in record-keeping and filing and labelling enabled any half-competent scribe to perform that most essential of all scribal functions: the making and updating of lists. For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs. Those with the best handwriting or drawing skills might follow the craft of creating beautifully illustrated copies of funerary texts, commonly called Books of the Dead. Others could become draughtsmen, artists or architects. Doctors compiled their own collections of medication recipes, treatments and associated incantations, many copied from texts found in the House of Life, the temple library. Lawyers had to be familiar with the corpus of civil and religious laws and precedents found in the official records, which were administered by archivists. Egypt’s bureaucratic society depended on the skills of an army of scribes of all ranks from filing clerk to tax assessor. For young Egyptians, “be a scribe” was the best of career advice.
From “Scribe Like an Egyptian” by Hilary Wilson from HISTORY TODAY, August 8, 2019. Copyright © 2019 by History Today Ltd. Company.
bureaucracy: an administrative staff of government officials
funerary papyri: a sheet or scroll of papyrus containing religious images and hieroglyphs meant to help the deceased be reborn in the afterlife
rudiments: basics
schoolboy: slang that refers to materials used during the course of receiving an education
draughtsmen: people who draw plans of machinery or structures
corpus: a collection of writings
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the idea that there were different levels of education for a scribe?
- A“However, contrary to popular belief, not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs.” (paragraph 1)
- B“For everyday purposes, however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic script known as hieratic, which was quicker to write and more economical of space.” (paragraph 2)
- C“This limited the scope for employment but such ‘on the job’ training allowed apprentices to help out at home while learning.” (paragraph 4)
- D“For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs.” (paragraph 6)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks for a sentence from the excerpt that best supports the idea that different levels of education were available to scribes.
A. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 1 provides evidence that Egyptian scribes used two different forms of writing, but it does not address the topic of education or the different levels of education that were available to scribes.
B. Incorrect. The advantages and purposes of hieratic script are described in this sentence from paragraph 2, but this explanation of the advantages and purposes does not suggest that there were different levels of education for scribes.
C. Incorrect. The fact that scribes could learn their trade through apprenticeships as discussed in this sentence from paragraph 4 does provide evidence that another method of learning to be a scribe was possible, but this process was for a limited entry into becoming a scribe, not the continued education scribes would need in order to work in specific areas.
D. CORRECT. By explaining that certain professions required additional years of training, this sentence from paragraph 6 supports the idea that different levels of education existed for scribes.
Question analysis
This evidence question on Hilary Wilson’s “Scribe Like an Egyptian,” a magazine article about how ancient Egyptian scribes learned their trade, asks which quoted sentence best supports the idea that scribes received different levels of education. The four sentences come from paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 6, and more than one seems to touch on the idea, so close reading of each decides it.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Choosing the sentence that best supports an idea is routine grade 7 evidence work. Here several quotations touch on ways scribes differed, and the article’s dense, technical wording makes those differences harder to sort than usual.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 12, 810 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 110 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Two of the wrong sentences are not off topic: one says not all scribes understood hieroglyphs, the other that apprenticeship narrowed a scribe’s job prospects, and both imply that scribes differed. The question rewards asking what the idea actually claims, that schooling itself came in stages, and only the sentence about professions that required more years of training says so outright. Students who stop at the first sentence suggesting a difference lose the point.
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The right sentence never says “levels”; students must see that training “for several more years” for official, priest or lawyer posts means a higher tier of schooling than the basic course. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
Two other quotations also hint at differences among scribes, paragraph 1’s “not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs” and paragraph 4’s “limited the scope for employment,” so each must be weighed, not just scanned. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
Terms such as “hieratic,” “economical of space” and “scope for employment” slow the reading of the quotations, and the shorthand sentence is hard to dismiss until hieratic is understood as a script. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Ask what a sentence would have to say to prove that scribal education came in levels, then test each quotation against that and prefer a direct statement over a hint.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Reads “not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs” as proof of different levels of schooling, but it reports a difference in knowledge without saying anything about how scribes were taught.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the sentence on hieratic as a faster everyday shorthand, which describes how scribes wrote, not how long or how far any of them studied.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees that on-the-job training “limited the scope for employment” and takes it for a lower level of education, though the sentence contrasts two routes into the trade, not stages of study.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for the sentence that best supports one idea: scribes could get “different levels of education.” A level is a stage. Some scribes studied for a short time, and others went on to study more. You need a sentence that shows a difference in schooling, not just any difference between scribes.
Find what each level looked like
Paragraphs 5 and 6 describe the training. Paragraph 5 says the lowest scribes studied for only five or six years. They learned just the basics of hieroglyphs. Paragraph 6 says that more than 450 signs were needed for everyday writing. Then choice D adds a higher level: “For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs.”
Work out what choice D means
A profession is a job that needs special training. Choice D says some jobs needed more years of study and more signs, perhaps over a thousand. A basic scribe stopped sooner and knew fewer signs. So schooling came in stages: a basic course, and then more years for the top jobs. That is what the question means by levels of education.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. It says not all scribes understood hieroglyphs. That is a difference in what scribes knew. It says nothing about how they were taught.
- B does not fit. It explains hieratic, a faster shorthand way of writing. That is about writing, not schooling.
- C does not fit. It is about apprentices, who learned on the job from an older scribe. That is a different way into the work, not a higher or lower stage of study.
- D fits. Some jobs needed several more years of training.
Watch out: A is tempting because it shows that scribes were not all alike. But it never mentions school.
Choose the answer
Only one sentence shows some scribes studying for years after the basic course. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong choice. It shows that some scribes knew hieroglyphs and others did not. But it doesn’t say why, or how long anyone studied. D says plainly that some jobs needed several more years of training. That is a level of education above the basic one.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “Scribe Like an Egyptian”” as shown on the test
Question 30 of 61
2025 Practice Test A English, question 13Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “Scribe Like an Egyptian””.
Question
Hieratic script was particularly valuable in a bureaucratic government because
- Ausing hieratic script was an efficient way for scribes to produce large amounts of documentation.
- Bmany members of the general public could comprehend information that was written in hieratic script.
- Cknowledge of hieratic script prepared scribes to serve their society in increasingly challenging roles.
- Dpeople from different professional backgrounds could easily communicate with one another in hieratic script.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks why hieratic script was especially valuable in a bureaucratic government.
A. CORRECT. Hieratic script is described in paragraph 1 as being simpler for the “multitude of everyday documents” generated by the government and as “quicker to write and more economical of space” in paragraph 2. The logical conclusion based on these details is that hieratic script was more efficient for the large amounts of documentation produced by the government.
B. Incorrect. In paragraph 4, the author explains that “education was not available to all,” suggesting that only people who were educated could read and write. The excerpt as a whole does not provide sufficient information to indicate what portion of the general public would be able to comprehend material written in hieratic script.
C. Incorrect. The idea that becoming a scribe could lead to taking different positions in society is addressed in paragraphs 3, 4, and 6. However, the use of hieratic script in the fields of medicine, law, or religion does not necessarily explain the value of the script for the bureaucratic government referenced in the question.
D. Incorrect. Although different professions such as doctors and lawyers used hieratic script, the author uses these professions as examples of different job opportunities for scribes in paragraph 6. There is no discussion in the excerpt about different professions communicating with each other, and these professions were not necessarily part of the bureaucratic government.
Question analysis
This inference question on “Scribe Like an Egyptian” asks why hieratic, one of the two scripts of ancient Egypt, was especially valuable to a bureaucratic government. The article never gives the reason in a single sentence, so students must connect what it says about Egypt’s bureaucracy with what it says about the script itself. Each choice offers a reasonable-sounding benefit.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Drawing a conclusion from two neighboring paragraphs is typical grade 7 inference work. The word “bureaucratic” and the article’s formal style add some load, but the details needed are close together and plainly stated.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- Evidence in several places minor
- Hard words minor
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 12, 810 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 68 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The two facts that answer the question sit a few lines apart in the first two paragraphs, so the work is mostly connecting them. The wrong reasons all sound like advantages a simpler script might bring, public readability, career preparation, communication across professions, and each rests on a guess or on the excerpt’s talk of scribal careers rather than on what it says hieratic was used for. Students who return to the description of hieratic itself avoid them.
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The reason is split between paragraph 1, where hieratic serves the “multitude of everyday documents,” and paragraph 2, where it is “quicker to write and more economical of space.” (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
The stem turns on “bureaucratic,” a word students must connect to a government that runs on paperwork; without it, the link to large amounts of documentation is hard to see. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
No sentence says why hieratic helped the government; students must combine speed and compactness with the sheer volume of records to reach efficiency. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Find the sentences that describe hieratic script and what it was used for, then pick the choice those sentences support rather than one that only sounds like an advantage.
Traps
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Outside knowledge: A choice is plausible in the real world but not supported by this text.
The wrong answers, classified
B Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Reasons that a simpler script must have been readable by ordinary people, though paragraph 4 says “education was not available to all” and the excerpt never says the public read hieratic.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Recalls the careers in paragraphs 3 and 6 that schooling opened to scribes, which is true of the excerpt but explains a scribe’s prospects, not why the government valued hieratic.
D Outside knowledge (King et al., 2004; Recht & Leslie, 1988)
Imagines hieratic as a shared language linking doctors, lawyers and officials, a sensible-sounding benefit the excerpt never raises; paragraph 6 names those professions only as careers for scribes.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks why hieratic script was so useful to a bureaucratic government. A bureaucracy is a government run by many officials, with lots of paperwork. Hieratic is the quick, simple form of Egyptian writing. Look for what the article says about hieratic and what it was used for.
Find the evidence in paragraphs 1 and 2
Paragraph 1 says many scribes used hieratic for the “multitude of everyday documents” that the government produced. Multitude means a huge number. Paragraph 2 says hieratic was “quicker to write and more economical of space.” Economical of space means it took up less room on the page.
Connect the two facts
Put the facts together. The government made a huge number of papers. Hieratic was fast to write and used less space. So scribes could turn out lots of papers quickly. Getting a lot done with little time and effort is called being efficient.
Check each choice
- A fits. Hieratic let scribes make large amounts of paperwork quickly.
- B does not fit. Paragraph 4 says “education was not available to all.” The article never says ordinary people could read hieratic.
- C does not fit. Training did lead to careers, but that explains a scribe’s chances, not why the government valued the script.
- D does not fit. Paragraph 6 lists jobs like doctor and lawyer as careers for scribes. It never says those workers wrote to each other in hieratic.
Watch out: B sounds sensible, since a simpler script seems easier for anyone to read. But that is a guess, not something the article says.
Choose the answer
Hieratic was fast and compact, and the government needed a huge number of documents. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong choice, because a simpler script does sound easier to read. But the article says only some Egyptians got an education. It never says the public could read hieratic. A rests on two facts the article states: the government made a “multitude of everyday documents,” and hieratic was quicker to write.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 31 of 61
2025 Practice Test A English, question 14Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “Scribe Like an Egyptian””.
Question
The diagram after paragraph 6 best provides additional support for the topic of the excerpt by
- Ademonstrating the place of scribes in ancient Egyptian social structure.
- Bdepicting the types of tasks performed by each social class.
- Cindicating that scribes were able to easily improve their social ranking.
- Dcomparing the social positions of each social class in ancient Egypt.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how the diagram of ancient Egyptian class structure supports the topic of the excerpt.
A. CORRECT. The focus of the excerpt is the opportunities available to scribes in different professions and how people became scribes and therefore improved their position. By illustrating the position of the scribes in the class structure of ancient Egypt, the diagram supports the idea that scribes were valuable members of society.
B. Incorrect. The professions of the different social classes are shown in the diagram, but it does not address specific tasks. Furthermore, the main topic of the excerpt is the role of the scribes in society rather than the tasks performed by the different social classes.
C. Incorrect. While the diagram does show the position of scribes in the social hierarchy, it does not provide an illustration of movement between the different classes or rankings, so the diagram does not support the idea that scribes were able to improve their social standing.
D. Incorrect. The diagram shows the class structure as hierarchical and can support readers’ efforts to compare the different social positions. However, the role of scribes in society, rather than a general comparison of different classes, is the main focus of the excerpt.
Question analysis
This question on “Scribe Like an Egyptian” asks how the diagram after paragraph 6, a pyramid of ancient Egyptian social classes from the pharaoh at the top to unskilled workers at the base, gives additional support to the excerpt’s topic. Students must decide what the excerpt is mainly about and then judge what the graphic adds, and several choices describe something the pyramid really shows.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Linking a graphic to a text is regular grade 7 work, and this five-level pyramid is simple and clearly labeled. The demand lies in naming the excerpt’s topic first and judging how the diagram bears on it.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Reading a figure, table or graph moderate
- How, not what minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 12, 810 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 57 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
More than one choice is true of the pyramid, so the question is decided by the excerpt’s topic, not by the picture alone. Students who look only at the diagram see a ranking of all the classes; students who remember that the article is about scribes look for where scribes stand. The choice about rising easily borrows Horemheb’s story from the text and credits it to a drawing that shows no movement.
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The choice about comparing every class’s position differs from the right one in a single detail, all classes rather than scribes, and both are true of the pyramid. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading a figure, table or graph moderate Understanding the question
Scribes are not a tier of their own: they share the third of five tiers with merchants and craftsmen, below the pharaoh, nobles and priests and above farmers, herders and laborers. (Lesh, Post & Behr, 1987; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
How, not what minor Working it out
The stem asks how the diagram supports the excerpt’s topic, so students must first decide the topic is scribes, then judge what the picture adds to it. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Strategy: State the excerpt’s topic in a few words, then test each choice twice: is it true of the diagram, and does it connect the diagram to that topic?
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
- Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
The wrong answers, classified
B Wrong purpose or structure (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Notices the small figures at work, such as the herders with their cattle, and takes tasks as the diagram’s point, though its labels name classes and the excerpt is about scribes.
C Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Carries Horemheb’s rise from scribe to king in paragraph 3 over to the diagram, which shows fixed tiers with no arrows or movement, and nothing about rising easily.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Describes what the pyramid plainly does, rank all five classes against one another, which is accurate but misses why the diagram belongs with an excerpt about scribes.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks how the diagram after paragraph 6 adds to the topic of the excerpt. First name the topic. Then ask two things about each choice. Is it true of the diagram? And does it connect the diagram to that topic?
Name the excerpt’s topic
The excerpt is about scribes, people trained to read and write for others. It tells how they learned, who could study, and what jobs they could get. Every paragraph comes back to scribes. So the diagram should add something about scribes.
Read the diagram
The diagram is a pyramid with five levels. From the top down, they are the Pharaoh, nobles and priests, then “Traders, shopkeepers, scribes, and artisans,” then herders and farmers, and last unskilled workers. Artisans are skilled craftspeople. Scribes sit in the third level, the middle one. They are below the ruler and the nobles, and above farmers and workers.
Check each choice
- A fits. The diagram shows where scribes stood in Egyptian society, which ties it to the topic.
- B does not fit. The labels name groups of people, not the tasks each group did.
- C does not fit. The levels are fixed, and nothing in the diagram shows anyone moving up. Horemheb’s rise comes from paragraph 3, not the diagram.
- D does not fit. The pyramid does rank all the classes. But that alone does not connect it to an excerpt about scribes.
Watch out: More than one choice is true of the picture. The right one must also fit the topic.
Choose the answer
The diagram supports the topic by showing where scribes fit among the classes of ancient Egypt. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest wrong choice, because the pyramid really does compare every class. But the excerpt is about scribes, not about every class. A is true of the diagram too, and it also links the diagram to the topic. It points to the place of scribes in the middle level.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 32 of 61
2025 Practice Test A English, question 16Passage Excerpt from Winter Wheat
Excerpt from Winter Wheat
by Mildred Walker
Ellen, the narrator, is preparing to leave her parents and the family farm for college the next day.
I love Dad’s way of talking that makes him seem different from other ranchers. He’s lived here twenty-three years, but he still says “back East where I come from.” He’s the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we’re both reading, but it’s what Mom says that I depend on. When Mom used to say “Don’t worry” about my pet chicken or dog or new calf, it always got well. Dad is always talking of going some place, not now, but next year, maybe. Mom seems to think of nothing farther away than today or perhaps yesterday or tomorrow morning.
Mom folded the ironing board and put it inside their bedroom that was just off the kitchen. She carried in the freshly ironed clothes. Dad went back to his paper. When Mom came back she took beans from the cupboard to soak for tomorrow. Dad always said Mom could make all the dishes he’d had back in Vermont as well as though she were a New Englander herself, instead of a Russian. All of a sudden, I realized that tomorrow when those beans would be ready to eat I’d be going away. It gave me a funny feeling.
“I’ll be taking the train tomorrow night,” I said aloud, more to hear it myself.
“We can drive you into town in the afternoon,” Dad said, dropping his paper on the floor.
“There’s no need to go to town; she can catch the train at Gotham just as well. We haven’t nothing to take us into town for,” Mom said.
“Well, we don’t have to decide tonight,” Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City. It wouldn’t be so flat as just seeing me go off on the train from Gotham. My going away was hard on both of them; they were so different—and I was part of them both. It made me uncomfortable to think of leaving them.
While I was getting ready for bed in my room that’s off the front room, I saw how it would be if I left from town. We’d go in right after dinner and go around to the stores, Dad going one way and Mom and I another. Dad would probably have his hair cut at the barbershop and stop in the bank and meet someone he knew to talk to. Then we’d meet at the big store on the corner and go to the cafeteria for supper. The train stops ten minutes or so at the station in town and there are other people and excitement and you have time to wave from the platform and then again from your window by your seat. We went to the station in Clark City to see the Goodals off when they went back to Iowa.
If I left from Gotham, we’d just drive down in the truck and wait till the train came. It only stops long enough for you to get on and you hardly have time to taste the flavor of going away.
I sat on the bed in my pyjamas with my arms around my knees. I couldn’t keep from thinking of that time Dad went back East. I tried to, and then I just sat still and looked straight at it. Sometimes that’s better than working so hard to keep from looking at what’s in your mind.
Dad went all the way back to Vermont. . . . It was in November and it was already dark when the train came through Gotham. Even now, I could feel how cold and dark it was. I held Mom’s hand. Dad was so dressed-up he seemed strange. . . . We stood there without saying anything until Dad told Mom to remember to call Mr. Bardich, our neighbor, if the cow didn’t calve tomorrow.
“I’ll manage,” Mom snapped back.
“I wish you could go, Anna,” Dad said to Mom, “and we could take Ellen.” . . .
“Good-by, Anna Petrovna,” he said, looking at Mom. I had never heard him call her by two names before.
“Good-by,” Mom said, standing still, without smiling.
Then he was gone and the crossroads were darker than ever. The train light shone on the high window in the top of the grain elevator for a moment and then that too was dark. We got into our old Ford and Mom drove back to the house. My throat ached all the way. The name Dad had called Mom kept saying itself in my ears: “Anna Petrovna, Anna Petrovna.” . . .
Our house seemed lonely when we came back to it. It seemed to be hiding under the coulee. I went with Mom to put the truck in the barn that was bigger than the house. I think Mom was prouder of our barn than the house, anyway. We walked back to look at the cow that was going to calve. She was just a big light blob in the dark, waiting. I had thought she was exciting this morning, but now she seemed sad, too.
The wind blew when we walked across the open space to the house and I couldn’t help shivering with the cold. Inside the house it was warm, but empty.
“Bring your nightgown in here and I heat you some milk,” Mom said.
I drank the milk sitting on a stool in front of the stove. It tasted good, but the lonely ache in my throat was still there. I picked up my clothes and hung them neatly behind the stove and put my cup on the sink board. Mom was fixing oatmeal for tomorrow morning.
“Good night, Mom,” I said almost timidly, standing beside her. She seemed wrapped around in a kind of strangeness. Then she turned around and drew me to her. The front of her dress was warm from the stove. I felt the comfortable heat through my gown. She laid her hand against my face and it felt rough and hard but firm. I dared ask her something I wanted to know.
“Mom, was that really your name—what Dad called you?”
Her voice sounded surprised. “Why, Yeléna, you know that; Anna Petrovna. You know I am born in Russia, in Seletskoe.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know your other name,” I said.
“Anna Petrovna Webb.” She pronounced it slowly. “Once I think what a funny name Ben Webb is!” She laughed. Her laugh was warm and low like our kitchen, and comfortable. The house seemed natural and right again. . . .
But now that I am grown, I feel the wall of strangeness between them, more than when I was a child. I wondered how they would get along without me.
From WINTER WHEAT by Mildred Walker, published by University of Nebraska Press. Copyright © 1944 by Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1971 by Mildred Walker. All rights reserved.
serial: story published in short segments at regular intervals
coulee: small gulch or ravine
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt supports the idea that Ellen understands what her father is really thinking, and which sentence supports the idea that Ellen and her father share similar interests?
Move the correct answer to each box.
Supports the idea that Ellen understands what her father is really thinking
Supports the idea that Ellen and her father share similar interests
On the test you drag tiles into the boxes; here, choose each box’s tile from its menu. Each tile can be used once. The DOE has not published how answers with several parts are scored; this site counts one right only when every part is right.
Show the answer
Correct answer: blank 1: “Well, we don’t have to decide tonight,” Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City.” (paragraph 6); blank 2: “He’s the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we’re both reading” (paragraph 1)
The question asks for the identification of one sentence that supports the idea that Ellen understands what her father is really thinking, and one sentence that supports the idea that Ellen and her father share similar interests.
A. Incorrect. (“I love Dad’s way of talking that makes him seem different from other ranchers.” [paragraph 1]) This sentence from paragraph 1 presents a unique quality that Ellen loves about her father, but it does not provide evidence for the idea that Ellen and her father share similar interests or that Ellen understands what her father is really thinking.
B. CORRECT. (“He’s the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we’re both reading” [paragraph 1]) This sentence from paragraph 1 shows that Ellen and her father both get excited about the coming of spring and share an enthusiasm for reading magazine serials (stories published in serial installments). Thus, it provides clear evidence for the idea that Ellen and her father share similar interests.
C. CORRECT. (“ ‘Well, we don’t have to decide tonight,’ Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City.” [paragraph 6]) This sentence from paragraph 6 provides evidence that Ellen and her father share the same unspoken wish to go to Clark City rather than for Ellen to catch the train at Gotham, as suggested in paragraph 5 by Ellen’s mother. This quotation reveals that Ellen understands the true preference that her father is not expressing aloud, thereby providing evidence for the idea that Ellen understands what her father is really thinking.
D. Incorrect. (“We’d go in right after dinner and go around to the stores, Dad going one way and Mom and I another.” [paragraph 7]) Although this sentence from paragraph 7 indicates that Ellen can predict how her father would behave in a particular scenario, it does not show that Ellen understands what her father is really thinking, nor does it provide evidence for the idea that Ellen and her father share similar interests.
Question analysis
This evidence question on an excerpt from Mildred Walker’s 1944 novel Winter Wheat asks for one quotation showing that Ellen understands what her father is really thinking and another showing that the two share interests. On the test students drag two of four sentence tiles into labeled boxes, so each quotation’s exact wording decides where it belongs, if anywhere.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Matching quotations to ideas about a character is grade 7 evidence work, and the novel’s language is plain. Placing two of four tiles, with credit only when both are right, adds a step, and every tile mentions Ellen’s father.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Much to keep track of moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 4, 1179 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 61 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A repeated word in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Each box has a tile that matches it closely, so the question is less about finding evidence than about not being drawn by the near misses. Ellen’s detailed picture of the town trip in paragraph 7 shows she knows her father’s habits, which can pass for knowing his mind, and the tiles about shared excitement and a shared wish can each seem to fit the other box. Because credit needs both placements, one doubtful tile costs the whole question.
Much to keep track of moderate Working it out
Two boxes must both be right, and all four tiles mention Dad, so each tile has to be held against two different ideas before the two that fit neither can be set aside. (Sweller, 1988; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The first box turns on the gap between what Dad says and what Ellen knows: “Dad said, but I knew he wanted” marks a wish he does not speak aloud. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Treat the boxes as two separate evidence questions: restate each idea in your own words, then test all four tiles against it before placing one, since two tiles fit neither box.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
DB Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Puts the town-trip tile in the first box because Ellen can foresee how Dad will spend the afternoon in town, though foreseeing his errands is not knowing an unspoken wish.
BC Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Swaps the right tiles, reading Dad’s excitement, which he shows openly, as a hidden thought Ellen grasps, and their one shared wish for Clark City as a shared interest.
CA True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Fills the first box correctly but puts Ellen’s love of Dad’s way of talking in the second, though admiring how he speaks is her feeling, not an interest they share.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The DOE’s explanation of Option D says the sentence does not “provide evidence for the idea that that Ellen and her father share similar interests,” with “that” printed twice. The site prints it once.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This question has two boxes, and each needs a different idea. Box 1: Ellen knows what Dad is really thinking, even when he doesn’t say it. Box 2: Ellen and Dad like the same things. On the test you drag a tile into each box. On this site you pick each box’s tile from a menu. Two tiles are left over.
Find a hidden thought for box 1
In paragraph 5, Mom says Ellen can catch the train at Gotham, the nearby stop. Then paragraph 6 says “ ‘Well, we don’t have to decide tonight,’ Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City.” Dad’s words put off the choice. But Ellen knows his real wish, the trip into town. The word “but” marks the gap between what he says and what she knows.
Find a shared interest for box 2
Paragraph 1 says Dad is “the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we’re both reading.” A serial is a story printed in parts, one part in each issue of a magazine. Ellen and Dad look forward to spring together, and they read the same story. Those are shared interests.
Rule out the other two tiles
- “I love Dad’s way of talking that makes him seem different from other ranchers.” (paragraph 1) This is Ellen’s feeling about how Dad talks. It is not a hidden thought, and it is not an interest they share.
- “We’d go in right after dinner and go around to the stores, Dad going one way and Mom and I another.” (paragraph 7) Ellen pictures how a trip to town would go. Knowing Dad’s habits is not knowing his unspoken wish. And here they split up.
Watch out: Don’t swap the two right tiles. Dad shows his excitement openly, so it is not a hidden thought.
Fill in both boxes
- Box 1, Ellen understands what her father is really thinking: “Well, we don’t have to decide tonight,” Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City.” (paragraph 6)
- Box 2, Ellen and her father share similar interests: “He’s the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we’re both reading” (paragraph 1)
Both boxes must be right to get the point.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
The town-trip tile is the closest wrong choice for box 1. In paragraph 7, Ellen can picture just what Dad would do in town. But that shows she knows his habits. In paragraph 6, Dad says one thing, and Ellen knows he wants another. That is knowing what he is really thinking.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from Winter Wheat” as shown on the test
Question 33 of 61
2025 Practice Test A English, question 23Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from Winter Wheat”.
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt provides evidence that Mom wants Ellen to understand the family’s heritage?
- A“Mom folded the ironing board and put it inside their bedroom that was just off the kitchen.” (paragraph 2)
- B“ ‘There’s no need to go to town; she can catch the train at Gotham just as well.’ ” (paragraph 5)
- C“We’d go in right after dinner and go around to the stores, Dad going one way and Mom and I another.” (paragraph 7)
- D“ ‘Why, Yeléna, you know that; Anna Petrovna.’ ” (paragraph 22)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks which sentence from the excerpt provides evidence that Mom wants Ellen to understand the family’s heritage.
A. Incorrect. Although this sentence from paragraph 2 describes a domestic moment that takes place within the family home, it does not relate to the heritage of either parent and therefore does not provide evidence that her mother wants Ellen to understand the family’s heritage.
B. Incorrect. Although this sentence from paragraph 5 provides the name of the train station closest to Ellen’s family’s farm, the train stop at Gotham is not related to the family’s heritage. Therefore, this sentence does not provide clear evidence that her mother wants Ellen to understand the family’s heritage.
C. Incorrect. Although this sentence from paragraph 7 describes an aspect of the family dynamic (Ellen predicts that while browsing in stores in town, “Dad [would go] one way and Mom and I another”), their shopping habits do not provide clear evidence that her mother wants Ellen to understand the family’s heritage.
D. CORRECT. In this sentence from paragraph 22, Ellen’s mother addresses her by the Russian version of her name (Yeléna) and repeats her own Russian name (Anna Petrovna). The choice to call her daughter Yeléna instead of Ellen follows immediately after Ellen asks, “Mom, was that really your name—what Dad called you?” (paragraph 21), and the mother’s surprised response provides evidence that she both wants and expects Ellen to understand the family’s Russian heritage.
Question analysis
This evidence question asks which quoted sentence from the Winter Wheat excerpt shows that Mom wants Ellen to understand the family’s heritage. The four sentences, from paragraphs 2, 5, 7 and 22, all involve Mom, so students must reread each one in its paragraph to see what it really shows about her.
- Grade level
- Grade 6 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Below grade 7 Finding the sentence that supports a stated idea is everyday grade 7 work. The quotations are short and plainly worded and the idea is concrete, so one careful rereading of each in context is enough, a lighter task than usual.
- Estimated difficulty
- Routine: one familiar step, little to misread.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 4, 1179 words; question and choices: about grade 8, 83 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Only one of the four sentences touches the family’s origins at all, so a student who knows what heritage means can rule out the others at a glance. The small risk lies with students who match “Mom wants” to any line where Mom states a preference, or who do not recognize the Russian names, since the quotation stops before Mom mentions Russia.
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The quoted line never mentions heritage; students must see that Mom calling Ellen “Yeléna” and repeating “Anna Petrovna,” as things Ellen should already know, shows her wish to pass on their Russian roots. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The names’ Russian origin is clearest outside the quotation, in the rest of paragraph 22, where Mom names her birthplace, and in paragraph 2’s “instead of a Russian.” (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Define heritage in your own words, then reread each quoted sentence in its paragraph and ask whether it shows Mom handing something about the family on to Ellen.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks an everyday moment of Mom putting away the ironing board, perhaps remembering that paragraph 2 also mentions her Russian roots, though this sentence shows only housework.
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Matches “Mom wants” to Mom’s spoken preference that Ellen catch the train at Gotham, which backs half the idea, a wish of Mom’s, but concerns travel, not heritage.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Notices Mom and Ellen shopping together in Ellen’s imagined trip to town, a sign of closeness, but going around the stores says nothing about where the family comes from.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks which sentence shows that Mom wants Ellen to understand the family’s heritage. Heritage is the history and traditions a family passes down, such as where it came from. Look for a sentence where Mom shares something about the family’s roots.
Look at the conversation
At the train, Dad called Mom Anna Petrovna, a name Ellen had never heard him use. In paragraph 21, Ellen asks, “Mom, was that really your name—what Dad called you?” In paragraph 22, Mom answers, “Why, Yeléna, you know that; Anna Petrovna.” Then she reminds Ellen that she was born in Russia.
Work out what Mom’s answer shows
Mom calls her daughter Yeléna, the Russian form of Ellen. She repeats her own Russian name. She also says “you know that,” as if Ellen should already know. Mom is surprised that Ellen doesn’t. That shows Mom wants and expects Ellen to know where the family comes from.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. Folding the ironing board is housework. It says nothing about the family’s past.
- B does not fit. Mom does want something here, the train at Gotham. But that is about travel, not heritage.
- C does not fit. Shopping in town shows family habits, not family roots.
- D fits. Mom uses Russian names and expects Ellen to know them.
Watch out: B tempts because it shows what Mom wants. But the question asks what she wants Ellen to understand about the family.
Choose the answer
Only one sentence has Mom passing on the family’s Russian roots. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong choice, because Mom states a wish in it: Ellen can catch the train at Gotham. But that wish is about the trip, not the family’s past. In D, Mom uses the Russian names Yeléna and Anna Petrovna. She is surprised that Ellen doesn’t know them. That shows she wants Ellen to understand her heritage.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 34 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 14Passage Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”
Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”
by Zitkala-Sa
Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) was a Native American writer, musician, teacher, and political activist who was raised on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. In 1900 she published “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” (the term Indian was commonly used at the time to refer to Native American people) to expose readers to what life is like on a reservation.
Soon after breakfast Mother sometimes began her beadwork. On a bright, clear day, she pulled out the wooden pegs that pinned the skirt of our wigwam1 to the ground, and rolled the canvas part way up on its frame of slender poles. Then the cool morning breezes swept freely through our dwelling, now and then wafting the perfume of sweet grasses from newly burnt prairie.
Untying the long tasseled strings that bound a small brown buckskin2 bag, my mother spread upon a mat beside her bunches of colored beads, just as an artist arranges the paints upon his palette. On a lapboard she smoothed out a double sheet of soft white buckskin; and drawing from a beaded case that hung on the left of her wide belt a long, narrow blade, she trimmed the buckskin into shape. Often she worked upon small moccasins for her small daughter. Then I became intensely interested in her designing. With a proud, beaming face, I watched her work. In [my] imagination, I saw myself walking in a new pair of snugly fitting moccasins. I felt the envious eyes of my playmates upon the pretty red beads decorating my feet.
Close beside my mother I sat on a rug, with a scrap of buckskin in one hand and an awl in the other. This was the beginning of my practical observation lessons in the art of beadwork. From a skein3 of finely twisted threads of silvery sinews my mother pulled out a single one. With an awl she pierced the buckskin, and skillfully threaded it with the white sinew. Picking up the tiny beads one by one, she strung them with the point of her thread, always twisting it carefully after every stitch.
It took many trials before I learned how to knot my sinew thread on the point of my finger, as I saw her do. Then the next difficulty was in keeping my thread stiffly twisted, so that I could easily string my beads upon it. My mother required of me original designs for my lessons in beading. At first I frequently ensnared many a sunny hour into working a long design. Soon I learned from self-inflicted punishment to refrain from drawing complex patterns, for I had to finish whatever I began.
After some experience I usually drew easy and simple crosses and squares. These were some of the set forms. My original designs were not always symmetrical nor sufficiently characteristic, two faults with which my mother had little patience. The quietness of her oversight made me feel strongly responsible and dependent upon my own judgment. She treated me as a dignified little individual as long as I was on my good behavior; and how humiliated I was when some boldness of mine drew forth a rebuke from her!
In the choice of colors she left me to my own taste. I was pleased with an outline of yellow upon a background of dark blue, or a combination of red and myrtle-green. There was another of red with a bluish-gray that was more conventionally used. When I became a little familiar with designing and the various pleasing combinations of color, a harder lesson was given me. It was the sewing on, instead of beads, some tinted porcupine quills, moistened and flattened between the nails of the thumb and forefinger. My mother cut off the prickly ends and burned them at once in the centre fire. These sharp points were poisonous, and worked into the flesh wherever they lodged. For this reason, my mother said, I should not do much alone in quills until I was as tall as my cousin Warca-Ziwin.
Always after these confining lessons I was wild with surplus spirits, and found joyous relief in running loose in the open again. Many a summer afternoon a party of four or five of my playmates roamed over the hills with me. We each carried a light sharpened rod about four feet long, with which we pried up certain sweet roots. When we had eaten all the choice roots we chanced upon, we shouldered our rods and strayed off into patches of a stalky plant under whose yellow blossoms we found little crystal drops of gum. Drop by drop we gathered this nature’s rock-candy, until each of us could boast of a lump the size of a small bird’s egg. Soon satiated with its woody flavor, we tossed away our gum, to return again to the sweet roots.
From “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” by Zitkala-Sa—Public Domain
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BEADWORK IN SOUTH DAKOTA
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1500s | The Dakota use beads made from bones, shells, stones, and animal teeth. European traders bring glass beads to North America. |
| Late 1600s | The Dakota begin trading with the French in Minnesota. |
| 1830s | The Dakota begin using glass beads in clothing, artwork, and decorations in place of Native-made beads. |
| 1862–1865 | The Dakota are expelled from their homelands in Minnesota as a result of the U.S.-Dakota War. |
| 1900s–1920s | The Dakota create items to sell outside their community. |
Source: MNopedia
1wigwam: hut with an arched framework of poles covered with bark, mats, or animal hides
2buckskin: leather made from the skin of a male deer
3skein: coiled length of yarn or other thread loosely wound on a reel
Question
How does the author distinguish her point of view from that of her mother?
- Aby describing their techniques for knotting sinew thread (paragraph 4)
- Bby describing their approaches to beadwork design (paragraph 5)
- Cby stating her mother’s instructions on working with quills (paragraph 6)
- Dby stating her mother’s ideas about activities after lessons (paragraph 7)
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks how the author distinguishes her point of view from that of her mother.
A. Incorrect. In paragraph 4, the author explains that “it took many trials before I learned how to knot my sinew thread on the point of my finger, as I saw her do” and that the “difficulty was in keeping my thread stiffly twisted, so that I could easily string my beads upon it.” Although this explanation describes the author’s difficulty in performing the same task as her mother, it does not distinguish her point of view from that of her mother. In fact, they seem to share the same point of view regarding the importance of the technique the author is attempting to learn.
B. CORRECT. In paragraph 5, the author distinguishes her point of view from that of her mother by describing their approaches to beadwork design. In the paragraph, the author states, “I usually drew easy and simple crosses and squares” and “My original designs were not always symmetrical nor sufficiently characteristic, two faults with which my mother had little patience.” The author also distinguishes her point of view from that of her mother by stating that “the quietness of [my mother’s] oversight made me feel strongly responsible and dependent upon my own judgment.”
C. Incorrect. In paragraph 6, the author states, “My mother cut off the prickly ends and burned them at once in the centre fire. These sharp points were poisonous, and worked into the flesh wherever they lodged. For this reason, my mother said, I should not do much alone in quills until I was as tall as my cousin Warca-Ziwin.” Although these instructions explain the importance of having experience and skill when working with quills, they do not distinguish the author’s point of view from that of her mother.
D. Incorrect. In paragraph 7, the author describes her beadwork lessons as “confining” and states that she liked to roam “over the hills” with her playmates after the lessons. However, she makes no mention of her mother in paragraph 7; the activities and ideas stated there belong to the author, not the mother.
Question analysis
This reading question asks how Zitkala-Sa separates her own point of view from her mother's in an excerpt about learning beadwork as a girl. Each choice points to a different paragraph, so students must revisit all four and find where the two perspectives actually differ, not just where one person speaks or acts.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Analyzing how an author sets her view apart from another person's is a grade 7 standard. The memoir's sentences are long and old-fashioned, but its paragraphs are short and concrete, so the demand is typical of grade 7 reading.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- How, not what moderate
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 946 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 51 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A word-order slip in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every paragraph named shows mother and daughter together, or the daughter alone, so each looks like a candidate until it is tested for an actual difference in outlook. The struggle to knot sinew is a difference in skill, not in view, and the warning about quills gives only the mother's side. Paragraph 5 is the one place where the girl's own designs and her mother's impatience with their faults are set side by side.
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
Each choice points to a different paragraph, 4 through 7, so all four have to be reread and tested for two outlooks that actually differ, not just one person's action or advice. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
How, not what moderate Working it out
The question asks how the author sets her view apart, so students must find where two outlooks meet and clash: her simple, imperfect designs against the faults her mother “had little patience” with. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
The key sentence turns on “not always symmetrical nor sufficiently characteristic,” formal words that must be understood to see the mother's standards behind them. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: For each paragraph named, ask whether it shows both the mother's view and the narrator's and sets them against each other; a paragraph with one perspective cannot be the answer.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Sees the girl struggle to knot sinew the way her mother does, a real contrast in skill, but she learns the same method “as I saw her do,” so their views do not differ.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the mother's warning about poisonous quills because it states her view, but the narrator reports it without setting any opinion of her own against it.
D Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Credits the mother with ideas about play after lessons, though paragraph 7 gives only the narrator's own “joyous relief,” and the mother does not appear in it.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The handbook reads “The author also distinguishes her point of view from that her of mother.” It now reads “from that of her mother,” as earlier in the same explanation.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
A point of view is how a person sees or judges something. You need a place where the author shows that she and her mother see things differently. Each choice names a different paragraph. Check each one for two views that don’t match.
Find two views in paragraph 5
The girl “usually drew easy and simple crosses and squares.” Then she says: “My original designs were not always symmetrical nor sufficiently characteristic, two faults with which my mother had little patience.”
Work out what it means
Symmetrical means the same on both sides. “Sufficiently characteristic” means typical enough of the usual style. The girl kept her designs easy and simple. Her mother cared about something else. She saw “faults,” or mistakes, in them. Having “little patience” means being quickly annoyed. So the two judge the designs differently.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. In paragraph 4 the girl learns to knot thread “as I saw her do.” She learns her mother’s way, so their views match.
- B is right. Paragraph 5 sets the girl’s designs against her mother’s standards.
- C is wrong. Paragraph 6 gives only the mother’s warning about quills. The girl does not disagree.
- D is wrong. The mother doesn’t appear in paragraph 7 at all.
Watch out: A is tempting because the girl struggles with something her mother can do. But that is a difference in skill, not in point of view.
Choose the answer
Paragraph 5 is the one place where the two views are set side by side. So the answer is B.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer. The girl does struggle to knot thread the way her mother does. But they agree on how it should be done. In paragraph 5, the girl’s simple designs meet her mother’s impatience with their “faults.” That is a real difference in how they see the work.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”” as printed (pages 42–43)
Question 35 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 19Passage At Dusk
At Dusk
by Natasha Trethewey
At first I think she is calling a child,
my neighbor, leaning through her doorway
at dusk, street lamps just starting to hum
the backdrop of evening. Then I hear
the high-pitched wheedling1 we send out
to animals who know only sound, not
the meanings of our words—here here—
nor how they sometimes fall short.
In another yard, beyond my neighbor’s
sight, the cat lifts her ears, turns first
toward the voice, then back
to the constellation of fireflies flickering
near her head. It’s as if she can’t decide
whether to leap over the low hedge,
the neat row of flowers, and bound
onto the porch, into the steady circle
of light, or stay where she is: luminous
possibility—all that would keep her
away from home—flitting before her.
I listen as my neighbor’s voice trails off.
She’s given up calling for now, left me
to imagine her inside the house waiting,
perhaps in a chair in front of the TV,
or walking around, doing small tasks;
left me to wonder that I too might lift
my voice, sure of someone out there,
send it over the lines stitching here
to there, certain the sounds I make
are enough to call someone home.
“At Dusk” from NATIVE GUARD by Natasha Trethewey, published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright © 2006 by Natasha Trethewey. All rights reserved.
1wheedling: speaking in a flattering manner
Question
Which lines from the poem best support the idea that the neighbor’s efforts to call the cat home directly affect the speaker?
- A“At first I think she is calling a child, / my neighbor” (lines 1–2)
- B“the high-pitched wheedling we send out / to animals who know only sound” (lines 5–6)
- C“I listen as my neighbor’s voice trails off. / She’s given up calling for now” (lines 20–21)
- D“left me to wonder that I too might lift / my voice, sure of someone out there” (lines 25–26)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks for the best textual support for the idea that the neighbor’s actions in calling the cat directly affect the speaker of the poem.
A. Incorrect. Lines 1–2 show that the speaker has noticed the neighbor’s calling and guessed the reason for it. The speaker at first believes that the neighbor is “calling a child,” but then the speaker notices a sound associated with the time of day—the “street lamps just starting to hum / the backdrop of evening” (lines 3–4). However, the poem does not describe any direct effects on the speaker’s own opinions or behavior caused by these aspects of the surroundings.
B. Incorrect. The “high-pitched wheedling” sound the speaker mentions in line 5 might be assumed to have an annoying effect. However, the poem includes no indication that the sound has any direct effect on the speaker or that the speaker has any personal reaction to the sound. Instead, in lines 6–7, the speaker concentrates on explaining the reason people make the sound: to communicate with “animals who know only sound, not / the meanings of our words.”
C. Incorrect. In lines 20–21, the speaker actively listens “as my neighbor’s voice trails off,” which could be interpreted as an effect of the neighbor’s call. However, the speaker’s listening soon comes to an end because the neighbor has “given up calling for now,” and the poem does not describe any direct effects on the speaker’s own opinions or behavior caused by listening. Therefore, lines 20–21 do not best support the idea that the neighbor’s actions directly affect the speaker of the poem.
D. CORRECT. In lines 25–26, after observing the neighbor calling the cat, the speaker begins to reflect on the speaker’s own behavior and motivations, wondering if, like the neighbor, the speaker “might lift” the speaker’s voice to call someone who is surely “out there.” The speaker’s description of being left “to wonder” indicates that the speaker’s thoughts are a direct effect of observing the neighbor’s efforts to call the cat.
Question analysis
This reading question asks which lines from Natasha Trethewey's poem At Dusk best support the idea that a neighbor's efforts to call her cat home directly affect the speaker. Every option quotes lines connected to the calling, so students must tell lines that merely describe the scene from lines that show its effect on the person watching.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Choosing lines that support an idea is grade 7 evidence work. The quotations are short and the poem's language is plain, but each must be checked against a specific claim, a typical grade 7 task.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- Evidence
- Answered from one sentence or line
- Reading level
- Passage: 236 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 5, 79 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every quotation shows the speaker noticing the call in some way, so the question is how strong a connection “directly affect” requires. The listening lines are the trap: they stop one line short of “left me,” where the effect begins. Students who ask what the calling makes the speaker think or want find the lines in which the speaker imagines calling out too.
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
Students must decide what counts as an effect on the speaker: hearing and listening are reactions, but only lines 25–26 show the calling changing what the speaker thinks or wants. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
All four quotations involve the speaker and the calling, from “I think” to “we send out” to “I listen,” so each has to be tested for an effect, not just a connection. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Strategy: For each quotation, ask what the speaker does, thinks or feels because of the calling; lines that only report a sound or an event show no effect.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Takes the speaker's first guess, that a child is being called, as an effect, but the lines only record how the speaker interpreted the sound, not any change it caused.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Chooses the lines on the “high-pitched wheedling,” which explain how people call animals in general and show no personal reaction from the speaker.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Treats “I listen” as the effect, but these lines report the voice fading and the neighbor stopping, and the speaker's response begins only with “left me” after them.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
You need the lines that best show the neighbor’s calling has a direct effect on the speaker. The speaker is the “I” who tells the poem. An effect here is a change in what the speaker thinks, feels or does.
Find where the effect begins
In line 20 the neighbor’s voice “trails off.” She has given up calling, and that “left me” with new thoughts. First it “left me / to imagine her inside the house waiting” (lines 21–22). Then it “left me to wonder that I too might lift / my voice, sure of someone out there” (lines 25–26).
Work out what the lines mean
“I too” means the speaker now thinks of doing what the neighbor did. The speaker imagines calling out to someone, the way the neighbor called the cat. Watching her call has changed the speaker’s own thoughts and wishes. That is a direct effect.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. Lines 1–2 show only the speaker’s first guess about the sound. Nothing changes for the speaker.
- B is wrong. Lines 5–6 explain how people in general call animals. They show no reaction from the speaker.
- C is wrong. Lines 20–21 show the speaker listening as the calling stops. The effect starts after them, with “left me.”
- D is right. The speaker wonders about lifting “my voice” too.
Watch out: C is tempting because “I listen” is a reaction. But hearing a sound is not the same as being changed by it.
Choose the answer
Lines 25–26 show the calling making the speaker want to call out too. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong answer. In it the speaker does listen to the neighbor. But the lines only report her voice fading and the calling ending. The speaker’s own response begins with “left me to wonder,” in line 25. There the speaker thinks of calling someone too. That is the direct effect.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “At Dusk” as printed (page 48)
Question 36 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 25Uses the passage above: “At Dusk”.
Question
The poet develops a theme about making connections with others mainly through the
- Aexploration of the desires of the speaker and the neighbor.
- Bspeaker’s observations of the sights and sounds in the neighborhood.
- Cspeculations the speaker makes about what the neighbor does inside her house.
- Dspeaker’s explanation of the cat’s thoughts and actions.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks for an explanation of how the poet develops a theme about making connections with others.
A. CORRECT. The speaker first describes the neighbor calling the cat in a “high-pitched wheedling” (line 5) voice before giving up and returning indoors. The neighbor’s desire to have the cat return home prompts the speaker to wonder whether the speaker could call out and be “certain the sounds . . . / are enough to call someone home” (lines 28–29). These final lines most develop the theme of connection by conveying a desire to be able to prompt someone’s return.
B. Incorrect. Line 1, in which the speaker at first thinks the sound in the neighborhood is the neighbor “calling a child,” might be assumed to introduce a theme of making connections with others. However, other descriptions of the sights and sounds of the neighborhood, including the time of day—“at dusk, street lamps just starting to hum / the backdrop of evening” (lines 3–4) and “constellation of fireflies flickering” (line 12) near the cat—have no relationship to a theme of connection.
C. Incorrect. In lines 22–24, the speaker imagines the neighbor’s activities inside her house: “perhaps in a chair in front of the TV, / or walking around, doing small tasks.” Although the speaker does imagine the neighbor is doing these things to pass time while “waiting” (line 22) for the cat, the neighbor’s actions—and even the speaker’s imagining—are carried out alone, so they do not develop a theme of connection.
D. Incorrect. Lines 10–19 present the speaker’s observations of the cat, which “turns first / toward the voice, then back” when the neighbor calls, then appears “as if she can’t decide” whether to return to the neighbor or stay outside. Although the cat’s indecision about whether to heed the neighbor’s call might seem to develop a theme about making connections, lines 10–19 focus more on the relative appeal of the cat’s two options—returning to “the steady circle / of light” at home or pursuing the “luminous / possibility . . . flitting before her”—than on any connection between the cat and its owner or between the speaker and the neighbor.
Question analysis
This reading question asks which element of Natasha Trethewey's poem At Dusk mainly develops its theme about making connections with others. All four choices describe something that really happens in the poem, from neighborhood sights to a cat's hesitation, so students must weigh how much each part contributes to that theme.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Analyzing how a theme develops is grade 7 work, but here the student must rank four genuine features of the poem by how much each builds the theme, a comparison that asks more than typical grade 7 work.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- Evidence in several places moderate
- The right answer is reworded minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: 236 words (a poem; reading level not measured); question and choices: about grade 8, 53 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The question asks what mainly carries the theme, and every choice is a real part of the poem, so ruling choices out means ranking them, not spotting errors. The cat takes up the most lines and is the one being called home, which makes it the strongest lure, though its lines are about her choice between two places. What builds the theme is the neighbor's wish to bring the cat home, echoed by the speaker's wish to call someone home.
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
All four choices name something that really fills the poem, so each must be weighed by how much it builds the theme of connection, not by whether it is there. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The theme is built from the two ends of the poem: the neighbor calling and then waiting in lines 1–8 and 20–22, and the speaker's wish in lines 25–29 to send a voice out. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer
The right choice speaks of “desires,” a word the poem never uses, while the wrong ones echo its sounds, the neighbor's house and the cat. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Strategy: For each choice, find the lines it refers to and ask how directly they bear on making connections with others; keep the choice whose lines do so most fully.
Traps
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the poem's sights and sounds, the humming street lamps and the fireflies, which set the scene at dusk but are not where the poem says anything about reaching others.
C Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Chooses the speaker picturing the neighbor in front of the TV, a real moment of imagining another life, but three lines of solitary tasks cannot carry the theme alone.
D Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Notices how many lines follow the cat, the one being called home, but they weigh the porch light against the night, not one person reaching toward another.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
A theme is a big message about life. This poem has a theme about making connections, or reaching out to others. You need the part of the poem that mainly builds that theme.
Look at what the neighbor wants
The neighbor wants her cat to come home. She calls out at dusk with a “high-pitched wheedling” (line 5). Wheedling means sweet-talking. When she stops, the speaker pictures her “inside the house waiting” (line 22). Her wish is to reach the cat and bring her back.
Look at what the speaker wants
Her calling “left me to wonder that I too might lift / my voice” (lines 25–26). The speaker hopes the sounds “are enough to call someone home” (line 29). So the speaker wants to reach someone too. Both people wish to call someone back to them. That shared wish builds the theme of connection.
Check each choice
- A is right. The desires, or wishes, of the neighbor and the speaker carry the theme.
- B is wrong. The humming street lamps and the fireflies set the scene. They don’t show anyone reaching out.
- C is wrong. The guesses about the neighbor inside fill only three lines, and they show her alone.
- D is wrong. The cat lines weigh home against the night. They don’t show one person reaching another.
Watch out: D is tempting because the cat fills many lines. But they are about her choice, not about a connection.
Choose the answer
The poem builds its theme through what the neighbor and the speaker both want. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest wrong answer, since the cat takes up lines 10–19. But those lines weigh the porch light against the glowing night. The theme of connection comes from two wishes. The neighbor wants to call the cat home. The speaker wants to “call someone home” too. A names those desires.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 37 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 31Passage Champion of the Channel
Champion of the Channel
In 1926 an editor at the London Daily News predicted that Gertrude Ederle, an American swimmer with eighteen world records and three Olympic medals, would fail in her attempt to swim across the English Channel. He claimed that “even the most uncompromising champion of the rights and capacities of women must admit that in contests of physical skill, speed and endurance they must remain forever the weaker sex.” Yet, at only nineteen years old, Ederle not only became the first woman to accomplish this feat, she also broke the men’s record by two hours. Gertrude Ederle’s triumphant swim across the English Channel was a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.
Crossing the English Channel is a daunting task for any swimmer. At its narrowest point, the channel measures twenty-one miles across. Its icy waters hover around sixty degrees Fahrenheit, and its unruly tides and currents toss swimmers about like bobbing corks. Stinging jellyfish, seaweed, and floating debris from shipwrecks and lost cargoes present added hazards.
For decades the channel’s perils have defeated countless swimmers. Ederle, too, failed in her first attempt to cross the channel in 1925. Just six miles short of finishing, she became ill, and her coach had to haul her out of the water. Undeterred, Ederle decided to try again. Ederle knew that if she did not complete the challenge this time, she might never get the opportunity to set this record, because a rival female swimmer was preparing to make her second attempt at the crossing as well.
To prepare for the marathon swim, Ederle found ways to improve her equipment. She and her sister Meg discovered that melted candle wax perfectly sealed goggle edges, effectively waterproofing Ederle’s goggles against hammering waves. The sisters also designed a two-piece silk swimsuit for Ederle. During her first channel-crossing attempt she had worn a standard one-piece swimsuit that, after the lengthy hours of swimming across the channel, had stretched out, filling with water and creating drag, making an already challenging task almost insurmountable. Unlike the cumbersome typical bathing suit, this silk invention weighed little and allowed for easy movement.
On August 6, 1926, Ederle waded into the channel near Cape Gris-Nez, France. At first she shivered in the bone-chilling water even though she had covered her body in eight layers of grease for insulation. Her limbs felt stiff. Her strokes were irregular. Driving forward, she fought to clear her mind and find what she called her “sphere,” a place where the sea became her only companion and the shrieks of gulls and the humming of boat engines faded away. Using a new overhand stroke called the American crawl, Ederle eventually settled into a steady pace, briskly breaking through waves.
Throughout Ederle’s swim, two tugboats accompanied her. One carried newspaper reporters who wired dispatches of her progress to shore. The other, displaying a sign that read “This way, ole kid!” with an arrow pointing forward, transported her coach, family, and friends. Her coach played songs, such as “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” on a phonograph so that Ederle could time her strokes to the rhythm. Using a net, her coach also passed her baby bottles of broth for nourishment.
For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile. However, as she neared the English shore, a sudden fierce storm erupted. The tides and waves forced Ederle backward, and she fought the stubborn swells for several hours. The salty water caused her tongue to swell and inflamed her ears. Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea. Finally, as she neared the English shore, the storm abated, and the tide turned. No longer fighting against her, the sea pushed her toward the shore and victory.
After fourteen hours and thirty-one minutes, Ederle, on wobbly legs, stepped onto the English shore. The waiting crowd roared, honked their automobile horns, blasted their tugboat whistles, and set off flares that flashed in the sky. Ederle had swum into history.
When Ederle returned to New York, she received a parade, where thousands of people shouted “Trudy!” Not only were everyday American citizens proud of Ederle, but she also inspired them to be more active. Over the next few years, more than 60,000 people credited her with motivating them to earn their American Red Cross swimming certificates. Gertrude Ederle’s accomplishment proved to the world that with determination and passion, it was possible for a person to achieve his or her goals.
SOLO SWIMS ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
|
Earliest Speed Records |
||
| Year | Swimmer | Time |
| 1875 | Matthew Webb (M) | 21 hours, 45 minutes |
| 1923 | Enrico Tiraboschi (M) | 16 hours, 33 minutes |
| 1926 | Gertrude Ederle (F) | 14 hours, 31 minutes |
| 1926 | Arnst Vierkotter (M) | 12 hours, 38 minutes |
| Current Speed Records | ||
| Year | Swimmer | Time |
| 2012 | Trent Grimsey (M) | 6 hours, 55 minutes |
| 2006 | Yvetta Hlavacova (F) | 7 hours, 25 minutes |
Question
Which sentence from the passage best conveys the author’s perspective regarding the impact of Ederle’s accomplishment?
- A“Undeterred, Ederle decided to try again.” (paragraph 3)
- B“For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile.” (paragraph 7)
- C“Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea.” (paragraph 7)
- D“Ederle had swum into history.” (paragraph 8)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks for the sentence from the passage that best conveys the author’s perspective about the impact of Ederle’s swim.
A. Incorrect. Although this option shows Ederle’s determination to accomplish her goal, it does not convey the author’s perspective. Rather, the option reinforces Ederle’s own perspective about the challenge that she was facing.
B. Incorrect. The sentence presented in this option is incorrect because it relates to Ederle’s state of mind as she came closer to achieving her goal and does not provide details about the author’s opinion of the impact of Ederle’s accomplishment.
C. Incorrect. The sentence presented in this option is incorrect because it simply presents Ederle’s emotional state as she nears her goal and does not provide information about the author’s perspective.
D. CORRECT. This option is correct because, throughout the passage, the author emphasizes that Ederle’s accomplishment was memorable and great, which is best stated in the sentence from paragraph 8.
Question analysis
What did Gertrude Ederle's English Channel swim mean in the author's eyes? This point-of-view question asks which quoted sentence best shows the author's perspective on its impact, and because the quotations all come from the story of her attempts, students must tell the author's judgment apart from sentences reporting what Ederle did or felt.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Telling an author's perspective apart from a subject's actions and moods is ordinary grade 7 point-of-view work. Each choice is a single sentence with its paragraph given, so little searching is needed and the demand is typical.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what moderate
- Figurative or literary language minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 52 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Two tests apply at once: whose view a sentence gives, and whether that view concerns the swim's impact. Three sentences narrate Ederle herself, before the swim and in the water, and the word “Undeterred” can make the first sound like the author's praise. The five-word sentence that closes paragraph 8 is easy to skim past, because it states impact through an image rather than in plain terms.
How, not what moderate Working it out
The question asks for the author's judgment, so sentences that narrate Ederle's choices and moods, her decision to try again, her “amused smile”, her happiness in the storm, have to be set aside. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Figurative or literary language minor Understanding the question
The only sentence about impact states it as a figure of speech, “Ederle had swum into history”, which must be read as a claim that the swim earned a lasting place. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Ask of each quotation whether it reports Ederle's actions or feelings, or whether it is the author stepping back to judge what the swim meant. Only the second kind answers this question.
Traps
- Wrong tone or attitude: Misjudges the tone, attitude or point of view, such as reading admiration as criticism, or taking a character's or subject's feelings for the author's.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Hears the author admiring her resolve in “Undeterred”, a real touch of judgment, but it concerns her decision after the 1925 failure, not what her eventual swim meant or changed.
B Wrong tone or attitude (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Takes Ederle's “amused smile” while dodging debris as the author's opinion, though it records her mood in the water and says nothing about the swim's impact.
C Wrong tone or attitude (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Reads “indescribably happy” as the author's enthusiasm, but the happiness is Ederle's own, felt while she fought the storm, and it says nothing about lasting effects.
Working it out, step by step
Unpack the key words
A perspective is a point of view, the way someone sees a subject. Impact means the effect something has on the world. So you need a sentence where the author judges what Ederle’s swim meant. A sentence that only tells what Ederle did or felt won’t count.
Test each sentence two ways
Ask two questions about each choice. First, is this the author’s own judgment, or does it just tell what Ederle did or felt? Second, is it about the effect of the swim, or about something else? The right sentence passes both tests.
Check each choice
- A: “Undeterred, Ederle decided to try again” (paragraph 3) tells her choice after failing in 1925, so it comes before the swim and can’t show its effect.
- B: “dodging debris with an amused smile” (paragraph 7) shows her mood in the water.
- C: “Ederle felt indescribably happy” (paragraph 7) tells her own feelings, not the author’s view.
- D: “Ederle had swum into history” (paragraph 8) is the author stepping back to judge what the swim meant.
Watch out: Undeterred means not discouraged, so A can sound like praise from the author. But it is about her decision, not the swim’s effect.
Explain the figure of speech
“Swum into history” is a figure of speech, words that mean more than they literally say. History is not a place you can swim to. The phrase means her swim was so important that people will remember it for a long time. So the sentence judges the swim’s impact.
Choose the answer
Only choice D gives the author’s own view of what the swim achieved. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer, since the word “Undeterred” holds a note of praise. But the sentence reports Ederle’s choice to try again after she failed. That happened before the big swim, so it can’t show the swim’s impact. D is the author’s own claim that the swim made history.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Champion of the Channel” as printed (pages 56–57)
Question 38 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 36Passage 5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books
5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books
by Shaunacy Ferro
Though e-book1 readers have become a more common sight around town, traditional books still have their evangelists.2 According to The New York Times, e-book sales have been falling in 2015. Print definitely isn’t dead. In fact, according to some research, it may actually be a better choice for some readers. While scientists are still trying to tease out exactly how digital reading affects us differently, here are five ways e-books might be inferior to their dead-tree cousins.
E-books can reduce reading comprehension.
In a study of middle schoolers, West Chester University researchers found that students who read on iPads3 had lower reading comprehension than when they read traditional printed books. They discovered that the kids sometimes skipped text in favor of interactive features in the e-books, suggesting that certain multimedia in children’s e-books can be detrimental to the practice of reading itself. However, the researchers noted that some interactive features in e-books are designed to enhance comprehension, and that those might be more helpful than game-type interactive graphics.
Young kids can get distracted by e-books.
Similar results were found by a small study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center that consisted of 32 kids reading e-books and print books with their parents. It found that “enhanced” e-books might be distracting. Kids who read enhanced e-books—ones with interactive, multimedia experiences—were more engaged with them physically, but in the end they remembered fewer narrative details than those who read print books or basic e-books.
You remember less about a book’s timeline.
Another study of adults also found that e-books can be hard to absorb. The researchers asked 25 people to read a 28-page story on a Kindle4 and 25 to read the story in paperback, then asked the readers to put 14 events from the story in chronological order. Those who read the story on a Kindle performed worse on the chronology test than the book readers, though they performed about the same as print readers in other tests. Earlier research by the same scholars, from Stavanger University in Norway, found that Norwegian 10th graders also remembered more about texts if they read them in print rather than on a computer screen.
They’re not great as textbooks.
While e-book textbooks are often cheaper (and easier to carry) than traditional door-stop5 textbooks, college students often don’t prefer them. In some surveys of college kids, the majority of students have reported preferring print books. However, a 2012 study from the UK’s National Literacy Trust of kids ages 8 to 16 found that more than 50 percent of children reported preferring screen reading.
They’re tiring.
Staring at a lit screen can be tiring for the eyes and the brain. A 2005 study from Sweden found that reading digitally required a higher cognitive workload than reading on paper. Furthermore, staring at LED6 screens at night can disrupt sleep patterns. A 2014 Harvard study found that people who used e-readers with LED screens at night slept worse and were more tired the next day. So, if you’re going to go for an e-book, go for one without the backlight.
The take-away message? If you’re really trying to absorb material, you might want to go for a physical book. And if you’re going to be up all night studying, turn off the backlight.
However, all this may not mean that reading on a Kindle is really going to melt your brain. For instance, reading an e-book on a computer is a much different experience than reading on a Kindle, which is specifically designed for consuming books. So, too, is playing with an interactive e-book on an iPad, compared to using a simpler e-book device that only presents the text, with no opportunities to click away into digital distractions.
And some studies have found that part of the difference between the way people absorb information from e-books versus paper might be due to approaching e-books differently—in one test, participants didn’t regulate their study time with digital books like they did with paper texts, leading to worse performances. It’s possible that our expectations of e-book reading—as well as the different designs of the digital reading experience on a computer or iPad or Kindle—might affect how we approach the text and how much effort we put into studying them. As generations of e-book readers evolve, and people become more accustomed to the idea of sitting down with a digital textbook, these factors could change—for better or for worse.
“5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books” by Shaunacy Ferro from MENTAL FLOSS, October 2, 2015. Copyright © 2015 Mental Floss, Inc.
1e-book: an electronic book, a publication made available digitally for reading on a computer or other device
2evangelists: advocates or supporters
3iPads: tablet computers
4Kindle: device for reading e-books
5door-stop: a reference to the idea that some textbooks are large and heavy enough to hold a door open
6LED: Light-emitting diode; LEDs are often used as a backlight for electronic devices such as smart phones and tablets.
Question
Which evidence from the passage best supports the claim that “print definitely isn’t dead” (paragraph 1)?
- AMost college students prefer using paper books to using e-books.
- BScientists are still studying the effects of reading on a screen.
- CPaper books are less disruptive to sleep patterns than e-books are.
- DReading on a screen can affect both the eyes and the brain.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks which evidence from the passage best supports the claim in paragraph 1 that “print definitely isn’t dead.”
A. CORRECT. In paragraph 5, the author points out that “while e-book textbooks are often cheaper (and easier to carry) than traditional door-stop textbooks, college students often don’t prefer them.” The author adds that “in some surveys of college kids, the majority of students have reported preferring print books.” As a result, this evidence from the passage supports the claim in paragraph 1 that “print definitely isn’t dead.”
B. Incorrect. In paragraph 1, the author notes that “scientists are still trying to tease out exactly how digital reading affects us differently.” This detail shows that research on reading on a screen is still going on, but it says nothing about whether people still choose print, so it does not support the claim in paragraph 1 that “print definitely isn’t dead.”
C. Incorrect. Although the main idea of paragraph 6 is supported by the 2014 study that showed that “people who used e-readers with LED screens at night slept worse and were more tired the next day,” this detail does not support the claim in paragraph 1 that “print definitely isn’t dead.”
D. Incorrect. The author states in paragraph 6 that “staring at a lit screen can be tiring for the eyes and the brain” and that “reading digitally required a higher cognitive workload.” Although these details illustrate how using e-readers can have negative physical and mental effects, they do not support the claim in paragraph 1 that “print definitely isn’t dead.”
Question analysis
This evidence question takes the claim “print definitely isn't dead” from the opening of an article comparing printed books and e-books and asks which evidence from the passage best supports it. Students must pin down exactly what the claim says before judging the evidence, since all four choices come from the article and sound related.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 students judge whether evidence is relevant to a claim, but this claim is a short idiom whose precise meaning must be settled first, and every choice paraphrases a real finding, which makes the comparison finer than typical.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines major
- Figurative or literary language moderate
- The right answer is reworded minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 829 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 59 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- The explanation of one wrong choice discussed a different detail; it now explains that choice.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The sentence right after the claim says print “may actually be a better choice”, and the two wrong choices about sleep and tired eyes support exactly that, which makes them feel like the answer. The claim itself is narrower: print is still alive, still chosen by readers. Only one choice reports people choosing print, and its wording overstates the surveys, so students must accept an imperfect paraphrase over accurate findings that prove a different point.
Reading between the lines major Working it out
The article never ties any evidence to “Print definitely isn't dead”; the student must read it as print still being chosen and find that in paragraph 5's surveys, four paragraphs away. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question
“Isn't dead” is an idiom, and its exact sense, still bought and read rather than still worthwhile, decides between the survey of college students and the findings about sleep and tired eyes. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer
The right choice turns “in some surveys of college kids, the majority” into “Most college students prefer”, a looser paraphrase careful readers may distrust, while another choice echoes “the eyes and the brain”. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Strategy: Put the claim “print definitely isn't dead” into your own words first, then ask whether each choice proves that exact point or a different one made nearby in paragraph 1.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the sentence nearest the claim, that scientists are still working out how digital reading differs, a true remark about unfinished research that says nothing about print surviving.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Uses the 2014 Harvard sleep finding, a real advantage of paper that backs the next sentence's “better choice” but not the claim that people still buy and read print.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Chooses the finding that a lit screen tires “the eyes and the brain”, a drawback of e-books that argues print is better, not that print remains in use.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: Choice B is “Scientists are still studying the effects of reading on a screen,” from paragraph 1 (“scientists are still trying to tease out exactly how digital reading affects us differently”). The handbook's explanation of B instead discusses the iPad reading-comprehension study of paragraph 2, apparently left over from an earlier version of the choice. The explanation now addresses B: ongoing research says nothing about whether people still choose print. The answer, A, is unchanged.
Working it out, step by step
Pin down the claim
This asks you to find evidence for a claim. “Print definitely isn’t dead” is an idiom, a saying that doesn’t mean exactly what its words say. Books can’t really die. The claim means printed books are still being bought and read. People still choose them.
Watch for the nearby claim
The very next sentence makes a different claim. It says print “may actually be a better choice for some readers.” Being better is not the same as being alive. So you need evidence that people still choose print, not evidence that print is good for you.
Find people choosing print
Paragraph 5 says that “in some surveys of college kids, the majority of students have reported preferring print books.” A majority means more than half. They pick paper even though e-books are “often cheaper (and easier to carry).” So many readers still choose print, which shows it is still alive.
Check each choice
- A fits: most college students in those surveys prefer paper books.
- B is wrong because research still going on says nothing about whether people still choose print.
- C is wrong because better sleep is a reason print may be better, not proof that people still use it.
- D is wrong because tired eyes and brains are also a reason print may be better.
Watch out: C and D support the “better choice” sentence, not “isn’t dead.”
Choose the answer
Only A shows that many readers still choose paper books today. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the most tempting wrong answer. The finding that lit screens hurt sleep is real, and it favors paper. But it shows print may be better, not that it is still alive. A shows readers still choosing print. It says “Most college students” when the passage reports only “some surveys,” but it is still the best fit.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books” as printed (pages 58–59)
Question 39 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 39Uses the passage above: “5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books”.
Question
Which sentence from the passage best reveals the author’s point of view about e-books?
- A“While scientists are still trying to tease out exactly how digital reading affects us differently, here are five ways e-books might be inferior to their dead-tree cousins.” (paragraph 1)
- B“While e-book textbooks are often cheaper (and easier to carry) than traditional door-stop textbooks, college students often don’t prefer them.” (paragraph 5)
- C“For instance, reading an e-book on a computer is a much different experience than reading on a Kindle, which is specifically designed for consuming books.” (paragraph 8)
- D“So, too, is playing with an interactive e-book on an iPad, compared to using a simpler e-book device that only presents the text, with no opportunities to click away into digital distractions.” (paragraph 8)
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks which sentence from the passage best reveals the author’s point of view about e-books.
A. CORRECT. The sentence from paragraph 1 best reveals the author’s point of view because it introduces the author’s argument that “e-books might be inferior,” which is illustrated throughout the text.
B. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 5 provides a small detail about college students preferring traditional books over e-books despite the fact that e-books may seem ideal by being “cheaper (and easier to carry).” This statement supports one point made in the text but not the author’s broader point of view about e-books in general.
C. Incorrect. In the second sentence from paragraph 8, the author discusses answers to why “all this may not mean that reading on a Kindle is really going to melt your brain” and compares reading on a Kindle with reading on a computer to explain how they are different. The sentence focuses on the experiences with using two types of e-book devices rather than on the author’s broader opinion about e-books.
D. Incorrect. In the last sentence from paragraph 8, the author uses the previous comparison between reading on a Kindle and reading on a computer to illustrate the differences between “playing with an interactive e-book on an iPad” and using “a simpler e-book device that only presents the text” and limits distractions. However, similar to the sentence in Option C, this sentence focuses on the experiences of using two types of e-book devices rather than on the author’s broader point of view about e-books.
Question analysis
This point-of-view question asks which sentence best reveals the author's own view of e-books in a magazine article weighing them against printed books. Students must separate a sentence that states the author's position from sentences that support or qualify it, and the article's later hedging about e-books can blur the picture.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Identifying an author's point of view in an informational article is standard grade 7 work. The quotations are labeled by paragraph and the article's stance stays consistent, so the demand matches a typical grade 7 point-of-view item.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what minor
- Complex sentences minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 829 words; question and choices: about grade 14, 122 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The article announces its stance in the first paragraph, so the question rewards recognizing the sentence where the author sets up the whole list of reasons. The pull comes from a sentence about college students passing up cheaper e-book textbooks, which agrees with the author but reports one finding. The two sentences from paragraph 8 compare devices, and their mention of “digital distractions” can sound like a verdict without being one.
How, not what minor Working it out
Point of view must be told apart from reported fact: three sentences describe students' habits or devices, and only one carries the author's verdict, “might be inferior”. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Complex sentences minor Understanding the question
The right sentence holds its point behind a long “While scientists are still trying to tease out” clause, and paragraph 8's “So, too, is playing with” sentence borrows its meaning from the one before. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)
Strategy: First decide in a few words what the author thinks about e-books overall, then find the sentence that states that view rather than one piece of support for it.
Traps
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Takes the finding that college students pass up cheaper e-book textbooks, one supporting detail for one of the five reasons, as the author's overall view of e-books.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks paragraph 8's contrast between reading on a computer and on a Kindle, an accurate comparison of two devices that passes no judgment on e-books as such.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Hears criticism in “digital distractions”, but the sentence explains how an interactive iPad e-book differs from a text-only device, part of the article's hedge, not its verdict.
Working it out, step by step
Know what point of view means
An author’s point of view is what the author thinks about a topic. You need the sentence that shows how the author sees e-books overall. One small fact, or a comparison of two devices, isn’t enough.
Sum up the author’s view
The title says physical books “Might Be Better Than E-Books.” The article then gives five reasons, one under each bold heading. So the author thinks e-books may be worse than print for some kinds of reading.
Find where the author says it
Choice A comes from paragraph 1. It ends, “here are five ways e-books might be inferior to their dead-tree cousins.” Inferior means worse. “Dead-tree cousins” is a joke name for paper books, since paper is made from trees. This sentence states the author’s view and sets up the whole list.
Check each choice
- A fits: it states the author’s overall view that e-books “might be inferior.”
- B is wrong because it reports one finding about college students, which supports just one reason.
- C is wrong because it compares a computer and a Kindle without judging e-books.
- D is wrong because it explains how an iPad e-book differs from a simpler device, not what the author thinks.
Watch out: B agrees with the author, so it seems right. But it is one small piece of support, not the view itself.
Choose the answer
Choice A is where the author announces the opinion behind the whole article. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B comes closest, because it fits the author’s view. But it reports what college students prefer, one detail in one section. A is where the author states the opinion the whole article supports: e-books “might be inferior” to print.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 40 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 43Passage Excerpt from The Highest Tide
Excerpt from The Highest Tide
by Jim Lynch
The narrator’s summer job is collecting marine specimens in Puget Sound, Washington. In this excerpt, he is looking for specimens in the mudflats before daybreak. Mudflats, or flats, are coastal landforms created when sediment and silt from tides are deposited as the tides recede.
I rounded the oyster beds, to the far side. . . . It was low tide by then, and I saw the water hesitating at its apex, neither leaving nor returning, patiently waiting for the gravitational gears to shift. Dozens of anxious clams started squirting in unison like they did whenever vibrating grains of sand warned them predators were approaching. I stopped and waited with them, to actually see the moment when the tide started returning with its invisible buffet of plankton for the clams, oysters, mussels and other filter feeders. It was right then, ankle deep in the Sound, feet numbing, eyes relaxed, that I saw the nudibranch.1
In all my time on the flats I’d never seen one before. I’d read about them, sure. I’d handled them at aquariums but never in the wild, and I’d never even seen a photo of one this stunning. It was just three inches long but with dozens of fluorescent, orange-tipped hornlike plumes jutting from the back of its see-through body that appeared to be lit from within.
Nudibranchs are often called the butterflies of the sea, but even that understates their dazzle. Almost everything else in the northern Pacific is dressed to blend with pale surroundings. Nudibranchs don’t bother, in part because they taste so lousy they don’t need camouflage to survive. But also, I decided right then, because their beauty is so startling it earns them a free pass, the same way everyday life brakes for peacocks, parade floats. . . .
The dark mudflats loomed like wet, flattened dunes stretching deep into Skookumchuck Bay in front of our house. From a distance, they looked too barren to support sea life. Up close, they still did, unless you knew where to find the hearty clams, worms and tiny creatures that flourish in mud. . . . I’m not sure why I decided to take a look. It was still an hour before sunrise, and I knew exactly what the bars2 looked like in the moonlight, but for some reason, I couldn’t resist.
I heard it long before I saw it. It was an exhale, a release of sorts, and I instantly wondered if a whale was stranded again. We had a young minke3 stuck out there two summers prior, and it made similar noises until the tide rose high enough for rescuers to help free it. . . . I looked for a hulking silhouette but couldn’t find one. I waited, but there were no more sounds. Still, I went toward what I thought I’d heard, avoiding stepping into the mud until I had to. I knew the flats well enough to know I could get stuck just about anywhere. The general rule was you didn’t venture out past the shells and gravel with an incoming tide. I sank up to my knees twice, and numbing water filled my boots.
. . . I kept stepping toward the one sound I’d heard, a growing part of me hoping I’d find nothing at all. When I stopped to rest and yank up my socks, my headlamp crossed it. My first thought? A giant octopus.
Puget Sound has some of the biggest octopi in the world. They often balloon to a hundred pounds. Even the great Jacques Cousteau4 himself came to study them. But when I saw the long tubular shape of its upper body and the tangle of tentacles below it, I knew it was more than an octopus. I came closer, within fifty feet, close enough to see its large cylindrical siphon5 quiver. I couldn’t tell if it was making any sounds at that point, because it was impossible to hear anything over the blood in my ears. . . .
The creature’s body came to a triangular point above narrow fins that lay flat on the mud like wings, but it was hard to be sure exactly where it all began or ended, or how long its tentacles truly were, because I was afraid to pry my eyes off its jumble of arms for more than half a second. I didn’t know whether I was within reach, and its arms were as big around as my ankle and lined with suckers the size of half-dollars. If they even twitched I would have run. So, I was looking at it and not looking at it while my heart spangled my vision. I saw fragments, pieces, and tried to fuse them in my mind but couldn’t be certain of the whole. I knew what it had to be, but I wouldn’t allow myself to even think the two words. Then I gradually realized the dark shiny disc in the middle of the rubbery mass was too perfectly round to be mud or a reflection.
It was too late to smother my scream. Its eye was the size of a hubcap.6
From THE HIGHEST TIDE by Jim Lynch. Copyright © 2005 by Jim Lynch. Used by permission of Bloomsbury USA. All rights reserved.
1nudibranch: type of sea slug
2bars: sandbars
3minke: species of small whale
4Jacques Cousteau: renowned French oceanographer
5siphon: tube-like organ that is used for drawing in or removing fluids
6hubcap: removable cap over the end of a wheel axle
Question
In paragraph 3, the phrase “the butterflies of the sea” conveys the idea that
- Anudibranchs do not have to work as hard as other animals to survive in the ocean.
- Bnudibranchs have colorful features that make them stand out.
- Cnudibranchs are delicate and have trouble adapting to their environment.
- Dnudibranchs are rare and difficult to find in the ocean.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks what idea the phrase “the butterflies of the sea” in paragraph 3 conveys.
A. Incorrect. While the narrator does say that they “taste so lousy they don’t need camouflage to survive” (paragraph 3), the phrase explains that their bright appearance poses no threat to their lives.
B. CORRECT. The narrator describes the vibrant colors of the nudibranch in paragraph 2. Then in paragraph 3, the narrator says that “their beauty is so startling.” The nudibranchs are colorful and unique, just as many butterflies are.
C. Incorrect. The narrator describes the distinct appearance of the nudibranch but does not suggest that nudibranchs struggle to adapt to their environment because of this trait.
D. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the narrator states, “I’d handled them at aquariums but never in the wild, and I’d never even seen a photo of one this stunning.” Although this suggests that the narrator has rarely encountered a nudibranch in the wild, it does not suggest that they are rare in the wild in general.
Question analysis
This figurative-language question asks what the phrase “the butterflies of the sea” conveys about nudibranchs, the sea slugs the narrator spots on a Puget Sound mudflat in an excerpt from the novel The Highest Tide. Students must use the description around the phrase to decide which quality of butterflies the comparison points to.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Interpreting a figurative comparison from context is standard grade 7 language work. The description around the phrase is vivid and close at hand, so the demand is typical, even though the creature itself may be unfamiliar.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- Figurative or literary language moderate
- An unfamiliar subject minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 6, 902 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 58 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The nickname is explained in the same sentence, where the narrator says even it “understates their dazzle”, so the question is mostly a matter of reading on a few words. The trap is reading on too far: the next sentences explain why nudibranchs can afford to be showy, a different point. Students who bring their own idea of butterflies as fragile, or who turn the narrator's first sighting into rarity, drift away from what he stresses.
Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question
The comparison's point is supplied by the clause right after it, “even that understates their dazzle”, and by paragraph 2's fluorescent, orange-tipped plumes, not by anything butterflies are usually known for. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
An unfamiliar subject minor Understanding the question
Few students have seen a nudibranch, footnoted only as a type of sea slug, so the picture of it must be built entirely from paragraph 2's description. (Recht & Leslie, 1988; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Read the phrase with the sentence it sits in and the description of the nudibranch just before it, then decide which quality of butterflies the comparison is pointing to.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Outside knowledge: A choice is plausible in the real world but not supported by this text.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Draws on the next sentences, which say nudibranchs taste too lousy to need camouflage, a real point about their survival but not what the butterfly comparison conveys.
C Outside knowledge (King et al., 2004; Recht & Leslie, 1988)
Brings in the familiar idea that butterflies are delicate, which the passage never uses; nothing suggests nudibranchs struggle to adapt, and the comparison is about their dazzle.
D Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Turns the narrator never having seen one in the wild into a claim that nudibranchs are rare, which reflects his experience, not the meaning of the nickname.
Working it out, step by step
Spot the comparison
This asks about figurative language, words that compare two things to make a point. In paragraph 3, nudibranchs are called “the butterflies of the sea.” You need to decide which quality of butterflies the comparison points to.
Read the rest of the sentence
The sentence goes on: “but even that understates their dazzle.” To understate means to say less than the full truth. Dazzle means bright, eye-catching beauty. So the narrator means nudibranchs are even more dazzling than butterflies.
Look back at paragraph 2
Paragraph 2 describes the one he found. It had “dozens of fluorescent, orange-tipped hornlike plumes.” Fluorescent means glowing with bright color. Plumes are feathery tufts. Its body even seemed “to be lit from within.” Like a butterfly, it is bright and colorful, and it stands out.
Check each choice
- B fits: “colorful features that make them stand out” matches the glowing plumes and the dazzle.
- A is wrong because their bad taste explains how they survive, not what the butterfly phrase means.
- C is wrong because the passage never says nudibranchs are delicate or struggle to fit in.
- D is wrong because the narrator never seeing one in the wild is his own experience, not proof they are rare.
Watch out: A uses real details from the same paragraph. But they answer a different question: why nudibranchs can afford to be showy.
Choose the answer
The butterfly comparison points to the nudibranch’s bright, eye-catching colors. So the answer is B.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A comes closest, since the same paragraph says nudibranchs “don’t need camouflage to survive.” But that explains why they can afford to be bright. The butterfly phrase itself is about their beauty, which even the nickname “understates.” B names that beauty: colorful features that stand out.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from The Highest Tide” as printed (pages 64–65)
Question 41 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 49Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from The Highest Tide”.
Question
Read these sentences from paragraph 8.
So, I was looking at it and not looking at it while my heart spangled my vision. I saw fragments, pieces, and tried to fuse them in my mind but couldn’t be certain of the whole.
The sensory language “spangled my vision,” “I saw fragments, pieces,” and “tried to fuse them in my mind” conveys the narrator’s
- Aextreme excitement about making a great discovery.
- Breluctant acceptance that he needs to leave the mudflats.
- Cterrified confusion about the creature in the mudflats.
- Dsudden concern about his personal safety.
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks what the sensory language in the sentences from paragraph 8 conveys about the narrator.
A. Incorrect. While the narrator does not leave the mudflats and is curious about what has been found, the main emotions described in paragraph 8 are fear and confusion as the narrator tries to comprehend the size of the animal.
B. Incorrect. The language focuses on the narrator’s inability to organize what he sees into useful thoughts and conclusions, and while the narrator feels fear in paragraph 8—“I was afraid” and “I would have run”—the narrator refuses to leave the mudflats out of curiosity.
C. CORRECT. The phrase “spangled my vision” illustrates that the narrator cannot fully recognize what has appeared on the mudflats. The sight is so amazing, the narrator is trying to “fuse” together “fragments” and “pieces” because seeing the creature has created so much emotion in the narrator that he feels confused.
D. Incorrect. While the narrator is feeling some fear, as expressed in paragraph 8, the phrases actually indicate that the narrator’s amazement causes him to struggle to take in the view of the creature before him.
Question analysis
This question about sensory language asks what three phrases, including “spangled my vision,” convey about the narrator as he stares at a huge creature in the mud in an excerpt from The Highest Tide. Students must interpret unusual imagery and choose among emotions that all seem possible at such a startling moment.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Interpreting sensory language for a character's state of mind is grade 7 work, but spangled is an unusual verb, and the paragraph partly supports several of the emotions offered, so the choice must be matched precisely to the quoted phrases.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Figurative or literary language major
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 6, 902 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 92 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The quoted phrases are about perception, not feeling: the narrator sees fragments and cannot assemble them, while his heart pounds hard enough to blur his sight. The fear is clear from the surrounding sentences, where he is afraid to look away and ready to run, and that context makes the choice about personal safety very tempting. The answer must cover both the terror and the confusion, and the word “spangled” can mislead readers into hearing excitement.
Figurative or literary language major Understanding the question
The phrases describe seeing in pieces, “looking at it and not looking at it”, a heart that “spangled” his vision, “fragments” he cannot “fuse”, and the emotion has to be read from that broken sight. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The right choice and the one about concern for his safety both name fear; they part on what the quoted phrases show, a mind unable to piece the creature together or a worry about its reach. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
“Spangled”, to scatter with glittering spots, is a rare word, and its sparkle can suggest delight, which opens a reading of excitement to students who miss the fear around it. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Ask what the three quoted phrases together say about how the narrator is seeing and thinking at this moment, then choose the emotion that accounts for all three, not just one.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Wrong tone or attitude: Misjudges the tone, attitude or point of view, such as reading admiration as criticism, or taking a character's or subject's feelings for the author's.
The wrong answers, classified
A Wrong tone or attitude (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Reads the pounding heart and glittering vision as the thrill of a great find, missing that he is afraid to take his eyes off the creature and cannot make sense of it.
B Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Turns “If they even twitched I would have run”, a possibility, into an accepted need to leave, though the narrator stays and the phrases describe how he sees.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Matches the fear in paragraph 8, where he wonders whether he is within reach, but the quoted phrases describe broken seeing and puzzling, and his fear has been building, not sudden.
Working it out, step by step
Know what the question asks
Sensory language describes what a character sees, hears or feels. This asks what feeling the three quoted phrases show. Your answer must explain all three phrases, not just one.
Explain the hard words
To spangle means to cover with glittering spots. His heart pounds so hard that his sight seems to sparkle and blur. Fragments are small broken pieces. To fuse means to join together.
Put the phrases together
He sees only “fragments, pieces.” He tries “to fuse them in my mind” but “couldn’t be certain of the whole.” So he is confused, unable to tell what the creature really is. The sentences around them show he is also terrified. He is “afraid to pry my eyes off” its arms, and his heart is racing.
Check each choice
- C fits: “terrified confusion” covers both his fear and his broken, puzzled seeing.
- A is wrong because “spangled” may sound happy, but he is frightened, not thrilled.
- B is wrong because he never decides to leave, and he would run only if the arms moved.
- D is wrong because the phrases show confused seeing, and his fear has been growing since paragraph 6.
Watch out: D is close, since he is afraid. But it leaves out the confusion the phrases show.
Choose the answer
The phrases show a frightened narrator who cannot piece together what he sees. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D comes closest, because the narrator truly fears for his safety. But the quoted phrases are about how he sees: in pieces he can’t join. That is confusion. C names both the fear and the confusion, so it fits all three phrases.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 42 of 61
2024 Test A English, question 54Passage Excerpt from “It’s Time to Stop Thinking That All Non-Native Species Are Evil”
Excerpt from “It’s Time to Stop Thinking That All Non-Native Species Are Evil”
by Emma Marris
The author of this opinion article attended a symposium, or conference, in Missoula, Montana, at which biologists and other scientists discussed species of plants and animals that are not native to the areas in which they live.
Invasive species are scary. It was ecologist Charles Elton, back in the 1950s, who introduced the militaristic “invasion” metaphor to describe exotic plants and animals—but there’s no question some can be extremely destructive.
The brown tree snake has eaten a dozen kinds of forest birds in Guam to extinction; zebra mussels clog pipes around the Great Lakes; the common house cat turns out to be, in Australia, a mercilessly effective killer of cute, fluffy marsupials like the bilby and the numbat.
As scientists have sounded the alarm about these pests, the public has gotten the message. Citizen groups rip out non-native plants. Native gardens have become increasingly popular, both as ways to celebrate the unique flora of each region and as tiny hot spots of diversity. Native trees provide food for native bugs, which feed native birds. Food chains developed over thousands of years of co-evolution unfold in our backyards. . . .
So we’ve learned, scientists and laypeople alike, that native species are good and non-natives are bad.
Julian Olden, a biologist at the University of Washington, Seattle, who co-organized the symposium, recently polled nearly 2,000 ecologists. Among his findings: a substantial number of them said they would immediately eradicate a hypothetical non-native forest plant, even if it were shown to have no effect on the forest. Olden calls this the “guilty even when proven innocent” approach.
That kind of approach is not very useful on a rapidly changing planet.
Exotics Are Everywhere
Climate change is making it harder even to decide who the invaders are.
How, scientists at the symposium wondered, do you define “native” on a warming planet, when plants and animals are already moving toward the poles or up mountainsides in search of climate conditions they can tolerate? Should we consider them “invasive” in their new homes? Regardless of what we label them, conservationists will be reluctant to remove them from their new environs—to do so would stymie1 their chances of adapting to the warmer future we’re creating.
And then there are the non-natives that we actually like. Most domestic crops are exotic in most of the places they’re grown, but there are even wild exotics that “do good,” forming useful relationships with native species.
Edwin Grosholz of the University of California, Davis, told the recent symposium about one such relationship. On beaches in his state, non-native spartina grass has become important habitat for the endangered California clapper rail, a plump shorebird with a downward curving bill more at home on land than in the air. A project to rip out and poison the spartina—which grows in dense swaths that exclude many other shorebirds—saw clapper rail numbers go tumbling downward.
There are other examples like that. The endangered southwestern willow flycatcher nests in “invasive” tamarisk shrubs. Many native (and beautiful) Hawaiian flowers are now pollinated by the Japanese white-eye bird—because the native pollinators have been driven extinct by other non-native species.
Should we impose further risk on already endangered natives by severing these relationships? Or should we admire the resilience of nature and let such “well-behaved” exotics stay? . . .
Leave them alone, more and more conservationists are arguing, and stop focusing obsessively on categorizing species as native or non-native. Mark Davis, an ecologist at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, once considered himself an “invasion biologist”—but not anymore. “I am actively trying to get the field to retire the invader narrative,” he said in Missoula.
A Good Thing, Not the Only Thing
After all, nativeness is just one environmental value, and arguably not as important as preventing extinctions and preserving biodiversity. In some cases we can best serve biodiversity by leaving the non-natives alone or even—brace yourself, now—introducing them on purpose.
This is the thinking behind, for example, installing the Aldabra tortoise on the islands of Mauritius. The islands lost their own large tortoises, and the fruiting plants that formerly had their seeds moved around by these fruit-loving reptiles have been on the decline. A tortoise that’s related to the island’s large tortoises—a non-native from the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean that was intentionally introduced in 2004—is now handling some of that work.
Most of the time, for the time being, conserving species still means focusing on supporting them in their historical habitats, planting natives and removing non-natives. We can and should do that in places where it is feasible and important to us.
From “It’s Time to Stop Thinking That All Non-Native Species Are Evil” by Emma Marris from NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, July 24, 2014. Copyright © 2014 by National Geographic Society.
1stymie: hinder or interfere with
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt supports the idea that some species are able to adjust to change?
- A“Native gardens have become increasingly popular, both as ways to celebrate the unique flora of each region and as tiny hot spots of diversity.” (paragraph 3)
- B“Many native (and beautiful) Hawaiian flowers are now pollinated by the Japanese white-eye bird—because the native pollinators have been driven extinct by other non-native species.” (paragraph 11)
- C“After all, nativeness is just one environmental value, and arguably not as important as preventing extinctions and preserving biodiversity.” (paragraph 14)
- D“The islands lost their own large tortoises, and the fruiting plants that formerly had their seeds moved around by these fruit-loving reptiles have been on the decline.” (paragraph 15)
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks which sentence from the excerpt supports the idea that some species are able to adjust to change.
A. Incorrect. This sentence discusses native gardens, featuring native species, which presumably have no need to adjust to change.
B. CORRECT. This sentence demonstrates that some species—in this case, Hawaiian flowers—have adapted well to change: the flowers thrive thanks to new pollinators.
C. Incorrect. This sentence focuses on the importance of “preventing extinctions and preserving biodiversity” but does not address the fact that being able to adjust to change is one thing that helps achieve those goals.
D. Incorrect. Far from demonstrating that some species can adjust to change, this sentence discusses species that were not adjusting to the loss of large tortoises and were therefore “on the decline.”
Question analysis
Using an article that argues not every non-native species is harmful, this evidence question asks students to pick the sentence showing that some species are able to adjust to change. Students must decide what adjusting to change would look like in nature, then find a quotation that actually shows a species doing it.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Selecting a sentence that supports an idea is typical grade 7 evidence work. The quotations are labeled, but the idea is stated generally and must be recognized inside a specific ecological example, a small inference that keeps the item at grade level.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines moderate
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Evidence
- Answered from one sentence or line
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 815 words; question and choices: about grade 14, 117 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The idea is general and every choice is specific, so the student must recognize adjustment inside an ecological example. The Mauritius sentence is the trap: the paragraph it comes from ends with a new tortoise taking over, which is adjustment, but the quoted sentence stops at the decline. Judging only the words quoted, and asking whether a species carried on after a change, separates the two.
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The right sentence never says “adjust”; Hawaiian flowers now pollinated by a newcomer after their native pollinators died out must be recognized as species coping with a change. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The Hawaiian sentence and the Mauritius sentence both describe plants losing the animals that served them; they part on the outcome, a new pollinator or a decline. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Strategy: For each quotation, ask whether a species faces a change and whether the sentence shows it carrying on successfully; judge only the words quoted.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the popularity of native gardens, which is about what people plant and celebrate, not about any species coping with a change in its world.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Chooses the author's ranking of nativeness below preventing extinctions, a statement of values that shows no species adapting to anything.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Remembers that a new tortoise later took over seed-spreading on Mauritius, but the quoted sentence shows only the change, plants declining after their tortoises vanished, not any adjustment.
Working it out, step by step
Know what the question asks
To adjust to change means to keep going when something important in your world changes. You need a sentence that shows a species facing a change and carrying on. Judge only the words in each quoted sentence.
Look for a change
Choice B says the native pollinators of some Hawaiian flowers “have been driven extinct.” Extinct means gone forever. Pollinators are animals that carry pollen between flowers so the plants can make seeds. Losing them is a huge change for the flowers.
Look for the adjustment
The same sentence says the flowers “are now pollinated by the Japanese white-eye bird.” A new bird does the job the old pollinators used to do. So the flowers carried on after the change. That is adjusting.
Check each choice
- B fits: the flowers lost their pollinators and gained a new one.
- A is wrong because native gardens are about what people like to plant, and no species adjusts to anything.
- C is wrong because it states the author’s values and shows no species at all.
- D is wrong because the plants “have been on the decline,” which means they are getting fewer, not adjusting.
Watch out: Later in paragraph 15, a new tortoise takes over some of the lost tortoises’ work. But the sentence in D stops at the decline.
Choose the answer
Only B shows a species carrying on after a big change. So the answer is B.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D comes closest, because it also shows plants losing the animals that helped them. But D’s sentence ends with the plants in decline. B’s sentence goes further: a new bird now does the work, so the flowers carry on. That is a species adjusting to change.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “It’s Time to Stop Thinking That All Non-Native Species Are Evil”” as printed (pages 68–70)
Question 43 of 61
2024 Test B English, question 20Passage Excerpt from “How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language”
Excerpt from “How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language”
by Gretchen Reynolds
Many scientists suspect that exercise alters the biology of the brain in ways that make it more malleable and receptive to new information, a process that scientists refer to as plasticity.
But many questions have remained unanswered about movement and learning, including whether exercise is most beneficial before, during or after instruction and how much and what types of exercise might be best.
So for a new study, which was published recently in PLOS One, researchers in China and Italy decided to home in on language learning and the adult brain.
Language learning is interesting. As young children, almost all of us picked up our first language easily. We didn’t have to be formally taught; we simply absorbed words and concepts.
But by early adulthood, the brain generally begins to lose some of its innate language capability. It displays less plasticity in areas of the brain related to language. As a result, for most of us, it becomes harder to learn a second language after childhood.
To see what effects exercise might have on this process, the researchers first recruited 40 college-age Chinese men and women who were trying to learn English. The students had some facility with this second language but were far from proficient.
The researchers then divided the students into two groups. Those in one group would continue to learn English as they had before, primarily while seated in rote vocabulary-memorization sessions.
The others would supplement these sessions with exercise.
Specifically, the students would ride exercise bikes at a gentle pace (about 60 percent of their maximum aerobic capacity) beginning 20 minutes before the start of the lessons and continuing throughout the 15 minutes or so of instruction.
Both groups learned their new vocabulary by watching words projected onto large screens, together with comparable pictures, such as “apple” and a Red Delicious. They were shown 40 words per session, with the sequence repeated several times.
Afterward, the students all rested briefly and then completed a vocabulary quiz, using computer keys to note as quickly as possible whether a word was with its correct picture. They also responded to sentences using the new words, marking whether the sentences were accurate or, in the case of “The apple is a dentist,” nonsensical. Most linguists1 feel that understanding sentences shows greater mastery of a new language than does simple vocabulary improvement.
The students completed eight vocabulary sessions over the course of two months.
And at the end of each lesson, the students who had ridden bikes performed better on the subsequent vocabulary tests than did the students who sat still.
They also became more proficient at recognizing proper sentences than the sedentary students, although that difference did not emerge until after several weeks of instruction.
Perhaps most interesting, the gains in vocabulary and comprehension lingered longest for the cyclists. When the researchers asked the students to return to the lab for a final round of testing a month after the lessons—without practicing in the meantime—the cyclists remembered words and understood them in sentences more accurately than did the students who had not moved.
“The results suggest that physical activity during learning improves that learning,” says Simone Sulpizio, a professor of psychology and linguistics at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan, Italy, and a study co-author.
These improvements extend beyond simply aiding in memorization, she added. The exercise also deepened language learners’ grasp of how to use their newly acquired words.
This study involved college students performing relatively light exercise, though, and cannot tell us whether other people completing other types of exercise would achieve the same results.
It also offers no clues about what is occurring inside the brain that might be contributing to the benefits of the exercise. But many past studies have shown that exercise prompts the release of multiple neurochemicals in the brain that increase the number of new brain cells and the connections between neurons, Dr. Sulpizio says. These effects improve the brain’s plasticity and augment the ability to learn.
From a real-world standpoint, the study’s implications might seem at first to be impractical. Few classrooms are equipped with stationary bicycles. But specialized equipment is probably unnecessary, Dr. Sulpizio says.
“We are not suggesting that schools or teachers buy lots of bicycles,” she says. “A simpler take-home message may be that instruction should be flanked by physical activity.”
From “How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language” by Gretchen Reynolds from THE NEW YORK TIMES, August 16, 2017. Copyright © 2017 The New York Times Company.
1linguists: scientists who study language
Question
Read these sentences from paragraph 17.
These improvements extend beyond simply aiding in memorization, she added. The exercise also deepened language learners’ grasp of how to use their newly acquired words.
Which sentence from the excerpt best explains why Sulpizio feels confident in the conclusion stated in these sentences?
- A“They were shown 40 words per session, with the sequence repeated several times.” (paragraph 10)
- B“They also responded to sentences using the new words, marking whether the sentences were accurate or, in the case of ‘The apple is a dentist,’ nonsensical.” (paragraph 11)
- C“And at the end of each lesson, the students who had ridden bikes performed better on the subsequent vocabulary tests than did the students who sat still.” (paragraph 13)
- D“They also became more proficient at recognizing proper sentences than the sedentary students, although that difference did not emerge until after several weeks of instruction.” (paragraph 14)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks which sentence from the excerpt best supports Sulpizio’s assertion in paragraph 17 that exercise went beyond helping with memorization to deepen the language learners’ ability to use new vocabulary.
A. Incorrect. This sentence merely describes what the language-learning sessions were like, without making any claims about how the exercise affected the subjects’ understanding of how to use new words.
B. Incorrect. While this sentence does address the fact that learners were required to think about how the new words should be used rather than just memorizing the words, it does not discuss results such as how the exercise affected their ability to do this.
C. Incorrect. This sentence establishes only that exercise helped with the memorization of new words, not that exercise deepened learners’ grasp of how to use the new words.
D. CORRECT. The fact that learners who exercised were better at identifying when the new words were used correctly in sentences directly supports Sulpizio’s assertion that the exercise deepened their grasp of how to use the new words.
Question analysis
This textual evidence question quotes Simone Sulpizio’s conclusion that exercise did more than help learners memorize new English words. Students choose the sentence from the article that best explains why she can be confident of it. All four choices come from the article’s account of the study, so students must match evidence to the exact claim rather than to its general topic.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 evidence questions usually match a quotation to a stated claim. This claim has two parts, gains beyond memorizing and a better grasp of usage, and two quotations touch it closely, a sharper test than typical grade 7 work.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer major
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Evidence in several places minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 764 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 142 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Sulpizio’s claim has two parts, gains beyond memorizing and a better grasp of using words, and two of the quotations each touch one part. The vocabulary result is real evidence that exercise helped, but of the very memorizing she says the gains went beyond, and the sentence-task description mentions using words but reports no result. Only a result about sentences proves the claim, so the question rewards asking of each line what it shows, not what it is about.
A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer
The vocabulary-test result in paragraph 13 and the sentence result in paragraph 14 are worded alike, cyclists outperforming students who sat still; only the skill measured, memorizing words or using them, separates them. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
Students must map the claim’s two halves onto the study’s two measures: vocabulary tests show memorization, and recognizing proper sentences shows the “grasp of how to use” new words. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The four quotations come from paragraphs 10, 11, 13 and 14, and each must be weighed against a claim made later, in paragraph 17. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Pin down what the quoted claim says the exercise achieved, then test each sentence by asking whether it reports a result that proves that specific achievement.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks a sentence about how the lessons were run, 40 words repeated several times, accurate but silent on what the exercise did for the learners.
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Matches the claim’s focus on using words to the sentence-judging task, but this line only describes the task and reports no result showing that exercise helped.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Picks a real finding in favor of the cyclists, but better vocabulary-test scores show only the memorizing that Sulpizio says the gains went beyond.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
Sulpizio says the exercise did more than help students memorize words. It “deepened language learners’ grasp of how to use their newly acquired words.” A grasp is an understanding. You need the sentence that best proves this claim. Proof should be a result, not just a description.
Break the claim into two parts
- Part 1: the gains went “beyond simply aiding in memorization.” Memorization is learning words by heart.
- Part 2: the cyclists got better at using the words.
So the proof must show the bike riders did better with words in sentences. A test that only checks memory won’t prove it.
Check each choice
- A (paragraph 10) tells how many words were shown. It gives no result.
- B (paragraph 11) describes the sentence task. But it doesn’t say who did better.
- C (paragraph 13) is a result. But it is about “vocabulary tests,” which check memory. That is the part she says the gains went beyond.
- D (paragraph 14) says the cyclists “became more proficient at recognizing proper sentences than the sedentary students.” Proficient means skilled. Sedentary means sitting still. That is a result about using words.
Pick the answer
Watch out: C is very tempting. It shows that exercise helped. But it proves the wrong kind of help. Only one choice shows the cyclists did better at using words in sentences. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong answer. Both C and D say the bike riders beat the students who sat still. The difference is the skill that was tested. C’s vocabulary tests show memory. D’s sentence test shows the learners knew how to use the words, which is exactly Sulpizio’s claim.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language”” as printed (pages 171–172)
Question 44 of 61
2024 Test B English, question 22Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language””.
Question
Which evidence from the excerpt is most relevant to the author’s claim that there are many unanswered questions about the relationship between movement and learning?
- Athe method of the study using one type of exercise and people from one age group
- Bthe statement from Sulpizio explaining past studies on neurochemicals in the brain
- Cthe finding of the study that exercise helps people recall information over a long period of time
- Dthe statement from Sulpizio describing how the results of the study can be applied
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks which evidence from the excerpt is most relevant to the author’s claim that there are many unanswered questions about the relationship between movement and learning.
A. CORRECT. While the study revealed that the college students who used exercise bikes did better in their language learning, paragraph 18 indicates that we cannot know “whether other people completing other types of exercise would achieve the same results,” suggesting that there are many unknowns about the relationship between movement and learning.
B. Incorrect. Rather than supporting the claim that there are many unanswered questions about the relationship between movement and learning, this statement offers a possible explanation as to why exercise might improve learning.
C. Incorrect. The finding that exercise helps people retain their language learning longer (paragraph 15) adds to our understanding of the relationship between movement and learning rather than supporting the claim that there are still many unanswered questions.
D. Incorrect. Sulpizio’s statement that the study suggests that “ ‘instruction should be flanked by physical activity’ ” (paragraph 21) does not in any way address the issue of unanswered questions about movement and learning.
Question analysis
This evidence question asks which part of the exercise and language-learning article is most relevant to the author’s early claim that many questions about movement and learning remain unanswered. The choices describe parts of the article in general terms rather than quoting them, so students must locate each one and judge how it bears on that claim.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 students trace claims and judge whether evidence is relevant. Here the claim appears early, the evidence is described in summary rather than quoted, and students must see an indirect link across the article, which demands more than usual.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Evidence in several places moderate
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 764 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 84 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The choices describe evidence instead of quoting it, so each must first be located and then weighed against a claim made near the start of the article. The trap is the neurochemical statement: its paragraph begins by admitting what the study cannot show, but the statement itself offers an answer from past research. The key is easy to undervalue because it sounds like a plain description of the method, until it is linked to paragraph 18’s account of what the study cannot tell us.
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The right choice names a method, not a question; students must see that one light exercise tried on college students leaves open paragraph 2’s “what types of exercise might be best,” as paragraph 18 says. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The claim sits in paragraph 2, and the choices are short labels that must be traced to paragraphs 15, 18, 19 and 21 before any of them can be judged. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Reread the claim in paragraph 2, then find where each choice’s material appears in the article and ask how directly it bears on that claim.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
The wrong answers, classified
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Comes from paragraph 19, which opens with something the study cannot explain, but Sulpizio’s point about neurochemicals offers an answer from past research, not an open question.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Reads the claim as being about how movement and learning are related and picks a key finding, but lasting recall answers a question rather than showing one remains open.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Remembers Sulpizio’s practical advice to flank lessons with activity, a real statement that applies the findings and says nothing about what is still unknown.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
The author claims there are many unanswered questions about movement and learning. You need the evidence that best supports that claim. Evidence is the facts that back up a point. So look for something that shows a question is still open, not something that answers one.
Find the claim
Paragraph 2 says “many questions have remained unanswered about movement and learning.” It names some. One is whether exercise helps most “before, during or after instruction.” Another is “how much and what types of exercise might be best.” Instruction means teaching.
Find what the study left open
The study used one kind of exercise, light biking. It also used one age group, college students. Paragraph 18 says the study “cannot tell us whether other people completing other types of exercise would achieve the same results.” So the question of “what types of exercise” work best is still open. That is what choice A describes.
Check the other choices
- B: in paragraph 19, Sulpizio says past studies show exercise releases “neurochemicals,” or brain chemicals, that help learning. That offers an answer, not an open question.
- C: the finding in paragraph 15, that cyclists remembered words longer, answers a question.
- D: Sulpizio’s advice in paragraph 21 says how to use the results. It says nothing about what is still unknown.
Watch out: Paragraph 19 begins with something the study can’t explain, so B is tempting. But Sulpizio’s statement itself gives an explanation.
Pick the answer
Only the study’s narrow method shows that big questions remain. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer, because its paragraph starts by admitting the study “offers no clues” about the brain. But Sulpizio then fills that gap with what past studies found. A points to what is truly still unknown: whether other people and other kinds of exercise would get the same results.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 45 of 61
2024 Test B English, question 50Passage Excerpt from “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees”
Excerpt from “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees”
by Alex Ross
About forty-five hundred years ago, not long after the completion of the Great Pyramid at Giza, a seed of Pinus longaeva, the Great Basin bristlecone pine, landed on a steep slope in what are now known as the White Mountains, in eastern California. The seed may have travelled there on a gust of wind, its flight aided by a winglike attachment to the nut. Or it could have been planted by a bird known as the Clark’s nutcracker, which likes to hide pine seeds in caches; nutcrackers have phenomenal spatial1 memory and can recall thousands of such caches. This seed, however, lay undisturbed. On a moist day in fall, or in the wake of melting snows in spring, a seedling appeared above ground—a stubby one-inch stem with a tuft of bright-green shoots.
Most seedlings die within a year; the mortality rate is more than ninety-nine percent. The survivors are sometimes seen growing in the shadow of a fallen tree. The landscape of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, as this area of the White Mountains is called, is littered with fragments of dead trees—trunks, limbs, roots, and smaller chunks. Pinus longaeva grows exclusively in subalpine regions of the Great Basin, which stretches from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada to the Wasatch Range, in Utah. Conditions are generally too arid for the dead wood to rot; instead, it erodes, sanded down like rock. The remnants may harbor nutrients and fungi that help new trees grow. Bristlecones rise from the bones of their ancestors—a city within a cemetery.
Coast redwoods and giant sequoias, California’s gargantuan world-record-holding trees, can grow fifty feet or more in their first twenty years. Bristlecones rise agonizingly slowly. After four or five years, the seedling on the steep slope would have been just a few inches higher, sprouting needles in place of the embryonic shoots. The needles are a deep green, tough, resinous, and closely bunched in groups of five. On a mature tree, they live for fifty years or more. Decades may have passed before the tree was human height, and decades more before it resembled a conventional pine. Bristlecone saplings grow straight up, with relatively sparse foliage, looking like undernourished Christmas trees. After a few hundred years—by which time the Old Kingdom of Egypt had fallen—it was probably forty or fifty feet in height.
Many tree species live for hundreds of years. A smaller but not inconsiderable number, including the sequoias and certain yews, oaks, cypresses, and junipers, survive for thousands. Once a bristlecone has established itself in the unforgiving conditions of the White Mountains, it can last almost indefinitely. The trees tend to grow some distance from one another, so fires almost never destroy an entire stand. Because only a few other plant species can handle the dry, cold climate, the bristlecones face little competition. Unlike most plants, they tolerate dolomite soil, which is composed of a chalky type of limestone that is heavily alkaline and low in nutrients. As for insect threats, bristlecone wood is so dense that mountain-pine beetles and other pests can rarely burrow their way into it.
Empires rose and fell; wars raged; . . . and the tree from 2500 B.C. continued its implacable slow-motion existence, adding about two-hundredths of an inch to the diameter of its trunk each year. Minute changes in the tree-ring record make bristlecones an exceptionally useful source of data about changing conditions on Earth. When rains are heavier than normal, the rings widen. When volcanic eruptions cause global cooling, frost rings make the anomaly2 visible. . . .
As the millennia go by, bristlecones become contorted and wraithlike.3 The main stem, or leader, dies back. Entire branches, even the trunk itself, become fossils. At first glance, the tree may look dead. Such is the case of the forty-five-hundred-year-old tree that clings to life near the tourist path that now runs through the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Spears of dead wood jut into the air. The trunk is a marbled hulk stripped of bark, like driftwood thrown from a vanished ocean. A ribbon of live bark runs up one side, funneling water and nutrients to clumps of green needles high above. All told, the tree is an unprepossessing specimen; most people march past it without giving it a second glance. . . .
. . . No two super-elderly trees look alike, to the point where they have acquired the characteristics of individuals. Trees are prone to anthropomorphism; we project our dreams and our anxieties onto them. Bristlecones have been called elders, sentinels, sages. The possibility that climate change will cause their extinction has inspired a spate4 of alarmed news stories, although tree scientists tend to discount the idea that the bristlecones are in immediate danger. They have survived any number of catastrophes in the past; they may survive humanity.
From “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees” by Alex Ross from THE NEW YORKER, January 20, 2020. Copyright © 2020 by Condé Nast. All rights reserved.
1spatial: relating to physical space
2anomaly: oddity
3wraithlike: ghostly
4spate: sudden abundance
Question
What is the effect of comparing groups of bristlecone pines to “a city within a cemetery” (paragraph 2)?
- AIt illustrates that the new tree’s appearance is markedly different from that of mature bristlecone pines.
- BIt emphasizes the new tree’s ability to use resources left by prior generations of bristlecone pines.
- CIt highlights the tree’s capacity for a long life if it is able to survive to maturity.
- DIt reveals that the tree’s dense growth patterns are unusual in arid conditions.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks what the effect is of comparing groups of bristlecone pines to “a city within a cemetery” (paragraph 2).
A. Incorrect. The reference to “a city within a cemetery” describes how new trees use the remnants of their “ancestors” (paragraph 2) and makes no comment on the appearance of young versus mature trees.
B. CORRECT. The “cemetery” contains “the bones of their ancestors” (paragraph 2)—“ancestors” being earlier generations of bristlecone pines—which provide some of the nutrients that the new trees need.
C. Incorrect. The reference to “a cemetery” is not a comment on how long bristlecone pines can live; rather, it illustrates that the new pines are using remnants of their “ancestors” (paragraph 2) to grow.
D. Incorrect. Although the climate is mentioned in paragraph 2, it is not the reason for the comparison to “a city within a cemetery.” The comment is intended to illustrate how the new trees use nutrients left behind by the old ones.
Question analysis
This figurative language question on Alex Ross’s article about the bristlecone pine, one of the Earth’s oldest trees, asks what effect the author creates by comparing groups of these trees to “a city within a cemetery.” Students must interpret a metaphor in context, and the choices raise ideas the excerpt discusses elsewhere, so they must stay with what this comparison itself conveys.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Interpreting a metaphor from nearby context is standard grade 7 work. The phrase closes a paragraph whose earlier sentences give the needed context, so the demand is typical, though the excerpt’s rich vocabulary adds some reading load.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Figurative or literary language moderate
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 851 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 79 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The comparison closes paragraph 2, and the sentence just before it explains it: the dead wood may hold nutrients and fungi that help seedlings grow. Students who read the image on its own reach for ideas from elsewhere in the excerpt, such as the trees’ great age, the look of young and old trees, or the dry climate. The question rewards reading the metaphor against its neighbors, which makes it fairly quick.
Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question
Both halves of the metaphor need decoding: the “city” is the living bristlecones, and the “cemetery” is the dead trunks, limbs and roots littering the slope, “the bones of their ancestors.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
The sentence that explains the image, “The remnants may harbor nutrients and fungi that help new trees grow,” depends on “remnants” and on “harbor” in its less familiar sense of hold. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: Work out what the “city” and the “cemetery” each stand for by rereading the sentences just before the phrase, then choose the effect that both halves of the comparison support.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Taking figurative language literally: A choice reads a figure of speech or image at face value.
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
The wrong answers, classified
A Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Reads the city and the cemetery as young and old trees that look different, a contrast drawn between paragraphs 3 and 6, though here the cemetery is dead wood.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Applies the excerpt’s main idea, the trees’ great age, to this phrase, but a city in a cemetery shows living trees rising from dead ones, not how long they last.
D Taking figurative language literally (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Takes “city” at face value as crowded growth and pairs it with the paragraph’s “arid” conditions, though paragraph 4 says bristlecones grow some distance apart.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks about a comparison. In paragraph 2, the author calls groups of bristlecones “a city within a cemetery.” You need to figure out what this picture helps the reader understand about the trees.
Read the sentences around it
Paragraph 2 says the forest floor is “littered with fragments of dead trees—trunks, limbs, roots, and smaller chunks.” Next it says, “The remnants may harbor nutrients and fungi that help new trees grow.” Then comes the comparison: “Bristlecones rise from the bones of their ancestors—a city within a cemetery.”
Decode the two halves of the picture
Remnants are leftover pieces. To harbor something here means to hold it. Fungi are living things such as mushrooms and molds. A cemetery is a place for the dead, so it stands for the dead wood. A city is full of life, so it stands for the living trees. Their ancestors are the trees that lived and died before them. So new trees grow out of the old ones’ remains and use what those remains hold.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. The image is about living trees and dead wood. It says nothing about how young and old trees look.
- B fits. New trees use the nutrients and fungi left behind by earlier generations.
- C does not fit. The excerpt does show that bristlecones live long, but this image is about growing from dead wood.
- D does not fit. A city may sound crowded, but paragraph 4 says the trees “grow some distance from one another.”
Choose the answer
The comparison shows living trees rising from, and feeding on, the remains of their ancestors. So the answer is B.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is tempting, because long life is what the whole excerpt is about. But the sentence just before the comparison explains it: the dead wood may hold nutrients that help new trees grow. The picture is about the living drawing on the dead, which is what B says.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees”” as printed (pages 193–194)
Question 46 of 61
2024 Test B English, question 51Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees””.
Question
In paragraph 4, the idea that the bristlecone pine can withstand difficult conditions is illustrated mainly through
- Aa comparison of the bristlecone pine with similar trees that are known for their long lives.
- Ba description of specific qualities of the bristlecone pine that make it suited to its environment.
- Can explanation of why the White Mountains are the best place for the bristlecone pine to grow.
- Dan examination of why the bristlecone pine has few competitors in the White Mountains.
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks how paragraph 4 mainly conveys the idea that the bristlecone pine can withstand difficult conditions.
A. Incorrect. While paragraph 4 does mention the bristlecone pine in conjunction with other long-living trees, this does not explain in any way how the bristlecone pine can survive difficult conditions.
B. CORRECT. Paragraph 4 mentions several qualities that help the bristlecone pine survive a difficult environment: it can survive in a “dry, cold climate” as few plants can, it tolerates a soil that is heavily alkaline and low in nutrients, and the density of its wood protects it from insects.
C. Incorrect. Paragraph 4 focuses on the qualities of the bristlecone pine that make it well suited to the White Mountains rather than on why the White Mountains are well suited to bristlecone pines.
D. Incorrect. While paragraph 4 does acknowledge that the bristlecone pine has few competitors because the pine can stand conditions few other plants can stand, it is the examination of the pine’s unique qualities that explains how the pine survives those conditions.
Question analysis
Students examine paragraph 4 of an article about the bristlecone pine and decide how it mainly illustrates the idea that this tree can withstand harsh conditions. The paragraph mixes comparisons with other species, facts about the White Mountains and facts about the tree, so students must recognize the main way the author builds the idea.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Grade 7 students often identify how a paragraph supports an idea, and this one is typical in demand: one plainly written paragraph of seven sentences, with a few unfamiliar terms such as “dolomite” and “alkaline.”
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what moderate
- The right answer is reworded minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 851 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 79 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Paragraph 4 opens with other long-lived trees and then lists what lets the bristlecone last: spacing that keeps fires from spreading, tolerance of dry cold and poor soil, and wood too dense for beetles. The strongest lure lifts one item from that list and calls it the paragraph’s method. Students who step back and ask what most of the sentences describe see a set of the tree’s own traits.
How, not what moderate Working it out
The stem asks how paragraph 4 makes its case, so its sentences have to be sorted by kind: a comparison with other long-lived trees, the setting, and the bristlecone’s own traits. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
The right answer is reworded minor Choosing the answer
The key names no detail, only “specific qualities” that suit the tree to “its environment,” while the wrong choices echo the paragraph’s long-lived trees, the White Mountains and “little competition.” (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Strategy: Reread paragraph 4 and label each sentence by what it tells you, then ask which kind of detail carries most of the paragraph’s case that the tree is tough.
Traps
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Reversed relationship: Cause and effect, or the order of events, turned around.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Notices that the paragraph opens by naming sequoias, yews and other trees that live for thousands of years, but that comparison sets the scene and shows nothing about surviving hardship.
C Reversed relationship (King et al., 2004)
Turns the relationship around: the paragraph shows the tree fitted to “unforgiving conditions,” not the White Mountains suiting the tree, let alone being the best place for it.
D Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Takes one result, little competition because few plants handle the dry, cold climate, for the paragraph’s main method, when it is one item in a list of survival traits.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks how paragraph 4 mainly shows that the bristlecone can survive harsh conditions. Mainly means the method used in most of the paragraph, not in a single sentence. So sort the sentences by what they do.
Sort what paragraph 4 tells you
Here is what the paragraph covers, in order:
- Many trees live hundreds or even thousands of years.
- Once settled, a bristlecone “can last almost indefinitely,” or with no set end.
- The trees grow apart, so a fire rarely burns a whole group.
- Few plants can stand the dry, cold climate, so there is little competition.
- They can live in dolomite soil, which is chalky and low in nutrients.
- Their wood is so dense, or tightly packed, that beetles can rarely bore in.
Find the pattern
After the first two sentences, nearly every sentence describes the tree itself. It grows spread out. It handles cold, dry air and poor soil. Its wood is too hard for insects. Each of these is a quality, or trait, that fits the tree to its tough home. That list of traits is how the paragraph shows the tree’s toughness.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. Other long-lived trees are named only at the start. That sets the scene but shows nothing about surviving hardship.
- B fits. Most of the paragraph lists the tree’s own traits that help it survive.
- C does not fit. It turns things around. The paragraph shows the tree suited to harsh mountains, not the mountains being the best place for it.
- D does not fit. Little competition is one item in the list, not the main method.
Choose the answer
Paragraph 4 mainly works by describing what lets the bristlecone handle its harsh home. So the answer is B.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest trap, since paragraph 4 does say the trees face little competition. But that is just one result. The paragraph also points to spacing, tolerance of poor soil and dense wood. B covers all of these traits together, so it names the main method.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 47 of 61
2024 Test B English, question 54Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees””.
Question
The phrases “clings to life” and “stripped of bark” in paragraph 6 are used to highlight
- Athat the tree is fragile and needs help to avoid becoming extinct.
- Bhow the tree can be misunderstood because of its appearance.
- Chow the tree interests observers with its unusual appearance.
- Dthat the tree manages to survive even when partially fossilized.
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks what the phrases “clings to life” and “stripped of bark” in paragraph 6 are used to emphasize.
A. Incorrect. While these two phrases are suggestive of the tree’s fragility, nothing in this paragraph suggests that the tree needs help to avoid extinction.
B. Incorrect. While the tree may be misunderstood to be dead because it is “stripped of bark,” the phrase “clings to life” emphasizes the fact that the tree is not dead but manages to survive.
C. Incorrect. The paragraph says that far from being interested in the tree’s unusual appearance, “most people march past it without giving it a second glance” (paragraph 6).
D. CORRECT. The phrase “clings to life” emphasizes that the tree is still surviving even though it is partially fossilized, as shown by its “marbled hulk stripped of bark” (paragraph 6).
Question analysis
This word meaning question asks what the phrases “clings to life” and “stripped of bark” highlight in paragraph 6 of an article about a forty-five-hundred-year-old bristlecone pine. Students must interpret figurative and descriptive language in context, read the phrases against the rest of the paragraph, and find the idea the author uses them to stress.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Explaining what figurative phrases emphasize is everyday grade 7 work. Both phrases sit in one short paragraph of concrete description and the choices are brief, so the demand is typical, though vocabulary such as “unprepossessing” adds some load.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Figurative or literary language moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 851 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 56 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
One phrase points to death and the other to life, and the question asks what the pair stresses together. The strongest lure explains only the bark phrase: paragraph 6 does say the tree may look dead, so a choice about being misunderstood seems well grounded. Students who give “clings to life” equal weight see a tree that survives even as its trunk turns to fossil.
Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question
“Clings to life” personifies the tree as holding on by a thread, and “stripped of bark” belongs to the image of a “marbled hulk” like driftwood, so the pair sets death beside survival. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The key’s “partially fossilized” is never said of this tree; it comes from linking “stripped of bark” to the paragraph’s earlier statement that “Entire branches, even the trunk itself, become fossils.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Decide what each phrase suggests by itself, then what the two say when read together within paragraph 6, and choose the idea that both phrases support.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
The wrong answers, classified
A Half right (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Hears fragility in “clings to life,” which the phrase does suggest, but adds a need for help against extinction that paragraph 6 never mentions and paragraph 7 plays down.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Rests on a real point of paragraph 6, that the tree “may look dead” at first glance, but “clings to life” stresses its survival, not how people misjudge it.
C Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Assumes an odd-looking tree draws attention, reversing the paragraph, which says “most people march past it without giving it a second glance.”
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks about two phrases in paragraph 6, “clings to life” and “stripped of bark.” You need to see what they point out when you read them together. Look for the idea that both phrases support.
Find the phrases in paragraph 6
In very old bristlecones, “Entire branches, even the trunk itself, become fossils” (paragraph 6). Next the author describes one 4,500-year-old tree “that clings to life near the tourist path” (paragraph 6). Its “trunk is a marbled hulk stripped of bark,” like driftwood. Still, “A ribbon of live bark runs up one side,” carrying water and nutrients to green needles high above.
Work out what each phrase means
To cling to life is to hold on to it hard, like gripping a rope. A fossil here is wood so old and dead that it has hardened, almost like stone. A hulk is a big, empty shell. Stripped of bark means the bark is gone. So one phrase shows a bare, fossil-like trunk, and the other shows a tree that is still alive. Together they show a tree that survives even though much of it has turned to fossil.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. The phrase “clings to life” does hint that the tree is fragile. But nothing in paragraph 6 says it needs help to avoid dying out.
- B does not fit. The paragraph says the tree “may look dead.” But “clings to life” stresses that it survives, not that people misjudge it.
- C does not fit. Paragraph 6 says the opposite: “most people march past it without giving it a second glance.”
- D fits. The bare, fossil-like trunk and the tree’s grip on life together show survival.
Choose the answer
The two phrases set a dead-looking trunk beside a tree that refuses to die. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest trap, because the tree really can look dead. But B explains only the bark phrase. The phrase “clings to life” tells you the tree is still living. D uses both phrases: a trunk that has turned to fossil, and a tree that survives anyway.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 48 of 61
2024 Test B English, question 55Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees””.
Question
The details in paragraph 7 convey a central idea of the excerpt by suggesting that
- Athe success of the bristlecone pine lies in its ability to resist climate change.
- Bthe uncommon appearance of the bristlecone pine is related to its ability to survive.
- Cthe attachment that humans have to the bristlecone pine is understandable.
- Dthe longevity of the bristlecone pine continues to encourage experts.
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks which central idea of the excerpt is supported by the details in paragraph 7.
A. Incorrect. While paragraph 7 mentions the pines’ ability to survive climate change, the central idea is about the trees’ longevity. Surviving climate change is a part of the pines’ longevity, but just surviving climate change does not fully encompass the central idea of the excerpt.
B. Incorrect. Although the paragraph mentions that the “super-elderly trees” are each unique in appearance, their appearance does not directly connect to their ability to survive. The details in paragraph 7 emphasize the durability and longevity of the trees.
C. Incorrect. While the beginning of paragraph 7 expresses the idea that each bristlecone pine appears to be a unique individual and supports the idea that humans relate to the pines, the paragraph expresses a stronger central idea in the last two sentences about the pines’ survival.
D. CORRECT. The longevity of bristlecone pines is a central idea of the excerpt. Experts are encouraged that bristlecone pines have survived many catastrophes, and the details in the second half of paragraph 7 draw direct attention to the trees’ longevity.
Question analysis
Students explain how the details in paragraph 7, the closing paragraph of Alex Ross’s excerpt on bristlecone pines, convey a central idea of the whole piece. The paragraph moves from people seeing old trees as individuals to alarmed news stories and the views of tree scientists, so students must decide which thread ties to the excerpt’s main idea.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 central idea questions often ask what a passage is mostly about. Here students must connect one closing paragraph that touches several topics to an idea of the whole excerpt, reading its details for what they imply as well as what they say.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines major
- The right answer is reworded moderate
- Evidence in several places minor
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 851 words; question and choices: about grade 10, 63 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Paragraph 7 moves through several topics, trees that look like individuals, people projecting feelings onto them, alarmed news and calm scientists, and only its last two sentences connect to the excerpt’s main idea. The strongest lure states a true point about human attachment that the paragraph does make, while the key has to be inferred from the scientists’ calm and the trees’ record of survival. Naming the central idea first, the trees’ extraordinary age, shows which thread of the paragraph serves it.
Reading between the lines major Working it out
Nothing in paragraph 7 says experts are encouraged; it has to be read from “tree scientists tend to discount the idea that the bristlecones are in immediate danger,” set against the “alarmed news stories.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer
The key speaks of “longevity” and of experts being encouraged, words the paragraph never uses, while two wrong choices repeat its “climate change” and “survive” and so look better anchored. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
Recognizing longevity as a central idea draws on the whole excerpt: the tree from the time of the Great Pyramid in paragraph 1, its endurance in paragraph 4 and its ring record in paragraph 5. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Name the central idea of the whole excerpt first, then reread paragraph 7 and find the sentences that connect to it.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
A Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Joins the paragraph’s mention of climate change to the trees’ survival and makes resisting it the secret of their success, but the paragraph only reports fears and gives no such cause.
B Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Links the remark that no two old trees look alike to their survival, a connection paragraph 7 never draws; the detail shows only that they seem like individuals.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Relies on the paragraph’s real remarks about people calling the trees elders, sentinels and sages, but that human attachment is a side point, not a central idea of the excerpt.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks how paragraph 7 connects to a central idea, a main point of the whole excerpt. So first name that idea. Then find which details in paragraph 7 point to it.
Name the excerpt’s central idea
The excerpt follows a tree that has lived about 4,500 years. Paragraph 1 starts its story near the time of the Great Pyramid. A settled bristlecone “can last almost indefinitely” (paragraph 4). Paragraph 5 shows a tree living on while empires “rose and fell.” So a central idea is the bristlecone’s amazing longevity, or long life.
Find the matching details in paragraph 7
Paragraph 7 first says people treat the old trees almost like persons. Then it turns to climate change. News stories sound alarmed, “although tree scientists tend to discount the idea that the bristlecones are in immediate danger.” To discount an idea is to doubt it. The last sentence gives the reason: “They have survived any number of catastrophes in the past; they may survive humanity.”
Explain what the details suggest
A catastrophe is a terrible disaster. The trees have lived through so many disasters that scientists are not very worried. In other words, the trees’ long record of survival gives the experts hope. That ties paragraph 7 to the central idea of longevity.
Check each choice
- A does not fit. Climate change comes up only as a fear in the news. The paragraph never says the trees succeed by resisting it.
- B does not fit. Paragraph 7 says no two old trees look alike, but it never links their looks to their survival.
- C does not fit. People do call the trees “elders, sentinels, sages,” but that feeling is a side point, not a central idea.
- D fits. Experts take comfort from how long the trees have survived.
Choose the answer
Paragraph 7 ends on the trees’ long survival and the experts’ calm about their future. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the strongest trap, because paragraph 7 really does say people feel close to the trees. But the question asks for a central idea of the whole excerpt. Long life runs through every paragraph, and the last two sentences of paragraph 7 tie into it. That is why D fits better.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 49 of 61
2023 Test A English, question 15Passage A Memory Revolution
A Memory Revolution
A high school senior logs on to a computer at the library to double-check the application due date listed on a college admissions website. Nearby, a librarian helps a group of biology students use a database to search for recent studies about mammals. In the past few decades, the Internet has become an integral component of daily life for many people. The seemingly limitless power of search engines made the Internet search extremely common, and today people increasingly rely on the Internet’s vast accumulation of sources to access all types of information. Scientists are beginning to examine how this reliance is modifying the strategies people use to store and prioritize information in their mind.
A Dependable and Valuable Asset
Psychologist Benjamin Storm from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and researchers Sean Stone and Aaron Benjamin devised an experiment to study students’ tendency to depend on the Internet for facts. To begin, the scientists divided sixty participants into multiple groups, including an “Internet” group and a “memory” group, and placed them in front of computers. The Internet group was required to use the search engine Google to answer eight challenging trivia questions. In contrast, participants in the memory group were permitted to use only their personal knowledge to answer the questions. In the second round, the researchers administered notably easier questions. This time, they allowed each group the option of using Google as they answered. Their results showed that 83 percent of the Internet group continued to consult Google in the second round, while only 63 percent of the memory group chose to do so.
People’s growing inclination to rely on the Internet in order to retrieve information, particularly facts and figures, is called cognitive offloading. Canadian researcher Evan F. Risko and British researcher Sam Gilbert, who have written extensively about the topic, say a similar process has been taking place for centuries. In the past, people used resources like encyclopedias to assist their memories; however, today the Internet, serving as a vast extended memory, allows people to digitally access and retrieve much larger volumes of information. Consequently, people’s minds are free for other cognitive feats, such as connecting data, learning new information, or solving problems.
Filing Information Away
The use of the Internet also appears to be modifying the strategies people use to store information in their mind. Researchers Betsy Sparrow from Columbia University, Jenny Liu from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Daniel Wegner from Harvard University conducted several studies to discover how people efficiently manage their information intake.
To begin, the researchers examined how people evaluate which information deserves their effort to remember. For this experiment, participants read forty trivia facts, such as “An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain,” and typed the statements into a computer file. Half the participants had been previously told the file would be saved, while half believed it would be erased. Next, the participants wrote down every fact they could recall. Those who believed the information would be erased and no longer available could recall 40 percent more facts than those who thought the information would be saved.
In another experiment, the same researchers tested the ability of study participants to remember where to access information. For this trial, participants read and typed trivia statements, which they saved in folders with generic names such as “Facts” and “Items.” After spending ten minutes writing down all the facts they could recall from memory, participants were asked which folder contained a particular fact based on a keyword. For example, “Which folder has the fact about ostriches?” Overall, participants recalled the information’s location more often than the content itself, correctly identifying 49 percent of the folders for specific facts while remembering only 23 percent of the actual trivia. The researchers concluded that our memory is adapting to the Internet age by prioritizing where to locate information even when the specific details are forgotten. According to Sparrow, the Internet has become an important form of transactive memory, an external source of the recollections and associative networks that constitute memory.
As the Internet’s resources continue to expand our “external” memory, some question whether the process may cause people to depend too heavily on technology. However, Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, says, “Knowledge is increasing exponentially; human brainpower and waking hours are not. Fortunately, the Internet and information technologies are helping us manage, search and retrieve our collective intellectual output at different scales, from Twitter and previews to e-books and online encyclopedias. Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart.”
Question
Which sentence from the passage suggests that using Internet search engines may lead people to rely less on their own ability to recall information?
- A“In the past few decades, the Internet has become an integral component of daily life for many people.” (paragraph 1)
- B“The Internet group was required to use the search engine Google to answer eight challenging trivia questions.” (paragraph 2)
- C“Their results showed that 83 percent of the Internet group continued to consult Google in the second round, while only 63 percent of the memory group chose to do so.” (paragraph 2)
- D“For this experiment, participants read forty trivia facts, such as ‘An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain,’ and typed the statements into a computer file.” (paragraph 5)
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks which sentence from the passage suggests that using Internet search engines may lead people to rely less on their own ability to recall information.
A. Incorrect. While the sentence in paragraph 1 refers to the increase in use that has made the Internet “an integral component” of everyday life for many people, it does not address memory or explain the effect of Internet use on a person’s ability to recall information.
B. Incorrect. Although the sentence in paragraph 2 refers to research that was conducted to determine how the use of the Internet affects a person’s memory, the sentence simply explains one guideline of the study. The fact that the study required one group of participants to use Google does not indicate whether using a search engine affects the degree to which people rely on their own ability to recall information.
C. CORRECT. The sentence in paragraph 2 states that “83 percent of the Internet group continued to consult Google in the second round” and that “only 63 percent of the memory group chose to do so.” These statistics suggest that using Google in the first round resulted in participants in the Internet group relying more heavily on the Internet search engine to recall information in the second round, whereas participants who had not used Google in the first round were more likely to rely on their own ability to recall information.
D. Incorrect. The sentence in paragraph 5 describes a task presented to participants in a research study. Although the study was designed to examine “how people evaluate which information deserves their effort to remember” (paragraph 5), the sentence does not indicate that use of Internet search engines prompted people to rely less on their own ability to recall information.
Question analysis
This evidence question on “A Memory Revolution,” an article about how search engines are changing the ways people store and find information, asks which sentence suggests that searching online may lead people to depend less on their own recall. The four quotations come from paragraphs 1, 2 and 5, and each touches on the Internet, a study or memory, so students must test what each one actually shows.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Choosing the sentence that supports an idea is routine grade 7 evidence work. Here the idea appears in the question but in none of the quotations, so students must infer which one implies it from what the passage says around each.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Reading between the lines moderate
- A very close wrong answer minor
- Much to keep track of minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 14, 763 words; question and choices: about grade 13, 117 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
None of the four quotations states the idea in the question, so each has to be judged by what it implies. Paragraph 2’s experiment supplies both the most tempting wrong sentence and the right one, and they differ as a study’s setup differs from its findings. Students who settle for the sentence that names a search engine, or for any line about remembering trivia, overlook that only a measured result can show an effect on how people recall.
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The right sentence gives only two percentages and never mentions memory; students must infer that reaching for Google on “notably easier questions” shows less trust in one’s own recall, and that first-round searching set the Internet group apart. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
A very close wrong answer minor Choosing the answer
Two quotations come from paragraph 2’s Google study and both name the Internet group; one states the rule for the first round, the other what the group chose once Google was optional. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Much to keep track of minor Working it out
Reading 83 and 63 percent correctly means holding two groups and two rounds in mind: which group had to search at first, and that in round two both could choose Google. (Sweller, 1988; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990)
Strategy: Put the idea in your own words, then reread each quoted sentence in its paragraph and ask whether it shows people relying more on a search engine and less on their own memory.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Takes the opening claim that the Internet is “an integral component of daily life” as a sign of dependence, but the sentence only sets the scene and says nothing about recall.
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Finds the right study and the words “search engine Google,” but this sentence states only what the Internet group had to do in round one, not how it behaved afterward.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Recalls that the ostrich-fact experiment found people remembered less when they expected a file to be saved, but this sentence only describes the typing task, and no search engine is involved.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This is an evidence question. You need the sentence that best supports an idea. The idea is that using search engines may make people lean less on their own memory. To recall means to bring back to mind. A search engine is a website, like Google, that finds information for you. Look for a sentence that shows people trusting Google more than their own memory.
Find the study in paragraph 2
Paragraph 2 tells about an experiment with two groups. “The Internet group was required to use the search engine Google to answer eight challenging trivia questions.” The memory group could use only what they already knew. Then came a second round of “notably easier questions.” This time, each group could choose whether to use Google.
Read the results
Group Round 1 Round 2: chose Google Internet group had to use Google 83 percent Memory group memory only 63 percent The round 2 questions were easier. People had a better chance of knowing the answers on their own. Yet the Internet group still turned to Google more often. That is 20 more people out of every 100. Using Google first seems to have made them lean on it instead of their own memory.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. It says the Internet is “an integral component,” or a key part, of daily life. It says nothing about memory.
- B is wrong. It gives a rule of the study: what the Internet group had to do in round 1. A rule is not a result, so it can’t show an effect.
- C is right. It gives the result. The group that had used Google kept choosing it, even when the questions got easier.
- D is wrong. It tells about the typing task in a different study. That study tested memory, but no search engine was used.
Watch out: B is tempting because it names Google and the same study. But it only tells what people were told to do, not what they chose.
Choose the answer
Only C shows what people did once they were free to choose. The Internet group leaned on Google more than the memory group did. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer, since it comes from the same study. But B only tells what the Internet group had to do at the start. C shows what happened next. Given a choice, 83 percent of that group still used Google, but only 63 percent of the memory group did. That gap is the evidence.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “A Memory Revolution” as printed (pages 3–4)
Question 50 of 61
2023 Test A English, question 48Passage Excerpt from Winter Wheat
Excerpt from Winter Wheat
by Mildred Walker
Ellen, the narrator, is preparing to leave her parents and the family farm for college the next day.
I love Dad’s way of talking that makes him seem different from other ranchers. He’s lived here twenty-three years, but he still says “back East where I come from.” He’s the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we’re both reading, but it’s what Mom says that I depend on. When Mom used to say “Don’t worry” about my pet chicken or dog or new calf, it always got well. Dad is always talking of going some place, not now, but next year, maybe. Mom seems to think of nothing farther away than today or perhaps yesterday or tomorrow morning.
Mom folded the ironing board and put it inside their bedroom that was just off the kitchen. She carried in the freshly ironed clothes. Dad went back to his paper. When Mom came back she took beans from the cupboard to soak for tomorrow. Dad always said Mom could make all the dishes he’d had back in Vermont as well as though she were a New Englander herself, instead of a Russian. All of a sudden, I realized that tomorrow when those beans would be ready to eat I’d be going away. It gave me a funny feeling.
“I’ll be taking the train tomorrow night,” I said aloud, more to hear it myself.
“We can drive you into town in the afternoon,” Dad said, dropping his paper on the floor.
“There’s no need to go to town; she can catch the train at Gotham just as well. We haven’t nothing to take us into town for,” Mom said.
“Well, we don’t have to decide tonight,” Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City. It wouldn’t be so flat as just seeing me go off on the train from Gotham. My going away was hard on both of them; they were so different—and I was part of them both. It made me uncomfortable to think of leaving them.
While I was getting ready for bed in my room that’s off the front room, I saw how it would be if I left from town. We’d go in right after dinner and go around to the stores, Dad going one way and Mom and I another. Dad would probably have his hair cut at the barbershop and stop in the bank and meet someone he knew to talk to. Then we’d meet at the big store on the corner and go to the cafeteria for supper. The train stops ten minutes or so at the station in town and there are other people and excitement and you have time to wave from the platform and then again from your window by your seat. We went to the station in Clark City to see the Goodals off when they went back to Iowa.
If I left from Gotham, we’d just drive down in the truck and wait till the train came. It only stops long enough for you to get on and you hardly have time to taste the flavor of going away.
I sat on the bed in my pyjamas with my arms around my knees. I couldn’t keep from thinking of that time Dad went back East. I tried to, and then I just sat still and looked straight at it. Sometimes that’s better than working so hard to keep from looking at what’s in your mind.
Dad went all the way back to Vermont. . . . It was in November and it was already dark when the train came through Gotham. Even now, I could feel how cold and dark it was. I held Mom’s hand. Dad was so dressed-up he seemed strange. . . . We stood there without saying anything until Dad told Mom to remember to call Mr. Bardich, our neighbor, if the cow didn’t calve tomorrow.
“I’ll manage,” Mom snapped back.
“I wish you could go, Anna,” Dad said to Mom, “and we could take Ellen.” . . .
“Good-by, Anna Petrovna,” he said, looking at Mom. I had never heard him call her by two names before.
“Good-by,” Mom said, standing still, without smiling.
Then he was gone and the crossroads were darker than ever. The train light shone on the high window in the top of the grain elevator for a moment and then that too was dark. We got into our old Ford and Mom drove back to the house. My throat ached all the way. The name Dad had called Mom kept saying itself in my ears: “Anna Petrovna, Anna Petrovna.” . . .
Our house seemed lonely when we came back to it. It seemed to be hiding under the coulee. I went with Mom to put the truck in the barn that was bigger than the house. I think Mom was prouder of our barn than the house, anyway. We walked back to look at the cow that was going to calve. She was just a big light blob in the dark, waiting. I had thought she was exciting this morning, but now she seemed sad, too.
The wind blew when we walked across the open space to the house and I couldn’t help shivering with the cold. Inside the house it was warm, but empty.
“Bring your nightgown in here and I heat you some milk,” Mom said.
I drank the milk sitting on a stool in front of the stove. It tasted good, but the lonely ache in my throat was still there. I picked up my clothes and hung them neatly behind the stove and put my cup on the sink board. Mom was fixing oatmeal for tomorrow morning.
“Good night, Mom,” I said almost timidly, standing beside her. She seemed wrapped around in a kind of strangeness. Then she turned around and drew me to her. The front of her dress was warm from the stove. I felt the comfortable heat through my gown. She laid her hand against my face and it felt rough and hard but firm. I dared ask her something I wanted to know.
“Mom, was that really your name—what Dad called you?”
Her voice sounded surprised. “Why, Yeléna, you know that; Anna Petrovna. You know I am born in Russia, in Seletskoe.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know your other name,” I said.
“Anna Petrovna Webb.” She pronounced it slowly. “Once I think what a funny name Ben Webb is!” She laughed. Her laugh was warm and low like our kitchen, and comfortable. The house seemed natural and right again. . . .
But now that I am grown, I feel the wall of strangeness between them, more than when I was a child. I wondered how they would get along without me.
From WINTER WHEAT by Mildred Walker, published by University of Nebraska Press. Copyright © 1944 by Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1971 by Mildred Walker. All rights reserved.
serial: story published in short segments at regular intervals
coulee: small gulch or ravine
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt provides evidence that Ellen has a lot in common with her father?
- A“He’s the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we’re both reading. . . .” (paragraph 1)
- B“ ‘We can drive you into town in the afternoon,’ Dad said, dropping his paper on the floor.” (paragraph 4)
- C“ ‘Well, we don’t have to decide tonight,’ Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City.” (paragraph 6)
- D“I wondered how they would get along without me.” (paragraph 25)
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks which sentence from the excerpt provides evidence that Ellen has a lot in common with her father.
A. CORRECT. This sentence from paragraph 1 shows that Ellen and her father both get excited about the coming of spring and share an interest in reading magazine serials (stories published in serial installments). The sentence implies that Ellen and her father have shared likes and interests, and therefore, it provides clear evidence that they have a lot in common.
B. Incorrect. While this sentence from paragraph 4 highlights the warm relationship between Ellen and her father and shows that he would like to take her to the train station in town, it does not provide clear evidence that they share a lot in common.
C. Incorrect. Although this sentence from paragraph 6 implies that Ellen understands her father well enough to intuit his preference to go to the train station in town (“but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City”), their closeness is not clear evidence that Ellen and her father have a lot in common.
D. Incorrect. While this sentence from paragraph 25 shows Ellen’s concern about the effect that her leaving the farm will have on her parents, it does not provide clear evidence that Ellen and her father have a lot in common.
Question analysis
This evidence question on an excerpt from Mildred Walker’s novel Winter Wheat, in which Ellen gets ready to leave her parents’ farm for college, asks which sentence shows that Ellen has a lot in common with her father. The four quotations, from paragraphs 1, 4, 6 and 25, all involve Ellen and her family, so each must be checked for what it really shows.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Finding the sentence that supports an idea about a character is standard grade 7 evidence work. The novel’s language is plain and the idea concrete, but every quotation involves Ellen’s family, so each must be read in its paragraph before it is judged.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 6, 80 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 88 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The question asks for likeness, not affection, and three of the quotations show Ellen’s ties to her family in other ways: her father offers to drive her into town, she knows a wish he does not voice, and she wonders how her parents will manage once she is gone. Only one sentence shows father and daughter reacting the same way to the same things, the coming of spring and a magazine story. Students who read “a lot in common” as “close” are drawn to the line where Ellen reads his mind.
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
Every quotation involves Ellen and her parents, and three show a bond of another kind, an offer of a ride, a guessed wish, a worry about leaving, so each must be tested for shared tastes rather than care. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The right sentence neither names Dad nor says “in common”: students must trace “He’s” back to Dad earlier in paragraph 1 and hear shared interests in “when I do” and “we’re both reading.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Decide what having a lot in common would mean for two people, then reread each quotation in its paragraph and ask whether it shows that or some other side of how Ellen and her father relate.
Traps
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
B Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Takes Dad’s quick offer to drive Ellen into town, made as he drops his paper, as a sign that the two are alike, but it shows his care for her, not tastes they share.
C Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees Ellen reading Dad’s unspoken wish to go into Clark City, a send-off she also prefers, but one shared preference shows that she understands him, not that they have a lot in common.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks Ellen’s closing worry about how her parents will manage without her, a true picture of her concern, but it covers both parents and shows nothing she shares with Dad.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This is an evidence question. You need the sentence that shows Ellen has “a lot in common” with her father. Two people have a lot in common when they like the same things and share the same interests. Being close, or caring about each other, is not the same thing. Keep that difference in mind.
Look at the sentence in paragraph 1
In paragraph 1, Ellen is telling about her dad, so “He’s” means Dad. She says he “gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we’re both reading.” A serial is a story printed in parts, with a new part in each issue of a magazine.
Work out what it means
The words “when I do” mean Dad gets excited at the same times Ellen does. They both look forward to spring. They both read the same magazine story and enjoy it. Those are two interests they share. In the same paragraph, Ellen compares her parents. Dad is the one who shares her excitement. Mom is the one whose words she counts on.
Check each choice
- A is right. It names two things that excite both of them: spring and a magazine story.
- B is wrong. In paragraph 4, Dad quickly offers to drive Ellen into town for her train. That shows he cares, not that they like the same things.
- C is wrong. In paragraph 6, Ellen says, “but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City.” She understands him well. But knowing what someone wants is not sharing his interests.
- D is wrong. In paragraph 25, “they” means Mom and Dad. Ellen worries about both. That is not something she shares with Dad.
Watch out: C is tempting because it shows Ellen and Dad are close. But being close is not having a lot in common.
Choose the answer
Only A shows Ellen and her dad getting excited about the same things: spring and a story they both read. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest wrong answer. It shows that Ellen can tell what her dad wants without his saying it. That proves they are close. But the question asks what they have in common. A names two shared interests: spring coming and a serial “we’re both reading.”
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from Winter Wheat” as shown on the test
Question 51 of 61
2023 Test B English, question 11Passage Excerpt from “The Food Business Incubator”
Excerpt from “The Food Business Incubator”
by Mandalit Del Barco
“La Cocina” means “the kitchen” in Spanish. It’s also the name of a business incubator1 based in San Francisco’s Mission District. Since it began in 2005, it’s been helping local food entrepreneurs, many of whom are low-income immigrant women, develop their small businesses.
Over the years, many of its alumni have found success: more than 50 chefs in its program have become self-sufficient business owners, and many of them have opened their own brick-and-mortar restaurants. Two alumnae of its culinary program . . . were even recognized as semi-finalists for prestigious James Beard awards.2
A new cookbook, We Are La Cocina: Recipes in Pursuit of the American Dream, tells some of their stories.
Executive director Caleb Zigas says the nonprofit La Cocina grew out of two grassroots economic development organizations3 who found many people cooking at their homes and selling food on the streets. The vendors needed an affordable commercial kitchen space and technical assistance in order for their businesses to be legally viable. La Cocina provided just such a space, in addition to helping them develop business plans, pull city permits and more.
Zigas says as many as eight businesses can work in the kitchen space at La Cocina at any one time. Some can prep for a farmers’ market sale, corporate catering gigs or weddings, while others might be making and packaging their food products.
“It’s just an incredible and exciting range of techniques, flavors, perspectives, age, language. And that’s a really beautiful thing,” he says. . . .
Twice a year, La Cocina hosts “F&B: Voices from the Kitchen,” a storytelling project where their chefs can tell their own stories, as they do in the new cookbook. Some of the chefs will be on tour to promote the book, whose proceeds will go to support La Cocina entrepreneurs.
NPR4 caught up with . . . La Cocina chefs, who shared their stories:
Mariko Grady, Aedan Fermented Foods
At La Cocina, you can often hear Mariko Grady singing or humming as she prepares miso, koji, and amasake. Her fermented products come in four different flavors, including mushroom and chicken, to be used in soups and sauces. She originally brought the fermenting rice and barley koji seeds from Japan, where she had a 30-year career as a singer and dancer with the prestigious modern theatrical dance group she founded, Pappa Tarahumara. They performed around the world, and 16 years ago, had a one-night show in San Francisco. The man who would become her husband was in the audience. She soon joined him in San Francisco, often returning to Tokyo to rehearse. But after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in 2011, her company disbanded. . . . Grady focused on nourishing her family and creating a line of fermented products that she sells online, at local Bay Area stores and at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. She began at La Cocina in 2012 and named her business after her son, Aedan. (Written in Kanji characters, the name means “wisdom” and “handed down from generation to generation.”) . . . Her fermented products are “also full of wisdom about how to relate to nature and how to create a healthy life,” she says. . . .
Shani Jones, Peaches Patties
Shani Jones is a native San Franciscan. Her father was born in New Orleans, her mother, in Jamaica. She says their home was always filled with a variety of spices and dishes like jerk chicken and Jamaican patties—savory pastries filled with beef or chicken. Jones says she learned to cook from her mother, whose nickname was Peaches. After returning from college in Atlanta, Jones worked on her doctorate in organizational leadership and management while driving a Lyft5 car. She often told passengers about her idea of opening a catering company with her mom’s recipes. They steered her to La Cocina, where she developed her own business, named after her mother. Five years later, she caters and runs a kiosk6 at a small food cooperative in Bernal Heights, where some of her handmade patties have an Ethiopian twist, “because my husband is Ethiopian.” Jones has big aspirations for Peaches Patties: “The ultimate goal,” she says, “is to be the patty kingpin7 of the West Coast.”
From “The Food Business Incubator That Helps Immigrant Women Pursue The American Dream” by Mandalit Del Barco from WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY, June 19, 2019. Copyright © 2019 NPR.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR LA COCINA APPLICANTS
| Level of Income | La Cocina considers assets and access to opportunity when screening applicants. La Cocina’s mission is to support entrepreneurs who face barriers to becoming successful in the food industry. Applicants must be classified as low- or very-low-income earners according to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Guidelines for San Francisco. |
|---|---|
| Business Plan | Applicants must have a business plan that is ready to be put into action. La Cocina will help applicants refine an existing business plan. Applicants without a business plan should contact one of La Cocina’s partner organizations for guidance in developing one. |
| Viable Product | The applicant’s food must not only be delicious but also stand out. For a business to make a profit, there also has to be a market for the food. |
| Entrepreneurial Work Ethic | La Cocina is excited to work with entrepreneurs who are motivated and passionate about growing their business. Succeeding in the food industry requires a lot of heart and hard work. |
| Community Spirit | The 30+ entrepreneurs who share La Cocina’s kitchen are from many different backgrounds. La Cocina values the community it has created and expects each entrepreneur to be active in bringing the spirit of La Cocina to the wider world. In order to succeed in the La Cocina kitchen, accepted applicants must be flexible and willing to work closely with others. |
Source: La Cocina
1business incubator: company that helps new and startup companies develop by providing services such as management training and office space
2James Beard awards: an award named after American cook and author James Beard, considered one of the highest honors in the culinary industry
3economic development organizations: organizations whose mission is to promote economic improvement within a specific geographical area
4NPR: National Public Radio, a nonprofit media organization that produces and distributes news and cultural programming
5Lyft: ride-sharing company where people use their own cars to provide rides to customers
6kiosk: cart or small structure with one or more open sides that is used to vend merchandise or services
7kingpin: the leader in a group or undertaking
Question
Paragraph 4 contributes to the development of ideas about La Cocina in paragraph 1 by
- Aspecifying how La Cocina helps local food entrepreneurs become successful.
- Bexplaining what kind of goals La Cocina tries to set for local food entrepreneurs.
- Cproviding background information about local food entrepreneurs in San Francisco.
- Ddescribing how Caleb Zigas discovered the need to provide assistance to local food entrepreneurs.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how paragraph 4 contributes to the development of ideas about La Cocina in paragraph 1.
A. CORRECT. Paragraph 4 lists ways that La Cocina provides support to local food entrepreneurs. This supports the statement in paragraph 1 that La Cocina has been “helping local food entrepreneurs, many of whom are low-income immigrant women, develop their small businesses.”
B. Incorrect. Paragraph 1 simply states that La Cocina tries to help local food entrepreneurs develop their businesses, but neither paragraph describes or mentions any goals that La Cocina sets for local food entrepreneurs.
C. Incorrect. While paragraph 4 mentions some background information on where local food entrepreneurs were found, these details do not directly support any ideas in paragraph 1.
D. Incorrect. The description of the process by which Caleb Zigas realized there was a need for La Cocina provides background for the organization, but it does not directly support any ideas in paragraph 1.
Question analysis
This text-structure question asks how paragraph 4 of the La Cocina article contributes to the development of ideas about the nonprofit in paragraph 1. Paragraph 4 gives executive director Caleb Zigas’s account of how La Cocina started and whom it served, so students must set the two paragraphs side by side and decide what the later one adds.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Explaining how one paragraph develops an idea from another is core grade 7 structure work. Both paragraphs are short and plain, but paragraph 4 holds several kinds of information and several choices echo its details, so close checking is needed.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what moderate
- Every choice must be checked minor
- Evidence in several places minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 1057 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 61 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Paragraph 4 opens with background, the grassroots groups that found people cooking at home and selling on the streets, and only its last sentence says what La Cocina provided. Students who stop at the opening find the background choice accurate and the Zigas choice plausible, since his name leads the paragraph. The question rewards asking which part of paragraph 4 builds on paragraph 1’s claim about helping entrepreneurs develop businesses, and that part is the list of services.
How, not what moderate Working it out
The stem asks how paragraph 4 develops paragraph 1, so students must match paragraph 1’s general “helping local food entrepreneurs … develop their small businesses” to paragraph 4’s specifics: kitchen space, business plans, city permits. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
Paragraph 4 mixes an origin story told by Zigas, the vendors’ needs and La Cocina’s services, and the wrong choices draw on the first two, so each must be checked for who did what. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
The two paragraphs are separated by the alumni successes and the cookbook, so paragraph 1’s statement of what La Cocina does must be carried across them and set beside paragraph 4. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Write down what paragraph 1 says La Cocina does, then go through paragraph 4 sentence by sentence and ask which sentences expand on that statement; check who does what in each choice.
Traps
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
The wrong answers, classified
B Wrong purpose or structure (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Equates help with “business plans” with setting goals and so credits paragraph 4 with explaining La Cocina’s targets for entrepreneurs, a purpose neither paragraph serves.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Rightly notes that paragraph 4 describes people cooking at home and selling food on the streets, but that background is about the vendors and adds nothing to paragraph 1’s point about La Cocina.
D Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Reads “Caleb Zigas says” as Zigas making the discovery, but in paragraph 4 two grassroots organizations found the home cooks, and Zigas only tells how La Cocina grew out of them.
Working it out, step by step
Understand the question
This is a question about how a text is put together. You need to see how paragraph 4 builds on an idea from paragraph 1. Find the idea in paragraph 1 first. Then ask what paragraph 4 adds to it.
Find the idea in paragraph 1
Paragraph 1 says that since 2005, La Cocina has been “helping local food entrepreneurs, many of whom are low-income immigrant women, develop their small businesses.” An entrepreneur is a person who starts a business. Notice that this statement is general. It tells you that La Cocina helps, but not how.
See what paragraph 4 adds
Paragraph 4 opens with a little history. Two grassroots groups “found many people cooking at their homes and selling food on the streets.” (Grassroots means started by ordinary people in a community.) Then the paragraph gets specific. La Cocina gave those cooks a kitchen, “in addition to helping them develop business plans, pull city permits and more.” Those are the actual ways it helps.
Check each choice
- A is right. Paragraph 4 names the help: a kitchen, business plans and city permits. That shows how La Cocina helps cooks succeed.
- B is wrong. Neither paragraph mentions goals that La Cocina sets for the cooks.
- C is wrong. Paragraph 4 does describe the cooks selling on the streets. But that is background about the cooks. It doesn’t build on paragraph 1’s idea about La Cocina.
- D is wrong. Zigas only tells the story. In paragraph 4, it is the two grassroots groups that found the cooks. Zigas discovers nothing there.
Watch out: C is tempting because its facts are true. A true detail is still wrong if it doesn’t answer the question.
Choose the answer
Paragraph 1 says that La Cocina helps. Paragraph 4 spells out exactly how it helps. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
The strongest wrong choice is C. It describes the start of paragraph 4 correctly. But the question asks how paragraph 4 develops an idea about La Cocina. Only the list of services does that. It turns paragraph 1’s general word, helping, into real examples.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from “The Food Business Incubator”” as printed (pages 158–160)
Question 52 of 61
2023 Test B English, question 15Uses the passage above: “Excerpt from “The Food Business Incubator””.
Question
Which piece of evidence from the excerpt is most relevant to the author’s claim that La Cocina provides an opportunity to become more established as a business owner?
- Athe description of how two alumni of the business incubator have won food awards
- Bthe reference to a storytelling project where chefs relate their own backgrounds and business experiences
- Cthe lists of necessities such as business plans and city permits that La Cocina assists with
- Dthe notations of the criteria that applicants must meet to be endorsed by La Cocina in order to develop a small business
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks for the piece of evidence most relevant to the author’s claim that La Cocina provides an opportunity to become more established as a business owner.
A. Incorrect. This evidence reveals that two former members of La Cocina have been recognized for their culinary skills and thus likely gained some business success, but it is not directly relevant to how La Cocina provides specific services and training to help prospective business owners in achieving their goals.
B. Incorrect. Paragraph 7 briefly describes this project, but the fact that chefs share their stories with others does not directly reveal that La Cocina provides resources to help current members become established in a business. It merely suggests that La Cocina wants to publicize its participants and its efforts.
C. CORRECT. This evidence reveals a direct connection between what La Cocina offers and the chefs’ ability to operate a successful business. Having a viable business plan and obtaining the correct operating permits are necessary for the chefs to move out of the La Cocina space and into their own facilities—thus becoming more established business owners.
D. Incorrect. Though the list of criteria that applicants to La Cocina must meet helps ensure that the chefs have a good chance of success in the program, these criteria reveal La Cocina’s selectivity and not necessarily its ability to aid chefs in becoming more established business owners.
Question analysis
This evidence question asks which part of the La Cocina article is most relevant to the author’s claim that the incubator gives people an opportunity to become more established as business owners. Each choice names a piece of evidence without quoting it, so students must first track down where it appears and then weigh how closely it speaks to owning and running a business.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Matching evidence to a claim is standard grade 7 work. Here the choices describe parts of the article and its table in general terms, the claim is paraphrased rather than quoted, and more than one choice seems related, so it demands more than usual.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Evidence in several places moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 1057 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 95 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every choice points to something real in the excerpt, so the work is matching evidence to the exact claim: an opportunity La Cocina provides to become more established. Success stories show outcomes, the storytelling project shows publicity, and the table shows who may apply, but only the services in paragraph 4 show La Cocina giving that opportunity. The two choices about business plans are hardest to separate, because helping with a plan and requiring one look alike at a glance.
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The table’s criteria and the right choice both concern business plans, which appear in paragraph 4 and in the Business Plan row; one is help La Cocina gives, the other a requirement for getting in. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The choices describe evidence without quoting it, from paragraph 2’s awards and paragraph 7’s storytelling project to paragraph 4’s services and the table, so each must be found before it can be weighed. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The claim speaks of becoming “more established,” and students must see that business plans and permits are what let a cook move from selling on the street to running a legal, independent business. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Restate the claim in your own words, find where each described piece of evidence appears, and ask whether that evidence shows how someone becomes more established as a business owner.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Treats award recognition as business success, but honors reflect cooking talent rather than help La Cocina gives, and paragraph 2 says the two were semi-finalists, not winners.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Is drawn by chefs telling their own stories, which paragraph 7 describes, but a storytelling project publicizes La Cocina and its members and shows nothing about becoming established in business.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees “develop a small business” and the table’s detailed criteria as support, but requirements for admission show whom La Cocina selects, not what it does to help members become established.
Working it out, step by step
Restate the claim
This is an evidence question. Evidence is a fact that backs up a claim. The claim here is that La Cocina gives cooks a chance to become “more established” business owners. More established means more firmly set up, with a business that can last.
Find what the cooks needed
Paragraph 4 tells what the street cooks were missing. “The vendors needed an affordable commercial kitchen space and technical assistance in order for their businesses to be legally viable.” Vendors are sellers. Legally viable means allowed by law and able to keep going. A food business needs official permission from the city to run.
Find what La Cocina gave them
La Cocina gave them a kitchen and helped them “develop business plans, pull city permits and more.” A business plan is a written plan for how a business will make money. To pull a permit means to get it from the city. With a plan and permits, a street cook can run a real, legal business. That is what becoming more established looks like.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. Paragraph 2 says the two chefs were semi-finalists, so they did not win. Also, a cooking honor doesn’t show help with running a business.
- B is wrong. The storytelling project in paragraph 7 lets chefs share their stories. That spreads the word, but it doesn’t set anyone up in business.
- C is right. Plans and permits are the tools that turn a cook into an established owner.
- D is wrong. The table lists what applicants need to get in. Rules for joining don’t show the help La Cocina gives once you are in.
Watch out: D is tempting because the table also mentions business plans. But there a plan is something you must already have. In paragraph 4, La Cocina helps you develop one.
Choose the answer
The help with plans and permits shows La Cocina giving cooks a real chance at a lasting business. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the hardest choice to rule out. Both D and C touch on business plans. But D points to entry rules, which tell who may join. C points to services La Cocina provides. The claim is about an opportunity La Cocina gives, so C is the better evidence.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 53 of 61
2018 Test A English, question 13Passage An Early Warning
An Early Warning
One of the books that has done the most to alert the world to the dangers of environmental degradation is George Perkins Marsh’s Man and Nature. Its message—that Western society is in the process of causing irreparable harm to the environment—greatly influenced ecologists during the beginning of the modern environmentalist movement in the 1960s. Marsh was not, however, part of this movement. Surprisingly, Man and Nature was first published in 1864.
Marsh first observed the environmentally destructive effects of human activities while growing up in Vermont in the early nineteenth century. The heavy demand for firewood had depleted the forests, and extensive sheep grazing had stripped the land. The result was flooding and soil erosion. Furthermore, streams were fouled by wastes dumped from numerous mills and dye houses.
Much later in his life, after careers in law, business, farming, and politics, Marsh served as ambassador to Italy. There he noticed land abuse similar to what he had seen in Vermont. Overgrazing and forest mismanagement had rendered areas that had been productive farmland since the days of the Roman Empire desolate. Marsh attributed this to what he called “man’s ignorant disregard for the laws of nature.”
In Italy, Marsh began to organize his observations and theories. He wrote in a way intended to educate readers about the impact of industrial and agricultural practices on the environment. In Man and Nature, he evaluated the important relationships between animals and plants, discussed forestry practices in great detail, and analyzed the ways natural water supplies are affected by human use.
Man and Nature challenged the popular belief that nature can heal any damage that people inflict upon it. Marsh argued that people may use and enjoy, but not destroy, the riches of the earth.
Furthermore, he asserted that everything in nature is significant and that even the tiniest organism affects the fragile environmental balance. His belief that drastic alteration of this balance would be dangerous is now accepted as a fundamental principle of modern environmental science.
Although he pointed out environmental damage caused by irresponsible human activities, Marsh did not oppose every human alteration to the environment. To him, the goal was proper management, not a return to wilderness conditions. People should consider the consequences of their actions, he wrote, and become “co-worker[s] with nature.” Marsh praised the Suez Canal, the human-made waterway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as “the greatest and most truly cosmopolite physical improvement ever undertaken by man.” He believed that the advantages of the canal— improved transportation and commerce—would outweigh any environmental damage. Yet he also warned of possible unintended consequences, such as destructive plants and animals spreading from one body of water to the other.
Marsh was considered a radical thinker during his lifetime. By the late nineteenth century, however, his writings, along with those of John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, and others, had inspired what became known as the conservation movement. The conservationists of that time sought to educate the public that wilderness areas were worth preserving and were responsible for creating the National Park Service and the National Forest Service.
Question
Which evidence supports the accuracy of Marsh’s theories about nature?
- Athe details about Marsh’s observations of environmental degradation
- Bthe details about how Marsh’s writing inspired a conservation movement
- Cthe details about how Marsh’s ideas are essential to modern environmental science
- Dthe details about Marsh’s opinions on human alterations to the environment
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The answer is (C)
The question asks for evidence that supports Marsh’s theories about nature, based on the passage. The passage states that ideas from Marsh’s book are now considered basic knowledge in the field of environmental science (paragraph 6). This statement supports the idea that his theories about nature were accurate, making Option C correct.
Option A is incorrect because, while Marsh made observations of the harm that people were causing to the environment (paragraphs 2 and 3), the details about his observations do not provide evidence that his theories were accurate.
Option B is incorrect because, while Marsh’s writing did inspire a conservation movement (paragraph 8), these details do not call attention to the accuracy of his ideas.
Option D is incorrect because it refers to Marsh’s personal opinions (paragraph 7), not his theories.
Question analysis
This reading question asks which details in a passage about George Perkins Marsh and Man and Nature support the accuracy of his theories about nature. Every choice points to real content in the passage, so students must think carefully about what kind of evidence shows that ideas were correct.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Grade 7 students judge whether evidence supports a claim, but here the choices are abstract descriptions of passage content, and the student must decide which kind of detail could actually show a theory to be correct, a step beyond typical grade 7 work.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer moderate
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Evidence in several places moderate
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 51 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The choices are labels for kinds of detail, not quotations, so the student has to translate each one back into the passage and then ask a harder question: does it show the ideas were right? Influence and firsthand observation both feel like proof, and they separate students who confuse popularity or origin with confirmation from those who do not. Only acceptance by modern science judges the theories after the fact.
A very close wrong answer moderate Choosing the answer
The right choice and the one about inspiring a conservation movement are worded alike, details about how Marsh's ideas fared later, and differ only in whether they show acceptance by science or mere influence. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
The student must work out what kind of fact could show a theory accurate, later acceptance by a science, and then spot it in paragraph 6's “fundamental principle of modern environmental science”. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The four kinds of detail sit in different paragraphs, observations in 2 and 3, science in 6, opinions in 7 and the movement in 8, and each must be found. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Decide first what kind of fact would prove a theory accurate, then test each choice against that standard rather than against whether it is true of Marsh.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Takes the degradation Marsh saw in Vermont and Italy as proof, but those observations are what his theories were built on, not a later test of them.
B Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Reasons that ideas which inspired a conservation movement must be correct, mistaking influence for accuracy; many followers show that an idea spread, not that it was true.
D True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Points to Marsh's views on canals and other changes to nature in paragraph 7, which are further opinions of his, not evidence that his theories held up.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks what shows that Marsh’s theories were accurate, or correct. A theory is an idea that tries to explain how something works. So you need a detail that shows his ideas turned out to be true. A detail that is just true about Marsh is not enough.
Decide what counts as proof
How can you show an idea is correct? A strong way is when experts study it later and agree with it. Being popular does not make an idea correct. And the facts that gave someone an idea can’t also prove that idea.
Find that proof in the passage
Paragraph 6 says: “His belief that drastic alteration of this balance would be dangerous is now accepted as a fundamental principle of modern environmental science.” A drastic alteration is a big change. A fundamental principle is a basic rule. So scientists today treat Marsh’s idea as a basic truth. That supports its accuracy.
Check each choice
- C: Marsh’s ideas are “essential to modern environmental science.” This matches paragraph 6.
- A: his observations in Vermont and Italy are what he built his theories on. They don’t show the theories were right.
- B: inspiring a movement shows his ideas were popular. Popular is not the same as correct.
- D: his opinions about changing nature, such as praising a canal, are more of his views. They are not proof.
Watch out: A is tempting because the damage Marsh saw was real. But it came before his theories, so it can’t test them.
Pick the answer
Only C shows experts in a science accepting Marsh’s ideas as true. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is close because it is also about how Marsh’s ideas did later. But many people can follow an idea that is wrong. C shows that scientists, who test ideas, now accept his belief as a basic rule. That is evidence of accuracy, not just of popularity.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “An Early Warning” as printed (page 52)
Question 54 of 61
2018 Test A English, question 14Uses the passage above: “An Early Warning”.
Question
Which detail about Marsh provides support for the author’s statement in paragraph 5?
- Ahis reputation as a radical thinker
- Bhis contribution to the conservation movement
- Chis experience working as an ambassador
- Dhis approval of beneficial human-made projects in nature
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The answer is (D)
The question asks for a specific detail that supports the author’s statement in paragraph 5. In paragraph 5, the author states that “Marsh argued that people may use and enjoy, but not destroy, the riches of the earth.” Marsh’s approval of the Suez Canal shows that Marsh did not oppose certain human innovations, because the advantages—improved transportation and commerce—enriched human life and outweighed environmental damage (paragraph 7). Option D describes that idea.
Option A is incorrect because it is not relevant to the statement in question.
Option B is incorrect because, while it acknowledges Marsh’s contributions to the conservation movement, it does not relate to his attitudes about certain alterations to the environment.
Option C is incorrect because it relates to a time when Marsh observed environmental degradation in Italy.
Question analysis
This reading question asks which detail about George Perkins Marsh supports a statement the author makes in paragraph 5 of a passage about his book Man and Nature. Students must pin down the exact claim first, then find the detail elsewhere in the passage that illustrates it, since all four choices are true facts about Marsh.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Matching a supporting detail to a claim is grade 7 work, but here the student must first decide which statement in paragraph 5 is meant and then connect it to a detail elsewhere, with choices given as brief labels.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Evidence in several places moderate
- Reading between the lines moderate
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 38 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Paragraph 5 contains two statements, and the question does not say which one it means, so a student must settle that first. Anchored to the first sentence, the radical-thinker detail looks like a fit; anchored to “use and enjoy, but not destroy”, only the approval of the Suez Canal works. The brief labels hide which paragraph each detail comes from, so every one has to be traced.
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The claim is in paragraph 5 but its support, Marsh's praise of the Suez Canal, is two paragraphs later, and the choices are brief labels that must be traced back. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Reading between the lines moderate Working it out
Praise for a canal does not mention the earth's riches; the student must see that approving a useful human-made change shows “use and enjoy” in practice. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Restate paragraph 5's claim in your own words, then ask of each detail whether it shows Marsh holding that view, rather than simply being true about him.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Links going against “the popular belief” with being a radical thinker, which is true of Marsh but says nothing about using nature without destroying it.
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Equates “use and enjoy, but not destroy” with conservation, yet the movement Marsh inspired preserved wilderness, and his part in it does not show his view on use.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks his years as ambassador to Italy, which explain where he saw land abuse but say nothing about how he thought people should use the earth.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
First find the author’s statement in paragraph 5. Then find the detail about Marsh that backs it up, or shows it is true.
Find the statement in paragraph 5
Paragraph 5 says: “Marsh argued that people may use and enjoy, but not destroy, the riches of the earth.” The riches of the earth are nature’s gifts, like land, water, and forests. In plain words: it is fine to use nature, as long as you don’t wreck it.
Look for that view in action
Paragraph 7 says: “Marsh did not oppose every human alteration to the environment.” He praised the Suez Canal, a waterway people dug so ships could pass. He believed its benefits, “improved transportation and commerce,” would outweigh any harm. Commerce means trade, or buying and selling. So Marsh was fine with people using nature in a helpful way.
Check each choice
- D: his approval of helpful human-made projects shows “use and enjoy” in action.
- A: he was a radical thinker, but that says nothing about how people should use nature.
- B: he helped inspire the conservation movement, but that doesn’t show his view on using nature.
- C: his job in Italy explains where he saw land damage. It says nothing about how to use the earth.
Watch out: Paragraph 5 says Marsh’s book challenged a “popular belief,” which can make you think of “radical.” But A doesn’t show the use-but-don’t-destroy idea.
Pick the answer
Praising a useful canal shows Marsh believed people may use nature. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer. Marsh was a radical thinker, and paragraph 5 does say his book challenged a popular belief. But being radical doesn’t show that people may use nature. Praising a useful canal does, so D gives real support.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 55 of 61
2018 Test A English, question 15Uses the passage above: “An Early Warning”.
Question
Which of Marsh’s ideas most influenced the environmental movement of the 1960s?
- ASome human alterations to the environment are necessary.
- BPeople lack an understanding of the environment.
- CHuman activities could damage the environment.
- DEnvironmental degradation has been occurring for many years.
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The answer is (C)
The question asks for the idea Marsh had that was the most influential on the movement in the 1960s. Marsh’s main contribution to the modern environmental movement—the idea that Western society is causing irreversible harm to the environment—is given in paragraph 1, making Option C correct.
Option A is incorrect because, while Marsh did believe that some human alterations to the environment are necessary (paragraph 7), the negative impact of human activity was his most influential idea.
Option B is incorrect because, while Marsh believed that people lacked an understanding of nature (paragraph 3), this belief is a detail in support of his overall claim.
Option D is incorrect because, while Marsh observed firsthand that environmental degradation had been occurring for many years (paragraph 3), that was not the focus of his most influential idea.
Question analysis
This reading question asks which of George Perkins Marsh's ideas most influenced the environmental movement of the 1960s, according to a passage about his book Man and Nature. All four choices are ideas the passage connects to Marsh, so students must find the one the text links to that later movement.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Identifying an idea that a text says shaped later events is routine grade 7 reading. Each choice is one of Marsh's real ideas, so the demand is matching the question to the passage's exact statement, not interpretation.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 1, recall and reproduction · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- The right answer is reworded moderate
- Every choice must be checked minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 12, 523 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 41 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The link to the 1960s is stated outright in the second sentence of the passage, so a student who goes back to it can answer quickly. Points are lost by answering from memory, since every choice is a genuine Marsh idea, including his view that people misunderstand nature. Matching the paraphrase rather than the familiar wording is the whole task.
The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer
The right choice restates paragraph 1's message, “causing irreparable harm to the environment”, in plain words, while wrong ones echo “environmental degradation” and “human alteration to the environment”. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Every choice must be checked minor Choosing the answer
All four choices are ideas the passage connects to Marsh, so recognizing one as his is not enough; each must be checked for a link to the 1960s. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Strategy: Find where the passage mentions the movement of the 1960s and read exactly what it says influenced it, then match that wording to a choice.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Word match: Repeats striking words or phrases from the text, so it looks supported, but its meaning does not fit the question.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Recalls paragraph 7's point that Marsh accepted some changes to nature, such as the Suez Canal, a real view of his but not the message credited with shaping the 1960s.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Remembers Marsh blaming “man's ignorant disregard for the laws of nature”, a real belief, but the passage ties the 1960s to his warning about harm, not to ignorance.
D Word match (Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Repeats “environmental degradation” from the passage's first sentence, so it looks anchored in paragraph 1, but long-standing damage is an observation, not the message that influenced ecologists.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
All four choices are ideas linked to Marsh. You need the one the passage says shaped the environmental movement of the 1960s. So find where the passage talks about the 1960s.
Find the 1960s in the passage
Paragraph 1 says: “Its message—that Western society is in the process of causing irreparable harm to the environment—greatly influenced ecologists during the beginning of the modern environmentalist movement in the 1960s.”
Put the sentence in plain words
“Its message” means the book’s main point. Irreparable means it can’t be repaired. Western society means the countries of Europe and North America. So the message was: people are doing damage to nature that can’t be undone. That message is what influenced the 1960s ecologists.
Check each choice
- C: “Human activities could damage the environment.” This says the same thing in simpler words.
- A: Marsh did accept some changes, like the Suez Canal (paragraph 7). But the passage doesn’t link that to the 1960s.
- B: Marsh did blame “man’s ignorant disregard for the laws of nature” (paragraph 3). But that is a reason for the harm, not the message that shaped the 1960s.
- D: “environmental degradation,” or damage, appears in paragraph 1. But saying damage has gone on for years is only an observation.
Watch out: B is a real belief of Marsh’s, so it feels right. Make sure a choice answers this question, about the 1960s.
Pick the answer
The passage directly says the message about harm influenced the 1960s. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer, because Marsh really did think people didn’t understand nature. But paragraph 1 says the message that influenced the 1960s was about harm: people were “causing irreparable harm to the environment.” C states that idea.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 56 of 61
2018 Test A English, question 22Passage Champion of the Channel
Champion of the Channel
In 1926 an editor at the London Daily News predicted that Gertrude Ederle, an American swimmer with eighteen world records and three Olympic medals, would fail in her attempt to swim across the English Channel. He claimed that “even the most uncompromising champion of the rights and capacities of women must admit that in contests of physical skill, speed and endurance they must remain forever the weaker sex.” Yet, at only nineteen years old, Ederle not only became the first woman to accomplish this feat, she also broke the men’s record by two hours. Gertrude Ederle’s triumphant swim across the English Channel was a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.
Crossing the English Channel is a daunting task for any swimmer. At its narrowest point, the channel measures twenty-one miles across. Its icy waters hover around sixty degrees Fahrenheit, and its unruly tides and currents toss swimmers about like bobbing corks. Stinging jellyfish, seaweed, and floating debris from shipwrecks and lost cargoes present added hazards.
For decades the channel’s perils have defeated countless swimmers. Ederle, too, failed in her first attempt to cross the channel in 1925. Just six miles short of finishing, she became ill, and her coach had to haul her out of the water. Undeterred, Ederle decided to try again. Ederle knew that if she did not complete the challenge this time, she might never get the opportunity to set this record, because a rival female swimmer was preparing to make her second attempt at the crossing as well.
To prepare for the marathon swim, Ederle found ways to improve her equipment. She and her sister Meg discovered that melted candle wax perfectly sealed goggle edges, effectively waterproofing Ederle’s goggles against hammering waves. The sisters also designed a two-piece silk swimsuit for Ederle. During her first channel-crossing attempt she had worn a standard one-piece swimsuit that, after the lengthy hours of swimming across the channel, had stretched out, filling with water and creating drag, making an already challenging task almost insurmountable. Unlike the cumbersome typical bathing suit, this silk invention weighed little and allowed for easy movement.
On August 6, 1926, Ederle waded into the channel near Cape Gris-Nez, France. At first she shivered in the bone-chilling water even though she had covered her body in eight layers of grease for insulation. Her limbs felt stiff. Her strokes were irregular. Driving forward, she fought to clear her mind and find what she called her “sphere,” a place where the sea became her only companion and the shrieks of gulls and the humming of boat engines faded away. Using a new overhand stroke called the American crawl, Ederle eventually settled into a steady pace, briskly breaking through waves.
Throughout Ederle’s swim, two tugboats accompanied her. One carried newspaper reporters who wired dispatches of her progress to shore. The other, displaying a sign that read “This way, ole kid!” with an arrow pointing forward, transported her coach, family, and friends. Her coach played songs, such as “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” on a phonograph so that Ederle could time her strokes to the rhythm. Using a net, her coach also passed her baby bottles of broth for nourishment.
For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile. However, as she neared the English shore, a sudden fierce storm erupted. The tides and waves forced Ederle backward, and she fought the stubborn swells for several hours. The salty water caused her tongue to swell and inflamed her ears. Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea. Finally, as she neared the English shore, the storm abated, and the tide turned. No longer fighting against her, the sea pushed her toward the shore and victory.
After fourteen hours and thirty-one minutes, Ederle, on wobbly legs, stepped onto the English shore. The waiting crowd roared, honked their automobile horns, blasted their tugboat whistles, and set off flares that flashed in the sky. Ederle had swum into history.
When Ederle returned to New York, she received a parade, where thousands of people shouted “Trudy!” Not only were everyday American citizens proud of Ederle, but she also inspired them to be more active. Over the next few years, more than 60,000 people credited her with motivating them to earn their American Red Cross swimming certificates. Gertrude Ederle’s accomplishment proved to the world that with determination and passion, it was possible for a person to achieve his or her goals.
SOLO SWIMS ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
|
Earliest Speed Records |
||
| Year | Swimmer | Time |
| 1875 | Matthew Webb (M) | 21 hours, 45 minutes |
| 1923 | Enrico Tiraboschi (M) | 16 hours, 33 minutes |
| 1926 | Gertrude Ederle (F) | 14 hours, 31 minutes |
| 1926 | Arnst Vierkotter (M) | 12 hours, 38 minutes |
| Current Speed Records | ||
| Year | Swimmer | Time |
| 2012 | Trent Grimsey (M) | 6 hours, 55 minutes |
| 2006 | Yvetta Hlavacova (F) | 7 hours, 25 minutes |
Question
Paragraph 7 contributes to the development of the central idea of the passage by
- Aillustrating that Ederle’s physical strength and mental fortitude allowed her to stay focused on her goal.
- Bconveying that Ederle pushed herself to the edge of her physical capabilities in order to complete the swim.
- Chighlighting the impact the severe weather had on Ederle’s emotions during her swim.
- Demphasizing the surge of emotions Ederle felt as she came closer to achieving a personal goal.
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The answer is (D)
The question asks for an explanation of how paragraph 7 contributes to the development of a central idea of the passage. Paragraph 7 is mainly about Ederle’s physical and emotional state as she pushed through a difficult portion of her swim and realized her goal was in sight. A central idea of the passage is that Ederle’s passion and determination allowed her to accomplish her goal of being the first woman to cross the English Channel.
Option D is correct because it emphasizes her passion by referring to the overwhelming emotions Ederle felt as she progressed during her swim, despite the unfavorable conditions (paragraph 7: “For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile” and “Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea.”).
Option A is incorrect because, although Ederle needed physical strength and mental fortitude to complete the swim, the paragraph contributes to a central idea because it highlights her emotion as she swam, not her physical strength or mental fortitude.
Option B is incorrect because the paragraph focuses on Ederle’s emotional response to the challenging circumstances and not the idea that Ederle was at the “edge of her physical capabilities.”
Option C is incorrect because Ederle’s feelings of happiness and amusement were caused by her anticipation and excitement as she approached achieving her goal, not by the severe weather.
Question analysis
This reading question asks how the paragraph about the storm near the end of Gertrude Ederle's English Channel swim contributes to the passage's central idea. Students must decide what the paragraph mainly does and connect it to the larger point, while every choice sounds like a fair description of a hard swim.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Explaining how one paragraph develops a central idea is a grade 7 standard, but here several choices sound true of a hard swim through a storm, and the student must see what the paragraph is mainly about, beyond typical grade 7 work.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer major
- Evidence in several places moderate
- How, not what moderate
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 76 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Paragraph 7 is crowded with hardship, a storm, a swollen tongue and inflamed ears, so the obvious reading is that it shows toughness. The author's pointed “Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy” turns it toward emotion, which ties it to the passion named in the thesis. Several choices are fair about the swim in general, and this is one of the closer calls on the test, since strength is also on display.
A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer
The right choice and the strength-and-fortitude one both describe Ederle's inner state as she nears her goal, and only whether paragraph 7 stresses her feelings or her toughness separates them, since she does fight “the stubborn swells for several hours”. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Evidence in several places moderate Working it out
The central idea, her “determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming”, is stated in paragraph 1, six paragraphs before the storm it must be connected to. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
How, not what moderate Working it out
The question asks how paragraph 7 develops the central idea, so the student must weigh what its details stress, the “amused smile” and “indescribably happy”, not just what happens. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Strategy: Mark the words in paragraph 7 that describe how Ederle felt and what she endured, decide which the author stresses, then connect that to the passage's stated central idea.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Too broad or too strong: A choice overstates, generalizes, or uses absolute words the text does not support.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Credits strength and mental fortitude, which the hours against the swells partly show, but the paragraph's turn on “Yet” stresses her joy, not her toughness.
B Too broad or too strong (King et al., 2004)
Inflates the swollen tongue and inflamed ears into reaching “the edge of her physical capabilities”, an extreme the paragraph never claims.
C Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Sees both the storm and her feelings but makes the weather the cause of her emotions, when she felt happy in spite of it.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
You need to explain how paragraph 7 helps build the central idea, the main point of the passage. So first find the central idea. Then see what paragraph 7 stresses.
Find the central idea
The last sentence of paragraph 1 says: “Gertrude Ederle’s triumphant swim across the English Channel was a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.” A testimony here means proof. Passion means a strong love for something.
See what happens in paragraph 7
A fierce storm pushes Ederle backward. She fights “the stubborn swells for several hours.” Swells are big, rolling waves. Salt water makes her tongue swell and her ears sore. Then the storm ends, and the sea pushes her “toward the shore and victory.”
Notice what the author stresses
Look at the feeling words. She swims “dodging debris with an amused smile.” In the middle of the pain, the author writes: “Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea.” Indescribably means too much to put into words. The word “Yet” shows a surprise. She felt joy in spite of the pain. That shows her passion for swimming.
Check each choice
- D: a “surge of emotions” as she came closer to her goal. A surge is a sudden rush. This matches the smile and the happiness.
- A: strength and “mental fortitude,” or toughness. She was tough, but the paragraph stresses her joy.
- B: the paragraph never says she reached “the edge of her physical capabilities.”
- C says the storm caused her feelings. She was happy in spite of the storm, not because of it.
Watch out: A is tempting because she fought for hours. But the “Yet” sentence turns to how she felt.
Pick the answer
Paragraph 7 builds the passage’s idea of her passion by showing her feelings. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer, because she does fight “the stubborn swells for several hours.” But the paragraph’s key words are about feeling: “amused smile” and “indescribably happy.” Those link to her “passion for swimming” in paragraph 1. D names those emotions.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Champion of the Channel” as printed (pages 56–57)
Question 57 of 61
2018 Test A English, question 24Uses the passage above: “Champion of the Channel”.
Question
Which sentence from the passage best conveys the author’s perspective regarding the impact of Ederle’s accomplishment?
- A“Gertrude Ederle’s triumphant swim across the English Channel was a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.” (paragraph 1)
- B“For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile.” (paragraph 7)
- C“Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea.” (paragraph 7)
- D“Ederle had swum into history.” (paragraph 8)
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The answer is (D)
The question asks for the sentence from the passage that best conveys the author’s perspective about the impact of Ederle’s swim.
Option D is correct because, throughout the passage, the author emphasizes that Ederle’s accomplishment was memorable and great, which is best stated in the sentence from paragraph 8.
The sentence presented in Option A is incorrect because it focuses on Ederle’s personal attributes that allowed her to successfully complete her swim, not the author’s perspective about the impact of her achievement.
The sentence presented in Option B is incorrect because the details in the sentence relate to Ederle’s state of mind as she came closer to achieving her goal and do not provide details about the author’s opinion of the impact of Ederle’s accomplishment.
The sentence presented in Option C is incorrect because it simply presents Ederle’s emotional state as she nears her goal and does not provide information about the author’s perspective.
Question analysis
This reading question asks which quoted sentence best conveys the author's own perspective on the impact of Gertrude Ederle's English Channel swim. Every quotation shows the swim in a positive light, so students must tell the author's judgment apart from description and keep the question's focus on impact in mind.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Identifying an author's own perspective is typical grade 7 point-of-view work. The quotations are short and labeled, and the main demand is attending to the word impact in the question.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what moderate
- Figurative or literary language minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 12, 66 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- A grammar slip in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Two tests apply at once: whose view a sentence gives and whether that view concerns impact. The thesis sentence passes the first and fails the second, which makes it the main trap, while the two sentences from paragraph 7 report Ederle's feelings, not the author's judgment. The short sentence in paragraph 8 is easy to skim past because it states impact in five words and a figure of speech.
How, not what moderate Working it out
The question asks for the author's perspective, so narration of Ederle's own feelings, her “amused smile” and being “indescribably happy”, has to be set apart from the author's judgment. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Figurative or literary language minor Understanding the question
“Ederle had swum into history” states the impact through a figure of speech, so the student must read it as a claim that the swim earned a lasting place. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Ask two questions of each quotation: whose view does it express, and is it about the swim's impact or about something else? Only one quotation passes both tests.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Wrong tone or attitude: Misjudges the tone, attitude or point of view, such as reading admiration as criticism, or taking a character's or subject's feelings for the author's.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the passage's thesis, a real statement of the author's view, but it praises her determination and passion rather than saying what the swim meant or changed.
B Wrong tone or attitude (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Takes Ederle's “amused smile” while dodging debris as the author's opinion, but it describes her mood mid-swim, not any judgment about the swim's impact.
C Wrong tone or attitude (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Reads “indescribably happy” as the author's enthusiasm, but the sentence reports how Ederle felt during the storm, not how the author sees her achievement's impact.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: In the reason for rejecting F (B on this site), the handbook reads “the details in the sentence relate to … and does not provide details”. It now reads “do not provide”, to agree with “details”.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
A perspective is a point of view. Impact means the effect something has. So you need a sentence that shows the author’s opinion about what Ederle’s swim meant. A sentence about how Ederle felt does not count.
Ask two questions of each quote
For each choice, ask: Whose view is this, the author’s or Ederle’s? Then ask: Is it about the effect of the swim, or about something else? Only one choice will pass both tests.
Check each choice
- A: the swim was “a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.” This is the author’s view, but it is about her qualities, not the swim’s effect.
- B: “dodging debris with an amused smile” describes Ederle’s mood during the swim.
- C: “Ederle felt indescribably happy” describes her feelings, not the author’s judgment.
- D: “Ederle had swum into history” (paragraph 8). This is the author speaking about what the swim meant.
Explain the key phrase
“Swum into history” is a figure of speech, words that mean more than their exact sense. She didn’t really swim into a history book. It means her swim was so important that people will remember it for a long time. That is a judgment about its impact.
Pick the answer
Watch out: A is the author’s main claim, so it is tempting. But it explains what made her succeed, not what her success meant. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer, because it is also the author’s own opinion. But it tells what the swim showed about Ederle: her determination and passion. D tells what the swim meant: it made history. Only D is about impact.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 58 of 61
2018 Test A English, question 29Passage Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad
Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad
by Mark Twain
Now and then, while we rested, we watched the laborious ant at his work. I found nothing new in him—certainly nothing to change my opinion of him. It seems to me that in the matter of intellect the ant must be a strangely overrated bird. During many summers now I have watched him, when I ought to have been in better business, and I have not yet come across a living ant that seemed to have any more sense than a dead one. I refer to the ordinary ant, of course; I have had no experience of those wonderful Swiss and African ones which vote, keep drilled armies, . . . and dispute about religion. Those particular ants may be all that the naturalist paints them, but I am persuaded that the average ant is a sham.
I admit his industry, of course; he is the hardest working creature in the world—when anybody is looking—but his leather-headedness is the point I make against him. He goes out foraging, he makes a capture, and then what does he do? Go home? No; he goes anywhere but home. He doesn’t know where home is. His home may be only three feet away; no matter, he can’t find it. He makes his capture, as I have said; it is generally something which can be of no sort of use to himself or anybody else; it is usually seven times bigger than it ought to be; he hunts out the awkwardest place to take hold of it; he lifts it bodily up in the air by main force, and starts—not toward home, but in the opposite direction; not calmly and wisely, but with a frantic haste which is wasteful of his strength; he fetches up against a pebble, and, instead of going around it, he climbs over it backwards, dragging his booty after him, tumbles down on the other side, jumps up in a passion, kicks the dust off his clothes, moistens his hands, grabs his property viciously, yanks it this way, then that, shoves it ahead of him a moment, turns tail and lugs it after him another moment, gets madder and madder, then presently hoists it into the air and goes tearing away in an entirely new direction; comes to a weed; it never occurs to him to go around it. No; he must climb it, and he does climb it, dragging his worthless property to the top—which is as bright a thing to do as it would be for me to carry a sack of flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple; when he gets up there he finds that that is not the place; takes a cursory glance at the scenery, and either climbs down again or tumbles down, and starts off once more—as usual, in a new direction. At the end of half an hour he fetches up within six inches of the place he started from, and lays his burden down. Meantime, he has been over all the ground for two yards around, and climbed all the weeds and pebbles he came across. Now he wipes the sweat from his brow, strokes his limbs, and then marches aimlessly off, in as violent a hurry as ever. He traverses a good deal of zig-zag country, and by and by stumbles on his same booty again. He does not remember to have ever seen it before; he looks around to see which is not the way home, grabs his bundle, and starts. He goes through the same adventures he had before; finally stops to rest, and a friend comes along.
Evidently the friend remarks that a last year’s grasshopper leg is a very noble acquisition, and inquires where he got it. Evidently the proprietor does not remember exactly where he did get it, but thinks he got it “around here somewhere.” Evidently the friend contracts to help him freight it home. Then, with a judgment peculiarly antic (pun not intentional), they take hold of opposite ends of that grasshopper leg and begin to tug with all their might in opposite directions. Presently they take a rest, and confer together. They decide that something is wrong, they can’t make out what. Then they go at it again, just as before. Same result. Mutual recriminations follow. Evidently each accuses the other of being an obstructionist. They warm up, and the dispute ends in a fight. They lock themselves together and chew each other’s jaws for a while; then they roll and tumble on the ground till one loses a horn or a leg and has to haul off for repairs. They make up and go to work again in the same old insane way, but the crippled ant is at a disadvantage; tug as he may, the other one drags off the booty and him at the end of it. Instead of giving up, he hangs on, and gets his shins bruised against every obstruction that comes in the way. By and by, when that grasshopper leg has been dragged all over the same old ground once more, it is finally dumped at about the spot where it originally lay. The two perspiring ants inspect it thoughtfully and decide that dried grasshopper legs are a poor sort of property after all, and then each starts off in a different direction to see if he can’t find an old nail or something else that is heavy enough to afford entertainment and at the same time valueless enough to make an ant want to own it. . . .
Science has recently discovered that the ant does not lay up anything for winter use. . . . He does not work, except when people are looking, and only then when the observer has a green, naturalistic look, and seems to be taking notes. This amounts to deception, and will injure him for the Sunday schools. He has not judgment enough to know what is good to eat from what isn’t. This amounts to ignorance, and will impair the world’s respect for him. . . . He cannot stroll around a stump and find his way home again. This amounts to idiocy, and once the damaging fact is established, thoughtful people will cease to look up to him. It is strange beyond comprehension that so manifest a humbug as the ant has been able to fool so many nations and keep it up so many ages without being found out.
we: the author and his fictional travel companion
From A TRAMP ABROAD by Mark Twain—Public Domain
Question
Read this text from paragraph 2.
He . . . comes to a weed; it never occurs to him to go around it. No; he must climb it, and he does climb it, dragging his worthless property to the top—which is as bright a thing to do as it would be for me to carry a sack of flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple;
These details convey the central idea in the excerpt by showing that the ant
- Aoften wastes his strength when working on a task.
- Bis surprised by the effort he needs in order to move the object.
- Cis oblivious to the most practical solution to his problem.
- Dfocuses more on obtaining the object than getting it back home efficiently.
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The answer is (C)
The question asks for an explanation of how the details in the sentence convey the central idea, which is that the ant makes poor choices because of his lack of intelligence and his inability to understand even the most basic problem or obstacle.
Option C is correct because the author’s description of the ant climbing up and over the weed rather than simply going around the weed supports the central idea.
Option A is incorrect because, although the ant does waste much of his strength, the idea conveyed in the sentences is more related to the ant’s inability to solve a problem in the simplest way (paragraph 2: “which is as bright a thing to do as it would be for me to carry a sack of flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple”).
Option B is incorrect because the idea that the ant is surprised by the amount of effort needed to carry the object is not a central idea of the excerpt; nor does the excerpt suggest that the ant is surprised by this in the first place.
Option D is incorrect because the ant has already acquired the object, and the details in the sentence do not convey an idea about the ant’s unnecessary effort.
Question analysis
Students read Mark Twain's description of an ant hauling its load up and over a weed and must explain how these details support the excerpt's central idea. The comparison to carrying flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of a church steeple is unfamiliar, and one choice is true of the ant elsewhere without being the point of these lines.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Linking a quoted detail to a central idea is routine grade 7 work, and the lines are printed in the question. The extra hurdle is decoding an old comparison about lugging flour between European cities over a steeple.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from one sentence or line
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 9, 1099 words; question and choices: about grade 6, 123 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The lines are printed in the question, so the challenge is interpreting them rather than finding them. Students who know the ant wastes his strength will find that idea here too and stop, while the comparison actually mocks choosing the hardest route: going up and over instead of around. The question rewards asking what the weed and the steeple have in common before reading the choices.
Figurative or literary language moderate Understanding the question
The point hides in sarcasm: climbing the weed is “as bright a thing to do” as hauling flour from Heidelberg to Paris “by way of Strasburg steeple,” so “bright” means foolish. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Something you must already know minor Working it out
The joke lands faster for readers who know that a steeple is a church's tall spire and that Strasbourg lies on the road from Heidelberg to Paris. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Strategy: Work out what the flour-and-steeple comparison mocks by picturing the route it describes, then match that judgment to what the ant does at the weed.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Twists what the text says: Uses the text's topic and ideas but changes what it says: who did it, how much, when, or why.
The wrong answers, classified
A True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Recalls that his “frantic haste” is “wasteful of his strength,” true earlier in paragraph 2, but these lines mock his route over the weed, not his spent energy.
B Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Imagines the ant startled by how heavy his load is, but no line shows surprise; he climbs because going around “never occurs to him.”
D Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Rightly sees the ant failing to get the load home efficiently, but he already holds the object, so nothing here is about obtaining it.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This question asks how a few printed lines support the central idea. The central idea is that the ant is not as smart as people think.
Find the key words
The lines are from paragraph 2. The ant “comes to a weed; it never occurs to him to go around it.” Instead, he climbs it. Then Twain says this is “as bright a thing to do” as carrying “a sack of flour from Heidelberg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple.”
Picture the comparison
A steeple is the tall, pointed tower on top of a church. Heidelberg, Strasburg and Paris are cities, and Strasburg is on the way. Picture carrying a heavy sack between cities. Now picture climbing up and over a church tower on the way, instead of walking around it. That is silly.
So when Twain calls the climb “bright,” he means the opposite. This is sarcasm (saying the opposite of what you mean, to poke fun).
Check each choice
- A The ant does waste strength elsewhere in paragraph 2. But these lines mock his choice of route.
- B Nothing shows the ant is surprised. Going around just never occurs to him.
- C fits. Going around the weed is the easy fix, and the ant never thinks of it. Oblivious means not noticing.
- D He already has the object, so these lines are not about getting it.
Choose the answer
The lines show an ant who misses the simple solution right in front of him. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest trap, since the ant really does waste his strength. But the weed and the steeple share one point: each is climbed when you could simply walk around it. That is about missing the easy solution, which is choice C.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from A Tramp Abroad” as printed (pages 62–63)
Question 59 of 61
2018 Test A English, question 39Passage Ruins of a Fabled City
Ruins of a Fabled City
The African country of Zimbabwe took its name from the Shona word meaning “stone enclosures” or “venerated houses.” In fact, today dozens of stone ruins are scattered throughout Zimbabwe and other areas in southeastern Africa. One of these ruins, known as Great Zimbabwe, was once a fabled city that inspired tales that circulated throughout Europe. Where was this remarkable city, and who had built it? For centuries the mystery occupied the minds of explorers and treasure seekers.
The first reports to Europeans of Great Zimbabwe were spread a thousand years ago by Arab traders sailing between the Middle East and the east coast of Africa. The traders told of the fabulous wealth of a mysterious stone city in the African interior. In the trader’s tales, that city became associated with the Europeans’ understanding of Middle Eastern history—the Queen of Sheba, King Solomon and his legendary gold mines, long since lost to the world. By the sixteenth century, Portuguese explorers regularly visited East Africa, searching for King Solomon’s gold, but they never found Great Zimbabwe. In 1552, a Portuguese historian, João de Barros, recorded a story told by Arabs about a city with a “square fortress of masonry within and without, built of stones of marvelous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them.”
In fact, Great Zimbabwe was a marvel. In one area a massive wall more than thirty feet high and twenty feet thick created a great enclosure. Another area contained a fortress-like series of walls, corridors, and steps built into the bluff that overlooks the ruins. Throughout the city, each stone was precisely fitted to the others without the use of mortar.
In the 1870s Karl Mauch, a German geologist, was the first European to see Great Zimbabwe, by then in ruins. Mauch realized that he had “rediscovered” the fabled city from de Barros’s story. He jumped to the conclusion that Great Zimbabwe had been built by the Queen of Sheba. British authorities sent a British journalist, Richard Hall, to Great Zimbabwe to investigate Mauch’s report. Archaeology was still in its infancy, and Hall, convinced that the structures had been built by ancient people from the Middle East, dug up and discarded archaeological deposits that would have revealed much about the true history of Great Zimbabwe. Later European excavations destroyed even more valuable evidence.
In the twentieth century, after excavating areas that had not been disturbed, David Randall-MacIver, a Scottish Egyptologist, and Gertrude Caton-Thompson, an English archaeologist, concluded that the ruins were unmistakably African in origin. Great Zimbabwe was most likely built during the fourteenth or fifteenth century by the ancestors of the present-day Shona people. Recent carbon-14 dating supports their conclusion. Great Zimbabwe was once home to an estimated 20,000 people, the center of a great Shona kingdom. Wealthy Shona kings traded their ivory and gold in coastal towns for other goods, thus accounting for the discovery of beads and other foreign wares in the ruins.
One mystery of Great Zimbabwe had been solved. Another mystery remains: why was the settlement at Great Zimbabwe abandoned, leaving the magnificent stone architecture to fall into ruins?
Question
What was “one mystery of Great Zimbabwe” (paragraph 6) that had been solved?
- Awhy the settlement was abandoned
- Bwhere the ivory and gold from the city went
- Cwhy the ruins remained undiscovered until the 1870s
- Dwho had built the settlement
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The answer is (D)
The question asks for the specific conclusion that was able to be drawn from the excavations at Great Zimbabwe.
Option D is the correct answer because paragraph 5 states that carbon-14 dating supports Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s conclusion that Great Zimbabwe was built by ancestors of the Shona people during the fourteenth or fifteenth century.
Option A is incorrect because the mystery behind “why the settlement was abandoned” has not been solved.
Option B is incorrect because the passage never presents the city’s ivory and gold as a mystery; paragraph 5 simply states that Shona kings traded them in coastal towns for other goods.
Option C is incorrect because the reason that Europeans did not discover Great Zimbabwe until the 1870s has not been explained.
Question analysis
This question asks students to identify the “one mystery of Great Zimbabwe” that the final paragraph calls solved. Students need to connect the final paragraph with the findings described before it, keeping track of which questions the passage answers and which it leaves open.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 6 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Below grade 7 Matching a phrase to the fact it refers to is a short, routine task, easier than most grade 7 reading questions. The only demand is linking the last paragraph back to earlier ones rather than reading it alone.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 524 words; question and choices: about grade 5, 39 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- An inaccurate statement in the explanation was corrected.
- An overstatement of the passage in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The final paragraph names two mysteries in back-to-back sentences, one solved and one open, but only spells out the open one. Students have to look back to the excavations and carbon dating in paragraph 5 to see which question was answered. Rushing produces the most common wrong pick, the abandonment question, because its words sit right beside the phrase the stem quotes.
Evidence in several places minor Working it out
“One mystery” points back to paragraph 1's question “who had built it?” and to paragraph 5's finding, so the answer lies outside the paragraph the stem cites. (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990; Gorin & Embretson, 2006)
Strategy: Before reading the choices, find the paragraph that reports what excavation and carbon dating showed, note which question it settles, and compare that with each choice.
Traps
- Word match: Repeats striking words or phrases from the text, so it looks supported, but its meaning does not fit the question.
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
The wrong answers, classified
A Word match (Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Grabs the question printed right after the quoted phrase, why the settlement was abandoned, missing “Another mystery remains,” which marks it as unsolved.
B True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Remembers that the passage explains where the ivory and gold went, traded in coastal towns, but it never treats that as a mystery.
C Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Turns paragraph 1's “Where was this remarkable city” into why it went unseen until the 1870s, a question the passage never answers.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The handbook rejects choice B because “the disappearance of the city’s ivory and gold is a mystery that has not been solved.” The passage presents no such mystery: paragraph 5 says Shona kings traded their ivory and gold in coastal towns for other goods. The explanation now says the passage never presents the ivory and gold as a mystery.
- Explanation: The handbook says paragraph 5 states that carbon-14 dating “proved” Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s conclusion. The passage says only that recent carbon-14 dating “supports their conclusion,” so the explanation now says “supports”.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks you to find a key detail. Paragraph 6 says one mystery was solved, but it doesn’t say which one. You have to look back to find it.
Find the mystery and its answer
Paragraph 1 asks: “Where was this remarkable city, and who had built it?”
Paragraph 5 answers part of that. Scientists concluded “that the ruins were unmistakably African in origin.” The city was built “by the ancestors of the present-day Shona people.” Carbon-14 dating, a lab test that tells how old something is, supports this.
Match it to paragraph 6
Paragraph 6 says: “One mystery of Great Zimbabwe had been solved.” The solved mystery is the one paragraph 5 answers: who built the city. The next sentence starts, “Another mystery remains.” That one, why people left, is still open.
Check each choice
- A is the mystery that “remains,” so it is not solved.
- B The passage tells where the ivory and gold went, but never calls it a mystery.
- C The passage never explains why Europeans didn’t see the ruins until the 1870s.
- D fits. Paragraph 5 shows who built it.
Choose the answer
The mystery that had been solved is who built Great Zimbabwe: the ancestors of the Shona. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
Watch out for A. Its words sit right next to the quoted phrase in paragraph 6, so it is easy to grab. But that sentence says “Another mystery remains,” which means it is still open. Only D is a question the passage actually answers.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Ruins of a Fabled City” as printed (page 68)
Question 60 of 61
2018 Test A English, question 41Uses the passage above: “Ruins of a Fabled City”.
Question
The conclusions of David Randall-MacIver and Gertrude Caton-Thompson were significant because they
- Aproved that Great Zimbabwe was much older than previously thought.
- Bquestioned why the Shona people left Great Zimbabwe.
- Csupported the idea that the ancient Shona had a robust society at Great Zimbabwe.
- Drevealed that Great Zimbabwe was African in origin.
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The answer is (D)
The question asks for the impact of Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s discovery. David Randall-MacIver and Gertrude Caton-Thompson’s conclusions were significant because their excavation of the ruins revealed that Great Zimbabwe was most certainly built by the ancestors of modern-day Africans (paragraph 5), discrediting the long-standing idea that the structure was Middle Eastern in origin. This conclusion is stated in Option D.
Option A is incorrect because paragraph 5 states that Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson determined that the city was likely built in the fourteenth or fifteenth century, which was later than earlier explorers had assumed.
Option B is incorrect because the question of why the great city was abandoned was not part of Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s discovery.
Option C is incorrect because, while paragraph 5 also indicates that the Shona society was strong and healthy, this idea was not the main focus of Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson’s discovery.
Question analysis
This question asks why the conclusions of David Randall-MacIver and Gertrude Caton-Thompson about Great Zimbabwe mattered. Students must judge significance, not just recall facts, by weighing several details from paragraph 5 and deciding which one the passage treats as most important.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Weighing why a finding matters is typical grade 7 informational reading. The researchers' conclusion is easy to find, but students must use the earlier theories to see why it mattered, which keeps the task at grade 7.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 11, 524 words; question and choices: about grade 9, 52 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The finding itself is stated almost word for word, so the work is judging significance. Paragraph 5 piles several facts after the conclusion, a date, a population and trading kings, and one of them invites the reading that the researchers' point was a thriving society. Students who remember what Mauch and Hall believed see that overturning the Middle Eastern theory is what the passage treats as the turning point.
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
“Significant” is never explained; students must set “unmistakably African in origin” against the Queen of Sheba and Middle Eastern theories of paragraph 4 to see why it mattered. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Read paragraph 5 alongside paragraph 4, note what earlier investigators believed, and judge each choice by how much it changes or confirms that earlier picture.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Reversed relationship: Cause and effect, or the order of events, turned around.
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
The wrong answers, classified
A Reversed relationship (King et al., 2004)
Gets the time relation backward: a fourteenth- or fifteenth-century date makes the city far younger than the King Solomon and Queen of Sheba legends implied.
B Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Borrows the open question of why the settlement was abandoned, which the author raises in the last paragraph, not something these researchers addressed.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Picks the true picture of a large, wealthy Shona kingdom from the same paragraph, but that detail follows the conclusion and is not what made it significant.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks why the two scientists’ conclusion was significant, or important. To see why it mattered, compare it with what people believed before.
Recall the earlier beliefs
Paragraph 4 tells what people believed. Mauch thought the city “had been built by the Queen of Sheba.” Hall was sure it was built “by ancient people from the Middle East.” For centuries, who built the city was a mystery.
Find what they concluded
Paragraph 5 says Randall-MacIver and Caton-Thompson dug in places no one had disturbed. They “concluded that the ruins were unmistakably African in origin.”
Unmistakably means with no doubt. Origin means where something comes from. Their finding proved the old Middle East ideas wrong. That is why it was so important.
Check each choice
- A The passage dates the city to the 1300s or 1400s. That makes it much younger than the King Solomon legends, not older.
- B Why the Shona left is the open question in paragraph 6. These two did not study it.
- C Paragraph 5 does describe a rich kingdom. But that detail is not what made their finding important.
- D fits. They showed the city was African in origin.
Choose the answer
Their work was significant because it revealed that Great Zimbabwe was African in origin. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
C is the closest trap, because paragraph 5 does show a strong Shona kingdom of “an estimated 20,000 people.” But that detail comes after their conclusion. What mattered most was proving the city African, which overturned the Middle East theories. That is D.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
Question 61 of 61
2018 Test B English, question 12Passage The Tunguska Fireball
The Tunguska Fireball
On June 30, 1908, an enormous fireball shot across the sky and exploded high above the remote Tunguska River Valley in the Siberian region of Russia. Twenty miles away, huts were flattened and people were flung into the air. Villagers 40 miles away felt the heat and heard explosions, and tremors were recorded at a German seismic station more than 3,000 miles away.
What caused the intense light and the horrendous destruction of the Tunguska Fireball, as it came to be called? Scientists and laypeople have debated the question for over 100 years. Not until 1927 did a scientific expedition, led by Russian scientist Leonid Kulik, reach the remote site. Kulik discovered a vast region of scorched and downed trees, their trunks pointing away from the center of the blast. Convinced that a meteorite was responsible, Kulik searched for evidence—a crater, a buried meteorite, even fragments of the exploded mass. He never found it.
Other scientists, amateur astronomers, and the public suggested alternative theories of what had happened. Some thought it was an earthquake. Perhaps, others said, a black hole—a theoretical object in space where gravity is so strong that even light cannot get out—had collided with Earth or an alien spaceship carrying nuclear material had crashed.
For many years Russian scientists believed that the Tunguska Fireball was a comet—a cluster of dust and frozen gases—that had exploded a few hundred feet above the ground. They pointed to the lack of meteoric evidence and the June 30 date, a time of year when Earth was passing through cometary debris. Other scientists disagreed, arguing that a comet would have burned quickly in Earth’s atmosphere and could not have created such a blast.
Many Western scientists believed that a meteorite was responsible, despite the lack of evidence. The pattern of fallen trees suggested that they were knocked down by a blast about 4 miles above the ground with an energy of 15 megatons of TNT, consistent with a meteoric blast. Yet repeated searches of the surrounding forest and wetlands revealed no evidence of a meteorite.
During the 1990s an Italian physicist named Menotti Galli became interested. Galli had previously investigated whether particles from outer space can add carbon atoms to the cellulose in trees. Perhaps the trees at the Tunguska site hid evidence of such extraterrestrial material. Galli and his colleagues traveled to the site by helicopter to gather core samples from spruce trees that had lived through the blast. They analyzed the particles trapped in the trees’ resin, and the results were remarkable. Based on studying the trees’ rings during the time period when the Tunguska Fireball occurred, the researchers found that the resin contained high levels of high-proton elements, such as copper, gold, and nickel. In fact, it contained ten times more such particles than resin dating from either before or after that time period. Some previously discovered meteorites had also contained elevated levels of these elements, suggesting that the particles had an extra-earthly origin. But then where is the crater? Is it nearby Lake Cheko, as some claim? Or was the meteorite reduced to dust in the atmosphere? Can scientists rule out a comet carrying those elements? The mystery remains unsolved.
Question
What did Galli’s analysis of tree resin at the site reveal?
- ACertain elements were unusually abundant around the time of the blast.
- BParticles from outer space can add carbon atoms to trees.
- CSpruce trees were able to survive the Tunguska explosion.
- DMeteorites are composed of gold, copper, and other high-proton elements.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks for the evidence found after Galli’s analysis. Galli discovered unusually high levels of some elements, such as copper, gold, and nickel, which are common elements in particles from outer space that were abundant in the tree resin (paragraph 6), as stated in Option A.
Option B is incorrect because it refers to a prior finding of Galli’s, not what his analysis of the tree resin revealed.
Option C is incorrect because, although the spruce trees did survive the blast, they were the trees Galli studied rather than a revelation from his studies.
Option D is incorrect because it was previously known that meteorites contained these elements, and that information was not revealed by Galli’s analysis.
Question analysis
This key-details question asks what an Italian physicist’s study of tree resin at the Tunguska site revealed. Students read one dense paragraph about his research and pick the finding it reports. Several statements in that paragraph sound like discoveries, so students must tell the study’s result from background facts.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Reading closely for what a study found is typical grade 7 work with informational text. The extra effort here comes from technical vocabulary such as resin, cellulose and high-proton elements, packed into one long paragraph.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- The right answer is reworded moderate
- Hard words minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 10, 531 words; question and choices: about grade 8, 51 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The Galli paragraph mixes four kinds of statement, his earlier research, his hunch, his method and his findings, and only the findings answer the question. Students who match words rather than sentence roles are drawn to the one about carbon atoms, which repeats the passage most closely. The right choice uses none of the passage’s technical terms, so it can look less supported than it is.
The right answer is reworded moderate Choosing the answer
The right choice restates “ten times more such particles than resin dating from either before or after” as “unusually abundant around the time of the blast,” while a wrong one copies Galli’s earlier question almost word for word. (Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Hard words minor Understanding the question
“Cellulose,” “resin” and “high-proton elements” go unexplained in the 189-word Galli paragraph, so students who stall on them may lose track of which sentence reports the result. (Perfetti, 2007; Freedle & Kostin, 1993)
Strategy: In the Galli paragraph, find the sentences that report what the resin analysis itself showed, and check each choice against those sentences rather than the rest of the paragraph.
Traps
- True but not the answer: A choice says something accurate about the text that does not answer this question.
- Too broad or too strong: A choice overstates, generalizes, or uses absolute words the text does not support.
The wrong answers, classified
B Twists what the text says (King et al., 2004)
Turns what Galli “had previously investigated” before the trip, whether space particles add carbon to trees, into a result of the Tunguska resin analysis.
C True but not the answer (King et al., 2004; Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
States a true detail, that the sampled spruces lived through the blast, but that is why they could be studied, not what studying them revealed.
D Too broad or too strong (King et al., 2004)
Inflates the remark that some earlier meteorites “had also contained elevated levels” into a claim about what all meteorites are made of, and that was known before Galli.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks what Galli’s study of the tree resin found. Resin is the sticky sap inside a tree. You need the result of the study, not facts from before it.
Find the results in paragraph 6
Paragraph 6 says “the resin contained high levels of high-proton elements, such as copper, gold, and nickel.” Then it adds: “it contained ten times more such particles than resin dating from either before or after that time period.”
Put the results in plain words
Elements are basic materials, like gold and copper. The resin from the time of the blast had ten times more of them than resin from before or after. “Unusually abundant” means there was much more than normal. That is just what Galli found.
Check each choice
- A is right. Certain elements were much more common around the time of the blast.
- B is wrong. Galli “had previously investigated” this question before the trip. It was not a result of this study.
- C is wrong. The spruce trees did survive, but that is why he could study them. It is not what he found.
- D is wrong. Only “some previously discovered meteorites” had these elements. That was known before Galli, and it does not say what all meteorites are made of.
Watch out: B uses words from paragraph 6, but they describe Galli’s earlier work.
Choose the answer
The resin showed far more of these elements than usual, right around the time of the blast. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer, because it comes almost word for word from paragraph 6. But that sentence tells what Galli “had previously investigated” before this trip. The question asks what the Tunguska resin showed. Only A gives that result.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “The Tunguska Fireball” as printed (page 124)
