F.O.A. Week of November 12-16

Yellowstone 1 Yellowstone National Park is unlike any other place I have ever seen. Hot water gurgles up out of the ground where you least expect it, smelling like rotten eggs and spilling across oddly colored rocks. Yellowstone holds fascination for geologists and photographers. It fascinates me too.

2 Established in 1872, Yellowstone is our oldest national park. It lies mostly in northwestern Wyoming and includes the spectacular canyon and waterfalls of the Yellowstone River. If you drop a stick in the river, it will float downstream into the Missouri River, then down the Missouri into the Mississippi River, and finally down the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. The Yellowstone River gets its water from snow- fed streams high in the mountains. I have only seen the park in the summer, and even then I found enough snow on the high slopes to make a snowball.

3 The water that most captures my imagination at Yellowstone is not the chilly water of beautiful mountain streams, but the strange hot fountains that spout from underground. Whoever heard of so many kinds of hot springs? The variety of forms and colors is overwhelming. There are hot pools, mud cauldrons, paint pots, hot spring terraces, fumaroles or steam vents, and, of course, geysers. I do not suppose many people other than specialists can keep track of them all.

4 Geysers are enough to think about for one day. Old Faithful is the most famous; it spouts high in the air, many times each day. Perhaps you have seen pictures of it Personally, I prefer the little geysers the tour guides have not discovered, the ones along the roadside without even a sign to draw your attention. There are some 200 geysers in the park, or so I have heard. It must have taken a very systematic effort to go around and count them all.

5 Here is how a geyser works. Water seeps down through the earth until it comes into contact with hot rocks far below the surface. The rocks heat the water until it is under such pressure that it inevitably bursts to the surface. Some geysers spew boiling water and steam a hundred feet or more into the air. Every geyser is different. Some spout almost continuously, others only occasionally.

5 continued… Some are regular and predictable; others leave you guessing. Sometimes the people behind the fence around Old Faithful look at their watches and grumble to each other, “When is it going to do something?” They do not think about what is happening underground as water is being heated and the pressure is building.

6 Yellowstone National Park is unlike any other place I have ever seen. It has an amazing variety of geysers and other hot springs, all different, each following its own pattern, making Yellowstone an endlessly fascinating place to visit.

Number One 11/12 Which sentence from the article is an OPINION? A. It lies mostly in northwestern Wyoming and includes the spectacular canyon and waterfalls of the Yellowstone River. B. The Yellowstone River gets its water from snow-fed streams high in the mountains. C. There are hot pools, mud cauldrons, paint pots, hot spring terraces, fumaroles or steam vents, and, of course, geysers. D. It has an amazing variety of geysers and other hot springs, all different, each following its own pattern, making Yellowstone an endlessly fascinating place to visit.

Number Two 11/12 Who would most benefit from reading this passage? A. a tourist who wants to know some of Yellowstone’s features B. an environmentalist who is interested in preserving Yellowstone’s wildlife C. a geologist writing a report on Yellowstone’s hot fountains D. an artist interested in painting some of Yellowstone’s mountains

Number One 11/13 Which sentence is an OPINION? A. Yellowstone National Park was founded in B. Geysers come in many different shapes and colors. C. The smaller geysers are more interesting than the larger ones. D. Geysers shoot water and steam into the air.

Number Two 11/13 The reader can conclude from reading the passage that the author A. is a geologist at Yellowstone. B. dislikes winter in Yellowstone. C. feels an attachment with Yellowstone. D. has visited parks other than Yellowstone.

Number Three 11/13 What is the author’s main purpose in writing this passage? A. to inform readers about Yellowstone’s hot waters B. to persuade readers to learn about Yellowstone’s hot waters C. to relate a story about a visit to Yellowstone D. to give personal impressions of Yellowstone

Number One 11/14 What does the reader learn about the narrator in paragraph 2? A. The narrator went swimming in the hot springs at Yellowstone. B. The narrator dropped a stick in the Yellowstone. C. The narrator made a snowball at Yellowstone. D. The narrator visits Yellowstone every summer.

Number Two 11/14 What is the main organizational structure of the passage? A. cause and effect B. chronological order C. main idea with details D. compare and contrast

Number One 11/15 What is the MAIN purpose of the passage? A. to tell a story about a visit to Yellowstone Park B. to compare the hot springs and mountain streams in Yellowstone Park C. to persuade the reader to visit Yellowstone Park D. to describe some of the reasons that Yellowstone Park is so interesting

Number Two 11/15 This passage is mainly about A. the history of Yellowstone. B. tourism in Yellowstone. C. the geology of Yellowstone. D. rivers ending in Yellowstone.

Number Three 11/15 How is Paragraph 5 organized? A. It compares geysers to other kinds of hot springs. B. It explains the cause of geysers and then the effects. C. It lists the many kinds of geysers in the park. D. It gives details to support the idea that geysers are fascinating.