The Walking Dance

“The Walking Dance” is written in the ______ tense, from a ______ point of view.

• past; first-person

• past; third-person

• present; first-person

• present; third-person

Gavin decides to eat the Unknown Taco mainly because _______.

• he is hungry

• he loves spicy foods

• he has had an Unknown Taco before and it wasn’t so bad

• it is the first time anyone in the family has offered him one

What can readers most likely infer about how Gavin feels from the following passage (paragraph 119)?

Gavin joined them. Being in the mix was disorienting, and Gavin shuffled, trying to sway on beat and settling into a pace that wouldn’t bump the old lady in front of him and avoided the aggressive spins Cousin Ricky and his partner were doing behind him. It was hard. Gavin couldn’t tell if this was the longest song in the history of songs, or more than one song. The tropical beat kept grinding out of the audio mixer: chuk-chukka-chuk, chuk-chukka-chuk.

• Gavin is glad to be at the funeral.

• Gavin feels uncomfortable.

• Gavin dislikes Aurora’s family.

• Gavin does not care about being at the funeral.

After the conclusion of the story, it is most likely that _______.

• Gavin will let David make him another Unknown Taco

• Gavin will feel more comfortable spending time with Aurora’s family

• Carlos will never go back to Laredo

• Gavin will become best friends with Cousin Ricky

Which of the following selections best explains Gavin’s feelings about his role in Aurora’s family?

• Gavin feels almost like a brother to Aurora’s brother David.

• Gavin and Cookie do not get along at all.

• Gavin has always felt like a close member of the family.

• Gavin feels like he doesn’t belong in the family.

Which passage from the text most strongly supports the answer to Question 5?

• “Gavin appreciated the invitation because even though he and Aurora made this trip every year, and even though they had been married for ten years, Gavin often still felt like an outsider in Aurora’s family, especially among the men.”

• “Best of all, Uncle David and Ricky didn’t care that Carlos was a little kid— they cursed and told Carlos all kinds of stories just like he was one of the men.”

• “On the dance floor Ricky was mesmerizing, practically a work of art: a giant, hairy mammoth that somehow, even sweating through his Hawaiian shirt, in defiance of all laws of physics and the universe, achieved beauty—that’s how deeply he felt the music.”

• “Man, shut up, you sell air conditioners for a living.”

Which of the following selections best explains what Gavin realizes because of the cumbia, or Walking Dance?

• Gavin realizes that he is a good dancer.

• Gavin realizes that his son loves him.

• Gavin realizes that he does have a role in his family, after all.

• Gavin realizes that he does not like funerals.

Which sentence from the text most strongly supports the answer to Question 7?

• “Gavin knew the cumbia pretty well, because Aurora was a fan of the late Tejano Queen, Selena.”

• “Aurora would holler “That’s my jam!” and make Gavin dance around the living room with her.”

• “You could be doing anything—cleaning the house, talking on the phone, carrying groceries—and as long as you made the cumbia circle, you were doing it right.”

• “Gavin didn’t know how to talk to his son about death any more than he could dream up sweet nicknames for his daughter.”

Arrange the following events from the story in the order they occur:

• Gavin, Aurora and Carlos drive to San Antonio.

• Gavin eats the unknown taco.

• The family drives to Aunt Melchora’s funeral.

• Gavin dances the cumbia with the family.

Match each line of dialogue with its speaker:

• Uncle David

• “No! I don’t want to be in charge. I want you to be alive!”

• Carlos

• “It’s like you woke up and decided you were gonna do dumb stuff all day!”

• Aurora

• “Poor Tío just stood there saying, ‘C’mon, Beatríz, get in the car already.’”

• Gavin

• “I’m being a man and taking care of my family,”