How the place and time shape what happens

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Night at Thorn Pass (story)

   [1] The Thorn Pass Diner sits at the top of a mountain road, forty miles from the nearest town, and Zee's family has run it for as long as Zee can remember. [2] Most days, only a few truck drivers stop for coffee. [3] On the evening of the first big storm, snow fell so fast that the highway department closed the pass, and within an hour fourteen travelers had crowded into the dining room. [4] The power flickered and went out at six. [5] Outside, the lights of the plows vanished behind a white wall of snow.

   [6] Zee's father lit the old woodstove in the corner, the one that usually stood there for decoration. [7] The travelers drifted toward it, strangers at first, holding their coats and checking phones that showed no signal. [8] Zee, who usually hid in the kitchen when customers got loud, noticed a small child shivering beside the window. [9] Without a word, Zee pulled a pot from the shelf, filled it with the last of the soup, and set it on the stove's flat top. [10] By midnight, a retired teacher was reading aloud from the diner's shelf of paperbacks, and the truck drivers were stacking firewood. [11] When the plow finally pushed through at dawn, nobody seemed in a hurry to leave.

2. 1.

   Ren asks how the storm acts as both a problem and a help. Which statement is best supported?

   • The storm is decoration for the opening; the story would be the same if the travelers had simply chosen to stop.
   • It traps the travelers and cuts the power, but it also gathers strangers where a stove and food are waiting.
   • The storm causes nothing but trouble: it traps people and cuts the power, and nothing good comes of it.
   • The storm brings nothing but help, because it brings customers to a diner that usually has few.
3. 2.

   Ari imagines the diner at the edge of a busy town, with the same storm. Which effect on the plot is best supported?

   • Nothing would change, because a storm traps people the same way beside a town as it does on a pass.
   • The storm, the snow and the power failure would disappear, since they depend on the mountain top and nothing else.
   • Zee would stop being quiet, because a busy town would turn Zee into a confident host.
   • Travelers could walk or call for help, so they would not depend on the diner's stove, and Zee's act would matter less.
4. 3.

   Ari asks how the diner's remote location acts as both a problem and a help. Which statement is best supported?

   • It is a place name; the story would be the same on any road, since the travelers' own choices matter most in the end.
   • It leaves the travelers with no signal and no help for hours, but also with the stove, the shelves and each other.
   • It cuts the travelers off from help, and nothing about the diner makes the night easier for them.
   • It helps the travelers, because a place so far from town is peaceful and gives them a calm night.
5. 4.

   Bo asks why nobody is in a hurry to leave at dawn. Which chain best explains it?

   • The travelers become a group, which causes the storm to cut the power and signal, so no one wants to leave at dawn.
   • The storm cuts power and signal, so the travelers rely on the stove and each other; the night makes them a group.
   • The storm closes the pass, and no one wants to leave because the plow arrives late.
   • Zee's soup makes the storm worse, so the travelers stay until the plow arrives.

6. The Long Dark (story)

   [1] In the northern town of Nordholm, the sun sinks behind the mountains in late November and does not return for two months. [2] Bo had lived there all twelve years and still dreaded the dark weeks, when school began and ended under streetlights. [3] By December the whole town seemed to move more slowly. [4] Neighbors skipped the walk to the market, the playground stood empty, and even the dogs seemed to want to stay inside.

   [5] On the darkest day, Ms. Arvik, the art teacher, handed every student a paper lantern and a small battery light. [6] “Tonight,” she said, “we will use the dark instead of waiting for it to end.” [7] Bo rolled both eyes but carried the lantern home anyway. [8] That evening, families climbed the hill above town, each carrying a glowing lantern, and spread out across the snow. [9] Far from the streetlights, the sky filled with green light rippling over the mountains, so bright that the lanterns seemed to dim. [10] Bo stood quietly for a long time, surprised to find that the dark was the only thing that made the sight possible. [11] On the walk home, Bo was the one who suggested making the lantern walk a yearly tradition.

7. 5.

   Esme imagines Nordholm in a place with ordinary days and nights all winter. Which statement about what would change is best?

   • Nothing important would change, because Ms. Arvik could still hold a lantern walk and Bo could still enjoy the evening.
   • Bo would be cheerful throughout the year, because the long dark is the one reason Bo ever feels low.
   • The town, the families and Ms. Arvik would vanish, since each part depends on the polar winter.
   • Bo would not dread the dark weeks, the lantern walk would lose its purpose, and the green light would not stand out.
8. 6.

   Jun asks how the long dark acts as both a problem and a help. Which statement is best supported?

   • It causes nothing but trouble: it slows the town, empties the playground and keeps Bo inside, and nothing good comes of it.
   • It helps the town, because a dark town is cozy and quiet and everyone enjoys the winter.
   • It is a backdrop; the lantern walk would have worked the same way under a bright sky.
   • It slows the town and weighs on Bo, yet only a dark sky lets the green light show.
9. 7.

   Kira traces how the setting leads to Bo's suggestion in [11]. Which chain is correct?

   • The long dark slows the town; the lantern walk takes families far from the streetlights; the green light shows Bo the dark made it possible, so Bo suggests a yearly walk.
   • The long dark slows the town, and Bo suggests a yearly walk because the lanterns are pretty.
   • Bo suggests a yearly walk; then the families climb the hill, and the dark returns to slow the town.
   • Bo's cheerful nature makes the dark seem shorter; the green light follows, so Bo suggests a yearly walk.
10. 8.

    Luz imagines the lantern walk held in the lit town square instead of on the hill. Which effect is best supported?

    • Streetlights would wash out the sky, so the green light would be hard to see and Bo might not change views.
    • Nothing would change, because the lanterns would glow just as brightly and Bo would still be amazed.
    • The dark, the lanterns and the teacher would change, since a town square belongs to a very different story.
    • Bo would stay gloomy forever, since a town square cannot hold the lantern walk's meaning.
11. 9.

    Milo asks how the hill above town works in the story. Which statement is best supported?

    • It helps the families, because they are comfortable there and the walk has no cost.
    • It is an obstacle, because climbing through the snow is hard and nothing at the top rewards the families who make the long, cold trip.
    • Its distance from the streetlights lets the sky show the green light, while the climb takes families out of warm homes.
    • It is scenery, since the green light would be just as bright from the town square.
12. 10.

    Noah asks why Bo rolls both eyes in [7] but suggests a yearly walk in [11]. Which chain best explains the change?

    • Bo dreads the dark, so the teacher's idea seems silly, and Bo later suggests the walk with no new reason.
    • Bo is simply an agreeable person who goes along with anything, so the dark and the sky changed nothing about it.
    • The sight changes Bo's mind first, so Bo then rolls both eyes at the teacher's idea and dreads the dark.
    • Bo dreads the dark, so the teacher's idea seems silly; the sight under the dark sky shows Bo the dark has a use.