Where the author stands, and how it differs from others
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Robots First, Then People (article)
[1] Supporters of sending astronauts to Mars argue that people can do in a day what a robot needs weeks to finish. [2] A geologist standing on a hillside can spot an odd rock, pick it up, and decide at once where to look next.
[3] It is hard to answer that argument, and I will not pretend it is wrong. [4] Yet a human mission to Mars would take years, cost far more than any robot mission, and carry risks that no one has faced before. [5] Robotic rovers have already driven across Mars, drilled into its rocks, and sent home pictures that thrilled people around the world.
[6] Each new rover is better than the last one, and none of them needs food, air, or a trip home. [7] A rover can work for years without a day of rest, sending its findings back to Earth by radio. [8] The sensible order is to learn all we can with machines before asking people to go. [9] When the robots have shown us where the most promising places are, and what dangers wait there, the astronauts will have a safer and smarter journey.
Ren looks at sentence [3]. What job does it do for the author's position?
- It repeats the supporters' argument about astronauts and robots in the author's own words.
- It shows the author has changed sides and now supports sending astronauts ahead of the robots to Mars.
- It adds a second example of what a geologist could do quickly on a Martian hillside.
- It shows the author has weighed the other side fairly, which makes the position easier to trust.
Tala puts the author's position and purpose together. Which choice states both?
- Send robots to Mars first; persuade readers that machines should explore before people go.
- Do not send astronauts to Mars; warn readers that human travel there is too risky to try.
- Admit that people explore better than robots; inform readers how geologists work on Mars.
- Send astronauts to Mars at once; persuade readers that people can work faster than robots.
Keeping Cursive (article)
[1] Schools across the country have been dropping cursive handwriting from their lessons. [2] Critics of cursive say that students no longer need it, since they type most of their work and can sign their names in print.
[3] I cannot dispute that typing is faster. [4] A letter on a keyboard takes a fraction of the time that a looped letter takes to write by hand. [5] That advantage is real, and I would never ask students to give up their keyboards. [6] Even so, I believe schools should keep teaching cursive for a short time each year.
[7] Speed was never the whole reason to teach handwriting. [8] Students who cannot read cursive cannot read a grandparent's letter, an old family recipe, or historic documents such as the Declaration of Independence. [9] Learning cursive also gives young writers practice in steady, controlled hand movements. [10] Dropping it saves a few hours of class time but closes a door that opens onto the past.
Zee reads the article. Which sentence states the author's own position on cursive, not a view the author reports?
- [2] Critics of cursive say that students no longer need it, since they type most of their work and can sign their names in print.
- [8] Students who cannot read cursive cannot read a grandparent's letter, an old family recipe, or historic documents such as the Declaration of Independence.
- [6] Even so, I believe schools should keep teaching cursive for a short time each year.
- [3] I cannot dispute that typing is faster.
Ari looks at sentence [5]. What job does it do for the author's position?
- It repeats the critics' claim that students no longer need cursive in a world of keyboards.
- It gives a second reason that typing is faster than writing letters by hand in class.
- It shows the author is not against keyboards, so the request for cursive does not seem extreme.
- It shows the author believes cursive is more useful than typing in most school subjects and in the working world.
Bo puts the author's position and purpose together. Which choice states both?
- Replace typing with cursive in class; warn readers that keyboards harm young writers.
- Drop cursive from school lessons; persuade readers that typing has replaced handwriting for good.
- Keep teaching cursive for a short time each year; persuade readers that it still has value.
- Admit that typing is faster; inform readers how fast people type on a keyboard.
Bees in the Backyard (article)
[1] The city council is debating a ban on backyard beehives. [2] Some neighbors worry that bees will sting children or frighten the visitors who come to their yards.
[3] Their fear is understandable, and a hive next to a playground would be a poor idea. [4] Bees do sometimes sting, and no rule can remove that risk completely. [5] But a worry about the wrong hive is not a reason to ban every hive. [6] Honeybees that have food and water in their own yard seldom bother people who stay out of their flight path.
[7] A single hive can produce enough honey to share with a whole street, and the bees visit nearby gardens and fruit trees. [8] Instead of a ban, the council should require a fence or hedge, a water source, and registration for each hive. [9] Rules like these would protect neighbors while keeping a useful hobby alive for the families who enjoy it.
Esme reads the article. Which sentence says what the author thinks the council should do, not a view the author reports?
- [2] Some neighbors worry that bees will sting children or frighten the visitors who come to their yards.
- [4] Bees do sometimes sting, and no rule can remove that risk completely.
- [6] Honeybees that have food and water in their own yard seldom bother people who stay out of their flight path.
- [8] Instead of a ban, the council should require a fence or hedge, a water source, and registration for each hive.
Jun looks at sentence [3]. What job does it do for the author's position?
- It repeats the neighbors' demand for a ban on hives across the city, in the author's words.
- It adds that bees may frighten visitors to the yard as well as sting the neighbors' children.
- It shows the author wants hives banned near any park, school, or playground in the city.
- It grants the neighbors a fair point, so the author's later objection to a ban sounds reasonable.
Kira puts the author's position and purpose together. Which choice states both?
- Allow backyard hives with rules; persuade the council to replace a ban with careful requirements.
- Ban backyard hives; persuade the council that stings are a real danger to young children.
- Allow hives with no rules; persuade the council that bees are harmless to the neighbors.
- Admit that bees sometimes sting; inform the council how many people are stung each year.
The Bag Fee Vote (article)
[1] The town of Pelham will vote next month on a ten-cent fee for each plastic bag handed out at checkout. [2] Store owners warn that the fee will irritate customers and push shoppers toward stores in the next town.
[3] Some residents add that the fee will fall hardest on families with tight budgets. [4] The second concern is serious, and any plan must answer it. [5] The first is weaker, because shoppers in nearby towns already pay a similar fee and keep coming back to the stores that charge it.
[6] A fee works because people notice a small cost and start bringing their own bags. [7] The town can hand out free reusable bags to every household and give extra bags to families who ask. [8] With those protections, I believe Pelham should pass the fee. [9] Fewer bags blowing into the creek will be reason enough to be glad.
Luz reads the article. Which sentence states the author's own position on the fee, not a view the author reports?
- [2] Store owners warn that the fee will irritate customers and push shoppers toward stores in the next town.
- [6] A fee works because people notice a small cost and start bringing their own bags.
- [4] The second concern is serious, and any plan must answer it.
- [8] With those protections, I believe Pelham should pass the fee.
Milo looks at sentence [4]. What job does it do for the author's position?
- It shows the author has dropped support for the fee and now agrees with the store owners in town.
- It repeats the store owners' warning about shoppers going to stores in the next town.
- It states the stores' opinion that the town should reject the fee before the vote.
- It accepts the residents' worry about cost, which leads to the free-bag plan in sentence [7].