SAMPLE FUN FACTS STORIES AND ASSOCIATED COMPREHENSION TESTS
==================================================================

LEVEL 03 STORY 01:

   Copper is a metal. It is one of what scientists call the elements. 
   It can come from the ground. It can be found seaweed. It plays a 
   role in arthropods (insects) and human livers. It also plays a role 
   in blood transport. It carries oxygen to the body. It makes the 
   blood look blue, not red. Copper is strong so it can also be used 
   to build things.


LEVEL 03 STORY 01 TEST QUESTIONS:

   1. Copper is a
      A. liquid.
     *B. metal.
      C. seaweed.
   2. It plays a role in
     *A. the human liver.
      B. insect shells.
      C. sea creatures.
   3. It carries ______ to the body.
      A. blood
      B. minerals
     *C. oxygen
   4. It makes the blood look
      A. red.
      B. clear.
     *C. blue.

------------------------------------------------------------------

LEVEL 13 STORY 01:

   Stonehenge is truly one of the wonders of the ancient world. It 
   dates back approximately 4,600 years, and with its circle of 
   massive stones and its presence in the otherwise deserted area of
   the Salisbury Plain, it has researchers determined to uncover its 
   mysteries.

   The archaeologists have made a great deal of progress - they say 
   the small homes and personal items found beneath the grounds of 
   the nearby Stonehenge World Heritage Site are the first of their 
   kind from that late Stone Age period in Britain, and that they 
   suggest a surprising level of social organization and ceremonial 
   behavior that complements the stonework a short way away. The two 
   taken together, they assert, constitute an archaeological treasure.

   The placement of the finding strongly suggests that the monument 
   and the nearby settlement were a center for ceremonial activities, 
   with Stonehenge probably being a burial site; the researchers concluded 
   that other nearby circular earthen and timber "henges" were devoted 
   to feasts and festivals.

   "This is evidence that clarifies the site's true purpose," claims 
   Michael Parker Pearson of Sheffield University, one of the main 
   researchers. "We have found that Stonehenge itself was just half of 
   a larger complex," one used by indigenous Britons whose beliefs 
   centered on ancestor and sun worship.

   Researchers have known for some time now that the roughly 90 original 
   slabs of Stonehenge were carefully placed to align with the rising 
   and setting of the sun during the summer and winter solstices.

   The new research, funded in part by the National Geographic Society, 
   concludes that the larger wood and earthen circle about two miles 
   away featured concentric rings of timber posts aligned to mark the 
   solstice in reverse. That monument, called Durrington Walls, was in 
   line with sunset at the summer solstice, while Stonehenge was aligned 
   with the sun's rise on that day.

LEVEL 13 STORY 01 TEST QUESTIONS:

   1. Stonehenge dates back approximately
      A. 4,200 years.
     *B. 4,600 years.
      C. 4, 000 years.
   2. Stonehenge stands on the
      A. moors of Scotland.
      B. British
     *C. Salisbury plain.
   3. The personal items came from the
      A. Bronze Age.
      B. Iron Age.
     *C. Stone Age.
   4. The original slabs were carefully placed to align
     *A. with the rising and setting of the sun.
      B. with the equinoxes.
      C. with the nearby village.