Braille Challenge
2013 Preliminary
Freshman
Reading Comprehension – Passage 1
No More Training Wheels
"Daddy, please take my training wheels off. My bike is trained enough," said Blake with a huge grin on his face.
Dad wasn't sure that it was the right time to take them off. After all, Blake was only four years old. Balancing on two wheels is hard to do.
"Pretty please, Daddy," begged Blake. “I'll be careful. I can do it. I KNOW I can do it!”
Blake put on his helmet (and made sure to buckle the strap tightly). He ran into the house and changed his clothes. He put on long pants and a shirt with long sleeves. He was ready!
Blake's dad jogged beside the bicycle holding on to the back of the seat until Blake got more comfortable with the feeling of balancing on two wheels. Then Dad let go, and Blake was riding all by himself.
“Yay, Blake! Keep pedaling!”
Questions for “No More Training Wheels”
1. Why did Blake put on long pants and a shirt with long sleeves?
a. It was cold outside.
b. So he would not skin his knees and elbows if he fell off his bike.
c. His father told him to put them on.
d. His other clothes were dirty.
2. Blake seems to be ______about his ability to ride his bike.
a. worried
b. happy
c. confident
d. scared
3. What else could Blake wear to keep him safe as he is learning to ride his bike?
a. a tire repair kit
b. a horn or bell
c. a short-sleeved shirt
d. knee and elbow pads
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4. Why did Blake buckle his helmet tightly?
a. so it would not fall off his head
b. because a loose strap would rub on his skin
c. because his father told him to do it
d. so he wouldn't forget his helmet if he stopped to play
5. Why is it funny when Blake says, "My bike is trained enough."?
a. because Blake is laughing really hard
b. because his bike does need more training
c. because the training wheels fell off
d. because bikes don't get trained, people do
6. When did Blake ride by himself without the training wheels?
a. when he started learning to ride his bike
b. after Dad let go of the seat
c. before he put on his helmet
d. after a few days of practice
7. Another title for the story could be _____
a. Tighten that Helmet Strap!
b. Learning to Ride a Two-Wheeler.
c. Dad and Blake Go for a Bike Ride.
d. Safety Tips for Bike-Riding.
8. What activity in the story is hard to do?
a. jogging
b. balancing
c. pedaling
d. putting on the helmet tightly
9. Why might Dad have felt guilty if Blake had crashed and hurt himself while
riding without training wheels for the first time?
a. because he attached the training wheels in the wrong place
b. because he held on to the bike seat too long
c. because he forgot to remind Blake to wear his helmet
d. because he took the training wheels off too soon
10. When training wheels are attached to a bike, _____
a. the bike goes faster than it could without the training wheels.
b. the rider is easier for people in cars to see.
c. the rider does not need to wear a helmet.
d. the bike can stand up by itself and doesn't fall over.
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Braille Challenge
2013 Preliminary
Freshman
Reading Comprehension – Passage 2
Butterflies
Butterflies are beautiful flying insects with large, colorful wings. They are found in all climates and at all altitudes of the world, although those living in habitats farther from the equator migrate to avoid cold winters. Butterflies are excellent fliers, but they can only fly if their body temperature is above 86 degrees. They sun themselves with their wings spread apart to warm up in cool weather. The speediest butterflies fly at about 30 miles per hour, or even faster. Slower butterflies travelat about 5 miles per hour.
Butterflies' colorful wings provide them with camouflage as they feed on flowers. As butterflies age, their wings become ragged and the color fades. Female butterflies are usually larger than males, and they live longer. Butterflies can live anywhere from two days to eleven months.
Butterflies use their senses to know what is going on in their environment, just like people do. Their ability to see depends on what stage they are in. Caterpillars have simple eyes with photoreceptors (light-sensitive cells) and pigments that allow them to see light and dark, but not images. Adult butterflies, however, have both compound eyes and simple eyes. Hexagonal lenses focus light from the insect's visual field onto a rhabdome (like a retina), and an optic nerve carries the message to the brain. Butterflies are able to see ultraviolet rays, something that human eyes cannot detect. Both caterpillars and butterflies have a sense of touch. Long hairs growing through holes in the caterpillar's exoskeleton allow it to feel its environment. Butterflies use sensory hairs called "setae" to feel their surroundings and get information about the wind. Many parts of the butterfly's body are used to smell, including the antennae and legs. And, a butterfly's feet can actually taste the sugar in nectar, helping the butterfly decide whether to feed from a particular flower. Butterflies are also able to hear sounds through their wings.
Sometimes people confuse butterflies and moths, but telling them apart is easy with a fewsimple observations. For a start, butterflies are diurnal and moths are nocturnal, so whether they are flying around in the daytime or at night is the first clue. Butterflies are usually brighter in color than moths and hold their wings together vertically when they rest. Moths keep their wings open and folded over their back. Butterfly antennae are shaped like clubs with a swollen tip, while those of moths are more feathery.
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Questions for “Butterflies”
1. Why might butterflies benefit from camouflage?
a. It makes it hard for predators to see them.
b. It leads them to the best kinds of flowers to feed on.
c. It helps them warm up their bodies and fly faster.
d. It gives them an advantage over other insects.
2. From the passage you can tell that diurnal means _____
a. active when the weather is warm.
b. active during the nighttime.
c. active out-of-doors.
d. active during the daytime.
3. Which butterfly would be able to fly?
a. one with a body temperature of 35 degrees
b. one with a body temperature of 90 degrees
c. one with a body temperature of 57 degrees
d. one with a body temperature of 82 degrees
4. You see an insect with large wings early in the morning. What clue might let
you know it's abutterfly and not a moth?
a. Its antennae are feathery.
b. It rests on a deck chair with its wings spread out.
c. It has six legs.
d. It rests on a flower with its wings held vertically.
5. Where might a butterfly go to warm up its body on a sunny day?
a. on top of a dead log in a forest
b. on top of a rock in a grassy meadow
c. inside a cave
d. beside a rapidly flowing stream
6. What is one difference between the senses of a caterpillar and a butterfly?
a. A caterpillar has hairs to help it feel, but a butterfly does not.
b. A butterfly has fewer eyes than a caterpillar.
c. A caterpillar cannot see objects, but a butterfly can.
d. A butterfly can see ultraviolet rays, but a human eye cannot.
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7. From the passage, you can tell that _____
a. butterflies prefer brightly colored flowers.
b. most butterflies migrate to avoid cold weather.
c. butterflies can live in both mountains and valleys.
d. the life cycle of most butterflies takes almost a year.
8. Which butterfly might be most likely to migrate? One living in _____
a. Mexico.
b. Canada.
c. Hawaii.
d. Egypt.
9. What are two differences between female and male butterflies?
a. Females are smaller than males, and they don’t live as long.
b. Females are larger than males, and they don’t live as long.
c. Females are smaller than males, and they live longer.
d. Females are larger than males, and they live longer.
10. What is the difference in speed between the fastest and slowest butterflies?
a. 6 miles per hour
b. 25 miles per hour
c. 30 miles per hour
d. 35 miles per hour
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