Mixed review · Reading, character and craft

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

1. Read: “People say someone who cannot see well is ‘blind as a bat,’ but the saying gets bats wrong. Every kind of bat can see. Fruit bats have large eyes and find their food mostly by sight and smell. Many small bats also hunt by echolocation: they send out high-pitched calls and listen for the echoes bouncing off insects.” Which statement best expresses the writer's main idea?

   1. a) Many small bats hunt insects by listening for the echoes of their calls.
   2. b) People who cannot see well should not be compared to animals.
   3. c) Bats are not blind, even though a common saying claims they are.
   4. d) Bats cannot see well, so most of them find their way by sound.

2. A story's theme is “Real courage often looks ordinary.” Which scene would best support that theme?

   1. a) A girl wins the provincial speed-skating title by a tenth of a second.
   2. b) A shy boy tells his teacher he was the one who broke the window.
   3. c) A firefighter carries a child out of a burning building at night.
   4. d) A boy climbs the tallest tree in the park because of a dare.

3. Read: “Every morning for thirty years, Mr. Okafor unlocked the bakery at six and set two cups on the counter, one for himself and one for his wife. This morning he set out the two cups, stopped, and put one back on the shelf. Then he turned the sign on the door to Open, as usual.” The best inference is that

   1. a) he is planning to close the bakery for good
   2. b) he has decided to stop drinking coffee at the bakery
   3. c) he broke one of the cups and must buy another
   4. d) his wife no longer shares the mornings with him

4. Read: “The town's new bylaw banned skateboarding anywhere downtown, including the plaza where Nico and his friends had skated for years. Nico printed a petition, collected 300 names, and signed up to speak at the next council meeting.” The main conflict is

   1. a) character against self
   2. b) character against nature
   3. c) character against society
   4. d) character against character

5. Read: “Kofi spent weeks building a birdhouse for the science fair, measuring every board twice. The night before the fair, his little sister knocked it off the table and it split in two. Kofi was furious. Then he saw her face, glued it back together with her help, and entered it with a sign: ‘Built by Kofi, repaired by Ama.’” Which statement best expresses the theme?

   1. a) Little brothers and sisters are often careless with things.
   2. b) Hard work and careful measuring always pay off in the end.
   3. c) How we respond to a mistake can matter more than the mistake.
   4. d) Kofi forgives his sister, and they fix the birdhouse together.

6. Compare: “The children raced across the field toward the lake.” and “The children fled across the field toward the lake.” How does changing “raced” to “fled” change the mood?

   1. a) It makes the scene feel frightening instead of playful.
   2. b) It shows that the children are running faster than before.
   3. c) It changes nothing, since both words mean moving quickly.
   4. d) It makes the scene feel slower, calmer and more relaxed.

7. Read: “A chinook is a warm, dry wind that pours down the eastern slopes of the Rockies in winter. In a few hours, it can raise the temperature in southern Alberta by twenty degrees. Snow slides off roofs by noon, and people who left home in parkas walk around with them tied at their waists.” Which sentence best states the main idea?

   1. a) The Rockies have the warmest winter weather anywhere in Canada.
   2. b) People in southern Alberta often carry their parkas instead of wearing them.
   3. c) A chinook can change a winter day in southern Alberta very quickly.
   4. d) During a chinook, the snow slides off the roofs of houses by noon.

8. Read: “The city never sleeps. Its streets hum all night, and at dawn its windows blink awake one by one.” The figurative language suggests that the city is

   1. a) empty and quiet through the night
   2. b) alive and busy at every hour
   3. c) tired and in need of rest
   4. d) loud and unpleasant to live in

9. Which sentence shows an internal conflict?

   1. a) Tariq wanted to tell the coach the truth, but it would get his friend benched.
   2. b) The river rose so fast that Tariq had to climb onto the roof of the shed.
   3. c) Tariq and his best friend argued all the way home about who lost the game.
   4. d) Tariq's town would not let anyone under sixteen use the new weight room.

10. Story 1: Grace breaks her arm before the season, spends it keeping stats for her team, and by the end the coach is asking her for advice. Story 2: Owen is cut from the team, quits sports altogether, and tells everyone he never liked soccer anyway. Which statement best compares the two characters?

    1. a) Both of them give up on the sport they love after something goes wrong.
    2. b) Both face a setback, but only Grace finds a new way to stay involved.
    3. c) Both change by the end of their stories and become team leaders.
    4. d) Owen's setback is worse than Grace's, so he cannot be blamed.