When a whole piece says one thing and means another

Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Welcome to Glenmoor, Home of the Line (an original satire (a town welcome booklet))

   [1] Visitors to Glenmoor soon discover why our town has been called, by everyone who has ever waited here, the most orderly place in the state. [2] In Glenmoor, no one simply walks into the bakery, the library or the post office; first, one joins the line for a ticket that permits one to join the line. [3] This ticket line is itself reached by a short line at the information booth, where a friendly volunteer explains which line leads to which other line. [4] Some newcomers have complained that buying a single loaf of bread can take most of a morning, but they soon learn to admire the calm that waiting brings. [5] Our mayor, who holds the town record of eleven hours in the line for a dog license, likes to say that a person who has never waited has never truly lived.

   [6] Each spring, Glenmoor celebrates Line Day, when the whole population forms a single line stretching from the train station to the river and back again. [7] Nobody knows where Line Day’s line is supposed to lead, which is exactly why it is so restful. [8] Local businesses have embraced the tradition: the hardware store sells folding stools, the café sells breakfast to people waiting outside the café, and the shoe store sells comfortable shoes. [9] Children in Glenmoor learn to form a line before they learn to read, and our high school offers an advanced course in patient standing. [10] A few impatient towns have tried to copy us by installing online booking systems, but such shortcuts, we are proud to say, have never caught on here.

   [11] Last year a visiting engineer offered to redesign the post office so that customers could be served in five minutes. [12] The town council thanked her warmly, issued her a ticket for the line to submit proposals, and has not seen her since. [13] We trust that your visit, however long it lasts, will be peaceful, orderly and spent almost entirely on your feet. [14] Please take a number at the door; the line for this booklet’s second page forms on the left.

2. 1.

   Ari is filling in the two margins. Sentence 7 says nobody knows where Line Day’s line leads, “which is exactly why it is so restful.” What does the writer really mean?

   • The writer is sincerely proud of the festival and hopes that visitors will come back for it.
   • Waiting has become pointless: the town lines up for its own sake, with no purpose.
   • The writer means that Line Day is the one useful line in Glenmoor, unlike the others.
   • Standing in a line with no destination is a relaxing activity that the writer recommends to visitors.
3. 2.

   Bo is labeling the target in the margin. What is the main target of the booklet’s satire?

   • The mayor, who once waited eleven hours in the line for a dog license and boasts about it.
   • People who are impatient and refuse to wait their turn in lines like other people.
   • Rules and procedures followed for their own sake, even when they defeat their purpose.
   • Online booking systems, which the booklet says some other towns have tried to install.
4. 3.

   Esme is labeling the method in the margin. Which method does the booklet mainly use?

   • Exaggeration, because the lines in the booklet are much longer than lines in real life.
   • The method fails, because a real town would not have so many different lines.
   • A naive narrator: a young child describes the town without understanding what it sees.
   • Mock praise and exaggeration: an absurd custom is praised and pushed further and further.
5. 4.

   Jun reads sentences 11 and 12: the council thanks the engineer, issues her a ticket for the proposal line, and “has not seen her since.” What does this mean?

   • The council treated the visitor politely and fairly, just as the booklet claims.
   • The engineer chose to leave town after being thanked, and the council misses the visitor.
   • The council accepted the engineer’s plan and is now busy carrying it out.
   • The town buries a good idea in its own procedures, so the problem can never be fixed.
6. 5.

   Kira looks at sentence 8, which lists businesses that profit from the lines. What does this list add to the target?

   • It mocks people who eat their breakfast outside instead of sitting down at home.
   • It mocks the hardware store for selling its folding stools at unfairly high prices.
   • It shows a whole town adapting to a bad rule instead of changing it.
   • It praises the town’s shop owners for clever business ideas that other towns should copy.
7. 6.

   Luz reads the closing line: “the line for this booklet’s second page forms on the left.” Which method does this last joke use?

   • Repetition: the word “line” appears once again at the very end of the booklet.
   • Understatement: the writer quietly plays down how long the lines in Glenmoor really are.
   • It ruins the booklet, because a welcome booklet should end by simply welcoming visitors.
   • Exaggeration pushed to absurdity: even reading the booklet now requires a wait in line.

8. My First Week at Westerly High (an original satire (a student’s letter))

   [1] Dear Ms. Ruiz, my first week at Westerly High has gone wonderfully, mostly because of the Department of Hallway Efficiency, which I think every school should have. [2] Each student wears a small badge that times how long we take to walk between classes, and the department posts our speeds on a board outside the cafeteria. [3] On Monday I was the slowest walker in the tenth grade, because I stopped to help a classmate pick up a spilled box of colored pencils. [4] Mr. Pruitt, the Director of Efficiency, kindly explained that helping is a lovely habit but one best practiced during the scheduled Helping Period on alternate Fridays. [5] By Wednesday I had learned not to look at the art exhibit in the main hall, which the department has thoughtfully placed where nobody has time to see it. [6] The library is also very efficient, since it opens only during lunch, when students are busy racing to finish eating within the official eleven minutes. [7] I was a little puzzled when our English teacher asked us to read a novel slowly and notice its details, but I am sure the department will correct that soon.

   [8] On Thursday the department announced that the hallway record had been broken by a senior who now walks to every class with eyes closed to avoid distractions. [9] Everyone clapped, although several students mentioned that the senior had walked straight past a fire drill and a surprise birthday cake. [10] My own speed has improved greatly, and I no longer know the names of anyone I pass, which saves at least four seconds a day. [11] Mr. Pruitt says that if I keep improving, I may be invited to join the Efficiency Club, which meets for exactly nine minutes each month and has never finished an agenda. [12] I am not sure what the club actually does, but its members look very busy, and that must mean something. [13] I miss my old school, where people sometimes stopped in the hallway to talk, but I suppose that was a terrible waste of time. [14] Please write back when you can, although I may need to read your letter quickly.

9. 7.

   Milo is filling in the two margins. Sentence 10 says the narrator no longer knows anyone’s name, “which saves at least four seconds a day.” What does the writer really mean?

   • The narrator has found a clever way to save time and deserves praise for it.
   • The efficiency rules are costing students their friendships, a loss the narrator calls a gain.
   • The writer means that the hallways have become friendlier since the new rules began.
   • Learning names takes about four seconds a day, so skipping that step saves a little time.
10. 8.

    Ren reads sentence 12: the club members “look very busy, and that must mean something.” What does the writer suggest?

    • That the club members are busy people who have a great many responsibilities.
    • That the narrator sincerely hopes to join the club and admires its members.
    • That looking busy has replaced doing anything worthwhile.
    • That the club does important work, even if the new student cannot see it yet.
11. 9.

    Tala reads sentence 9: the record-setting senior walked past “a fire drill and a surprise birthday cake.” What does this detail add to the target?

    • It mocks schools that hold fire drills far too often during the week.
    • It shows the rules making people miss what matters, both safety and celebration.
    • It mocks the senior for being rude to the classmates who baked the cake.
    • It praises the senior’s focus as an example that other students should follow.
12. 10.

    Zee reads the last line: “I may need to read your letter quickly.” How does the method work in this line?

    • It weakens the letter, because the narrator should finally see the truth at the end.
    • It is a polite closing line, as letters usually end by asking the reader to write back.
    • It uses sarcasm: the narrator is openly mocking the school in the final line.
    • The naive narrator shows, without noticing, that the rules now reach even a friendship.