How a theme grows and is sharpened
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Narrow Rows (story)
[1] Mr. Valdez, Esme's grandfather, had planted every tree in the hillside orchard by hand, in rows only six paces apart, just as the orchard's first owner had done a century earlier. [2] Visitors sometimes suggested wider rows, which would let a small tractor pass, but Mr. Valdez always answered that the old spacing was part of what the orchard was. [3] Each autumn, the family picked the apples from ladders, and Esme listened to the same stories about the same trees that were told every year. [4] To Esme, the narrow rows seemed like a promise that some things would stay the same.
[5] In the third dry summer, however, the crowded trees shaded one another, and the apples came out small, sour, and too few to sell. [6] Esme measured the sunlight between the rows with a borrowed meter, and found that the lower branches received less than half of the light that reached the trees at the edge. [7] Mr. Valdez was silent when the numbers were laid on the kitchen table, and then he walked out to the oldest tree and rested a palm on its trunk.
[8] That winter, Mr. Valdez agreed to remove every third row, on the condition that the oldest trees stay and that the family still pick by ladder on the first Saturday of October. [9] The following autumn, the trees that remained were heavier with fruit than anyone could remember, and the gaps between them were wide enough to see the valley. [10] On the first Saturday of October, the family climbed the same ladders and told the same stories, though now under a wider sky. [11] Esme wrote in the orchard's notebook that the harvest had kept its ladders, its stories, and its first Saturday, and had lost only some trees. [12] Mr. Valdez read the line twice and left the notebook open on the table.
At first the story suggests: “Traditions should be kept exactly as they were handed down.” After sentence 8, which statement keeps what is true in that idea and adds what the story now shows?
- Traditions matter, but holding to an old way too rigidly can harm the very thing it was meant to protect.
- Traditions are a burden, and people are better off dropping them.
- Hard work in a dry summer is rewarded with a bigger harvest.
- Traditions should be changed whenever someone finds a more efficient way.
The Narrow Rows (story)
[1] Mr. Valdez, Esme's grandfather, had planted every tree in the hillside orchard by hand, in rows only six paces apart, just as the orchard's first owner had done a century earlier. [2] Visitors sometimes suggested wider rows, which would let a small tractor pass, but Mr. Valdez always answered that the old spacing was part of what the orchard was. [3] Each autumn, the family picked the apples from ladders, and Esme listened to the same stories about the same trees that were told every year. [4] To Esme, the narrow rows seemed like a promise that some things would stay the same.
[5] In the third dry summer, however, the crowded trees shaded one another, and the apples came out small, sour, and too few to sell. [6] Esme measured the sunlight between the rows with a borrowed meter, and found that the lower branches received less than half of the light that reached the trees at the edge. [7] Mr. Valdez was silent when the numbers were laid on the kitchen table, and then he walked out to the oldest tree and rested a palm on its trunk.
[8] That winter, Mr. Valdez agreed to remove every third row, on the condition that the oldest trees stay and that the family still pick by ladder on the first Saturday of October. [9] The following autumn, the trees that remained were heavier with fruit than anyone could remember, and the gaps between them were wide enough to see the valley. [10] On the first Saturday of October, the family climbed the same ladders and told the same stories, though now under a wider sky. [11] Esme wrote in the orchard's notebook that the harvest had kept its ladders, its stories, and its first Saturday, and had lost only some trees. [12] Mr. Valdez read the line twice and left the notebook open on the table. Strip so far. First idea: “Traditions should be kept exactly as they were handed down.” Sharper idea: “Traditions matter, but holding to an old way too rigidly can harm the very thing it was meant to protect.”
Bo matches the strip to the story. Which pair gives the sentence that best shows the first idea and the sentence that best shows the sharper idea?
- First idea: sentence 2. Sharper idea: sentence 6.
- First idea: sentence 6. Sharper idea: sentence 2.
- First idea: sentence 2. Sharper idea: sentence 3.
- First idea: sentence 2. Sharper idea: sentence 4.
The Narrow Rows (story)
[1] Mr. Valdez, Esme's grandfather, had planted every tree in the hillside orchard by hand, in rows only six paces apart, just as the orchard's first owner had done a century earlier. [2] Visitors sometimes suggested wider rows, which would let a small tractor pass, but Mr. Valdez always answered that the old spacing was part of what the orchard was. [3] Each autumn, the family picked the apples from ladders, and Esme listened to the same stories about the same trees that were told every year. [4] To Esme, the narrow rows seemed like a promise that some things would stay the same.
[5] In the third dry summer, however, the crowded trees shaded one another, and the apples came out small, sour, and too few to sell. [6] Esme measured the sunlight between the rows with a borrowed meter, and found that the lower branches received less than half of the light that reached the trees at the edge. [7] Mr. Valdez was silent when the numbers were laid on the kitchen table, and then he walked out to the oldest tree and rested a palm on its trunk.
[8] That winter, Mr. Valdez agreed to remove every third row, on the condition that the oldest trees stay and that the family still pick by ladder on the first Saturday of October. [9] The following autumn, the trees that remained were heavier with fruit than anyone could remember, and the gaps between them were wide enough to see the valley. [10] On the first Saturday of October, the family climbed the same ladders and told the same stories, though now under a wider sky. [11] Esme wrote in the orchard's notebook that the harvest had kept its ladders, its stories, and its first Saturday, and had lost only some trees. [12] Mr. Valdez read the line twice and left the notebook open on the table.
Esme wants the theme stated so that it holds for people anywhere, not only for these characters. Which statement does that?
- Old ways should be kept exactly as they are.
- Mr. Valdez learned that his orchard needed wider rows.
- Traditions last when people keep what they are for and are willing to change how they are carried out.
- Change is good for communities.
The Friday Forecast (story)
[1] Ren kept the weather log for the town newsletter, and each Friday wrote a forecast that Mr. Hale, the editor, printed on the front page beneath a small drawing of a sun. [2] Residents had begun to call Ren's forecasts reliable, partly because Ren wrote them in a firm voice with no hedging, as in the sentence "Saturday will be dry." [3] Ren believed that a confident forecast was a trustworthy forecast, and that qualifying a prediction with maybes would only make people stop reading.
[4] One Friday, the readings looked ambiguous, with a pressure drop in the morning and clear skies by afternoon, but Ren wrote "Saturday will be dry" anyway. [5] On Saturday, a heavy shower arrived during the town's seedling sale and soaked the tables before anyone could cover them. [6] On Monday, Mr. Hale received three letters, and the shortest one said only that people had stopped checking the sky because Ren had told them they could. [7] Ren read the letter standing in the doorway of the newsroom and could not stop thinking about the word "told."
[8] The following Friday, Ren wrote that rain was likely by evening, though the morning sky was clear, and explained the pressure readings in two plain sentences. [9] Some readers wrote that the forecast sounded less certain, but several carried umbrellas to the weekend market and stayed dry. [10] Over the next months, the letters changed, and people began quoting the explanations instead of complaining about the headlines. [11] Mr. Hale moved the forecast to the top of the page and asked Ren to print the pressure readings beside it. [12] Ren added a new line under the small sun, saying how sure the forecast was, and that line became the part readers checked first.
At first the story suggests: “Sounding certain is how a person earns trust.” After sentence 7, which statement keeps what is true in that idea and adds what the story now shows?
- A forecaster should avoid stating any prediction firmly.
- Confidence helps a person earn trust, but claiming certainty without evidence destroys it.
- Weather forecasts are too unreliable to be worth printing.
- A forecast that sounds certain earns trust, so Ren should keep writing with confidence.
The Friday Forecast (story)
[1] Ren kept the weather log for the town newsletter, and each Friday wrote a forecast that Mr. Hale, the editor, printed on the front page beneath a small drawing of a sun. [2] Residents had begun to call Ren's forecasts reliable, partly because Ren wrote them in a firm voice with no hedging, as in the sentence "Saturday will be dry." [3] Ren believed that a confident forecast was a trustworthy forecast, and that qualifying a prediction with maybes would only make people stop reading.
[4] One Friday, the readings looked ambiguous, with a pressure drop in the morning and clear skies by afternoon, but Ren wrote "Saturday will be dry" anyway. [5] On Saturday, a heavy shower arrived during the town's seedling sale and soaked the tables before anyone could cover them. [6] On Monday, Mr. Hale received three letters, and the shortest one said only that people had stopped checking the sky because Ren had told them they could. [7] Ren read the letter standing in the doorway of the newsroom and could not stop thinking about the word "told."
[8] The following Friday, Ren wrote that rain was likely by evening, though the morning sky was clear, and explained the pressure readings in two plain sentences. [9] Some readers wrote that the forecast sounded less certain, but several carried umbrellas to the weekend market and stayed dry. [10] Over the next months, the letters changed, and people began quoting the explanations instead of complaining about the headlines. [11] Mr. Hale moved the forecast to the top of the page and asked Ren to print the pressure readings beside it. [12] Ren added a new line under the small sun, saying how sure the forecast was, and that line became the part readers checked first. Strip so far. First idea: “Sounding certain is how a person earns trust.” Sharper idea: “Confidence helps a person earn trust, but claiming certainty without evidence destroys it.”
Kira matches the strip to the story. Which pair gives the sentence that best shows the first idea and the sentence that best shows the sharper idea?
- First idea: sentence 10. Sharper idea: sentence 12.
- First idea: sentence 3. Sharper idea: sentence 2.
- First idea: sentence 6. Sharper idea: sentence 3.
- First idea: sentence 3. Sharper idea: sentence 6.
The Friday Forecast (story)
[1] Ren kept the weather log for the town newsletter, and each Friday wrote a forecast that Mr. Hale, the editor, printed on the front page beneath a small drawing of a sun. [2] Residents had begun to call Ren's forecasts reliable, partly because Ren wrote them in a firm voice with no hedging, as in the sentence "Saturday will be dry." [3] Ren believed that a confident forecast was a trustworthy forecast, and that qualifying a prediction with maybes would only make people stop reading.
[4] One Friday, the readings looked ambiguous, with a pressure drop in the morning and clear skies by afternoon, but Ren wrote "Saturday will be dry" anyway. [5] On Saturday, a heavy shower arrived during the town's seedling sale and soaked the tables before anyone could cover them. [6] On Monday, Mr. Hale received three letters, and the shortest one said only that people had stopped checking the sky because Ren had told them they could. [7] Ren read the letter standing in the doorway of the newsroom and could not stop thinking about the word "told."
[8] The following Friday, Ren wrote that rain was likely by evening, though the morning sky was clear, and explained the pressure readings in two plain sentences. [9] Some readers wrote that the forecast sounded less certain, but several carried umbrellas to the weekend market and stayed dry. [10] Over the next months, the letters changed, and people began quoting the explanations instead of complaining about the headlines. [11] Mr. Hale moved the forecast to the top of the page and asked Ren to print the pressure readings beside it. [12] Ren added a new line under the small sun, saying how sure the forecast was, and that line became the part readers checked first.
Luz wants the theme stated so that it holds for people anywhere, not only for these characters. Which statement does that?
- Ren learned to print the pressure readings beside each forecast in the newsletter.
- Newsletters, forecasts, and the weather.
- Being honest makes life easier.
- Honesty about what you do not know earns more lasting trust than sounding sure.
The Seed Table (story)
[1] The seed table in the town library ran on one rule, written on a card in Luz's neat block letters: take seeds in the spring, and bring back seeds from your harvest in the fall. [2] Luz kept the ledger, with a line for every borrower and a check mark beside each return, and was proud that the table had never lost a single packet. [3] Mrs. Abara, who had borrowed bean seeds for three springs, was always among the first to return hers, tied in a neat paper twist.
[4] This year, a hailstorm flattened the beans in August, and in October Mrs. Abara came to the table with empty hands. [5] Luz found the line in the ledger with no check mark and felt a small, stubborn irritation, because the rule had been perfectly clear. [6] Before Luz could speak, Mrs. Abara set down a basket of tomatoes from a neighbor's garden and said that they were meant for whoever had come hungry that week. [7] The basket was empty by closing time, taken by families who had never once touched the ledger.
[8] That evening, Luz looked at the card with the one rule, and then at the blank space beside Mrs. Abara's name. [9] The next morning, Luz added a second line below the first, saying that a person with nothing to bring back could still take what they needed, and bring something else when they could. [10] By spring, the ledger still sat on the table, but it was used for counting what had been shared instead of what was owed. [11] Mrs. Abara planted beans again in April, this time from seeds that a stranger had left in an unmarked envelope. [12] Luz kept the envelope's paper twist taped inside the ledger, next to the card with two lines.
At first the story suggests: “A community stays strong when everyone gives back exactly what they take.” After sentence 7, which statement keeps what is true in that idea and adds what the story now shows?
- A community stays strong when people keep careful accounts of what each person takes and returns.
- Rules about giving back make a community weaker, so a table should do without them.
- People who lose a harvest should be given seeds for free.
- Fair exchange matters, but fairness is more than matching what is taken with what is returned.
Pia wants the theme stated so that it holds for people anywhere, not only for these characters. Which statement does that?
- A shared table runs well when each borrower is held to the rule and keeps count.
- Sharing is better than keeping things.
- Libraries, seeds, and gardens.
- A community's generosity depends on trust as much as on keeping accounts.
The Scoreboard Table (story)
[1] Every home game, Bo sat behind the gym's scoreboard table with a stopwatch, a whistle on a cord, and a clipboard, keeping the clock and the points without ever being looked at. [2] Bo had taken the job in September because the coach asked, and by January the work had become so smooth that fans no longer noticed it was work. [3] The crowd cheered for the players who scored and groaned at the referees, and not once did anyone cheer for a clock that simply ran. [4] Bo told a friend that a job nobody noticed was a job nobody valued, and began to think about quitting.
[5] Then, on the night of the regional final, a cable burned out just before the second half, and the electric scoreboard went dark. [6] For six minutes, the teams stood on the court, the referees conferred, and the crowd murmured, because nobody could say how much time was left. [7] Bo, who had kept paper notes of every period, walked to center court and read the exact time and score into the head referee's ear.
[8] The game resumed within minutes, and the coach, passing the table afterward, said that the notes were the reason there was still a game to finish. [9] In the stands, hardly anyone knew whose notes had saved the evening, and the loudest cheers that night were still for the players. [10] Yet when the final buzzer sounded, Bo found that being unseen no longer felt the same as being unvalued. [11] Bo stayed on for the rest of the season, and at the spring banquet said that the clock running smoothly had been thanks enough all year. [12] The scoreboard table kept its place behind the bench, and a second chair was added for anyone who wanted to learn the job. Strip so far. First idea: “Work is worth doing if other people notice and value it.” Sharper idea: “Being noticed is pleasant, but work that goes unnoticed is often work that is being done well.”
Tala matches the strip to the story. Which pair gives the sentence that best shows the first idea and the sentence that best shows the sharper idea?
- First idea: sentence 4. Sharper idea: sentence 10.
- First idea: sentence 9. Sharper idea: sentence 12.
- First idea: sentence 4. Sharper idea: sentence 3.
- First idea: sentence 4. Sharper idea: sentence 1.
The Scoreboard Table (story)
[1] Every home game, Bo sat behind the gym's scoreboard table with a stopwatch, a whistle on a cord, and a clipboard, keeping the clock and the points without ever being looked at. [2] Bo had taken the job in September because the coach asked, and by January the work had become so smooth that fans no longer noticed it was work. [3] The crowd cheered for the players who scored and groaned at the referees, and not once did anyone cheer for a clock that simply ran. [4] Bo told a friend that a job nobody noticed was a job nobody valued, and began to think about quitting.
[5] Then, on the night of the regional final, a cable burned out just before the second half, and the electric scoreboard went dark. [6] For six minutes, the teams stood on the court, the referees conferred, and the crowd murmured, because nobody could say how much time was left. [7] Bo, who had kept paper notes of every period, walked to center court and read the exact time and score into the head referee's ear.
[8] The game resumed within minutes, and the coach, passing the table afterward, said that the notes were the reason there was still a game to finish. [9] In the stands, hardly anyone knew whose notes had saved the evening, and the loudest cheers that night were still for the players. [10] Yet when the final buzzer sounded, Bo found that being unseen no longer felt the same as being unvalued. [11] Bo stayed on for the rest of the season, and at the spring banquet said that the clock running smoothly had been thanks enough all year. [12] The scoreboard table kept its place behind the bench, and a second chair was added for anyone who wanted to learn the job.
Zee wants the theme stated so that it holds for people anywhere, not only for these characters. Which statement does that?
- Bo found out that a scoreboard operator is valued once the lights go out.
- The value of a job does not depend on the applause it gets.
- Work is worth doing when other people notice it.
- Gyms, scoreboards, and games.