HESI A2 Reading Comp. V2

Amazon RainforestAbout 6% of the earth is covered by rainforests. The largest rainforest in the world is theAmazon Basin, which stretches over 2.3 million square miles in nine different South American countries. This area is double the length of all the other remaining rainforests in the world. Brazil contains 60%of the Amazonian rainforest since it lies at the mouth of the river Amazon. This river is the second largest in the world and contains more than one-fifth of the world's freshwater. The Amazon rainforest is a type of wet broadleaf forest. The weather there is very humid and warm as it rains quite a bit. Because of the high rainfall, the forest is very rich and green. The tree leaves are pointed and narrow so that the raindrops can easily drop off wet plants. This tropical rainforest has more living species than the entire European continent. There are over 400 types of insects living in one single rain forest tree for a total of 2.5 million species. One square kilometer of rainforest may contain over 75,000 types of trees and approximately 438,000 different kinds of plants, which comes to a total of 90,000 tons of greenery overall. The Amazon rainforest is home to 2,000 birds and mammals, with one in every five birds in the world living there. Local farmers have lived off this rich and diverse land for thousands of years. They have been able to find food and water here without destroying the land. The Kayapo people of Brazil farm in an environmentally-friendly way. Instead of chemicals, they use burned wood to enrich the soil, and plant banana trees, which attract wasps. These wasps then feed on leaf cutter ants and get rid of these harmful insects. The rainforest also offers a lot of tropical fruits, such as bananas and coconuts, as food. Cinnamon is made from the bark of a rainforest tree. Amazonian Indians use the fruit and stem of the Bruti plant as a drink, to make bread, and to build houses. Many other plants are used as medicine. But the Amazon rainforest is in very big danger of disappearing. 9,169 square miles of forest have been cut down in 2003 in Brazil alone. An area of the size of a football field is burned down basically every minute, which means that the rain forest may be gone by the year 2030. The dangers related to this type of activity are obvious. Trees take in poisonous carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen. There are more oxygen and less carbon dioxide around a rainforest. When trees are cut down, however, the amount of carbon dioxide increases and the air gets warmer. This leads to global warming, which is extremely harmful to the environment. It is estimated that the burning of Brazilian rainforests alone produces 200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. Another danger connected with destroying the rainforest is the disappearance of plants and animals. When trees are cut down, plants and animals have no more food left and slowly die out. Killing wild animals is illegal in Brazil, but there is plenty of stealing going on. 38 million animals are stolen and sold illegally each year. The most hunted animals are birds, especially parrots, followed by snakes and the jaguar. 1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is NOT mentioned about the amazon rainforest? It's precipitation2. How can you describe the Amazon rainforest? (Choose 2 answers)(A)It rains all time there so the forest is always green. (C)The plants are shaped so that rainwater can pour off them.3. Which of the following is true about the Amazon Basin? It is more than one-fifth of all the other rainforests in the world.4. Look at the end of paragraph 2. What does the author refer to when he says "rich and diverse land" at the beginning of paragraph 3? 2,000 birds and mammals in the Amazon rainforest5. What does the sentence "people of Brazil farm in an environmentally friendly way" mean in paragraph 3? They do not poison the soil when farming.6. Which rainforest plant has more than one use? The Bruti plant7. What is the biggest problem related to the disappearance of the rainforest? Cutting down trees

1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is NOT mentioned about the AmazonRainforest? Its precipitation 2. How can you describe the Amazon rainforest? (Choose 2 answers): (A)It rains all time there so the forest is always green.(C)The plants are shaped so that rainwater can pour off them. 3. Which of the following is true about the Amazon Basin? It is more than one-fifth of all the other rainforests in the world. 4. Look at the end of paragraph 2. What does the author refer to when he says "rich and diverse land" at the beginning of paragraph 3?2,000 birds and mammals in the Amazon rainforest 5. What does the sentence "people of Brazil farm in an environmentally friendly way" mean in paragraph 3? They do not poison the soil when farming. 6. Which rainforest plant has more than one use? The Bruti plant 7. What is the biggest problem related to the disappearance of the rainforest? Cutting down trees

Glass

1. Brittle- easily broken 2. Archaeological digs have found article made of glass 3. Glass is not an element 4. The combination of several glass is an essential part of our lives 5. Science uses glass in experiments

Lightning

1. Get into a metal 2. To pierce 3. Draw light away (measuring of rod) 4. Consist of klanstruk big 5. The author did not support the eyes(?)

ssac Asimov

1. Greatest fear Flying 2. Meaning of "prolific" High productivity 3. The big three Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein 4. How old was Asimov when he died? 72 years 5. What made him popular Science, fiction, writing

Nurseries

1. Green House creates tropical condition at nurseries 2. Too many nurseries means not enough buyers to buy the plants that need to be sold 3. Nurseries are helpful for farmers 4. Special type of farms 5. A strip of board, often material that forms a section of a wall or door

Mr. Rogers

1. Mr. Rogers started a website 2. He wants to help children 3. Uniqueness 4. Meaning of legacy: something handed down 5. The author wants to inform the audience

Healthcare

1. Premium: means amount to be paid 2. Hospitals are passing down the cost of taking care of people without insurance 3. The passage implies thatThere is a crisis in normal management in healthcare 4. Opinion or factRising

Rainforest

1. Rain forests are essential to life on earth 2. Deforestation has long term consequences that we still do not know about 3. The Nile is the longest river

All the Jazz

1. The Passage answers which of the following questions? What were the origins of Jazz and how did it differ from other forms of music? 2. According to the passage, Jazz originated in New Orleans 3. The word "welded" in line 6 is closest in meaning to bound 4. Which of the following distinguished Jazz as a new form of musical expression? improvisation 5. The word "skeletal" in line 15 is closest in meaning to framework 6. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? many early Jazz musicians had little formal musical training 7. The word "menial" in line 18 is closest in meaning to degrading 8. According to the passage, which of the following belonged to the second wave of New Orleans Jazz musicians? Joe Oliver 9. All the following are true EXCEPT Joe Oliver is generally considered to be the first real Jazz musician 10. The word "its" in line 21 refers to earlier music 11. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage? "improvisation" (line 12)

The Bicycle

1. The main idea of this passage is best expressed in which sentence?Sentence (4): Since then, however, numerous innovations and improvements in design have made the bicycle one of the most popular means of recreation and transportation around the world. 2. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?A Ride through the History of Bicycles 3. Which sentence best expresses the main idea of paragraph 3?Macmillan made important changes in bicycle design. 4. An innovation, as it is used in Sentence (4), isa new way of doing something. 5. Revolutionized, as it is used in Sentence (10), most nearly meanschanged drastically. 6. The word prone, as it is used in Sentence (15), meanslying down. 7. Which of the following sentences from the passage represents the writer's opinion?Sentence (1) The safety bicycle would look familiar to today's cyclists. 8. Sentence (8), "It didn't look much like a modern bicycle, though, because its back wheel was substantially larger than its front wheel," follows which pattern?opinion, fact 9. Macmillan added iron rims to the tires of his bicycle toMacmillan added iron rims to the tires of his bicycle to 10. The first person to use a gear system on bicycles wasJames Starley. 11. Starley's addition of wire spokes made the bicycle lighter.

Laughter

1. The passage indicates Native American humor deserves more attention 2. The passage infers that Native American humor is often overlooked 3. The author's reason for writing this passage To persuade people to take a broad view of Native Americans 4. The author seems to favor: Research into Native American humor

The Flu

1. What is the main idea of the passage The flu is a deadly disease that's difficult to control because people become infectious 2. Why is the flu considered not too infectious? The flu virus cannot travel far or live for long periods of time outside the human body, so its spread can be easily contained 3. What is the meaning of the word "measures" in the last paragraph? Plan of action 4. Which of the following correctly describes the flu? The flu is difficult to contract and sometimes fatal

Changing Time

1. What is the meaning of "they" in the passage?Clock change DST 2. Irrelevant meansmeaningless 3. What was the author inferring? Should be abolished 4. Computer changed itself 5. Trying to persuade the audience

Electoral College

1. Which statement from the passage is a fact? Each state casts their electoral vote during a presidential election 2. The author's reason for writing this piece seems to be to Teach the reader 3. Give one vote 4. Have an understanding of the electoral college 5. Congressional election

Homonyms

1. Which statement is a fact rather than an opinion?Homonyms make learning English more challenging. 2. What inference can be drawn from the article?English is a difficult language to master. 3. What conclusion can be drawn from the article?In order to master English, the student must learn the Homonyms. 4. How does the article define homonyms?Words that sound alike and are spelled in different ways with different meaning.