Multiple Genres: Analyzing Informational Text for Controlling Ideas and Supporting Evidence (TEKS.ELA.7.8.D.i) Practice Test

In many school gardens, composting turns cafeteria scraps into a resource that helps plants grow while keeping trash out of landfills. When fruit peels, wilted lettuce, and grass clippings are mixed with dry leaves and cardboard, tiny decomposers break the materials down. A healthy pile balances "greens," which are moist and full of nitrogen, with "browns," which are dry and rich in carbon. The pile should feel like a wrung-out sponge; too much water slows airflow, and too little dries out the microbes. Turning the pile adds oxygen and spreads heat, a sign that the breakdown is working. Over several weeks, sharp smells fade, and the mixture becomes dark and crumbly. Gardeners then spread the finished compost around vegetables and flowers to improve soil structure and hold moisture. Besides helping plants, composting teaches students how natural cycles work and reduces the amount of waste a school sends to the dump. With a little attention, yesterday's leftovers can become tomorrow's healthy soil.

West Texas has become a national leader in wind energy because of steady plains winds and the infrastructure to move electricity to cities. On high plateaus where the breeze rarely lets up, turbines spin for hours, turning kinetic energy into power. State investment in long-distance transmission lines connected remote wind farms to growing urban centers, allowing that energy to reach homes and businesses. Local communities benefit when landowners lease portions of ranches for turbines, and counties collect tax revenue that can support schools and roads. Challenges remain: wind is variable, so grid managers balance it with storage and other power sources, and developers must plan projects to avoid harming wildlife or scenic views. Even so, many residents see wind as a way to diversify the state's energy economy while using a resource that never runs out. Geography and planning together explain why so many tall white towers now dot the West Texas horizon.