P2/3 Reading Comp Test "King of Mazy May"

Read the following passage. What is the writer inferring when he states that Walt can "talk big" with the men

"Walt has walked all the fourteen years of his life in suntanned moose-hide moccasins, and he can go to the Indian camps and "talk big" with the men and trade calico and beads with them for precious furs."

He is inferring that...

• Walt acts rudely when trading with the Indians.

• Walt is mature for his age and respected like an adult.

• Walt is arrogant and thinks "big" of himself.

Why did Walt's dad leave him on his own at Mazy May Creek?

• His dad went to buy food.

• His dad went to record his claim.

• He went in search of quartz.

• His dad went to buy some new dogs.

In the following passage, the word claim means...

"Si Hartman had gone away on a moose hunt, to return and find new stakes driven and his claim jumped. George Lukens and his brother had lost their claims in a like manner.."

• a statement of truth

• a demand

• a right or title to something

• a piece of land taken by someone to be mined

What were the prospectors looking for in the Mazy May Creek?

• They were looking for gold.

• They were looking for tin.

• They were looking for copper.

• They were looking for diamonds.

What worries Walt at the beginning of the story?

• His father is gone, and he is all alone on Mazy May Creek.

• Loren Hall broke through the ice and froze his feet.

• His father hasn’t recorded his claim on Mazy May Creek.

• People might try to jump Loren Hall’s claim.

What makes Walt suspicious about the newcomers?

• They are strangers on the Mazy May.

• Their dog-teams and equipment show they are prepared for speed.

• They make camp on the claim adjoining his father’s claim.

• They sit around their campfire talking long into the night.

Walt learns about the plans of the newcomer's when he_________

• spies on the men and hears their plans.

• sees the men registering Loren’s claim in Dawson.

• hears rumors in town.

• finds a map with Loren’s claim marked.

Which statement best explains what the newcomers plan to do?

• They only plan to steal Loren Hall's claim.

• They plan to steal the claim of Walt's father.

• They plan to steal the claims of Hall and Masters.

• They plan to steal all 33 unrecorded claims in the camp.

What does Walt do when it is clear to him what the newcomers plan to do?

• He heads for Dawson on foot.

• He goes to their camp and steals a sled and dogs.

• He spreads the word to other prospectors on the creek.

• He steals the claim jumpers fur sleeping-robes.

As used in this passage, which definition best fits the meaning of crack:

He did not like the looks of the newcomers, and one day, when five of them came by with crack dog-teams and the lightest of camping outfits, he could see that they were prepared to make speed, and resolved to keep an eye on them

• a sudden sharp or explosive noise

• break or cause to break without a complete separation of the parts

• very good, especially at a specified activity

• unable to be tamed or controlled