Eleven: Comprehension & Sentence Structure Review

Read the following passage:

“What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.”

Why does the author describe birthdays in this way?

• To emphasize that birthdays are important

• To explain how people sometimes feel younger than they are

• To show readers why people celebrate birthdays

• To tell readers how to figure out a person’s age

Which of the following similes is not used in the story to describe the way you grow old? (Paragraph 3)

• Growing old is like an onion

• Growing old is like the little wooden dolls

• Growing old is like the rings inside a tree trunk

• Growing old is like the rings of an archery target

How does Rachel end up with the red sweater on her desk?

• Sylvia Saldivar says that the red sweater belongs to Rachel

• Rachel says that the red sweater is hers

• The red sweater along with a crown, is always worn by the birthday boy or girl to celebrate the special day

• Mrs. Price reveals the identification tag on the collar, which has Rachel’s initials.

What does Rachel do with the red sweater on her desk?

• She folds it up neatly and pushes it to the corner of her desk.

• She moves it with a ruler to the corner of her desk because she doesn’t want to touch it.

• She pushes it off the desk and onto the floor.

• She puts it over the back of her desk chair.

Why does Mrs. Price pretend as if everything is okay after Rachel gives Phyllis Lopez the sweater?

• She likes the sweater

• She does not want to admit her mistake

• She is too tired to say anything

• She needs to get to the cafeteria for lunch.

After the incident at school, what does Rachel wish that she could become?

• A kite flying far away from the sweater

• A runaway balloon traveling high in the sky

• A tumbleweed blowing across a wide-open space

• A feather drifting through the air

In paragraph 18, which sense does the author not appeal to?

• Touch

• Sound

• Smell

• Sight

What question can be answered in paragraph 20?

• Why does Mrs. Price yell at Rachel?

• To whom does the sweater belong?

• How old does the narrator wish she were?

• Where does Mrs. Price to find the red sweater?

What is the author’s main purpose for writing this selection?

• To inform about birthday celebrations in the USA

• To encourage students to think less of their classroom teachers

• To question why young people can be cruel to each other in school

• To entertain with a story about a character’s feelings about growing up

What is the main theme of the story?

• Young people should be kind to one another

• Adults can bee too overbearing when dealing with kids

• No matter how old you get, you can still feel like a child

• It’s challenging to speak up for yourself in tough situations