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The Chocolate Collection Unit Reading Assessment: Selected Response Questions
The Chocolate Collection Unit Reading Assessment: Selected Response Questions
There are 20 selected response questions in the first part of the exam.
Check with your teacher to see how much time you have to complete this portion of the
exam. Definitions for the underlined Reveal words can be found in the glossary at the end of
each excerpt.
Directions
Read each passage and answer the questions that follow.
Chocolate played several roles during World War II. In one case, Nazis
attempted to kill England’s prime minister, Winston Churchill, with an
exploding chocolate bar. They intended to hide a chocolate bar bomb among
other chocolates in Churchill’s dining room. Luckily, British spies uncovered
the plot before any damage could be done. This letter describes the
chocolate bomb:
1 Dear Fish,
2 I wonder if you could do a drawing for me of an explosive slab of chocolate. We have
received information that the enemy are using pound slabs of chocolate which are made
of steel with a very thin covering of real chocolate. In side there is high explosive and some
form of delay mechanism, but we do not know what, so it could not be put in the drawing.
When you break off a piece of chocolate at one end in the normal way, instead of it falling
away, a piece of canvas is revealed stuck into the middle of the piece which has been broken
off and sticking into the middle of the remainder of the slab. When the piece of chocolate
is pulled sharply, the canvas is also pulled and this initiates the mechanism. I enclose a very
poor sketch done by somebody who has seen one of these. It is wrapped in the usual sort of
black paper with gold lettering, the variety being PETERS. Would it be possible for you to do
a drawing of this, one possibly with the paper half taken off revealing one end and another
with the piece broken off showing the canvas. The text should indicate that this piece
together with the attached canvas is pulled out sharply and that after a delay of seven
seconds the bomb goes off.
3 Please return the enclosed drawing.
4 Yours sincerely,
5 Lord Rothschild
Glossary
plot–secret plan / complot
1. Which sentence in the letter from Lord Rothschild (a British intelligence officer)
explains what caused him to request the drawing you see below the letter? Select
one of the sentences below.
“When the piece of chocolate is pulled sharply, the canvas is also pulled and this
initiates the mechanism.”
a. tugs on
b. communicates with
c. begins
d. introduces
3. What information from the letter is shown in the illustration? Select THREE.
a. “Slabs of chocolate which are made of steel with a very thin covering of
real chocolate.”
b. “Inside there is high explosive and some form of delay mechanism.”
c. “A piece of canvas is revealed stuck into the middle of the piece which
has been broken off and sticking into the middle of the remainder of
the slab.”
d. “This initiates the mechanism.”
e. “The paper half taken off revealing one end and another with the piece
broken off showing the canvas.”
“The bomb is made of steel with a thin covering of real chocolate. When the piece
of chocolate at the end is broken off the canvas shown is pulled, and after a delay
of seven seconds the bomb explodes.”
What information from the letter is NOT included in this caption? Select ONE.
Today, most cacao comes from plantations in Africa that use slave labor.
1 Have you had chocolate recently? Most Americans eat about twelve pounds of it each
year! But many people don’t know that children in West Africa pick most of the world’s
cocoa beans, which is the main ingredient in chocolate. Cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast
make about half of the chocolate eaten in America in one year. Child labor is becoming of
increasing concern to people who buy chocolate. Here’s why:
2 Imagine this: 12-year old Sametta lives in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa. She wakes up at
4:00 a.m., eats millet porridge, then walks two miles to her family’s cocoa bean field. For the
next 12 hours she picks cocoa pods and breaks them open so she can scoop out the 30–50
seeds, or “beans,” inside. About 400 beans are needed to make one pound of chocolate.
Sametta does not go to school. Her family needs her to work in order for them to survive.
Her health is at risk because she uses a sharp machete to harvest the cocoa pods, which are
sprayed with poisonous pesticides.
A True Story
3 This is not a story from 200 years ago. It’s happening right now! Every day in the Ivory
Coast, as well as in Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, about 300,000 children are forced to
pick cocoa beans that will be sold to big chocolate companies like Nestle and Cargill. About
6,000 of these children are treated like slaves—they sleep in dirty rooms, work 12-hour days
without pay, are fed very little, and are sometimes whipped. Most of the other children work
on their family farms where they need to sell every bean to make money for their families to
survive. Going to school is out of the question.
4 The reason is money. Extremely poor countries send children to work in other countries
where cocoa beans grow. In exchange their government is paid. Also, families who own the
cocoa bean farms are very poor. For generations they have depended on growing and selling
cocoa beans as their main means of survival. Without help from their children the farmers
would not be able to buy food. Big chocolate companies like Mars/M&M want to buy cocoa
beans for as little cash as possible so that they can make big profits selling their chocolate
products. Chocolate companies pay farmers a very low price for their cocoa beans. Most
farmers only earn between $30 and $100 a year. Cheap or free labor means more profits for
the chocolate companies.
5 In 2001 the U.S. government created a document, the Harkin-Engel Protocol, that
called the chocolate companies to help eliminate child slavery and child labor by July 2005.
However, chocolate companies have not abided by this protocol and the deadline has been
extended to July 2008. Even if the companies do convince countries to stop selling their
children, and they teach farmers that their children need to go to school, the cocoa farmers
would still make barely enough money to survive.
6 There is hope. An emerging group of farms in Africa and South America are called
Fair Trade Certified. Companies that buy cocoa beans from these farmers sign a document
promising to pay the farmers a fair trade price which is enough for them to buy food and
clothing for their families and send their children to school. There are about 45,000 farmers
in this program. Chocolate made from these farmers’ beans is labeled Fair Trade. Also,
all organic chocolate made with cocoa grown on farms without child laborers is labeled
fair trade.
7 Farmers must have control over their cocoa bean prices. Before 1999, the government in
the Ivory Coast set a minimum price for cocoa, but then the cocoa industry was privatized and
the minimum price disappeared. Groups like Save the Children say that minimum price laws
need to return.
How Can You Help and Take Pride in What You Eat?
8 There are several ways. The first is when you get a craving for delicious chocolate, buy
it from companies that have the Fair Trade label, or buy organic chocolate. Second, tell all
your friends to do the same! Third, write letters to the biggest chocolate companies (Nestle,
M&M/Mars and Hershey) telling them that they need to buy at least some of their cocoa
from Fair Trade Certified farms so that kids can go to school. Lastly, when your school has a
fundraiser, choose to sell Fair Trade products. Now chocolate can be eaten fair and square!
By Deborah Dunn. Reprinted with permission of Skipping Stones, Nov–Dec 2008, Vol. 20, no. 5
Glossary
abided by–followed / acatado: machete–long knife / machete: profits–money that’s earned
seguido cuchillo largo after subtracting costs /
craving–powerful desire / antojo: means–way / medio: forma ganancias: dinero que se
fuerte deseo gana después de restar los
organic–all-natural / orgánico:
costos
document–piece of writing / completamente natural
documento: pieza escrita protocol–official way of doing
pesticides–insect-killing
things / protocolo: manera
eliminate–get rid of / eliminar: chemicals / pesticidas:
oficial de hacer las cosas
acabar con sustancias químicas para
generations–time periods matar insectos
between the birth of parents privatized–taken out of the
and the birth of their children / public’s control / privatizada:
generaciones: periodos entre dejó de estar bajo control
el nacimiento de los padres y público
el nacimiento de sus hijos
5. What is the author’s MAIN purpose for beginning paragraph 1 with a question
to readers?
6. Paragraph 2 describes Sametta’s daily routine. It states that Sametta “does not go
to school.” Which sentence in this paragraph BEST explains why?
a. Imagine this: 12-year old Sametta lives in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa. b. She
wakes up at 4:00 a.m., eats millet porridge, then walks two miles to her family’s
cocoa bean field. c. For the next 12 hours she picks cocoa pods and breaks them
open so she can scoop out the 30–50 seeds, or “beans,” inside. d. About 400
beans are needed to make one pound of chocolate. e. Sametta does not go to
school. f. Her family needs her to work in order for them to survive. g. Her health
is at risk because she uses a sharp machete to harvest the cocoa pods, which are
sprayed with poisonous pesticides.
Which statement BEST describes the meaning of the phrase “out of the question”
as it is used in this sentence?
“For generations they have depended on growing and selling cocoa beans as their
main means of survival.”
a. Method
b. Definition
c. Purpose
d. Demonstration
“Big chocolate companies like Mars/M&M want to buy cocoa beans for as little
cash as possible so that they can make big profits selling their chocolate products.
Chocolate companies pay farmers a very low price for their cocoa beans. Most
farmers only earn between $30 and $100 a year. Cheap or free labor means more
profits for the chocolate companies.”
This excerpt supports which TWO inferences (conclusions) about big chocolate
companies?
a. Big chocolate companies feel bad about the harsh conditions faced by
their child laborers.
b. Paying workers low wages is one way big chocolate companies can
keep profits high.
c. Big chocolate companies have the power to decide how much they will
pay for cocoa beans.
d. Big chocolate companies did not make enough profits in the past, so
they feel pressure to make higher profits now.
e. Big chocolate companies plan to start paying laborers more as soon as
they have raised enough cash.
10. Which sentence from paragraph 5 MOST CLEARLY states that a lack of money
among farming families is the biggest reason for child labor?
a. In 2001 the U.S. government created a document, the Harkin-Engel Protocol,
that called the chocolate companies to help eliminate child slavery and child labor
by July 2005. b. However, chocolate companies have not abided by this protocol
and the deadline has been extended to July 2008. c. Even if the companies do
convince countries to stop selling their children, and they teach farmers that their
children need to go to school, the cocoa farmers would still make barely enough
money to survive.
11. Which sentence from paragraph 6 BEST explains what “Fair Trade Certified”
means?
a. There is hope. b. An emerging group of farms in Africa and South America are
called Fair Trade Certified. c. Companies that buy cocoa beans from these farmers
sign a document promising to pay the farmers a fair trade price which is enough
for them to buy food and clothing for their families and send their children to
school. d. There are about 45,000 farmers in this program. e. Chocolate made
from these farmers’ beans is labeled Fair Trade. f. Also, all organic chocolate made
with cocoa grown on farms without child laborers is labeled fair trade.
12. Which sentence from paragraph 6 MOST clearly states the writer’s point of view?
a. There is hope. b. An emerging group of farms in Africa and South America are
called Fair Trade Certified. c. Companies that buy cocoa beans from these farmers
sign a document promising to pay the farmers a fair trade price which is enough
for them to buy food and clothing for their families and send their children to
school. d. There are about 45,000 farmers in this program. e. Chocolate made
from these farmers’ beans is labeled Fair Trade. f. Also, all organic chocolate made
with cocoa grown on farms without child laborers is labeled fair trade.
Before 1999, the government in the Ivory Coast set a minimum price for cocoa,
but then the cocoa industry was privatized and the minimum price disappeared.
What does the author mean by the underlined word? Fill in the blank with the set of
words that best completes the sentence.
14. In paragraph 1, the author makes a claim: “Child labor is becoming of increasing
concern to people who buy chocolate.” Which of the following types of evidence
does the author use to support this claim?
Yes No
15. Which sentence from the text BEST shows that Fair Trade is good for farmers?
16. With which sentence would the author MOST LIKELY agree?
17. The author of this article makes various arguments about the chocolate industry.
Match each piece of evidence to the claim it supports by writing the correct letter
on each blank.
Claims Evidence
Part 2: Which statement about the article’s structure BEST supports your answer
in Part 1?
government in the Ivory Coast set a minimum price for cocoa, but then the cocoa
industry was privatized and the minimum price disappeared. c. Groups like Save
the Children say that minimum price laws need to return.
In 1910, William A. Cadbury, head of the Cadbury chocolate company, wrote a letter
to the owners of some cacao estates in Angola, West Africa. His company usually
bought all of their cacao beans from these estates, but he said that he would no
longer buy cacao from them unless they stopped using slave labor. Read this
excerpt from his letter:
“The abuses which are still taking place in your colony of Angola are, I believe ... the
last traces of a bad system that you all deplore [hate], and will, I believe, remove
with a strong hand, so that it shall not be possible to associate the name of slavery
with that of your great nation.”
20. Read the following statements and indicate whether each one is supported by
Deborah Dunn’s writing, by William A. Cadbury’s writing, or by both authors’ writing.
Directions
Complete the constructed response question assigned by your teacher.
The Chocolate Collection Unit Reading Assessment