Please do not write on this

      The dehydration of food involves removing the moisture from food so that it will last longer. Some people have food dehydration machines in their homes to help them preserve food for longer periods of time. To be successful at dehydrating food, start with fruits and vegetables. Meat and fish can also be dried, but they are more complicated. Only use the best quality produce for drying. Many people think that since the food will be wrinkled up when it is dried that low quality produce can be used. This is not so! Choose produce that is fresh, firm, clean, and free of bruises. Fruits and vegetables at the peak of ripeness always have the finest flavor. They are also prettier to look at. Unripened food will lack color after dehydrating. Overripe fruit will be too soft and mushy to dehydrate properly, and overripe vegetables become tough. In short, use the best quality produce you can get your hands on for dehydrating because that will determine the quality of the dried food you ultimately take out. 

A.

adventurous

B.

hopeful

C.

negative

D.

informative

      Allergic reactions to three native American plants—poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, all members of the plant genus Toxicodendron—have been sources of misery for many centuries. Native Americans warned the early settlers about the ill effects of these plants, and Captain John Smith described them in his journal, thus making the first report of an allergic disease in America.

A.

Poison ivy killed entire tribes of Native Americans.

B.

A cure for poison ivy is being developed.

C.

Many native American plants cause very uncomfortable allergic reactions.

D.

Captain John Smith is known as a great physician.

      My parents should have been home over an hour ago. I've been lying here, in bed, for hours, but I can't sleep. The room is dark except for the dull, yellow glow of the light in the alley shining through my curtains giving the room a sickly, haunted sort of look. That noise in the backyard happens every time I am close to sleep. The wind is howling, but still I can make out the faint skreeeeee sound, which is like nails on a chalkboard. At first I think it is the gate swinging, but then I remember that I had boarded the gate shut. It seems to be something moving slowly this way. But then the noise disappears, and I am near sleep again when suddenly I hear theskreeeeeeee sound. My heart is racing. I want to be brave but wonder where my parents are; they should have been home already. I need them to look out into the backyard to tell me everything is normal. Instead, I lie here with wide eyes in a cold sweat and scared out of my wits! They should be here!

A.

"chalkboard" and "gate"

B.

"backyard" and "swinging"

C.

"haunted" and "scared"

D.

"sleep" and "boarded"

A.

the girl

B.

the author

C.

the teacher

D.

the book