U1L5 Comprehension

Why did Robert use empty soup cans for batting practice?

• a. They turned into softballs.

• b. He had no money to buy softballs.

• c. He could hit them farther that real balls

• d. There were many soup cans in the field.

Read this sentence from the story:

"As if to introduce himself, Roberto smacked the very first pitch."

What is the meaning of this sentence?

• F. Roberto greeted the fans and then took a swing at the ball.

• G. Roberto told everyone who he was by slapping the ball with his hand.

• H. Roberto hit the ball really hard, as a way of showing what a good player he was.

• I. Roberto told everyone how to pronounce his name, and then he had a fight with the pitcher

Read this sentence from the story:

"To his new fans in Pittsburgh, Roberto was like a jolt of electricity."

What does this sentence tell you about what the fans thought of Roberto?

• A. He was angry

• B He was exciting..

• C He was talented.

• D. He was different

Why were Roberto’s new Pittsburgh fans so excited about him?

• a. He had a Spanish name.

• b. He used a guava tree baseball bat.

• c. He could hit, catch, and run very well.

• d. He slammed into the right-field wall.

Why were kids "twisting their necks this way and that?"

• a. to ease their pain

• b. to be like Roberto

• c. to see the game better

• d. to try as hard as they could

What effect did practicing hitting bottle caps at home have on Roberto Clemente?

• a. He forgot how to play baseball.

• b. He was greeted in Pittsburgh by cheering crowds

• c. He decided to buy baseballs that were larger than the normal size.

• d. He was able to hit baseballs better than ever, and his score improved.

Why was Roberto going to Central America after his last World Series?

• a. to teach baseball to children

• b. to visit his family and friends

• c. to help people after an earthquake

• d. to practice for the next baseball season

Read these sentences from the story:

"And Roberto’s spirit is still growing. It grows in the bats and gloves and arms and legs of all the Latino baseball players who have flooded into the major leagues." What do these sentences mean?

• a. Roberto's spirit continues to inspire people.

• b. Roberto's spirit is very large and haunting

• c. Roberto's spirit makes people cause floods in the major leagues.

• Roberto's spirit causes baseball bats and gloves to grow larger.

Read these lines from the first poem in “Baseball Poems.”

"But it gives me the blues To score ninety-four And still manage to lose."

Which event in the story “Roberto Clemente” probably made Roberto feel blue like the speaker in the poem?

• a. when Roberto ran into the outfield wall after catching the ball

• b. when Roberto had a high batting average but still did not get respect

• c. when Roberto left Pittsburgh for Puerto Rico when the season ended

• d. when Roberto played baseball with cans because he did not have a ball

In the second poem in “Baseball Poems,” the speaker gets a specific feeling from the word “HOMER.”

Which of these words from the story “Roberto Clemente” might give a similar feeling?

• “TOE CLUH-MAINT?”

• “GRAND SLAM!”

• “SLAMMED”

• “HUGE”