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ELA 7

English Language Arts 7 · Worksheets

Mixed review · Reading, stories and poetry

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Poetry, Reading for meaning, Stories. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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Mixed review · Reading, stories and poetry

English Language Arts 7 · maddyhelps.com

Name
Date
Score
/ 10

Circle the best answer for each question. Use the space to note the evidence or reasoning that decided it.

  1. Read: “Hana's grandmother had lived in the same house for fifty years. On moving day, she walked slowly through every empty room. In the kitchen, she stopped at the pencil marks where her children's heights were written, and she stood there for a long time.” Which detail best shows that leaving is hard for her?

    1. a) She had lived in the house for fifty years.
    2. b) It was moving day, and the rooms were empty.
    3. c) She stood for a long time at the pencil marks.
    4. d) Her children's heights were written in pencil.

  2. Read (/ marks a line break): “Everyone went in for supper. / The field went dark. / I stayed out, / alone.” Putting “alone” on a line by itself mainly

    1. a) shows that the speaker went in for supper too
    2. b) makes the reader pause on the word, so it stands out
    3. c) makes “alone” rhyme with the word “dark” above it
    4. d) speeds up the ending so the poem finishes quickly

  3. Read: “‘It's fine. I didn't even want to go,’ Leila said when the concert sold out. Then she went up to her room and took down the band's poster from above her bed.” The best inference is that Leila

    1. a) wants to put up a new poster instead
    2. b) has never really liked the band much
    3. c) plans to buy a ticket from a friend
    4. d) is more disappointed than she admits

  4. Read: “Diego had never cared much about his class's fundraiser for the food bank. Then he saw his neighbour, Mr. Hill, waiting in line there. The next day, Diego signed up to bake for every sale.” Why does Diego sign up to bake?

    1. a) He has always loved fundraisers at school.
    2. b) His teacher made baking part of his mark.
    3. c) He sees that someone he knows needs help.
    4. d) He wants to win a prize for his baking.

  5. Each stanza of a poem ends with the line “and still the phone did not ring.” The last stanza ends instead with “and then the phone rang.” Changing the repeated line at the end mainly

    1. a) makes the last stanza rhyme with the first stanza
    2. b) shows the speaker has stopped caring about the call
    3. c) marks the moment the long wait finally ends
    4. d) shows that the phone never rang at all

  6. Read: “The wind pushed at our door all night, rattling the handle, trying to get in.” The personification makes the wind seem like

    1. a) someone determined to get into the house
    2. b) a soft breath that is gentle and calm
    3. c) a sound far away across the prairie
    4. d) a warm breeze on the first day of summer

  7. Read: “Beavers are sometimes called nature's engineers. A single beaver family can cut down hundreds of trees in a year. Their dams hold back streams and turn dry meadows into ponds, and soon ducks, frogs and moose move in.” Which sentence best states the main idea?

    1. a) Ducks, frogs and moose like to live near ponds.
    2. b) A beaver family can cut down hundreds of trees a year.
    3. c) Beavers change the land around them in big ways.
    4. d) Beavers should be kept away from dry meadows.

  8. Compare two versions. Version 1: “Run, run, run to the end of the dock, / and jump!” Version 2: “I ran as fast as I possibly could all the way to the end of the dock, and then I jumped off.” What does the rhythm of Version 1 do that Version 2 does not?

    1. a) It uses rhyme to make the lines easier to remember.
    2. b) Its short, strong beats make the moment feel fast and exciting.
    3. c) It gives the reader more details about the dock and the water.
    4. d) It tells the events in a clearer and more careful order.

  9. Read: “When the cashier gave Lucy five dollars too much in change, she counted it twice, walked back to the counter and handed the extra money back.” Lucy's actions mainly show that she is

    1. a) honest, even when keeping the money would be easy
    2. b) in a hurry to get out of the store and go home
    3. c) careless about counting the change she is given
    4. d) upset with the cashier for making a mistake

  10. Read: “Carmen decided the new girl was stuck-up. The new girl, whose name was Jade, was actually terrified, and she held her chin up only so it would not shake.” Because the narrator tells us what both girls are thinking, the reader learns that

    1. a) the new girl really is stuck-up
    2. b) Carmen has misjudged the new girl
    3. c) Carmen is just as nervous as Jade
    4. d) the two girls are already friends

Answer key · Mixed review · Reading, stories and poetry

English Language Arts 7 · maddyhelps.com

  1. c) She stood for a long time at the pencil marks. — Standing still in front of the marks is something she does, and it shows what she feels. Fifty years makes it likely that leaving is hard, which is why it tempts, but it is a fact about her past, not evidence of what she feels today.
  2. b) makes the reader pause on the word, so it stands out — A line break is a small pause, and a word with a line all to itself gets the reader's full attention, so the poem ends on the feeling of being alone. “Dark” and “alone” do not rhyme, and “I stayed out” shows the speaker did not go in.
  3. d) is more disappointed than she admits — Her words say she does not care, but taking down the poster shows she is hurt. When what a character says and what she does disagree, trust the action; a poster kept above her bed also rules out never having liked the band.
  4. c) He sees that someone he knows needs help. — The order of events is the clue: he signs up the day after seeing Mr. Hill in line, so a person he knows needing help is what changes his mind. The first sentence rules out loving fundraisers, and the passage never mentions marks or prizes.
  5. c) marks the moment the long wait finally ends — A repeated line, called a refrain, builds a pattern, so every stanza adds to the waiting. When the pattern breaks, the reader notices at once, and the break lands on the one thing that changes: the phone rings. Missing the change leads to “never rang,” which is what every stanza but the last one says.
  6. a) someone determined to get into the house — Pushing, rattling the handle and trying to get in are things a person does, and together they make the wind seem like an intruder who will not give up. Nothing in the line is soft, warm or distant; the wind is right at the door.
  7. c) Beavers change the land around them in big ways. — The trees, the dams and the new ponds all show beavers reshaping the land, and “engineers” in the first sentence names that idea. The hundreds of trees is true, but it is one detail that supports the point, not the point itself.
  8. b) Its short, strong beats make the moment feel fast and exciting. — “Run, run, run” hits three strong beats in a row, and the short last line lands like the jump itself. Version 2 actually has more words and details, and Version 1 does not rhyme (“dock” and “jump” do not), so those answers do not fit it.
  9. a) honest, even when keeping the money would be easy — Handing back money that nobody would have missed shows honesty; writers often reveal a character through a choice like this instead of naming the trait. She counted twice and walked back, which rules out careless and in a hurry.
  10. b) Carmen has misjudged the new girl — An omniscient narrator can show what each character thinks, so the reader sees what Carmen cannot: Jade's raised chin comes from fear, not pride. Carmen's opinion is only her guess, and the narrator shows that it is wrong.