Making Inferences

1. Making Inferences Level Seven Mrs. Hunsaker

2. The Origin of the Olympics Every four years, athletes of many countries meet in one of the world’s great cities for the Olympic games. The modern Olympics were first held in the year 1896, but the history of the games is far older than that. The very first Olympics were held in 776 B.C. in Olympia, a city in Greece. At these games, the athletes competed in only one event, a running race of one stadium (About 200 yards). Later, races of other distances were added, as well as boxing, wrestling, throwing contests, and chariot races. Only Greeks were allowed to participate, and the winners were honored in their towns for the rest of their lives. For many years, the Olympics were for men only. Women were not even allowed to watch. But eventually women did compete, and in 168 B.C. a woman named Belisiche was the winner of the chariot race. When the modern-day Olympics were introduced, it seemed proper to hold the first games where they had originated thousands of years before – in Greece.

3. The first modern – day Olympic games were for men only. were held in 168 B.C. were held in Greece.

4. In the ancient Olympic games people from many countries participated. the winners were treated as heroes. the losers were killed.

5. The word “Olympics” comes from the Greek word for sports. name of the place where the games were first held. name of the person who started the games.

6. Modern – day Olympics have been held for only the past 20 years. since 776 B.C. for more than 100 years.

7. A Celebrity Comet Halley’s Comet will be visiting us again in 2061. Its last visit was in 1986. It’s an infrequent visitor to Earth, coming around only once every 75 ½ years. That’s because its orbit around the sun takes it to the farthest reaches of the solar system. Halley’s Comet is named for Edmund Halley, the English astronomer who first explained what comets are. Before his time, the appearance of any comet caused panic around the world. Halley asserted that the bright comet visible from Earth in 1683 was the same one that had been reported in 1607, 1532, and 1456. He correctly predicted that it would reappear in 1758. Halley’s comet is always a spectacular sight. It’s so bright that it is sometimes visible even in daylight. Scientists sent five separate probes to study the comet in 1986. These probes sent back information that helps us understand comets.

8. Edmund Hailey was the first person to see the comet named after him. explained what comets really are. was an infrequent visitor to Earth.

9. Halley’s Comet last visited Earth in 1758. visits the Earth at regular intervals. may hit the Earth.

10. When a comet appears in the sky it can only be seen from a small part of the world. it’s usually only visible at night. it can never be seen without a telescope.

11. Before Halley’s time, most people believed that a comet was fireworks. scary. a flying saucer.

12. Is it a Fruit or a Vegetable? What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable? You probably think you know – but a botanist might not agree with you. A fruit is the part of a plant that contains the seeds. A vegetable is any vegetative part of a plant – leaves, stems, roots, or tubers. Celery, cabbage, and carrots are vegetables; apples and oranges are fruits. Everyone would agree on those. But what about tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and corn? Nearly everyone would call each of these foods vegetables – but to be strictly accurate, you would have to call them all fruits!

13. The part of a plant that bears the seeds is the fruit. vegetable. root.

14. Vegetative means poisonous. green. growing.

15. A peanut is really a fruit. a vegetable. neither fruit nor vegetable.

16. Scientific names for things aren’t always correct. are always hard to pronounce. Aren’t always the same as popular names.

17. Was There an Atlantis? Was there really ever such a place as Atlantis, the lost continent that sank into the sea? Or is the story of Atlantis only a myth? There’s no real evidence that such a place ever existed. An island – not a continent- called Atlantis appears on several maps drawn in the Middle Ages. But these same maps are filled with places that are completely imaginary- and on all of them the world is shown to be flat. All the early stories about Atlantis seem to be based on the one told by the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato. He describes Atlantis as having been located in the Atlantic Ocean, yet he says it was larger than Asia and Africa combined! And it’s not at all clear whether Plato believed the story, or was treating it only as a fable. But if it was only a fable, where did it come from? Could it have been from old stories about Knossos? This was a real city on the island of Crete, and the center of an advanced civilization. About 1,000 years before Plato’s time it was destroyed by a tremendous volcanic explosion. Could this have been the beginning of the Atlantis myth? We will probably never know.

18. The map-makers of the Middle Ages were wiser than most people. did not know very much about the world. did not believe the story of Atlantis.

19. The story suggests that Plato made up the story of Atlantis. was the first to write about Atlantis. came from Atlantis.

20. Plato wrote that Atlantis was a real place. between Asia and Africa. impossibly large.

21. Knossos was an imaginary place. was Plato’s home town. might have been the real Atlantis.

22. A Porpoise Named Jack Jack the porpoise was a friend to sailors for more than 30 years. Jack lived in the waters of French Passage, a dangerous stretch of sea near New Zealand. Whenever a ship appeared, Jack would swim ahead of it, guiding it through the hazardous current. One day a passenger on the ship Penguin shot at Jack and wounded him. Jack recovered from his wound and went on guiding ships. But from that day whenever the Penguin appeared in French Passage, Jack was nowhere to be seen.

23. Jack lived near New Zealand. near France. at Marine land.

24. French Passage is dangerous to ships because of rocks. the current. sharks.

25. Jack got even with the person who shot him. stopped guiding the Penguin. disappeared from French Passage.

26. The story suggests that Jack could tell one ship from another. Jack hated people after he was shot. Porpoises are as smart as people.

27. Congratulations! You are ready to move to the next level!

28. Sorry!