Read the passage “The Wright Flight” and then answer

Numbers 1 through 3.

The Wright Flight

1 From the first moment that people have seen birds flying

in the air, they have dreamt of doing the same. They thought

of ways that it could be possible. More than 2,000 years

ago, people in China made kites. A kite is basically a glider.

Gliders do not have engines. They rise into the air and stay

up by riding wind currents. Eventually, people in China built

kites big enough to carry people into the air. This allowed

people to fly, but it was not truly flying. To truly fly, the kite

needed to be controlled in some way.

2 In the late 1800s, people began to build gliders. They had

some control over them. These gliders, however, were not

stable in the air. People needed to develop a flying machine

that had an engine. This flying machine needed to be run by

a pilot.

3 In 1899, two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, started

to build a different type of glider. They worked very hard on

this new flying machine. They felt that their flying machine

held the possibility of being controlled in the air.

4 A few years later, in 1903, they were ready to try out their

flying machine. In Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville were ready with their airplane. They had named it the

Flyer. The airplane’s wings were made of wood and covered

with cotton cloth. The plane had wooden propellers. The

wingspan measured 40 feet, 4 inches. The pilot sat in the

middle of the lower wing and steered the plane by moving his

hips. They were attached to the plane’s controls.

5 With Orville as the pilot, the Flyer took off and traveled

120 feet at about 30 miles an hour! The flight lasted about

12 seconds. That sounds like almost nothing compared with

today’s flights, but it had never been done before. Orville

Wright became the first person to fly an engine-driven,

heavier-than-air machine! With this flight, the Wright

brothers made headlines—and history.

6 The people watching must have applauded loudly and

enthusiastically. As much as people wanted to fly, there were

some who thought it simply could not be done. The Wright

brothers’ achievement assured people that heavier-than-air

machines could take off and stay in the air. They also could

land where and when people wanted them to land. At first,

the Wright brothers thought they had bitten off more than

they could chew. This success proved that humans finally had

realized their ancient dream of controlled flight.



Based on information in paragraph 6, what does the idiom [u]bite off more than you can chew [/u]mean?

Read the story “The Night Before” and then answer

Numbers 4 through 6.

The Night Before

1 Running Deer sat on the hill, under the countless stars that lit

the night sky of the Great Plains. He was a Lakota Sioux.

His people were a powerful nation that always rose to the

challenges before them. They were the owners of a beautifully

rich landscape. Running Deer sat amongst his people and

listened to stories about a new group who was arriving at their

land. These settlers were coming with a mysterious need for

land, and had been stealing the land from the rightful owners.

2 The settlers had started traveling through the east, taking

land as they spread west. It was American Indian land, but

the settlers had loosened their hold on the land, and taken

whatever they wanted. The Native Americans only had a few

patches of land left to call their own.

3 At first, Running Deer listened to the stories with

amazement. In the midst of so much land, how could these

people always want more? Then his amazement turned to

anger. Now there was great sadness.

4 The settlers had reached the eastern edge of the Great

Plains. What would happen now? As leader of the Lakota

Sioux, it was Running Deer’s responsibility to make the right

decision for his people.

5 Running Deer had heard about a group of Native Americans

to the east. At first, they had welcomed the settlers. The settlers

had promised that they could keep their land. The settlers

broke their promise, took the land, and made them leave. Now

the settlers were building a town with big wooden houses on

this land. They were putting up fences. They had rules about

who could use the land and what they could do with it. The

American Indians who had lived there were pushed west.

6 Running Deer was willing to fight for Sioux land. He

would stay on his horse for days, letting his body become

full of sores, if that would help. But would it? There were so

many settlers. They had better weapons. Was it better to give

up their land so that the Sioux might live? Or was it better to

fight for what was theirs? What if fighting meant there would

be no one left to live on the land if they won?

7 Tomorrow was the great council, when all the Sioux chiefs

would talk this over. Sitting here tonight, Running Deer did

not know what the council would decide. But he did know

that, for his people, life would never be the same.



Read this sentence from the story: His people were a powerful nation that always [u]rose to the cchallenges[/u] before them.

The idiom [u]rose to the challenges [/u]means ______