GRADE 3 READING - 2011 RELEASED TEST

READING PASSAGES

Directions: Read the story and answer questions 1 - 8.

Ready for the Race

1 “Do you want to come with me?” Kelly asked her brother as she rolled her bike out of the garage. “I’m going to meet some friends at the bike course down the block. We’re going to practice for the race next week.”

2 “No thanks,” Marcus replied as he bounced a ball in the driveway. “Sam’s coming over to play basketball.”

3 Kelly rode off on her bike while Marcus waited for his friend. Marcus was fast, and he usually did well in most sports. He didn’t think it would help if he practiced the course. It could be hilly or sandy, and Marcus knew he would still speed along.

4 When race day finally arrived, Marcus and Kelly put on their helmets and rode their bikes to the Oak Park Trails with their parents.

5 “My stomach feels like I swallowed some butterflies,” Kelly told Marcus when they saw the crowd of kids. They joined the other bike riders behind some bright orange cones.

6 “Kelly is always nervous,” Marcus thought. “Don’t worry. You’ll do fine,” he said as he focused on the road ahead. As soon as the starter yelled “Go!” Marcus’s legs pumped up and down like two machines. He quickly zoomed to the front of the pack.

7 A few minutes later he was zipping down the trail, and there wasn’t anyone ahead of him! Marcus raced along the trail. He bumped over tree roots and rode past some pine trees. Then the path looped around a pond. Marcus was surprised that the course was so long.

8 His tired legs felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. All at once, a flash of color caught his eye. There was a line of bike riders on the trail ahead of him! “How could this be?” Marcus groaned to himself as he pushed forward. “I must have taken a wrong turn and made an extra loop in the course,” he thought.

9 Marcus gritted his teeth and pushed his achy muscles harder. He realized his speed alone wouldn’t be enough this time; knowing the course was just as important. He edged past a couple of bike riders, but he couldn’t reach the riders who were in the lead.

10 After the race Marcus saw his sister at the finish line, and he rode over to her. “Wow, you must have done a good job in the race. What place did you get?” Marcus asked Kelly.

11 “I came in third place. Mom and Dad said I would even receive a medal!” Kelly answered excitedly.

12 “That’s great! I came in ninth place. But I’ll do better next year because I’ll be smart enough to practice the course with you,” Marcus replied with a grin.
Read the recipe and answer the questions that follow.

Dirt for Dessert

Dirt is very useful in planting gardens and building roads. Did you know there is a kind of “dirt” that you can eat? It is a dessert called dirt cake. This tasty treat is fun and easy to make.

flower.pngItems to Make the Cake:
1 package of chocolate cookies
1 stick of butter
1 package of soft cream cheese
2 small boxes of instant chocolate pudding mix
3 cups of milk
1 container of whipped cream
15 candy worms

Supplies You Will Need:
A one-gallon plastic bag
A rolling pin
1 large bowl
Measuring cups
An electric mixer
1 big wooden spoon
1 new medium-sized flowerpot (This will be used in place of a pan.)
3 new plastic flowers

What You Will Do :
1. Put the cookies into the plastic bag. Tightly close the bag.
2. Press the rolling pin over the bag to crush the cookies into crumbs. You will use these crumbs later as the “dirt” in the dessert.
3. Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Ask an adult to help you use the mixer. Blend the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is smooth.
4. Next add the milk, chocolate pudding mix, and whipped cream to the bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until it looks creamy.
5. Then place 1/2 of the cookie crumbs into the bowl and stir well.
6. You can now pour this mixture into the flowerpot.
7. Cover the top of the mixture with the remaining cookie crumbs.
8. Carefully tuck the candy worms into the top of the cake. Stick the plastic flowers around the worms.
9. Put your cake in the refrigerator for about three hours.
Your cake will look like a real plant with dirt, worms, and flowers. The cake will serve about fifteen people. It will be the best “dirt” you will ever eat!
Read the story and answer the questions that follow.

The King’s Riddle

1 There was a kingdom long, long ago. It was ruled by a king who loved riddles. Once every year the king made a new riddle. He gave a prize to the person who could solve the riddle.

2 There was a baker who also lived in this kingdom. Everyone agreed that he baked the finest breads. The baker had almost everything he needed except for a horse. If the baker had a horse, he could sell his fine breads from one end of the kingdom to the other.

3 One year the king made a new riddle that puzzled everyone. “I will give a prize to the person who can solve my riddle,” the king said. “Whoever wins will have the pick of one of my strongest horses.”

4 He then drew a line down the middle of the courtyard. “Make this line shorter without erasing any part of it,” the king challenged.

5 People came from far and wide. They looked at the line and squinted at it. They even put their noses to the ground and scratched their heads.

6 “How can you make a line shorter without erasing any part of it?” the people in the crowd asked each other.

7 Some of the villagers tried, however. The dressmaker kicked dirt over the line to hide it. The farmer poured water over the line to make it disappear. None of these attempts worked, and the people went home disappointed.

8 Everyone was puzzled about how to solve this new riddle.

9 A week passed, and nobody had any new ideas. Then one day the baker came into the courtyard with a bag of flour.

10 “Your Majesty,” the baker said to the king, “I can make your line shorter without erasing any part of it.”

11 The baker opened his sack of flour. He poured out a line of flour right next to the king’s line. The line the baker made was longer than the king’s line.

12 “Now, good king,” the baker smiled, “your line is shorter.”

13 The people were amazed. The king laughed and clapped his hands. “You have won the prize. I will give you a horse of your choice.”

14 The baker was thrilled. Now he could sell his breads from one end of the kingdom to the other.
Directions: Read the article and answer the questions that follow.

Driven to See Movies

1 Have you ever thought of a new idea you would like to try? In the 1930s a man named Richard Hollingshead, Jr., did. He thought of an idea that brought together his two favorite interests: cars and movies. Richard wanted to start a business where people could watch movies from their cars.
cars.png
2 Richard tested the idea in his driveway. First he put a machine, called a movie projector, on the hood of his car. Then Richard stretched a sheet between two trees. The sheet was like the white screen used in theaters. Richard played a movie on the “screen” using the movie projector. Sound for the movie came from a radio placed behind the sheet. Next Richard wanted to test whether the sound could be heard from the car. He rolled his car windows up and down to find the best way to hear the movie. Finally he aimed his water sprinkler at the car, which tested whether a movie could be
seen and heard in the rain. Every test he tried was a success.

3 In 1933 he was ready to open the first drive-in movie theater. The theater was as big as a football field. There was enough room for about 400 cars. The screen was 30 feet high and 40 feet wide. Speakers were placed next to the screen so the sound could be heard.

4 Right away, Richard’s idea of a drive-in movie theater was a hit. The cost to see a movie was just 25 cents per person. Over the years, changes were made to these theaters. By the 1950s there were about 5,000 drive-in movie theaters across the country. They remained popular until television came along.

5 Today there are fewer than 800 drive-in movie theaters. People who live near them, though, still enjoy this fun activity. Today drive-in movie theaters give people the same joy as they did more than 70 years ago.