First Day by Roald Dahl

1. What was the primary purpose of a tuck-box?

• To store the student’s books and notebooks for school

• To store the school uniforms, which students had to “tuck” neatly into the boxes

• To keep pets students found while they were at school

• To store any special personal items students brought with them or that were sent by their families

Answer explanation

At Prep School in those days, a parcel of tuck was sent once a week by anxious mothers to their ravenous little sons, and an average tuck-box would probably contain, at almost any time, half a home-made currant cake, a packet of squashed-fly biscuits, a couple of oranges, an apple, a banana, a pot of strawberry jam or Marmite, a bar of chocolate, a bag of Liquorice Allsorts and a tin of Bassett’s lemonade powder

As well as tuck, a tuck-box would also contain all manner of treasures such as a magnet, a pocket-knife, a compass, a ball of string, a clockwork racing-car, half a dozen lead soldiers, a box of conjuring-tricks, some tiddly-winks, a Mexican jumping bean, a catapult, some foreign stamps, a couple of stink-bombs

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2. Dahl compares a tuck-box to what everyday object?

• A coffin

• A lady’s handbag

• The trunk of a car

• A kitchen cabinet

Answer explanation

It is his own secret store-house, as secret as a lady’s handbag

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3. What is it about a "lady's handbag" that makes it a good comparison for a tuck-box?

• It is tiny. 

• It is private.

• It is carried with a shoulder-strap.

• It is carried with a shoulder-strap.

Answer explanation

It is his own secret store-house, as secret as a lady’s handbag

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CCSS.RI.4.5

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4. Why did the Headmaster encourage parents to send care packages with food from home?

• He knew how much the boys looked forward to the packages and wanted them to be happy.

• He liked to look through the packages to find treats for himself.

• He wanted to buy as little food as possible for the boys so he could save money.

• He knew the parents would send healthy foods and he thought the boys should eat as healthily as possible.

Answer explanation

An English school in those days was purely a money-making business owned and operated by the Headmaster. It suited him, therefore, to give the boys as little food as possible himself and to encourage the parents in various cunning ways to feed their offspring by parcel-post from home

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5. Which of the following is something a boy might put in his tuck-box based on Dahl’s description?

• His finest dress clothes

• A package of his favorite cookies

• His skis

• His books for class

Answer explanation

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1. Read the final paragraph of Dahl’s description of a tuck-box and what might be found within.

2. In this paragraph, what is the meaning of the word treasures?

• Objects that are worth a great deal of money

• Objects that are important to their owners

• Objects that others want to take away

• Objects that could get the student into trouble

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CCSS.RI.3.4

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