6th Grade Reading Basic Practice Test 5

Name:

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Read the story.
Climbing out of the car, my heart raced, as I was excited to begin our family hiking trip. I skipped up the trail happily. The sun shone brightly, and I was having a terrific time. Then the hill became steeper, but I still bounded up the trail. My parents were calling for me to slow down because we still had a long way to go. Sure enough, my legs began to burn, and my breathing was deeper. I had been hiking too quickly. I slowed down my pace, and started to feel more stable. We finished the hike, and I was glad I had listened to my parents because if I had kept up the fast pace, I would have never made it.
Which event occurred first and last?

a.	sun shown brightly; hill became more steep	c.	skipping up the trail; legs began to burn
b.	climbed out of the car; listened to my parents	d.	slowed down my pace; listened to my parents

Read the story above
What happened first?

a.	I bounded up the trail.	c.	My legs began to burn, and my breathing was deeper.
b.	My parents were calling for me to slow down.	d.	I slowed down my pace.

Read the story above
Which event took place in the middle of this passage?

a.	I slowed down my pace, and started to feel more stable.	c.	Climbing out of the car, my heart raced.
b.	I was glad I listened to my parents.	d.	I bounded up the trail.

Literary Response and Analysis—Literary--RIT 191 - 200
Read the passage.
Jan and Todd were riding horses along the canal road, when suddenly, Jan’s horse got spooked. Her horse started jumping and bucking, and Jan could barely hold on. She started to scream for help, and Todd was frozen. He had no idea what to do to help Jan out. She fell off the horse and broke her right leg. The horse ran off down the road, and Todd started to cry.
How are Jan and Todd alike?

a.	Neither of them was prepared for this situation.	c.	They are both animal lovers.
b.	Jan and Todd are both experienced horse riders.	d.	They had medical and emergency training.

Literary Response and Analysis—Inference--RIT 191 - 200
1. Read the passage.
Patty and her mother woke up early in the morning to plant the first flowers of the summer. They had been planning to plant new roses and various other flowers in the front garden for weeks. Today, it was finally nice enough outside to plant, and it would be fun to work together in the yard. When they were finished, the front of the garden was filled with beautiful colors and fragrant odors to please everyone who passes.
What can you infer from this passage?

a.	Patty and her mother love gardening.	c.	Spring is the best time to plant new flowers.
b.	Patty and her mother don’t like to work very hard.	d.	Roses are the prettiest flowers to plant.

Choose the direction the passage is describing.
We planted the sunflower seeds so they would get full sun in the morning. By doing this, the sunflowers would get larger because the area was shady in the afternoon.
What direction were the sunflowers facing in the morning?

a.	north	c.	west
b.	south	d.	east

Read the passage.
Sam sat at the bay window, sulking as he watched the rain come pouring down outside. The thunder roared and the lightening slashed through the sky ferociously. He put his hands over his eyes and thought about the baseball game he was missing because of this unpredictable weather. Why did they have to move to this awful place any way? In Texas, they never had this kind of unpredictable weather! I want to move back home!
What can you infer about Sam?

a.	He doesn’t like his new bedroom.	c.	He is homesick for the place he used to live.
b.	He is always unhappy during storms.	d.	He wanted to play in the rain.

Read the passage.
Believing that personal experience is a writer’s richest resource, Theodore Taylor has held an amazing variety of jobs. He has been a merchant sailor and a naval officer, the manager of a prize fighter, a reporter and magazine writer, a movie publicist, producer, screenwriter, and a documentary filmmaker. These careers have taken him all over the world.
Who wrote the above paragraph?
A. Theodore Taylor
B. A Biographer
C. Taylor’s mother
D. Dictionary
Copyright Info: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. “The Cay”.

a.	Theodore Taylor	c.	Taylor’s mother
b.	A Biographer	d.	Dictionary

Read the poem.
The flicker of light
It burns in the shadows.
How wondrous it is
The miracle of nature.
How can such a simple thing
Be such a wonder?
A bug? With lightening?
How can this be?
What a wondrous sight!
What is the author referring to in this poem?

a.	lightening bugs	c.	storms
b.	lightening	d.	nature

10.

Literary Response and Analysis—Literary--RIT 191 - 200
Read the passage.
I was once a strawberry in a Hansel and Gretel pageant when I was in nursery school and didn’t have no better sense than to dance on tiptoe with my arms in a circle over my head doing umbrella steps and being a perfect fool just so my mother and father could come dressed up and clap. You’d think they’d know better than to encourage that kind of nonsense. I am not a strawberry. I do not dance on my toes. I run. That is what I am all about. So I always come late to the May Day program, just in time to get my number pinned on and lay in the grass till they announce the fifty-yard dash.
What makes this paragraph interesting?
Copyright Info: Bambera, Toni Cade. “Raymond’s Run”, Elements of Literature: Second
Course. Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1997.

a.	the author’s use of humor	c.	poetry
b.	the author’s use of foreshadowing	d.	using words that rhyme

11.

Read the passage.
For nearly a year, I sopped around the house, the Store, the school, and the church, like an old biscuit, dirty and inedible. Then I met, or rather got to know, the lady who threw me my first lifeline.
Which words does the author use to hold the reader’s attention?
Copyright Info: Angelou, Maya. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Elements of Literature:
Second Course. Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1997.

a.	for nearly a year	c.	the lady who threw me my first lifeline
b.	dirty and inedible	d.	I sopped around the house, the Store, the school and the church

12.

Read the passage.
The dark sky, filled with angry, swirling clouds, reflected Greg Ridley’s mood as he sat on the stoop of his building. His father’s voice came to him again, first reading the letter the principal had sent to the house, then lecturing endlessly about his poor efforts in math.
The mood or feeling of this story is:
Copyright Info: Elements of Literature: Second Course. Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1997.

a.	joyful	c.	amusing
b.	anger	d.	mystery

13.

Read the passage.
Bambara’s writing drew on the voices of her childhood: street-corner speechmakers, barbershop storytellers, performers at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater. She said her stories came from her imagination, though:
“It does no good to write autobiographical fiction, cause the minute the book hits the stand here comes your mama screamin how could you . . . . And it’s no use using bits and snatches even of real events and real people, even if you do cover, guise, switch-around, and change-up, cause next thing you know your best friend’s laundry cart is squeaking past but your bell ain’t ringing so you trot down the block after her and there’s this drafty cold pressure front the weatherman surely did not predict and your friend says in this chilly way that it’s really something when your own friend stabs you in the back with a pen. . . . So I deal in straight-up fiction myself, cause I value my family and friends, and mostly cause I lie a lot anyway.”
How does the author find ideas for her writing?
Copyright Info: Bambara, Toni Cade. “Meet the Wrier”, Elements of Literature: Second
Course. Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1997.

a.	She interviews people.	c.	She travels to collect ideas for her writing.
b.	She draws on the voices of her childhood.	d.	She makes them all up.

14.

Read the passage.
On that first day, I ran down the hill and into the road (few cars ever came along it) and had the good sense to stop running before I reached the Store.
I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected, not as Mrs. Henderson’s grandchild or Bailey’s sister, but for just being Marguerite Johnson.
Childhood’s logic never asks to be proved (all conclusions are absolute). I didn’t question why Mrs. Flowers had singled me out for attention, nor did it occur to me that Momma might have asked her to give me a little talking-to. All I cared about was that she had made tea cookies for me and read to me from her favorite book. It was enough to prove that she liked me.
What can you infer about Marguerite?
Copyright Info: Angelou, Maya. “Mrs. Flowers.” Elements of Literature: Second Course. Holt,
Rinehart and Winston 1997.

a.	She liked to run.	c.	She and Bailey liked to make cookies.
b.	Marguerite needs someone to love and respect her for herself.	d.	There was a lot of traffic in her town.

15.

Read the passage.
It was a gloomy day. My brother and I stared out the windows with frowns on our faces. Nothing would ever be the same.
The mood or feeling of this story is:

a.	sad	c.	scary
b.	funny	d.	ridiculous

16.

Read the passage.
I am always hungry, but I can do it now, I can get food and I know I can get food and it makes me more. I know what I can do.
From the above passage, you can tell this writing is:
Copyright Info: Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. Puffin Books, 1989.

a.	an autobiography	c.	a personal narrative
b.	a novel	d.	prose

17.

Read the sentences.
a. Gorillas are plant-eating creatures.
b. Gorillas can be found in Africa.
c. All gorillas are ugly, scary and mean.
d. Scientists think gorillas could have been as tall as ten feet.
Which of the above sentences are non-fiction?

a.	b, c, d	c.	a, b, d
b.	a, b, c	d.	none of the above

18.

Read the story.
Long ago, in the ancient sea, there lived a small, yellow octopus. He was very smart and very sneaky. He liked to tease the other fish and animals in the sea, and he was always telling them how he could get anyone to do anything he asked. He was a very over-confident and cunning octopus. One day, a giant eagle was flying over the waters, and the octopus waved to him, asking him to stop and visit. He told the eagle that he wanted to be friends, and that he would
make the eagle very popular with all the other animals, if the eagle would do anything the octopus asked. The eagle did not have any friends, so he agreed. The following morning, the octopus bragged to all the other animals that he had a slave that would take him flying or to do anything else he wanted. He continued to tease the other animals and made them all feel very bad. That afternoon, the eagle came flying by, and the octopus asked him to carry him in the eagle’s claws and fly around the sea looking for food. The eagle did this, but it was very tiring and difficult. The eagle was in pain, but the octopus didn’t care. He was only concerned about himself. One evening, when the octopus was sleeping, the other animals met and talked to the eagle. They all became great friends, and the next day when the octopus demanded that the eagle fly him around again to look for food, the eagle picked up the octopus and dropped him back into the water with a huge splash. The other animals all cheered.
Why might the eagle have dropped the octopus into the sea?

a.	The other animals asked him to so the octopus would quit teasing them.	c.	The octopus wanted to be dropped.
b.	The octopus wanted new friends.	d.	The eagle lost his grip.

19.

Read the passage.
It was a rainy and cold morning, but the children all wanted to play outside. Their mother told them to wear jackets and hats, so they would not get sick or catch a cold. They all agreed, but as soon as they were out of their mother’s sight, they took off their jackets and hats, so they could play football without any bulky clothing on.
What do you think will happen?

a.	The children will go back home.	c.	The children will win the game of football.
b.	The children will get sick, because they were wet and cold.	d.	The children will want to play a different game.

20.

Read the passage.
During the meeting at the school, the PTO met with the teachers and principal to discuss how they could raise money to buy new playground equipment. The principal said it was going to cost $500.00, but the school budget only had $250.00 left to spend for the year. The PTO said they would be able to kick in half of the money necessary for the purchase.
What is the meaning of “kick in” in this passage?

a.	The PTO will give them a loan.	c.	The PTO will donate the money.
b.	The PTO will help them organize fund-raisers.	d.	The PTO does not have any funds.