10.15 Review

“Don’t rat me out to Mom, girls,” Dad said with a wink. “I don’t want to face her wrath!”

Grace and Karen both pinky-promised that they’d never tell Mom. Then they went down to the basement to play. Dad stayed upstairs to make dinner. As Grace and Karen descended the steps, they heard him whistling to himself.

Which word describes Grace's dad?

• Overworked

• Sneaky

• Cheerful

• Angry

Read the passage.

The Lu basement looked like a toy store that had been shaken and turned upside down. Scattered everywhere were board games and sports equipment, art supplies and musical instruments, model planes and action figures. Grace and Karen could have played almost anything and nothing bad would have happened. But Grace spotted her skateboard and Karen’s jump rope, and she got an idea.

Why is the setting of the basement so important at this point of the story?

• because the model planes give Grace the idea to make things fly across the room

• because Grace and Karen take the sports equipment and play outside

• because the scattered toys give Grace the idea to build the catapult

• because Grace and Karen use the art supplies to draw pictures on the porch

When Grace and Karen are in the basement playing with the catapult, their father asks the girls if they are throwing things. Grace fibs and says no.

Which detail best explains the importance of Grace fibbing to her father?

• It leads to the girls playing longer so that Grace's father has time to finish cooking dinner.

• It allows Grace to continue working on the catapult so that it does a better job of launching things.

• It allows the girls to continue playing with the catapult, which leads to Karen getting hurt.

• It leads to Grace's father getting angry with Grace for fibbing to him about throwing things.

Obviously, they should’ve stopped then. Clearly, Grace never should’ve loaded the catapult once more, this time with a cast-iron toy car. And certainly, it was a mistake for Grace to tell Karen to stand on the other side of the room and catch the car before it hit the wall so Dad wouldn’t hear.

But hindsight is 20/20. Grace didn’t stop. She loaded the catapult. She launched the car, and it hit Karen squarely in her left eye.

How does the idiom "hindsight is 20/20" in the passage apply to Grace?

• It was easy for Grace to see that she should have stopped using the catapult after Karen had already gotten hurt.

• Grace determined that it was a bad idea to build the catapult in the first place and she needed to take it apart.

• Grace realized that she should have launched something soft with the catapult if Karen was going to catch it.

Grace expects her mother to be disappointed with her for hurting Karen and lying about it. Instead, her mother comes to her room and tells her a story about something that happened when she was Grace's age.

Which detail best explains why Grace's mother is not upset or disappointed with her?

• Grace's mother is so tired after she gets home from work that she doesn't have the energy to be upset or disappointed.

• Grace's mother is an engineer, so instead of being angry, she's proud of Grace for building a catapult.

• Grace's mother did something similar when she was Grace's age, so she's more understanding about what happened.

Highlight the context that best shows the meaning of “as if every letter weighs a thousand pounds.”

Mom only uses Grace's full name when

• she's really disappointed

• she doesn't yell it

• speaks it very slowly

• pronouncing each syllable exhausts her

Read the excerpt from “Grace.”

Which is where she sits as the cat clock strikes six, and Mom arrives home. The room is darker now than it was ten minutes ago. The gloomy orange tint has given way to even bleaker gray shadows. There is a pit in her stomach as Grace hears Dad’s muffled voice downstairs. Now Mom’s feet are on the steps, and her door opens.

Grace braces herself, but the sound of her full name never comes. Instead, Mom comes and sits next to her. For a moment, the only sound is the ticking clock.

How do the words in the excerpt create the mood?

• The words, "there is a pit in her stomach," develop a nervous mood.

• The author sets a lonely mood with the words, "even bleaker gray shadows."

• The words, Grace braces herself," created an alarmed mood.

Read the excerpt from “Grace.”

Mom only uses Grace’s full name when she’s really disappointed. And she doesn’t yell it. She speaks it very slowly, as if every letter weighs a thousand pounds, like pronouncing each syllable exhausts her.

Why does Grace most likely believe that her mother will be disappointed in her?

• She disobeys when her father tells her to stop.

• She enjoys snacks she is not supposed to eat.

• She tells a lie about something that happens.

• She makes a mess of the basement area.

What happens earlier in the story "Grace" that causes Grace to be sent to her room?

• She eats snacks without permission.

• Grace lies to her father.

• She does not put her toys away.

• Grace argues with her sister.

In “Grace,” Dad gives the girls a treat that Mom would normally not allow.

What does this show about Dad?

• He enjoys spoiling his daughters.

• He does not like following rules.

• He often disagrees with Mom.

• He likes sweets more than Mom.