Analyze How Ideas Are Developed Practice Test

Read the passage, then answer the question.

(Paragraph 1) On a hot Alabama day in 1955, a Black seamstress named Rosa Parks climbed onto a city bus after work. She was 42 years old, quiet in manner, and already active in her local civil rights group. At the time, many Southern cities followed segregation laws that forced Black passengers to sit in certain seats.

(Paragraph 2) When the bus filled up, the driver told Parks and three other Black riders to give up their row so a white passenger could sit. The others moved. Parks stayed seated. Later she explained that she was not refusing because her legs were tired; she was tired of being treated unfairly.

(Paragraph 3) Parks was arrested, and news of her arrest spread quickly through Montgomery, Alabama. Local leaders, including a young minister named Martin Luther King Jr., helped organize a bus boycott. For 381 days, many Black residents chose to walk, carpool, or ride in shared taxis instead of taking the bus.

(Paragraph 4) The boycott was not easy. Some people walked miles to work in rain and heat. Others lost jobs or faced threats. However, the organizers kept meeting, printing flyers, and collecting donations so the boycott could continue.

(Paragraph 5) As a result, the case reached the courts, and in 1956 the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Browder v. Gayle ended bus segregation in Montgomery. Parks later said, “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”

(Paragraph 6) Today, Rosa Parks is remembered not only for one brave moment, but also for how her action helped a community work together for change. Her story shows how a single choice can lead to organized, long-term efforts that shape history.

Question: How does the author develop the significance of Rosa Parks throughout the passage?

Read the passage and answer the question.

(1) In 1969, a young engineer named Ellen Ochoa watched the first Moon landing on television and wondered what it would be like to work in space. She grew up in California and loved math and science, but she did not yet know that she would one day become an astronaut.

(2) Years later, Ochoa studied electrical engineering and earned a doctorate. Furthermore, she became interested in optics, the science of light. While working as a researcher, she helped create inventions that used lasers and computers to process images.

(3) For example, one of her patents improved the way computers recognize patterns in pictures. Another helped clean up blurry images so scientists could study them more clearly. These ideas mattered because space missions depend on accurate pictures of Earth and other planets.

(4) Ochoa also faced a new kind of challenge: becoming an astronaut is extremely competitive. In addition to strong grades, candidates must pass physical tests and learn to solve problems under pressure. Even so, she kept applying and training.

(5) As a result, in 1993 she flew on the space shuttle Discovery. During later missions, she helped operate a robotic arm and carried out experiments. She once said, “It’s important to have dreams and goals,” reminding students that big achievements begin with steady effort.

(6) In the final part of her career, Ochoa became the first Latina director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Moreover, her story shows that science is not only about ideas in a lab. It is also about teamwork, persistence, and using knowledge to explore new places.

Question: Throughout the passage, how does the author develop the idea that Ellen Ochoa’s success came from both scientific skill and persistence?​