Characters with mixed or clashing motives
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Poster and the Fence (story)
[1] The Riverside Library held a poster contest each spring, and Pia, who had drawn on every school folder since second grade, wanted the winning spot in the front window more than anything. [2] The deadline was noon on Saturday, which left Friday night and Saturday morning to finish a poster of a heron standing in tall reeds. [3] That same Saturday, Bo's family was repainting the old fence along their garden, and Pia had promised weeks earlier to bring a brush and help from nine until the paint ran out.
[4] On Friday night, Pia drew until midnight and still had the reeds to color, so Saturday morning arrived with a knot of worry. [5] At eight thirty, Pia stood at the door with a rolled poster in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, trying to guess which of the two could be dropped. [6] Then Pia walked to Bo's house with both, tucked the poster behind the garden gate, and painted the first section of fence with quick, impatient strokes. [7] By ten thirty, the first coat was finished, and Bo handed over a jar of cold water and a plate of orange slices.
[8] Pia colored the reeds on the garden bench while the paint dried, working with paint-stained fingers, and rode to the library at five minutes before noon. [9] The poster won second place, and the judge said the heron was fine but the reeds looked rushed. [10] Pia was disappointed for an hour, and then noticed the fence, which looked smooth and clean from the end of the street. [11] The following spring, Pia entered the contest again, and wrote the fence-painting date into the calendar before writing the deadline. [12] In March, Pia handed Bo a brush and said that the poster could wait until the paint was dry.
Bo marks the clash on the strip. Which sentence shows which of Pia's two wants wins?
- [1] The Riverside Library held a poster contest each spring, and Pia, who had drawn on every school folder since second grade, wanted the winning spot in the front window more than anything.
- [6] Then Pia walked to Bo's house with both, tucked the poster behind the garden gate, and painted the first section of fence with quick, impatient strokes.
- [5] At eight thirty, Pia stood at the door with a rolled poster in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, trying to guess which of the two could be dropped.
- [11] The following spring, Pia entered the contest again, and wrote the fence-painting date into the calendar before writing the deadline.
Esme fills in the what-changed cell for Pia. Which choice gives the right label and the sentences that prove it?
- Changes: sentence 12 before, sentence 5 after.
- Changes: sentence 1 before, sentence 3 after.
- Stays the same: sentences 5 and 12 show the same attitude.
- Changes: sentence 5 before, sentence 12 after.
Six Slow Laps (story)
[1] Coach Alder began every basketball practice with six slow laps around the gym, and nobody on the team had ever seen the coach skip a single one. [2] Ren loved the free-throw drills that came after the laps and thought that the laps only stole time from what mattered. [3] Ren also wanted the coach's good opinion, because the starting five would be named at the end of the month. [4] On Tuesday, Ren arrived ten minutes late and hurried to the free-throw line instead of joining the circle, hoping to slip into the drill unnoticed.
[5] Coach Alder watched the first three shots, set a ball down on the baseline, and said calmly that the laps came first for everyone, including the best shooter on the team. [6] Ren felt the face burn and walked slowly to the edge of the gym, where six laps waited, each one seeming longer than the one before. [7] When the laps were finished, the coach said nothing more about it, and the drill began exactly as it always did. [8] That Friday, Ren arrived five minutes early, joined the circle, and ran the six laps next to Ari, noticing for the first time how loose the legs felt afterward.
[9] The coach never mentioned the change, and Ren never asked whether it had been noticed. [10] At the end of the month, the starting five were named, and Ren heard the name from across the gym with a mixture of relief and surprise. [11] Coach Alder shook every player's hand at the door, using the same short words that had been used at the first practice in September. [12] At the next practice, Ren was the first one on the floor for the six slow laps, and Coach Alder, as always, said nothing more than hello.
Jun is filling in the wants cell on the strip. Which statement names both things Ren wants?
- Coach Alder wants the team to run laps and also wants Ren to take more shots.
- Ren wants to skip practice altogether and also wants the coach's good opinion of Ren.
- Ren wants to spend practice on free throws and also wants the coach's good opinion.
- Ren wants the coach's good opinion and a place among the starting five.
Kira marks the clash on the strip. Which sentence shows which of Ren's two wants wins?
- [4] On Tuesday, Ren arrived ten minutes late and hurried to the free-throw line instead of joining the circle, hoping to slip into the drill unnoticed.
- [2] Ren loved the free-throw drills that came after the laps and thought that the laps only stole time from what mattered.
- [5] Coach Alder watched the first three shots, set a ball down on the baseline, and said calmly that the laps came first for everyone, including the best shooter on the team.
- [8] That Friday, Ren arrived five minutes early, joined the circle, and ran the six laps next to Ari, noticing for the first time how loose the legs felt afterward.
Luz fills in the what-changed cell for Coach Alder. Which choice gives the right label and the sentences that prove it?
- Stays the same: sentences 1 and 5 show the same rule.
- Stays the same: sentences 1 and 2 show the same rule.
- Changes: sentence 1 before, sentence 11 after.
- Changes: sentence 1 before, sentence 3 after.
The Recipe Card (story)
[1] Every winter, Kira cooked Grandma Rosa's potato soup for the neighborhood supper, following the handwritten recipe card line by line, down to the cream and the pinch of nutmeg. [2] The card was stained and soft at the corners, and Kira treated it almost as a promise, convinced that changing a single ingredient would change the meaning of the soup. [3] This year, Tala had joined the supper committee, and Kira learned in October that Tala could not eat anything made with cream. [4] Kira wanted Tala to share the soup, and also wanted to keep Grandma Rosa's recipe exactly as it was written.
[5] For two weeks, Kira tried to solve both wishes at once, making a pot of soup with cream for the supper and a separate bowl of plain broth for Tala. [6] At the practice supper, the plain broth sat alone at the end of the table, and Tala ate it politely while everyone else lined up for the soup. [7] That night, Kira stayed up with the recipe card and finally stirred oat milk into a small test pot, tasting it with a frown that slowly became a smile.
[8] On the evening of the supper, Kira served only the new soup, and carried the first bowl to Tala before anyone else. [9] Grandma Rosa, who had come early to help, tasted a spoonful and was silent for a long moment. [10] Then Grandma Rosa said that it tasted like her own kitchen, which was what the recipe had always been trying to say. [11] Later, Kira found a second line on the card in the old, careful handwriting: or oat milk, for friends. [12] At the next supper, Kira wrote the date next to the new line and left the card on the counter where anyone could read it.
Milo is filling in the wants cell on the strip. Which statement names both things Kira wants?
- Tala wants to join the supper committee and also wants a soup made without cream.
- Kira wants Tala to share the soup and to enjoy the supper with the other guests.
- Kira wants Tala to share the soup and also wants to keep Grandma Rosa's recipe exactly as it is written.
- Kira wants to keep Grandma Rosa's recipe exactly as it is written and to follow the card line by line.
Noah marks the clash on the strip. Which sentence shows which of Kira's two wants wins?
- [4] Kira wanted Tala to share the soup, and also wanted to keep Grandma Rosa's recipe exactly as it was written.
- [8] On the evening of the supper, Kira served only the new soup, and carried the first bowl to Tala before anyone else.
- [7] That night, Kira stayed up with the recipe card and finally stirred oat milk into a small test pot, tasting it with a frown that slowly became a smile.
- [11] Later, Kira found a second line on the card in the old, careful handwriting: or oat milk, for friends.
Pia fills in the what-changed cell for Kira. Which choice gives the right label and the sentences that prove it?
- Changes: sentence 2 before, sentence 6 after.
- Stays the same: sentences 2 and 12 show the same belief about the card.
- Changes: sentence 12 before, sentence 2 after.
- Changes: sentence 2 before, sentence 12 after.
The Last Copy (story)
[1] The school library owned only one copy of a field guide to birds, and Milo had checked it out three weeks in a row, drawing the birds in the margins of a notebook. [2] Mr. Hosseini, the librarian, mentioned on a Monday that Noah's reading group needed the guide for a project due Friday, and asked Milo to bring it back. [3] Milo nodded, and then walked home with the book still in the bag, because returning it felt like giving up the best part of the month. [4] Milo wanted to finish the drawings, and also wanted to be someone who returned things when asked.
[5] On Tuesday, Milo copied three more pages into the notebook, working quickly, while a small voice in the back of the mind kept counting the days. [6] On Wednesday, Milo saw Noah standing at the library desk, asking whether the guide had come back yet, and took a long breath. [7] Milo went to the locker, took out the book, and handed it across the desk without a word, though the drawings of the last two birds were still unfinished.
[8] That evening, Milo sat with the notebook and drew the last two birds from memory, and found that the lines were looser and truer than the copied ones. [9] Noah's group used the guide until Friday and left a note inside the cover thanking whoever had kept it so well. [10] When the book was returned, Mr. Hosseini slid it back onto the shelf and wrote Milo's name on a card to mark the next free week. [11] Milo borrowed the guide again the following month, and returned it two days early. [12] On the inside of the notebook, Milo wrote the date of the return beside the date of the loan.
Tala marks the clash on the strip. Which sentence shows which of Milo's two wants wins?
- [9] Noah's group used the guide until Friday and left a note inside the cover thanking whoever had kept it so well.
- [4] Milo wanted to finish the drawings, and also wanted to be someone who returned things when asked.
- [7] Milo went to the locker, took out the book, and handed it across the desk without a word, though the drawings of the last two birds were still unfinished.
- [11] Milo borrowed the guide again the following month, and returned it two days early.
Zee fills in the what-changed cell for Milo. Which choice gives the right label and the sentences that prove it?
- Changes: sentence 11 before, sentence 3 after.
- Changes: sentence 1 before, sentence 3 after.
- Stays the same: sentences 3 and 11 show the same habit.
- Changes: sentence 3 before, sentence 11 after.