CFA Review

"Magic Elizabeth"

by Norma Kassirer

1It all began one rainy night at the end of a summer.

2“As if we didn’t have enough troubles!” groaned Mrs. Chipley. “There it goes and rains on us!”

3Sally, clinging to Mrs. Chipley’s plump hand, was almost running to keep up with her. The

bright feather on Mrs. Chipley’s black hat, which had started out so proudly erect, had

gradually wilted, and now drooped sadly down the back of that lady’s stout neck. Sally’s red suitcase, its handle firmly gripped by Mrs. Chipley’s other hand, bumped in a steady rhythm
against her right leg. But Mrs. Chipley strode purposefully on, as if she had no time to notice small discomforts.

4The two of them had come all the way across the city on the bus, and during the ride the sky

had darkened and the street lights had bloomed all at once.

High-piling storm clouds snuffed out the light of the round orange moon. As they stepped off the bus, the branches of the tall trees rattled like bones in the wind.

5And now it was raining—a nasty, cold, stinging rain, mixed with wet leaves torn from the

groaning trees. It splashed and flew about them as they hurried along the gloomy street, as if the faster they went the more they stirred up the fury of the night. Their coattails snapped behind them. Rain flew into Sally’s eyes and even into her mouth, and it dribbled unpleasantly beneath the collar of her coat. Raindrops hitting a large mailbox echoed like drumbeats down the street. Sally’s long red hair, fluttering banner-like behind her, gave their small procession a brave look. And yet Sally, at least, was not feeling brave at all. Quite the contrary.

6 “Troubles, troubles,” Mrs. Chipley went on, “but it's a lucky thing your Aunt Sarah's come back to town just now when we need her.”

7 “I don’t remember her at all,” panted Sally. “I was just a baby when she went away to California.”

8 “Going back again too, pretty soon, your ma tells me,” said Mrs. Chipley. “Only came back here to sell the house. But never you mind, honey,” she went on, without slackening her furious pace at all, “she’s your own kin, and the only one you have here in town. I’m sure I didn’t know what else to do but call her, what with your mom and dad away on that business trip, and we don’t want to spoil it for them, and it’s not as if you’d have to stay with your aunt forever. A few days, and I’ll have my daughter straightened around and come back.
And it was your own ma left her name in case of an emergency.”
9 "I wonder what she's like," Sally said. But Mrs.Chirp did not seem to hear her.

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A and then answer Part B.

1. Part A - How does paragraph 4 contribute to the setting? 6.RL.CS.5

A. It establishes a calm, relaxing setting.
B. It establishes a dismal, eerie setting.
C. It establishes a somber, quiet setting.
D. It establishes a frantic, rushed setting.


2. Part B – Which other paragraph best contributes to the setting in the same
way as the answer to Part A? 6.RL.CS.5

A. paragraph 2

C. paragraph 5

B. paragraph 3

D. paragraph 6

3.How does the storm in paragraph 5 contribute to the passage? 6.RL.CS.5

A. It develops the weather as a villain character type.
B. It introduces Sally’s concern about bad weather.
C. It establishes a conflict between the characters.
D. It represents Sally’s fear of her changing situation.

4. Which of these sentences from Paragraph 1 clue the reader to the author’s point of view?
6. RI.CS.6

A. Almost everyone feels that it is important for young people to win fairly and show respect
toward others.
B. Some feel that actions like showing off are minor and do not need to be addressed through
the school curriculum.
C. The stronger argument, however, favors teaching good sportsmanship.
D. Presented here are the most important benefits of teaching sportsmanship.

Read this sentence from Paragraph 4. 6. RI.CS.6

Using good sportsmanship helps people stay focused and in control.

5. Choose an answer which supports this point of view.

A. Good players do not argue with other players, coaches, or officials.
B. Uncontrolled anger can actually cause a person to make errors.
C. Additionally, people can be labeled if they act out their frustrations.
D. Teaching students the consequences of their actions is part of sportsmanship.

Should Sportsmanship be Taught in Schools?

6. Read this final sentence from that article. 6. RI.CS.6

We need to start educating students about how sportsmanship pays off for everyone.

Which of these phrases from the article is an example of what the author means with the phrase
“how sportsmanship pays off for everyone”? Select two options.

A. Activities involving winning or losing can be tense.
B. Good team players know the rules of the game.
C. Students therefore learn to manage frustrations in sports and other activities to maximize
performance.
D. For them, if an opportunity is lost, it is someone else’s fault.
E. Winners congratulate their opponents as part of recognizing the efforts of others.

7. Which statement about the narrator is supported in the passage? 6.RL.CS.6

A. The narrator welcomes difficult tasks.
B. The narrator helps Libby to impress the dad.
C. The narrator shows patience in reinforcing training.
D. The narrator feels Libby’s behaviors are acceptable.

8. Which phrase from excerpt does the narrator use to clue the reader into how Libby might
react to training? 6.RL.CS.6

A. “The dog will be your responsibility,”
B. A 30-pound ball of fur, claws, and teeth with an uncanny ability to jump,
dig, and chew.
C. Each day after school I exercised Libby by taking her for long walks.
D. Libby breezed through her first class.

9. Which three sentences from the passage support that the narrator feels doubtful about
Libby’s abilities? 6.RL.CS.6

A. And I was nervous.
B. She howled and whined and stood on her hind legs when she saw the other
dogs in the class.
C. “She’ll come around.”
D. “Dad, she’s not getting it,” I told him a few days later.
E. I wondered what would happen if she failed.

​Libby's Graduation

By M.G. Merfeld

Excerpt from “The Children of Invention”

By Sandra Evans

1. Have you ever invented something? Maybe you thought up a new way to store your CDs, or
to find your dog in the dark, or to keep a drink from spilling. If you've ever been to a science
fair or invention convention at school, you've probably seen all kinds of cool inventions by
kids.

2. If you come up with something that no one else has before, you can get a patent from the
U.S. government to protect your right to the idea. With a patent, no one else can use your
invention tomake and sell a product without your permission for up to 20 years.

3. Patenting an idea isn't always easy. It can take years and thousands of dollars in attorneys'
fees and other costs to do it. And turning a patent into a product to sell takes an even bigger
investment. But several children, with the help of parents or other adults, have received patents.

4. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the youngest person to get a patent was
Sydney Dittman of Houston, Texas. In 1992, when Sydney was a curious 2-year-old, she
wanted to get into the kitchen drawers that her mom and dad had told her to stay out of. So she
put together a tool made out of toy parts. It looked something like a toilet plunger and used
suction to pull on the round knobs to open the drawers.

5. "I said, 'Heck, this would make a great device for handicapped people to use,'" recalled her
father, Ralph Dittman. With that, he started the patenting process, and Sydney received one
when she was 4 years old...

6. Other kid inventions include a snack food dispensing utensil that keeps grease off the
snacker's fingers; a chalk storer and dispenser; a lined sheet of paper that glows in the dark; and
collapsible school locker shelves.

7. For some reason inventions created by kids often have something to do with food or other
things that are important in their lives—such as opening drawers they're not supposed to get into.

10. Which paragraph explains how Sydney created an invention to help handicapped people?
6.RI.CS.5

A. Paragraph 1

C. Paragraph 3

B. Paragraph 2

D. Paragraph 4

11. Which paragraph suggests that kids are creative inventors? 6.RI.CS.5

A. Paragraph 2

C. Paragraph 5

B. Paragraph 3

D. Paragraph 6

12. Which paragraph explains why patenting is a difficult process? 6.RI.CS.5

A. Paragraph 2

C. Paragraph 4

B. Paragraph 3

D. Paragraph 5