Inventions

Every day it seems, new inventions surface that promise to add value to our day-to-day lives. But did you know, many of the inventions we interact with daily were developed entirely by accident?

Take the microwave, for instance. This accidental invention was developed by engineer Percy Spencer who, upon experimenting with a microwave-emitting magnetron, found that the candy bar in his pocket had begun to melt. Spencer was then able to harness this radiation into the microwave we use today to make snack time a speedy process!

Perhaps one of today’s most well-known accidental inventions, the potato chip, was born when a customer kept requesting that his french fries be sliced thinner and made crispier. Though chef George Crum responded with the chips as a joke, they quickly became a favorite snack worldwide!

Even the match is a result of accidental invention. When pharmacist John Walker was stirring chemicals, he noticed that the end of his stirring stick had dried into a hardened lump. When attempting to scrape the dried residue off, a flame sparked, and so did Walker’s idea to turn this accident into a helpful tool!

So, the next time your science experiment doesn’t go as planned, or you burn what you have cooked on the stove, keep in mind that some of today’s most valued inventions were discovered when the inventor least expected it!

According to the passage, the author would most likely agree that

A Voice for Freedom and Song

Marian Anderson was a world-class singer. By the year 1939, Marian had sung for people around the world, including kings and presidents. Her dream was to sing at Constitution Hall, but, in her mind, she viewed it as something that would never happen. The owners, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), would not allow her to sing because she was African-American.

Marian was used to dealing with people who only saw her for her skin color. When she was younger, she applied to become a student at a music school. She was denied entrance because of her race. In the early 1900s, when Marian began her singing career, segregation still kept African-American people from achieving their goals and dreams.

Marian performed in 1925 in a voice contest in New York and won. She was able to sing with the New York Philharmonic! She thought doors would start opening for her in the United States, but instead, people foolishly turned her away. Marian traveled to Europe in 1928, and there she became quite popular.

In 1939, she returned to the United States, but she was still subject to the cruelty and unfairness of racism and segregation. When Marian attempted to sing at Constitution Hall, the DAR had many excuses for why she couldn’t perform. They tried telling her that the dates weren’t available, or that they weren’t booking new performers. Eventually, they told Marian the truth: she couldn’t perform because they only allowed white musicians.

This rejection inspired thousands of people to rally together against the horrible segregation laws that prevented many from hearing Marian’s beautiful voice. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR and publicly shamed them for their treatment of African-American performers. Mrs. Roosevelt and her staff arranged a concert at the Lincoln Memorial for Marian to perform. Seventy-five thousand people attended, standing against discrimination and getting to hear Marian sing.

After the DAR incident, Marian took a stand and refused to sing for segregated crowds. She finally achieved her dream of singing at Constitution Hall when the DAR reversed its policy on allowing African-American performers. Marian retired from performing in 1964, the same year that the Civil Rights Act was signed. Along with other brave activists, she used her talents to advocate for justice, and her voice helped create lasting change against racism and segregation in the United States.

Which of the following represents a view not held by the author?

Inventions

Every day it seems, new inventions surface that promise to add value to our day-to-day lives. But did you know, many of the inventions we interact with daily were developed entirely by accident?

Take the microwave, for instance. This accidental invention was developed by engineer Percy Spencer who, upon experimenting with a microwave-emitting magnetron, found that the candy bar in his pocket had begun to melt. Spencer was then able to harness this radiation into the microwave we use today to make snack time a speedy process!

Perhaps one of today’s most well-known accidental inventions, the potato chip, was born when a customer kept requesting that his french fries be sliced thinner and made crispier. Though chef George Crum responded with the chips as a joke, they quickly became a favorite snack worldwide!

Even the match is a result of accidental invention. When pharmacist John Walker was stirring chemicals, he noticed that the end of his stirring stick had dried into a hardened lump. When attempting to scrape the dried residue off, a flame sparked, and so did Walker’s idea to turn this accident into a helpful tool!

So, the next time your science experiment doesn’t go as planned, or you burn what you have cooked on the stove, keep in mind that some of today’s most valued inventions were discovered when the inventor least expected it!

Which of the following represents a view not held by the author?

A Voice for Freedom and Song

Marian Anderson was a world-class singer. By the year 1939, Marian had sung for people around the world, including kings and presidents. Her dream was to sing at Constitution Hall, but, in her mind, she viewed it as something that would never happen. The owners, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), would not allow her to sing because she was African-American.

Marian was used to dealing with people who only saw her for her skin color. When she was younger, she applied to become a student at a music school. She was denied entrance because of her race. In the early 1900s, when Marian began her singing career, segregation still kept African-American people from achieving their goals and dreams.

Marian performed in 1925 in a voice contest in New York and won. She was able to sing with the New York Philharmonic! She thought doors would start opening for her in the United States, but instead, people foolishly turned her away. Marian traveled to Europe in 1928, and there she became quite popular.

In 1939, she returned to the United States, but she was still subject to the cruelty and unfairness of racism and segregation. When Marian attempted to sing at Constitution Hall, the DAR had many excuses for why she couldn’t perform. They tried telling her that the dates weren’t available, or that they weren’t booking new performers. Eventually, they told Marian the truth: she couldn’t perform because they only allowed white musicians.

This rejection inspired thousands of people to rally together against the horrible segregation laws that prevented many from hearing Marian’s beautiful voice. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR and publicly shamed them for their treatment of African-American performers. Mrs. Roosevelt and her staff arranged a concert at the Lincoln Memorial for Marian to perform. Seventy-five thousand people attended, standing against discrimination and getting to hear Marian sing.

After the DAR incident, Marian took a stand and refused to sing for segregated crowds. She finally achieved her dream of singing at Constitution Hall when the DAR reversed its policy on allowing African-American performers. Marian retired from performing in 1964, the same year that the Civil Rights Act was signed. Along with other brave activists, she used her talents to advocate for justice, and her voice helped create lasting change against racism and segregation in the United States.

What personal opinion does the author interject into the story that alludes to their point of view?

Adapted from "The Brook" by Alfred Lord Tennyson in Volume V. Nature of The World's Best Poetry (1904)

Come from haunts of coot and hern,
I make a sudden sally,
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley.

By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorps, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.

Till last by Philip's farm I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.

I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.

With many a curve my banks I fret
by many a field and fallow,
And many a fairy foreland set
With willow-weed and mallow.

I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.

I wind about, and in and out,
with here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling,

And here and there a foamy flake
Upon me, as I travel
With many a silver water-break
Above the golden gravel,

And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.

I steal by lawns and grassy plots,
I slide by hazel covers;
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
That grow for happy lovers.

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows.

I murmur under moon and stars
In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;

And out again I curve and flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.

This poem is told from the perspective of __________.

Which point of view is rare, and uses the pronoun “you”?

He made sure to wash his hands after he coughed.

What point of view is this?

Passage 1

Ecuador, in South America, is home to 417 types of frogs and toads. Many of these species, or types of frogs, are at risk of dying out. In the last 50 years, many amphibian species have gone extinct. Salamanders, frogs, and toads are all amphibians. Amphibians are animals that spend part of their life in water and part on land, and have backbones. Amphibians must live near water. Amphibians are in trouble because their habitat is being destroyed as trees are being cut down to make room for farms and roads. Amphibians also absorb pollution easily, because they breathe through their skin. Amphibians are usually the first to disappear when an environment is under threat from pollution. Due to pollution, some frogs are born with deformed, or wrongly shaped, body parts, such as extra legs and eyes. Frogs with deformed body parts are a clue for scientists that an environment is suffering. Between the destruction of their habitats and risks to frogs from pollution, frogs are at risk of endangerment and extinction.

Scientists are working to save amphibians from their plight. Scientists want the government to pass laws that protect amphibian habitats and limit pollution.

Passage 2

My name is Maria and I am an amphibian conservation biologist. My job is to protect amphibians and their natural habitats, develop educational programs and exhibits to engage the public about amphibian conservation, and research to develop tools that will allow scientists to reintroduce amphibians back into the wild. Conservation biologists are scientists who study and protect animals and their environments. I work in a zoo, but I often travel to places like Ecuador or Brazil to observe a variety of amphibians in their natural habitats. Brazil, for example, has 1,022 different types of frogs, toads and salamanders! In my work at the zoo, I specialize in only a small portion of that number. Here in the zoo, we have many amphibians in our care because some or all of their natural habitats were destroyed. We are not alone in our work to protect amphibians. Many people, in many kinds of jobs, are helping protect amphibians and their habitats. I partner with other scientists and lawyers, like my friend Fernanda, to help create laws that best support the conservation, or protection, of amphibians. Fernanda is an environmental lawyer who works to create laws like the Endangered Species Act that protect wildlife and their homes. She, in turn, needs to partner with government workers who can lobby and vote to help get laws passed. Together, our goal is to work together to build a world where these amphibians have safe space to live outside of the zoo, in their natural habitat, protected from pollution or loss of space. We are working with a facility in Brazil to build protected space for amphibians to be released from the zoo and into a space where they can thrive.

In passage two, Maria is most likely

Which pronoun is an example that would be commonly found in a piece written in first person point of view?

Passage 1

Ecuador, in South America, is home to 417 types of frogs and toads. Many of these species, or types of frogs, are at risk of dying out. In the last 50 years, many amphibian species have gone extinct. Salamanders, frogs, and toads are all amphibians. Amphibians are animals that spend part of their life in water and part on land, and have backbones. Amphibians must live near water. Amphibians are in trouble because their habitat is being destroyed as trees are being cut down to make room for farms and roads. Amphibians also absorb pollution easily, because they breathe through their skin. Amphibians are usually the first to disappear when an environment is under threat from pollution. Due to pollution, some frogs are born with deformed, or wrongly shaped, body parts, such as extra legs and eyes. Frogs with deformed body parts are a clue for scientists that an environment is suffering. Between the destruction of their habitats and risks to frogs from pollution, frogs are at risk of endangerment and extinction.

Scientists are working to save amphibians from their plight. Scientists want the government to pass laws that protect amphibian habitats and limit pollution.

Passage 2

My name is Maria and I am an amphibian conservation biologist. My job is to protect amphibians and their natural habitats, develop educational programs and exhibits to engage the public about amphibian conservation, and research to develop tools that will allow scientists to reintroduce amphibians back into the wild. Conservation biologists are scientists who study and protect animals and their environments. I work in a zoo, but I often travel to places like Ecuador or Brazil to observe a variety of amphibians in their natural habitats. Brazil, for example, has 1,022 different types of frogs, toads and salamanders! In my work at the zoo, I specialize in only a small portion of that number. Here in the zoo, we have many amphibians in our care because some or all of their natural habitats were destroyed. We are not alone in our work to protect amphibians. Many people, in many kinds of jobs, are helping protect amphibians and their habitats. I partner with other scientists and lawyers, like my friend Fernanda, to help create laws that best support the conservation, or protection, of amphibians. Fernanda is an environmental lawyer who works to create laws like the Endangered Species Act that protect wildlife and their homes. She, in turn, needs to partner with government workers who can lobby and vote to help get laws passed. Together, our goal is to work together to build a world where these amphibians have safe space to live outside of the zoo, in their natural habitat, protected from pollution or loss of space. We are working with a facility in Brazil to build protected space for amphibians to be released from the zoo and into a space where they can thrive.

In Passage 2, the text is written with what point of view?