Directions
Read this article. Then answer questions 15 through 21.
Need Those ZZZZZs: Young Night Owls Still Require Plenty of Sleep
by Kathiann M. Kowalski
1 You’ve got to get an early start tomorrow, but you’re not sleepy yet. Blame your brain, at least in part.
2 Yet that same brain is still under construction. And much of that important work takes place on the night shift – while you sleep. Here’s what’s happening – and why it matters.
Hello, Night Owl!
3 Today’s lifestyle is one reason for late bedtimes. Many teens don’t finish with after-school activities, part-time jobs, dinner, chores, and homework until 10 p.m. or later. Add in some time for relaxing, and bedtime may not roll around until 11 p.m. or nearly midnight.
4 Those “relaxing” activities can actually delay sleep longer. Screens for television, games, computers, tablets, e-readers, and cell phones give off blue light. “The brain reads that as daylight,” says Kyla Wahlstrom, an expert on education and sleep at the University of Minnesota.
5 In response, the brain cuts back melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep, explains public health professor Lauren Hale at Stony Brook University. Plus, time is limited. “If you’re doing more screen time, you’re getting less sleep time,” she says.
6 “There are emotions involved in going online,” Hale adds. Falling asleep can be harder if texts, chat, social media, or even sports reports excite or upset you. Caffeine from sodas and energy drinks makes matters worse.
7 Even without modern technology, though, teens shift their circadian rhythm. That’s the daily cycle for sleeping, waking, and various other activities. In particular, the brain’s pineal gland starts releasing melatonin later. That’s the “sleepy” hormone.
8 Teen’s time shift is a little like the jet lag you’d feel traveling from New York to Colorado. Until your body adjusts, you’d stay up later despite the time change. But teen’s brains stay in that later time zone.
Sleep Deprivation
9 The rest of the world doesn’t shift, however. So most teens must head to school before they’ve gotten the 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). And that’s a serious public health problem.
10 For one thing, lack of sleep makes it harder to pay attention. When studies compared teens who had earlier and later school start times, they found that those who had more time to sleep did better in class. They also suffered fewer accidents in sports, driving, and other activities.
11 Adequate sleep is important for learning too. “Basically at night the sleep processes all your information from the previous day,” says Wahlstrom. She compares it to cleaning up a computer’s hard drive.
12 Lack of sleep could hurt mental health. Studies have found an inverse correlation 1 between teens’ amount of sleep and depression and other mental illnesses. As sleep time went down, the risks for the mental illnesses went up.
13 Beyond that, sleep-deprived teens report more relationship problems and feelings of inadequacy. ” They just get overwhelmed,” Wahlstrom says.
14 Having sleep cut short could curb the brain’s processing of emotions from the previous day. For some reason, Wahlstrom says, “The negative stuff hangs on longer.” Crankiness can result, especially if you don’t feel well.
15 Other studies suggest sleep-deprived teens get sick more often. “Our immune system is negatively affected by inadequate sleep,” notes psychologist and academic affairs vice president Amy Wolfson at Loyola University Maryland.
16 Weight control suffers from too little sleep too. “Hormonally, your body is saying eat more, eat more,” explains Hale. And because lack of sleep lowers impulse control, you’re more likely to grab chocolate cake than celery.
17 “You don’t just think better and act better” when you get enough sleep, adds psychiatry professor Mary Carskadon at Brown University. “You look better.” One study found that the more sleep people got, the more likely people were to find them attractive.
Under Construction
18 Just as importantly, burning the midnight oil can interfere with brain development. When teens hit puberty, the number of long brain waves drops during non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
19 Neuroscientists Ian Campbell and Irwin Feinberg at the University of California, Davis, suggest the drop shows that the brain is pruning unnecessary connections between nerve cells. The brain loses some plasticity – the ability to adapt in response to injury or other big changes. But the process lets the brain mature. “It will streamline your brain – make it more efficient adult brain,” explains Campbell.
20 Lots of issues remain for sleep researchers to explore. For now, though, studies are clear: Teens’ brains need sleep!
21 In August 2014, the AAP urged high schools nationwide to delay start times to at least 8:30 a.m. Later starts can let teens get a bit more sleep when their brains really want it. Unfortunately, not all schools can or will heed that advice. And you can’t easily change your body’s natural circadian rhythm.
1 inverse correlation: a relationship between two factors, where when the value of one factor goes up, the value of the second factor goes down
15. Which phrase best describes how the article develops the idea presented in paragraph 2?
A. by providing counterarguments
B. by offering solutions to the problem
C. by discussing personal experiences
D. by introducing research results
16. The use of quotation marks around the word “relaxing” in paragraph 4 suggests that
A. some activities hinder true relaxation
B. deep sleep helps one experience true relaxation
C. teens do not value activities that give true relaxation
D. blue light helps one experience true relaxation
17. Which statement best describes how the section “Hello, Night Owl!” supports a central idea of the article?
A. It describes an important cause and relationship.
B. It creates an effective comparison and contrast between ideas.
C. It provides evidence that disproves a popular theory.
D. It presents a counterargument to the initial claim.
18. Which idea would be most important to include in a summary of the article?
A. “Screens for television, games, computers, tablets, e-readers, and cell phones give off blue light.” (paragraph 4)
B. “Caffeine from sodas and energy drinks makes matters worse.” (paragraph 6)
C. “For one thing, lack of sleep makes it harder to pay attention.” (paragraph 10)
D. “One study found that the more sleep people got, the more likely people were to find attractive.” (paragraph 17)
19. Which claim from the article is most strongly supported with evidence?
A. “Even without modern technology, though, teens shift their circadian rhythm.” (paragraph 7)
B. “The rest of the world doesn’t shift, however.” (paragraph 9)
C. “Lack of sleep could hurt mental health.” (paragraph 12)
D. “Lots of issues remain for sleep researchers to explore.” (paragraph 20)
20. Which sentence from the article best shows the author’s point of view?
A. “Blame your brain, at least in part.” (paragraph 1)
B. “And that’s a serious public health problem.” (paragraph 9)
C. “Crankiness can result, especially if you don’t feel well.” (paragraph 14)
D. “And you can’t easily change your body’s natural circadian rhythm.” (paragraph 21)
21. Which paragraph best summarizes a central idea from the article?
A. paragraph 1
B. paragraph 3
C. paragraph 20
D. paragraph 21
Directions
Read this story. Then answer questions 22 through 28.
During the late 1400s in Mohawk Nation Territory in a longhouse village in Upstate New York, eleven-year-old Ohkwa’ri spends time with his uncle, learning more about the traditions of his Native American culture.
Excerpt from “A Man’s Cup” from Children of the Longhouse
by Joseph Bruchac
1 When Ohkwa’ri came that evening to sit by the central hearth in the Turtle Clan’s section of the big longhouse, his uncle suspected that his nephew had something important to ask. So Big Tree continued to work in silence, giving his nephew plenty of time to collect his thoughts. It was fully dark outside now, and Grandmother Moon was looking down through the smoke hole overhead.
2 Big Tree picked up a burning coal from the fire with his fingers, lifted it unhurriedly, and dropped it into the wooden cup that he was making from a piece of hard maple. He had been working on that cup for two moons and it was almost finished.
3 Ohkwa’ri watched carefully. He remembered two winters ago when he tried to pick up a coal as his uncle did but only succeeded in blistering his finger-tips. Big Tree’s fingers were tougher than Ohkwa’ri’s, the callouses on them so thick that the glowing coal did not burn them.
4 It will be many seasons, Ohkwa’ri thought, before I can do the things that my uncle can do.
5 Big Tree placed the glowing coal into the bowl of the cup and nodded to his nephew. Ohkwa’ri leaned forward. This job was one that he could do now. He could help his uncle finish hollowing the bowl by blowing on the coal through the thin hollow branch of a sumac. Ohkwa’ri blew and the coal burned with a sound like that of a tiny storm wind, reddening the blackened wood, burning the hollow deeper. He moved the sumac branch as he blew steadily, puffing his cheeks in and out as he blew, making sure that the coal moved around the bowl evenly to make the inner shape of the cup just right. His uncle raised a hand and Ohkwa’ri stopped blowing. The coal, which had been the size of the end of his thumb, was now a tiny spark. Big Tree took his sharp-edged scraping stone and used it to clean out the bowl.
6 “This is good,” his uncle said. “Now I only have to smooth the inside and this cup will be ready to use.”
7 He held it up and both he and Ohkwa’ri admired it. The finely detailed handle was the long head of a bear. Big Tree had used his sharp flint knife to finish off the details of the bear’s head at the front of the cup, even making marks that looked like the fur of the bear. Then he had blackened it in the fire to harden and darken it and make it look even more like a bear.
8 “Who will be the owner of this cup, my uncle?” Ohkwa’ri asked.
9 “A man who needs it,” his uncle replied with a smile.
10 Ohkwa’ri nodded. Every man owned a cup such as that, usually with some design on it which indicated his clan. Your cup, which would be hung from your belt, could be used for dipping up drinking water when you were in the forest.
11 Dipping water with a cup was a wise idea, for you could remain watchful and alert while doing this. If you had to lean down and drink with your mouth from the spring or the stream, an enemy or a dangerous animal could creep up unseen. You also could thrust the cup deep under the surface where the water was cleaner and colder. Then, when you were back in the longhouse, you could use your cup to dip soup from the pot when the food was ready and your hunger told you to eat.
12 Ohkwa’ri already had a cup of his own, a small one made of soft basswood that hung on his belt. But that cup was plain and chipped and it was not well carved. It was a boy’s cup. It was useful, but it was better to have something that was useful and beautiful.
13 Ohkwa’ri put the sumac blowpipe on the shelf above his uncle’s bed. Like all things that would be useful to more than one person, it was kept in plain sight. That way, if anyone in the village had need of it they could simply take it and return it when they were done. Truly personal things – like Ohkwa’ri’s stone with its two beautiful crystals – were kept out of sight in the bark boxes under everyone’s beds. No one would ever look under another person’s bed.
14 Ohkwa’ri came and sat back down by his uncle, who continued to work on smoothing the inside of the cup.
15 “Uncle,” Ohkwa’ri said, “I think it is time for me to build a lodge.”
16 Big Tree continued to work on the cup without saying anything in response.
17 “I do not mean that I think it is time for me to move away from my mother’s hearth,” Ohkwa’ri said. “I know that it is still two or three winters before it will be time for me to do that, to go and live on my own. But I think that it would be good for me to make a little lodge and sleep in it some nights. It would be a good way to learn, a good way to make myself tougher and stronger.”
18 Ohkwa’ri’s words were true. In another few winters, he would be expected to move out of the longhouse, to no longer live near his mother. Then he would need to know how to care for himself. Every boy came to this time in his life when he was expected to go through a whole year of the hard training needed to be accepted fully as a man. He would find a place outside the village and build his own lodge, sleeping there every night. Although he could still return to the big longhouse and take meals with his family, he would truly be responsible for himself.
22. What does the phrase “collect his thoughts” tell the reader about Ohkwa’ri in paragraph 1?
A. He is memorizing a speech.
B. He is expecting an argument.
C. He is hesitant to express disagreement.
D. He is preparing to say something important.
23. How does the forest setting shape the actions that are described in paragraph 11?
A. The setting causes a person to move quickly.
B. The setting requires a person to be very careful.
C. The setting requires a person to be extremely quiet.
D. The setting causes a person to behave nervously.
24. Which important idea does the author develop in paragraph 13?
A. Respecting privacy is a problem in the community.
B. Sharing helps people in the community.
C. Acquiring wealth is valued in the community.
D. Hiding useful objects prevents loss for the community.
25. Which quotation best supports a central idea of the story?
A. “He could help his uncle finish hollowing the bowl by blowing on the coal through the thin hollow branch of a sumac.” (paragraph5)
B. “Now I only have to smooth the inside and this cup will be ready to use.” (paragraph 6)
C. “It was useful,but it was better to have something that was useful and beautiful.” (paragraph 12)
D. “It would be a good way to learn, a good way to make myself tougher and stronger.” (paragraph 17)
26. Which detail would be most important to include in a summary of the story?
A. Ohkwa’ri helps his uncle Big Tree make a fine drinking cup.
B. Ohkwa’ri keeps his personal things under his bed in a box.
C. Ohkwa’ri blows on the coal through a sumac branch.
D. Ohkwa’ri knows how to safely obtain water from a river.
27. Which paragraph best shows a change in the direction of the plot of the story?
A. paragraph 6
B. paragraph 7
C. paragraph 12
D. paragraph 15
28. How does the author most develop Ohkwa’ri’s point of view in the story?
A. by contrasting him with his uncle
B. by showing how he imitates his uncle
C. by revealing his thoughts about growing up
D. by describing his impatience to live on his own
Directions
Read this article. Then answer questions 29 through 35.
Excerpt from The Statue of Liberty
by Elaine Landau
1 Laboulaye felt a “genuine flow of sympathy” between France and the United States and described the countries as “two sisters.” Aware that the hundredth anniversary of the colonists’ independence was just eleven years away, Laboulaye hoped to give the United States a special hundredth birthday present on behalf of France.
2 He decided that the gift should be a monument honoring liberty. Laboulaye explained that this monument would have a dual purpose. It would reinforce France’s bond with America. In addition, the gift would stress to Napoleon III’s regime that the French people were dedicated to the concept of liberty and equality.
BARTHOLDI’S CREATION
3 Bartholdi wrote that the seed for the Statue of Liberty was sown at the party that night. It is generally thought that Laboulaye’s opinion influenced Bartholdi, who began thinking along the same lines. Nevertheless, actual plans for the monument did not begin for years. In July 1870, France declared war on Germany and the Franco-Prussian War began. Bartholdi served in the French Army, and art took a backseat as the sculptor fought for his country. By 1871, the war had ended, and Napoleon III had fallen.
4 Laboulaye and Bartholdi hoped that the time might be right for democracy to take root in France. They thought that creating the statue now might encourage others to see the value of such a system. Bartholdi is quoted as saying: “I will try to glorify the Republic and Liberty over there [in the United States] in the hope that someday I will find it again here.”
5 At first, no was sure what form the statue would take, but one thing was certain: If Bartholdi designed it, the monument was bound to be big. Nearly all of Bartholdi’s pieces were created on a grand scale. Many people believed that the sculptor had been greatly influenced by what he saw when he visited Egypt. Impressed by the size of such structures as the pyramids and the Sphinx, Bartholdi longed for a sense of massiveness in his own work. His first public monument – commissioned when he was just eighteen – was a 12-foot (3.7 m) high statue of one of Napoleon’s generals. Workmen had barely been able to remove the larger-than-life sculpture from Bartholdi’s studio. Yet the work received a good deal of praise and helped establish its creator’s reputation as an artist.
FINDING THE RIGHT PLACE
6 Bartholdi was excited about doing a sculpture for the United States. To explore how the Americans would feel about it, Bartholdi headed for the U.D. in the summer of 1871. He hoped to drum up enthusiasm for the project as well as find an appealing location to display the work. Bartholdi spent most of his days on the voyage making sketches of different views of Lady Liberty. The sculptor had also brought along a small model of the proposed monument to give Americans a better idea of how the finished product would look.
7 Bartholdi did not have to look very far to find the perfect spot for Lady Liberty. He spied the ideal place for her as soon as his ship entered New York Harbor. It was Bedloe’s Island, one of a group of small islands in the harbor. At one time, the Mohegan Indians had called the island Minnissais, which means “Lesser Island,” because it was so small. Despite its small size, the island seemed perfect for the project because New York Harbor was an active seaport where this tribute to liberty would get the attention it deserved. The French sculptor further described the location as a place “where people [immigrants] get their first view of the New World.” He wanted them to see the statue before anything else.
SELLING THE IDEA
8 Finding a suitable site for the monument was just one phase of Bartholdi’s mission. Creating a sense of enthusiasm for the statue among Americans proved to be much more difficult. Laboulaye had supplied the young sculptor with letters of introduction to a number of important Americans. Bartholdi met with President Ulysses S. Grant and American literary figures, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to talk about the project.
9 Although Bartholdi managed to pique the curiosity of some Americans, few appeared very enthusiastic. While the statue was to be a gift from the French, Americans would have to help finance it. Most of the people Bartholdi spoke to were not especially anxious to part with their money to make his dream come true. When Bartholdi returned to France, both he and Laboulaye agreed that they were not ready to begin construction.
10 The two Frenchmen made another attempt to get financial backing for the monument in 1874. They proposed dividing the cost of the monument between France and the United States. France would pay for the statue itself, while America was to pay for its pedestal and foundation. To speed things along, in 1875 Laboulaye formed the Franco-American Union, which included people from France as well as the United States. This organization worked to bring in donations on both sides of the Atlantic.
11 Though the original goal of completing the statue for the hundredth birthday (July 4, 1876) of the United States seemed unlikely, the group still did its best to meet that deadline. Appeals for donations for the statue appeared in the French press by the fall of 1875. The Franco-American Union proved quite creative in its fund-raising efforts. Banquets and balls were held in several French cities. The food and ballrooms for these occasions were donated, and all admission fees went to the statue’s fund. Bartholdi came up with just enough money to begin work on Lady Liberty.
29. Paragraph 2 mainly contributes to a central idea of the article because it
A. shows that Napoleon III was an unpopular leader
B. gives the exact number of purpose for the gift
C. describes the loyalty of the French people
D. explains both reasons for the gift
30. Read this sentence from paragraph 3.
Bartholdi wrote that the seed for the Statue of Liberty was sown at the party that night.
The words “the seed for the Statue of Liberty was sown” refer to the
A. timetable for building the statue
B. first ideas about the project
C. plan for funding the project
D. design for the statue
31. Read this sentence from paragraph 6.
He hoped to drum up enthusiasm for the project as well as find an appealing location to display the work.
The use of the phrase “drum up” shows that Bartholdi needed to
A. discover the best place for exhibiting the completed project
B. reduce the cost of the project
C. create widespread public demand for the project
D. teach the public about the reason for the project
32. Why was Bedloe’s Island selected for the site of the Statue of Liberty?
A. The local people already knew about the history of the island.
B. The island was close to a populated city.
C. The size of the island would make the statue stand out.
D. The island was located in a busy harbor.
33. Which evidence from paragraph 11 best supports the author’s claim that the fund-raising efforts for the Statue of Liberty were “creative”?
A. “Though the original goal of completing the statue for the hundredth birthday…seemed unlikely, the group still did its best to meet that deadline.”
B. “Appeals for donations for the statue appeared in the French press…”
C. “Banquets and balls were held in several French cities.”
D. “Bartholdi came up with just enough money to begin work on Lady Liberty.”
34. Which event showed a change in the attitude of Americans towards the construction of the Statue of Liberty?
A. President Ulysses S. Grant met with Bartholdi to discuss the project.
B. People from the United States agreed to support the Franco-American Union.
C. Americans wanted to hear more about the design of the statue from Bartholdi.
D. Americans learned that the statue was to be a symbol of freedom and democracy.
35. Which statement best describes a major contribution of Bartholdi toward making the Statue of Liberty a reality?
A. He met with some of the most famous people in America.
B. He planned for a monument that would be extremely large.
C. He remained committed to the project over a long period of time.
D. He drew sketches to show the way the monument would look when completed.
