Figures of speech and allusions

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Situation

   After the fair, the cafeteria floor was covered in glitter, paper and spilled punch. Milo found a smart way to clean all of it in one afternoon.

2. 1.

   Tala reads the situation. Which story would a writer compare it to?

   • King Midas: a king wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, and soon his food did too.
   • Hercules: a hero cleaned a huge, dirty stable in one day by sending two rivers through it.
   • Sisyphus: a king had to push a boulder up a hill, and it rolled back down each time.
   • Atlas: a Titan was made to hold up the sky on his shoulders and could not put it down.

3. Sentence

   When Ren opened the group chat to settle one small argument, it turned into Pandora's box, and soon half the class was complaining about something new.

4. 2.

   Noah reads the sentence. Which plain-words version keeps both the meaning and the strength?

   • Ren started the argument on purpose and enjoyed the chaos that followed in the group chat.
   • Ren opened a real box in the group chat, and the complaints came out of it.
   • Ren tried to settle one small argument, but it set off a flood of new complaints.
   • Ren opened the group chat and read a few more messages from classmates.

5. Story card (novel by Miguel de Cervantes)

   An old man named Don Quixote reads so many tales of knights that he sets out to be one. He rides at windmills, believing they are giants.
   Sentence: Writing angry letters to the weather forecast, Bo was tilting at windmills.

6. 3.

   Pia reads the story card and the sentence. What does the allusion add that plain words like wasting effort would not?

   • It suggests Bo is putting a lot of effort into writing the letters.
   • It suggests Bo is fighting something that is not a real enemy and cannot be beaten.
   • It suggests Bo has lost touch with reality and sees giants everywhere.
   • It suggests Bo is brave and sure to win the fight against the forecast.

7. Situation

   Kira studied for weeks and scored 89 on the test. The cutoff for an A was 90, so the A stayed just out of reach.

8. 4.

   Luz reads the situation. Which story would a writer compare it to?

   • The Tortoise and the Hare: a slow tortoise beat a fast hare that stopped to nap during a race.
   • Sour grapes: a fox could not reach some grapes, so it said they were probably sour anyway.
   • Tantalus: a man stood in water below hanging fruit, but both moved away whenever he reached.
   • King Midas: a king wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, and it did at once.
9. 5.

   The line for the water fountain was a mile long, and Kira shuffled forward like a snail. Ren reads the sentence. Which plain-words version keeps both the meaning and the strength?

   • The line was very long, so Kira gave up and went home.
   • The line was a little long, and Kira moved forward slowly.
   • The line was very long, and Kira moved forward very slowly.
   • The line stretched for one mile, and Kira moved like a real snail.

10. Situation

    Jun told the teacher that the dog ate the project, but then the finished project fell out of Jun's own backpack.

11. 6.

    Esme reads the situation. Which story would a writer compare it to?

    • The Ant and the Grasshopper: a grasshopper played through the summer and had no food in winter, while an ant had stored some.
    • The Lion and the Mouse: a lion spared a tiny mouse, and later the mouse freed the lion from a net.
    • Pinocchio: a wooden puppet's nose grew longer whenever he told a lie, so the lie showed.
    • The Boy Who Cried Wolf: a shepherd boy shouted false alarms until no one believed him.
12. 7.

    The afternoon crawled by, and the clock seemed to nap on the wall. Kira reads the sentence. Which plain-words version keeps both the meaning and the strength?

    • The afternoon passed slowly because the clock was broken.
    • The afternoon passed at an ordinary speed, and the clock kept time.
    • The afternoon crawled across the floor, and the clock fell asleep.
    • The afternoon passed very slowly, and time felt almost stopped.

13. Story card (play and novel by J. M. Barrie)

    Peter Pan is a boy who refuses to grow up. He lives in Neverland, where he can fly and avoids grown-up duties.
    Sentence: Zee's older cousin acted like Peter Pan, skipping chores and planning for fun.

14. 8.

    Milo reads the story card and the sentence. What does the allusion add that plain words like lazy would not?

    • It shows the cousin will not change and will not leave home.
    • It adds the picture of someone who refuses to grow up and take on duties.
    • It adds that the cousin does not like doing chores or following rules.
    • It adds that the cousin is young, small and full of magic, and can fly.
15. 9.

    This week Jun had the Midas touch: each project went smoothly with barely any effort. Zee reads the sentence. Which plain-words version keeps both the meaning and the strength?

    • This week Jun's projects succeeded because Jun cheated on them.
    • This week Jun's projects went fine and were finished on time.
    • This week Jun's projects each succeeded with little effort.
    • This week Jun's touch turned each of the projects into gold.

16. Story card (fable by Aesop)

    A shepherd boy shouts “Wolf!” as a joke, and villagers rush to help. He does it again. When a real wolf comes, no one believes him and no one comes.
    Sentence: After three fake emergency texts, Noah's real message was ignored: it was a cry-wolf moment.

17. 10.

    Bo reads the story card and the sentence. What does the allusion add that plain words like ignored would not?

    • It adds the idea that Noah was in real danger from an animal.
    • It says Noah's message was not answered by the people who got it.
    • It adds the idea that repeated false alarms made people stop believing a real one.
    • It shows that Noah lied on purpose to trick the whole class.