Benchmark 3 Test Prep

1 I had come to a different world. There were no electric lights, running water, or telephones. Huts with leafy roofs stood near the ocean's edge. By the edge of the thick rain forest, a wooden outhouse rested on the sand.

What is the meaning of rested as it is used in the sentence from paragraph 1?

PART A

2 I had just landed on a protected beach in British Guyana. When the sea turtles who were born here come back to lay their eggs, eager poachers try to steal the eggs and sell them for profit. But that was changing.

What is the meaning of poachers as it is used in paragraph 2?

PART B

Which quotation from the passage helps the reader determine the meaning of poachers?

extinction: to be gone or no longer living

Why is there a footnote included in the passage?

1 On August 10, 1996, a loggerhead sea turtle named Adelita was about to make navigation history. Ten years earlier, she'd been caught by a fisherman in the Pacific Ocean near Baja, Mexico. Adelita had spent the last ten years in a water tank. Over time, she grew into a 223-pound adult with a wide head and a humongous appetite. She was outgrowing her tank.

Based on the meaning of the prefix out-, what is meaning of the word outgrowing in paragraph 1?

8 Nichols explains it like this: "A sea turtle can perceive Earth's magnetic fields. Just like we sense gravity and know which way is up or down, a sea turtle senses 'home'." After living in Baja for most of her life, Adelita never forgot the way back to the spot where she was born.

What is the meaning of the word senses as it is used in the sentence from paragraph 8?

"Just like we sense gravity and know which way is up or down, a sea turtle senses 'home'."

5 "Pesky puppies will do that," said the Button Lady. She reached into her big bag of buttons and pulled out the perfect match.

"Pesky puppies will do that," said the Button Lady.

What is the meaning of the word pesky as it is used in the sentence?

Read paragraph 7

7 Mayor Bowersox's wife, Henrietta, was next in line. "Our goat got loose by my clothesline and ate four buttons off the mayor's shirt. The poor man has been safety-pinned ever since."

According to the phrase next in line, who will be next to get buttons?

Part A

Read the sentence from paragraph 10.

The Button Lady had just found a button for Mr. Merrysong's vest, when a loud commotion drew everyone's attention.

Select the meaning of commotion as it is used in the sentence.

Part B

Select the word from paragraph 10 that provides a clue to the meaning of the word commotion.