Free printable SHSAT practice test for Grade 8

English (ELA)

Circle the letter of the best answer, or two letters where a question asks for two. About 18 minutes.

1. Keep the Library Open on Sundays

   A speech given by a seventh grader at a meeting of the Millbrook Town Council

   Good evening, members of the Millbrook Town Council. My name is Lucas Ferreira, and I am in seventh grade at Millbrook Middle School. Thank you for letting me speak tonight.

   The budget plan in front of you would close the Millbrook Public Library on Sundays, starting in January, to save money. I am asking you to vote no on that part of the plan and keep the library open on Sundays. For many people in this town, Sunday is not just one of the days the library is open. It is the only day they can get there.

   I want to start with numbers, because I know a budget is about numbers. Last month I asked Ms. Whitfield, the head librarian, how the library keeps track of its visitors. Every person who walks in passes an electronic counter at the front door, and everyone who uses a public computer signs a sheet at the desk. According to the library's own counts, an average of 214 people visited on each Sunday last year. Only Saturdays were busier.

   The computer sign-in sheets help answer the question of who those visitors are. On Sundays last year, the twelve public computers were in use during almost every hour the library was open, and more than a third of the people who signed in wrote that they were doing homework or applying for jobs. Not every family in Millbrook has internet at home, and for some of them the library is the only free place in town to get online, and Sunday is the only day the adults are not at work.

   Let me give you one example. My neighbor, Mrs. Tran, works six days a week at the hospital. On Sunday afternoons, she walks her two sons to the library, and they each come home with a stack of books taller than their lunch boxes. If the doors are locked on Sundays, that walk will simply stop.

   Sunday hours matter for students, too. Every Sunday afternoon during the school year, volunteers from Millbrook High School run a free homework help table in the library's back room. The sign-in sheet for that table shows 1,140 visits last school year, about 30 every Sunday. I was one of them. Projects and tests are usually due on Monday, and Sunday is when many of us finally sit down and discover what we don't understand.

   The library is also one of the oldest buildings in Millbrook, and its reading room, with its tall windows and wooden shelves, is the most beautiful room in town.

   Now, I understand the other side of this. The town manager's report says that keeping the library open on Sundays costs about $26,000 a year, mostly to pay two staff members. That is real money, and you have a hard job. You have to balance the budget, and every dollar you spend in one place is a dollar you cannot spend somewhere else. I don't think anyone who wants to close the library on Sundays wants to hurt the library.

   But look at what that money buys. If 214 people come in every Sunday, that is more than 11,000 visits a year. Divide $26,000 by 11,000 visits, and Sunday hours cost the town less than $2.50 a visit. That is a bargain. And if the cost is still too high, there is a middle path. Right now the library is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. Ms. Whitfield told me that opening at noon instead would cut the cost by more than a quarter, and the counts show that Sunday mornings are the quietest part of the day anyway.

   So here is what I am asking. When you vote on the budget next week, please keep the library's Sunday hours, even if they have to be shorter ones. For the families who can only come on Sunday, a library with locked doors that day is hardly a library at all. Thank you.

   1.

   What is the central claim of Lucas's speech?

   1. AThe library should stop letting students use its computers on Saturdays and Sundays.
   2. BThe council should keep the library open on Sundays, even if the hours are shorter.
   3. CThe council should move money from the library to the high school.
   4. DThe library should charge a small fee for each Sunday visit.
2. 2.

   How does Lucas answer the counterclaim that Sunday hours cost too much?

   1. AHe claims that the town manager's report has its numbers about staff costs mixed up.
   2. BHe skips the cost and talks about the beauty of the reading room.
   3. CHe admits the cost is real, shows it is small per visit, and offers shorter hours.
   4. DHe insists that cost should never matter when a library is at stake.
3. 3.

   Which TWO pieces of evidence best support Lucas's point that some residents depend on the library to get online? Choose two answers.

   1. AOnly Saturdays were busier than Sundays.
   2. BThe twelve public computers were in use almost every hour on Sundays.
   3. CThe reading room has tall windows and wooden shelves.
   4. DThe homework table had 1,140 visits last school year.
   5. EMore than a third of computer users signed in to do homework or apply for jobs.
4. 4.

   Why does Lucas tell the story of his neighbor, Mrs. Tran?

   1. ATo show what the visitor counts mean for one real family
   2. BTo explain how the library counts its visitors
   3. CTo prove that the hospital should close on Sundays
   4. DTo show that her sons read more books than other children
5. 5.

   Lucas calls the Sunday hours "a bargain." What does this word suggest about how he sees the cost?

   1. AThe Sunday hours should go to whoever offers to pay the most.
   2. BThe town gets a great deal of value for a small price.
   3. CThe library should start charging for every visit.
   4. DThe cost is a secret that the council has hidden.
6. 6.

   How does the paragraph that begins "Now, I understand the other side of this" fit into the speech?

   1. AIt is the introduction, where Lucas first states his claim.
   2. BIt repeats the evidence about the homework help table.
   3. CIt turns from Lucas's reasons to the strongest objection, which he then answers.
   4. DIt is the conclusion, where Lucas asks the council to vote.
7. 7.

   In the speech, what does "balance" mean in "You have to balance the budget"?

   1. Amake the money spent match the money available
   2. Bsplit the budget into two perfectly equal halves
   3. Chold the budget steady on a scale
   4. Dread the budget aloud at a meeting
8. 8.

   Neither the twins nor their older brother ______ at home right now.

   Which word or words best complete the sentence?

   1. Aare
   2. Bis
   3. Cwere
   4. Dhave been
9. 9.

   The school counselor is trained to ______ students who feel stressed about tests.

   Which word best completes the sentence?

   1. Acouncil
   2. Bcancel
   3. Ccounsel
   4. Dcounsels
10. 10.

    Which sentence uses commas correctly?

    1. AThe museum has a bright cheerful, mural painted by local students.
    2. BThe museum, has a bright, cheerful mural painted by local students.
    3. CThe museum has a bright, cheerful mural painted by local students.
    4. DThe museum has a bright cheerful mural painted by local students.