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TEST

Reading/Literature Knowledge and Skills

SAMPLER High School

High School Sampler

Office of Assessment and Information Services Test Sampler, High School Oregon Department of Education 1 March, 2009

AN ASSESSMENT SAMPLER: HIGH SCHOOL

This sampler includes passages and items similar to ones found on the state reading/literature assessment for grade 10. Following each passage is a series of questions; text preceding each question identifies the score reporting category (SRC) it is designed to assess. An asterisk indicates a question’s correct answer.

PAYING OLD DEBTS (LITERARY TEXT) In Ronald Harwood’s THE DRESSER, Sir is an aging actor in failing health and near the end of his career. In this scene, he is in his dressing room during an intermission in a performance of KING LEAR talking with Madge, the play’s stage manager, who has been with him the last 20 years of his career.

SIR: I look on you as my one true friend—

MADGE: I have to go back to the corner.

SIR: Twenty years, did you say twenty years?

MADGE: Yes.

SIR: Have you been happy? Has it been worth it? Pause

MADGE: No, I’ve not been happy. Yes. It’s been worth it. Pause

SIR: Madge-dear, in my will I’ve left you all my press-cutting books—

MADGE: I don’t want to hear what you’ve left me in your will—

SIR: Cuttings that span a lifetime, an entire career. I’ve kept them religiously. Good and bad notices alike. Not all that many bad. Talk of me sometimes. Speak well of me. Actors live on only in the memory of others. Speak well of me.

MADGE: This is a ridiculous conversation. You are in the middle of a performance of Lear, playing rather less mechanically than you have of late, and you talk as if you’re organizing your own memorial service.

SIR: The most wonderful thing in life is to be remembered. Speak well of me. You’ll be believed.

MADGE: You’ll be remembered. Pause

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SIR: Madge-dear, I have something for you. (He opens a box on his dressing table and finds a ring.) I want you to have this ring. If possessions can be dear then this ring is the dearest thing I own. This ring was worn by Edmund Kean in a play whose title is an apt inscription for what I feel: A New Way to Pay Old Debts. When you talk of it, say Edmund Kean and I wore it. (He puts the ring into her hand. She tries not to show her feelings.) I once had it in mind to give it to you years ago, but you were younger then, and I thought you would misunderstand.

MADGE: Yes. A ring from a man to a woman is easily misunderstood.

SIR: I know I’m thought insensitive, but I’m not blind.

MADGE: No. I’ve always known you were aware of what the spinster in the corner felt. (Pause) You were right not to give me a ring years ago. I lived in hope then. (Pause) At least I’ve seen you every day, made myself useful to you. I settled for what I could get. I was always aware of my limitations.

SIR: You are the only one who really, truly, loves me. (She gives him back the ring and goes quickly from the room.)

SRC 1 Vocabulary (Context and Structural Clues) The word with the closest meaning to the word apt as it is used in this scene is

A. incorrect. B. accurate.* C. likely. D. sentimental.

SRC 1 Vocabulary (Denotations and Connotations) Which word spoken by both characters is said with potentially different connotations, with Madge possibly being sarcastic?

A. Will B. Happy C. Worth D. Remembered*

SRC 3 Demonstrate General Understanding (Comprehend Literary Text) Why does Madge consider this an inappropriate time for this discussion to take place?

A. The dressing room holds too many memories. B. She is not a young woman anymore. C. Sir is in the middle of a performance.* D. She is concerned about Sir’s health.

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SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Analyze Character Interactions) When Madge tells Sir that he was right not to give her a ring years ago, what does it indicate about their relationship?

A. That she knew she was too young for a serious relationship with him in the past B. That she knows she would have misread the gesture and gotten her hopes up* C. That her feelings for him then were cold and she had no romantic interest in him D. That she has hopes now they can have a relationship despite their past

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Interpret Theme) Which of the following quotes supports the theme of “unrequited love” in this scene?

A. “Talk of me sometimes. Speak well of me.” B. “I want you to have this ring.” C. “I have to go back to the corner.” D. “I settled for what I could get.”*

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Infer Significant Ideas) What seems to be Sir’s main concern in this scene?

A. His reputation as an actor* B. His performance as King Lear C. His payment of debts D. His feelings for Madge

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Infer Reasons for Beliefs) When Madge says, “I lived in hope then,” what was she hoping for?

A. That Sir would regain his health B. That Sir was unaware of her feelings C. That Sir would appreciate her work D. That Sir would return her feelings*

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Impact of Literary Text)

Which line reflects a major irony in this scene? A. “You are the only one who really, truly, loves me.” B. “Yes. A ring from a man to a woman is easily misunderstood.”* C. “The most wonderful thing in life is to be remembered.” D. “If possessions can be dear, then this ring is the dearest thing I own.”

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SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Conventions of Dramatic Literature)

The primary function of the words in italics is to A. serve as optional dialogue for the actors. B. tell the actors what to do during a scene.* C. explain to the actors the reasons for their actions. D. explain to readers what the actors already know.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Conventions of Dramatic Literature)

The author inserts two dramatic pauses in Madge’s last speech before she leaves the room. The pauses help illustrate the

A. depth of her romantic disappointment.* B. uncertain feelings she has for Sir. C. effect of age on her thinking process. D. surprise she feels at the gift of the ring.

HOWL (INFORMATIONAL TEXT) In his book, OF WOLVES AND MEN, Barry Lopez describes the wolf as it lives in the wild and in people’s minds. Read the following excerpt to learn about the wolf’s howl, and answer the questions that follow.

“It was wild, untamed music and it echoed from the hillsides and filled the valleys. It sent a queer shivering feeling along my spine. It was not a feeling of fear, you understand, but a sort of tingling, as if there was hair on my back and it was hackling.” Alda Orton, Alaskan trapper

THE WOLF’S HOWL is the social signal perhaps most familiar to everyone. It typically consists of a single note, rising sharply at the beginning or breaking abruptly at the end as the animal strains for volume. It can contain as many as twelve related harmonics. When wolves howl together they harmonize, rather than chorus on the same note, creating an impression of more animals howling than there actually are. Wolves do not have to stand to howl. They can howl lying down or sitting on their haunches.

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There has been more speculation about the nature and function of the wolf’s howl than the music, probably, of any other animal. It is a rich, captivating sound, a seductive echo that can moan on eerily and raise the hair on your head. Wolves apparently howl to assemble the pack, especially before and after the hunt; to pass on an alarm, especially at the den site; to locate each other in a storm or in unfamiliar territory; and to communicate across great distances. Some Eskimos, according to writer/naturalist Farley Mowat, claim to be able to understand what wolves are howling about and to take advantage of it when the howling reveals the approach of migrating caribou. The howl may carry six miles or more in still arctic air.

There is little evidence that wolves howl during a chase, but they may do so afterward, perhaps to celebrate a successful hunt (the presence of food), their prowess, or the fact that they are all together again, that no one has been injured. Adolph Murie, who had an eye for such things, reported a lone wolf howling while hunting mice.

There has never been any evidence that wolves howl at the moon, or howl more frequently during a full moon, though howling may be more frequent in the evening or early morning. Howling reaches a seasonal peak in the winter months, during the time of courtship and breeding; it is easy to see how the idea that wolves howl at the moon might have gained credence and played well on the imagination during these cold, clear nights when the sound carried far and a full moon lent an eerie aspect to a snowscape.

What emotions prompt a howl remain unknown, though field and laboratory researchers both suggest that solo howls and group howling alike are brought on by restlessness and anxiety. Loneliness is the emotion most often mentioned, but group howling has a quality of celebration and camaraderie about it, what wildlife biologist Durward Allen called “the jubilation of wolves.” Murie writes of four wolves assembled on a skyline, wagging their tails and frisking together. They began to howl, and while they did so a gray female ran up from the den a hundred yards away and joined them. She was greeted with energetic tail wagging and general good feeling, then they all threw back their heads and howled. The howling, wrote Murie, floated softly across the tundra. Then, abruptly, the assembly broke up. The mother returned to the den and the pups; the others departed on the evening hunt.

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SRC 1 Vocabulary (Context and Structural Clues The best definition of the word camaraderie as it is used in the passage is

A. fellowship.* B. competition. C. satisfaction. D. victory.

SRC 3 Demonstrate General Understanding (Comprehend Informational Text) One of the common beliefs about the wolf’s howl that has never been proved is that wolves howl

A. to communicate across great distances. B. to assemble the pack. C. more frequently during a full moon.* D. more frequently during the winter.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Draw Inferences and Conclusions) The information in this selection best supports the idea that a wolf is

A. an extremely dangerous animal. B. a particularly social animal.* C. a particularly intelligent animal. D. in danger of extinction.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Draw Inferences and Conclusions) Based on information in this excerpt, which person would be the best source for more information about the Eskimos’ knowledge of the wolf’s habits?

A. Alda Orton B. Farley Mowat* C. Duward Allen D. Adolph Murie

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Clarify Interpretations) Based on the information the author presents in this selection, he would most likely argue that

A. more study would allow researchers to learn the language of wolves. B. we will probably never understand why wolves howl at the moon. C. wolves often howl as a means of expressing their emotions.* D. trappers can predict the behavior of wolves.

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SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Analyze Type of Support)

Which authority mentioned by Barry Lopez presents the least factual account of the behavior of wolves?

A. Alda Orton* B. Farley Mowat C. Durward Allen D. Adolph Murie

SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Analyze Use of Sources)

What is Barry Lopez’ purpose in including information from Durward Allen, Farley Mowat, and Alda Orton?

A. So readers will know that he is not an expert on behavior of wolves B. To present balanced information drawn from both experience and science* C. To emphasize that no one truly understands wolves’ behavior D. So readers will develop a healthy fear of wolves in the wild

THE WOODS (LITERARY TEXT) Kim Stafford is an award-winning Oregon author. Read this excerpt from his book, HAVING EVERYTHING RIGHT, to learn about part of his growing-up years.

AFTER SCHOOL I STOPPED at home to change my outfit—shucking my slacks for jeans, tossing aside my polite cotton shirt for the buckskin one my grandmother had sewn, pulling on my boots—and lit out for The Woods on the run. We called it The Woods, just as we called a nearby slope The Big Hill; the limited territory of childhood is exact, and therefore mythic. Two blocks from home the human world dwindled to a path threading through nettle and alder. A spider web across the path meant no one was there before me. I crawled under its fragile gate to solitude and was gone.

This was my routine from third grade to high school—to straggle home after dark and stand in the cold garage, shivering and balancing on one foot to shed my muddy clothes. It was a certain evening in my junior year that I realized with a shock I could walk directly into the kitchen; I

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had somehow not fallen—or leapt—into the creek, had not slithered up a mossy tree, hugging the trunk with my thighs and arms, or spilled down a bank of mud. I had politely walked in the woods and returned. I mistrusted my sincerity. Something had changed. Something had gone wrong.

“What did you find today?” my grandmother (we called her Boppums) would ask, as she sat picking at a crust of cockleburrs in one of my socks. I would run to my mud-stiffened pants to dig through the pockets for a rock an Indian might have used, or a leaf I liked, crumpled and fragrant, or a waterlogged stick turning into a fossil, a furry length of twine I had braided from cedar bark: “I could use this to snare a rabbit, if I had to.”

The Woods was a wild tract developers had somehow missed in their swath through old Oregon. It probably stretched about three miles long by two miles wide, and was surrounded by the city of Portland and its suburbs. Raccoon, beaver, salmon, deer, awesome pileated woodpeckers, and exotic newts were among the secret lives of the place. Once, in the fifth grade, four of us decided to head north through unexplored territory toward the edge of the world. Lewis and Clark had nothing on us, or our glorious bewilderment when we emerged, near dark of a long Saturday, to find a broad, dangerous road, a tall house covered with ivy, and a giant in blue coveralls mowing his lawn.

“Where are we?” Bobby Elliott shouted over the roar of the motor. The man looked down at a row of muddy, scratched little savages.

“Terwilliger Extension,” he shouted. We were stunned to silence by this bizarre name for most of the long detour home past the ice-cream store.

What did we do down there all those hours multiplied by weeks and years? When we went together, we often hatched a project—more like Robinson Crusoe than John Muir in our use of the wilderness:

“Let’s find the charcoal-wagon boy’s old road!” “Let’s find Indian relics!” “Let’s make Indian relics!” “Let’s go to the Old Mill and make a fort!” “Let’s wade as far as we can without stepping out of the creek—so

no one can track us!” “Let’s roast a skunk cabbage root and try to eat it!” “Let’s make a path with steps in the hill and signs so an eighty-year-

old woman could follow it!” “Let’s make elderberry pipes and smoke leaves!” “Let’s steal those real estate signs and hide them!”

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Although our research into history, botany, anthropology, and geography almost got us poisoned or arrested on several occasions, we lived by joy. Once we ate a kind of wild carrot, then came home to look it up in Pat O’Shea’s father’s medical text. The only plant we could find of similar description was called hemlock: “A piece of the root the size of a walnut can kill a cow.” I never read a sentence in school that had such impact. The dizzying image of a stricken cow lurching heavily to its knees will inhabit my brain whenever I am about to taste a new food.

SRC 1 Vocabulary (Context and Structural Clues) In the fourth paragraph, the author mentions that the developers had missed The Woods “in their swath through old Oregon.” Which of the following were the developers doing?

A. Thinning trees B. Surveying the state C. Clearing the land* D. Building a road

SRC 1 Vocabulary (Literal/Figurative Meanings) In the first paragraph, the author says that “two blocks from home the human world dwindled to a path threading through nettle and alder.” What does this tell us about where they spent their time?

A. They played at the edge of town, where houses abruptly stopped and the woods began.

B. They searched several blocks and crossed a winding fence to find a good place to play.

C. They had to walk to the end of the road, which stopped suddenly at the edge of the woods.

D. They spent their time where signs of manmade things gradually faded into the woods.*

SRC 3 Demonstrate General Understanding (Comprehend Literary Text) Who was the “giant in blue coveralls” whom the kids saw?

A. One of the surveyors B. Kim Stafford’s dad C. A man mowing his lawn* D. A shadow on the ivy-covered house

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SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Use of Literary Devices)

The allusion to Lewis and Clark is used to A. humorously show readers the boys felt like important explorers.* B. foreshadow the importance of what they found when they came to the clearing. C. help establish the area where the boys were exploring. D. allow the author to establish an historical perspective for the boys’ explorations.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Impact of Literary Text)

The author compares the fictional character Robinson Crusoe and the historical character John Muir. By comparing these two men, Stafford wants readers to know that

A. the boys had a deep respect for the power of nature. B. the boys were more adventuresome than scientific.* C. these young boys would someday become famous. D. spending time in the outdoors can be a significant experience for some people.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Sequence of Literary Text)

Which detail from this selection gives us information about the age and perspective of the narrator as he flashes back to these episodes?

A. “After school I stopped at home to change my outfit−” B. “Once, in fifth grade, four of us decided to head north…” C. “What did we do down there all those hours multiplied by weeks and years?” D. “This was my routine from third grade to high school.”*

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Impact of Word Choice/Figurative Language)

The narrator says, “Once, in the fifth grade, four of us decided to head north through unexplored territory toward the edge of the world.” The author uses this wording to capture a mood of

A. resentment of the author towards the damage done by developers. B. frustration of the boys as they tried to escape their problems. C. excitement of the boys as they set off on an adventure.* D. happiness of the author that he had close friends with whom to explore.

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ALASKA HAPPENINGS (PRACTICAL TEXT) What’s going on in our largest state? Look at the information below and use it to answer the questions which follow.

Mayfest. Sitka, Petersburg, Ketchikan, Juneau and all Inside Passage communities, through May. This spring celebration includes ethnic dancing, theater, food fairs, arts and crafts, and much more. (907) 747-5940.

Anchorage Museum of History and Art. Anchorage, through September 19. “Barry Moser: Wood Engravings” features 60 wood prints used to illustrate Alice in Wonderland, Huckleberry Finn, The Wizard of Oz and other books, through May 9. “Arts from the Arctic” compares contemporary artwork for indigenous peoples in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Russia, Greenland, Canada and Scandinavia; and “The Bradford Washington Photography Exhibition” showcases work by America’s foremost field photographer, May 6-September 19. 121 W. Seventh Ave. (907) 343-4326.

Alaska State Museum. Juneau, through October 2. “Gifts from the Great Land—Alaska” presents 400 extremely rare early-19th-century Native American artifacts. 395 Whittier St. (907) 465-2901.

Prince William Sound Royal Flush Regatta. Prince William Sound, May 14-15. Tour boats and private vessels depart from Cordova and Whittier and rendezvous outside Valdez Harbor, where they’re welcomed by a day-long poker game and all-night Casino Royale. (907) 835-2984.

Little Norway Festival. Petersburg, May 14-16. Celebrate Norway’s independence with food, pageantry, dancing, contests, costumes, a parade and a Kaffe Haus. Throughout town. (907) 772-3646.

Salmonchanted Evening. Juneau, May 20-30. Juneau Jazz and Classics presents renowned jazz and classical musicians such as the Turtle Island String Quartet, Obo Addy and Kukrudu, and Greta Matassa. Various locations. (907) 264-2801.

Polar Bear Swim. Nome, May 24. Brave Nomeites take their annual dip in the Bering Sea, where the water temperature is 35 degrees or less. Bering Sea shoreline. (907) 443-5535.

Kodiak Crab Festival. Kodiak, May 27-31. Activities include survival suit races, parades, food booths, games, an ultramarathon and music. Throughout town. (907) 629-8775.

SRC 2 Read to Perform a Task (Locate Information) In which city would you find the Alaska State Museum?

A. Sitka B. Anchorage C. Juneau* D. Kodiak

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SRC 2 Read to Perform a Task (Analyze Structure of Specialized Materials) This selection is formatted so that it

A. uses bold type to identify activities and lists phone numbers at the end.* B. uses bold type to identify locations and gives dates at the beginning. C. lists the location of the event first and the phone number at the end. D. lists only event, place, date and phone number to call for information.

SRC 2 Read to Perform a Task (Synthesize Information) From looking at this information, which statement seems correct?

A. Most phone prefixes are 364. B. The area cold for Alaska is 907.* C. Most activities happen outdoors. D. Art is more popular than music in Alaska.

JUNK FOOD JUNKED? (INFORMATIONAL TEXT) Junk food is called “junk” for a reason. Read these two brief articles to find out about some recent developments relating to the food industry.

JUST SAYING NO TO JUNK FOOD IT’S A GOOD BET that Velveeta will never be sold in health

stores, but Kraft, the country’s largest food manufacturer, announced last week that it’s taking some of the junk out of junk food. Citing rising rates of obesity, the cookie and snackmaker is promising to scale back calories, salt and saturated and trans fats in staples like Cheez Whiz, Ritz crackers and Lunchables. Kraft also vowed to limit portion size so that a lunchbox-ready package of Oreos may soon contain three−instead of a gut-busing six−cookies. “We think these small, incremental changes will have a real-world impact on obesity,” says Kraft spokesman Michael Mudd.

Kraft isn’t the first purveyor of junk food to see the light. Last fall McDonald’s switched to vegetable oil to reduce the amount of artery-clogging trans fats in its French fries. PepsiCo is eliminating trans fats in Doritos and Tostitos. Health activists say that, faced with a growing number of obesity-related lawsuits, Big Food blinked. Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, says Kraft is bowing to public-health advocates and litigators who want companies that

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profit from junk food to share some of the health costs of bad eating habits. “Whatever their motivation, we think it’s great.” Says Brownell.

Kraft says it’s also putting an end to in-school marketing efforts, like posters, scoreboards and book jackets, and pulling ads from Channel One. Kraft says it wants to help kids eat better. Now if it could just do something about the color of that fluorescent Macaroni & Cheese.

DON’T BLAME BIG BUSINESS IF YOUR KID IS TOO BIG I RECENTLY READ A report published by the campaigning group the Food

Commission, warning us that the health of children around the world is at risk by the marketing of junk food.

After this statement came the indictment of KFC, Burger King, McDonald’s, Mars, Cadbury, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and recitation of such sexy statistics that no paid-up citizen of the Fast Food Nation could disagree.

The food industry, said the report, had a global advertising budget of $40 billion, a figure greater than the GDP of 70 percent of the world’s nations; for every $1 spent by the World Health Organization on preventing diseases caused by Western diet, the food industry spends $500 promoting the same way of eating; in industrialized countries, half the advertising during children’s TV viewing times is devoted to food and they ain’t pushing the delights of a celery stick and a packet of raisins.

But hang on just a finger-lickin’ minute. In the case of a child of two, just who is making the purchasing decision? Not the infant consumer, but the parent. Bad parenting is also an important factor in bad eating. The child may pester but it’s the mother, or the father, who buys the product and lets the child turn into a couch potato in front of the TV. It takes two to be Tango’ed.

Parents are the first line of defense against the diseases of affluence. A parent serves up a lesson in nutrition with every meal put on the table. When it comes to teaching children how to eat, parents can, if they are truly bothered, beat the almighty dollar. All they need is the belief that they have the duty, and the authority, to teach their children to take care of their health. The real problem is that duty and authority aren’t concepts which our cola culture can recognize.

The Food Commission is right to bash the global food industry, but while the developed world is exporting from the West family−unfriendly labor practices, blind individualism and convenience parenting along with the burgers, it won’t be the multinationals’ fault if we turn into a fat planet.

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SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Analyze Implicit Relationships) Cited sources in the first article imply that junk food companies are making foods healthier because

A. they want to earn greater profits. B. they are concerned about the nation’s health. C. they want to avoid being sued.* D. they want to appeal to kids.

SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Author’s Purpose) In the second article (Don’t Blame Big Business…), the author mentions specific businesses. What is the purpose of listing them?

A. She wanted to use specific statistics associated with each one. B. She wanted to use known businesses to make her message clearer.* C. She only listed businesses that were responsible for a worldwide problem of obesity. D. She wanted children to know that these businesses were dangerous places to eat.

SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Compare/Contrast Information on Same Topic)

Both passages agree that A. the diet of most school age children is improving. B. the diet of most school age children is unhealthy.* C. parents aren’t doing enough to improve children’s eating habits. D. advertisers are to blame for the poor diet of children.

SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Compare/Contrast Information on Same Topic)

The first selection focuses on specific examples of changes made by major food manufacturers to share some of the costs of bad eating habits. In what way is this different from the focus of the second article?

A. The second article gives a dollar figure of damages done to children’s health. B. The second article focuses more on the role of parents in children’s health.* C. The second article is from a newspaper instead of a magazine. D. The second article focuses on the ability of advertisers to come up with a solution.

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THE ELEPHANT (LITERARY TEXT) Eldon Larkin, a reporter, has gone to the circus grounds because an elephant has killed a man. Read what happens next in this excerpt from Oregon author Vince Kohler’s book, RAINY NORTH WOODS.

THE CIRCUS HAD PITCHED its tents close to the railroad switchyard on the edge of the bay, where the smell of sawdust mingled with the odors of diesel oil and the salt water of the sea. The rusty camper belonging to the ringmaster of the circus stood close to the gray water. With its peaked shingled roof, the camper looked like a motorized doghouse, and the ringmaster like a gloomy, agitated dog.

As he and Shelly picked their way through the mud, Eldon thought of the magic of the circus midways of his childhood. This

circus was not magic, never had been. Its tents were patched and filthy, its clowns ruffians, its ringmaster a scowling seedy man whom Eldon could imagine constantly wringing his big flat hands over the prospect of dwindling proceeds.

A sheriff’s deputy, wide-hipped but tapering upward to rail-thin, like a human bowling pin, shirt neck too big for him, huge impassive horse’s face topped by a brush cut, stood at the door of the ringmaster’s camper, holding up a writ.

“Impound Horton?” the ringmaster whined, shifting his feet in his floppy rubber boots and squinting at the paper with watery blue eyes. “We’re going to Coos Bay.”

“That elephant’s killed a man,” the deputy said. “Ya wanna try it for murder?” “Maybe we ought to. The animal stays.” The ringmaster threw up his hands, brought them down again,

wrung bony fingers over knuckles big and knobby as hex bolts. “Times are bad. Every day’s delay costs money. You can’t have a circus without an elephant.”

“Wish we could supply a replacement,” the deputy said, “but we don’t breed ‘em around here.”

The ringmaster turned to Eldon. “You hear what he says? How he talks to me? Take a picture of this! Write all this down! Put it in your paper!”

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Shelly clicked off a photo as the deputy examined the ringmaster like a weary cook deciding how best to knead a stubborn mound of dough. “The animal’s transport van and a supply of food is impounded as well,” the deputy said. “You’ll have to give a deposition.”

“Deposition?” “For the investigation. Man’s been killed.” “I’ll give it now!” “Not my baby. District attorney’ll contact you tomorrow.” “I have to go to Coos Bay!” The deputy shrugged. “Maybe you can give your deposition there.

But you go without the elephant.” “When do I get him back? Horton’s valuable.” “If it was up to me, I’d shoot it. It’s a man-killer.” “Right, it’s a man-killer!” The ringmaster ran through the mud to

the front of his camper, pointing angrily into the dented, muck-spattered cab. “I’ll shoot it myself, I’ll shoot it myself! Right now! Got my .30-.30 on the rack right in there!”

“Let’s not talk like that,” the deputy remarked, eyes sliding to the rifle and back to the ringmaster. “It’s illegal to shoot a firearm in the city limits. That weapon loaded? No? Good. It’s probably too light to do much to an elephant, anyway, don’t’cha think? When d’you roll?”

“Tomorrow dawn.” “I’ll tell the DA. Maybe he can work something out.” The deputy

nodded to Eldon and Shelly and headed back to his car. The ringmaster clenched and unclenched his hands as the deputy

turned away. He flexed them faster and harder with every step the deputy took. The ringmaster’s blue eyes grew larger, rounder. His face grew red.

“D’ja hear him? Talks to me like that! Takes my elephant away!” “Well, it’s a dangerous beast,” Eldon said, watching the ringmaster

for his reaction. “That elephant cost me two thousand dollars! Came all the way

from India! Raised ‘im from a pup! People pay lots more for a car, and cars kill people . . . lots more people than elephants do! They don’t shoot cars.”

“They impound them, though.”

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SRC 1 Vocabulary (Literal/Figurative Meanings) This passage tells you that “the deputy examined the ringmaster like a weary cook deciding how best to knead a stubborn mound of dough.” This simile is used to show that the deputy

A. was afraid that the ringmaster would punch him. B. hoped to trick the ringmaster into remaining in town. C. wanted to figure out an effective way to deal with the ringmaster.* D. planned to overpower the ringmaster before it was too late.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Predict Outcomes) Although this passage doesn’t actually say, what do you think is most likely to happen in the future?

A. Eldon’s newspaper story will draw enough attention to salvage the circus. B. Horton will escape safely to the woods. C. The circus will continue to decline in quality.* D. The circus will be shut down for cruelty to animals.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Analyze Character Interactions) When the ringmaster complains that you “can’t have a circus without an elephant,” the deputy replies, “Wish we could supply a replacement, but we don’t breed ‘em around here.” This shows that the deputy’s attitude toward the ringmaster was

A. sarcastic and unsympathetic.* B. angry and impatient. C. sympathetic and kind. D. cautious and calming.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Infer Significant Ideas) Information in this selection best supports the idea that

A. Eldon is mostly a bystander in this situation.* B. the ringmaster is blaming Eldon for most of his problems. C. the deputy is too harsh on the ringmaster. D. Shelly and Eldon ought to respect the ringmaster’s wishes.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Point of View) Although this story is told in third person, it is related primarily from Eldon’s perspective. This point of view is effective in this selection because

A. it gives a more reliable account of an emotional exchange.* B. it allows us to identify more easily with each of the characters. C. as a reporter he gives only the facts and none of his own impressions. D. it keeps the tone serious even though it’s a humorous situation.

High School Sampler


JUST-IN-TIME PRODUCTION (INFORMATIONAL TEXT) “Streamlining the Factory with Just-in-Time Production” is an article that Richard J. Schonberger wrote for a business management book published by THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. The article describes a relatively new approach to maintaining an inventory of materials needed to manufacture anything from automobiles to computer chips.

THE JUST-IN-TIME (JIT) production system may be the most important productivity-enhancing management innovation since Frederick Winslow Taylor’s time-and-motion studies at the turn of the century. It is a Japanese innovation, and key features were perfected by Toyota. But there is nothing uniquely Japanese about JIT production. It is usable anywhere.

JIT production means producing and buying in very small quantities just in time for use. It is a simple, hand-to-mouth mode of industrial operations that directly cuts inventories and also reduces the need for storage space, racks, conveyors, forklifts, computer terminals for inventory control and material support personnel. More important, the absence of extra inventories creates an imperative to run an error-free operation because there is no cushion of excess parts to keep production going when problems crop up. Causes of errors are rooted out, never to occur again.

In some ways, JIT production is nothing new. High-volume continuous producers—for example, steel, chemical and paper companies—employ it routinely. To do otherwise would bury them in inventory. Long-term predictability of materials needed makes it possible for continuous processors to arrange for materials to flow into and through their plants steadily without inventory buildups. The Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis unloads a nearly continuous stream of trucks bringing in empty cans and uses them soon enough that, on the average, there is only a two-hour supply of unfilled cans on hand.

But cans of Budweiser don’t come in many different models. In most of the rest of industry, plants produce an ever-changing variety of goods, and production scheduling is complicated and irregular. JIT streamlines and simplifies the stop-and-go production of most plant operations so that they resemble continuous processing. In so doing, it forces planners and analysts to get out of their offices and get out on the floor solving real problems.

The transformation begins with inventory removal. Fewer materials are bought, and parts and products are made in smaller quantities; so-

High School Sampler


called lot-size inventories thereby shrink. Buffer stocks or safety stocks—“just-in-case” inventory—are also deliberately cut.

The immediate result is work stoppages. Plenty of them. Production comes to a standstill because feeder processes break down or produce too many defectives—and now there is no buffer stock to keep things going. This is exactly what is supposed to happen. For now the analysts and engineers pour out of their offices and mingle with foremen and workers trying to get production going again. Now the causes—bad raw materials, machine breakdown, poor training, tolerances that exceed process capabilities—get attention so that the problem may never recur.

When one round of problems is solved, inventories are cut again so that more problems crop up and get solved. Each round of problem exposure and solution increases productivity—and quality, too. In Japan extensive quality control measures blend nicely with just-in-time production because many of the problems uncovered by inventory removal are quality problems.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Predict Outcomes) In the JIT production system, buffer stocks are deliberately cut. Based on information in this article, what might be one cause for concern for the future?

A. A company could run out of buffer stock and productivity would increase. B. Difficulties in managing inventory could cause shutdowns that would

lower productivity.* C. U.S. managers could decide that JIT production techniques are too hard to understand. D. The Japanese developers of the idea would not allow

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Infer Significant Ideas) The author doesn’t really define JIT production, but evidence from the text indicates that it relates to

A. stores buying manufactured goods just as needed for resale. B. stores selling goods just in time for consumer use. C. manufacturers producing or buying component parts just in time for production.* D. consumers buying smaller quantities of products just as they need to use them.

SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Evaluate Qualities of Text) The level of detail and development of information in this passage are effective because they

A. present an overview without being too technical.* B. give enough information to help business owners try this system. C. explain the dangers and risks built in to this system. D. encourage business owners to adopt a new operating system.

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