A teacher asks a student to wipe down the whiteboard before leaving for art class, put away the math textbooks before wiping down the whiteboard, and take the daily attendance sheet to the principal on the way to art class.

Which of the following should the student do first?

Which of the following statements about the passage is true?

The athlete enjoyed the accolades of her teammates when she scored the winning goal. Which of the following words is the best synonym for the word "accolades" in the sentence above?

Which of the following is the main purpose of a newspaper editorial written in support of education reform?

What is all this talk of cicadas lately in the United States? You might be wondering why the media has featured it, but in fact, the discussion about cicadas has emerged about as predictably as the cicadas themselves from their underground refuge. Let's get oriented with some background on cicadas.

What is a cicada? A typical definition will at least tell you that the cicada is a large, loud insect with long transparent wings, mostly found in warm countries. A more detailed response might also inform you that cicadas have short antennae and wide-set eyes that jut out, with delicate, translucent wings - and that not only is the cicada loud, but few creatures make a louder sound. In fact, it is male cicadas that are the noisy ones, to the tune of 80 to 100 decibels, which is like the roar of a loud engine. This is because male cicadas make a strident, high buzzing by vibrating two membranes on their abdomen called tymbals, effectively turning its body into a kind of echo chamber or drum. Female cicadas cannot replicate the buzzing, though they respond with a clicking sound when they are ready to mate.

Although there are several species of cicada, mating typically takes place in trees whereafter the female deposits the eggs into the bark. When the eggs hatch, the larval cicadas, called nymphs, drop to the ground and burrow. They then live as nymphs for most of their lives over 6 feet underground, with both male and female cicadas dying within weeks of their emergence from the soil. This is particularly true for North American cicadas, especially the Magiccodo, or periodical cicadas, which regularly...

Which of the following is the most likely reason male cicadas make a buzzing sound?

Dear Aunt Suzanne,

I have a few minutes before I get on the bus from Galway back to Dublin and wanted to tell you how my class trip to Ireland is going. We just spent 2 days on Inis Mor, the largest of the Aran Islands, which are just off the central west coast of Ireland. We took a ferry from Galway, a ride that takes about an hour and was quite gray and stormy.

For an island that is only about 12 square miles, there is a lot to do and see on Inis Mor! After eating steak and vegetable stew and brown bread with butter, we went to the sweater market, where all kinds of woolen products were sold. The Aran Islands are known for their wool because sheep thrive here and generations have used woolen sweaters and hats to survive long cold days of fishing on the open sea. In fact, I learned that each family or clan has its own signature knitting pattern and some are able to tell which family someone belongs to by the pattern of their sweater! The Healy pattern is an interesting combination of twists and braids, and I found you a birthday souvenir with a beautiful example

The next day, we rented bicycles and toured the island. We saw ancient ruins, a prehistoric hill fort, and a white sand beach. We also climbed down to a mysterious rock formation known as The Worm Hole" a rectangular hole in a stone shore that fills with thrashing waves and looks like it houses a terrible serpent (see attached photo). The Worm Hole was difficult to find, and when we stopped someone for directions, she only Spoke Gaelic Sometimes this island seems stuck in an earlier time.

According to the passage, which of the following events happens last?

A teacher asks a student to wipe down the whiteboard before leaving for art class, put away the math textbooks before wiping down the whiteboard, and take the daily attendance sheet to the principal on the way to art class.

Which of the following should the student do first?

What source would be most useful in determining the reliability of Punxsutawney Phil's predictions over a number of years?

A Day with Humpbacks

I sit on the headlands of Neah Bay, Washington, and watch a mother humpback and her calf slip through the icy Pacific waters. I recognize this whale by her distinctive tail pattern, as unique to this humpback as my fingerprints are to me. Once, heavy hunting using harpoons extirpated the species from the region, and only a ban on whaling allowed populations of humpbacks to recover.

As this gray female rises to the surface, she exhales, sending up a spout nearly 20 feet high. She rolls on her side and lifts her scalloped-edge flipper in salute, then slaps it on the water. Fadjust my lens and take my shot. This is the only type of whale hunting I find acceptable with a camera.

Which of the following statements about the passage is true?

Letter from the Chair of Elkinsville Ecological Society

Many of you have heard about the proposed northward expansion of the interstate, which currently ends just south of Elkinsville. In the recent debate over how this work will go forward, the focus has been on weighing economic costs and benefits. Indeed, many local politicians claim to favor the project because it will bring jobs in the short term and more visitors to Elkinsville in the long term. These politicians also argue that the proposed plan is the least environmentally damaging way to expand the highway farther upstate. This cannot be true, however, since the proposed expansion involves not just the widening of existing roads, but also the construction of more than a dozen miles of new-terrain highway.

Which of the following statements can be supported by evidence from the passage?

Which of the following sources would provide relevant information about the cost of property destruction following a natural disaster?