Released Reading Selections and Assessment Questions, 2019Junior DivisionGrade 6 Language

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Fill the circle completely.

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You are now ready to start.

Section A1 Reading

Racing the Beast

1 Somewhere near the bottom of the hill, the beast growls. I peer into the swirling morning

mist. I can’t see anything. But that sound , —a rumble so low you feel it. It’s coming.

2 I grab my little brother’s hand. “Hurry!” I urge him.

3 We run. Our backpacks flap against us. Our breath plumes in the cold air. Our boots pound the

gravel. My brother skids on a murky puddle. His boot cracks the thin film of ice on the water’s

surface. He pauses, pokes it with a toe. I nudge him forward. “There’s no time!” I insist.

4 The beast remains hidden in the dense morning fog, but its groan tells us it’s close. We strain

harder. The corner is so far away.

5 The beast bursts through the mist. Blinding eyes, heavy black brow, yellow-orange flanks

speckled with mud. It hurls itself up the gravel road, gaining ground on us. We’ll never make it.

6 Even my brother knows what’s at stake. His little legs churn up and down, up and down, as

fast as they can go. Our scarves stream behind us like flags. The beast’s groan tells us it’s

close.

7 Then it lets out a squeal. It sees us! It screeches at the corner and then stops to pant and purr.

Waiting.

8 I turn to my brother. “Come on!”

9 We run.

10 The beast stretches before us, almost as long as our house.

11 Its mouth springs open. I hear a buzzing from inside.

12 I take my brother’s bag. He steps bravely into the beast’s mouth.

13 It’s my turn. I take a deep breath. Carrying the two bags, I struggle to climb aboard. The beast

slams its mouth shut behind me.

14 A throat clears. “Kind of pushing your luck, aren’t you, Julia?”

15 I look up, still gasping for breath.

16 A woman in a blue baseball cap perches on a green seat. She grips the wheel. “Next time I’m

not waiting,” she warns. “It’ll be a long walk to school.”

17 She releases the lever and wrestles the beast into gear. With a grunt and a roar, the school

bus rattles away from the corner and rumbles along to Carley Elementary.

Section A1 Reading: Multiple-Choice

1: What does “urge” mean (paragraph 2)?

hold

block

comfort

encourage

2: What is the main effect of using short sentences throughout the text?

The sentences build the setting.

The sentences develop the mood.

The sentences present the timeline.

The sentences highlight the solution.

3: What is “at stake” (paragraph 6)?

missing the bus

falling in the mud

being lost in the fog

outrunning the beast

4: Why does Julia have trouble getting on the bus (paragraph 13)?

The door is closing.

The fog is too thick.

She is carrying bags.

She hears some buzzing.

A) Section A1 Reading: Open-Response

5: Is Julia a good sister? Explain using specific details from the text to support your answer. (3

typed lines)

6: Explain how the words used in the text help the reader imagine the bus as a beast. Use specific

details from the text to support your answer. (3 typed lines)

Section A , 4, Writing: Multiple-Choice

14: Choose the sentence that is written correctly.

“Edward, I said in a quiet voice, “I think your project is great.”

“Edward” I said in a quiet voice, “I think your project is great.”

“Edward.” I said in a quiet voice, “I think your project is great.”

“Edward,” I said in a quiet voice, “I think your project is great.”

17: Choose the words that complete the following sentences correctly.

, Blank space., are many things that lead to success in learning. Most importantly, if students

believe in themselves, , Blank space., more likely to have success in , Blank space., learning.

They’re, their, there

There, they’re, their

Their, they’re, there

There, their, they’re

Section B1 Reading

The Vault at the Top of the World

Priceless Treasure

1 On an island about 950 km from the North Pole, a steel vault juts out from the side of a

mountain. Inside this building are some of the riches of the world, guarded by a high-tech

security system. The vault is designed to be protected from both natural disasters and human-

made problems.

2 So what priceless treasure can be found there? Seeds.

Keeping Seeds Safe

3Seed banks have been used as long as people have farmed. The first banks were simple jars,

baskets and bags. But farmers often experienced problems

when it came to storing seeds for food crops such as corn,

oats and wheat. To bugs, mice, birds and other creatures,

seeds are a food source. If the seeds did manage to survive,

they were still at risk of being destroyed by plant diseases and

natural disasters.

4 Scientists understood the importance of saving seeds, so seed banks that could store these

treasures for centuries were created in the scientists’ own countries.

5 But the seeds were still at risk. Crops and farmland were often destroyed during wars and

natural disasters. Thieves raided seed banks to sell the seeds or keep them for their own use.

Scientists became concerned about the extinction of some plants. Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Svalbard. Barents Sea. 1,000 kilometres. Norway. Europe.

Top of the World

6 So where would the world’s supply of seeds be safe? Scientists consulted with many

experts and eventually chose Svalbard, a remote Norwegian archipelago , —a collection of

islands , —between Norway and the North Pole.

7 In 2007, engineers and workers used dynamite to create a tunnel deep inside a mountain , on

an island in Svalbard. Then they created a hallway with three doors, each leading to a

chamber the size of a hockey rink. These three chambers can hold up to 4.5 million varieties of

seeds.

Deposit and Withdrawal

8 The Svalbard Global Seed Vault works a lot like a bank. When a country deposits a specific

type of seed, it owns these seeds and controls what happens to them.

9 As of 2015, the vault holds more than 864,000 seed samples from almost every country in the

world. Seeds are kept a minus 18 degrees Celsius.

Section B1 Reading: Multiple-Choice

1: What is the main purpose of paragraph 3?

to present the goals of seed storage

to show the benefits of seed storage

to explain the science of seed storage

to outline the long history of seed storage

2: What is the purpose of the dashes in paragraph 6?

to provide an opinion

to provide a definition

to provide a justification

to provide an explanation

3: According to paragraph 7, what happens to banked seeds?

They are stored in underground chambers.

They are supervised in connected hallways.

They are organized according to seed samples.

They are maintained at a constant temperature.

4: What does “deposits” mean (paragraph 8)?

finds

drops

stores

borrows

Section B1 Reading: Open-Response

5: Why is there a need to protect seeds in the vault? Explain using details from the text to support

your answer. (3 typed lines)

6: Why is the site ideal for a seed vault? Use information from the text to support your answer.

(3 typed lines)

Section C2 Writing

13: Making healthy food choices is important for students.

Write a detailed paragraph explaining why this statement is true.

Ideas for My Paragraph

Write your answer on the next page.

This page will not be scored.

Write your paragraph here. Remember to check your spelling, grammar and punctuation. (10 typed lines)

Section C3 Writing: Multiple-Choice

15: Choose the best order to make a paragraph using the following sentences.

(1) The girls won the league championship and learn ned that hard work pays off.

(2) Kate was excited for a great season of hockey with her hockey team.

(3) Kate’s coach trained her how to play different positions.

(4) Her teammates worked hard every week in practice and listened carefully to their coach

during the drills.

2, 1, 4, 3

2, 3, 4, 1

3, 4, 1, 2

3, 1, 2, 4

17: Choose the best order for the following sentences.

(1) This allows bats to be more flexible in their movements.

(2) This ability gives bats an easy way to hunt and catch their prey.

(3) A bat’s wings are unique.

(4) They are similar in structure to a human hand.

3, 4, 1, 2

3, 1, 2, 4

4, 3, 1, 2

4, 1, 3, 2

Stop.

Permissions and Credits

Section A1 Reading

Adapted from “Racing the Beast” by W.H. Beck, from Highlights for Children Magazine, February 2013, volume 68, number 2, issue 736. © 2013 Highlights for Children, Incorporated, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Section B1 Reading

Adapted from “The Vault at the Top of the World” by Aileen Kirkham, published in the August 2015 issue of Highlights for Children magazine. © 2015 by Highlights for Children, Incorporated, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.