Making Inferences

1. Making Inferences Level Six Mrs. Hunsaker

2. Had He Lived You’ve probably heard about the so-called “race to the moon” during the 1960’s between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. In 1911 there was a similar race, this one to the South Pole. The loser of this race became even more famous than the winner. A team of explorers from Norway, led by Roald Amundsen, reached the Pole on December 14, 1911. A group from England, commanded first to reach the Pole,” the disappointed Scott, got there three weeks later. “The Norwegians are the first to reach the Pole,” the disappointed Scott wrote in his diary. He then began a march toward the Antarctic coast, where his ship was waiting. But the route was blocked by snow and ice and raging blizzards. Food ran short; men an dogs died. One man, Scott wrote, left the tent “to take a look outside,” walked into a blizzard, and was never seen again. Scott never reached the ship. “Had I lived,” reads the last entry in his diary, ”I would have had a tale to tell.”

3. The race to the South Pole was between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. the U.S. and England. England and Norway.

4. Scott and his men were killed by bad weather. wild dogs. a shipwreck.

5. Scott’s diary was a fake. found by a later group of explorers. sent on ahead by plane.

6. If Scott had lived, he probably would have gone to the moon. would be remembered only as the man who came in second. would have gone back to the South Pole.

7. The President’s Scale President Grover Cleveland loved to go fishing. He liked to have his picture taken weighing a big fish, and would always brag about the size of the fish he caught. When his second child was born, his wife asked the doctor how much it weighed. Servants searched the White House, but no scale could be found. Then someone remembered the scale the President used for weighing fish. The scale was brought up from the cellar and the newborn baby was placed open it. The baby weighed twenty pounds!

8. The President’s scale was most often used for weighing babies. weighing vegetables. weighing fish.

9. Servants found the scale in the cellar. in the President’s car. in a store.

10. Mrs. Cleveland had her baby in a hospital. in the White House. while on a fishing trip.

11. The story suggests that Mrs. Cleveland had a very big baby. the scale was dirty. the fish the President caught were not as big as he said they were.

12. The Killer Rabbits You probably think of rabbits as harmless, gentle creatures, but in Australia they are a menace. Rabbits almost destroyed Australia once, and the fight against them still goes on. Rabbits breed very rapidly. In Europe and America their numbers are kept down by rabbit-eating predators such as the hawk and the wolf. Rabbits were first brought to Australia by an English settler in 1859. By 1900 rabbits had nibbled away so much grass that much of Australia’s grazing land had turned into desert. Rain brought up just enough grass for the rabbits to eat. There was not enough for sheep and cows. Australians shot, trapped, and poisoned rabbits by the millions, but the land never completely recovered. In Australia today the rabbit remains an enemy to every farmer and rancher.

13. Before 1859, there were no settlers in Australia. rabbits in Australia. deserts in Australia.

14. Rabbits ran wild in Australia because there were no rabbit eating predators. people thought t hey were cute. they liked the desert.

15. Because of the rabbits, sheep and cows starved to death. no rain fell in Australia. people died of poisoning.

16. In Australia today rabbits are under control. it is too dry for farming or ranching. rabbits are still a problem.

17. A Curious Instrument The piano is not a very old instrument. True, it’s been around since 1704, but before then the violin, guitar, and other instruments looked and sounded much as they do today. The name piano is short for piano-forte, which in Italian means “soft-loud.” When a piano’s keys are struck, they cause little hammers to strike against strings, producing sound. The harder the keys are struck, the louder the sound. Older keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord, worked in a very different way. Their sound was quite different from that of a piano. Musicians were used to the old sound. For about 75 years the piano was only a curiosity. Then composers started writing music for bigger orchestras. Their sound would drown out a harpsichord, while a piano could easily be heard over the loudest passages. Composers such as Mozart discovered how expressive a piano’s sound could be. Before long it was the harpsichord that had become a curiosity.

18. The piano was invented in the early 1700’s. by Mozart. before the guitar.

19. The harpsichord is played like a guitar. not as loud as a piano. harder to play than a piano.

20. The piano replaced earlier instruments because people were looking for something new. it sounded prettier. it had a wider range of sound.

21. The story suggests that it takes time for musical styles to change. nobody plays the harpsichord these days. Mozart liked large orchestras.

22. Was It Treason? World War II was not yet over, but by now the outcome was clear. Adolf Hitler’s Germany was on its way to defeat. In England, a government official was outraged over a song called “Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans. ” It was written by Noel Coward, a popular and talented composer, playwright, and actor. To the government official, the song was proof that Coward was in sympathy with the enemy – perhaps even guilty of treason. He told Prime Minister Winston Churchill about the song. Churchill was concerned. He demanded that Noel Coward play and sing the song for him personally. By the end of the first verse, the Prime Minister was chuckling. By the end of the song, he was roaring with laughter. He asked Coward to sing it again. Then he invited his aides in and had Coward sing the song a third time. At the end, everyone was laughing. Later Coward was named Sir Noel Coward.

23. “Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans” was written before World War II. after World War II. during World War II.

24. The government official thought that the song was funny. was written by a coward. Proved that Noel Coward was friendly toward Germany.

25. The government official didn’t understand the song. had never heard the song. lied to Churchill.

26. The Prime Minister thought that Noel Coward was guilty of treason. the government official was foolish. the Germans would win the war.

27. Congratulations! You are ready to move to the next level!

28. Sorry!