Reading Comprehension Assessment 1
Section 1 | Fluency
Directions: Read fluently to your teacher.
In 2007 the Nepalese government agreed to allow researchers to study the caves of Upper Mustang. The expedition team contained scientists, historians, mountain climbers, and two children.
World-class US mountain climber Pete Athans led the team. Athans had climbed Mount Everest seven times. He was even more excited about exploring in Mustang.
“Caves aren’t typical places to find Himalayan climbers,” he said. “But this may be my greatest expedition.”
The team had permission only to scout the caves to photograph what they saw. Members were not allowed to alter the caves or contents inside in any way.
The team’s next priority was to scout some of the caves perched high in Upper Mustang’s cliffs. From centuries of weathering, the cliffs were as fragile as a child’s sand castle. At any moment, the brittle rock could fall apart and send the climbers tumbling down the cliffs.
To make their climb safer, the team used hammers to drive long metal spikes into the cliff face. Some spikes were 3 feet (9 m) long. The climbers attached ropes to the spikes.
On his climbs up Mount Everest, Athans had faced frostbite, blinding snowstorms, and other hardships.
STOP Stop! Wait for your teacher to tell you to move on to the next page.
Section 2 | Show What You Know
Directions: In this module, you have been learning about the Thai soccer team’s survival and rescue from Tham Luang cave. Use your vocabulary knowledge and your knowledge from module texts to answer the following questions.
1. Which of these statements about caves is not true?
a. Some caves are filled with air.
b. Most caves are formed from limestone.
c. Karst caves can flood during heavy rain.
d. New karst caves form very quickly.
2. Which words have meanings that are most like panic? Choose two answers.
a. anxiety
b. fear
c. confusion
d. dizziness
e. loss
3. What is an example of collaboration?
a. a person trying to survive in an extreme setting
b. a team of people working together during a rescue
c. people learning and practicing new skills
d. a group of people adjusting to a harsh environment
4. Part A: What does the root vit in the word vital mean?
a. energy
b. life
c. health
d. central
Part B: Read the following sentence.
The boys could only survive if they had vital things such as food, water, and oxygen.
Which pair of words reflects the meaning of vital as it is used in the sentence?
a. necessary and important
b. energizing and helpful
c. healthy and safe
d. common and familiar
Section 3 | Grow What You Know
Directions: In this module, you have been learning about a cave rescue and the people all over the world who contributed to the rescue. Now imagine your teacher has asked you to research another type of cave and the risks it poses. To begin your research, you will read a new text, Secrets of the Sky Caves: Danger and Discovery on Nepal’s Mustang Cliffs. After you read, answer the following questions.
From Secrets of the Sky Caves: Danger and Discovery on Nepal’s Mustang Cliffs by Sandra K. Athans
Chapter Three: The First Expedition
1 In 2007 the Nepalese government agreed to allow researchers to study the caves of Upper Mustang. The expedition team contained scientists, historians, mountain climbers, and two children.
2 World-class US mountain climber Pete Athans led the team. Athans had climbed Mount Everest seven times. He was even more excited about exploring in Mustang.
3 “Caves aren’t typical places to find Himalayan climbers,” he said. “But this may be my greatest expedition.”
4 The team had permission only to scout the caves to photograph what they saw. Members were not allowed to alter the caves or contents inside in any way.
Danger! Scouting the Cliff Caves
5 The team’s next priority was to scout some of the caves perched high in Upper Mustang’s cliffs. From centuries of weathering, the cliffs were as fragile as a child’s sand castle. At any moment, the brittle rock could fall apart and send the climbers tumbling down the cliffs.
6 To make their climb safer, the team used hammers to drive long metal spikes into the cliff face. Some spikes were 3 feet (9 m) long. The climbers attached ropes to the spikes.
7 On his climbs up Mount Everest, Athans had faced frostbite, blinding snowstorms, and other hardships. But climbing the cliffs of Mustang carried different—and sometimes more extreme— dangers.
A Grand Finale!
8 On the final day of scouting, in an area called Marjung, the team discovered piles of ancient papers in a cave high in the cliffs. The papers were filled with ancient Tibetan writing. Team members could not remove the fragile papers. Reluctantly, they left the papers inside the cave. The team’s glimpse into the past triggered the need for future expeditions. Team members decided that the rescue and recovery of artifacts would be a priority for future expeditions.
Chapter Four: The Rescue and Recovery Expeditions
9 The first rescue and recovery expedition, in 2008, was led by Mark Aldendefer. Pete Athans continued as the expedition leader. Joining them were Charles Ramble, a British scholar of Tibetan history and language, and Canadian Jeff Watt, an expert on Himalayan art and history. Kris Ericksen, an American climber and
photographer, joined the team too. Pete’s wife, Liesl, and their two children Finn and Cleo were on this expedition as well.
10 To get cooperation from the Mustang government, team members traveled to Mustang’s capital city, Lo Monthang. There, they met with the king of Mustang, Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista. The king and other officials agreed to let the team remove the papers.
Making Scientists into Climbers
11 Scaling the unstable cliffs in Mustang is risky, even for worldclass mountain climbers. For Charles Ramble and the other scholars, the risks were even greater. They are not trained mountain climbers.
12 To make the climbing easier for the scientists, the team selected its routes carefully. It tried to avoid areas that demanded advanced climbing skills.
13 The climbing was especially hard for Ramble because he had a fear of heights. But he said, “When you want knowledge so badly, you can’t let things get in the way. My fear of heights was not going to prevent me from accessing that cave.”
Library in the Sky
14 Ramble made a successful climb. Once he was inside the cave, he took a deep breath. An instant later, he was again breathless. Several feet from the cave opening, a thick carpet of thousands of written pages lay before him. Some of the text had been created with woodblock printing. Other writing had been penned by hand. Some pages featured tiny paintings. The pages glistened in the natural light coming from the cave opening.
15 Once he was safely down the cliff face, Ramble and the other team members set up a field lab in a tent at the base of the cliff. There, they photographed and scanned the entire collection of papers.
16 “Learning about new cultures, past and present, and being able to explore what happened to people in the past and give a voice to them and their lived experience—these are the highlights of research,” Dr. Eng said.
1. What do you notice and wonder about Secrets of the Sky Caves? Write two things you notice, and then write two questions you have.
2. Part A: What was the goal of the first expedition?
a. to conduct research in a cave
b. to collect items from a cave
c. to reach the highest cliffs of a cave
d. to protect an old and fragile cave
Part B: What was the goal of the second expedition?
a. to take photographs of a cave
b. to remove old papers from a cave
c. to create woodblock prints in a cave
d. to travel to a brand-new cave
3. Which statement about the expeditions is not true?
a. Both expeditions were approved by the government.
b. Both expeditions had Pete Athans on the team.
c. Both expeditions involved climbing dangerous cliffs.
d. Both expeditions ended in scanning ancient artifacts.
4. Which answer is a summary of the text?
a. The government of Nepal has ancient artifacts from a cave that are now available for the public to see.
b. A group of climbers shocked the world when they made a surprising discovery inside of a cave in Nepal.
c. Two teams of researchers and expert climbers found and then scanned historical items from a cave in Nepal.
d. Scholars and scientists have closely studied the environment inside caves in Nepal so that people can climb safely.
5. Read paragraph 4.
“The team had permission only to scout the caves to photograph what they saw. Members were not allowed to alter the caves or contents inside in any way.”
What does scout mean as it is used in this paragraph?
a. touch
b. discover
c. understand
d. explore
6. Part A: Read paragraph 5.
“From centuries of weathering, the cliffs were as fragile as a child’s sand castle. At any moment, the brittle rock could fall apart and send the climbers tumbling down the cliffs.”
Which phrase is an example of a simile?
a. “From centuries of weathering”
b. “The cliffs were as fragile as a child’s sand castle”
c. “At any moment, the brittle rock could fall apart”
d. “Send the climbers tumbling down the cliffs”
Part B: What idea about cliffs does the simile help you understand?
a. The cliffs existed for many years.
b. The cliffs were climbed by children.
c. The cliffs made people feel young.
d. The cliffs could be easily destroyed.
7. What is a central idea of Secrets of the Sky Caves?
a. Researchers sometimes take physical risks for their studies.
b. Caves are the best place to preserve articles that are important to history and culture.
c. It is possible to study ancient histor y without government support.
d. Learning about the past helps you understand the present.
8. Why do humans explore extreme environments? Write at least five sentences. Include details from Secrets of the Sky Caves to support your answer.