1.the half moon voyage
by spencer james
as the waves hit the exterior of the ship, captain henry hudson announced to the crew of half moon that they were unsuccessful in finding a new passage to the east indies, which was the original plan for their voyage. vincent and walter, two friends who were part of the ship's crew, listened carefully as the captain broke this news. hudson declared that they were returning to the netherlands, their homeland. the crew returned to work after the captain's announcement.
it was a sunny afternoon, and vincent and walter were in charge of cleaning the upper deck of the ship.
"first the news from the captain, and now this heat! " muttered walter as he was dipping a rag into the water bucket.
"what happened, walter? why do you seem so irritated? " asked vincent.
walter angrily replied, "what happened? ! weren't you listening to the captain when he announced the disappointing news? this voyage was expected to be a productive one, on which we were supposed to find a new route to the east indies, as the dutch merchants had given us this ship for that purpose."
"everything is going to be fine, walter! we are not returning home empty-handed, as i am sure the land we just discovered will be of some value to the dutch merchants. i believe in the captain and his plans. if we could not find the route this time, we can always go on another voyage. don't be dismayed! " vincent said calmly.
walter thought about what his friend had just said to him, and it did seem true that the land they had just discovered could be of value since the land was untouched except for a few rural settlements. moreover, he realized that he should not brood, and he certainly enjoyed the numerous occasions of natural beauty in the new land that nudged him to forget his nervousness and filled him with a new sense of peace and new-found calm.
smiling, he looked at vincent and said, "you're right, my friend, and being worried about something has never resulted in anything positive or productive."
"exactly, walter! that is why i never worry, and i believe everything happens for a reason," said vincent.
the two friends smiled at each other and continued cleaning the upper deck as the ship rocked back and forth on the ocean waves, bound for home.
3

read the sentences from the passage.
" 'everything is going to be fine, walter! ' "
" 'that is why i never worry, and i believe everything happens for a reason,' said vincent."
which conclusion is best supported by the sentences?

a.
vincent believes that the journey will shortly be over, and he will not have to see his friend again.
b.
vincent knows that the journey was unproductive, but he is going to be positive to support his friend.
c.
vincent believes that the journey will still be productive, even though they did not find a new route.
d.
vincent knows that the journey will continue till they find the new path, and then they will return home.

2. olympic athletes spend hours training starting at an early age. those who do make it to the olympic games often do not win medals—and these are the top athletes of the world. wilma rudolph not only made it to the olympics, she won three gold medals.
wilma rudolph was born on june 23, 1940, in st. bethlehem, tennessee. she came from a very big family. she was the 17th of 19 children in her family. the family moved to clarksville, tennessee, which is where wilma grew up. when wilma was young, she had polio and scarlet fever. the polio left her without the use of one of her legs. she needed to wear leg braces to walk. eventually, she was able to walk with a special shoe. after about three years, she didn't need the special shoe anymore.
in high school, wilma played basketball and ran track. she broke all the state basketball records and won all her track meets. wilma went to tennessee state university and started training for the olympics. in july of 1960, wilma went to the olympics in rome, italy. she won three gold medals and was called the "world's fastest woman." she was later named female athlete of the year.
wilma became a coach and an athletic consultant in chicago, illinois. she died in 1994 of a brain tumor. wilma will be remembered for her courage as a young child overcoming her illness, her athletic ability, and her dedication to reaching her goals. to this day, wilma's life continues to inspire people to reach their personal goals.
4

according to the passage, wilma was courageous because

a.
she was a successful basketball player.
b.
she participated in the 1960 summer olympics.
c.
she overcame her illness and became a successful athlete.
d.
she was one of the youngest in a large family.

how does the setting contribute to the plot?

a.
the setting the reader identify with the narrator.
b.
the setting illustrates real problems with space travel.
c.
the setting builds the suspense and sense of adventure.
d.
the setting educates the reader about outer space.

Acommunity park it was friday, and as she walked home from school, samara thought about what she would do that weekend. everyone would be at the fund-raiser for new sports equipment at the high school on saturday. as she was trying to remember if any good movies were coming out this weekend, she noticed a group of kids playing tag. samara thought they looked comical running around in circles on a small plot of land between two houses. “well, they certainly seem happy,” thought samara as the light turned and she crossed the street. on the opposite side of cherry street, samara saw mr. peters sitting on a bench. he was reading his newspaper as the heavy traffic of the town’s main thoroughfare whizzed by him. she wondered how he could concentrate. later, as she took the last turn onto her street, samara saw her neighbor planting her annual vegetable garden. every year, mrs. yang grew eggplant, cucumbers, and bok choy, because that’s all she had room for. “the garden looks good so far, mrs. yang,” samara called. “ you, dear,” mrs. yang said. “you know, if i had room, i would plant enough vegetables to feed the entire neighborhood! my mother had a garden that was one square acre when i was a little girl in korea.” as samara nodded and waved goodbye, she started thinking about what she had seen on her walk home that day. she realized that pine grove did not have any open public spaces where everyone could go to relax and enjoy nature. the only unused space was a vacated plot on cedar avenue that was completely overgrown. suddenly, samara had a great idea. she decided to spend her summer campaigning for a new community park. the only problem was that she had no idea where to start. that evening, she went to the library and learned about what she would need to do in order to get the idea in front of the town zoning board. it was all a little intimidating, but wanda, the reference librarian, samara break it down into manageable steps. when samara mentioned the cedar avenue plot, wanda’s eyes lit up. “that is a perfect spot,” wanda said. “it’s right in the middle of town, and better yet, the town owns it.” samara spent many afternoons over the next few weeks at the library with wanda and a few other librarians drawing up a detailed plan to present to town officials. samara and the librarians even planned and priced out irrigation necessary for the area that was designated as a garden. when the day of the zoning board meeting arrived, samara felt nervous, but wanda and the other librarians were there for moral support. samara thought she at least sounded confident as she presented her idea to the board. when she finished her presentation, she was ready to wait patiently for an answer; wanda told her that this kind of decision might take weeks, so samara was surprised when the board members asked her to stay while they deliberated. the president of the board explained that samara’s presentation had been the last order of business for the day, and he wanted his board to be able to agree on one thing before they left. after about 15 minutes, samara was informed that the community park had been approved. samara had been telling her neighbors and friends about the park from the moment she thought of it, and it seemed as though everyone wanted to be a part of making her vision a reality. as soon as her idea was approved, samara called a meeting for anyone interested in collaborating. at the meeting, residents voted on what would be included on the land: a playset for young children and one for older children, a swing set, several park benches, and a dog run. it was also decided that there would be a cooperative organic vegetable garden and an herb garden at the north end of the park. residents agreed that mrs. yang would manage the gardens. at wanda’s suggestion, samara asked a representative from a nearby horticultural society to come and advise the group on the design of the park, the best native shrubs to plant, and where to put them. samara also asked local businesses to sponsor the park by the square foot so that the community would be able to afford equipment and plants. surprised by the response, samara went to the bank to open an account where the surplus would be saved for next spring. in a few weeks’ time, the space had been cleared and residents were beginning to roll out sod and plant small vegetable plants and summer flowers. by midsummer, the community was able to enjoy the new, peaceful space. samara was happy to have been part of creating not only a beautiful space, but a common area where residents could come together. which conclusions can be drawn from the last paragraph of this story? select each correct answer. a. wanda is eager to begin gardening with samara and mrs. yang. b. samara's family proudly joins the park staff. c. samara feels a sense of accomplishment. d. samara will run a workshop for less-experienced gardeners. e. business owners in pine grove support its beautification.