Remove details that do not belong
Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Street Trees and City Summers (student draft: informative)
[1] Planting trees along city streets, a practice centuries old, does more than make a block look pleasant. [2] On a hot afternoon, a shaded sidewalk can be many degrees cooler than pavement in full sun, because leaves block sunlight and release water vapor. [3] Researchers comparing blocks with and without mature trees often find that shaded blocks stay cooler during heat waves, which can cut the need for air conditioning. [4] Trees also change how a neighborhood is valued, since homes on tree-lined blocks often sell for more than similar homes elsewhere.
[5] Trees also help cities cope with heavy rainfall that overwhelms aging drains. [6] A large tree catches rain on its leaves, while its roots loosen packed soil so that more water soaks in instead of rushing toward storm drains. [7] During intense storms, this slower runoff can ease the strain on sewer systems, a problem that older cities know well. [8] A newly planted sapling may need twenty years before its canopy catches much rain.
[9] The air that residents breathe also improves where trees are plentiful. [10] Leaves trap dust and soot on their surfaces, and later rainfall washes much of it to the ground, where it is less likely to be inhaled. [11] Studies in several cities estimate that urban forests remove thousands of tons of air pollution yearly, although the amount depends on how many trees a city has. [12] A single tree in a front yard can also give songbirds a place to nest, a pleasure that many residents mention.
[13] Cities can protect the trees they already have, because mature trees deliver the greatest benefit. [14] A city that plants thousands of trees in one season can end up with a canopy of trees that are the same age and may decline together.
Ari thinks one sentence in paragraph 1 does not support its point about how street trees cool a block in summer. Which sentence should be cut?
- [1] Planting trees along city streets, a practice centuries old, does more than make a block look pleasant.
- [2] On a hot afternoon, a shaded sidewalk can be many degrees cooler than pavement in full sun, because leaves block sunlight and release water vapor.
- [4] Trees also change how a neighborhood is valued, since homes on tree-lined blocks often sell for more than similar homes elsewhere.
- [3] Researchers comparing blocks with and without mature trees often find that shaded blocks stay cooler during heat waves, which can cut the need for air conditioning.
Bo thinks [8] does not belong in paragraph 2. Which reason explains why?
- It repeats the point of [7] about the strain on sewer systems, so the paragraph says the same thing twice.
- It is true, but it raises how long a young tree takes to grow, not what mature trees do about heavy rain.
- It cannot be right, because even a young tree catches some rain from the day it is planted.
- It says that trees do not help with rainfall, which contradicts the topic sentence in [5].
Esme wants to add one sentence after [7] to support the point of paragraph 2. Which sentence does that best?
- Cities in dry regions often choose tree species that need very little water once their roots are established in the soil.
- Large trees catch rain on their leaves, which keeps some water from reaching storm drains at once.
- There are many other ways that trees can help a city cope with the heavy rainfall that comes with storms.
- Some cities now build tree trenches along streets, which give roots room to grow and give stormwater a place to soak in.
Jun thinks one sentence in paragraph 3 does not support its point about how trees affect the air. Which sentence should be cut?
- [10] Leaves trap dust and soot on their surfaces, and later rainfall washes much of it to the ground, where it is less likely to be inhaled.
- [11] Studies in several cities estimate that urban forests remove thousands of tons of air pollution yearly, although the amount depends on how many trees a city has.
- [12] A single tree in a front yard can also give songbirds a place to nest, a pleasure that many residents mention.
- [9] The air that residents breathe also improves where trees are plentiful.
Luz wants to add one sentence after [13] to support the point of paragraph 4. Which sentence does that best?
- Cities have many options for taking good care of their trees if they choose to use them.
- Mature trees deliver the greatest benefit, which is why cities should protect the ones they already have.
- Leaving wide strips of soil beside sidewalks gives roots room to grow, and repairing pavement around mature trees can save them from removal.
- Young trees need watering for their first few years, so many cities ask neighbors to help water new plantings on their own streets and in nearby parks.
Longer Evening Hours at the Library (letter to the town council) (student draft: request letter)
[1] The Eastgate Library closes at six o'clock on weekdays, an hour that suits retired people and small children but gives working families little time to visit. [2] A survey of 140 homes, done by the library board last spring, found that 83 of them would use the library more if it stayed open until nine. [3] Teachers at the middle school say that many students cannot finish their research at home, since some families have no steady internet. [4] The meeting room, which seats forty, is booked nearly every weekend by local groups, a sign that people depend on the building.
[5] Opening later would also cost less than many neighbors expect. [6] The board figures that three extra hours on four evenings would add about eleven thousand dollars a year, mostly for staff pay. [7] Volunteers from the high school's service club have offered to run the front desk on two of those evenings, which would cut the total. [8] The roof, put on in 2004, will need to be replaced within ten years at a far higher price, a job the board is already planning.
[9] Evening hours would help people who have no other quiet place to work. [10] Several neighbors who run small businesses from home said they would use the library's tables and printers after their children go to bed. [11] Students getting ready for exams could study without fighting siblings or televisions for attention, a benefit the guidance counselor called important. [12] The shelves hold more than nine thousand children's books, many given by local families over the past ten years.
[13] The council can start with a trial period instead of a permanent change. [14] Libraries in some other towns have cut their hours when budgets got tight, a trend that boards watch closely.
Milo thinks one sentence in paragraph 1 does not support its point that evening hours would help residents use the library. Which sentence should be cut?
- [1] The Eastgate Library closes at six o'clock on weekdays, an hour that suits retired people and small children but gives working families little time to visit.
- [2] A survey of 140 homes, done by the library board last spring, found that 83 of them would use the library more if it stayed open until nine.
- [3] Teachers at the middle school say that many students cannot finish their research at home, since some families have no steady internet.
- [4] The meeting room, which seats forty, is booked nearly every weekend by local groups, a sign that people depend on the building.
Noah thinks [8] does not belong in paragraph 2. Which reason explains why?
- It says the library cannot afford any new hours, which contradicts the topic sentence in [5].
- It is probably wrong, because a roof that is just twenty years old would not need replacing.
- It is true, but it describes a different and larger cost, the roof, not the cost of the extra evening hours.
- It repeats the cost figures in [6], so the paragraph gives the same numbers twice.
Ren thinks one sentence in paragraph 3 does not support its point about a quiet place to work. Which sentence should be cut?
- [9] Evening hours would help people who have no other quiet place to work.
- [12] The shelves hold more than nine thousand children's books, many given by local families over the past ten years.
- [11] Students getting ready for exams could study without fighting siblings or televisions for attention, a benefit the guidance counselor called important.
- [10] Several neighbors who run small businesses from home said they would use the library's tables and printers after their children go to bed.
Tala thinks [14] does not belong in paragraph 4. Which reason explains why?
- It argues that the council should refuse the trial, which contradicts the topic sentence in [13].
- It repeats the point of [13] that the council can start small, so the paragraph says it twice.
- It cannot be right, because library boards would not cut hours when their budgets tighten.
- It is true, but it describes towns that cut hours, which does not support starting a trial of longer hours.
Zee wants to add one sentence after [13] to support the point of paragraph 4. Which sentence does that best?
- The board meets on the second Tuesday of each month in the library's meeting room.
- A six-month trial would let the board count visitors each evening and report the numbers before the next budget vote.
- A trial would have many good effects for the library and for the whole town in the long run.
- The council could try longer hours for a short time before deciding whether to keep them for good if the numbers look strong.
