WorkbookEdition 6 at the museum

READTHEORY Passage and Questions Name Date • Reading Comprehension Assessment Directions: Read the passage Then answer the questions below At the Museum Earlier this year, my uncle took my brother and me into the city He picked us up early on a Saturday morning and drove us through the tunnel into Manhattan My uncle refused to tell us where we were going, but we both knew that it would be fun Any time we’d gone into the city before, we had always had fun So why would this be any different? And we were right! He parked the car and led us down a street that touched Central Park It was a beautiful summer day, so the entire park was full of blue skies and green grass My brother and I just assumed we were going into the park, but we guessed incorrectly After a ten-minute walk or so, we arrived at the American Museum of Natural History Entering the Museum The building was one of the largest we’d ever seen My uncle walked us up the steps We entered the museum and saw a statue of President Teddy Roosevelt My uncle told us that the land for the museum had been donated by the Roosevelt family My brother told me that he knew that, but he lies about knowing things all the time He also told me that the entire museum was full of Roosevelt exhibits Boy was he wrong! In fact, the museum was full of animals “Natural history” is the “scientific study of animals, plants, and the whole natural world.” This means that the Natural History Museum displays plants and animals, not stuff we usually learn in history class at school Animals on Display The museum is divided into several large halls Each hall is full of displays of animals just as they would appear in nature But it’s not like a zoo These animals are dead and have been stuffed for display This allows the viewer to see the animals at a much closer distance than one can see them at a zoo We saw bears, a blue whale, ostriches, and even animals we’d never heard of like okapis Those were my favorite They kind of look like zebras mixed with giraffes My brother liked the dinosaur exhibits best, and my uncle said his favorite thing as a kid was the giant squid in one of the halls At the end of the day, my uncle bought me a stuffed okapi at the museum gift shop My brother got a dinosaur The day was one of the most fun ones I’ve had all year We were right when we guessed that our uncle was taking us someplace fun in New York 1) As used in paragraph 2, the word assumed most nearly means A B C D knew proved wished supposed READTHEORY Questions 2) Which of the following best describes the narrator’s mood at the beginning of the passage, before arriving at the museum? A B C D bored and uninterested excited and curious certain and confident careful and unsure 3) According to the passage, the American Museum of Natural History is located A B C D in Manhattan near Central Park in New York all of the above 4) In paragraph 3, the narrator suggests that his or her brother A B C D often pretends to know things he really does not know can be very mean and hurtful from time to time is foolish and knows very little about natural history does not like spending time with the two siblings’ uncle 5) Which of the following provides the best summary of what happens in this passage? A The narrator’s uncle explains to the narrator and his or her brother what natural history is, and then they visit a museum of the subject B The narrator’s uncle takes the narrator and his or her brother to New York for the first time and they visit Central Park and the American Museum of Natural History C The narrator’s uncle takes the narrator and his or her brother to a museum the two children have never been to, and they learn about natural history D The narrator’s uncle takes the narrator and his or her brother to a museum that displays information about Teddy Roosevelt and New York history 6) Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as something displayed at the American Museum of Natural History? A B C D giraffes a blue whale dinosaurs a giant squid 7) Would you like to visit the Natural History museum in New York? Why or why not? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ READTHEORY Questions 8) Why museums exist? What can you learn at a museum that you cannot learn in a classroom? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9) Use the space below to write a short story about a time when you visited a museum like the one described in the passage _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ READTHEORY Answers and Explanations 1) D Question Type: Vocabulary assumed (verb): supposed to be the case without actually having proof In the second paragraph, the narrator states that he or she and his or her brother “just assumed we were going into the park” but adds that they “had guessed incorrectly.” We can use context clues—hints from known words or phrases around the unknown word or phrase—to help us figure out what the word assumed most nearly means The above quotation suggests that assumed and guessed are close in meaning Supposed is also close in meaning to guessed, so choice (D) is correct The narrator states that he or she and his or her brother “just assumed we were going into the park” but adds that they “had guessed incorrectly.” This suggests that they had only guessed they were going into the park That means they did not know they were going into the park It also means that assumed and knew not have the same meaning, so choice (A) is not correct The narrator states that he or she and his or her brother “just assumed we were going into the park” but adds that they “had guessed incorrectly.” This suggests that they had only guessed they were going into the park That means they did not have proof that they were going into the park It also means that assumed is not the same as proved, so choice (B) is not correct The narrator states that he or she and his or her brother “just assumed we were going into the park” but adds that they “had guessed incorrectly.” This suggests that they had only guessed they were going into the park That does not suggest that they wanted to go into the park, though This means that assumed and wished are not similar in meaning, so choice(C) is not correct 2) B Question Type: Inference At the beginning of the passage, the narrator states that he or she knew the trip into the city with his or her uncle “would be fun.” This suggests that he or she is excited about the trip However, the uncle did not tell the narrator where they were going This makes the narrator curious about where they are going Choice (B) is correct because of this At the beginning of the passage, the narrator states that he or she knew the trip into the city with his or her uncle “would be fun.” This suggests that he or she is excited about the trip, not bored Because of this, choice (A) is not correct Though the first paragraph makes it clear that the narrator is certain the trip with the uncle will be fun, it also makes clear the narrator is excited about the trip Additionally, the narrator is not confident about his or her predictions about where the uncle is taking him or her and his or her brother The children guess incorrectly that they are going into Central Park, for example Because of this, choice (C) is not correct Nothing in the passage suggests that the narrator is cautious or careful Instead, the passage makes clear that he or she trusts his or her uncle to take him or her someplace fun This means choice (D) is not correct 3) D Question Type: Detail Choice (D) is correct, as the museum is located in all three places mentioned The answer to this detail question can be found throughout the passage In various points of the passage, the narrator describes where the museum is located In paragraph 1, he or she says that the uncle drove the narrator and his or her brother “through the tunnel into Manhattan.” This makes choice (A) true However, paragraph also says that the three museum-goers had to walk by Central Park in order to enter the museum This means that the museum is located near Central Park and that choice (B) is also true Finally, in the last sentence of the passage, the narrator makes it clear that the museum-goers were at “someplace fun in New York.” This makes it clear that the museum is also located in New York It also makes choice (C) true 4) A Question Type: Inference In the third paragraph, the narrator states that his or her brother “lies about knowing things all the time.” He or she adds that the brother was wrong about what was in the museum, though he pretended to know This means that the brother often pretends to know things he really does not know It also means choice (A) is correct No part of the passage suggests that the brother is mean In the third paragraph, the narrator only states that his or her brother “lies about knowing things all the time.” This does not mean the brother is hurtful though Because of this, choice (B) is not correct In the third paragraph, the narrator states that his or her brother “lies about knowing things all the time.” This suggests only that the brother pretends to know things, but it does not suggest that he is actually foolish or not smart Pretending to know something does not mean one is dumb Because of this, choice (C) is not correct No part of the passage suggests that the brother dislikes his uncle In the third paragraph, the narrator only states that his or her brother “lies about knowing things all the time.” This does not mean the brother doesn’t like spending time with his uncle though Because of this, choice (D) is not correct 5) C Question Type: Global The passage has three parts In the first section, the narrator describes his or her uncle picking the narrator and his her or brother up, driving “through the tunnel into Manhattan,” and taking them to the American Museum of Natural History In the second part of the passage, the narrator describes the entrance to the museum and makes it clear he or she has not been there before For example, he or she states that his or her brother acted like he knew what was in the museum but was wrong about it, since “the museum was full of animals,” not Roosevelt exhibits Finally, the passage describes what is in the museum and defines natural history as “the ‘scientific study of animals, plants, and the whole natural world.’” This means the two children also learned about the subject Therefore, choice (C) is correct It provides the best summary of the passage In the passage, the children learn about natural history from the museum, not from their uncle This means choice (A) is not correct In the passage, the narrator makes it clear that he or she has been to New York before He or she writes that “any time we’d gone into the city before, we had always had fun.” This makes it clear that he or she is not visiting the city for the first time, so choice (B) is not correct The passage makes it clear that the museum has “natural history” exhibits, not just information about Teddy Roosevelt The third section of the passage, for instance, describes all the animals the children saw with their uncle Because of this, choice (D) is not correct 6) A Question Type: Detail READTHEORY Answers and Explanations To answer this detail question correctly, look for the part of the passage that describes what is in the museum This occurs under the heading “Animals on Display.” There, the passage describes all the animals seen at the museum In that section, the passage does not say that giraffes were on display It only states that the museum had okapis, which looked “like zebras mixed with giraffes.” Therefore, choice (A) is correct, since the question asks for the thing not displayed at the museum The sixth paragraph states that the children “saw bears, a blue whale, ostriches, and even animals we’d never heard of like okapis” at the museum This means choice (B) is not correct The sixth paragraph says that the narrator’s brother “like the dinosaur exhibits best.” This means the museum displayed dinosaurs, so choice (C) is not correct In the sixth paragraph, the narrator says that his or her “uncle said his favorite thing as a kid was the giant squid in one of the halls.” This means the museum contained a giant squid, so choice (D) is not correct