What the text says, and what it only suggests
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Closing Day (story)
[1] On the last Saturday before the music shop closed, Kira helped the owner, Ms. Varga, pack forty years of sheet music into boxes for the city library. [2] Ms. Varga announced, more than once, that she was relieved to be finished with the place, its leaking skylight and its customers who haggled over guitar strings. [3] Ms. Varga labeled each box in thick marker and stacked it by the door, working faster than Kira could tape the boxes shut. [4] Around noon a boy with a violin case asked whether the shop still did repairs, and Ms. Varga told him it did not and sent him to the store across the river. [5] After he left, she stood at the window and watched him until he turned the corner, then went back to her boxes without a word.
[6] In the afternoon Kira found a drawer of handwritten repair cards, each listing an instrument, a customer and a date, the newest only three weeks old. [7] Ms. Varga said the cards could go straight into the recycling bin, since nobody would ever need them again. [8] Kira set the bin by the counter, but on returning from the storeroom found the bin empty and the drawer pushed shut. [9] At four the library van arrived, and the driver loaded the boxes while Ms. Varga counted them aloud.
[10] Before locking up, Ms. Varga wrapped a small brass tuning fork in a clean handkerchief, handed it to Kira, and remarked that it was worthless anyway. [11] Ms. Varga also wrote the name of the store across the river on an old business card and asked Kira to give it to the boy if Kira ever saw that boy again. [12] Under the name, in smaller letters, she had added her own home number and the words "violins only, evenings." [13] Kira kept the tuning fork on a shelf at home and, for reasons hard to explain, never used it to tune anything.
Ari tests an idea the story never states: “Ms. Varga secretly kept the repair cards, and she planned to go on repairing violins herself.” Which two sentences, together, support both parts?
- [8] Kira set the bin by the counter, but on returning from the storeroom found the bin empty and the drawer pushed shut. [12] Under the name, in smaller letters, she had added her own home number and the words "violins only, evenings."
- [4] Around noon a boy with a violin case asked whether the shop still did repairs, and Ms. Varga told him it did not and sent him to the store across the river. [8] Kira set the bin by the counter, but on returning from the storeroom found the bin empty and the drawer pushed shut.
- [5] After he left, she stood at the window and watched him until he turned the corner, then went back to her boxes without a word. [12] Under the name, in smaller letters, she had added her own home number and the words "violins only, evenings."
- [6] In the afternoon Kira found a drawer of handwritten repair cards, each listing an instrument, a customer and a date, the newest only three weeks old. [8] Kira set the bin by the counter, but on returning from the storeroom found the bin empty and the drawer pushed shut.
The Box on the Shelf (story)
[1] When the family gave Grandmother Ilse a tablet for her eightieth birthday, she thanked everyone politely, said she had managed eighty years without a screen, and set the box, still sealed, on the hall shelf. [2] For the next month, whenever Ren visited on Saturdays, the box sat in exactly the same place, and Grandmother never mentioned it. [3] On the fourth Saturday, Ren noticed that the tape along the lid had been slit and pressed back down, so neatly that the cut was hard to see. [4] Grandmother, peeling apples for a cake, asked in her crossword-clue voice how a person might hypothetically make the letters on such a machine larger.
[5] Ren began to explain, but Grandmother waved the answer away, said the question had only been curiosity, and asked about Ren's school play instead. [6] Over the cake, Grandmother remarked that it had rained all week in Lisbon, where Ren's Aunt Mira had moved in the spring, and described the exact green of Mira's new kitchen walls. [7] Mira had painted those walls only the weekend before and had told the family she was too busy to telephone anyone. [8] On the way out, Ren saw a charging cord running from the hallway outlet up to the shelf where the box sat.
[9] The next Sunday, when the whole family came to dinner, Grandmother had set an extra place at the end of the table with no plate, only a small wooden stand facing the chairs. [10] After everyone sat down, she went to the hall, came back carrying the tablet, and placed it on the stand without a word of explanation. [11] A moment later Mira's face filled the screen, and Mira asked at once whether Grandmother had remembered to wait for her before the toast. [12] Grandmother lifted her glass and said that a person could manage eighty years without a screen but saw no reason to manage eighty-one.
Bo rereads sentence 6 in light of the rest of the story. Which inference do the details together support best?
- Mira had seen Grandmother's kitchen and described its green walls.
- Grandmother had seen Mira's kitchen on the tablet, not just heard of it.
- Grandmother had been calling Mira on the tablet each evening since the birthday.
- Mira had described the new kitchen to Grandmother over the telephone.
Closing Day (story)
[1] On the last Saturday before the music shop closed, Kira helped the owner, Ms. Varga, pack forty years of sheet music into boxes for the city library. [2] Ms. Varga announced, more than once, that she was relieved to be finished with the place, its leaking skylight and its customers who haggled over guitar strings. [3] Ms. Varga labeled each box in thick marker and stacked it by the door, working faster than Kira could tape the boxes shut. [4] Around noon a boy with a violin case asked whether the shop still did repairs, and Ms. Varga told him it did not and sent him to the store across the river. [5] After he left, she stood at the window and watched him until he turned the corner, then went back to her boxes without a word.
[6] In the afternoon Kira found a drawer of handwritten repair cards, each listing an instrument, a customer and a date, the newest only three weeks old. [7] Ms. Varga said the cards could go straight into the recycling bin, since nobody would ever need them again. [8] Kira set the bin by the counter, but on returning from the storeroom found the bin empty and the drawer pushed shut. [9] At four the library van arrived, and the driver loaded the boxes while Ms. Varga counted them aloud.
[10] Before locking up, Ms. Varga wrapped a small brass tuning fork in a clean handkerchief, handed it to Kira, and remarked that it was worthless anyway. [11] Ms. Varga also wrote the name of the store across the river on an old business card and asked Kira to give it to the boy if Kira ever saw that boy again. [12] Under the name, in smaller letters, she had added her own home number and the words "violins only, evenings." [13] Kira kept the tuning fork on a shelf at home and, for reasons hard to explain, never used it to tune anything.
Esme tests a claim, part stated and part implied: “Ms. Varga said she was relieved to be done, yet treated the gift she called worthless as precious.” Which two sentences, together, support both parts?
- [2] Ms. Varga announced, more than once, that she was relieved to be finished with the place, its leaking skylight and its customers who haggled over guitar strings. [10] Before locking up, Ms. Varga wrapped a small brass tuning fork in a clean handkerchief, handed it to Kira, and remarked that it was worthless anyway.
- [1] On the last Saturday before the music shop closed, Kira helped the owner, Ms. Varga, pack forty years of sheet music into boxes for the city library. [10] Before locking up, Ms. Varga wrapped a small brass tuning fork in a clean handkerchief, handed it to Kira, and remarked that it was worthless anyway.
- [2] Ms. Varga announced, more than once, that she was relieved to be finished with the place, its leaking skylight and its customers who haggled over guitar strings. [7] Ms. Varga said the cards could go straight into the recycling bin, since nobody would ever need them again.
- [5] After he left, she stood at the window and watched him until he turned the corner, then went back to her boxes without a word. [10] Before locking up, Ms. Varga wrapped a small brass tuning fork in a clean handkerchief, handed it to Kira, and remarked that it was worthless anyway.
A Mistake in Two Units (article)
[1] In September 1999, NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter reached Mars after a nine-month voyage, fired its main engine to slip into orbit, passed behind the planet, and never made contact again. [2] Within weeks, engineers traced the loss to a mismatch between two programs: one, written by the company that built the craft, reported each small thruster firing in English units, while the navigation program that used those figures assumed metric ones. [3] A pound of force equals about four and a half newtons, so every firing entered the navigators' calculations as weaker than it really was, and over the months the small errors added up. [4] The craft swept in far lower than planned, close enough that the thin upper air of Mars probably destroyed it.
[5] Newspapers called the loss a simple arithmetic slip, and cartoonists drew engineers who could not tell feet from meters. [6] The investigation board's report, however, spent far more of its pages on people and their habits of work than on arithmetic. [7] The contract had called for metric units from the start, yet the two programs were never tested together before launch. [8] During the voyage, navigators noticed that the craft kept drifting from its predicted path and raised the puzzle in meetings, but no one filed the formal report that would have forced a full review. [9] The board also described a navigation team that was small and stretched thin across more than one mission. [10] Its advice dealt with training, staffing and how teams talk to each other.
[11] Today the orbiter is the story that teachers tell when a student forgets to write units beside a number. [12] It is a useful lesson, though the board, it seems, had a longer one in mind.
Kira tests an idea the article never states: “The mismatch could have been caught before launch, and again during the voyage.” Which two sentences, together, support both parts?
- [1] In September 1999, NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter reached Mars after a nine-month voyage, fired its main engine to slip into orbit, passed behind the planet, and never made contact again. [7] The contract had called for metric units from the start, yet the two programs were never tested together before launch.
- [3] A pound of force equals about four and a half newtons, so every firing entered the navigators' calculations as weaker than it really was, and over the months the small errors added up. [8] During the voyage, navigators noticed that the craft kept drifting from its predicted path and raised the puzzle in meetings, but no one filed the formal report that would have forced a full review.
- [7] The contract had called for metric units from the start, yet the two programs were never tested together before launch. [8] During the voyage, navigators noticed that the craft kept drifting from its predicted path and raised the puzzle in meetings, but no one filed the formal report that would have forced a full review.
- [7] The contract had called for metric units from the start, yet the two programs were never tested together before launch. [11] Today the orbiter is the story that teachers tell when a student forgets to write units beside a number.
Luz rereads sentence 5 in light of the rest of the article. Which inference do the details together support best?
- The writer thinks the board blamed arithmetic while the press blamed the team.
- The writer accepts the unit error but thinks the press missed the larger failure.
- The writer thinks the newspapers kept the board's findings from readers on purpose.
- The writer thinks the press blamed the units for a loss they did not cause.
Milo tests a claim, part stated and part implied: “The contract required metric units, and the builder's program did not follow it.” Which two sentences, together, support both parts?
- [1] In September 1999, NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter reached Mars after a nine-month voyage, fired its main engine to slip into orbit, passed behind the planet, and never made contact again. [7] The contract had called for metric units from the start, yet the two programs were never tested together before launch.
- [2] Within weeks, engineers traced the loss to a mismatch between two programs: one, written by the company that built the craft, reported each small thruster firing in English units, while the navigation program that used those figures assumed metric ones. [7] The contract had called for metric units from the start, yet the two programs were never tested together before launch.
- [2] Within weeks, engineers traced the loss to a mismatch between two programs: one, written by the company that built the craft, reported each small thruster firing in English units, while the navigation program that used those figures assumed metric ones. [10] Its advice dealt with training, staffing and how teams talk to each other.
- [2] Within weeks, engineers traced the loss to a mismatch between two programs: one, written by the company that built the craft, reported each small thruster firing in English units, while the navigation program that used those figures assumed metric ones. [3] A pound of force equals about four and a half newtons, so every firing entered the navigators' calculations as weaker than it really was, and over the months the small errors added up.
Noah rereads sentence 12 in light of the rest of the article. Which inference do the details together support best?
- The writer thinks teachers should stop using the orbiter as an example.
- The board's longer lesson was about how teams act on doubts like the drift.
- The writer thinks the classroom lesson goes further than the board's.
- The board's longer lesson was that engineers should write units beside each number.
The Box on the Shelf (story)
[1] When the family gave Grandmother Ilse a tablet for her eightieth birthday, she thanked everyone politely, said she had managed eighty years without a screen, and set the box, still sealed, on the hall shelf. [2] For the next month, whenever Ren visited on Saturdays, the box sat in exactly the same place, and Grandmother never mentioned it. [3] On the fourth Saturday, Ren noticed that the tape along the lid had been slit and pressed back down, so neatly that the cut was hard to see. [4] Grandmother, peeling apples for a cake, asked in her crossword-clue voice how a person might hypothetically make the letters on such a machine larger.
[5] Ren began to explain, but Grandmother waved the answer away, said the question had only been curiosity, and asked about Ren's school play instead. [6] Over the cake, Grandmother remarked that it had rained all week in Lisbon, where Ren's Aunt Mira had moved in the spring, and described the exact green of Mira's new kitchen walls. [7] Mira had painted those walls only the weekend before and had told the family she was too busy to telephone anyone. [8] On the way out, Ren saw a charging cord running from the hallway outlet up to the shelf where the box sat.
[9] The next Sunday, when the whole family came to dinner, Grandmother had set an extra place at the end of the table with no plate, only a small wooden stand facing the chairs. [10] After everyone sat down, she went to the hall, came back carrying the tablet, and placed it on the stand without a word of explanation. [11] A moment later Mira's face filled the screen, and Mira asked at once whether Grandmother had remembered to wait for her before the toast. [12] Grandmother lifted her glass and said that a person could manage eighty years without a screen but saw no reason to manage eighty-one.
Pia tests an idea the story never states: “Grandmother found the tablet's small letters hard to read, and Mira knew the Sunday plan in advance.” Which two sentences, together, support both parts?
- [9] The next Sunday, when the whole family came to dinner, Grandmother had set an extra place at the end of the table with no plate, only a small wooden stand facing the chairs. [11] A moment later Mira's face filled the screen, and Mira asked at once whether Grandmother had remembered to wait for her before the toast.
- [4] Grandmother, peeling apples for a cake, asked in her crossword-clue voice how a person might hypothetically make the letters on such a machine larger. [6] Over the cake, Grandmother remarked that it had rained all week in Lisbon, where Ren's Aunt Mira had moved in the spring, and described the exact green of Mira's new kitchen walls.
- [4] Grandmother, peeling apples for a cake, asked in her crossword-clue voice how a person might hypothetically make the letters on such a machine larger. [11] A moment later Mira's face filled the screen, and Mira asked at once whether Grandmother had remembered to wait for her before the toast.
- [5] Ren began to explain, but Grandmother waved the answer away, said the question had only been curiosity, and asked about Ren's school play instead. [11] A moment later Mira's face filled the screen, and Mira asked at once whether Grandmother had remembered to wait for her before the toast.
Ren tests a claim, part stated and part implied: “Grandmother said she had no need for a screen, then later turned those words into a joke.” Which two sentences, together, support both parts?
- [1] When the family gave Grandmother Ilse a tablet for her eightieth birthday, she thanked everyone politely, said she had managed eighty years without a screen, and set the box, still sealed, on the hall shelf. [12] Grandmother lifted her glass and said that a person could manage eighty years without a screen but saw no reason to manage eighty-one.
- [1] When the family gave Grandmother Ilse a tablet for her eightieth birthday, she thanked everyone politely, said she had managed eighty years without a screen, and set the box, still sealed, on the hall shelf. [5] Ren began to explain, but Grandmother waved the answer away, said the question had only been curiosity, and asked about Ren's school play instead.
- [2] For the next month, whenever Ren visited on Saturdays, the box sat in exactly the same place, and Grandmother never mentioned it. [12] Grandmother lifted her glass and said that a person could manage eighty years without a screen but saw no reason to manage eighty-one.
- [10] After everyone sat down, she went to the hall, came back carrying the tablet, and placed it on the stand without a word of explanation. [12] Grandmother lifted her glass and said that a person could manage eighty years without a screen but saw no reason to manage eighty-one.
Zee tests an idea the story never states: “Grandmother had resealed the box to hide that it was opened, and had been charging the tablet in the hallway.” Which two sentences, together, support both parts?
- [3] On the fourth Saturday, Ren noticed that the tape along the lid had been slit and pressed back down, so neatly that the cut was hard to see. [6] Over the cake, Grandmother remarked that it had rained all week in Lisbon, where Ren's Aunt Mira had moved in the spring, and described the exact green of Mira's new kitchen walls.
- [2] For the next month, whenever Ren visited on Saturdays, the box sat in exactly the same place, and Grandmother never mentioned it. [3] On the fourth Saturday, Ren noticed that the tape along the lid had been slit and pressed back down, so neatly that the cut was hard to see.
- [3] On the fourth Saturday, Ren noticed that the tape along the lid had been slit and pressed back down, so neatly that the cut was hard to see. [8] On the way out, Ren saw a charging cord running from the hallway outlet up to the shelf where the box sat.
- [1] When the family gave Grandmother Ilse a tablet for her eightieth birthday, she thanked everyone politely, said she had managed eighty years without a screen, and set the box, still sealed, on the hall shelf. [8] On the way out, Ren saw a charging cord running from the hallway outlet up to the shelf where the box sat.