Government: Local and State — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. The state government builds and repairs highways that connect cities.
States are large, and the long roads that link one city to another are called highways. State governments build and repair these highways so that people and goods can travel between cities.
2. Police officers are paid by the local government.
Police officers serve a single city or town, and that level of government is called local. Because local government collects taxes from people in the community, it is the local government that pays the officers.
3. A person must be a citizen of the United States to vote in elections.
Voting is a right reserved for people who legally belong to the country, and someone who belongs to the United States is called a citizen. So citizen is the word that completes the sentence.
4. The governor works in the state capitol building.
Each state has a special building where the governor and lawmakers work, and that building is called the capitol. The governor's office is in the state capitol building.
5. Local government is responsible for picking up trash and recycling.
Picking up garbage and recycling is a service handled by your city or town crews, not the state or federal government. The word trash names the everyday garbage that local workers collect.
6. People vote at a polling place on election day.
An election is the special day when polling places open so citizens can vote. That is why the day people go to vote is called election day.
7. State government sets rules for schools that children must attend.
States set the rules about education, including how many days children must attend and what they learn. The places children go to learn are schools, so schools fits the blank.
8. The mayor and city council work together to solve local problems.
A city council is a group of elected members who meet with the mayor to make local decisions and laws. Together the mayor and council work on community problems.
9. The president leads the federal government of the United States.
The federal government is the level that runs the whole country, and the president is its leader. So the word federal completes the sentence about the United States as a whole.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
Public library
→ Local government runs it
State government builds them
State highways
→ State government builds them
Local government runs it
Police department
→ Local government funds it
State government manages them
State parks
→ State government manages them
Local government funds it
Public libraries are paid for and run by the city or town, which is local government. State governments take care of bigger things that cross many cities, so they build the highways and manage the state parks. Police departments are funded by local government because they protect a single community.