Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Cold. When it comes to weather, the United States gets it all. Hail, rain, and snow fall

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1 Name Letters Home Read the selection. Then answer the questions that follow. Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Cold When it comes to weather, the United States gets it all. Hail, rain, and snow fall in different parts of the United States. Even hurricanes and tornadoes hit parts of the country each year. Some spots, however, have bright skies on most days. Why do some parts of the country get freezing winters while others stay warm all year? The most important reason is their distances from the equator. The equator is the imaginary line that runs around the middle of the Earth. Places closer to the equator tend to be warmer. Alaska, in the far north, is freezing cold in the winter months. By contrast, Florida, in the South, stays warm all year long. The good people of Florida are very lucky indeed. Turn the page. Fresh Reads Unit 1 Week 5 SI 25

2 Answer the questions below. 1 What is the main idea of the first paragraph? A The United States gets all kinds of weather. B Some parts of the country get rain, hail, and snow. C Some places in the country have bright skies. D It is better to live in some states than in others. 2 Which part of the United States tends to be the warmest? F the North G the South H the East J the West 3 Which sentence from the selection is a statement of opinion? A Some other spots have bright skies on most days. B The equator is the imaginary line that runs around the middle of the Earth. C By contrast, Florida, in the South, stays warm all year long. D The good people of Florida are very lucky indeed. 4 What is the main idea of the last paragraph? 26 Fresh Reads Unit 1 Week 5 SI

3 Name Letters Home Read the selection. Then answer the questions that follow. The Big Apple It s been called the Big Apple and America s greatest city. By any name, New York City is big. Located on the Atlantic coast, New York City covers over three hundred square miles and is home to more than eight million people. More people live in New York City than in any other city in the United States. The Big Apple has some of the world s tallest buildings, biggest bridges, and longest tunnels. More than 150 New York City skyscrapers reach more than five hundred feet into the air. A football field is only three hundred feet long. At 4,260 feet, the center span of New York s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is almost a mile long. That makes it the longest in North America and the second longest in the world. New York City also has four giant underwater tunnels for highways. To keep all these people happy, the Big Apple has one of the biggest city parks in the world. Central Park is 843 acres. It is an amazing place to spend time. It has its own zoo, its own castle, and its own lake. Visitors can walk, run, bike, ride horseback, roller-skate, ice-skate, and more. In case you were wondering, all those New Yorkers also produce a large amount of residential garbage, about eleven thousand tons a day. Remember, you read it here. Turn the page. Fresh Reads Unit 1 Week 5 OL 27

4 Answer the questions below. 1 What is the main idea of the selection? A New York City is as large as some states. B Some of the world s largest buildings are in New York City. C New York City is an interesting place to visit. D New York City is large in every way. 2 Which of the following details supports the main idea of paragraph two? F three hundred feet long G 4,260 feet H eight million people J 843 acres 3 Which of these details would support the main idea of paragraph three? A the number of bridges built B the number of visitors there C the amount of water consumed D the number of trees planted 4 Which sentence from the selection is a statement of opinion? F It s been called the Big Apple and America s greatest city. G A football field is only three hundred feet long. H It is an amazing place to spend time. J Remember, you read it here. 5 What is the main idea of the fourth paragraph? 28 Fresh Reads Unit 1 Week 5 OL

5 Name Letters Home Read the selection. Then answer the questions that follow. National Parks Who is the biggest landowner in the United States? The answer is our government. The landholdings of our government include huge parks, great forests, seashores, lakeshores, and rivers. About one quarter of all state land is owned by the United States government. That comes to 563 million acres. The country s largest parks are in the largest state. Alaska has seven parks with more than a million acres each. The biggest, Wrangell Saint Elias, has more than eight million acres. This park also has the greatest number of mountain peaks over sixteen thousand feet high. The world s oldest national park is Yellowstone. Some would say it is also the most beautiful. In 1872, it was set aside for the people in the United States to enjoy. Yellowstone is a huge park, with more than two million acres. It has about ten thousand geysers and hot springs. The most famous geyser is known as Old Faithful. It spouts hot water just about every ninety minutes. More people visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona than any other national park. Each year, nearly five million visitors come to look out over the canyon worn away by the Colorado River. It s a sight nobody can forget. It is nature at its best. Grand Canyon Park also has more than a million acres of land. What s more, it was one of the country s first national parks, founded in What s not to love about our country s natural treasures? Turn the page. Fresh Reads Unit 1 Week 5 A 29

6 Answer the questions below. 1 What is the main idea of the selection? A Yellowstone, founded in 1872, is the oldest national park. B The United States has set aside millions of acres of land for parks. C The most unforgettable national park is the Grand Canyon. D A good part of all state land is owned by the U.S. government. 2 What is the main idea of paragraph two? F Alaska has seven parks with more than a million acres each. G One park has the largest number of tall mountains. H Wrangell Saint Elias has more than eight million acres. J The biggest state has the biggest national parks. 3 Which sentence from the selection is a statement of fact? A That comes to 563 million acres. B It is also the most beautiful. C It s a sight nobody could forget. D It is nature at its best. 4 What is the main idea of the first paragraph? 5 What is the main idea of the last paragraph? 30 Fresh Reads Unit 1 Week 5 A