Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.
A Rite of Passage (and the Importance of Penguin Etiquette)
by Chris Epting
1] There’s a common expression, “No pain, no gain,” which means that achievement requires some sort of sacrifice—mental sacrifice, physical sacrifice—something. Little did I know how important that phrase would soon become in my life, all because of an invitation to witness, up close and personal, some of the most fascinating (and loveable) animals on this planet.
2] When my fourteen-year-old daughter, Claire, and I found out that we were going to Antarctica to visit with and study the emperor penguins, we were thrilled. We had entered and won an essay contest. The grand prize promised an almost unfathomable adventure: three weeks living aboard a Russian icebreaker ship near an icy, remote outpost called Snow Hill Island.
3] Getting to Antarctica is no small feat. It is extremely difficult to fly there, as the official population is zero. The few who are lucky enough to visit this most mysterious continent do so by ships.
4] This is where the “pain” comes in. You see, to reach Antarctica, ships must pass through a notoriously violent area of ocean called the Drake Passage, considered to be the roughest stretch of sea on the planet.
5] Walls of water thirty, sometimes forty feet high—tremendous towers of dark green, icy waves—continually crashed about our ship for two solid days. We would hold on to a railing inside the ship while being violently tilted to one extreme side, then to the other, and then back again. Over and over and over, nonstop. If not for the belt straps on our cabin bed, we would have flown up in the air as we tried to sleep.
6] My daughter and I knew about the Drake Passage and were as mentally prepared as we could be. We knew what waited at the end of the journey—the penguins—and so together we convinced ourselves it was all worth the pain. But as mentally prepared as we were, we also had to be physically aware, as well. It was important to always watch our footing as we crept to the dining room each day to carefully grab a quick meal before returning to our cabin to ride out the sickening, never-ending storm.
7] I started to wonder, “Is this worth it? Will the gain be worth all of this struggle?”
8] Then, about two and a half days after entering the Drake Passage, the waters calmed. For the first time on our journey, we walked out on deck and felt the sweet bite of the cold, clean air on our faces.
9] Soon, we noticed small black specks on nearby pieces of floating ice. Emperor penguins! The closer our ship got, the more it seemed as if the animals were welcoming us—some of them actually beating their wings together, as if they were applauding our arrival.
10] Before long, we reached our final destination, and we were allowed to take our first ice walk. Across the crunchy surface, we could see hundreds of penguins in the distance, watching us as we watched them.
11] As we learned on board, their interest was to be expected. Penguins are extremely curious and not fearful of humans.
12] The next day, two helicopters that would take us from our ship to the base camp were assembled on the deck of the ship.
13] After landing, we were given instructions on “penguin etiquette.” These were the basic rules: You can’t touch a penguin, but they can touch you if they’d like. You can’t crowd them, but they can crowd you if they so desire. And you always give them the right of way. Beyond those rules, we were free to explore, photograph, and observe to our heart’s content.
14] We began the two-mile hike over the ice to the penguin colony.
15] Within several hundred yards, little clusters of emperors, perhaps ten or so at a time, greeted us, sliding on their bellies and making their wonderful noises, sort of a nasally squeal. But the real treat still awaited: the colony.
16] As far as we could see, there were emperor penguins—tens of thousands of them, stretched out to the horizon line. It was breathtaking. Thousands of newly hatched chicks waddled among the adults, vying for attention.
17] We found a quiet piece of ice, sat down, and within minutes were surrounded by dozens of curious emperors. In some cases, their beaks were just inches from our noses.
18] One day, two adult emperors with their three chicks in tow approached Claire, who was resting on the ice. They left the chicks with her, as if she were the babysitter. Twenty minutes later they returned to collect the chicks. And I will never forget the penguin that, when I jokingly asked which way back to the helicopters, pointed a wing in the correct direction.
19] Every night aboard our safe and warm ship, we thought about what it takes to survive in Antarctica, an incredibly harsh place.
20] But each day on the ice, we also thought about the Drake passage, that monstrous body of water we had to endure to get where we were. Over the course of our visit, we came to respect and even revere the power of that sea.
21] We still talk about the penguins, as I’m sure we always will. But we talk about the Drake too. Both experiences were unforgettable, and one would not have been possible without the other.
22] No pain, no gain.
From Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays: Your Favorite Authors Take a Stab at the Dreaded Essay Assignment © 2013 edited by Rebecca Stern and Brad Wolfe. Reprinted by permission of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership. All rights reserved.
Question (1)
Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.
When describing the penguins, the author mostly focuses on their —
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- D
In paragraph 4, what does the word notoriously mean?
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Which sentence from the selection best conveys the author’s main message?
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The organizers of the expedition created “penguin etiquette” most likely to —
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Based on the selection, what did the author most likely gain from his experience?
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What is the best summary of this selection?
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Which sentence from the selection best expresses the author’s enthusiasm during his observation of the penguins?
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Read this sentence from paragraph 8.
For the first time on our journey, we walked out on deck and felt the sweet bite of the cold, clean air on our faces.
The sensory language in this sentence best reveals the author’s —
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Question (9)
Read the next two selections and answer each question.
Use “Persevering Plants” to answer questions 9–13.
Which characteristic of the geothermal vents made the survival of nearby plants so surprising?
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How do the photograph and caption after paragraph 4 help the reader better understand the selection?
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How are paragraphs 2 through 4 organized?
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What is paragraph 1 mostly about?
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An idea emphasized throughout the selection is that Rodriguez’s endophyte solution —
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Question (14)
Use “The Cure for Concrete” to answer questions 14–18.
Which statement best expresses the main idea of paragraph 3?
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The information in paragraph 6 helps the reader understand that bioconcrete —
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How does the author organize paragraph 1?
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What is the best summary of the article?
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Read this sentence from paragraph 2.
When a bone breaks in the human body, it is able to repair itself.
What is the most likely reason the author includes this information?
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Question (19)
Use “Persevering Plants” and “The Cure for Concrete” to answer questions 19–22.
What is one way that Rodriguez’s and Jonkers’ methods were similar?
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Read this sentence from paragraph 5 of “Persevering ”
Rodriguez has tested his endophyte mixture on crops and achieved success.
Which sentence from “The Cure for Concrete” shows a similar outcome for bioconcrete?
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- D
What is one problem presented about bioconcrete that is not presented about endophyte fungi?
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What is one difference between Rodriguez’s endophyte mixture and the bacteria in Jonkers’ products?
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Question (23)
Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.
Which of these ideas is emphasized by the simile in lines 7 and 8?
- A
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- D
Read the dictionary entry.
afford \Ǩ-Ɏf˙ord\ v
- to bear the financial cost of 2. to be able to spare or give up 3. to provide for another 4. to be the cause or source of
Which definition best matches the way the word afford is used in line 4?
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What process is the poet describing when she uses the words “i remove its muddy shoes and rearrange the pillows” in lines 21 and 22?
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The title of the poem is effective because it suggests that the speaker —
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What do the contrasting images in lines 17 through 22 suggest?
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The poet uses lines 1 through 6 to establish that —
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“Gist memory” occurs when the brain —
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In paragraph 6, the word prevalent means —
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What example of “attentional saturation” does the author provide in the selection?
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- D
Which sentence from the selection suggests that companies may want to reconsider their approach to branding their products?
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The author mentions common name brands in the first paragraph most likely to —
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What is paragraph 2 mainly about?
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How does the author organize the selection?
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According to paragraph 6, people are more likely to buy a product when they —
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Question (37)
Read the passage and answer each question.
The main role of Andy’s art teacher in this story is to help —
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What is the best summary of the story?
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Which sentence from the story creates an image of how tailoring can help people?
- A
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- D
In paragraph 15, the word donned means —
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What lesson is referred to in the title of the story?
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- E
Read this sentence from paragraph 9.
Mostly he drew during the free minutes of his day, when he could empty his mind and just trust his charcoal pencil.
Based on this sentence, the reader can conclude that Andy —
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- D
Which sentence best expresses a theme in the story?
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- D
Read this sentence from paragraph
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