Question: Read the following two sentences from the text. What do they show the reader about Sam?
Sam glared at his friend. "Amir, I said I was sure a million times."
(1 point)
Responses
Sam is getting impatient with those who ask him if they are sure he had the wallet when he left his house.
Sam believes that there is a possibility that Amir is tricking him.
Sam knows that he left the wallet in the kitchen, but does not want Amir to know.
Sam blames Amir for stealing his wallet.
The sentences show that Sam is getting impatient with those who ask him if he is sure he had the wallet when he left his house.
Read "The Mystery of the Stolen Wallet" ("The Mystery of the Stolen Wallet", from Illuminate) and then answer the question that follows.
The Mystery of the Stolen Wallet
Sam was thrilled when his father gave him an old wallet that had belonged to his grandfather, and he was even happier when he found a crisp $20 bill tucked inside the wallet’s sleek folds. Sam’s dad raised an eyebrow and said, “How about that: I guess your grandfather left you a present.”
The next day, Sam anticipated a hectic schedule but also hoped that his best friend, Amir, would join him for pizza after school. After an algebra test, a biology lab, and his weekly clarinet lesson, Sam shuffled out of the front door of the school and found Amir waiting at the bottom of the steps. “Hey buddy,” he shouted, “want to escape this heat and grab some pizza? I’ve got a twenty dollar bill that’s burning a hole in my pocket!”
Amir looked puzzled, so Sam explained, “That just means that I received some cash for my birthday, and now I can’t wait to spend it.” As Sam reached into his back pocket, his smile quickly evolved into a frown: his pocket was empty.
Sam knelt on the sidewalk and tore through the compartments of his backpack, but his wallet was not in it. “I can’t believe that someone stole my wallet,” he growled.
“Are you absolutely sure that you carried this wallet with you today?” Amir asked timidly as he helped Sam stuff his gym clothes back into his backpack.
“Of course I’m sure,” Sam snapped. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“No, you are not an idiot and neither am I,” Amir replied defensively. “We'll solve this mystery of the stolen wallet so we can eat pizza where the air is cool.” Despite being amused by Amir’s words, Sam thought his friend unrealistic and knew that his wallet and his twenty dollars were gone forever.
Back in school, the boys headed to the cafeteria where the cafeteria supervisor told them that no wallet had been found. “Are you sure it was in your pocket?” she asked Sam as she stacked the clean plastic trays.
“I am one hundred percent sure,” Sam answered coldly, “but thanks anyway.”
Next, they walked to the principal’s office where the secretary explained that no wallet had been turned in. In the biology lab, Ms. Miller listened sympathetically but said that she hadn’t found a wallet anywhere. In the hallway, they spotted Mr. Wendell, the janitor, gnawing on a toothpick while he swept the floor. When Sam described his wallet, Mr. Wendell shook his head and murmured, “Sorry, son.” By the time the boys left school again, Sam was fuming, imagining that someone had literally picked his pocket.
Amir ventured, “Are you certain beyond a doubt that your wallet was in your pocket when you left your house this morning?”
Sam glared at his friend. “Amir, I said I was sure a million times.” When Sam kicked a plastic water bottle lying on the sidewalk, the rattle it made sounded like he felt: empty and victimized.
When the boys reached Sam’s house, Sam stomped up the steps to his porch without saying good-bye. “Hey,” Amir called behind him, “maybe your wallet fell out of the hole that your money burned in your pocket!” Sam’s only reply was the slam of the screen door.
Inside, Sam flung his backpack on the stairs, stormed into the kitchen, yanked the refrigerator door open, and stared inside. He really wanted a pepperoni pizza, but instead he grabbed an apple. As he bit into the crunchy fruit, something black and shiny on the counter caught his eye.
Sam felt his cheeks redden when he realized his “stolen” wallet had been in the kitchen where he left it that morning. When he looked inside, Andrew Jackson’s face stared at him with an accusatory smirk.
Sam grabbed the phone, dialed Amir’s number, and left a joyful message: “Amir, I found it, and I’ll be there in two minutes, so don’t eat anything!” Sam stuffed his wallet into his pocket and ran down the porch steps two at a time.
Question: Read this sentence from the text.
"I am one hundred percent sure," Sam answered coldly, "but thanks anyway."
From the way it is used in the sentence, what is the meaning of the word "coldly"?
(1 point)
Responses
With no introduction or preparation.
After a lot of time has gone by.
In an unfriendly way.
That the temperature is low.
In an unfriendly way.
Read "The Undertow" ("The Undertow”, from Illuminate) and then answer the question that follows.
The Undertow
Anna lived in the outer banks of North Carolina in a small, clapboard house with her family. She truly loved living there. At 16, Anna was a smart and shy young woman. She preferred simple walks along the beach by herself to the complicated parties that her peers enjoyed. In fact, her ideal day included hours of swimming, jogging, collecting shells, and sunbathing on the beach all by herself.
Having lived by the ocean since she was a small girl of four, Anna was quite familiar with the dangers and joys associated with living so close to the ocean. She knew how to swim quite well, and, more importantly, she knew when to stay out of the water. Her parents exposed her constantly to the sea to familiarize her with it. They even showed her, from the safety of their living room television, what an intense hurricane was capable of doing. She also knew, from her countless trips to the seaside to collect shells, that the tide was strong, and the undertow was tricky. The ocean was a living, breathing beast that was not to be trusted or underestimated.
In fact, Anna was confident in her knowledge of the ocean and was, therefore, angry when her little brother, Gerard, would constantly say that her fears of the ocean were exaggerated. They would battle day after day over the topic, never reaching a compromise. One Saturday morning, though, their argument ended. Although they would both end the day safe and sound on their living room couch watching television, Anna's ocean knowledge and Gerard's naiveté were both tested that morning.
Anna set off from their house early that day to collect purple shells to complete a collage she was constructing. Gerard tagged along behind her, struggling to carry his boogie board in his small, six-year-old arms. Anna and Gerard reached the seaside and Anna cautiously walked into the shallow waves of the ocean to check for the undertow, like a mother duck that checks the water before letting her ducklings swim. After several minutes, she realized that there was, in fact, a strong undertow that morning.
Anna told Gerard to stay in the very shallow water to avoid the danger of the undertow. Gerard agreed. However, Gerard secretly had other ideas and refused to let his sister restrict him. As soon as Anna turned her back to explore the beach several yards away from him, Gerard paddled his boogie board into the waves. Anna squatted down, scanning a dense patch of shells. Because she was so engrossed in what she was doing, she missed seeing Gerard swim out too far. She did not see him get tossed underwater by a majorly harsh wave.
When Gerard surfaced, he knew the undertow had pulled him out further than was safe for him, and he began to panic. He called for his sister, but she could not hear him. He had no way of knowing when she would turn to look for him. He quickly let his boogie board go and tried to paddle for the shore. He felt the undertow pulling him sideways, though, when he wanted to go forward, and panic gripped his young heart. The undertow was like a string pulling him, and he was as useless as a wooden puppet to stop it. The impact of his stubborn refusal to listen to his sister was becoming more and more clear to him as the shoreline looked further and further away. His false confidence left him, and terror seized him.
Finally, when he was beginning to lose hope, Anna stood up and turned her gaze toward the ocean. With a panicked scream, Anna threw her shells to the ground and ran for the water. She carefully, but swiftly, paddled out to where Gerard was struggling. Thankfully, Anna's ocean knowledge along with her patience and confidence won the war against the undertow. Because of her strong swimming skills, both Anna and Gerard made it to shore safely.
After a tumultuous fight with the ocean, both Anna and Gerard finished the day with a healthy respect for its power. Gerard finally understood, and they never had another fight about the ocean.
Question: What evidence in the text most effectively supports the inference that Gerard overestimated his readiness for ocean swimming?
(1 point)
Responses
With a panicked scream, Anna threw her shells to the ground and ran for the water.
He quickly let his boogie board go and tried to paddle for the shore.
Gerard tagged along behind her, struggling to carry his boogie board in his small, six-year-old arms.
His false confidence left him, and terror seized him.
His false confidence left him, and terror seized him.
Question: Of the following statements, which would be the best theme of this story?
(1 point)
Responses
Even people that are very strong struggle against the power of nature.
To understand the danger of something completely, sometimes you have to experience it first.
Confidence is the key to getting out of a tough situation.
Sometimes fears can be exaggerated to be much worse than they really are.
Even people that are very strong struggle against the power of nature.
Question: Using the passage below from the text, how is the meaning of this passage impacted by the word choice of the author?
The undertow was like a string pulling him, and he was as useless as a wooden puppet to stop it. The impact of his stubborn refusal to listen to his sister was becoming more and more clear to him as the shoreline looked further and further away. His false confidence left him, and terror seized him.
(1 point)
Responses
The two phrases "false confidence" and "stubborn refusal" demonstrate that Gerard is in this situation due to his overconfident attitude.
The two phrases "useless as a wooden puppet" and "like a string pulling him" demonstrate that Gerard was not at fault to be in this situation.
The two phrases "false confidence" and "stubborn refusal" demonstrate that Gerard is overconfident due to praise from his family and friends.
The two phrases "useless as a wooden puppet" and "like a string pulling him" demonstrate that Gerard does not really put forth much effort to get out of the undertow.
The two phrases "false confidence" and "stubborn refusal" demonstrate that Gerard is in this situation due to his overconfident attitude.
Question: Read this part of the story and answer the question that follows.
The undertow was like a string pulling him, and he was as useless as a wooden puppet to stop it.
What effect is created by the author when they use the two similes/analogies in this sentence?
(1 point)
Responses
The similes/analogies in the sentence create an effect of hopelessness, making it easier for the reader to understand how desperate Gerard felt while in the water.
The similes/analogies create an effect that shows Anna's anger towards her brother.
The similes/analogies in the sentence create a helpless effect by explaining that it was not Gerard's fault that he was stuck in the undertow in the first place.
The text is very serious up to this point, and the similes/analogies make the story funny.