What is a useful question to consider before reading a text for the central ideas? A. What do you predict the text will be about?
B. What does the first paragraph reveal about the ideas?
C. How would you summarize the important events in the text?
D. How will the text end?

Read the excerpt from the common sense of bicycling: bicycling for ladies. the bicycle is capable of such high speed that there is a strong temptation to ride so fast as to cause over exertion or excessive perspiration. on the other hand some people ride too slow, causing a zigzag and uncertain movement. while exercising reasonable caution, be a fearless rider. when you come to a steep hill, if the road is clear, let it go as fast as it will. if you rid yourself of that ghost of fear, coasting is one of the greatest delights of cycling. which is the best paraphrase of the text?

With crack on crack of thunder, zeus let fly a bolt against the ship, a direct hit, so that she bucked, in reeking fumes of sulphur, and all the men were flung into the sea. they came up 'round the wreck, bobbing a while like petrels on the waves. no more seafaring homeward for these, no sweet day of return; the god had turned his face from them. –the odyssey, homer read the passage. then, identify the theme that is supported by the passage. most ships cannot survive a terrible thunderstorm. the ocean is an angry beast that will tame any who try to control it. the gods have the power to control human destiny. men are willing to die to eat the delicious cattle of the gods.

Read the excerpt from the war of the worlds, in which the crowd begins to disperse just before the first martian exits the cylinder. when i returned to the common the sun was setting. scattered groups were hurrying from the direction of woking, and one or two persons were returning. the crowd about the pit had increased, and stood out black against the lemon yellow of the sky—a couple of hundred people, perhaps. there were raised voices, and some sort of struggle appeared to be going on about the pit. strange imaginings passed through my mind. as i drew nearer i heard stent's voice: "keep back! keep back! "a boy came running towards me."it's a-movin'," he said to me as he passed; 'a-screwin' and a-screwin' out. i don't like it. i'm a-goin' 'ome, i am."what options accurately depict the impact of the boy's words on pacing within the excerpt? (select all that apply.)the war of the worldsthe setting is in england, so the boy's words provide the reader with the dialect of the area. even though that slows down the plot, the boy's words contain important information. the plot's forward movement is slow at the beginning of the excerpt because there is little action. the boy's words increase the tension and counteract that lag. the narrator is not close enough to see clearly into the pit, so the boy's words provide the narrator with the information he needs, which moves the plot forward. the boy's words serve to speed up the pacing of the plot because, as he is talking to the narrator, he is running past him to get away. the narrator is not close enough to see clearly into the pit, so the boy's words provide the narrator with the information he needs, which moves the plot forward. wrong? the boy's words serve to speed up the pacing of the plot because, as he is talking to the narrator, he is running past him to get away.