Placement Reading Test

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Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Young Artists

Some young artists in New Mexico are learning the art taught to them by their relatives. Along with about fifty other young people, they display and sell their each year at the traditional Spanish Market in Santa Fe.

At a young age, Daniel and Eleazar Martinez began helping their mother count rows of yarn on her loom. Then the boys learned to color the hand-spun yarn with dyes made from plants. Now the boys spend hours every day at their home in Chimayo, weaving their own small pieces. They use the striped designs that have been part of the Rio Grande weaving style for over 400 years

In Santa Fe, Marcial Rodriguez makes a small, geometrical designs with tiny pieces of straw, just the way his grandparents have done for over 60 years. He cuts the pieces of black, white, and natural colored-colored straw to exact lengths. Then He lays them side by side in a small wood frame to form triangles, lines, and squares. Marcial’s designs mainly come from his own imagination, but sometimes he gets an idea from stories that his grandfather tells him.

Daniel and Eleazar Martinez probably learned weaving mainly by ____.

a.	reading a book	c.	visiting the Spanish Market
b.	taking a class at school	d.	watching their mother work

What do Marcial Rodriguez’s picture show?

a.	Animals	c.	Flowers
b.	Shapes	d.	The article dose not say.

You can tell from this article that all of these children believe in _____.

a.	teaching their friends about art	c.	carrying on traditions
b.	helping little children	d.	learning from nature

The author organized the ideas in this article by ____.

a.	showing how two things are different	c.	explaining a main idea with examples
b.	giving steps to follow	d.	presenting an argument with reasons

Marcial Rodriguez gets some of his ideas from ____.

a.	nature	c.	friends
b.	stories	d.	other artists

You can tell the Chimayo is the name of a____

a.	town	c.	museum
b.	river	d.	market

Nutrition Labels

Janelle’s basketball team had just finished a winning season. To celebrate, the team was throwing a party. Janelle was in charge of buying crackers. She knew she wanted a low-sodium, low-calorie cracker, because she had always disliked salty-tasting food, and as an athlete, she was concerned about staying in shape. She compared to product labels before deciding which crackers to buy.

Janelle is looking closely at the product labels because she is concerned about ____.

a.	cost	c.	health
b.	taste	d.	packaging

The word sodium refers to ____.

a.	spice	c.	fat
b.	salt	d.	cholesterol

Which of these is reported as a percent?

a.	Calories	c.	Sodium
b.	Carbohydrates	d.	Protein

10.

The term ”polyunsaturated‘ has to do with the ____.

a.	number of servings	c.	number of calories
b.	type of fat	d.	type of minerals

11.

On the labels, RDA stands for____.

a.	Research Development Association	c.	Required Diet Amount
b.	Reduced Diet Allowance	d.	Recommended Daily Allowance

12.

Which of these is measured in milligrams?

a.	Iron	c.	Fat
b.	Serving size	d.	Potassium

13.

Which of these is not part of the RDA list?

a.	Vitamin C	c.	Calcium
b.	Carbohydrates	d.	Vitamin A

A Second Chance

In many Native American cultures, it is the custom for men to wear feathers that signify worthy accomplishments. This is a story about one young brave.

One day, Nequala decided his deeds in battle warranted a fine headdress. The headdress would not be made of eagle feathers found scattered at the base of the eagles’ nesting cliffs, but rather of feathers he himself would pluck from living eagles.

Nequala asked permission of the tribal council and then began his journey to the cliffs, stopping only to hunt in the forest for wolf meat to use as bait. Then he climbed up into the mountains, higher and higher, through puffy white clouds, to the place where eagles soared.

At the edge of the cliff on which Nequala stood clung a pine tree. From this tree, he hung a large piece of meat. Then, holding a stick with a noose at the end, he stood behind the tree to wait. Several eagles glided toward the bait, but each time Nequala waved them off with his stick, because they were too small and their feathers were not grand enough. Nequala complained about his bad luck and wasted time.

Just then, there was a great “whoosh” of air behind him. A huge pair of talons wrapped around Nequala’s upper arms and lifted him up into the sky! The earth below grew smaller and smaller as the eagle approached the tallest mountain peak of all. The eagle’s claws released Nequala beside a giant nest of eaglets.

“You are a fool!” screeched the eagle. “You were offered the feathers of he finest eagles, and still you were not satisfied. Because you are so greedy, you let opportunities pass you by. To punish you for your greed, I will leave you on this cold, windy mountain peak, to tend these young eagles. If you feed and tend them with care, perhaps one of them will grow strong enough to return you to your people.” With that, the magnificent eagle sent a great shriek into the sky and flew into the distance.

Nequala hunted meat for the eaglets not only because they were his only hope of returning home, but because he became truly fond of them. When they grew large enough to leave the nest, he was concerned.

“Now I will die,” Nequala said to himself.

However, after a few days, one of the young ones returned. Already, it had grown into a majestic and beautiful bird!

“Nequala!” it called as it flew toward him. Nequala stood and waved, feeling relief and joy in his heart.

“You are large and handsome now!” said Nequala.

“Every creature must be small before it can be great, Nequala,” said the bird as it lifted him. “I had to strengthen my wings and grow before I could carry you to earth.”

At the bottom of the cliffs, Nequala noticed many beautiful eagle feathers lying on the ground. What a fine headdress they would make!

14.

Why did the large eagle take Nequala to the nest?

a.	To honor him	c.	to teach him a lesson
b.	to share food with him	d.	to frighten him

15.

This story is most like a

a.	biography	c.	legend
b.	true adventure story	d.	tall tale

16.

At first, Nequala could best be described as _____

a.	proud	c.	generous
b.	gentle	d.	dishonest

17.

In order to go on his journey, Nequala asked for permission from _____

a.	his parents	c.	the other braves
b.	the large eagle	d.	the tribal leaders

18.

Nequala thought he would die because he ______

a.	he had no way to get food	c.	couldn’t get down the cliff
b.	had kept his promise	d.	couldn’t find his way home

19.

What caused Nequala’s problem?

a.	Greed	c.	Laziness
b.	Clumsiness	d.	Wastefulness

Porcupines

The porcupine, one of the strangest-looking animals in nature, has a very unusual mechanism for defending itself from its enemies. Stories about its bristling coat of quills, or spines, are common. However, few of these stories tell how the porcupine actually uses its quills.

The porcupine is a slow-moving animal, so it cannot run away from predators. Instead, it defends itself with 20,000 to 30,000 hollow quills. When an enemy comes close, a porcupine’s first protection tactic is to hunch over with its back to the intruder, stamp its feel, and slap the ground with its spiny tail. This produces a menacing, vibrating, tooth-clattering sound. If the attacker does not heed this warning and actually touches the porcupine, the quills stick to the predator.

The quills cause pain and are very difficult to remove. It is interesting to note that porcupine quills rarely cause infection, because they are coated with a greasy substance. Biologists believe this prevents the porcupine itself from being hurt by its own quills.

Only the wolverine, puma, fisher marten, and mountain lion will sometimes attack the porcupine in spite of its quills. Even when porcupines die, they are ignored by most other animals as a source of food. The quills of the creature command respect even after death. Hikers and campers should pay the same respect to this animal’s strange defense system.

20.

The purpose of the last sentence in the article is to ____

a.	pose a question	c.	predict an outcome
b.	explain a cause	d.	offer advice

21.

You can tell from this article that a predator is an animal that is ___

a.	hunting	c.	brave
b.	hiding	d.	quick-moving

22.

When a porcupine is frightened, it will first ___

a.	hiss	c.	shoot its quills
b.	make a rattling noise	d.	run away

23.

Which word best describes the overall tone of this article?

a.	humorous	c.	persuasive
b.	mysterious	d.	Informative

24.

Another good title for this article is ____

a.	“A Fierce Competitor”	c.	“A Good Defense”
b.	“Helpless Hunter”	d.	“Lost in the Forest”

Humane Society Offers Photos

The Belton Humane Society will offer pet owners the chance to buy computer-made pictures of themselves and their pets for $2.00 on Saturday, June 22. Money from the sale will be used to repair the animal shelter on Wolf Lane. The sale will take place at Herman’s Park, 211 Carter Avenue, from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. The Society will put the image on a T-shirt of the buyer’s choice at no extra cost. For people who cannot bring their pets to the park that day, the T-shirt computer pictures can also be made from existing photos.

The Humane Society will also show some of the animals living at the shelter. People who want a new pet can come and look at them.

“Remember, there is no cost for any animals,” said Dolores Chatham, head of the Society. “If you do choose to adopt a pet on Saturday, you can celebrate by getting a picture of your new pet.”

“These pictures make wonderful gifts,” said Vanessa Washington, a member of the Humane Society. “All animal lovers will be glad for this help for homeless animals.”

25.

The money collected from this project will mainly be used to help ____

a.	Homeless animal	c.	the photographer
b.	pet owners	d.	Herman’s park

26.

Which of these is an opinion in the article?

a.	Computer pictures can be made from existing photos.	c.	These pictures make wonderful gifts.
b.	Herman’s Park is located at 211 Carter Avenue.	d.	there is no cost for adopting an animal.

27.

Vanessa Washington wants you to believe that ___

a.	all pets will benefits from this project	c.	everyone is responsible for helping animals
b.	everyone in belton loves animals	d.	your money will be used for a good cause

28.

For $2.00, you will get a ___

a.	T-shirt	c.	leash
b.	pet	d.	computer picture

29.

You would most likely find this article in ___

a.	a pet owner’s manual	c.	a newspaper
b.	an encyclopedia	d.	a telephone book

Mr. Adams
By
Duane Damon

”Mr. Adams, the attorney?‘ The cloaked man stood in the doorway and nervously fingered his hat. Behind him, the snow-clad Boston morning of the year 1770 was unusually quiet.

Adams rose from behind his desk. “I am John Adams, yes,” he replied. “And you, sir?”

“James Forrest, sir,” the cloaked man answered, “a merchant by trade and a friend of Captain Preston.”

“Preston?” Adams echoed. “The leader of that band of Redcoats who murdered five unarmed patriots last night?”

“What happened in King Street was not murder, sir!” Forrest returned. “A wild, angry mob attacked a lone sentry on his post. Preston’s men fired on them in self-defense.”

“Attacked with what?” Adams huffed. “Snowballs, sticks, icicles? These are the weapons Boston citizens used to wage war on the Crown?”

Forrest’s face was grim. “You didn’t see the face of Private White last night. If you had, you’d know how well the crowd waged its ‘war’.”

“Why come to me?” Adams asked. “It is no secret that I waste little love on our British king.”

“But it’s also no secret that you have a deep respect for our British law,” Forrest said. “No other lawyer in Boston dares defend Preston and his men.”

“What could I say, Abby?” Adams wondered aloud to his wife that evening. “I have always said that no man in these colonies should lack for legal counsel. It shouldn’t matter who he is or how unpopular he may be. Someone had to take the case. The people in town are calling the shooting a massacre. The British soldiers who fired those shots are the most hated men in the colony. This case could make me the most famous lawyer in Massachusetts, Abby, or it could mean my ruin.”

Eight months later, Adams paced the floor in his drawing room.

“What is it now?” asked Abigail. “You’ve won your case. Captain Preston and his men are free.”

“So I did,” Adams said. “And now all of Boston distrusts me. People avoid me on the street, or they whisper insults behind my back. I tell you, I’ve had my fill of Boston and its headaches. Farewell, politics!”

Abigail looked at her husband thoughtfully. “We’ll see.”

(John Adams became the first Vice President in 1789 and the second President of the United States in 1797.)

30.

James Forrest’s role was that of a ____

a.	lawyer	c.	police officer
b.	messenger	d.	judge

31.

When Adams talked about the weapons the citizens used, his tone was ___

a.	Jovial	c.	disinterested
b.	calm	d.	sarcastic

32.

The morning was probably unusually quiet because ___

a.	the king had posted guards around the city	c.	word had spread about the previous night’s incident
b.	the snow prevented people from leaving their homes	d.	a murderer was loose in the city

33.

Why did Boston residents whisper insults about Adams?

a.	He had refused to fight for the British king.	c.	He had defended their enemy.
b.	He had won fame a Preston’s expense.	d.	He Had neglected to uphold the law.

34.

The boxes show some events in the story.

Citizens attacked a sentry.		Adams agreed to take the case.

1 2 3
Which of these belongs in the empty box?

a.	Adams discussed the case with his wife.	c.	John and Abigail decide to leave Boston.
b.	People in Boston whispered about Adams.	d.	Some Redcoats fired on the citizens.

35.

Who was Preston?

a.	A soldier	c.	A merchant
b.	A patriot	d.	A Rebel

Sportswriter

John R. Tunis was a radio sports announcer in the 1930s and 1940s. He also wrote books for young people and articles about sports.

Tunis wrote about his feelings about sports and the social issues they exposed. An athlete himself, he felt that sports gave people a chance to challenge themselves and to work as a team. Some people felt that winning at any cost was most important. Tunis wrote about the corruption of sports that such a shameful attitude can cause. Many other sportswriters accused Tunis of not being loyal to the business.

In 1938, Tunis gave his book, Iron Duke, to an editor. It told the story of a young boy and his experiences as a runner and student at Harvard University. The editor suggested that the book be published for young people. Tunis was shocked, since he had written it for adults. Iron Duke won an award as the best book for young people that year, and Tunis soon became a well-known writer. For many years after that, he wrote one or two books a year.

Tunis wrote thrilling plots and gave his young readers a chance to think about social issues. In All-American, a football team is asked to play in a bowl game in Florida, but the team’s only black player is not invited to play. In Keystone Kids, a star baseball player is taunted because he is Jewish. Many libraries would not put the book on their shelves, yet in 1949, over 50,000 young people voted Tunis their favorite author.

Although Tunis’s had been out of print for years, several have been reissued in new editions.

36.

In paragraph 4, the author shows that Tunis –

a.	favored football over other sports	c.	disagreed with the libraries’ move to keep his books off the shelves
b.	led a fulfilling life	d.	wanted young readers to think about important issues

37.

Which statement probably describes Tunis’s feelings about sports?

a.	Only the most talented can succeed at sports.	c.	Sports provide worthwhile opportunities.
b.	Sports are meant mainly to entertain.	d.	Sports make people want to read.

38.

What question does the first paragraph answer?

a.	What sports did John Tunis write about?	c.	Who was John Tunis?
b.	Why did John Tunis become a writer?	d.	How did John Tunis prepare for his career?

39.

The author uses the word corruption to mean –

a.	disgrace	c.	promotion
b.	fear	d.	confusion

40.

According to the article, John Tunis was most interested in –

a.	fame	c.	personal wealth
b.	politics	d.	social change

41.

Who criticized John Tunis’s writing?

a.	The coach of the team	c.	A sports announcer
b.	Some other sportswriters	d.	A group of his readers

42.

This article is most like –

a.	a biography	c.	a newspaper editorial
b.	a folk tale	d.	an advertisement

On the Road

Manny shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted past the mesquite trees and creosote bushes. From his vantage point at the top of the long incline, the long black ribbon of highway stretched eastward back toward Duncan. About two miles away, something shiny caught the desert sun, glinting a meaningless message in some nonexistent code. Probably the shards of a bottle thrown by some unthinking traveler, Manny thought. No sign of the blue station wagon. No sign of anything moving at all.

He glanced back at the raised hood of the ’79 car. Steam still hissing from the radiator immediately evaporated into the heat-baked air. Manny flicked his eyes down at his watch and then back to the road. Josie was only a half-hour behind me, he thought, but the station wagon wasn’t in much better shape than his car. What if Josie is sitting by the side of the road somewhere, waiting for me to turn around and help her? They could have avoided this problem if they had taken the interstate to Phoenix. Why hadn’t his sister listened to him?

43.

What was Manny’s problem?

a.	He didn’t know where to meet Josie.	c.	He couldn’t remember which road to take.
b.	His car had broken down.	d.	His car had run out of gas.

44.

Manny was afraid that –

a.	Josie was playing a joke on him	c.	Josie was waiting for him somewhere
b.	he would run out of water	d.	they would not get to Phoenix before dark

45.

There is enough information in the story to show that –

a.	Josie had taken a different route	c.	Josie had gotten lost
b.	Josie and Manny had a disagreement	d.	Manny wished they were not making this trip

46.

Why were Manny and Josie traveling to Pheonix?

a.	They were going to visit their brother.	c.	They were on their way to California.
b.	They were moving there.	d.	The story does not say.

47.

The shiny object Manny saw was probably –

a.	a coin	c.	glass
b.	a mirror	d.	a car’s headlights

48.

At the end of the story, Manny felt –

a.	jealous	c.	guilty
b.	frustrated	d.	amazed

Job Application

Lisa has graduated from high school and is looking for a full-time job. When hse sees a notice at the Furniture World near her house, she goes in to ick up an application.

49.

If Lisa is not hired within thirty days, what should she do?

a.	Nothing	c.	Wait another thirty days
b.	Call the manager	d.	Fill out another application

50.

Lisa got the idea to apply to Furniture World from –

a.	a sign in the store window	c.	her friends
b.	an ad in the newspaper	d.	a radio ad

51.

In section 4, Lisa should list –

a.	people who know her	c.	the type of work she would like to do
b.	the schools she has attended	d.	her past job experience

52.

Section 5 is written in order to –

a.	provide training for new employees	c.	check the applicant’s honesty
b.	measure the applicant’s reading skills	d.	protect Furniture World

53.

Which section should Lisa leave blank?

a.	1	c.	5
b.	3	d.	6

54.

The purpose of Section 2 is to find out –

a.	whether or not you have another job	c.	how reliable you will be
b.	when you can work	d.	if you have arrived at work on time in the past