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.
Pia reads the article. Which sentence states the author's own position on exploring Mars, not a view the author reports?
- [8] The sensible order is to learn all we can with machines before asking people to go.
- [3] It is hard to answer that argument, and I will not pretend it is wrong.
- [5] Robotic rovers have already driven across Mars, drilled into its rocks, and sent home pictures that thrilled people around the world.
- [1] Supporters of sending astronauts to Mars argue that people can do in a day what a robot needs weeks to finish.
Ren looks at sentence [3]. What job does it do for the author's position?
- It shows the author has weighed the other side fairly, which makes the position easier to trust.
- It adds a second example of what a geologist could do quickly on a Martian hillside.
- 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.
Tala puts the author's position and purpose together. Which choice states both?
- 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.
- 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.
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?
- [6] Even so, I believe schools should keep teaching cursive for a short time each year.
- [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.
- [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.
Ari looks at sentence [5]. What job does it do for the author's position?
- It shows the author believes cursive is more useful than typing in most school subjects and in the working world.
- It shows the author is not against keyboards, so the request for cursive does not seem extreme.
- It gives a second reason that typing is faster than writing letters by hand in class.
- It repeats the critics' claim that students no longer need cursive in a world of keyboards.
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?
- [6] Honeybees that have food and water in their own yard seldom bother people who stay out of their flight path.
- [2] Some neighbors worry that bees will sting children or frighten the visitors who come to their yards.
- [8] Instead of a ban, the council should require a fence or hedge, a water source, and registration for each hive.
- [4] Bees do sometimes sting, and no rule can remove that risk completely.
Jun looks at sentence [3]. What job does it do for the author's position?
- 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.
- It repeats the neighbors' demand for a ban on hives across the city, in the author's words.
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.
- Allow hives with no rules; persuade the council that bees are harmless to the neighbors.
- Ban backyard hives; persuade the council that stings are a real danger to young children.
- 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 states the stores' opinion that the town should reject the fee before the vote.
- It repeats the store owners' warning about shoppers going to stores in the next town.
- It shows the author has dropped support for the fee and now agrees with the store owners in town.
- It accepts the residents' worry about cost, which leads to the free-bag plan in sentence [7].
