Spot the echo of another story

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Rumor (story)

   [1] On Tuesday morning, a rumor raced through the hallway faster than the lunch bell. [2] Someone had heard that the field trip to the science museum was canceled, and someone else added that all the trips for the year were canceled too. [3] By the time the rumor reached the cafeteria, students were saying that the whole school might close early for the summer. [4] Milo marched to the office, face pale, and asked whether any of it was true. [5] Ms. Valdez, the secretary, looked up from the computer and smiled. [6] “It sounds like Chicken Little,” she said gently. [7] “One acorn falls on a head, and suddenly everyone is shouting that the sky is falling.” [8] She explained that a single bus had been delayed because of a flat tire. [9] The trip would simply leave an hour later than planned, and the museum had already agreed to hold the tickets. [10] Milo let out a long breath, thanked Ms. Valdez, and walked back to class feeling a little silly. [11] At lunch, Milo told the story to anyone who would listen, and the rumor melted away.

   Source note: In the folktale “Chicken Little,” a small chicken is hit by an acorn, decides that the sky is falling, and spreads the alarm to every animal it meets.

2. 1.

   Ari reads the story and the source note. Which choice matches the parts of the old tale with the parts of the school story?

   • The acorn matches the delayed bus, and the shouting animals match Ms. Valdez, who calmly answers questions at the office.
   • The acorn matches the delayed bus, and the shouting animals match the students spreading the rumor.
   • The acorn matches the rumor, and the shouting animals match the delayed bus, which started everything.
   • The acorn matches the field trip, and the falling sky matches the lunch bell that rings in the hallway.
3. 2.

   Bo thinks about the effect. What does Ms. Valdez's allusion to Chicken Little do for the scene?

   • It tells the reader that Ms. Valdez knows a story about farm animals and likes to share it.
   • It gently shows that the alarm is bigger than the problem, with a kind joke instead of a scolding.
   • It scolds Milo harshly for spreading a rumor in the hallway, so the scene turns tense and uncomfortable.
   • It shows that rumors at the school are false, so Milo should stop listening to students.
4. 3.

   Esme thinks about the writer's choice. King Midas wished that all he touched would turn to gold and found it ruined his happiness. Why does Chicken Little fit the rumor better than that tale?

   • Chicken Little is about an alarm that spreads from a small event, while the Midas tale is about a wish that goes wrong.
   • Chicken Little has many animals in it, and the school has many students in it, so both crowds spread the news.
   • Chicken Little is about greed, which is what the rumor shows about the students who keep passing it on.
   • Ms. Valdez does not know the Midas tale, so she can use just the tale she happens to know well.

5. The Huge New School (story)

   [1] On the first day at the huge middle school, Kira stepped through the main doors and stopped. [2] The hallway split into four corridors, and each one was lined with identical blue lockers. [3] A map in Kira's hand showed room numbers that seemed to change depending on which way the paper was turned. [4] Students rushed past in every direction, speaking a language of abbreviations such as A-wing, gym B, and period four. [5] Kira followed a staircase that led to a bridge that led to another staircase, and none of them went where the map pointed. [6] “I feel like Alice after the rabbit hole,” Kira whispered, “and nothing here follows the rules I know.” [7] A friendly hall monitor, Mr. Osei, noticed the map and tapped the correct corner of the page. [8] Mr. Osei explained that the building had been joined together from two older schools, so the numbers began again in the second half. [9] Once Kira understood that rule, the puzzle turned into a kind of game. [10] By the end of the day, Kira could find the gym, the cafeteria, and the quiet library corner without looking at the map once. [11] That evening, Kira drew a new map with a cartoon rabbit hole at the front door and a smiling arrow pointing to Room 12.

   Source note: In the book “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,” a girl falls down a rabbit hole into a strange world where nothing follows the rules she knows.

6. 4.

   Jun thinks about the writer's choice. Why is Alice's fall down the rabbit hole a good source for Kira to use?

   • Alice enters a strange place where the usual rules seem to fail, as Kira does in a maze of hallways and numbers.
   • Kira has read the book many times and knows the whole story by heart, so the comparison came easily.
   • Alice is rewarded for finding a hidden path, and Kira is rewarded for finding the gym.
   • Alice and Kira are both children who go through an entrance into a place that is new to them.
7. 5.

   Luz reads the story and the source note. Which choice matches parts of the book with parts of Kira's day?

   • The rabbit hole matches the hallways, and the strange world matches the main doors of the huge school.
   • The rabbit hole matches the main doors, and the strange world matches the quiet library corner.
   • The rabbit hole matches the main doors, and the strange world matches the confusing hallways and numbers.
   • The rabbit hole matches Mr. Osei, and the strange world matches the map that Kira carries through the day.
8. 6.

   Noah thinks about the effect. How does the allusion to Alice affect the tone of Kira's first day?

   • It makes the confusion playful and a little dreamlike, so Kira seems more amazed than afraid.
   • It tells the reader that Kira has been reading a book about a girl named Alice before school.
   • It makes the building seem dangerous, so Kira seems in great danger and must be rescued.
   • It makes the day seem dull and ordinary, so Kira seems bored by the building and its many hallways.

9. A Recipe Book in Every Cell (article)

   [1] Inside almost every cell in your body is a long molecule called DNA, which carries instructions for building and running a living thing. [2] Scientists often compare DNA to a giant recipe book kept in the cell's nucleus. [3] Each recipe in the book is called a gene, and each gene gives directions for making one protein. [4] Proteins are the working parts of a cell, and they do jobs such as carrying oxygen or building muscle. [5] A cook does not carry the whole recipe book to the table; the cook copies one recipe onto a card and works from the card. [6] In the same way, a cell copies a single gene into a short message and uses that message to build a protein. [7] The original DNA stays safe in the nucleus, just as the book stays safe on the shelf. [8] The analogy explains why every cell has the full book even though a muscle cell uses different recipes from a skin cell. [9] It does not explain everything, because a recipe book never changes by itself, while DNA can sometimes change through mutations. [10] It also leaves out the fact that cells decide which recipes to read at different times. [11] Even so, the picture of a recipe book gives students an easy way to remember the roles of DNA, genes and proteins. [12] Later, they replace the comparison with the real molecules and their names.

10. 7.

    Pia reads the article. In the recipe-book analogy, which choice matches the parts correctly?

    • The recipe book matches DNA, one recipe matches a protein, and the copied card matches a gene.
    • The recipe book matches DNA, one recipe matches a gene, and the copied card matches the short message.
    • The recipe book matches a gene, one recipe matches DNA, and the copied card matches a protein.
    • The recipe book matches the nucleus, one recipe matches DNA, and the copied card matches a cell in the body.
11. 8.

    Ren thinks about the writer's choice. Why does the writer explain the copied card in sentences [5] and [6]?

    • It explains how a cook finds a recipe in the book, which is the main idea of the article.
    • It shows that DNA is too hard to read, so cells must write a simpler copy.
    • It shows that cells are small kitchens that cook food for the body.
    • It shows why the original DNA can stay safe in the nucleus while a copy is used to build a protein.
12. 9.

    Tala thinks about the effect. What does the recipe-book analogy let a reader understand about muscle cells and skin cells?

    • They have the same full book but read different recipes, so they do different jobs.
    • They are both kinds of cells found in the body of a living thing.
    • Their DNA is fixed like the printed pages of a book, because a recipe book stays the same by itself.
    • They have different books, so each kind of cell has its own set of DNA.

13. How a Photo Crosses the Internet (article)

    [1] When you send a photo to a friend, the photo does not travel across the internet in one piece. [2] Instead, a computer breaks it into thousands of small packets, and each packet is labeled with its destination and its place in the order. [3] An easy way to picture this is a pile of numbered postcards that a person mails one at a time. [4] Each postcard may take a different route through post offices and sorting centers. [5] Some travel through the north, some through the south, and a few may arrive late. [6] When all of the postcards reach the destination, the friend's computer puts them in numbered order and rebuilds the photo. [7] If a postcard is lost on the way, the receiving computer asks for another copy of that one packet. [8] The postcard analogy explains why a large file can be sent even when parts of the network are busy. [9] It also shows why the numbers matter, since without them the packets could be pasted together in the wrong order. [10] The analogy is not perfect, because packets travel in a fraction of a second, while mail takes days. [11] Routers, the computers that sort packets, also make their decisions almost instantly. [12] A postal worker, by contrast, may handle each letter by hand.

14. 10.

    Zee thinks about the effect. What does the postcard analogy let a reader understand about packets?

    • A photo is broken into thousands of small pieces before it is sent to a friend's computer.
    • Each packet carries a number, so the pieces can arrive in any order and still be put back together.
    • Packets must travel together along one route, or the photo cannot be rebuilt by the receiving computer.
    • Packets are carried by postal workers and take days to arrive at the destination.