NEIGHBORHOOD MYSTERY

Why didn’t Alan ask anyone about these strange happenings?

• a It would spoil the mystery.

• b He didn’t know whom to ask.

• c People would think he was strange.

• d His parents might find out about the mystery

Why did Alan stop when he saw Maria pull out a violin case from her locker?

• a He had never seen one before.

• b He had one just like it at his house.

• c He didn’t know she knew how to play the violin.

• d The case was like those that were carried into the house.

Why did Alan sneak over to the house across the street?

• a to see Maria

• b to play his guitar

• c to solve the mystery

• d all of the above

Read this sentence: Alan froze when he saw Maria pull a case from her locker. What does the word froze mean in this sentence?

• a He was very cold.

• b He couldn’t think.

• c He was very frightened.

• d He was extremely surprised.

What is mariachi music?

• a music played by symphonies

• b Boston Pops music

• c Mexican folk music

• d music not played on instruments

What happened just after Alan decided to solve the mystery himself?

• a He sneaked over to the house across the street.

• b He went to school to find Maria.

• c He started guitar lessons.

• d He joined a mariachi band.

What was the first thing Alan heard when he was outside the house that Sunday night?

• a music

• b silence

• c dogs barking

• d a strange language

What did Alan learn when he went into the house across the street?

• a He liked mariachi music.

• b He learned the Spanish names for several instruments.

• c He learned that some Spanish words look and sound like English.

• d All of the above

What can you tell about Alan, the narrator of this story?

• a He is very curious.

• b He is frightened easily.

• c He is shy and withdrawn.

• d All of the above

What seemed odd to the narrator about the people arriving at the neighbor’s house at the beginning of the story?

• a the clothing they wore

• b the cases they were carrying

• c that they came every Sunday night

• d all of the above