Worksheet

Link ideas with the right transition

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    How the Printing Press Changed Europe (student draft: informative)

    [1] Before about 1450, nearly every European book was copied by hand, a slow job that could take a scribe months and kept most books out of reach of everyone but monasteries, universities and rich families. [2] Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith from Mainz, combined movable metal type, oil-based ink and a press like those used for crushing grapes and olives. [3] By the mid-1450s he was printing whole Bibles. [4] Within fifty years, presses had opened in more than two hundred European towns, and printers had produced millions of books.

    [5] A single press could turn out hundreds of identical copies in the time a scribe needed to finish one, and the price of a book fell sharply as printing spread. [6] Merchants and craftsmen who had never owned a book began to buy them, and demand for schooling grew in many towns. [7] Literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries. [8] Historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise, since religion, trade and growing towns also pushed people to learn to read.

    [9] Printing also changed how knowledge was checked and shared. [10] When scholars could compare identical copies of a text, they could spot errors that copying by hand had quietly multiplied. [11] Scientists such as Copernicus and Vesalius, who both published major works in 1543, relied on printers to copy their diagrams faithfully, which would have been hard by hand. [12] Printed pamphlets carried religious and political arguments across borders. [13] Officials often could not stop them quickly enough. [14] The press did not guarantee that ideas would be accurate or wise, only that they could travel far and fast.

  2. Jun wants [5] to link paragraph 2 to the spread of presses described in [4]. Which revision of [5] does that best?

    • Also, a single press could turn out hundreds of identical copies in the time a scribe needed to finish one, and the price of a book fell sharply as printing spread.
    • This growth depended on falling prices: a single press could turn out hundreds of identical copies in the time a scribe needed to finish one, so the price of a book fell sharply as printing spread.
    • Presses opened in more than two hundred towns, and printers produced millions of books in a short time, so books became far more common across Europe.
    • Despite this growth, a single press could turn out hundreds of identical copies in the time a scribe needed to finish one, and the price of a book fell sharply as printing spread across the continent.

  3. Kira wants to join [7] and [8] into one sentence that keeps every detail and shows how they relate. Which revision does that best?

    • Because literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries, historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise, since religion, trade and growing towns also pushed people to learn to read and write.
    • Literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries, historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise, since religion, trade and growing towns also pushed people to learn to read.
    • Although literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries, historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise, since religion, trade and growing towns also pushed people to learn to read.
    • Although literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries, historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise of reading in towns.

  4. Luz wants [6] to show how it follows from the falling prices in [5]. Which revision of [6] does that best?

    • Although books now cost less, merchants and craftsmen who had never owned one began to buy them, and demand for schooling grew in many towns.
    • Merchants and craftsmen who had never owned a book also began to buy them, and demand for schooling grew in many towns.
    • Because demand for schooling grew in many towns, books cost less, and merchants and craftsmen who had never owned one began to buy them.
    • Because books now cost less, merchants and craftsmen who had never owned one began to buy them, and demand for schooling grew in many towns.

  5. Milo wants [9] to link paragraph 3 to the effects described in paragraph 2. Which revision of [9] does that best?

    • Despite its effect on prices and readers, printing changed how knowledge was checked and shared.
    • Beyond its effect on prices and readers, printing changed how knowledge was checked and shared.
    • Printing made books cheaper and brought them to more readers in more towns across Europe.
    • Another interesting thing about printing is how knowledge was checked and shared in Europe.

  6. Noah wants to join [12] and [13] into one sentence that keeps every detail and shows how they relate. Which revision does that best?

    • Printed pamphlets carried religious and political arguments across borders, officials often could not stop them quickly enough.
    • Printed pamphlets carried religious and political arguments across borders although officials often could not stop them quickly enough.
    • Printed pamphlets carried arguments across borders, often faster than officials could stop them.
    • Printed pamphlets carried religious and political arguments across borders, often faster than officials could stop them.

  7. Pia wants [14] to show how it limits the benefits described in [12] and [13]. Which revision of [14] does that best?

    • Thus, the press guaranteed that ideas would be accurate and wise as well as able to travel far and fast.
    • Also, the press did not guarantee that ideas would be accurate or wise, only that they could travel far and fast.
    • Because pamphlets traveled far and fast, the press guaranteed that ideas would be accurate or wise.
    • Still, the press did not guarantee that ideas would be accurate or wise, only that they could travel far and fast.

  8. A Protected Bike Lane for Harbor Street (letter to the city council) (student draft: opinion letter)

    [1] Harbor Street, the main road between the ferry terminal and the high school, carries about nine thousand vehicles a day and offers cyclists no protected space. [2] Over the past three years, police records show eleven collisions involving bicycles on that stretch, and in every case the cyclist, not the driver, was injured. [3] I am writing to urge the city council to approve a protected bike lane along the full length of the street.

    [4] Supporters of the plan often point to other cities, and the evidence from those cities is encouraging but incomplete. [5] Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets. [6] Those cities differ from ours in size and climate. [7] The council should treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise. [8] Closer to home, the school's own count shows that 120 students bike to the high school and currently share a travel lane with buses.

    [9] Opponents worry that the lane would remove about forty parking spaces, which some shop owners regard as essential to their business. [10] That concern deserves a serious answer, not a dismissal. [11] A parking study could identify which spaces stand empty during peak hours. [12] The municipal lot nearby, which is rarely more than half full, could absorb the displaced cars. [13] Whether the plan succeeds will depend on how carefully the council handles these parking details. [14] I therefore urge the council to approve the lane, with a parking study as the first step.

  9. Ren wants [4] to link paragraph 2 to the problem described in paragraph 1. Which revision of [4] does that best?

    • Consequently, supporters of the plan often point to other cities, and the evidence from those cities is encouraging but incomplete, so the council should act.
    • Also, supporters of the plan often point to other cities, and the evidence from those cities is encouraging but incomplete.
    • To judge whether a lane would help, supporters of the plan often point to other cities, and the evidence from those cities is encouraging but incomplete.
    • Harbor Street offers cyclists no protected space, and supporters of the plan want the council to act on it soon.

  10. Tala wants to join [5] and [6] into one sentence that keeps every detail and shows how they relate. Which revision does that best?

    • Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets, although those cities differ from ours in size and climate.
    • Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets, those cities differ from ours in size and climate.
    • Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets, because those cities differ from ours in size and in climate.
    • Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets, although those cities differ from ours.

  11. Zee wants [7] to show how it follows from the differences in [6]. Which revision of [7] does that best?

    • Although those cities differ from ours in size and climate, the council should treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise.
    • The council should also treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise.
    • Because those cities differ from ours in size and climate, the council should treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise.
    • Because studies found fewer injuries elsewhere, the council should treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise.

  12. Ari wants [9] to link the objection in paragraph 3 to the supporters' evidence in paragraph 2. Which revision of [9] does that best?

    • For example, opponents worry that the lane would remove about forty parking spaces, which some shop owners regard as essential to their business.
    • Also, opponents worry that the lane would remove about forty parking spaces, which some shop owners regard as essential to their business and their customers.
    • Closer to home, 120 students bike to the high school and share a travel lane with buses, and opponents mention parking briefly.
    • Opponents raise a practical objection: the lane would remove about forty parking spaces, which some shop owners regard as essential to their business.
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Link ideas with the right transition

Answer Key - Grade 8 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    How the Printing Press Changed Europe (student draft: informative)

    [1] Before about 1450, nearly every European book was copied by hand, a slow job that could take a scribe months and kept most books out of reach of everyone but monasteries, universities and rich families. [2] Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith from Mainz, combined movable metal type, oil-based ink and a press like those used for crushing grapes and olives. [3] By the mid-1450s he was printing whole Bibles. [4] Within fifty years, presses had opened in more than two hundred European towns, and printers had produced millions of books.

    [5] A single press could turn out hundreds of identical copies in the time a scribe needed to finish one, and the price of a book fell sharply as printing spread. [6] Merchants and craftsmen who had never owned a book began to buy them, and demand for schooling grew in many towns. [7] Literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries. [8] Historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise, since religion, trade and growing towns also pushed people to learn to read.

    [9] Printing also changed how knowledge was checked and shared. [10] When scholars could compare identical copies of a text, they could spot errors that copying by hand had quietly multiplied. [11] Scientists such as Copernicus and Vesalius, who both published major works in 1543, relied on printers to copy their diagrams faithfully, which would have been hard by hand. [12] Printed pamphlets carried religious and political arguments across borders. [13] Officials often could not stop them quickly enough. [14] The press did not guarantee that ideas would be accurate or wise, only that they could travel far and fast.

  2. Jun wants [5] to link paragraph 2 to the spread of presses described in [4]. Which revision of [5] does that best?

    • Also, a single press could turn out hundreds of identical copies in the time a scribe needed to finish one, and the price of a book fell sharply as printing spread.
    • This growth depended on falling prices: a single press could turn out hundreds of identical copies in the time a scribe needed to finish one, so the price of a book fell sharply as printing spread.
    • Presses opened in more than two hundred towns, and printers produced millions of books in a short time, so books became far more common across Europe.
    • Despite this growth, a single press could turn out hundreds of identical copies in the time a scribe needed to finish one, and the price of a book fell sharply as printing spread across the continent.

  3. Kira wants to join [7] and [8] into one sentence that keeps every detail and shows how they relate. Which revision does that best?

    • Because literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries, historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise, since religion, trade and growing towns also pushed people to learn to read and write.
    • Literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries, historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise, since religion, trade and growing towns also pushed people to learn to read.
    • Although literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries, historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise, since religion, trade and growing towns also pushed people to learn to read.
    • Although literacy rates in Europe rose over the following centuries, historians caution that printing alone cannot explain the rise of reading in towns.

  4. Luz wants [6] to show how it follows from the falling prices in [5]. Which revision of [6] does that best?

    • Although books now cost less, merchants and craftsmen who had never owned one began to buy them, and demand for schooling grew in many towns.
    • Merchants and craftsmen who had never owned a book also began to buy them, and demand for schooling grew in many towns.
    • Because demand for schooling grew in many towns, books cost less, and merchants and craftsmen who had never owned one began to buy them.
    • Because books now cost less, merchants and craftsmen who had never owned one began to buy them, and demand for schooling grew in many towns.

  5. Milo wants [9] to link paragraph 3 to the effects described in paragraph 2. Which revision of [9] does that best?

    • Despite its effect on prices and readers, printing changed how knowledge was checked and shared.
    • Beyond its effect on prices and readers, printing changed how knowledge was checked and shared.
    • Printing made books cheaper and brought them to more readers in more towns across Europe.
    • Another interesting thing about printing is how knowledge was checked and shared in Europe.

  6. Noah wants to join [12] and [13] into one sentence that keeps every detail and shows how they relate. Which revision does that best?

    • Printed pamphlets carried religious and political arguments across borders, officials often could not stop them quickly enough.
    • Printed pamphlets carried religious and political arguments across borders although officials often could not stop them quickly enough.
    • Printed pamphlets carried arguments across borders, often faster than officials could stop them.
    • Printed pamphlets carried religious and political arguments across borders, often faster than officials could stop them.

  7. Pia wants [14] to show how it limits the benefits described in [12] and [13]. Which revision of [14] does that best?

    • Thus, the press guaranteed that ideas would be accurate and wise as well as able to travel far and fast.
    • Also, the press did not guarantee that ideas would be accurate or wise, only that they could travel far and fast.
    • Because pamphlets traveled far and fast, the press guaranteed that ideas would be accurate or wise.
    • Still, the press did not guarantee that ideas would be accurate or wise, only that they could travel far and fast.

  8. A Protected Bike Lane for Harbor Street (letter to the city council) (student draft: opinion letter)

    [1] Harbor Street, the main road between the ferry terminal and the high school, carries about nine thousand vehicles a day and offers cyclists no protected space. [2] Over the past three years, police records show eleven collisions involving bicycles on that stretch, and in every case the cyclist, not the driver, was injured. [3] I am writing to urge the city council to approve a protected bike lane along the full length of the street.

    [4] Supporters of the plan often point to other cities, and the evidence from those cities is encouraging but incomplete. [5] Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets. [6] Those cities differ from ours in size and climate. [7] The council should treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise. [8] Closer to home, the school's own count shows that 120 students bike to the high school and currently share a travel lane with buses.

    [9] Opponents worry that the lane would remove about forty parking spaces, which some shop owners regard as essential to their business. [10] That concern deserves a serious answer, not a dismissal. [11] A parking study could identify which spaces stand empty during peak hours. [12] The municipal lot nearby, which is rarely more than half full, could absorb the displaced cars. [13] Whether the plan succeeds will depend on how carefully the council handles these parking details. [14] I therefore urge the council to approve the lane, with a parking study as the first step.

  9. Ren wants [4] to link paragraph 2 to the problem described in paragraph 1. Which revision of [4] does that best?

    • Consequently, supporters of the plan often point to other cities, and the evidence from those cities is encouraging but incomplete, so the council should act.
    • Also, supporters of the plan often point to other cities, and the evidence from those cities is encouraging but incomplete.
    • To judge whether a lane would help, supporters of the plan often point to other cities, and the evidence from those cities is encouraging but incomplete.
    • Harbor Street offers cyclists no protected space, and supporters of the plan want the council to act on it soon.

  10. Tala wants to join [5] and [6] into one sentence that keeps every detail and shows how they relate. Which revision does that best?

    • Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets, although those cities differ from ours in size and climate.
    • Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets, those cities differ from ours in size and climate.
    • Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets, because those cities differ from ours in size and in climate.
    • Studies of protected lanes in several American cities have found fewer injuries to all road users along those streets, although those cities differ from ours.

  11. Zee wants [7] to show how it follows from the differences in [6]. Which revision of [7] does that best?

    • Although those cities differ from ours in size and climate, the council should treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise.
    • The council should also treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise.
    • Because those cities differ from ours in size and climate, the council should treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise.
    • Because studies found fewer injuries elsewhere, the council should treat their numbers as a guide rather than a promise.

  12. Ari wants [9] to link the objection in paragraph 3 to the supporters' evidence in paragraph 2. Which revision of [9] does that best?

    • For example, opponents worry that the lane would remove about forty parking spaces, which some shop owners regard as essential to their business.
    • Also, opponents worry that the lane would remove about forty parking spaces, which some shop owners regard as essential to their business and their customers.
    • Closer to home, 120 students bike to the high school and share a travel lane with buses, and opponents mention parking briefly.
    • Opponents raise a practical objection: the lane would remove about forty parking spaces, which some shop owners regard as essential to their business.