CONTENTS Comprehensive Reading Assessment Grade 4 Test-Taking Tips.................2 Test A 1 Wet Paint!.................... 4 2 A Trip to the Beach............. 8 3 The Man with the Big Smile..... 12 4 Looking for Life on Mars and Europa................... 16 Test B 1 Hodja s Journey/Hodja s Garden.. 92 2 Amelia...................... 96 3 Poetry: Wind Who Has Seen the Wind?.... 100 4 Two Great Deserts............ 104 Instruction for Test A 1 Wet Paint!................... 20 2 A Trip to the Beach............ 38 3 The Man with the Big Smile..... 56 4 Looking for Life on Mars and Europa................... 74 Instruction for Test B 1 Hodja s Journey/Hodja s Garden. 110 2Amelia..................... 128 3 Poetry: Wind Who Has Seen the Wind?.... 146 4 Two Great Deserts............ 164 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Senior Editor: Ruth S. Rothstein Design and Production: Design Five Creatives, Inc. Cover Design: Design Five Creatives, Inc. Production Supervisor: Sandy Batista Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Phoenix Zoo by Dick George: pages 4, 5, 20, 21. Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard College Library: page 12, 56. Underwood & Underwood/Corbis: pages 13, 59. Digital Vision: pages 16, 74. Courtesy of NASA/JPL/Caltech: pages 17, 75. Bettmann/Corbis: pages 96, 97, 128, 129. Digital Vision/Getty: pages 104, 164. Frans Lemmens/Photographer s Choice: pages 105, 165. HIRB/Index Stock Imagery: pages 106, 166. Charles C. Place/The Image Bank/Getty: pages 107, 167. Illustration Credits: George Ulrich: pages 8, 9, 38, 39. Joanna Roy: pages 92, 93, 110, 111. Molly Scanlon: pages 100, 101, 146, 147. ISBN 1-59137-267-4 Options Publishing Inc. P.O. Box 1749 Merrimack, NH 03054-1749 TOLL FREE: 800-782-7300 FAX: 866-424-4056 www.optionspublishing.com 2004 Options Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, and information storage and retrieval systems without written permission of the publisher. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the USA. 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Comprehensive Reading Assessement Grade 4 Contents 1
TEST A Selection 1 Directions: Wet Paint is an article about elephants that can paint. Read the article. Then answer Questions 1 8. Wet Paint! You may have seen an elephant on TV that runs or sprays water with its trunk. But have you ever seen an elephant paint? Animal trainers across North America are teaching elephants to use their trunks to create paintings. Ruby was one of the first elephants taught to paint. She was born in a logging camp in Thailand in 1973. It is not known what Ruby s first months in the camp were like. At birth, Asian elephants normally weigh more than 200 pounds. Ruby was brought to the United States when she was seven months old. When she arrived at the airport, she weighed only 350 pounds. Ruby s new home was the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona. Life for Ruby was very different there from life in the wild or in the logging camps. In the wild, elephants spend their days looking for food and water. In camps, they are kept busy with hard work. In zoos, elephants are fed by zookeepers and do not work. One problem for zoo elephants is that they become bored. As Ruby grew older, she became bored. She started chasing the zookeepers and other animals. She got into trouble. Therefore, Ruby s trainers knew that they had to keep her busy. Ruby s trainers noticed that she liked to make marks in the dirt with her trunk. One trainer took that skill and built on it. First, she taught Ruby to use a Ruby paints a picture at the Phoenix Zoo. 2004 Options Publishing, Inc. 4 Test A Selection 1 Wet Paint!
2004 Options Publishing, Inc. stick to make marks. Next, she had Ruby hold a paintbrush with her trunk. Ruby rubbed the paintbrush against a piece of cardboard. Then Ruby s trainer dabbed the brush in paint. Ruby was now doodling in color. Soon she was painting on canvas. Zoo workers began to notice that Ruby used the colors she saw around her. One day she saw a fire truck. A burst of red paint appeared on her canvas. For the most part, Ruby used the same colors that she saw in the clothing worn by visitors who walked by her at the zoo. Ruby s paintings were sold in the gift shop. The sale of the paintings raised more than $500,000 for zoo improvements. Other elephants in the United States are also famous for their artwork. Like Ruby, Tarra was born in an Asian logging camp in the 1970s. Then she was brought to California and taught to paint. For years, Tarra s painting entertained children and adults at zoos. She also appeared on TV and in the movies. In 1986, an art shop in California had a gallery show of Tarra s works. Many people came to see the art show. Tarra has used chalk, pen and ink, and charcoal. But she seems to like watercolors best. She loves to take a small bit of nontoxic paint into her trunk and spray it onto the canvas. Asian elephants are not the only elephants that paint. At the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee, Mamie, a 36-year-old African elephant, has taken up the hobby. First Mamie was trained to hold and carry objects she could not eat, such as rocks. Soon she learned to hold chalk and paintbrushes. Mamie s trainers say she is bright and easy to teach. Most trainers who teach elephants to paint are trying to keep the animals from becoming bored. They want to add interesting and different activities to the elephants day. For Ruby, Tarra, and Mamie, painting has become an important part of their lives. doodling: drawing carelessly gallery: a building or room for showing works of art An elephant s work of art Go On Test A Selection 1 Wet Paint! 5
TEST A Selection 1 1 What is this article mostly about? Ruby the elephant had a difficult life in the logging camps. Some elephants in zoos have learned to paint. Zoos are unnatural environments for elephants. Elephants are aware of the colors around them. 3 The author probably wrote this article to explain how and why some elephants are taught to paint. persuade the reader to buy an elephant painting. describe the lives of elephants in zoos. convince the reader that all elephants should learn to paint. 2 Which of the following details from the article best supports the main idea? Ruby and Tarra both came from Asia. Tarra appeared on TV and in the movies. Mamie s trainers said it was easy to teach her to paint. Some trainers think it is unnatural to teach elephants to paint. 4 Which of the following statements is an opinion? Elephants in the wild do not paint. Tarra appeared on television programs. It is good for elephants to learn how to paint. Some people bought Ruby s paintings. 2004 Options Publishing, Inc. 6 Test A Selection 1 Wet Paint!
5 What happened as a result of Ruby s becoming bored at the zoo? She was brought to the Phoenix Zoo. She was put to work in a logging camp. She was brought to the United States. She was taught to paint. 7 Based on the information in the article, you can conclude that all elephants like to paint. all elephants are talented painters. elephants enjoy painting pictures of other animals. painting keeps some elephants from being bored. 6 Wet Paint gives information about elephants by using animal characters that talk. facts about elephants that paint. a story that is make-believe. pictures, charts, and maps. 8 In 1986, an art shop in California had a gallery show of Tarra s works. Many people came to see the art show. The word gallery means people who visit. a library of books. a logging camp. a place to display artwork. 2004 Options Publishing, Inc. Test A Selection 1 Wet Paint! 7