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Grade 10 English Language Arts — Reading a passage closely

Answer questions on an extract — what it states, what it implies, and what its words mean there.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Put these four sentences into the order that makes one paragraph. The time words tell you where each one belongs.

    • By September the water has drawn back a little, and the birds arrive.
    • For most of the year the lake is a shallow bowl of cracked mud.
    • They stay until the mud returns.
    • In July, however, the rains fill it to the brim.

  2. 2.Read: "Meera checked the sky twice before she left, and pushed the umbrella deep into her bag." What does this suggest?

    • a) She was going to the market.
    • b) She was expecting rain.
    • c) She disliked walking.
    • d) She had lost her umbrella.

  3. 3.Sort each sentence by whether it reports a fact or gives an opinion.

    Groups: Fact · Opinion

    • The library is the finest building in town.
    • The book has 240 pages.
    • The book is far too long.
    • The trains are hopelessly slow.
    • The library opens at nine.
    • Three trains run every hour.

  4. 4.Read: "He had rehearsed the speech forty times, yet his hands would not keep still." What does "yet" do here?

    • a) It offers an example of the first half.
    • b) It sets the second half against the first.
    • c) It gives the reason for the first half.
    • d) It gives the result of the first half.

  5. 5.Read: "'Of course you may borrow it,' said Nita, holding the book a little tighter." What does the detail about her hands suggest?

    • a) The book was very heavy.
    • b) She did not really want to lend it.
    • c) She had only just bought it.
    • d) She was about to read it aloud.

  6. 6.Read: "The letter was terse: three lines, no greeting, no signature." Write one word that gives the meaning of "terse" here.

  7. 7.Read: "The scheme was launched with great fanfare, but within a year it had folded quietly." Write the one word from the extract that tells you the ending was not announced loudly.

  8. 8.Read: "Rooftop gardens cool a building, hold rainwater and give city birds somewhere to feed. They cost little to start and less to keep." What is the main idea?

    • a) Buildings are too hot in summer.
    • b) Rainwater should always be collected.
    • c) City birds are in danger.
    • d) Rooftop gardens are cheap and useful in several ways.

Answer key — Grade 10 English Language Arts — Reading a passage closely

  1. 1. 1. For most of the year the lake is a shallow bowl of cracked mud. 2. In July, however, the rains fill it to the brim. 3. By September the water has drawn back a little, and the birds arrive. 4. They stay until the mud returns.
  2. 2. b) She was expecting rain.
  3. 3. The library opens at nine. → Fact; The library is the finest building in town. → Opinion; The book has 240 pages. → Fact; The book is far too long. → Opinion; Three trains run every hour. → Fact; The trains are hopelessly slow. → Opinion
  4. 4. b) It sets the second half against the first.
  5. 5. b) She did not really want to lend it.
  6. 6.
    • short
    • brief
    • curt
    • blunt
    • abrupt
    • concise
    • +1 more accepted answer
  7. 7. quietly
  8. 8. d) Rooftop gardens are cheap and useful in several ways.