Chapter 4: Mastery Test 8
 
A. Read the following group of ideas. Then answer the questions.

A. The shag is a dance with a rich American history still enjoyed by thousands today.

B. The shag actually began in the 1920s and adapted to the beat of Elvis and the Beatles; today every state in the country has a shag club.

C. The shag's steps are much like the steps to the jitterbug.

D. The shag

      1. The topic is found in  

 
 
 
 
      2. The main idea is found in  

 
 
 
 
      3. A supporting detail is found in  

 
 
 
 
      4. A supporting detail is found in  

 
 
 
 
      B. Read each paragraph. Then answer the questions that follow it.

     1The Cherokee lived freely and happily in the mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. 2Cherokees lived well because they respected order and authority. 3The Cherokee tribe was made up of seven clans. 4Clans are groups of people who come from the same ancestor. 5The clans lived in small towns, and each town had its own chief and counsel. 6Both men and women spoke at the council. 7The Cherokees believed in balance and order; they tried to live by their beliefs so they would have good lives.

5. What is the topic of the paragraph?  

 
 
 
 
      6. Which sentence states the main idea of the paragraph?  

 
 
 
 
           1Fannie Lou Hamer took a bold stand for equality. 2She was born poor and black in the state of Mississippi on October 6, 1917. 3She was the youngest of 19 children. 4She had 14 brothers and 4 sisters. 5At the time Fannie Lou was born, African Americans were still being prevented from voting, and no woman of any color could vote. 6So when Freedom Fighters came to Mississippi in the summer of 1962 to make it into a place where African Americans could vote without restrictions, Fannie Lou registered to vote. 7This courageous step caused her much trouble. 8She was thrown off the plantation where she lived with her husband and children. 9She was beaten and thrown in jail. 10None of this stopped her, however. 11Eventually, her courage and determination won her notice. 12Her testimony about the African American struggle for equality in front of the United States Senate was a key event in the civil rights movement.

7. What is the topic of the paragraph?  

 
 
 
 
      8. Which sentence states the main idea of the paragraph?  

 
 
 
 
           1Maya Lin, a senior at Yale University, won the competition to design the Vietnam War Memorial. 2More than 1,400 people had applied, but the 21-year-old Chinese American art student won the $20,000 prize and her place in history. 3Maya Lin had a definite purpose in her design for the Vietnam War Memorial. 4First, she wanted the memorial to be made of black marble, instead of white, so that it could be polished to a high gloss. 5She wanted a mirrorlike finish that would reflect the faces of the visitors upon the names of the slain soldiers carved on its face. 6She also insisted that the names be listed in chronological order, by the date on which the soldiers died. 7She thought this would avoid the look of a telephone book and would also place soldiers with their units, the men and women with whom they served and died. 8Finally, she insisted that only the names of the soldiers should be engraved on the memorial. 9In fact, her own name appears on the back of the memorial, not on its face.

9. What is the topic of the paragraph?  

 
 
 
 
      10. Which sentence states the main idea of the paragraph?  

 
 
 
 
Some questions in this exercise may have more than one correct answer.





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