TRACE AND EVALUATE ARGUMENTS HOMEWORK. Be a part of the "in crowd" with Worn-out Jeans!

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1 NAME BLOCK DATE TRACE AND EVALUATE ARGUMENTS HOMEWORK DO NOT DO #2 AND #3 1. Be a part of the "in crowd" with Worn-out Jeans! Nothing is cooler than a new pair of jeans that look ten years old. Worn-out Jeans are not only stylish, but they also have that worn-out feel. Nobody wears stiff new jeans anymore. They are a thing of the past. Besides, Worn-out Jeans are also much cooler in the summer heat because of the holes in the knee area. The denim is carefully sanded to a soft finish, and the jeans come in a variety of faded colors at all fine department stores. Get Worn-out today! How does the ad try to get the reader to buy Worn-out Jeans? A. by making the reader believe that everyone else wears them B. by comparing Worn-out Jeans to other popular name brand jeans C. by telling the reader that the jeans are made from quality materials D. by showing a bunch of famous people who like to wear these jeans 2. "Mom and Dad, you two should let me own the new CD by the group Bad Influence. From what I've heard of the CD, the song lyrics are wholesome and enjoyable for the entire family. This CD would allow us to bond like we've never bonded before. Furthermore, I'm the only 12-year-old kid in the world who doesn't own this musical masterpiece. Do you think Jeremy's mother would let him listen to this music if it weren't the highest quality? Jeremy's mom doesn't even let him eat chocolate, so if this CD weren't the best, she definitely wouldn't let him have it. Don't worry about giving me an answer now. Think it over a bit. I know you'll do the right thing." To get this CD, what technique does the speaker use to persuade his/her parents? A. Testimonial: The speaker asks Jeremy to tell the speaker's parents about the CD's quality.

2 B. Celebrity influence: The speaker talks about how many celebrities love the album. C. Bandwagon: The speaker makes them think that everyone his/her age has this CD. D. Expert Opinion: The speaker quotes a music expert who says the lyrics are poetic. 3. "Mom and Dad, you two should let me own the new CD by the group Bad Influence. From what I've heard of the CD, the song lyrics are wholesome and enjoyable for the entire family. This CD would allow us to bond like we've never bonded before. Furthermore, I'm the only 12-year-old kid in the world who doesn't own this musical masterpiece. Do you think Jeremy's mother would let him listen to this music if it weren't the highest quality? Jeremy's mom doesn't even let him eat chocolate, so if this CD weren't the best, she definitely wouldn't let him have it. Don't worry about giving me an answer now. Think it over a bit. I know you'll do the right thing." To get this CD, what technique does the speaker use to persuade his/her parents? A. Bandwagon: The speaker makes them think that everyone his/her age has this CD. B. Testimonial: The speaker asks Jeremy to tell the speaker's parents about the CD's quality. C. Celebrity influence: The speaker talks about how many celebrities love the album. D. Expert Opinion: The speaker quotes a music expert who says the lyrics are poetic. Most public elementary schools in the United States do not have sports teams. There are many reasons for this. Sports equipment is very expensive, and it takes time to build stadiums and fields. Coaches must be found, and sports doctors must be on hand in case someone gets hurt. But sports teams can also be beneficial for children. Sports teams teach kids how to work together, give them confidence, and provide an outlet for physical activity. All sports teams, from basketball to soccer, require people to work together. Children can especially benefit from this cooperation. Coaches teach teamwork in addition to physical skills. They teach children how to work well with each other, even if they are not friends. For example, my friend Jeremy is on a soccer team. One teammate is a boy named Ronnie. They are not friends, but they are good teammates and know how to play together to win a game. This is just one example of children working together to achieve a common goal. Sports teams also give children confidence. As they learn more skills and become better at a sport, children become more confident in their own abilities. They learn that they are good at something and feel proud of that. For example, my classmate Elizabeth has played basketball for three years. When she first started, she barely knew how to dribble. Now, she makes two out of three free throw shots. She knows that she is a pretty good basketball player. Children need to feel confident so that they have high self-esteem. The last benefit to elementary school sports teams is physical activity. Children today do not get as much exercise as they need. Instead of playing outside, they sit inside watching television, playing video games, and chatting on computers. Sports teams

3 would give children the chance to get more exercise. If children played sports in elementary school, they would get into a habit of exercising at a young age. This is very important to their future health. While sports teams would cost schools a lot of time and money, I believe that elementary schools should have sports teams, at least for older grades. Schools could work with local professional teams to raise money. Volunteers could coach until the schools can afford to pay coaches. Many parents would be happy to volunteer to get teams started. Team sports help teach children valuable lessons they can use later in life. 4. What detail does the author use to show he or she understands why schools do not have sports teams? A. The author tells the reader that sports teams help to build confidence. B. The author describes how children learn to play basketball and soccer. C. The author asks the reader to remember what sports they played in school. D. The author explains that sports equipment and fields cost time and money. Giving Bicyclists Their Three Feet Once a year, thousands of Americans participate in National Bike-to-Work Day. And why not? Riding a bicycle to work is an ideal way to get exercise. With that said, riding a bicycle can be dangerous, especially in a big city. Nationwide, bicycle-related injuries are on the rise. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 43,000 bicyclists were injured in traffic in Two years later, in 2009, 51,000 bicyclists were injured in traffic. So how can we make our cities safer for bicycling? The most important thing to do is to widen bicycle lanes. Common wisdom suggests that bicyclists need at least three feet of distance from cars in order to be safe. But bicycle lanes are sometimes less than three feet wide. Worse, they are often sandwiched in between parked cars and traffic. If someone in a parked car suddenly opens the car door, a bicyclist can be injured or even killed. What we need is a standard for bicycle lane width. A lane that is less than three feet wide almost guarantees an accident. Thus, all lanes should be at least three feet wide. Moreover, they should be positioned at least one foot from nearby parking spaces. Wearing a bike helmet is a little like wearing a seat belt: it offers only partial protection. If we want to keep bicyclists safe from harm, we must also give them wider bicycle lanes. And city planners should impose minimum width standards if they are going to prevent accidents. 5. What solution does the author suggest for making bicycling safer? A. lowering speed limits for cars where people often ride bicycles B. imposing a 3-foot minimum width standard for bicycle lanes

4 C. requiring people who are riding bicycles to wear helmets by law D. no longer allowing people to park their cars along busy streets 6. Be a part of the "in crowd" with Worn-out Jeans! Nothing is cooler than a new pair of jeans that look ten years old. Worn-out Jeans are not only stylish, but they also have that worn-out feel. Nobody wears stiff new jeans anymore. They are a thing of the past. Besides, Worn-out Jeans are also much cooler in the summer heat because of the holes in the knee area. The denim is carefully sanded to a soft finish, and the jeans come in a variety of faded colors at all fine department stores. Get Worn-out today! How does the ad try to get the reader to buy Worn-out Jeans? A. by making the reader believe that everyone else wears them B. by showing a bunch of famous people who like to wear these jeans C. by comparing Worn-out Jeans to other popular name brand jeans D. by telling the reader that the jeans are made from quality materials Most public elementary schools in the United States do not have sports teams. There are many reasons for this. Sports equipment is very expensive, and it takes time to build stadiums and fields. Coaches must be found, and sports doctors must be on hand in case someone gets hurt. But sports teams can also be beneficial for children. Sports teams teach kids how to work together, give them confidence, and provide an outlet for physical activity. All sports teams, from basketball to soccer, require people to work together. Children can especially benefit from this cooperation. Coaches teach teamwork in addition to physical skills. They teach children how to work well with each other, even if they are not friends. For example, my friend Jeremy is on a soccer team. One teammate is a boy named Ronnie. They are not friends, but they are good teammates and know how to play together to win a game. This is just one example of children working together to achieve a common goal. Sports teams also give children confidence. As they learn more skills and become better at a sport, children become more confident in their own abilities. They learn that they are good at something and feel proud of that. For example, my classmate Elizabeth has played basketball for three years. When she first started, she barely knew how to dribble. Now, she makes two out of three free throw shots. She knows that she is a pretty good basketball player. Children need to feel confident so that they have high self-esteem. The last benefit to elementary school sports teams is physical activity. Children today do not get as much exercise as they need. Instead of playing outside, they sit inside watching television, playing video games, and chatting on computers. Sports teams

5 would give children the chance to get more exercise. If children played sports in elementary school, they would get into a habit of exercising at a young age. This is very important to their future health. While sports teams would cost schools a lot of time and money, I believe that elementary schools should have sports teams, at least for older grades. Schools could work with local professional teams to raise money. Volunteers could coach until the schools can afford to pay coaches. Many parents would be happy to volunteer to get teams started. Team sports help teach children valuable lessons they can use later in life. 7. What does the author say in the last paragraph that dismisses the other side of the author's argument? A. The author says that parents will volunteer to help the teams. B. The author says that sports teams cost a lot of money. C. The author says that sports teams take up a lot of time. D. The author explains that many adults are needed for teams. 8. Read the following passage. Bon Junko Antiques is a shop that has been located on the edge of town for two years. Many customers from other towns visit our city to shop at Bon Junko Antiques. Unfortunately, many of these customers have caused trouble in the city. According to the crime reports in the newspaper, our city has had an increase in crimes and traffic accidents recently. The people who were involved in these incidents were probably from out of town. Customers who drive to our city just to shop at Bon Junko Antiques are making our city unsafe. Which of the following is an unsupported claim in the passage? A. Bon Junko Antiques is a shop that attracts many customers who live out of town. B. The city has experienced a recent increase in crimes and accidents. C. Bon Junko Antiques has been located on the edge of town for two years. D. People from out of town have caused an increase in crime and traffic accidents. Music in the Digital Age by Dave McCaul Once upon a time, music fans had only one way to listen to recorded music. Those lucky enough to own a record player could listen to their favorite tunes in the comfort of their own home. Things have changed since then. People can now carry tiny devices containing thousands of songs. They can listen to their favorite rock songs wherever they go. No one can argue that this represents a wonderfully convenient technological achievement.

6 Still, have you ever wondered whether there is a disadvantage to these new technologies? Take MP3s, for example. MP3s are the digital audio files that many people have on their ipods or home computers. Many people assume that MP3s are superior to other music formats because they take up very little space. But, for all their usefulness, are MP3s really superior to CDs, tapes, and records? Consider for a moment that the average MP3 song file is roughly 11 times smaller than a song file on a CD. Then, think about this: MP3s are small because they have been compressed. File compression is the process of reordering and reducing the information in a file so that it takes up less space. But compression comes at a grave cost. Any recording expert will tell you that music quality is lost during compression. In fact, Lou Reed, the famous lead singer of the rock band The Velvet Underground, has given many interviews about the poor quality of MP3s. Reed has often said that these new music files are unlistenable. So, do not assume that MP3s are superior to CDs, tapes, and records. Put it to the test. For this test, you ll need a song in MP3 form and the same song in CD form. Listen to each format back to back. If you listen carefully, you will notice that certain details that can be heard on the CD are missing from the MP3. Prior to the invention of MP3s, recording artists would never have allowed their songs to be compressed. Now, many of us listen to music missing valuable details. We should not be so foolish as to assume that a new format is better than an old one. 9. Why does the author mention Lou Reed in the fourth paragraph? A. to convince the reader that many rock musicians cannot tell the difference between formats B. to describe how MP3s are compressed from song files on CDs into smaller digital files C. to explain why people no longer listen to music on their record players at home D. to suggest that the opinion of a famous rock musician proves that MP3s are inferior Boston The city of Boston in Massachusetts has a charm that is hard to find elsewhere. It has a vibrant and lively atmosphere that makes a visitor feel at home. Boston officially became a city in 1822, which makes it one of the oldest cities in America. Today, it is the economic and cultural center of New England. Boston's coastal location ensures that it enjoys a temperate climate. Summers are warm and sunny, and there is no better feeling than to walk around the city on a summer day. There's so much to do and see in Boston! The city has a rich, historic past, and is a treat for anyone who loves history. The Freedom Trail in Boston is one of America's first historic walking tours. The trail passes through 16 locations that have some significance in America's history. Some of these locations include Boston Common, the Old State House, and the Paul Revere House. The trail can be covered on foot or in a trolley. You can choose to see the trail by yourself or join one of the guided tours. However, the best way to experience the trail is by walking along it and taking the time to see and appreciate everything. If you are not a fan of history, Boston offers a lot of other options too. If you happen to visit Boston in the summer, there are numerous feasts and festivals happening all over the city, which will give you an

7 opportunity to experience the local culture. Boston welcomes all its visitors with open arms and will make you want to stay forever! 10. Which statement from the passage above best sums up the writer's main argument? A. Boston welcomes all its visitors with open arms and will make you want to stay forever! B. Boston officially became a city in 1822, which makes it one of the oldest cities in America. C. The Freedom Trail in Boston is one of America's first historic walking tours. D. The city has a rich, historic past, and is a treat for anyone who loves history. Even though recycling can be pricey, it is essential. Imagine how many key supplies of the world would be lost if the six billion people in it did not recycle. Recycling helps turn used materials into all sorts of new products. It also helps make sure that natural resources are not wasted. Recycling prevents the overuse of materials such as metals, plastics, and paper. These materials are all made from natural resources that without recycling would soon be gone. Recycling can even help keep the air and the water clean. The air will be cleaner because fewer new materials will need to be processed. This processing causes pollution to be released into the air. Also, the water will have less garbage in it when things are reused and not thrown away. Recycling programs exist in many countries around the world. For instance, in Germany, containers are placed in railway stations to collect items for recycling. In some countries, trash pickup now includes a day for paper, metals, and plastics. Each country's effort to reuse materials has reduced the amount of garbage produced each year. With recycling, there is less fear that everyday materials will disappear. It makes people mindful of how they use products. Recycling allows people to make a brighter future for themselves and others. 11. The author states that "Recycling can even help keep the air and the water clean." What detail does he use to support this statement? A. Because of recycling, the air will be cleaner because fewer new materials will need to be processed. B. Recycling prevents the overuse of materials such as metals, plastics, and paper. C. Each country's effort to reuse materials has reduced the amount of garbage produced each year. D. This processing causes pollution to be released into the air. 12. Be a part of the "in crowd" with Worn-out Jeans! Nothing is cooler than a new pair of jeans that look ten years old. Worn-out Jeans are not only stylish, but they also have that worn-out feel. Nobody wears stiff new jeans

8 anymore. They are a thing of the past. Besides, Worn-out Jeans are also much cooler in the summer heat because of the holes in the knee area. The denim is carefully sanded to a soft finish, and the jeans come in a variety of faded colors at all fine department stores. Get Worn-out today! How does the ad try to get the reader to buy Worn-out Jeans? A. by telling the reader that the jeans are made from quality materials B. by showing a bunch of famous people who like to wear these jeans C. by comparing Worn-out Jeans to other popular name brand jeans D. by making the reader believe that everyone else wears them