Table of Contents
Practice Test 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Book 1: Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Book 2: Listening and Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Practice Test 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Book 1: Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Book 2: Listening and Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Answer Documents
Practice Test 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Practice Test 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 3
3
22/03/11 2:23 PM
Book 1
PRACTICE TEST 1
Reading
Tips For Taking The Test
Here are some suggestions to help you do your best:
• Be sure to read carefully all the directions in the test book.
• Plan your time.
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
• Read each question carefully and think about the answer before choosing
your response.
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 7
Book 1
2
7
22/03/11 2:23 PM
Book 1
PRACTICE TEST 1
Reading
D
irections
In this part of the test, you will do some reading and answer questions about what you
have read.
Read this article. Then answer questions 1 through 6.
Write On: How Paper
Got Its Start
by Imelda Norris
Since the beginning of time, starting with the earliest peoples, there has been a need to
write, draw, and even decorate. But writing hasn’t always been as easy as it is today, with
all the writing surfaces and writing tools now available. People found that while they had
a need and a desire to communicate through writing, finding ways to write—and things to
write on—took some effort and imagination.
The ancient Babylonians were among the first people to attempt writing. They chose the
material most common at the time, and that was clay. Clay tablets certainly got the job done.
The tablets were made of clean, smooth clay. To write, people would use a stylus—a sharp,
pointed tool—to press their messages into the clay. Then the tablets were dried and hardened
in the sun or in a kiln. Even though this was effective, in some ways, the tablets were not ideal.
They took a lot of time to make, and they could be heavy and awkward to carry.
8
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 8
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
You write on it all the time, and you find it between the covers of books and in
newspapers. But did you ever stop to think how paper came to be a writing medium and,
more important, why?
Book 1
22/03/11 2:23 PM
PRACTICE TEST 1
Around 3000 bce, the Egyptians found a better, easier approach to writing. How?
They made a lighter writing material using a plant called papyrus. Papyrus grows in long
reeds. To make their writing material, the Egyptians first cut the papyrus reeds into long
strips and let the strips dry. Next, they laid one set of strips on a flat surface, side by side.
Then they laid a second set of strips over the first, in the opposite direction. After that,
the Egyptians soaked all of the strips in water and pressed the strips together tightly. The
sap from the reeds acted like glue, cementing the strips together and making a sheet. The
Egyptians glued those sheets end to end and rolled them on sticks to make scrolls.
Certainly, the scrolls the Egyptians made were a big step up for writing. They were far
lighter than clay tablets and easier to write on. They were such an improvement that the
Chinese adapted them for their writing needs. The Chinese, however, made their scrolls
from bamboo and silk.
While scrolls helped people make great strides in writing—it became easier than ever
to communicate—they were still very time consuming to make. There had to be an even
better, easier way to write, and the Chinese found it when they invented paper.
According to Chinese legend, a man named Ts’ai Lun invented what we know today as
paper. As a member of the imperial court, Ts’ai was in charge of official records. He wrote
a report in 105 ce stating that he needed a new material on which to write his records. He
didn’t want to use the scrolls the Chinese had been using because he felt that bamboo was
too heavy and silk was too costly. He wanted a light, inexpensive option.
So Ts’ai started experimenting. He mixed pieces of tree bark, fish nets, and bamboo
with water, then pounded the mixture into a thick pulp. Then, to remove all the big
particles, he forced the pulp through a fine screen and let it drain and dry. What resulted
was a thin, lightweight writing material that was also pretty sturdy. Ts’ai had invented the
world’s first real paper. Although Ts’ai Lun was responsible for one of the most important
inventions in history, few people today know his name.
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
Until 751 ce, the Chinese were the only people to make paper. That year, Muslim
armies captured several Chinese soldiers who knew the trade. The Chinese were forced
to train others in paper making. Within two hundred years, the art of paper making had
spread throughout the Middle East. And that wasn’t the only thing to spread. Now that
paper—and lightweight, written documents—could travel as easily as people, knowledge
also began to spread. Paper, as it turned out, was just the first step in globalization.
It opened communication lines and set the stage for the next major improvement in
communication: printing.
Go On
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 9
Book 1
9
22/03/11 2:23 PM
1 The partial outline below contains information from the article.
I. Clay tablets
II.Papyrus
PRACTICE TEST 1
A. papyrus reeds
B. cutting and layering the reeds
C. making papyrus sheets
D. ____________________
Based on the information in the article, choose the phrase that best belongs in the blank.
A Ts’ai Lun
B making scrolls
C bamboo and silk
D using clay tablets
2 Read this sentence from the article.
Then the tablets were dried and hardened in the sun or in a kiln.
What does the word “kiln” most likely mean?
A a type of plant
B a type of stove
C a refrigerator
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
D a deep well
10
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 10
Book 1
22/03/11 2:23 PM
3 Based on information in the article,
which of these boosted communication
the most?
A clay tablets
C bamboo
D paper
about paper.
scrolls
bamboo and silk, 34–36
paper, 37–40
papyrus, 41–43
parchment, 44–49
On which pages would you most likely
find information about scrolls made by
Egyptians?
4 The author helps the reader understand
people’s desire to record ideas mostly
through the use of
PRACTICE TEST 1
B papyrus
5 Study this partial index from a book
A pages 34–36
B pages 37–40
C pages 41–43
A descriptions about inventions of
writing media
D pages 44–49
B details about the invention of the
printing press
C statements about the need to draw
and decorate
6 The information in this article would
be most useful for someone who
wants to
D examples of important recorded
information
A make paper
B make a scroll
C learn about the life of Ts’ai Lun
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
D learn about the history of paper
Go On
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 11
Book 1
11
22/03/11 2:23 PM
D
irections
Read this poem. Then answer questions 7 through 14.
PRACTICE TEST 1
The Fountain
by James Russell Lowell
Into the sunshine,
Full of the light,
Leaping and flashing
From morn till night;
Into the moonlight,
Whiter than snow,
Waving so flower-like
When the winds blow;
Into the starlight
Rushing in spray,
Happy at midnight,
Happy by day;
Ever in motion,
Blithesome and cheery.
Still climbing heavenward,
Never aweary;
Glad of all weathers,
Still seeming best,
Upward or downward,
Motion thy rest;
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
Full of a nature
Nothing can tame,
Changed every moment,
Ever the same;
Ceaseless aspiring,
Ceaseless content,
Darkness or sunshine
Thy element;
Glorious fountain,
Let my heart be
Fresh, changeful, constant,
Upward, like thee!
12
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 12
Book 1
22/03/11 2:23 PM
7 What is this poem mostly about?
A how the speaker wishes that he were a fountain
B how the speaker sees fountains wherever he goes
PRACTICE TEST 1
C how the speaker is inspired by observing a fountain
D how the speaker uses a fountain to predict the seasons
8 What does the fountain most likely represent to the speaker?
A an attitude or state of being
B a window into the past
C the natural world
D a water god
9 The speaker’s descriptions of the fountain help to create a sense of
A joyfulness
B suspense
C calmness
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
D sadness
Go On
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 13
Book 1
13
22/03/11 2:23 PM
10 What does the poet mean when he says, “Glad of all weathers”?
A The fountain is happiest when the weather is warm.
B The weather remains the same around the fountain.
PRACTICE TEST 1
C The weather is constantly changing around the fountain.
D The fountain’s outlook is not affected by the changing seasons.
11 What is the main lesson the speaker learns from the fountain?
A When life gets hard, escape into your imagination.
B Learn to be flexible and content despite the changes around you.
C Let the sun, moon, and stars guide you to your destiny.
D Happiness comes not from within but from nature.
12 Read this line from the poem.
When the winds blow;
Which literary device does the poet use in this line?
A personification
B alliteration
C hyperbole
14
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 14
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
D metaphor
Book 1
22/03/11 2:23 PM
13 Read this line from the poem.
Waving so flower-like
PRACTICE TEST 1
What is the most likely reason the speaker compares the fountain to flowers?
A to point out the similarity of their colors
B to exaggerate how hard the wind is blowing
C to create an image of the water’s graceful movement
D to suggest that the fountain is actually a field of flowers
14 Which statement describes best this poem?
A The first and second line of each stanza rhyme.
B The first and third line of each stanza rhyme.
C The second and third line of each stanza rhyme.
Duplicating any part of this book is prohibited by law.
D The second and fourth line of each stanza rhyme.
Go On
291NYPT_G7_ELA_PDF.indd 15
Book 1
15
22/03/11 2:23 PM