Read between the lines and prove it

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Missing Camera (story)

   [1] When Ms. Okoye announced that the photo club's camera had gone missing from the supply closet, Ren was the first to offer to search for it. [2] Ren spent Wednesday afternoon turning over every box in the closet, announcing each empty one in a loud, cheerful voice. [3] Noah, who had signed the camera out on Monday, remarked quietly that the strap had been fraying for weeks and that the lens cap fell off at the slightest bump. [4] On Thursday, the custodian, Mr. Dube, mentioned that he had found a cracked black plastic cap in the recycling bin outside the art room. [5] Ren, standing nearby, asked whether anyone had checked the lost-and-found, then went to look in it twice. [6] At lunch, Ren turned down a seat at the photo club table. [7] Ren explained that a dentist appointment would keep Ren busy all week, although two weeks earlier Ren had said the appointment was on Friday. [8] That afternoon Ren's backpack, usually flat, bulged oddly, and Ren hugged it against one hip while hurrying through the hall. [9] Noah, meanwhile, spent the afternoon retracing every step of Monday and checked the bus twice, though the driver had already said that nothing had been left on board. [10] On Friday morning, an envelope appeared on Ms. Okoye's desk containing sixty dollars in small bills and a slip of paper that read only, "For the camera fund." [11] Ms. Okoye read the slip twice, glanced toward the hallway and said nothing to the club. [12] That afternoon Ren sat at the photo club table, ate lunch in silence and stared at the empty shelf in the closet across the hall.

2. 1.

   Ari reads the whole passage. Which inference is best supported by all the evidence taken together?

   • Ms. Okoye knows exactly who took the camera and is protecting that person.
   • Ren is probably responsible for the camera's loss and is quietly trying to pay for it.
   • Noah lost the camera on Monday and is simply retracing the whole day to find it again.
   • Ren stole the camera to keep it and is hiding it inside the bulging backpack until the fuss is over.
3. 2.

   A tempting inference is that Ren stole the camera to keep it. Which statement best explains why it fails when all the evidence is weighed?

   • The cracked cap in the recycling bin shows the camera was destroyed, so it cannot have been kept.
   • A thief would not leave sixty dollars or return to the club table; both fit paying back.
   • Ren did not steal the camera, so the inference about stealing must be wrong from the start.
   • Noah signed out the camera on Monday, so Noah was the last person known to have it in hand.
4. 3.

   Esme reads sentences [5] to [8]. Ren's words and actions disagree. What does Ren most likely want?

   • To stay close to the search while avoiding any link to the camera.
   • To check the lost-and-found twice.
   • To keep busy at the dentist and stay away from the club this week.
   • To stop the club from finding the camera before the week is over.

5. The Night Before the Final (story)

   [1] The night before the district final, Bo told Coach Reyes at practice that the sprained ankle felt totally fine now. [2] Bo then jogged three easy laps, ran one sprint at full speed and finished with a determined smile that did not quite reach the eyes. [3] In the locker room afterward, Bo sat for a long while with the left shoe still on, carefully retying the lace twice before standing. [4] Luz, passing by with a water bottle, noticed that the athletic tape from Monday's practice had been replaced by a fresh wrap, tight and neat, under the sock. [5] Bo's backpack held a bag of ice that had melted into a pool of water, along with an unopened envelope stamped with the school nurse's name. [6] On the bus the next day, Coach Reyes asked once more whether Bo wanted to start or to sit out the first half. [7] Bo answered with a laugh that the team needed the best player on the court. [8] The answer drew a few good-natured groans from the back seats of the bus. [9] During warm-ups, Bo took every shot from the same spot near the free-throw line without moving more than a step in any direction. [10] When Coach Reyes called the starting five, Bo's name came last, and Bo stood up quickly, tugged the jersey straight and did not look toward the bench where the envelope lay. [11] Luz, watching from the second row, saw Bo pause at the edge of the court and carefully shift weight onto the right foot before stepping onto the floor.

6. 4.

   Jun reads the whole passage. Which inference is best supported by all the evidence taken together?

   • Bo is just nervous about the final game, and the ankle has fully healed by now.
   • Bo's ankle still hurts, and Bo is hiding it so the coach will let Bo play.
   • Bo has decided to sit out the game and will tell Coach Reyes quietly at halftime.
   • Coach Reyes knows the ankle is hurt and is pretending not to notice the problem.
7. 5.

   A tempting inference is that Bo is only nervous and the ankle has healed. Which statement best explains why it fails?

   • Coach Reyes asked twice whether Bo wanted to start the game, which shows the ankle has healed by then.
   • Bo is not just nervous before the final game, so the inference about nerves must be wrong.
   • Nerves would not explain the fresh wrap, the melted ice or shooting from one spot without moving.
   • Bo retied the left shoe twice in [3], and nervous players often retie their shoes before big games.
8. 6.

   Luz reads sentences [6] to [8]. Bo answers Coach Reyes with a laugh that the team needs the best player on the court. What does Bo most likely believe?

   • That Bo is the strongest player on the team and has fully recovered.
   • That Bo told Coach Reyes the ankle felt fine.
   • That the team can win the final without Bo anywhere on the court.
   • That the team's chances matter more than Bo's own comfort.

9. The Silent Settlement (article)

   [1] In the summer of 1587, about a hundred and fifteen English men, women and children settled on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina. [2] Their governor, John White, soon sailed back to England to ask for more supplies, expecting to return within months. [3] Before he left, the colonists agreed on a signal: if they ever had to abandon the settlement, they would carve their destination into a tree or post, and if they were in danger, they would add a cross. [4] White's return was delayed for three years, partly because England was preparing for war with Spain and every available ship was needed for defense. [5] When he finally landed in August 1590, the settlement was silent and no one came to meet him. [6] The houses had been taken down, and a tall fence of logs now stood where the cabins had been. [7] On one post, the letters CROATOAN were carved in plain capitals. [8] There was no cross. [9] Heavy chests that White had buried were dug up and emptied, though some of his books and maps lay scattered in the grass. [10] Croatoan was the name of a nearby island and of the Native people who lived there, with whom the colonists had friendly contact. [11] White hoped to sail there, but a storm damaged his ships and the captain refused to continue. [12] He returned to England, and no English visitor saw the colonists again, so their fate remained a mystery.

10. 7.

    Milo reads the whole passage. Which inference is best supported by all the evidence taken together?

    • The colonists probably left on their own for Croatoan, but what became of them is unknown.
    • The colonists were overcome in an attack by an enemy force some time before White returned.
    • White abandoned the colony on purpose when he sailed to England for supplies in 1587.
    • The colonists sailed home to England on a passing ship, leaving the settlement empty before White returned.
11. 8.

    A tempting inference is that the colonists were attacked. Which statement best explains why it fails when the evidence is weighed?

    • The colonists were not attacked by anyone, so the attack inference is simply wrong, whatever else is true.
    • The three-year delay in [4] gave the colonists time to leave, so they cannot have been attacked.
    • No cross, the agreed danger signal, was carved, and the houses were taken down neatly beside a name.
    • White's chests were dug up and emptied in [9], which could have happened after the colonists left.

12. Why Pluto Changed Categories (article)

    [1] For seventy-six years after its discovery in 1930, Pluto was taught as the ninth planet of the solar system. [2] It is small: its diameter is less than that of Earth's Moon, and its mass is only a fraction of the Moon's. [3] For decades, astronomers assumed that it must be a large object that was simply far away and dim. [4] Better telescopes later showed that Pluto was much smaller than anyone had thought, and that it was one of many icy bodies beyond Neptune in a region called the Kuiper Belt. [5] In 2005 astronomers announced Eris, another object in that region that was about as large as Pluto and slightly more massive. [6] Scientists had to decide whether Eris was a tenth planet or whether Pluto did not belong on the list. [7] In 2006 the International Astronomical Union set out three conditions: a planet must orbit the Sun, be round, and have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit of other large objects. [8] Pluto meets the first two, but it shares its orbital zone with thousands of Kuiper Belt objects, and so it was placed in a new category called dwarf planets. [9] Pluto is also smaller than seven moons in the solar system. [10] Mercury, which remains a planet, is smaller than two moons, Ganymede and Titan. [11] Several scientists still disagree with the decision, arguing that a planet should be defined by what it is made of, not by where it sits. [12] The debate shows how science can change a name without changing the facts about the object.

13. 9.

    A tempting inference is that Pluto lost planet status because of its small size. Which statement best explains why it fails?

    • Mercury is smaller than two moons and still counts as a planet, so size alone cannot be the test.
    • Pluto is smaller than seven moons in the solar system, which shows how very small the planet really is.
    • Size is not the reason Pluto was reclassified, so the size inference is simply wrong in the end.
    • Pluto was first thought to be larger than it is, so size cannot matter to the rule.
14. 10.

    Zee reads the article. Which conclusion do the clues NOT support?

    • Pluto is smaller than Earth's Moon in both diameter and mass.
    • Eris is about as large as Pluto and slightly more massive than Pluto is.
    • Pluto shares its orbital zone with no other large objects.
    • Some scientists disagree with the decision about Pluto's category.