Grade 9 FCAT 2.0 Reading Sample Questions

Flashcards about the provided reading sample questions.

What is the intent of the sample test materials?

To orient teachers and students to the types of questions on FCAT 2.0 tests, and to familiarize students with the item types and response formats.

What are some key adaptations that make owls effective night hunters?

Silent flight, incredible hearing ability, and large eyes for binocular vision.

What features of owl anatomy contribute to their silent flight?

Fringes on flight feathers and soft hairs on upper wing surfaces.

Where are an owl's real ears located?

Behind the eyes, covered by feathers of the facial disk.

How does an owl pinpoint the direction of a sound?

The sound registers in both ears simultaneously.

What are the two families of owls?

Tytonidae (barn owls) and Strigidae (great horned owl and others).

What is the great horned owl's role in its ecosystem?

Maligned for decimating game populations but prefers smaller mammals and skunks.

What are some characteristics of the Great Horned Owl?

18–25 inches, two-inch-long ear tufts, habitat generalist, classic “hoot owl” call.

What are the two phases/colors of the screech owl?

Red and gray.

How did Roger Tory Peterson describe the screech own's call?

A mournful whinny or wail.

Where do long-eared owls typically nest?

Vacant hawk and crow nests.

What does the long-eared owl's vocalization sound like?

Low, musical “hoo-hoo-hoo” like a mourning dove.

How is the barred owl's call described?

“Who cooks for you; who cooks for you-all?”

What does the barn owl diet consist of?

Voles, shrews, mice, and rats.

What is the purpose of the opening paragraph of the article “The Night Hunters” most likely to be?

To arouse readers’ interest in a unique group of birds.

Which literary technique does the author use when describing owls as predators without peer?

Imagery, portraying owls as skillful predators.

According to the article, what is one result of owls’ eyes being fixed in their sockets?

Frequent head movement.

In the article, what does that term dichromatism describe?

Colors of a species.

Based on information from the article, which owl would be most affected by a decline in the population of rodents?

Barn Owl.

Which statement best describes the typical nesting behavior of all the owls featured in the article?

They find nesting places rather than construct them.

According to the article, all of the following contribute to the owl’s effectiveness as a predator EXCEPT:

Its ability to mimic the calls of other species.

According to the article, which of the owls’ names is the most misleading?

The screech owl’s, because its call rarely approximates a screech

Which of the following best describes the organization of the article 'The Night Hunters'?

General information followed by facts specific to each species

According to the article, which two owls are most different in size?

Screech owl and great horned owl

Where does the author begin his reflection on Lewis and Clark’s journey?

Cape Disappointment, Washington coast.

How long did the author’s journey take?

Two months in a Volkswagen camper named Discovery.

What did Lewis and Clark define as substantial progress?

12 miles a day.

What did retracing the Lewis and Clark route reveal to the author?

The sheer largeness of the country.

Which group was the first to comprehend the central fact of our national being?

The Corps of Discovery.

Who sponsored the Lewis and Clark expedition?

Thomas Jefferson.

In taking the nation’s first transcontinental 'road trip,' they set in motion what has become an American tradition, a belief that the only way to really get to know this country is to…

Hit the road.

Which state’s places did the author visit during his trip?

South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon.

In the article, what was the author’s purpose in describing his own trips most likely to be?

Illustrate the transformations since Lewis and Clark’s journey.

According to the article, what most helped Lewis and Clark recognize the vastness of the West?

Progressing an average of twelve miles per day

Read this sentence from the article. These are experiences unavailable to those who peer out of airplane windows at 35,000 feet and idly wonder what it must be like down there in all those seemingly endless, open, empty spaces. Which of the following best restates the meaning of the sentence above?

Only land travel offers genuine understanding of scale.

Which of the author’s experiences most likely generated emotions similar to those Lewis and Clark had felt?

Sighting the Pacific Ocean from Cape Disappointment

The author learned many lessons while following Lewis and Clark’s route because he

Traveled by land.

Read this sentence from the article. As far as my eyes could see, out to the farthest western horizon, the rolling swells of the Pacific Ocean marched toward me, whitecaps flashing in the sun, only to crash into sparkling foam on the rocks far below my perch. Which type of figurative language does the author use in this sentence?

Personification, giving human characteristics to the waves

The author includes quotations from Lewis and Clark’s journals most likely to show

Similarities between his impressions and those of the explorers.

The author’s journey differed from Lewis and Clark’s journey in all of the following ways EXCEPT

Its destination.