1-Which nonfiction genre teaches the reader a process? 2-Use the paragraph to answer the question.
The platypus is an Australian mammal that is not easily classified. It is one of only two mammals (the other being the echidna) that bears young by laying eggs. In some respects, the platypus resembles a duck; both have webbed feet and bills. The platypus has a tail like a beaver’s and a furry body similar to an otter’s. Its unusual hybrid of body parts makes it well-suited for its largely aquatic life. The platypus uses its webbed feet to paddle through water, and its tail serves as a kind of rudder for steering. While underwater, the platypus uses its bill to scoop up bits of food, such as insects and shellfish, from the water’s bottom. The platypus also scoops up bits of gravel, which grind up the food, as the platypus is toothless. The platypus stores the food and gravel in its cheeks until it reaches the water’s surface. Once the platypus surfaces, it consumes its meal.

Which sentence describes the main idea?

3-Use the paragraph to answer the question.
It happens way too often: oil leaking from wells beneath the ocean or tankers spilling their cargo into the waves. One disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, called the Tyler spill, has been leaking hundreds of barrels of oil per day into the ocean for the past 14 years. While safety has not been made a priority, something can be done to clean up oil spills that does not involve pouring chemical cleanup agents into the already polluted waters. The question is, when will the oil industry embrace this effective, safe method?

Which sentence best summarizes the text?

4-Use the sentences to answer the question.

Many people believe a European named Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. However, Gutenberg’s press was actually building on inventions that appeared centuries earlier in China.

What is the connection between the ideas in these sentences?

5-Use the sentences to answer the question.

A Buddhist book called The Diamond Sutra, printed around 868 C. E., is the oldest known printed book. It was printed using page-sized panels of wood blocks. These blocks were carved by hand with Chinese characters shown in reverse.

Which word or phrase describes the relationship between the ideas in the sentences?

6-Use the paragraph to answer the question.

All around the world, millions of people watch hundreds of new movies each year. Most people are aware that these movies have actors and actresses, directors, stunt doubles, and camera operators. But have you ever wondered how the crack of a bat in a baseball scene sounds so authentic even though the camera must be dozens of feet away?

Which word means the same as authentic as it is used in the paragraph?

7-Use the paragraph to answer the question.

You may not think earthquakes and volcanoes can go together, but they are unlikely friends, creating sensations under the earth’s surface. Most earthquakes occur because of the movement of tectonic plates previously described. Sometimes earthquakes happen below a volcano. This happens because magma, which is hot molten rock beneath the earth’s surface, pushes on rock until it breaks the rock and seeps into it. Then, the magma builds more pressure until it leaks more magma into the crack. Little earthquakes happen each time the rock breaks and lets in more magma. These little earthquakes are too small to feel. They are called harmonic tremors, perhaps because of their constant release of energy, like one long song played underground.

What does the analogy "they are called harmonic tremors, perhaps because of their constant release of energy, like one long song played underground" from the paragraph mean?

8-Why would a student include an allusion to Albert Einstein, an accomplished scientist with a famously bad memory, in a paper about how people learn?