FREE HSA English Language Arts Questions and Answers

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Excerpt from Gary Soto’s novel Summer on Wheels.

Bentley sat at the kitchen table running an ice cube back and forth across the knot on his forehead. The knot was like a speed bump. The ice cube glided across smooth skin before it jumped up and over the knot. Bentley whimpered like the puppy he was. He had flown over the handlebars and not only hurt his head but also scraped his elbows and chin. And the air left his lungs when he belly-flopped. It took a full minute before he could get enough air back into his system to complain, “Golly, that smarted.

Bentley feels hurt and upset after falling off his bike.

Which of the following sentences from the passage best supports this statement?

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
The word “whimpered” suggests that Bentley feels unhappy and that his injuries are painful, and the description of him as a “puppy” makes him seem vulnerable and sensitive.

The following is a paragraph from an informational essay about chewing gum. Read the paragraph, and then answer the question that follows. Everyone knows how hard it is to get gum off your shoe when you step on it, and cities face the same problem with sidewalks. Chewing gum that people throw on the ground has become a serious problem for many towns and cities. One way to remove this gum is to chill it so it is easier to peel away. Another way to get rid of it is to put some oil on it to make it softer and easier to remove. But none of these “things” is perfect.

Which word is the clearest and most specific substitute for “things” in the last sentence:

But none of these "things" is perfect.

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
The word “methods” is the best choice because it corresponds directly to the chewing gum removal techniques described in the previous sentence.

The Fox and the Goat

A Fox fell into a well, and though it was not very deep, he found that he could not get out again. After he had been in the well a long time, a thirsty Goat came by. The Goat thought the Fox had gone down to drink, so he asked if the water was good.
"The finest in the whole country," said the crafty Fox, "jump in and try it. There is more than enough for both of us." The thirsty Goat immediately jumped in and began to drink. The Fox just as quickly jumped on the Goat's back. Then he leaped from the tip of the Goat's horns out of the well.
The foolish Goat now saw what he had gotten into. He begged the Fox to help him out.

Why did the Fox tell the Goat to come into the well for water?

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
This option states the true reason that the fox told the goat to come into the well. The inference is conveyed in the details about what the fox did after the goat jumped into the well.

Animals on the Move

A good way to learn about animals is to track them from space. Scientists pick individual animals and fit them with lightweight, comfortable radio transmitters. Signals from the transmitters are received by special instruments on certain satellites as they pass overhead. These satellites are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The polar orbits of the satellites let them see nearly every part of Earth as it rotates below and receive signals from thousands of migrating animals.

Which set of words has the same meanings as the “pick” and “fit”?

Scientists “pick” individual animals and “fit” them with lightweight, comfortable radio transmitters.

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
“Select” is a synonym for “pick”; “equip with” is a synonym for “fit with”.

The Fox and the Goat

A Fox fell into a well, and though it was not very deep, he found that he could not get out again. After he had been in the well a long time, a thirsty Goat came by. The Goat thought the Fox had gone down to drink, so he asked if the water was good.
"The finest in the whole country," said the crafty Fox, "jump in and try it. There is more than enough for both of us." The thirsty Goat immediately jumped in and began to drink. The Fox just as quickly jumped on the Goat's back. Then he leaped from the tip of the Goat's horns out of the well.
The foolish Goat now saw what he had gotten into. He begged the Fox to help him out.

What does the word “crafty” suggest about the Fox?

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
The whole story is about the fox’s cleverness in tricking the goat. The specific context of the sentence in which “crafty” appears clearly conveys the meaning since it is the sentence in which the fox is communicating the trick to the goat.

Judicial Review

1803, in a very important Supreme Court case called Marbury v. Madison, [Chief Justice John] Marshall said the Court could throw out any law passed by Congress if the Court thought that law was unconstitutional. “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is,” wrote Chief Justice Marshall in that very important case.

Marbury v. Madison began a process called “judicial review.” It gave the Supreme Court the power to decide if a law passed by Congress meets the requirements of the Constitution. But who really cares if a law is constitutional or unconstitutional if Congress wants it? Well, imagine that tomorrow Congress passes a law saying you can’t criticize the president. Suppose your mother does that and she goes to jail. That actually happens in some countries. In those countries, people are even afraid to talk to their friends. It happened here in 1798 with the Sedition Act. Judicial review protects all of us. It helps guarantee our freedoms. Judicial review made the Constitution stronger. It made the Supreme Court powerful. It made the Court a real check and balance to the two other government branches. We Americans have always cared about our freedoms, especially the freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. John Marshall made sure those rights would be protected—even from Congress and the president.

Joy Hakim, the author of the passage, believes that Judicial Review is a positive process. Which of the following sentences from the passage best supports the above statement?

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
In this sentence, Hakim expresses her belief that Judicial Review “protects” people; students can infer that she believes this is a positive thing.

By the time we reached the zoo, Jimmy and I were out of breath. Sweat was trickling into my eyes and soaking my T-shirt. “Where . . . is . . . she?” he asked in short gasps as we looked around the main entrance. I was dizzy from running so hard, so I didn’t notice her until she gave me a little wave. There she was, in a short-sleeved green uniform, smiling warmly under the shade of a big oak tree. She looked just like her picture on the website. Her white curls were peeking out from under a straw hat.

Select the group of sentences that would follow the given passage most logically.

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
This option is the key because Javier’s introduction suggests that this is a prearranged but initial meeting, which follows logically from the fact that the woman waves to them and that they recognize her from her picture on a website. The apology for being late also provides an explanation for why the boys were running.

Amelia Earhart Flies Across the Atlantic

In 1928, Amelia Earhart received a phone call that would change her life. She was invited to become the first woman passenger to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a plane. "The idea of just going as 'extra weight' did not appeal to me at all," she said, but she accepted the offer nonetheless. On June 17, after several delays due to bad weather, Amelia Earhart flew in a plane named Friendship with co-pilots Wilmer "Bill" Stultz and Louis "Slim" Gordon. The plane landed at Burry Port, South Wales, with just a small amount of fuel left.

Amelia said, "The idea of just going as ‘extra weight’ did not appeal to me at all.”

What does the phrase ‘extra weight’ refer to?

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
Amelia is using the phrase to describe her role as a passenger because she had the experience and the qualifications to pilot the plane herself.

Duke Ellington's Early Years

Duke Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington, D.C., and from an early age he loved music. When he was four years old, he listened to his mother play a popular piano tune called "The Rosary" and he cried, saying, "It was so pretty. So pretty." Not long after that, at the age of seven, he began to play piano himself. It seems that he knew he was going to go places. He told his next-door neighbor, Mr. Pinn, "One of these days I'm going to be famous."
At age 15, Ellington worked at a soda fountain and wrote his first song, "Soda Fountain Rag." By his late teens, he was making enough money to help his parents move into a better house. One of Ellington's first professional gigs was a party where he played so long that his hand bled. He earned 75 cents. "It was the most money I had ever seen," he said. "I rushed all the way home to my mother with it. But I could not touch a piano key for weeks. . . "

What does this idiom mean in the first sentence:

“It seems that he knew he was going to go places.”

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
The idiom means that he realized that he was going to become famous as a musician and entertainer.

Have you seen pictures of Uncle Sam? He is a skinny man with a long white beard and a top hat. He usually wears the colors of the American flag: red, white, and blue. He has been a symbol of the United States for about two hundred years. Some people think that there was actually a real Uncle Sam, named Samuel Wilson. He lived in Troy, New York, in the early 1800s, he ran a business that delivered meat to the United States Army. The meat was delivered in barrels stamped “U.S.” The “U.S.” stamp was to show that it belonged to the United States government. The people delivering the meat knew that it came from Sam Wilson. They joked to the soldiers that the “U.S.” on the meat barrels stood for “Uncle Sam.” The joke spread. Soon, all over the country, “Uncle Sam” became another way of saying “United States.”

Select the correct way to revise the sentence:

“He lived in Troy, New York, in the early 1800s, he ran a business that delivered meat to the United States Army.”

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
This revision has correct grammar and punctuation.

Throw Spears, Sing, Dance At Polynesian Culture Centre

You may have seen pictures of Hawaii on postcards, with its beautiful beaches, lush gardens, and fascinating volcanoes.
But the Hawaiian islands are also rich in history and culture. On the north shore of Hawaii’s island of Oahu, you’ll find the Polynesian Culture Centre. There, each group of Polynesian islands is represented in the form of a mini-village from that particular island chain.
At the cultural centre, you can visit “Fiji” and play the drums. Then, turn around the corner to “Tonga” to take a lesson in spear throwing, or make a headband out of palm leaves.
In “Samoa” learn about how they make tapa (used for cloth and paper) and watch a man climb barefoot, high up a coconut tree. Continue on to “Aotearoa” and see the exciting dancers perform the fearsome Haka.
The staff, or people in the “villages,” are actually from the places they represent; most of them are students from nearby Brigham Young University.

Based on the root word and suffix, what does “fearsome” mean in this sentence:

Continue on to “Aotearoa” and see the exciting dancers perform the “fearsome” Haka.

Correct! Wrong!

Explanation:
Based on the text, in this context “fearsome” is used to describe the astonishing dancing performed in the Haka dance.

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