Theme is the insight about life a text develops. Support it with specific evidence.
Ask why an author includes a detail: to show change in a character, set a mood or limit a claim.
Word choice carries meaning: “spongy” soil suggests it soaks up water.
Example: Why might an author mention that Noor “had stopped checking her phone”? Earlier, the phone held her attention. Now she is noticing something else: the people around her. Answer: To show she has become interested in the people around her
Question 1
What does Odile mean by calling the quiet season “honest”?
The Quiet Season
Every winter, the town of Alder Creek went quiet. The loggers headed south, the tourists vanished, and the only sound along Main Street was snow sliding off tin roofs.
Some people called it boring. Odile called it honest. In summer, the town performed: banners on lampposts, a fiddler in the park, shopkeepers smiling at strangers. In winter, you saw what the town was when nobody was watching: a handful of neighbours shovelling each other's walks, a lit window at the library, a pot of soup passed over a fence.
“You can't see a place properly when it's showing off,” Odile liked to say. She had lived there for seventy years and had never once wanted to leave during the quiet season.
The town shows its true character when it isn't performing for visitors.
Winter is the cheapest season.
Nobody speaks in winter.
The town never tells lies.
The town shows its true character when it isn't performing for visitors.
Hint: She contrasts summer's “performance” with winter, when the town isn't “showing off.”
Question 2
Which theme is best supported by the passage?
The Quiet Season
Every winter, the town of Alder Creek went quiet. The loggers headed south, the tourists vanished, and the only sound along Main Street was snow sliding off tin roofs.
Some people called it boring. Odile called it honest. In summer, the town performed: banners on lampposts, a fiddler in the park, shopkeepers smiling at strangers. In winter, you saw what the town was when nobody was watching: a handful of neighbours shovelling each other's walks, a lit window at the library, a pot of soup passed over a fence.
“You can't see a place properly when it's showing off,” Odile liked to say. She had lived there for seventy years and had never once wanted to leave during the quiet season.
The most meaningful parts of a community may be found in quiet, everyday kindness.
Small towns should be left.
Summers are better than winters.
Tourists ruin small towns.
The most meaningful parts of a community may be found in quiet, everyday kindness.
Hint: Look at the details Odile values: neighbours shovelling, a lit library window, soup passed over a fence.
Question 3
What does the author reveal about Odile in the last sentence?
The Quiet Season
Every winter, the town of Alder Creek went quiet. The loggers headed south, the tourists vanished, and the only sound along Main Street was snow sliding off tin roofs.
Some people called it boring. Odile called it honest. In summer, the town performed: banners on lampposts, a fiddler in the park, shopkeepers smiling at strangers. In winter, you saw what the town was when nobody was watching: a handful of neighbours shovelling each other's walks, a lit window at the library, a pot of soup passed over a fence.
“You can't see a place properly when it's showing off,” Odile liked to say. She had lived there for seventy years and had never once wanted to leave during the quiet season.
She plans to move away.
She dislikes winter.
She is deeply attached to the town and its quiet season.
She works for the tourist office.
She is deeply attached to the town and its quiet season.
Hint: Seventy years and “never once wanted to leave” show strong attachment.
Question 4
The word “performed” in the second paragraph is used to suggest that the town in summer…
The Quiet Season
Every winter, the town of Alder Creek went quiet. The loggers headed south, the tourists vanished, and the only sound along Main Street was snow sliding off tin roofs.
Some people called it boring. Odile called it honest. In summer, the town performed: banners on lampposts, a fiddler in the park, shopkeepers smiling at strangers. In winter, you saw what the town was when nobody was watching: a handful of neighbours shovelling each other's walks, a lit window at the library, a pot of soup passed over a fence.
“You can't see a place properly when it's showing off,” Odile liked to say. She had lived there for seventy years and had never once wanted to leave during the quiet season.
acts in a play
puts on a show for visitors
works more slowly
is dishonest with the law
puts on a show for visitors
Hint: Banners, fiddlers and smiling shopkeepers are presented as a display for outsiders.
Question 5
Which sentence best states the author's overall position?
Is a Four-Day School Week Worth It?
Some school districts in North America have tried a four-day week, usually with longer days on Monday to Thursday. Supporters claim the change saves money on transportation and heating, and gives students and teachers a day for appointments, work or rest.
Critics point out that research is mixed. Several studies found small drops in test scores, especially in math, while others found no change at all. Parents who work on Fridays may struggle to find child care, and the longer days can leave younger students tired by the afternoon.
The strongest case for the change may be in rural districts, where long bus rides make every school day expensive. In larger cities with many working parents, the costs may outweigh the benefits. A decision like this probably depends less on a single rule than on the needs of the community.
Every school should switch to four days.
Test scores always go up.
A four-day week never works.
The four-day week may suit some communities better than others, depending on their needs.
The four-day week may suit some communities better than others, depending on their needs.
Hint: The last paragraph says the decision “depends … on the needs of the community.”
Question 6
What kind of evidence does the author use in the second paragraph?
Is a Four-Day School Week Worth It?
Some school districts in North America have tried a four-day week, usually with longer days on Monday to Thursday. Supporters claim the change saves money on transportation and heating, and gives students and teachers a day for appointments, work or rest.
Critics point out that research is mixed. Several studies found small drops in test scores, especially in math, while others found no change at all. Parents who work on Fridays may struggle to find child care, and the longer days can leave younger students tired by the afternoon.
The strongest case for the change may be in rural districts, where long bus rides make every school day expensive. In larger cities with many working parents, the costs may outweigh the benefits. A decision like this probably depends less on a single rule than on the needs of the community.
A famous quotation
Research findings that disagree with each other
A joke
A single personal story
Research findings that disagree with each other
Hint: “Several studies found small drops… others found no change.”
Question 7
Why does the author mention rural districts?
Is a Four-Day School Week Worth It?
Some school districts in North America have tried a four-day week, usually with longer days on Monday to Thursday. Supporters claim the change saves money on transportation and heating, and gives students and teachers a day for appointments, work or rest.
Critics point out that research is mixed. Several studies found small drops in test scores, especially in math, while others found no change at all. Parents who work on Fridays may struggle to find child care, and the longer days can leave younger students tired by the afternoon.
The strongest case for the change may be in rural districts, where long bus rides make every school day expensive. In larger cities with many working parents, the costs may outweigh the benefits. A decision like this probably depends less on a single rule than on the needs of the community.
To show where the benefits are strongest
To criticize bus drivers
To prove cities are better
To list all school districts
To show where the benefits are strongest
Hint: The passage says the case is strongest where “long bus rides make every school day expensive.”
Question 8
The tone of this passage is best described as…
Is a Four-Day School Week Worth It?
Some school districts in North America have tried a four-day week, usually with longer days on Monday to Thursday. Supporters claim the change saves money on transportation and heating, and gives students and teachers a day for appointments, work or rest.
Critics point out that research is mixed. Several studies found small drops in test scores, especially in math, while others found no change at all. Parents who work on Fridays may struggle to find child care, and the longer days can leave younger students tired by the afternoon.
The strongest case for the change may be in rural districts, where long bus rides make every school day expensive. In larger cities with many working parents, the costs may outweigh the benefits. A decision like this probably depends less on a single rule than on the needs of the community.
silly and sarcastic
angry and one-sided
balanced and thoughtful
bored and uninterested
balanced and thoughtful
Hint: The author presents both supporters and critics and avoids strong emotions.
Question 9
What is the effect of the author's detail about the tea?
Night Shift
At 2 a.m., the only light in the hospital cafeteria came from the vending machine. Priya sat alone with a cup of tea gone cold, her hospital badge flipped backward on her lanyard so no one could see her name.
Down the hall, a baby was crying. Priya had been a nurse for three years, and she still could not decide whether the sound meant someone needed her or reminded her that she was needed too much. Her mother called it “the weight of a good heart.” Priya thought of it as the weight of an unfinished list.
She finished the tea anyway, cold and bitter, and rinsed the cup. Then she flipped her badge around, squared her shoulders and walked toward the sound.
It proves the cafeteria is closing.
It reflects Priya's tiredness and the lack of comfort in the moment.
It shows she enjoys tea.
It shows she dislikes her mother.
It reflects Priya's tiredness and the lack of comfort in the moment.
Hint: Cold, bitter tea mirrors a cold, lonely moment.
Question 10
What does flipping the badge back around at the end suggest?
Night Shift
At 2 a.m., the only light in the hospital cafeteria came from the vending machine. Priya sat alone with a cup of tea gone cold, her hospital badge flipped backward on her lanyard so no one could see her name.
Down the hall, a baby was crying. Priya had been a nurse for three years, and she still could not decide whether the sound meant someone needed her or reminded her that she was needed too much. Her mother called it “the weight of a good heart.” Priya thought of it as the weight of an unfinished list.
She finished the tea anyway, cold and bitter, and rinsed the cup. Then she flipped her badge around, squared her shoulders and walked toward the sound.
Priya is choosing to face her responsibilities.
Priya has lost her badge.
Priya is hiding from her mother.
Priya is quitting her job.
Priya is choosing to face her responsibilities.
Hint: She hid her name earlier. Turning it around shows she is ready to be seen and to help.
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Answer key
1. The town shows its true character when it isn't performing for visitors.
2. The most meaningful parts of a community may be found in quiet, everyday kindness.
3. She is deeply attached to the town and its quiet season.
4. puts on a show for visitors
5. The four-day week may suit some communities better than others, depending on their needs.
6. Research findings that disagree with each other
7. To show where the benefits are strongest
8. balanced and thoughtful
9. It reflects Priya's tiredness and the lack of comfort in the moment.
10. Priya is choosing to face her responsibilities.
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