READING Passages

informational READING passages

ready Full of Rigorous, STAAR Formatted Items Covers Revised TEKS

GRADE 6

Reading Informational Book

STUDENT EDITION

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Grade 6 Reading Informational Texts

The Golden Buddha 7 Home Away From Home 12 Hercules the Bear 19 Laura Dekker: Solo at Sea 24 The Elephantine Colossus 33

Space Mice 39 The Victorian Era 45 Becoming a Mermaid 51 The Land of Volcanoes 57 Too Many Tourists 63

Jetman 69 Ancient Egypt 75 The Saga of Pluto 81 Causes of WWI (paired) 89 Causes of WWII (paired) 90

Ecosystems 95 Owls 103 Black Death 109 Aristotle 114 J.K. Rowling 120

The Golden Buddha

1 In Bangkok, Thailand, the Wat Traimit Temple houses a famous statue known as the Golden Buddha. The Golden Buddha is the largest solid gold statue in the world. The gold it's made from is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but its story is priceless.

Description

2 The Golden Buddha statue is an image of Gautama Buddha, an Indian sage who founded the religion of Buddhism. The statue depicts the Buddha in a traditional sitting position, with legs crossed.

3 From knee to knee, the Golden Buddha is nearly 12.5 feet wide. It is almost 10 feet tall and weighs just over six short tons, or 12,000 pounds. That's as heavy as an African elephant!

4 Amazingly, the statue is actually made from nine individual pieces that fit together perfectly. A special key locks the pieces into place. When the Golden Buddha needs to be moved, the pieces can come apart. This makes the massive statue easier to transport.

5 Of course, the most notable feature of the Golden Buddha is its gold. The statue's arms, legs, torso, and neck are 40% pure gold. Most of the head is 80% pure gold. The hair is 99% pure. At a price of $1,400 per troy ounce, the Golden Buddha is worth at least $250 million.

History

6 No one knows exactly when the Golden Buddha was created. However, the rounded shape of its face indicates that it was most likely cast during the Sukhothai period, in the 13th century. The statue was probably made in northern Thailand or India. When the Golden Buddha was completed, it was moved to Thailand's capital city. There, monks guarded the statue while using the temple for meditation and prayer.

7 By the 14th century, Thailand was warring with its neighbor, Burma. Burmese armies were invading Thailand's major cities. The armies spread like a plague, killing people and burning buildings. Along the way, the Burmese also stole everything of value that they could find. The Thai monks soon received word that the armies were on their way to the capital.

8 The monks knew they needed to do something to protect the Golden Buddha—but what? The statue was too large to hide. They could move it to another city, but they didn't have enough time. Instead, they decided to disguise it. They covered the gold with a thick layer of plaster. When they were done, the plaster made the statue appear plain and worthless.

9 Soon after, the armies reached the temple. They killed the monks and stole many items, but they overlooked the Golden Buddha. The monks' creative plan had worked.

10 For a long time, the statue sat forgotten in the ruined city. The king moved the capital of Thailand to Bangkok, where the buildings were in better shape. Near the end of the 18th century, he moved the statue to the Wat Traimit Temple there. Still, no one knew the statue's secret. The monks at Wat Traimit tried to give the statue to another temple, but no one wanted it. The gold remained hidden for hundreds of years.

Discovery

11 In 1954, the monks at the Wat Traimit Temple decided to construct a new building to hold the statue. This required workers to move the Golden Buddha. They did not know they could take the statue apart, however, so they tried to move it all at once with a crane. In the process, the ropes broke. The statue fell to the ground, and the plaster cracked. The workers saw the gleaming gold underneath.

12 Bit by bit, the workers chipped away the rest of the plaster. They were careful not to damage the soft, pure gold. When they uncovered the entire Golden Buddha, they also found the key that goes with it. Everything was remarkably well preserved.

The Golden Buddha Today

13 The Golden Buddha still sits in the Wat Traimit Temple. Today, monks guard it like they did in the past, without the use of weapons of alarm systems.

14 The people of Thailand have no interest in selling the statue for its gold value. They consider it an important part of their culture and history. In fact, there's an entire second floor in the temple that is dedicated to artifacts related to the Golden Buddha. The ropes, chisel, and bits of plaster are all on display there.

15 The whole temple is open to the public. The Golden Buddha draws hundreds of visitors each day. People visit the Golden Buddha to pray, reflect, and take pictures. With such a long and rich history, the world's largest solid gold statue is a priceless attraction.

1 What part of speech describes the word traditional in paragraph 2?

A Adjective

B Adverb

C Noun

D Pronoun

2 In paragraph 4, which word can be used in place of the word transport?

A assemble

B rearrange

C conceal

D move

3 What is the best definition of the word massive as it is used in paragraph 4?

A Wide and sturdy

B Large and heavy

C Big and strong

D Awkward and slow

4 The photograph in this article mainly helps the reader –

A understand how the Golden Buddha was forgotten

B visualize the statue's position

C gain perspective about the statue's value

D see what the Wat Traimit Temple is like

5 Based on the information found under the “Description” heading, the reader can conclude that the most valuable gold makes up the statue's –

A arms and legs

B torso

C face and neck

D hair

6 Which sentence from this article best supports the claim that the Golden Buddha's story is priceless?

A For a long time, the statue sat forgotten in the ruined city.

B The statue's arms, legs, torso, and neck are 40% pure gold.

C The people of Thailand have no interest in selling the statue for its gold value.

D At a price of $1,400 per troy ounce, the Golden Buddha is worth at least $250 million.

7 The author organizes paragraphs 6 through 10 by –

A explaining why Burma attacked Thailand

B describing important events in the Golden Buddha's history

C comparing Thai monks to Burmese armies

D listing features of the Golden Buddha statue

8 The reader can conclude that the Burmese armies did not take the Golden Buddha statue because –

A they did not care about gold and riches

B they planned to return to steal the statue later

C they did not realize that the statue was valuable

D they did not recognize the image of Gautama Buddha

9 What is the most likely reason the author included paragraph 8?

A To illustrate that the monks were frightened

B To show that the Golden Buddha statue is large

C To convince the reader to see the Golden Buddha

D To explain how the Golden Buddha survived

10 Read the following sentence from paragraph 10.

The monks at Wat Traimit tried to give the statue to another temple, but no one wanted it.

This sentence supports the author's claim that—

A the monks wanted to protect the statue

B the statue's story is priceless

C no one knew that the statue contained gold

D Burmese armies were about to attack

INFORMATIONAL READING PASSAGES Grade 6

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