Saying one thing and meaning another
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Island with One Pine (story)
[1] The camp counselor, Ms. Brandt, gave Pia the map for the canoe trip because Pia had said, loudly and often, that reading maps was easy. [2] What Pia did not notice, and what nobody in the canoe noticed either, was that the map was being held upside down, with the north arrow pointing at Pia’s knees. [3] For an hour the canoe followed Pia’s directions with great confidence, turning left at each point where the map, read the right way up, said to turn right. [4] Milo, paddling at the back, watched a small island with a single crooked pine tree drift past the canoe for the third time. [5] “Oh, wonderful, our favorite island again,” Milo said. [6] Ren, at the front, wiped a sleeve across a damp forehead and said calmly, “We may be slightly off course.”
[7] Pia announced that the group had now paddled at least a thousand miles and would reach the beach long before lunch. [8] At noon a motorboat from the camp pulled alongside, and Ms. Brandt said, “You three have worked hard, and I am proud of how well you paddled together.” [9] Then Ms. Brandt asked to see the map, turned it the right way up without a word and handed it back. [10] Pia looked at the map, then at the island, then at the map again, and laughed so hard that the canoe rocked. [11] The canoe reached the beach twenty minutes later, and Milo and Ren took turns telling the story of the island at dinner. [12] That evening, Pia drew a large letter N at the top of each camp map, in marker, so that the next paddlers would have one less thing to notice.
Ari labels each spoken line in the margin. Which sentence uses sarcasm, words meant to mock that say the opposite of what the speaker means?
- [8] At noon a motorboat from the camp pulled alongside, and Ms. Brandt said, “You three have worked hard, and I am proud of how well you paddled together.”
- [7] Pia announced that the group had now paddled at least a thousand miles and would reach the beach long before lunch.
- [6] Ren, at the front, wiped a sleeve across a damp forehead and said calmly, “We may be slightly off course.”
- [5] “Oh, wonderful, our favorite island again,” Milo said.
Esme writes two margins: what the reader knows and what Pia knows. Which choice gives the gap and what it creates?
- The reader knows the motorboat will arrive at noon while Pia does not, which builds worry about a rescue.
- The reader knows the map is upside down while Pia does not, which makes Pia’s confident directions funny.
- The reader knows the map is upside down while Pia does not, which makes the trip frightening and dangerous.
- Pia knows the map is upside down but keeps it that way, which turns the trip into a joke on Milo and Ren.
The Carrot Row (story)
[1] Mrs. Abara, who runs the community garden on Fulton Street, planted a long row of carrots on Saturday morning and then left for a meeting across town. [2] Before leaving, Mrs. Abara asked Jun to pull the weeds along the fence and pointed, a little too quickly, at the new carrot row instead of the weed patch beside it. [3] The feathery green tops looked exactly like weeds to Jun, who had never grown a carrot, and so Jun pulled them out one by one with great care. [4] Kira, sitting on an upturned bucket, glanced at the sky, which had turned the color of wet slate, and said, “What lovely weather for gardening.” [5] Jun stood up, stretched, and declared that nobody in the history of the world had ever worked as hard as this. [6] By the time the first drops fell, the carrot row was bare, and a tidy pile of feathery tops sat in the wheelbarrow.
[7] Mrs. Abara came back at noon, looked at the wheelbarrow, looked at the empty row, and was quiet for a long moment. [8] “Well,” Mrs. Abara said at last, “that is a small change to the plan.” [9] “Thank you for working so hard in this cold wind,” Mrs. Abara told Jun, handing over a cup of warm cocoa. [10] Jun looked at the empty row, then at the wheelbarrow, and understood what had happened. [11] The next Saturday, Jun and Mrs. Abara replanted the row together, and this time Mrs. Abara tied a strip of orange cloth to a stake at each end. [12] Jun has since learned to tell a carrot top from a weed and shows the trick to each new volunteer who joins the garden.
Tala labels each line about the morning. Which sentence uses hyperbole, stretching the truth far past what could be real?
- [5] Jun stood up, stretched, and declared that nobody in the history of the world had ever worked as hard as this.
- [9] “Thank you for working so hard in this cold wind,” Mrs. Abara told Jun, handing over a cup of warm cocoa.
- [8] “Well,” Mrs. Abara said at last, “that is a small change to the plan.”
- [4] Kira, sitting on an upturned bucket, glanced at the sky, which had turned the color of wet slate, and said, “What lovely weather for gardening.”
Bo marks Mrs. Abara’s words in sentence 8 as understatement. What does the understatement do in this scene?
- It builds suspense about whether Mrs. Abara will be able to plant the carrot row again.
- It keeps the moment calm and kind, so a big loss does not crush Jun, who worked hard by mistake.
- It shows Mrs. Abara hiding anger from Jun and planning to scold Jun later for the empty row.
- It tells the reader that just a few carrots were lost from the long row Mrs. Abara planted in the garden.
Esme writes two margins: what the reader knows and what Jun believes. Which choice gives the gap and what it creates?
- Jun knows which plants are carrots while the reader does not, which keeps the reader guessing about the row.
- The reader knows the plants are carrots while Jun thinks they are weeds, which makes each careful pull painful to watch.
- Jun knows the plants are carrots but pulls them anyway, which makes the reader wonder why Jun is doing it.
- The reader knows the plants are carrots while Jun thinks they are weeds, which makes the scene relaxing and calm.
The Lighthouse Photo (story)
[1] Bo had borrowed Aunt Rosa’s old film camera for the trip to Gull Point, a camera that was aimed through a small window above the lens rather than through the lens itself. [2] On the ferry, Bo snapped the black cap onto the lens to keep off the salt spray and then, in the excitement of docking, forgot that the cap was there at all. [3] Noah, who had come along to carry the snacks, took one look at the fog rolling over the harbor and said, “Perfect, I can see for miles.” [4] The two climbed the rocks below the lighthouse while the wind tugged at their jackets and tossed spray across the path. [5] “The breeze is a bit lively today,” Bo said as Noah’s hat sailed off the rocks and into the water. [6] Bo aimed through the little window, waited for the fog to thin, and pressed the button again and again as the lighthouse glowed pink and gold in the first light.
[7] By eight o’clock, Bo had used the thirty-six pictures on the roll and announced that this was the greatest morning in the history of photography. [8] Noah, shivering, said that the colors on the lighthouse had been beautiful and that the cold had been worth it. [9] Two weeks later, the photo shop handed back thirty-six prints, each one a perfect square of black. [10] Aunt Rosa looked through the stack, laughed, and said that she had made the same mistake with the same camera when she was young. [11] The next Saturday, Bo and Noah took the ferry back to Gull Point, and this time Noah checked the lens before each shot. [12] The photo that now hangs in Aunt Rosa’s kitchen shows the striped lighthouse at sunrise, with a gull standing on the railing.
Jun labels each line spoken at Gull Point. Which sentence uses sarcasm, words meant to mock that say the opposite of what the speaker means?
- [8] Noah, shivering, said that the colors on the lighthouse had been beautiful and that the cold had been worth it.
- [3] Noah, who had come along to carry the snacks, took one look at the fog rolling over the harbor and said, “Perfect, I can see for miles.”
- [5] “The breeze is a bit lively today,” Bo said as Noah’s hat sailed off the rocks and into the water.
- [7] By eight o’clock, Bo had used the thirty-six pictures on the roll and announced that this was the greatest morning in the history of photography.
Luz writes two margins: what the reader knows and what Bo believes. Which choice gives the gap and what it creates?
- The reader knows the lens cap is still on while Bo does not, so each happy click builds toward a letdown the reader can see coming.
- Bo knows the camera will fail while the reader does not, which keeps the reader puzzled about the photos.
- The reader knows the lens cap is still on while Bo does not, which makes the reader sure the photos will be lovely.
- The reader knows the prints will come back two weeks later while Bo does not, which makes the reader impatient.
The First to Arrive (story)
[1] At half past five on Tuesday morning, the radio announced that the schools in the county were closed for snow, but Luz, who was already outside shoveling the front steps, did not hear it. [2] Luz packed a lunch, pulled on two pairs of socks and set off on the two-mile walk to school, determined to be the first student through the door. [3] The wind drove the snow sideways, and Luz, squinting into it, said to the empty street, “Ah, a gentle spring breeze.” [4] At the corner of Pine and Third, the snow reached Luz’s knees, and Luz muttered that each boot now weighed a thousand pounds. [5] A snowplow driver, Mr. Kowalski, stopped beside the curb, rolled down his window and asked where anyone could possibly be going on a morning like this. [6] “Just to school,” Luz said, “it is a short walk.”
[7] Mr. Kowalski opened his mouth, closed it again, and decided that the news would sound better coming from someone else. [8] At eight o’clock, Luz reached the school, found the doors locked and the parking lot empty, and stood in the drifts reading a small sign taped to the glass. [9] The custodian, Mr. Ferris, who had come in to check the boiler, opened the side door and said, “Come in and warm up by the heater, because you have earned it.” [10] Luz sat in the office with a mug of cocoa and laughed until the cocoa nearly spilled. [11] Mr. Ferris drove Luz home in the school truck at noon, after the plows had cleared the main road. [12] Each winter after that, Luz turned on the radio before turning on the porch light.
Jun labels each line from the snowy walk. Which sentence uses hyperbole, stretching the truth far past what could be real?
- [9] The custodian, Mr. Ferris, who had come in to check the boiler, opened the side door and said, “Come in and warm up by the heater, because you have earned it.”
- [4] At the corner of Pine and Third, the snow reached Luz’s knees, and Luz muttered that each boot now weighed a thousand pounds.
- [3] The wind drove the snow sideways, and Luz, squinting into it, said to the empty street, “Ah, a gentle spring breeze.”
- [6] “Just to school,” Luz said, “it is a short walk.”
Kira marks Luz’s answer in sentence 6 as understatement. What does the understatement do in this scene?
- It makes the reader suspect that Luz is lost and frightened in the storm and needs help.
- It makes the walk sound longer and harder, so that the snowplow driver will offer Luz a ride.
- It tells the reader that the school is just a few minutes from the front steps Luz was shoveling.
- It shows how stubborn and tough Luz is, because Luz shrugs off two miles of knee-deep snow.
Milo writes two margins: what the reader knows and what Luz believes. Which choice gives the gap and what it creates?
- Luz knows school is closed but walks there anyway to show that the walk can be done in a storm.
- The reader knows school is closed while Luz does not, so each hard step through the snow is both funny and a little sad.
- Luz knows the school will be closed while the reader does not, which keeps the reader guessing about the trip.
- The reader knows Mr. Ferris will drive Luz home at noon while Luz does not, which makes the walk feel safe.