Text 1:

Adapted from The Ants and the Grasshopper by Aesop (620-560 BCE)

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants was bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

Text 2:

Adapted from Aesop’s The Lion and the Mouse (620-560 BCE)

A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and someday I will surely repay you."

The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion."

The themes of these passages are different but the author chose a similar genre to tell the story. Why would an author choose a fable to explore this theme instead of a different genre?

Text 1:

One clear advantage of selling goods online is that smaller markets can be served without the seller needing to invest in high inventory costs. Recordings of classical music, for example, are increasingly hard to find at the larger music chains. Now the classical music lover can locate nearly any classical CD in print on the Internet.

In addition, forward-thinking artists without national followings have made their music available on personal sites or through services that provide the musicians with a more generous share of profits than that offered by the large record labels. For some, this has resulted in increased sales volume, greater return on investment, greater control of the product, and a more direct connection with their fan base.

Major orchestras and record labels have taken note, and have created websites where one can purchase individual tracks, full CDs, archival recordings, and even music exclusively made available for online downloads. Some symphony orchestras now include, with the price of admission to a concert, the right to download a recording of the concert afterward. Other services allow the listener unlimited streaming or downloading for a monthly fee.

Text 2:

One disadvantage of selling goods online is that smaller retailers can be crushed by large online retailers. Big corporations that sell online have access to more goods so that brings the cost of each item down exponentially. They place larger orders and can carry more varieties of products so they may be able to satisfy more customers.

Just about anything can be found online so it takes away the fun of the hunt. Digging through vintage record bins, combing through racks of clothing, or spending a day out shopping with friends is reduced to a few clicks online and waiting 3-5 business days for the package to arrive. Small businesses are losing foot traffic to their stores and facing declining sales when a big box store can beat their price with a cheaper imported good.

Musicians, for example, may have CDs to sell after a performance but when people can download the single song they like or it can be listened to on a streaming service the artist can lose out on those sales. Many artists don’t produce a tangible good anymore and just make their goods available for digital download or purchase.

Do the authors’ present facts or opinions in their texts?

Text 1:

Genetic investigations into the origins of human life most often focus on mitochondrial DNA. As opposed to nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA is transmitted only from the mother. This allows for the tracing of mutations that arise independently of changes that occur because of the combining of the mother’s and father’s DNA. As useful as this is, the high mutation rate of mitochondrial DNA allows scientists to look at only relatively recent prehistory.

Text 2:

Nuclear DNA, on the other hand, has a low mutation rate, making it ideal for looking into the more distant past. Studying the nuclear DNA of fossils now shows a substantial decrease in population size in Europe and Asia approximately 50—80 thousand years ago. No such decrease happened in Africa. This supports the idea that migrants from Africa replaced all previous humans, and did not interbreed with earlier migrants.

Does either of the authors present unfair or biased information?

Text 1:

Adapted from The Ants and the Grasshopper by Aesop (620-560 BCE)

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants was bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

Text 2:

Adapted from Aesop’s The Lion and the Mouse (620-560 BCE)

A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and someday I will surely repay you."

The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion."

How are the ants in the first story and Mouse in the second story similar to each other?

Text 1:

One clear advantage of selling goods online is that smaller markets can be served without the seller needing to invest in high inventory costs. Recordings of classical music, for example, are increasingly hard to find at the larger music chains. Now the classical music lover can locate nearly any classical CD in print on the Internet.

In addition, forward-thinking artists without national followings have made their music available on personal sites or through services that provide the musicians with a more generous share of profits than that offered by the large record labels. For some, this has resulted in increased sales volume, greater return on investment, greater control of the product, and a more direct connection with their fan base.

Major orchestras and record labels have taken note, and have created websites where one can purchase individual tracks, full CDs, archival recordings, and even music exclusively made available for online downloads. Some symphony orchestras now include, with the price of admission to a concert, the right to download a recording of the concert afterward. Other services allow the listener unlimited streaming or downloading for a monthly fee.

Text 2:

One disadvantage of selling goods online is that smaller retailers can be crushed by large online retailers. Big corporations that sell online have access to more goods so that brings the cost of each item down exponentially. They place larger orders and can carry more varieties of products so they may be able to satisfy more customers.

Just about anything can be found online so it takes away the fun of the hunt. Digging through vintage record bins, combing through racks of clothing, or spending a day out shopping with friends is reduced to a few clicks online and waiting 3-5 business days for the package to arrive. Small businesses are losing foot traffic to their stores and facing declining sales when a big box store can beat their price with a cheaper imported good.

Musicians, for example, may have CDs to sell after a performance but when people can download the single song they like or it can be listened to on a streaming service the artist can lose out on those sales. Many artists don’t produce a tangible good anymore and just make their goods available for digital download or purchase.

How do these authors present their information similarly or differently?

Text 1:

One clear advantage of selling goods online is that smaller markets can be served without the seller needing to invest in high inventory costs. Recordings of classical music, for example, are increasingly hard to find at the larger music chains. Now the classical music lover can locate nearly any classical CD in print on the Internet.

In addition, forward-thinking artists without national followings have made their music available on personal sites or through services that provide the musicians with a more generous share of profits than that offered by the large record labels. For some, this has resulted in increased sales volume, greater return on investment, greater control of the product, and a more direct connection with their fan base.

Major orchestras and record labels have taken note, and have created websites where one can purchase individual tracks, full CDs, archival recordings, and even music exclusively made available for online downloads. Some symphony orchestras now include, with the price of admission to a concert, the right to download a recording of the concert afterward. Other services allow the listener unlimited streaming or downloading for a monthly fee.

Text 2:

One disadvantage of selling goods online is that smaller retailers can be crushed by large online retailers. Big corporations that sell online have access to more goods so that brings the cost of each item down exponentially. They place larger orders and can carry more varieties of products so they may be able to satisfy more customers.

Just about anything can be found online so it takes away the fun of the hunt. Digging through vintage record bins, combing through racks of clothing, or spending a day out shopping with friends is reduced to a few clicks online and waiting 3-5 business days for the package to arrive. Small businesses are losing foot traffic to their stores and facing declining sales when a big box store can beat their price with a cheaper imported good.

Musicians, for example, may have CDs to sell after a performance but when people can download the single song they like or it can be listened to on a streaming service the artist can lose out on those sales. Many artists don’t produce a tangible good anymore and just make their goods available for digital download or purchase.

How do the authors' ideas compare to each other?

Text 1:

Genetic investigations into the origins of human life most often focus on mitochondrial DNA. As opposed to nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA is transmitted only from the mother. This allows for the tracing of mutations that arise independently of changes that occur because of the combining of the mother’s and father’s DNA. As useful as this is, the high mutation rate of mitochondrial DNA allows scientists to look at only relatively recent prehistory.

Text 2:

Nuclear DNA, on the other hand, has a low mutation rate, making it ideal for looking into the more distant past. Studying the nuclear DNA of fossils now shows a substantial decrease in population size in Europe and Asia approximately 50—80 thousand years ago. No such decrease happened in Africa. This supports the idea that migrants from Africa replaced all previous humans, and did not interbreed with earlier migrants.

What structure do both authors use to organize their text?

Text 1:

Adapted from The Ants and the Grasshopper by Aesop (620-560 BCE)

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants was bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

Text 2:

Adapted from Aesop’s The Lion and the Mouse (620-560 BCE)

A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and someday I will surely repay you."

The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion."

How does the author's purpose compare in these works?

Passage 1: Adapted from “In Cowboy Land” in An Autobiography by Theodore Roosevelt (1913)

Though I had previously made a trip into the then Territory of Dakota, beyond the Red River, it was not until 1883 that I went to the Little Missouri, and there took hold of two cattle ranches, the Chimney Butte and the Elkhorn.

It was still the Wild West in those days, the Far West, the West of Owen Wister's stories and Frederic Remington's drawings. That land of the West has gone now, "gone, gone with lost Atlantis," gone to the isle of ghosts and of strange dead memories. It was a land of vast silent spaces, of lonely rivers, and of plains where the wild game stared at the passing horseman. It was a land of scattered ranches, of herds of long-horned cattle, and of reckless riders who unmoved looked in the eyes of life or of death. In that land we led a free and hardy life, with horse and with rifle. We knew toil and hardship and hunger and thirst; and we saw men die violent deaths as they worked among the horses and cattle, or fought in evil feuds with one another; but we felt the beat of hardy life in our veins, and ours was the glory of work and the joy of living.

I first reached the Little Missouri on a Northern Pacific train about three in the morning of a cool September day in 1883. Next day I walked over to the abandoned army post, and, after some hours among the gray log shacks, a ranchman who had driven into the station agreed to take me out to his ranch, the Chimney Butte ranch, where he was living with his brother and their partner.

The ranch was a log structure with a dirt roof, a corral for the horses near by, and a chicken-house jabbed against the rear of the ranch house. Inside there was only one room, with a table, three or four chairs, a cooking-stove, and three bunks. The owners were Sylvane and Joe Ferris and William J. Merrifield. There was a fourth man, George Meyer, who also worked for me later. That evening we all played old sledge round the table, and at one period the game was interrupted by a frightful squawking outside which told us that a bobcat had made a raid on the chicken-house.

After a buffalo hunt with my original friend, Joe Ferris, I entered into partnership with Merrifield and Sylvane Ferris, and we started a cow ranch, with the maltese cross brand—always known as "maltee cross," by the way, as the general impression along the Little Missouri was that "maltese" must be a plural. Twenty-nine years later my four friends of that night were delegates to the First Progressive National Convention at Chicago. They were among my most constant companions for the few years next succeeding the evening when the bobcat interrupted the game of old sledge. I lived and worked with them on the ranch, and with them and many others like them on the round-up.

I do not believe there ever was any life more attractive to a vigorous young fellow than life on a cattle ranch in those days. It was a fine, healthy life, too; it taught a man self-reliance, hardihood, and the value of instant decision—in short, the virtues that ought to come from life in the open country. I enjoyed the life to the full.

Passage 2: Adapted from “Theodore Roosevelt the Rancher.” National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 1 July 2016. https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-the-rancher.htm.

Theodore Roosevelt originally came to Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison. The locals showed little interest in helping this eastern tenderfoot. The promise of quick cash, however, convinced Joe Ferris—a 25-year-old Canadian living in the Badlands—to act as Roosevelt's hunting guide.

Through terrible weather and awful luck, Roosevelt showed a determination which surprised his exasperated hunting guide. Finding a bison proved difficult; most of the herds had been slaughtered in recent years by commercial hunters. When they were not sleeping outdoors, Roosevelt and Ferris used the small ranch cabin of Gregor Lang as a base camp. Evenings at Lang's ranch saw an exhausted Ferris falling asleep to conversations between Roosevelt and their host. Spirited debates on politics gave way to discussions about ranching, and Roosevelt became interested in raising cattle in the Badlands.

Cattle ranching in Dakota was a boom business in the 1880s. With the northern plains recently devoid of bison, cattle were being driven north from Texas to feed on the nutritious grasses. The Northern Pacific Railroad offered a quick route to eastern markets without long drives that reduced the quality of the meat. Entrepreneurs like the Marquis de Morès were bringing money and infrastructure to the region. The opportunity struck Roosevelt as a sound business opportunity.

With Roosevelt's interest sparked, he entered into business with his guide's brother, Sylvane Ferris, and Bill Merrifield, another Dakota cattleman. Roosevelt put down an initial investment of $14,000—significantly more than his annual salary. Roosevelt returned to New York with instructions for Ferris and Merrifield to build the Maltese Cross Cabin. His investment was not purely for business; Roosevelt saw it as a chance to immerse himself in a western lifestyle he had long romanticized.

The last line of Passage 2 states, “Roosevelt saw \[his investment\] as a chance to immerse himself in a western lifestyle he had long romanticized.” When you “romanticize” something, you see it in terms of ideals and make it seem almost too good to be true. You might describe it poetically, using lots of literary techniques, and your description might sound like fiction.

Which of the paragraphs in Passage 1 provides the best evidence that Roosevelt romanticized the West?

Passage 1: Adapted from “In Cowboy Land” in An Autobiography by Theodore Roosevelt (1913)

Though I had previously made a trip into the then Territory of Dakota, beyond the Red River, it was not until 1883 that I went to the Little Missouri, and there took hold of two cattle ranches, the Chimney Butte and the Elkhorn.

It was still the Wild West in those days, the Far West, the West of Owen Wister's stories and Frederic Remington's drawings. That land of the West has gone now, "gone, gone with lost Atlantis," gone to the isle of ghosts and of strange dead memories. It was a land of vast silent spaces, of lonely rivers, and of plains where the wild game stared at the passing horseman. It was a land of scattered ranches, of herds of long-horned cattle, and of reckless riders who unmoved looked in the eyes of life or of death. In that land we led a free and hardy life, with horse and with rifle. We knew toil and hardship and hunger and thirst; and we saw men die violent deaths as they worked among the horses and cattle, or fought in evil feuds with one another; but we felt the beat of hardy life in our veins, and ours was the glory of work and the joy of living.

I first reached the Little Missouri on a Northern Pacific train about three in the morning of a cool September day in 1883. Next day I walked over to the abandoned army post, and, after some hours among the gray log shacks, a ranchman who had driven into the station agreed to take me out to his ranch, the Chimney Butte ranch, where he was living with his brother and their partner.

The ranch was a log structure with a dirt roof, a corral for the horses near by, and a chicken-house jabbed against the rear of the ranch house. Inside there was only one room, with a table, three or four chairs, a cooking-stove, and three bunks. The owners were Sylvane and Joe Ferris and William J. Merrifield. There was a fourth man, George Meyer, who also worked for me later. That evening we all played old sledge round the table, and at one period the game was interrupted by a frightful squawking outside which told us that a bobcat had made a raid on the chicken-house.

After a buffalo hunt with my original friend, Joe Ferris, I entered into partnership with Merrifield and Sylvane Ferris, and we started a cow ranch, with the maltese cross brand—always known as "maltee cross," by the way, as the general impression along the Little Missouri was that "maltese" must be a plural. Twenty-nine years later my four friends of that night were delegates to the First Progressive National Convention at Chicago. They were among my most constant companions for the few years next succeeding the evening when the bobcat interrupted the game of old sledge. I lived and worked with them on the ranch, and with them and many others like them on the round-up.

I do not believe there ever was any life more attractive to a vigorous young fellow than life on a cattle ranch in those days. It was a fine, healthy life, too; it taught a man self-reliance, hardihood, and the value of instant decision—in short, the virtues that ought to come from life in the open country. I enjoyed the life to the full.

Passage 2: Adapted from “Theodore Roosevelt the Rancher.” National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 1 July 2016. https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-the-rancher.htm.

Theodore Roosevelt originally came to Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison. The locals showed little interest in helping this eastern tenderfoot. The promise of quick cash, however, convinced Joe Ferris—a 25-year-old Canadian living in the Badlands—to act as Roosevelt's hunting guide.

Through terrible weather and awful luck, Roosevelt showed a determination which surprised his exasperated hunting guide. Finding a bison proved difficult; most of the herds had been slaughtered in recent years by commercial hunters. When they were not sleeping outdoors, Roosevelt and Ferris used the small ranch cabin of Gregor Lang as a base camp. Evenings at Lang's ranch saw an exhausted Ferris falling asleep to conversations between Roosevelt and their host. Spirited debates on politics gave way to discussions about ranching, and Roosevelt became interested in raising cattle in the Badlands.

Cattle ranching in Dakota was a boom business in the 1880s. With the northern plains recently devoid of bison, cattle were being driven north from Texas to feed on the nutritious grasses. The Northern Pacific Railroad offered a quick route to eastern markets without long drives that reduced the quality of the meat. Entrepreneurs like the Marquis de Morès were bringing money and infrastructure to the region. The opportunity struck Roosevelt as a sound business opportunity.

With Roosevelt's interest sparked, he entered into business with his guide's brother, Sylvane Ferris, and Bill (William J.) Merrifield, another Dakota cattleman. Roosevelt put down an initial investment of $14,000—significantly more than his annual salary. Roosevelt returned to New York with instructions for Ferris and Merrifield to build the Maltese Cross Cabin. His investment was not purely for business; Roosevelt saw it as a chance to immerse himself in a western lifestyle he had long romanticized.

This autobiography and his biography overlap and describe some of the same events; however, they describe them from different perspectives. As a result, each passage mentions some people that the other passage does not.

Which of the following people are mentioned in BOTH of the passages?