Analyze How Ideas Are Developed Practice Test

Read the passage and answer the question.

(1) In the 1930s, many farmers in the Great Plains watched dark clouds roll in, but these clouds were not rain. They were dust. This period is known as the Dust Bowl, and it changed how Americans thought about farming and the environment.

(2) The passage explains that several causes came together. Years of drought dried the soil, and strong winds picked up loose dirt. At the same time, some farming methods removed deep-rooted grasses that once held the soil in place. Without those roots, the land became easier to blow away.

(3) For example, a single dust storm could turn daytime into something like twilight. Families covered windows with wet cloths and still found dust on tables and beds. The passage describes people wearing masks and tying scarves over their faces when they went outside.

(4) As a result, many families left their farms to look for work elsewhere. The passage notes that some moved west, hoping to find better conditions. Others stayed and tried new methods to protect the soil.

(5) Furthermore, the government and scientists promoted conservation practices. Farmers began planting shelterbelts—rows of trees that slowed the wind. They also used crop rotation and left some fields unplowed to keep soil from blowing away.

(6) Today, the Dust Bowl is remembered as a lesson about how natural forces and human choices can combine. The passage connects the disaster to modern conservation by showing that protecting soil helps communities survive droughts and storms.

Question: Which statement best describes how the Dust Bowl event is developed throughout the passage?

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?