O=====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|===@}MAIN IDEA QUIZ STACKKI This file requires StoryWorks. You can read it and examine it with JHAppleWorks, but to see it in action (with sound effects, scoring, and PNbranching) you need StoryWorks. StoryWorks is available from TI&IE, P.O. Box A6229, Lincoln NE 68506 -- phone (402)-483-6987 -- Cost: $49.95.KI This StoryWorks stack illustrates how a multiple-choice quiz may be NLconstructed. In this case the quiz tests reading comprehension, retention, Jand the ability to identify the main idea of a short story or paragraph.QO You can build such quizzes easily using the AppleWorks word processor. NLThe subjects for the short stories can come from your classroom activities, NLthe current newspaper, or anything else your students find interesting. If LJyou add just one story to this file each week, by the end of the year you Fwill have a good-sized selection of stories to use any way you wish.5 The subjects in the segments of this file are:-Segment 0: Inauguration of President Bush,Segment 1: Mountain Lions are Endangered,Segment 2: The TV Voice of Charlie Brown)Segment 3: Chinchillas are Endangered%Segment 4: Clouds of Volcanic Ash,Segment 5: Toucans are Interesting Birds#Segment 6: Birds and their Eggs&Segment 7: Beetles are InterestingNL Inauguration Day was January 20, 1989. That was the day George Bush took OMthe oath of office to become President of the United States. George Bush is $the 41st President of our country.LJ During the week of January 16, thousands of visitors came to Washington OMD.C. to witness the inauguration festivities. Television and news reporters Halso came to report about the inauguration to the rest of the country.JH There were fancy dinners, dances, and lots of speeches. Everyone was JHcelebrating the beginning of a new Administration. Heading up that new OMadministration is President George Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. They Owill be the leaders of the United States for the next four years (1989-1992).MK The inauguration ceremony was held on the west side of the United States LJCapitol building at midday. That is the building in which Congress makes OMlaws for us. With his hand on a Bible, Mr. Bush said, "I do solemnly swear, KIor affirm, that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the KIUnited States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and 0defend the Constitution of the United States."NL Following the ceremony there was a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. Many OMpeople participated in the parade. Many others lined the street to view the Eparade and perhaps get a glimpse of the new President and his wife.: After the parade, there were more celebration parties.  &What is the main idea of this story? 1 People in Washington like to go to parties. 7 George Bush became President on Inauguration Day. GE The President's main job is to preserve, protect, and defend the $Constitution of the United States.  Type , , or . A,a > -101 B,b > +102a C,c > -103 RTN > < ESC > !ePN No. That's not correct. People in Washington do like to go to parties and 7parades, but that was not the main idea of the story. Press to try again.e ESC > ! RTN > for another story.f ESC > ! RTN > / to try again.g ESC > ! RTN > <PN Mountain lions used to roam the forests and mountains of North America. As LJhuman settlers moved in, the number of mountain lions was reduced. Today NLthere are very few mountain lions in the United States. Most of those that 1remain live in the western part of the country.OM Mountain lions usually hunt at night. They climb trees and wait for their MKprey. Then they quickly leap down, surprising their prey. Mountain lions hunt deer and elk.NL Environmentalists are concerned that men are putting up so many buildings LJand highways that the mountain lions' natural habitat is vanishing. This 3means that the mountain lions may become extinct.IG There are approximately five thousand mountain lions in the state of MKCalifornia. Some of them have become a nuisance. Officials in California OMmay soon permit hunters to kill mountain lions, but they want only about 190 OMof the animals killed. Like naturalists, environmentalists, and scientists, ?these officials do not want mountain lions to become extinct.  &What is the main idea of this story? A Mountain lions are large wild cats that live in California. 7 Mountain lions are in danger of becoming extinct. ) Mountain lions like to climb trees.  Type , , or . A,a > -105 B,b > +106c C,c > -107 RTN > < ESC > !iMK No. That is incorrect. Mountain lions are large wild cats, and some do Dlive in California, but those are not the main ideas of the story. Press to try again.i ESC > ! RTN > for another story.j ESC > ! RTN > / to try again.k ESC > ! RTN > <OM Did you know that when a "Peanuts" special is broadcast on television, the PNvoice of Charlie Brown is that of a fourteen year old girl? Her name is Erin <Chase. She is the first girl to be Charlie Brown's voice.M Erin has three brothers and two sisters. Her family lives in California.NL During the past twenty-three years more than twelve boys have been chosen MKto do the voice of Charlie Brown. Usually the boys were between eight and MKtwelve years of age. Erin tried out for the part of Charlie Brown because -her voice sounds just like Charlie Brown's.  &What is the main idea of this story? E In the past, boys have been chosen to do Charlie Brown's voice. % Erin Chase lives in California. B The new voice of Charlie Brown is that of a girl, not a boy.  Type , , or . A,a > -109 B,b > -110 C,c > +111h RTN > < ESC > !mMK No. Boys were chosen in the past, but that is not the main idea of this story. Press to try again.m ESC > ! RTN > to try again.n ESC > ! RTN > to read another story.o ESC > ! RTN > /<PN Chinchillas are plump little rodents that have thick, soft, warm fur. They NLlive high in the Andes mountains of South America. Their warm fur protects NLthem from the cold mountain air, but it is so soft that humans want to kill $the chinchillas to make fur coats.JH During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries many wealthy people in OMEurope and elsewhere would pay a lot of money for a chinchilla fur coat. By -1940 chinchillas had nearly become extinct.NL Today chinchillas are raised on farms all over the world, mostly so their MKfur may be used for fur coats. No one knows for sure how many chinchillas NLare still living in the wild. The government of Chile is trying to protect PNthe chinchillas by setting aside some special land for them. This land is in PNthe mountains to the north of Chile's capital, Santiago. No one is permitted to hunt chinchillas there.  &What is the main idea of this story? 9 In the wild, chinchillas are an endangered species. & Chinchilla fur is warm and soft. 4 Chinchillas are raised on farms for their fur. @ Humans sometimes disregard the delicate balance of nature.  Type , , , or . A,a > +113m B,b > -114 C,c > -115 D,d > -116 RTN > < ESC > !qQO Yes! That is correct. In the wild chinchillas have become nearly extinct. MKThey are an endangered species for which protectionist laws have had to be passed. ) Press to read another story.q ESC > ! RTN > / to try again.r ESC > ! RTN > to try again.s ESC > ! RTN > to try again.t ESC > ! RTN > <JH On the morning of March 31, 1986, the Augustine Volcano erupted on an KIisland sixty-five miles from Anchor Point, Alaska. The eruption sent up JHsteam, gases, and ash. The steam quickly froze in the cold arctic air, Kforming ice crystals. Volcanic ash is made up of tiny particles of rock.PN The cloud of ash and ice crystals was quickly carried by the wind to Anchor PNPoint. As the ice crystals in the cloud began to melt, cold, moist air began PNto move downward. This formed puffs of cloud beneath the larger cloud. From 8the ground the puffs looked like soft balls of cotton.MK The ash clouds darkened the sky so much that nearby towns had to turn on LJstreetlights during the day. A fine layer of ash dust covered the town. PNSince the eruption, scientists believe that air currents have carried some of )the ash around the world several times.  &What is the main idea of this story? ' Anchor Point is a town in Alaska. + Volcanos can be frightening at times. O A volcanic eruption can create giant clouds that affect the entire world.  Type , , or . A,a > -118 B,b > -119 C,c > +120r RTN > < ESC > !vLJ No. Anchor Point is a town in Alaska, but that is not the main idea of this story. Press to try again.v ESC > ! RTN > to try again.w ESC > ! RTN > to read another story.x ESC > ! RTN > /<MK Toucans are large, colorful birds. They live in the tropical forests of Central and South America.PN A toucan has a colorful bill about eight inches in length. The bill's size PNand bright colors help the toucan attract a mate. The big bill also helps to frighten away enemies.LJ To us the big bill appears heavy and clumsy, but for the toucan it is a LJhandy, lightweight tool. With it he can pluck fruit, snatch insects, and OMcatch spiders. (Yum!) The toucan can manipulate his bill so gently that he /can pick up a bird's egg without breaking it.  &What is the main idea of this story? $ Toucans are interesting birds. 3 There is plenty of food in a tropical forest.  Toucans like big bills.  Type , , or . A,a > +122u B,b > -123 C,c > -124 RTN > < ESC > !z> Yes. The main idea is that toucans are interesting birds. ) Press to read another story.z ESC > ! RTN > /<{PN No. There is plenty of food in a tropical forest for toucans (eggs, fruit, Minsects, spiders, and lizards), but that is not the main idea of the story. Press to try again.{ ESC > ! RTN > <|NL Toucans do like big bills. In fact, the colorful bill helps to attract a 5mate. But that is not the main idea of this story. Press to try again.| ESC > ! RTN > <MK Of all the birds on earth, hummingbirds lay the smallest eggs. The bird NLthat lays the largest eggs is the ostrich. But even though the hummingbird MKlays the smallest eggs, those eggs are large when compared with the bird's body weight.NL The bee hummingbird of Cuba has a body two inches in length and lays eggs OMthat are less than half an inch long. An ostrich, on the other hand, may be Oeight feet tall, weigh 300 pounds, and lay eggs that weigh three pounds each.MK The bird that lays the largest egg for its body size is a seabird called OMthe blue-gray noddy. The noddy weighs only three times as much as its egg! LJ(If you weigh 60 pounds, you would have to lay an egg the size of a large 9watermelon -- 20 pounds -- to match a blue-gray noddy!)  &What is the main idea of this story? , Hummingbirds and their eggs are small. ' Ostriches and their eggs are big. 2 The size of a bird's eggs can be surprising.  Type , , or . A,a > -126 B,b > -127 C,c > +128x RTN > < ESC > !~NL Yes, hummingbirds and their eggs are small, but that is not the main idea of this story. Press to try again.~ ESC > ! RTN > <NL Yes, ostriches and their eggs are large, but that is not the main idea of this story. Press to try again. ESC > ! RTN > <M Yes, the main idea is that birds and their eggs can vary greatly in size. ) Press to read another story.Ѐ ESC > ! RTN > /<PN Beetles are fascinating animals. There are more different kinds of beetles KIthan all the kinds of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish put together!PN The adult whirligig beetle zips across the surface of a lake or pond. Each JHof its eyes is divided into two parts, so it can watch what's above the OMsurface of the water with one part while watching what's beneath the surface with the other part.IG Some beetles can drag objects that weigh up to fifty times their own NLweight. The large hercules beetle can grow to eight inches in length. Its 7two horns can crush an empty aluminum soft drink can!IG The bombardier beetle deals with its enemies by shooting them with a OMpoisonous mixture of gas and liquid. This mixture is shot out of the tip of ;the beetle's rear end. It can make even a toad back off.PN The female acorn weevil is a beetle that can drill a hole in an acorn. She PNlays her egg in the hole. When the egg hatches into a white larva, the larva eats the inside of the acorn.  &What is the main idea of this story?  Beetles are strong.  Beetles lay eggs. 3 There are lots of different kinds of beetles.  Type , , or . A,a > -130 B,b > -131 C,c > +132g RTN > < ESC > !D Beetles are strong, but that is not the main idea of this story. Press to try again.Ђ ESC > ! RTN > <J Yes, beetles do lay eggs, but that is not the main idea of this story. Press to try again.Ѓ ESC > ! RTN > <NL Yes! The main idea is that there are lots of different beetles. Each of them is interesting. ) Press to read another story.Є ESC > ! RTN > /<