READTHEORY Passage and Questions Reading Comprehension Assessment Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below. Name Date Cat Worship For a recent school assignment, all of the students in the 6th grade were supposed to research some aspect of life in ancient Egypt. Carla groaned upon receiving the assignment. Unlike the other students, she was not at all interested in Egypt. She found mummies disgusting, pyramids boring, and pharaohs just plain confusing. What could she possibly write about? She dreaded even thinking about it. The Meeting Each student had to meet with the teacher one on one to discuss the project. Carla thought about a topic for a long time and then decided she would just do something about a sphinx. Her teacher, Mr. Ohkur, asked her why she had picked that. She was forced to admit that it was random but that she thought the statues of the cat-human mixture were neat. Do you know why the Egyptians liked sphinxes? Mr. Ohkur asked her. She shook her head. Look into that. The Egyptians worshipped cats and thought of them as divine or godlike creatures. You have a couple cats at home, right? Carla did. Her two cats were easily her favorite creatures in the whole world. She was intrigued. Why did the Egyptians like cats so much, Mr. O? she asked. He was cryptic though. That s for you to find out. His mysterious response only added to her interest in the topic. Research Now, with a topic firmly in mind, Carla got to work. She went to the library and checked out three books on Egyptology, the study of ancient Egypt. Carla looked at the chapters about cats and found out lots of interesting facts. Carla learned that cats were treated better than most humans. If one harmed a cat, he would be killed as punishment. If a building caught on fire, men would stand by it making sure no cats entered the building by mistake. And cats were mummified too. Only important figures such as pharaohs and priests were made into mummies, so it was a huge honor to be mummified. She was especially interested to learn that cats were thought to be the descendants of the goddess Bast. Bast was the goddess of warfare, the moon, fertility, and, of course, cats. She thought of her own cats. Could Ray and Dave be little gods? Why Worship Cats? The only thing Carla did not quite figure out was why cats were so honored. One book suggested that it had something to do with the way cats behaved. Cats seemed as if they did not care that there were humans present. They would live alongside humans but ignore them. Unlike dogs, they did not need attention. And unlike wild animals, they did not attack nor run from humans. Carla had seen this trait in her own cats. Ray and Dave could take her or leave her, it seemed. In a way, she thought, that casual indifference toward humans is godlike. Ray and Dave confirmed their godlike status when she tried to put them in carrying cases so she could bring them to school. She wanted to use them as models for her class presentation. The cats hissed and would not budge. Just like little gods, they would not do what a mere human asked!
READTHEORY Questions 1) Based on the information in paragraph 1, which of the following best describes Carla s opinion of the ancient Egypt project? A. She found most of ancient Egypt confusing and did not think she could explain any part of it to her classmates. B. She hated everything she had to do for Mr. Ohkur s class, including the Egyptian project. C. She was excited to research the role of cats in ancient Egypt. D. She found ancient Egypt very dull and did not look forward to the project. 2) Based on its use in paragraph 4, it can be understood that the word divine most nearly belongs in which of the following word groups? A. important, significant, vital B. interesting, fascinating, intriguing C. sacred, godly, worshipped D. ancient, old, primitive 3) Each of the following is a true fact about cats in ancient Egypt EXCEPT that A. They were worshipped because they loved human attention. B. Cats were honored through mummification. C. It was a serious crime to kill a cat. D. They were thought to be descendants of a god. 4) Ray and Dave are most likely A. Carla s classmates B. Carla s cats C. Egyptian gods D. Egyptian cats 5) Which of the following correctly orders the steps in Carla s research process? A. She picked a topic, talked to her teacher, picked a new topic, and researched it by reading books from the library before putting together a presentation. B. Her teacher assigned her a topic and she met with him to change it before researching the new topic by using computers at the library and putting together a presentation. C. Her teacher assigned her a topic and she met with him to change it before researching the new topic by using computers at the library and putting together a paper. D. She picked a topic, talked to her teacher, picked a new topic and researched it by reading books from the library before putting together a paper. 6) In the passage, Carla A. finds out that cats really are descendants from a god B. prepares a presentation about mummies in ancient Egypt C. thinks about her own cats after researching cats in ancient Egypt D. uses her own cats as models for a paper about feline species 7) Based on the information in the passage, explain how the ancient Egyptians honored and protected their cats.
READTHEORY Questions 8) What do you think of the argument that cats indifference to humans makes them godlike? Are they really special when compared to other animals? Why or why not? 9) In the passage, Carla consults library books in order to find out how the ancient Egyptians viewed cats. If you were given the same assignment as Carla, where would you look to find this information? Would your sources differ from Carla s? Why or why not?
READTHEORY Answers and Explanations 1) D Question Type: Inference In the first paragraph, the author describes Carla s reaction to being assigned a project on ancient Egypt. He or she writes that Carla groaned because she was not at all interested in Egypt. Later in the paragraph, the author states that she dreaded even thinking about what to write about. This suggests that Carla both found ancient Egypt to be dull and that she did not look forward to completing the project. Because of this, choice (D) is correct. The first paragraph states only that Carla found pharaohs just plain confusing. It does not state that she found most of ancient Egypt confusing. Additionally, there is no indication that she worried about her ability to explain any part of Egypt to her fellow students. For these reasons, choice (A) is not correct. The passage never states that Carla hated doing everything for Mr. Ohkur s class. Rather, it only states that she dreaded having to do the ancient Egypt project for his class. Choice (B) is not correct because it makes a statement that is too broad for the passage. Carla s cat topic is not discussed at all in the first paragraph, as it is not introduced until she meets with Mr. Ohkur later in the passage. Because this question asks about paragraph 1, choice (C) is not correct. 2) C Question Type: Vocabulary divine (adjective): of, from, or like a god or goddess. In paragraph 4, Mr. Ohkur states that, The Egyptians worshipped cats and thought of them as divine or god-like creatures. The use of divine alongside god-like suggests that divine and god-like are similar in meaning. This would suggest that divine belongs in the word group that includes other words relating to religion and gods: sacred, godly, worshipped. Because of this, choice (C) is correct. In paragraph 4, Mr. Ohkur states that, The Egyptians worshipped cats and thought of them as divine or god-like creatures. The use of divine alongside god-like suggests that divine and god-like are similar in meaning. This would suggest that divine belongs in the word group that includes other words relating to religion and god-like, not words that suggest only that something is important. This means divine does not merely mean important, significant, or vital. Something can be important without being holy or sacred. Because of this, choice (A) is not correct. In paragraph 4, Mr. Ohkur states that, The Egyptians worshipped cats and thought of them as divine or god-like creatures. The use of divine alongside god-like suggests that divine and god-like are similar in meaning. This would suggest that divine belongs in the word group that includes other words relating to religion and god-like, not words that only suggest that something might be interesting to Carla (even though cat worship became interesting to Carla). This means that divine is not similar in meaning to interesting, fascinating, or intriguing. It also means choice (B) is not correct. In paragraph 4, Mr. Ohkur states that, The Egyptians worshipped cats and thought of them as divine or god-like creatures. The use of divine alongside god-like suggests that divine and god-like are similar in meaning. This would suggest that divine belongs in the word group that includes other words relating to religion and god-like, not words that relate to something be old. This means that divine is not similar to ancient, old, or primitive, even though the cat worshipping was done in ancient Egypt. For this reason, choice (D) is not correct. 3) A Question Type: Detail To answer this detail question, look for the part of the passage that provides information about cats in ancient Egyptian. This occurs in the middle of the passage, under the heading Research, and in the end of the passage under the heading, Why Worship Cats? In those sections, the author explains what Carla learned about Egyptian cat worship. Choice (A) is correct because it provides information that the passage does not provide. In fact, paragraph 10 disproves the point made in choice (A): It states that cats seemed as if they did not care that there were humans present and did not need attention. It is suggested that Egyptians worshipped cats because they did not need human attention, not because they loved human attention. In paragraph 8, the author states that cats were mummified and that it was a huge honor to be mummified. This question asks for the statement that is NOT listed in the passage as a true fact about cats in ancient Egypt, so choice (B) is not correct. In paragraph 8, the author states that Carla learned that it was a serious crime to kill a cat. The passage states that, if one harmed a cat, he would be killed as punishment. This question asks for the statement that is NOT listed in the passage as a true fact about cats in ancient Egypt, so choice (C) is not correct. In paragraph 9, the author writes that Carla was especially interested to learn that cats were thought to be the descendants of the goddess Bast. This question asks for the statement that is NOT listed in the passage as a true fact about cats in ancient Egypt, so choice (D) is not correct. 4) B Question Type: Inference Ray and Dave are first mentioned in paragraph 9. They are mentioned immediately after Carla thought of her own cats. This suggests that Ray and Dave are likely Carla s cats, and she questions whether they might be little gods as the Egyptians believed. Because it is suggested that Ray and Dave are Carla s cats, choice (B) is correct. None of Carla s classmates are specifically mentioned in the passage, and there is no suggestion that Carla believes some of her classmates might be little gods, though she wonders if Ray and Dave might be little gods in paragraph 9. For these reasons, choice (A) is not correct. Though Carla wonders (in paragraph 9) if Ray and Dave [could] be little gods, there is no suggestion that they are gods the Egyptians worshipped. Rather, it is suggested that they are modern cats, and Carla is wondering if they might be descendants of the goddess Bast, as the Egyptians believed. Choice (C) is not correct because it takes Carla s thoughts literally rather than figuratively. There is no suggestion that Ray and Dave are Egyptians, even though the passage does suggest that they are cats. When they are mentioned (in paragraphs 9, 10, and 11), they are mentioned right after references to Carla s own cats. This suggests they are her cats, not Egyptian cats. For this reason, choice (D) is not correct. 5) A Question Type: Global The passage describes Carla s research project in detail. It opens by stating that Carla was supposed to research some aspect of life in ancient Egypt. In paragraph 2, it is stated that she decided she would just do something about a sphinx. Paragraphs 2 6 state that she then met with her teacher, Mr. Ohkur, who suggested a new topic: cat worship in ancient Egypt. In paragraph 7, the author states that Carla went to the library and checked out three books on Egyptology. Finally, in the last paragraph, the author
READTHEORY Answers and Explanations mentions that Carla wanted to bring Ray and Dave to school to use them as models for her class presentation. This means that she was putting together a presentation. Choice (A) is correct because it provides the proper sequence of picking a topic, meeting with her teacher, changing her topic, going to the library, and putting together a presentation. Choice (B) is not correct because the passage states that she picked a topic (sphinxes) before meeting with her teacher and picking a new one. Mr. Ohkur did not first give her a topic and then ask her to change it, as choice (B) states. Additionally, the passage does not state that Carla used computers at the library to do research. Instead, she checked out three books on Egyptology. Choice (C) is not correct because the passage states that she picked a topic (sphinxes) before meeting with her teacher and picking a new one. Mr. Ohkur did not first give her a topic and then ask her to change it, as choice (C) states. Additionally, the passage does not state that Carla used computers at the library to do research. Instead, she checked out three books on Egyptology. Finally, she put together a presentation not a paper as choice (C) states. Choice (D) provides a correct sequence of events except one. It states that Carla put together a paper, but the final paragraph suggests she had to do a class presentation on her topic. Because of this, choice (D) is not correct. 6) C Question Type: Global In the passage, Carla thinks about her cats after researching cats in ancient Egypt. In paragraph 9, she wonders if her own cats might be little gods after finding out that Egyptians believed that cats were descended from the goddess Bast. Additionally, in paragraph 10, she learns that Egyptians believed cats could take or leave humans and she reflects that her own cats seemed to have the same attitude. For these reasons, choice (C) is correct. In the passage, Carla learns that the ancient Egyptians believed cats were descended from the goddess Bast. But she does not learn that cats actually are descended from a god. There is a difference between someone believing something and it actually being true. Choice (A) is not correct because it makes the mistake of assuming a belief to be a true fact. In the passage, Carla prepares a presentation about cat worship in ancient Egypt. Though cats were mummified, she does not generally research mummies nor prepare a presentation about mummies. Choice (B) is not correct as a result. At the end of the passage, Carla attempts to use her own cats as models for a presentation about cat worship in ancient Egypt. She does not use the cats as models for a paper about cats in general though. Choice (D) is not correct because of this.