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You can use the SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension Question of the Day to get into the habit of thinking about SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension content on a daily basis when studying for the SSAT. Varsity Tutors' SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension Questions of the Day are drawn from each topic and question type covered on the Middle Level Reading Comprehension section of the SSAT.
Question of the Day: SSAT Middle Level Reading
Adapted from Early European History by Hutton Webster (1917)
The prehistoric period is commonly divided, according to the character of the materials used for tools and weapons, into the Age of Stone and the Age of Metals. The one is the age of savagery; the other is the age of barbarism or semi-civilization.
Man's earliest implements were those that lay ready to his hand. A branch from a tree served as a spear; a thick stick in his strong arms became a powerful club. Later, perhaps, came the use of a hard stone such as flint, which could be chipped into the forms of arrowheads, axes, and spear tips. The first stone implements were so rude in shape that it is difficult to believe them of human workmanship. They may have been made several hundred thousand years ago. After countless centuries of slow advance, early people learned to fasten wooden handles to their stone tools and weapons and also to use such materials as jade and granite, which could be ground and polished into a variety of forms. Stone implements continued to be made during the greater part of the prehistoric period. Every region of the world has had a Stone Age. Its length is reckoned, not by centuries, but by millennia.
The Age of Metals, compared with its predecessor, covers a brief expanse of time. The use of metals came in not much before the dawn of history. The earliest civilized peoples, the Babylonians and Egyptians, when we first become acquainted with them, appear to be passing from the use of stone implements to those of metal. Copper was the first metal in common use. The credit for the invention of copper tools seems to belong to the Egyptians. At a very early date they were working the copper mines on the peninsula of Sinai. The Babylonians probably obtained their copper from the same region. Another source of this metal was the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. The Greek name of the island means "copper." But copper tools were soft and would not keep an edge. Some ancient smith, more ingenious than his fellows, discovered that the addition of a small part of tin to the copper produced a new metal—bronze—harder than the old, yet capable of being molded into a variety of forms. At least as early as 3000 BCE we find bronze taking the place of copper in both Egypt and Babylonia. Somewhat later bronze was introduced into the island of Crete, then along the eastern coast of Greece, and afterwards into other European countries.
The introduction of iron occurred in comparatively recent times. At first it was a scarce, and therefore a very precious, metal. The Egyptians seem to have made little use of iron before 1500 BCE They called it "the metal of heaven," as if they obtained it from meteorites. In the Greek Homeric poems, composed about 900 BCE or later, we find iron considered so valuable that a lump of it is one of the chief prizes at athletic games. In the first five books of the Bible iron is mentioned only thirteen times, though copper and bronze are referred to forty-four times. Iron is more difficult to work than either copper or bronze, but it is vastly superior to those metals in hardness and durability. Hence it gradually displaced them throughout the greater part of the Old World.
What advantage did bronze have over copper?
It was considerably easier to mine, and much more malleable.
It was stronger and could be more easily shaped.
It was sharper and did not require the use of tin.
It was considerably stronger, although slightly less malleable.
It was weaker, but could be much more easily shaped.
Middle school learners who are interested in attending an independent or private school may need to take the Secondary School Admission Test. These tests are used to evaluate your middle school learner’s knowledge, and usually play a role in helping faculty come to a decision regarding admission. There are three different versions of the Middle Level SSAT, depending on your learner’s grade. Whether your learner is looking to take the fifth, sixth, or seventh grade version of the Middle Level SSAT, Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools have the resources available to help him or her get the most out of their Middle Level SSAT Reading review sessions.
The reading component of the Middle Level SSAT consists of 40 reading comprehension-based questions. By accessing the Question of the Day on the Learning Tools website, your learner will be given a random Middle Level SSAT Reading question each day. These questions are completely random and cover literary form, the humanities, social sciences, and natural science. The Question of the Day provides daily SSAT Middle Level Reading review to assist in preparing your learner for the reading component of the Middle Level SSAT. By answering a random question every day, he or she will be able to test his or her knowledge on a number of areas covered by the SSAT.
At times, standardized tests can seem difficult to prepare for. Sometimes being able to succeed at standardized tests is a skill of its own. However, by continuing to utilize the Question of the Day, you are enabling your learner to build the essential study habits needed to prepare him or her for test day. Moreover, the randomness of each question is a good way to help your middle school learner prepare for the unexpected on the actual test.
In addition to helping your learner review previously learned material, the Question of the Day provides you with a great way to help your middle school learner understand new concepts. Following each Middle Level SSAT Reading question is an in-depth explanation that tells your child how the correct answer was obtained. Not only do these explanations help improve learners’ reading practice by letting learners see their mistakes, but they may also contain important definitions and vocabulary words that may appear on the test.
By using the Question of the Day alongside the rest of Varsity Tutors’ comprehensive Learning Tools, your middle school learner can develop a fully customizable Middle Level SSAT Reading study guide that is suited to his or her needs. In addition to the Question of the Day, your learner can get more in-depth, concept-specific SSAT Middle Level Reading help by using Learn by Concept. Your child can also drill their skills using the multitude of SSAT Middle Level Reading Flashcards and test their knowledge with the Practice Tests.
The Question of the Day is an excellent way to help your child get the valuable daily SSAT Middle Level Reading practice they need. By making use of all of Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools, your learner can build their confidence as they prepare for the Middle Level Reading SSAT.
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All SSAT Middle Level Reading Resources
