Name: Date:

“Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?”

Cailin Loesch

FIRST READ: Comprehension

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

1. Who makes the comment “That’s the problem with the world today,” which
appears at the beginning of the blog post “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?”
a. a teacher
b. the author
c. a TV reporter
d. the author’s father

2. Which of these experiences does the author of “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?”
fear that children of the next generation might miss out on? Choose three
options.
a. watching old commercials on YouTube
b. being able to do homework electronically
c. printing out a hard copy of a research paper
d. using a smartphone to check a weather report
e. swimming in a backyard or neighborhood pool
f. enjoying handwritten letters from grandparents
g. choosing a video from Blockbuster for a family movie night

3. According to “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” how did the author’s father find
out what the temperature was when he was a young boy?
a. by checking his phone
b. by watching television
c. by making a phone call
d. by listening to the radio

4. In “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” what is the most likely reason that the
author’s father becomes excited when he sees his daughter eating cereal?
a. It reminds him of a meal his mother used to make.
b. He is happy that she appreciates his favorite cereal.
c. It reminds him of an old commercial that he once enjoyed.
d. He is glad that she is taking the time to eat without electronics.

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 GRADE 6 • UNIT 3 • SELECTION TEST

“IS OUR GAIN ALSO OUR LOSS?” BY CAILIN LOESCH

Name: Date:

5. What does the author of “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” notice about the old
cereal commercial? Choose two options.
a. It lacks snappy graphics and fast-paced cuts.
b. It features modern music and technology.
c. It does not clearly advertise the product.
d. Its actors are mostly unknown.
e. Its colors seem fairly dull.

FIRST READ: Concept Vocabulary

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

6. Which of these situations most clearly illustrates the meaning of

nostalgic?
a. Grandma loves to look at photos taken when her children were young.
b. Mike allowed his nephews to hand him tools as he fixed the tractor.
c. A variety of berry pies are available at the bakery near the post office.
d. The mayor called the meeting of City Council to order at 7:00 P.M.

7. In which of the following situations is a vehicle moving gradually?

a. The ambulance zoomed in and out of the traffic along Route 3.
b. The sled whooshed down the driveway, banking at each curve.
c. The bulldozer inched forward toward the edge of the pit.
d. The sailboat skipped merrily across the sunlit waves.

8. If an episode of a television drama is a continuation of a previous show, which

of the following must be true?
a. The episode has many new characters.
b. The episode is the next part of the story.
c. The episode has some different characters.
d. The episode takes place in a new location.

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 GRADE 6 • UNIT 3 • SELECTION TEST

“IS OUR GAIN ALSO OUR LOSS?” BY CAILIN LOESCH

Name: Date:

CLOSE READ: Analyze the Text

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

9. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A In “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” Cailin Loesch states, “It’s not just
technology that’s changing, either: It’s our way of living.” How does she
support this statement?
a. by describing recent advances in technology
b. by recalling memories of playing video games
c. by contrasting activities today with activities of the past
d. by imagining a future in which no improvements are possible

Part B Which sentence from “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” best illustrates the
answer to Part A?
a. I waited a moment for his comment to process, then looked down at my
phone, analyzing it in a way that I had never before: feeling the cold, hard
metal in my palm, and the smooth, sleek screen underneath my thumb.
b. Gradually, evenings spent doing homework at lamp-lit desks covered in
pencils, paper, and textbooks are turning into late nights under bedsheets
and blankets, a Google Docs page pulled up, fingers typing aggressively
on a keyboard that can barely be seen in the dark.
c. When he saw that I was eating Life cereal, a huge smile immediately crept
across his face, and he started excitedly reciting a commercial that he
remembered from his childhood.
d. They say that you should never try to fix what’s not broken. Does the
charm of the way things are now trump the need for things that are fresher,
newer, and more advanced?

10. Read this quotation from the author’s father, which begins “Is Our Gain Also
Our Loss?”
“When I was your age, I had to wait for the hourly report on TV in order to get the
information that you have right at your fingertips. That’s the problem with the world today.”

Which sentence best explains the “problem” about which the father is
complaining?
a. It isn’t fair that people now can immediately find information that used to
be found only in libraries.
b. His childhood friends understand modern technology better than he does.
c. As a child, he rarely was able to do things when he wanted to do them.
d. New technologies are making modern life move too quickly.

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 GRADE 6 • UNIT 3 • SELECTION TEST

“IS OUR GAIN ALSO OUR LOSS?” BY CAILIN LOESCH

Name: Date:

11. The author of “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” asks, “Will they laugh at us for
using pieces of green paper to buy things?” To what is she referring?
a. coupons
b. dollar bills
c. fake money
d. credit cards

12. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A The author of “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” sees many flaws in the
cereal commercial she watches. What is her father’s reaction when he watches
that commercial on YouTube?
a. Disappointment: It is not as great as he remembered.
b. Surprise: It seems old-fashioned and poorly made.
c. Delight: It reminds him of his younger days.
d. Pride: It looks just as good as modern ads.

Part B Which sentence from “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” best supports the
answer to Part A?
a. And so we boys spent our summer mornings waiting by the TV for the
hourly report that read the temperature, praying that it would say the
number we wanted….
b. He called me into his office, where he threw himself down in front of his
desktop computer to search for the ad on YouTube, eager to take me back in
time with him.
c. Then I turned to my dad, who was still beaming, as if all the happy
memories from his childhood were flashing before his eyes.
d. The thing that has really stayed with me, though, is my dad’s comment
about how all these new technologies are a “problem.”

CLOSE READ: Analyze Craft and Structure

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

13. Which features most clearly identify “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” as a
reflective essay? Choose two options.
a. It is expressed in informal language and a thoughtful tone.
b. It includes no dialogue and very little description.
c. It expresses the author’s thoughts and feelings.
d. It mostly presents facts about current events.
e. It features realistic characters from history.

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 GRADE 6 • UNIT 3 • SELECTION TEST

“IS OUR GAIN ALSO OUR LOSS?” BY CAILIN LOESCH

Name: Date:

14. In “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” how does the author’s father best help to
prompt her reflections about the future?
a. When he shares with her his fears about a future in which people are
disconnected from each other, she becomes fearful as well.
b. When he wonders aloud whether new technology will prove to do more
harm than good, she is inspired to use technology for good.
c. When he indicates that the present is more troubling than the past, she
wonders whether she will feel the same way when she is older.
d. When he reminisces about the dreams that he had for the future when he
was her age, she determines that she will plan her own future.

15. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A In “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” Cailin Loesch reflects on her
concerns about the future. Which of the following is a major way in which
she does this?
a. She uses examples from American history to predict future events.
b. She asks questions about the future that cannot yet be answered.
c. She interviews her father about his fears about future events.
d. She dramatizes scenes involving people of the future.

Part B Which excerpt from “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” best illustrates the
answer to Part A?
a. People of the next generation will never go on a family trip to the local
Blockbuster in search of candy and a comedy for movie night.
b. Judging by his enthusiastic clapping at the end, he sure didn’t seem to miss
modern technology during those 30 seconds.
c. In a world of iPhones and missions to Mars, is it even possible that my
childhood will ever be looked at in the way that I look at my dad’s?
d. The thing that has really stayed with me, though, is my dad’s comment
about how all these new technologies are a “problem.”

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 GRADE 6 • UNIT 3 • SELECTION TEST

“IS OUR GAIN ALSO OUR LOSS?” BY CAILIN LOESCH

Name: Date:

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Word Study

Identify the choice that best answers the question.
16. What is true of the suffix -ation in this word pair?
capitalize / capitalization

a. The suffix changes a verb to a noun.

b. The suffix changes a noun to a verb.
c. The suffix changes a verb to an adjective.
d. The suffix changes a noun to an adjective.

17. When you consider something, you think carefully about it. Based on that
information and your understanding of the suffix -ation, choose the most likely
definition of the word consideration.
a. without having thought carefully
b. the process of thinking carefully
c. to cause to think carefully
d. after thinking carefully

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Conventions

Identify the choice that best answers the question.
18. Which word in this sentence is a comparative adjective?
I have a new, high-tech phone, but Malik’s phone is flashier than mine.

a. new
b. high-tech
c. flashier
d. mine

19. Which sentence is correct?

a. This computer class is the too advanced course the college offers.
b. This computer class is the advancing course the college offers.
c. This computer class is the advancedest course the college offers.
d. This computer class is the most advanced course the college offers.

20. Which underlined word in these sentences is a comparative adverb?

a. Does Japan have the longest trains in the world?
b. Do bullet trains travel faster than our local trains do?
c. Those trains move swiftly among the island’s major cities.
d. After an effortless train trip, we arrived at our destination rested.

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