Text Structure Practice

People used to hunt green turtles to use their skin for leather. As a result, the green turtle population is much lower than it used to be.

Thomas Adams was an inventor and scientist. He wanted to use chicle, a rubberlike substance, to make tires, toys, and boots, but all his efforts failed. How could he find a use for chicle? Finally, he tried chewing it. It tasted good, and he enjoyed chewing it. He decided to add flavor and make chewing gum out of chicle.

The New York Daily News is the top-selling city newspaper in this country. After that comes the Los Angeles Times. Coming in third place is The New York Times. The Chicago Tribune, Detroit News, and Detroit Free Press are next. Following those is the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Florida worm lizard does not have legs or feet. It is about eight inches long and looks like a giant earthworm, because it is pink. It doesn’t have eyes or ears, but it has a mouth that looks like other lizards’ mouths. Its body is covered with scales.

Benjamin Franklin worked for the Boston News-Letter when he was 13. He then moved to Pennsylvania and worked as a printer. During this time, he also wrote. Then, in 1728, he began printing The Pennsylvania Gazette. He printed the Gazette for about the next 20 years.

Some news stories tell about bad things that happened. They might be about fires, crimes, or deaths. Other news stories tell about good events. They might be about heroes or celebrations. Both kinds of stories are news. Yet they are very different kinds of news.

The giant ship Titanic set off on April 10, 1912. It was on its way from England to the United States. The ship sailed for four days. Then, on April 14, the ship safely passed through some icebergs. But later that night, it struck an iceberg. It sank into the ocean a few hours later.

Plaid is a name for a pattern that is used to weave fabric. A pattern is called plaid when it has lines of coloring going up, and different lines of color going across. The lines are usually both thick and thin. A plaid cloth is often very colorful and cheerful.

Some places are named after people. Washington is named after President Washington. Madison, Wisconsin, is named after President Madison. In contrast, other places are named for something in nature. Green Lake, Wisconsin, is named for the color of its lake.

Chef Crum was angry. A customer kept sending his potatoes back, saying that they were not cut thin enough. How could the chef satisfy this customer? He finally cut the potatoes into chips. They were so thin that you could see through them. The customer couldn’t complain anymore.