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.

   Pia imagines the same diner on a quiet street in a town on a clear night. Which statement about what would change is best?

   • Each part would change, including the family, the soup and Zee's personality, since the plot depends on the mountain.
   • Travelers would leave after one coffee, so there would be no night together and no reason for Zee to act.
   • Nothing important would change, because Zee's helpful nature would lead to the same warm evening anywhere.
   • Zee would turn back into a shy hider, since the storm, not Zee's own nature, caused each kind act.
3. 2.

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

   • It traps the travelers and cuts the power, but it also gathers strangers where a stove and food are waiting.
   • The storm brings nothing but help, because it brings customers to a diner that usually has few.
   • The storm is decoration for the opening; the story would be the same if the travelers had simply chosen to stop.
   • The storm causes nothing but trouble: it traps people and cuts the power, and nothing good comes of it.
4. 3.

   Tala traces how the setting leads to Zee's action. Which chain is correct?

   • Zee's quiet nature draws travelers to the diner, which closes the pass, so Zee offers the soup.
   • The pass closes and fills the diner; the cold draws everyone to the stove; Zee sees a shivering child and offers soup.
   • The pass closes and the diner fills, so Zee becomes brave and offers the soup.
   • Zee offers the soup, which closes the pass, which fills the diner with travelers who gather around the stove.
5. 4.

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

   • 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.
   • The storm, the snow and the power failure would disappear, since they depend on the mountain top and nothing else.
   • Nothing would change, because a storm traps people the same way beside a town as it does on a pass.
6. 5.

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

   • 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.
   • It leaves the travelers with no signal and no help for hours, but also with the stove, the shelves and each other.
   • It is a place name; the story would be the same on any road, since the travelers' own choices matter most in the end.
7. 6.

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

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

8. 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.

9. 7.

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

   • 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.
   • 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.
10. 8.

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

    • The dark, the lanterns and the teacher would change, since a town square belongs to a very different story.
    • 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.
    • 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?

    • Its distance from the streetlights lets the sky show the green light, while the climb takes families out of warm homes.
    • 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.
    • It is scenery, since the green light would be just as bright from the town square.
    • It helps the families, because they are comfortable there and the walk has no cost.
12. 10.

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

    • 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, 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.
    • Bo dreads the dark, so the teacher's idea seems silly; the sight under the dark sky shows Bo the dark has a use.