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© P
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Name
Turn the page.
Weslandia
Read the selection. Then answer the questions that follow.
Songs of Work
In the late 1800s, a large number of African Americans lived in the state of
Mississippi. Freed after the Civil War, they worked as farmers, on the railroads,
or on river steamboats.
When they worked, they often sang work songs that reflected the repetitive nature
of their work. These songs were sung by the whole group of workers. One worker
would start a beginning line and the rest of the group would swing tools and stomp
their feet to the beat.
The work songs had different speeds. A railroad work song had the rhythm of
the hammers hitting steel. A tree-chopping work song used the axe connecting with
wood as the beat.
Work songs helped workers express their feelings and pass the time.
Fresh Reads Unit 4 Week 1 SI 91
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© P
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92 Fresh Reads Unit 4 Week 1 SI
Answer the questions below.
1 What is the main idea of this selection?
A In Mississippi, most people worked on the railroads or on river steamboats.
B After the Civil War there were only three types of jobs available for African Americans.
C African American workers sang work songs.
D When people work together they often sing.
2 Based on the selection, which of the following statements is probably true?
A Singing made the hard work more bearable.
B There were more jobs in farming than on steamboats.
C African Americans enjoyed working on steamboats.
D Workers were allowed to sing only when they worked.
3 What part of work done by African Americans most likely caused them to sing?
A how hard it was
B how repetitive it was
C how long it took
D how satisfying it was
4 Why were songs sung by the whole group of workers?
Singing together made them feel they were not alone in their everyday struggle.
© P
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duc
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Name
Turn the page.
Weslandia
Fresh Reads Unit 4 Week 1 OL 93
Read the selection. Then answer the questions that follow.
U.S. Camels
Did you know that there used to be herds of camels in the United States? In 1855
our government wanted to build a wagon route from Texas to California, but that
part of the country was hot and difficult to travel through. The government planned
to use this route for mail delivery.
The Army decided to use camels for this work because these animals didn’t eat
or drink much, could endure the heat, and could carry heavy cargo long distances.
When the Secretary of War learned of the idea, he asked the government for
funding for the project.
Camels were brought to Texas by boat, thirty-three in the first shipment and
forty-four in the second shipment. A man from Syria named Hadji Ali was hired
to train soldiers on how to work with the camels. He also took the camels on a
test trip. The Army wanted to know if camels could make the trip from Texas to
California. So soldiers loaded up each animal with six hundred to eight hundred
pounds of supplies and traveled about thirty miles a day. The camels made the
test trip, but there were problems. The soil was rocky, and the Army’s mules got
panicky around the camels.
More camels might have been brought to the United States except that the Civil
War was about to break out. So the government took no action on requests for more
camels. Many camels were sold, while others escaped into the desert.
Today some people say they’ve seen camel ghosts roaming sand dunes in the
Southwest.
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© P
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94 Fresh Reads Unit 4 Week 1 OL
Answer the questions below.
1 What is the main idea of this selection?
A U.S. Army soldiers learned how to care for camels.
B Camels were imported for use by the U.S. Army.
C The best way to bring camels to the U.S. was by boat.
D The Army could get anything they needed to do special jobs.
2 Hadji Ali was hired to teach soldiers about the camels probably because he was
F from Syria and had experience with camels.
G in charge of planning the test trip.
H the person who delivered the camels to the United States.
J an expert at calming frightened mules.
3 Why might the Army have considered its experience with the camels a success?
A The camels were not exhausted by the test trip.
B The Army was ready to stop using mules.
C More than one shipment of camels arrived.
D The Army wanted to bring more camels to the United States.
4 Where were the U.S. camels during the Civil War?
F in the South
G carrying mail
H being ridden by soldiers
J with new owners or loose
5 Why might the U.S. Army have considered its experience with camels a failure?
Answers may vary. Possible responses: The camels were not eventually used for any purpose. The funding spent to buy them was probably a loss.
© P
ears
on E
duc
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Name
Turn the page.
Weslandia
Fresh Reads Unit 4 Week 1 A 95
Read the selection. Then answer the questions that follow.
Bobbie’s Chance
Bobbie was a walking encyclopedia on baseball. She loved the sport like no
other student in her school and examined everything she could uncover about it.
She loved the crack of a wooden bat striking a ball into the distant left field. She
loved the spectacle of field lights blazing into a warm summer night. She even
loved the taste of dirt following a slide into home base. But Bobbie was in a serious
predicament.
Overall, the only chance she ever got to play baseball was at annual family
gatherings. Bobbie wasn’t a very good player, but she believed that with a real
coach she could really improve. Her dream was to play on the girl’s baseball team
at school. She was convinced that if she didn’t communicate her desires, her entire
life would remain the same forever. So she went to see Coach Annie Miller two
days before tryouts. Last year she had not made the team, and she had not improved
much since.
Bobbie crept toward the coach’s office where she saw Coach Miller looking over
some papers. She looked up, frowning, when Bobbie knocked on the open door.
Bobbie shuffled nervously to the desk and announced that she loved baseball
and knew that with a lot of practice and effort she could improve. If Coach Miller
would give her a chance, she knew she could contribute to the team. Coach Miller
already knew Bobbie was not a naturally gifted athlete, but she saw fire in Bobbie’s
heart, and she knew that natural ability alone does not make a player great. She did
give Bobbie a chance, and by the end of the season Bobbie won two awards: Most
Improved Player and Best Team Spirit.
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96 Fresh Reads Unit 4 Week 1 A
Answer the questions below.
1 Which of the following best expresses the main idea of this selection?
A To improve at baseball, you need a coach.
B Taking a stand for what you want can help you achieve it.
C Making a dream come true requires help from others.
D Willingness to try hard matters more than athletic ability.
2 Based on the selection, which of the following conclusions about Coach Miller is probably not true?
F She is interested in her players.
G She takes the team seriously.
H She tries to let all players spend some time playing in a real game.
J She regrets giving Bobbie a place on the team.
3 Which of the following conclusions can you draw from the selection?
A Bobbie would have found a way to play baseball even if Coach Miller hadn’t given her a chance.
B Most of the girls didn’t want Bobbie on the team.
C Bobbie was pleased with how her first season turned out.
D To be a champion, Bobbie spent all of her extra time playing baseball.
4 What conclusions can you draw from the following statement? “Overall, the only chance she ever got to play baseball was at annual family gatherings.”
5 How do you think Bobbie would describe her life before she talked with Coach Miller?
There were no neighborhood games or teams other than the school team for Bobbie to play with.
Answers may vary. Possible responses: Bobbie was frustrated and full of longing. Baseball is not something you can play alone. You need other people for a game.
