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Main Idea

Directions: Read each passage and ask yourself, "What is the author doing in this paragraph?"  Write your answer in the summary box and then think of an appropriate title for the passage based on the main idea of the passage.

1.  A penny for your thoughts?  If it’s a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars.  In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra-rare.  Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny.  These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters.  If it’s uncirculated, it’d easily fetch $25,000 at an auction.  Now that’s a pretty penny.  

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2.  Before you put on that skeleton costume and rove door-to-door pandering for candy, take a minute to reflect on this tradition. Halloween is believed to have come from an ancient Celtic festival dating back some 2,000 years. November 1st was the Celtic New Year and marked the end of summer to the Celts. They celebrated on its eve by wearing costumes made of animal skins and dancing around bon fires. Over the next two millennia, this primitive celebration grew to be the candy fueled costume ball that we know today.  

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3.  When one hears the term "reality" applied to a show, one might expect that the events portrayed occurred naturally or, at the least, were not scripted. This is not always the case.  Many reality shows occur in unreal environments, like rented mansions occupied by film crews.  Such living environments do not reflect what most people understand to be "reality."  Worse, there have been accusations that events not captured on film were later restaged by producers.  Worse still, some involved in the production of "reality" television claim that the participants were urged to act out story lines premeditated by producers.  With such accusations floating around, it's no wonder many people take reality TV to be about as real as the sitcom.  

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4.  It is estimated that over twenty million pounds of candy corn are sold in the US each year. Brach’s, the top manufacturer, sells enough candy corn to circle the earth 4.25 times if each piece were laid end to end.  That’s a lot of candy corn, but that’s nothing compared to the production of Tootsie Rolls. Over 64 million Tootsie Rolls are produced every day! But even Tootsie Rolls have got nothing on the candy industry’s staple product: chocolate. Confectioners manufacture over twenty billion pounds of chocolate in the United States each year. Now that’s a mouthful!

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5.  Screech! When a driver pushes on the brake pedal, it initiates a process that causes the vehicle to stop in motion. We literally trust  braking systems with our lives every time we get into a vehicle or cross at a busy intersection. How does this life-critical process work? It begins when the pedal is pushed. At this moment brake fluid is released into the braking mechanisms. As the fluid collects, this creates a leverage, which causes a friction to be applied. This friction will create a force that will cause the wheels to stop and allow you to reach your destination safely.  Beep! Beep!

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6.  There are many types of lethal venom in the animal kingdom, but perhaps no stranger carrier than the platypus. The platypus is one of few venomous mammals. Male platypus carry a venom cocktail in their ankle spurs. This venom incapacitates victims with excruciating pain. Stranger still, the platypus is the only mammal that uses electroreception. That means that the platypus uses its bill to sense the electricity produced by the muscular movements of its prey. Electroreception is a sixth sense different from seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling. Perhaps most odd, the platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young. What an odd creature indeed.   

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7.  Yellowstone National Park is mainly located in Wyoming, although three percent is located in the state of Montana.  The Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the southwestern part of the park.  The park sits on the Yellowstone Plateau, which is an average elevation of 8,000 feet above sea level.  This plateau is bounded on nearly all sides by mountain ranges.  There are 290 waterfalls that are at least fifteen feet in the park, the highest being the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, which falls 308 feet.   

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8.  Being a clown isn't all fun and games. Rodeo clowns expose themselves to great danger every time they perform. When cowboys dismount or bulls buck them off, rodeo clowns jump in front of the bulls and motion wildly to get their attention. In this way rodeo clowns provide an alternate target, and in doing so protect the rider. Of course, this is a very dangerous thing to do. So you see, sometimes clowning around can be serious business.

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9.  Wolverines are medium sized mammals. They weigh no more than 50 lbs. Yet they have earned their reputation for ferocity by killing prey many times their size. But why do they get in so many fights? The reason why wolverines have so many conflicts with other animals (including wolves, cougars, and even bears) is probably because of the wolverine's preferred hunting style. Rather than chasing down or tricking its prey like most hunters, the wolverine prefers to take its meals directly from other hunters. So while a polar bear or a lone wolf might be enjoying a hard earned carcass, a hungry wolverine may try to take his lunch. As you might imagine, this style of hunting get the wolverine in plenty of fights.

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10 .   Sometime in December of 1891, Dr. James Naismith was teaching gym at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was raining, and Dr. Naismith was trying to keep his students active. He wanted them playing a vigorous game that would keep them moving. He rejected a few ideas that were too rough. Then Naismith had his breakthrough. He wrote out the rules for a game with peach baskets fixed to ten-foot elevated tracks. Naismith's students played against one another, passing the ball around and shooting it into the peach baskets. Dribbling wasn't a part of the original game. Also it took a while to realize that the game would run more smoothly if the bottoms of the baskets were removed. But this game grew to be one of the most popular sports in America today. Can you guess which one?

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11.  What's that humming sound? Could it be the hummingbird, the only bird capable of backward flight? Hummingbirds have many unique flight habits that distinguish them from other birds. Most birds flap their wings up and down to fly, but the hummingbird moves its wings forward and backward very rapidly in a figure eight pattern. This allows the hummingbird to hover in position. They can also fly upside down and move about very rapidly.  Other birds have to push off with their feet to begin flying and work their ways up to their top speeds. The hummingbird can both start flying at maximum speed and stop flying instantaneously. Once you've seen a hummingbird in flight, it's unlikely that you'll mistake them for another bird.  

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12.  Remember, if something is worth doing, it is worth doing correctly. That said, the key to making perfect cookies is merely a matter of preparation and precision. To begin with, read your cookie recipe thoroughly before baking. Make sure that you have all the necessary ingredients before you continue. Next, use good tools and utensils. Sometimes, the craftsperson is only as good as his or her tools. By using good tools you minimize mistakes and improve the quality of your product. Last, use top quality ingredients. Unlike characters in fairytales, you can't turn lead into gold. If you use poor quality materials, you'll create inferior products. So, to make perfect cookies you should use the highest quality materials available. Bon appetite!  

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13.  You might think that all automobile fuels are the same, but they aren't. Automobiles can run on one of three types of fuel: gasoline, diesel, and biodiesel. All these fuels are burned inside of the engine, which creates the heat and energy that is used to power the car. But there are important differences between these fuels. Gasoline and diesel are more common than biodiesel. But each burns differently. Diesel fuel is heavier and less flammable than gasoline, so it has to be compressed before it will burn. Gasoline may be lighter than diesel, but both fuels are made from crude oil. On the other hand, biodiesel fuel is made from vegetables. Both biodiesel and diesel fuels must be burned in diesel engines, which only use diesel fuel. If gasoline is pumped into a diesel engine, it will have to be pumped out. These fuels may look pretty similar at the gas station, but remember that there are important differences between them or it may cost you.

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1.  What do you get when you cross a robot and an astronaut?  A Robonaut!  Robonauts are robot helpers designed to work side-by-side with astronauts.  Work on the first Robonaut began in 1997, and by 2002 Robonaut B was revealed to the public.  Robonaut B featured interchangeable lower bodies, like four-wheel mode or hydraulic legs. Yet scientists and engineers continued to improve Robonaut.  In February of 2010, Robonaut 2 was released to the public.  Robonaut 2 moved four times faster than the first Robonaut.  An advanced version of Robonaut 2 was finally tested in outer space in 2011.  Robonaut 2 functioned exactly as designed.

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2.  Automation is the use of machines to reduce the need for human labor.  In other words automation is when jobs done by people become jobs done by robots.  Automation can be a good thing. Clothing, cars, and other manufactured products are available at good prices and in large supply because of automation. But automation can also be a bad thing.  Because of automation there are over 700,000 robots in America that do jobs once performed by humans.  The way of automation may not be best for humanity, but it is the course we are taking.

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