Read between the lines and prove it

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The School Violin (story)

   [1] Three days before the spring recital, Luz carried a battered violin case down the music hallway and set it gently on a bench outside the practice room. [2] A white sticker on the lid, faded to the color of old tea, read Property of Hillside Middle School. [3] Inside, the varnish had worn thin on the chin rest, and one of the four strings was a different brand from the others. [4] Luz tuned each string twice, played a slow scale and then laid a clean cloth over the instrument as if tucking in a sleeping animal. [5] Mr. Okafor, the music teacher, leaned in the doorway with a clipboard and a cup of coffee. [6] "You have practiced every afternoon," he said. "I am impressed." [7] "It is the only time I get," Luz said quietly, and then smiled as though that had been a joke. [8] Mr. Okafor flipped a page on the clipboard, where Luz's name filled the after-school practice column for the whole spring and nobody else's name appeared at all. [9] Without another word, he took a second key from his pocket and unlocked the cabinet marked Reserved, where a polished violin in a new case sat on the top shelf. [10] "The recital is on Friday," he said. "You might want to try this one for the performance." [11] Luz stared at the new case for a long moment, then shook a head slowly and carried the battered violin onto the stage on Friday night, holding it as carefully as a bowl of water.

2. 1.

   Ari thinks about this question: “Why does Luz carry the battered violin onto the stage instead of the new one?” Which choice gives the idea the clues support, with its strongest clue?

   • Luz thinks that using the new violin would be unfair to the other students. Clue: [9].
   • Luz has grown attached to the violin that Luz practiced on all spring. Clue: [1].
   • Luz has grown attached to the violin that Luz practiced on all spring. Clue: [4].
   • Luz carried the battered violin onto the stage on Friday night. Clue: [11].
3. 2.

   Bo thinks about this question: “What does the passage suggest about whether Luz has a violin at home?” Which choice gives the idea the clues support, with its strongest clue?

   • Luz's family cannot afford to buy any instrument. Clue: [7].
   • Luz probably has no violin to practice on at home. Clue: [7].
   • Luz probably has no violin to practice on at home. Clue: [8].
   • The violin belongs to Hillside Middle School. Clue: [2].

4. Breakfast on Maple Street (story)

   [1] Zee crept into the kitchen at six o'clock on Saturday, determined to make breakfast for Mrs. Quill, the neighbor next door who had broken an ankle the week before. [2] The recipe card promised golden toast, scrambled eggs and a glass of orange juice, and Zee had practiced the eggs twice the night before. [3] The toast, however, went wrong the moment the phone buzzed, and by the time Zee looked up, the bread had turned the color of a roof. [4] Zee scraped off the worst of the black, stacked the slices on a tray with the eggs and set the juice beside them in a glass with a paper umbrella. [5] Crossing the lawn took a long time, because the tray tilted and the juice slopped, but Zee reached Mrs. Quill's porch, knocked twice and ducked behind a flowerpot. [6] Through the screen, Zee watched Mrs. Quill hobble to the door on crutches, look down at the tray and stand perfectly still for several seconds. [7] Then Mrs. Quill lifted the tray, glanced toward the flowerpot and said, to nobody in particular, "Well, whoever did this has a very generous heart." [8] An hour later the tray was back on Zee's porch, with every plate empty except for a small black triangle of toast left on the edge. [9] A sticky note under the glass read, "Best breakfast on Maple Street. Please come again next Saturday. P.S. Bring a smoke detector." [10] Zee read the note twice, then a third time, and began sketching a menu for the following week. [11] On the front of the menu, Zee wrote "Toast: lightly golden" and underlined the word lightly three times.

5. 3.

   Jun thinks about this question: “Why does Mrs. Quill glance toward the flowerpot before she says “whoever did this”?” Which choice gives the idea the clues support, with its strongest clue?

   • Mrs. Quill has noticed Zee and chooses to let Zee stay hidden. Clue: [7].
   • Mrs. Quill wants to protect Zee from being teased by the neighbors. Clue: [6].
   • Mrs. Quill says that whoever did this has a generous heart. Clue: [7].
   • Mrs. Quill does not know who left the tray and is just guessing. Clue: [5].
6. 4.

   Kira thinks about this question: “What does the passage suggest about how Mrs. Quill felt about the burnt toast?” Which choice gives the idea the clues support, with its strongest clue?

   • Mrs. Quill noticed the burnt toast but chose to joke about it kindly. Clue: [9].
   • Mrs. Quill dislikes Zee's cooking and will refuse any more breakfasts. Clue: [9].
   • The toast turned black while Zee was distracted by the phone. Clue: [3].
   • Mrs. Quill noticed the burnt toast but chose to joke about it kindly. Clue: [8].
7. 5.

   Luz has an idea: “Mrs. Quill knew Zee was hiding behind the flowerpot” Four sentences are true. Which one is the strongest clue for it?

   • [9] A sticky note under the glass read, "Best breakfast on Maple Street. Please come again next Saturday. P.S. Bring a smoke detector."
   • [5] Crossing the lawn took a long time, because the tray tilted and the juice slopped, but Zee reached Mrs. Quill's porch, knocked twice and ducked behind a flowerpot.
   • [7] Then Mrs. Quill lifted the tray, glanced toward the flowerpot and said, to nobody in particular, "Well, whoever did this has a very generous heart."
   • [10] Zee read the note twice, then a third time, and began sketching a menu for the following week.

8. The Eighteen-Month Mail Route (article)

   [1] In April 1860, a young rider swung onto a horse in St. Joseph, Missouri, and set out for California with a leather mail bag strapped across the saddle. [2] The service he belonged to, the Pony Express, promised to deliver a letter across nearly two thousand miles in about ten days, less than half the time that a stagecoach needed. [3] To keep that pace, the company set up stations about every ten to fifteen miles along the route. [4] At each station a fresh horse stood saddled and waiting, and a rider could change mounts in about two minutes. [5] Riders also had to be light, and the company preferred young men who were small and wiry. [6] The job was hard and dangerous, because riders crossed deserts, mountains and open plains in every kind of weather. [7] Even so, the Pony Express never turned a profit, because each trip cost far more than the postage paid by customers. [8] On October 24, 1861, workers joined the last wires of the transcontinental telegraph in Salt Lake City. [9] Messages that had once taken ten days now crossed the continent in a matter of minutes. [10] Two days later, the Pony Express announced that it would stop carrying mail. [11] Its riders had been on the trail for only about eighteen months. [12] The names of a few of them, however, are still remembered, and the image of a lone horseman racing across the plains became one of the best-known pictures of the American West.

9. 6.

   Milo thinks about this question: “According to the timeline in sentences [8] to [10], why did the Pony Express stop carrying mail?” Which choice gives the idea the clues support, with its strongest clue?

   • The telegraph, finished two days earlier, made delivery by horse unnecessary. Clue: [8].
   • Years of money losses forced it to stop in October 1861. Clue: [7].
   • The telegraph, finished two days earlier, made delivery by horse unnecessary. Clue: [9].
   • The Pony Express announced that it would stop carrying mail. Clue: [10].
10. 7.

    Noah thinks about this question: “What does the passage suggest about why riders had to be light?” Which choice gives the idea the clues support, with its strongest clue?

    • Light riders helped the horses run faster over long distances. Clue: [5].
    • Light riders helped the horses run faster over long distances. Clue: [4].
    • The company chose small riders who could not fight back against danger. Clue: [6].
    • The company preferred riders who were small and wiry. Clue: [5].
11. 8.

    Pia has an idea: “The Pony Express was an expensive way to carry mail” Four sentences are true. Which one is the strongest clue for it?

    • [9] Messages that had once taken ten days now crossed the continent in a matter of minutes.
    • [4] At each station a fresh horse stood saddled and waiting, and a rider could change mounts in about two minutes.
    • [1] In April 1860, a young rider swung onto a horse in St. Joseph, Missouri, and set out for California with a leather mail bag strapped across the saddle.
    • [7] Even so, the Pony Express never turned a profit, because each trip cost far more than the postage paid by customers.

12. Roads That Freeze Into Place (article)

    [1] In parts of northern Canada, a road can appear in December and vanish by April. [2] Crews build these ice roads each winter by flooding frozen lakes with water, which freezes into a thicker, smoother surface that heavy trucks can cross. [3] For many remote communities, the road is the only way to bring in fuel, building materials and food in large amounts, because flights are costly and the ground is too soft for ordinary roads in summer. [4] Before any truck is allowed to drive, workers drill holes along the route and measure the ice with special equipment. [5] A road for heavy trucks needs ice about a meter thick, and the road is closed whenever the ice weakens. [6] Drivers are also given strict speed limits, often little faster than a bicycle ride. [7] Moving too fast sends a wave of pressure through the water beneath the ice, and the wave can crack the surface ahead of the truck. [8] For the same reason, drivers are told to keep their distance from the next truck and to leave a door unlatched so they can escape quickly if the ice gives way. [9] In spring, as temperatures climb, the road must close long before the ice looks thin, because ice can lose its strength before it melts. [10] A single missed day can leave a community waiting until the next winter for supplies. [11] Despite the risks, trucks have been crossing these roads for decades, and the people who build them say that careful planning matters more than luck.

13. 9.

    Ren thinks about this question: “What does the article suggest about how road crews weigh safety against keeping the road open?” Which choice gives the idea the clues support, with its strongest clue?

    • Drivers are given strict speed limits on the ice. Clue: [6].
    • Crews would rather close the road early than risk a crossing. Clue: [5].
    • Crews would rather close the road early than risk a crossing. Clue: [9].
    • Crews would let a community run out of supplies before taking any risk. Clue: [10].
14. 10.

    Tala thinks about this question: “What does the article suggest about why drivers must keep their distance from the next truck?” Which choice gives the idea the clues support, with its strongest clue?

    • Two trucks together would break even the thickest ice. Clue: [5].
    • Waves from two trucks close together could add up and crack the ice. Clue: [7].
    • Waves from two trucks close together could add up and crack the ice. Clue: [6].
    • Drivers are told to keep their distance from the next truck. Clue: [8].