Charles sat in the cafeteria with five other students, waiting for Ms. Swanson to interview all of them. Ms. Swanson, the 7th grade science teacher, was looking for a lab helper. Charles's palms were sweaty and his face felt hot. He wondered if his face was red, and if anyone would notice.
As he prepared for his interview, Charles review a set of index cards with notes that he made earlier. On each card, he had written an answer to a question that Ms. Swanson might ask. "The emergency eyewash station is not a place to get a drink of water," he quietly read aloud from one card.
Charles decided to check out the other candidates. Nearby, a girl with dark red hair were shuffling her own index cards. He watched as she tore a card into tiny pieces and stuffed the pieces into her pocket. Suddenly, she looked up at Charles. "Are you nervous?" she asked.
"No, I'm not nervous - not at all," Charles stammered. "What bout you?"
"Uh, no, me neither," the girl responded.
At that moment, Ms. Swanson appeared. "Charles Locke?" she called out.
Practice Test
Answer each of the following questions that follow:
- What is the passage mostly about?
- What is most likely to happen next in the story?
- You can tell that the girl is nervous because _____?
- Do you think that Charles could pass the interview?
- Give your own ending about the story.
With the right supplies, you can make your own pickles at home.
A Clean Start
All supplies that you use must be very clean when you make pickles at home. A dirty jar or spoon can spoil an entire batch of pickles.
The Cucumber is King
The perfect pickle is crunchy. It starts with a firm, fresh cucumber. To make fresh pickles, fill jars with freshly picked cucumbers. Then pour a heated mixture of salt, vinegar and spices into the jars. Seal the jars with clean lids. Allow the pickles to cool, and put the jars in the refrigerator. Write the date on the jars.
Timing Is Everything
Leave your homemade pickles in the refrigerator. Pay attention of the dates on the jars. If you haven't eaten the pickles after six months, throw them away.
Other Pickled Foods
In addition to making pickles at home, you can pickling other vegetables. Pickled carrots, cauliflower, and garlic cloves make tasty snacks and give salads some extra flavor.
Practice Test
Answer the following questions.
- What are the ingredients for making pickles?
- What do you think would happen if you use soft cucumbers for your pickles?
- What might happen if you do not write the date on the jars?
- What is the last step in making pickles?
Interviewer : What is the best part about your job as an animator?
Sadie Caddock : I love getting a chance to bring a character to life. If I can imagine it, I can make it happen on the screen. It's a great feeling.
Interviewer : What was your favorite project?
Sadie Caddock : My favorite project was a movie called "It's a Zoo Out There." Unlike commercials and TV shows, a full-length movie lets you explore the characters and story. I work with a fun team of animators to create more than thirty animal characters.
Interviewer : How long does it take you to finish a project?
Sadie Caddock : It depends. A short commercial might take me a week to finish my part of it. The movie took more than a year. It also depends on whether I'm drawing by hand or using a computer. Computers make the work go much faster. However, I sometimes find that drawing by hand is more creative.
- What is the main idea of the interview?
- What does Sadie Caddock like best about her job?
- Which is not something that happened when Sadie worked on a movie?
- If you are an animator, what character would you like to bring to life?
Pancakes are one of the oldest foods. The ancient Romans ate a mixture of milk, flour, eggs, and spices called alita dolcia.
Pancakes were special in Medieval Europe. That's when the tradition of Pancake Day began. Pancake Day is the last day before Lent, a period of 40 days before Easter. On this day, people made pancakes to use all of their eggs and butter, which were forbidden during Lent.
Around the 1600's, writer William Shakespeare mentioned pancakes in two of his plays. These cakes go back a long way!
- What is the main idea of the story?
- When did pancakes making start?
- What do you think happened with pancakes after Shakespeare's time?
- What is alita dolcia?
Jamie was tired. She had been on her feet for hours. Her mom owned a small but busy restaurant in town. Three of her mom's employees had called in sick that morning. There was a big festival in the city park that day, and Jamie had wanted to go. But her mom has asked for her help at the restaurant.
All Jamie wanted to do was sit down for a while. Instead, she hurried around the restaurant, taking orders and refilling coffee cups. As soon as one table was cleared, a new set of customers walked in. The customers just kept coming! That meant more orders and more coffee.
"Order up!" called the cook from the kitchen. Jamie stared at the kitchen. She thought about all of the food stalls at the festival. Cooks there were preparing special foods from all over the world. Jamie imagined the delicious smells of new and exotic foods.
"Hurry, Jamie!" the cook called, catching Jamie lost in thought.
"I'm coming," Jamie grumbled. But her mom had already picked up the plates of hot food from the counter and delivered them to a table by the window.
"Wake up, Jamie," her mom said. "I know you don't want to be here, but I need your help."
- Why is Jamie daydreaming?
- What will most likely happen next in the story?
- What will Jamie most likely do when she gets home?
- What is the main idea of the story?
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