A New Friend For Nick (D1)

Ever since he was six years old, Nick had wanted to get a puppy. His parents always refused. They said he wasn’t capable of taking care of a puppy. “You have no idea how much work a puppy is,” Dad said. “You would have to housebreak the puppy, train the puppy to obey you, and groom it, too.”

“And then there’s

taking the puppy to the vet, playing with it, and feeding it,” Mom added. “It’s

not that I’m against having a puppy. But a puppy takes up a lot of time.”

Nick couldn’t think of a

way that he could convince his parents that he was ready for a puppy. Then, he

got an idea. “If I volunteer at the animal shelter,” he thought, “I’ll bet Mom

and Dad will see that I’m ready to take care of a puppy!”

Q. Which word tells

a reader most about the text while previewing it?

• obey

• groom

• idea

• puppy

What is the problem in the text?

• Nick’s parents think that he is not capable of taking care of a puppy.

• Nick is allergic to puppies.

• Nick’s parents think that puppies are not a lot of work.

• Nick’s parents think that the family should get a puppy right away.

A person who volunteers is someone who

• studies for tests.

• does no work at all.

• gets a raise

• does work without being paid.

Nick’s parents say he isn’t capable of taking care of a puppy. Which word or phrase means capable?

• interested

• angry about

• afraid of

• able to

What does the phrase have no idea mean?

• do not understand

• can’t think

• ran out of ideas

• have an active imagination