ELA Pass

Marcos and Juan were cousins and the best of friends. Their mothers were sisters and since times were tough, they shared a home. The boys had grown up together and they were similar in many ways. They shared the same interests, and even the same chores. They were quite different however in the way the handled their money that they earned for these chores. Marcos liked to save most of his allowance each week and he would only spend a little of it here and there. The rest of the money would go straight into a bank account that his grandfather help set up for him. Marcos was saving up for a Go-kart that he had wanted forever (so it seemed). Juan, on the other hand, spent his allowance like it was burning a hole in his pocket. He was constantly buying soda pop, candy, comic books, and anything he could get a hold of. Juan did not have any money left over to put in the bank. His bank account was bare. Months went by, and the time came when Marcos had finally saved enough money for the Go-kart that he had been dreaming about. On the big day, his mother drove him to the bank to withdraw the money for the long awaited prize. Excitement overcame Marcos as he entered the sporting goods store, and pointed out the “lemon twist-yellow hot rod (o.k. it was just a Go-kart) that he was about to buy. His mother helped him purchase the rest of the safety gear he needed for his new rig. Marcos had a blast riding his new Go-Kart at his uncle’s property. Meanwhile, Juan watched as his cousin enjoyed the payoff of his frugality. Juan regretted his silly spending choices and agreed to follow Marcos’ money management advice. He vowed that some day they would ride, side by side, enjoying the same “fruits of their labor.”

• Saving your money pays off!

• Money will buy you things that make you happy.

• You shouldn't work hard.

• You need lots of money.

“Yah, that would be awesome…Let me call you right back!” Jesse hung up the phone excitedly. Blake, one of the popular kids in his class, had invited him to his birthday party. The party was going to be at Skate Central Roller Rink, his favorite place to hang out. There were cool “old-school” video games there, laser light shows, and the best pizza in town. Jesse was staying with his grandma because his parents were out of town, and he was sure that she would agree to take him to the party. Jesse ran down stairs to ask for his grandma’s permission. As he entered the kitchen, he saw his grandma sitting at the table with a board game set up and a big bright smile on her face. “You don’t think you’ll beat me twice do you?” she said, with a twinkle in her eye. Jesse had forgotten that he had told her that they would play board games and order Chinese food, like they often did together. Despite his guilty feeling, he couldn’t resist asking her if he could go to Blake’s birthday party instead. His grandma, trying to hide her disappointment, gave Jesse a gentle smile and agreed to take him to the party. At Skate Central they played video games, skated, and ate pizza. Everyone was having a blast. Everyone that is, except for Jesse. He felt horrible for leaving his grandma home alone and breaking their plans together. Jesse’s friends even commented and asked him what was up with his bad mood. Jesse finally couldn’t stand his guilty conscience any longer, and staying at the party just wasn’t worth it. He asked to use the phone at the front desk to call his grandma to see if she could pick him up early. “Of course honey…I’ll come to get you. Is everything alright?” his grandma replied worriedly. Even though Jesse’s grandmother was not mad at him for going to the party, he was angry with himself for being selfish. He made himself a promise that night.

What is the theme of this passage?

• Grandmas are awesome.

• Parties are not important.

• A guilty conscience has no accuser.

• Live for the moment.

The big day had arrived of the “Character of the Quarter Assembly” at school. Four times a year, students were recognized by their teachers for academic success and behavior. The winners would receive a fancy certificate, recognition from the principal, a t-shirt, and their pictures were taken and hung up on the “Wall of Fame”. After the ceremony, cake and punch were served to the winners. Parents of the winners were notified to come to see the ceremony and the whole school watched as the few selected students received their awards. It was a big honor for the students who received the award. The recipients remained a secret until they announced the “Character of the Quarter” winners at the assembly. The kids were called to the auditorium and the audience was abuzz of kids whispering to each other about who they thought would receive the awards. They kept turning to look at the back where the parents sat to see if they could get a glimpse of whose parents or family were there. Often, it was fairly obvious to the students who was going to receive the awards. It was time for the teachers to announce the winners of the awards and hand out the certificates. Several names were called and the children clapped as their classmates received their awards. Some students in the audience gave the winners a “thumbs-up”, while others pouted because they thought that they should have won. Just as the ceremony was coming to a close, Mrs. Jones, the principal, announced that she had one more special “Character Award” to give. She began by saying that the boy winning this award was a student who she saw in the grocery store one day. Mrs. Jones said that this student did not know that she was there as she was behind him in the checkout aisle. She watched as this boy was polite and courteous to the clerk and even returned a fifty dollar bill to a gentleman who had dropped it. As Mrs. Jones announced the name of this student, she ended by saying that what had impressed her the most about this boy was that this behavior was displayed even “when no one was looking!

• It's nice to be a good person.

• The strength of your character is measured in many ways.

• The best students should get awards.

• People who don't get awards are losers.

Adam had never learned to snowboard or ski. When he moved to a mountain town called Winter Gulch, he met a group of kids from school who went snowboarding almost every weekend. Winter sports were such a big deal that the kids had a longer school day Mondays through Thursdays and didn’t attend school on Fridays so they could go snowboarding or skiing. This I could get used to, Adam thought, and besides, how hard can snowboarding really be? The kids from school finally asked Adam if he wanted to go with them to “take a couple laps through the terrain park and stomp some big jumps." Everyone just assumed that Adam could snowboard or ski. Adam was too prideful to tell them that he couldn’t, and that he had never even been in the mountains until he and his family moved to Winter Gulch. Adam couldn’t believe that he had just let them believe that he was a snowboarder. He agreed to meet them at the resort. When Adam arrived at the park, all the kids had their own boards and gear. He told the kids that he needed to rent some gear for the day and made some excuse as to why he didn’t have his own. He went on to say that he would meet up with them later. Adam went up the ski lift and fell immediately as he unloaded. He prayed that none of the kids had seen him. He knew right away that the sport was much harder than he first thought. Adam fell on his face; he fell on his back; he fell on his side, then he almost ran into someone. He was totally out of control! An instructor saw Adam struggling and approached him to help. Together they got down the mountain. Adam was visibly shaken and exhausted from his first run. Just then, Drake, one of the kids that he was supposed to meet, rode up to him and sprayed him with snow. Drake pushed his goggles up and said, “Dude….I saw what happened,…that was gnarly!” “Why didn’t you just tell us you didn’t know how to shred?” “We can help you bro…that’s what friends do. What is the theme of this passage?

• You should do what your friends want.

• Lying isn't okay.

• You should keep secrets.

• Tell the truth, even when it is hard.

Tammy and Sammy were both students in Mr. Morton's reading class. Mr. Morton wasn't too strict about deadlines, and Sammy took advantage of that. He did all of his homework in his other classes but never bothered to complete Mr. Morton's reading assignments, figuring that he could complete them later. Tammy, on the other hand, completed each assignment Mr. Morton assigned the night that he assigned it. She had to stay up a little later, but she didn't want to get a penalty for turning in her reading work late. Tammy knew reading was a core subject and that she had to keep "C" average for the entire year or she would have to go to summer school. When the end of the quarter came, Tammy and Sammy had both planned on going to the Enchanted Castle Amusement Park, but Mr. Morton called Sammy's mother, and she grounded Sammy until he turned in all of his work. That weekend was horrible for Sammy. He stayed up until 2:00 AM each night and still couldn't complete all of the assignments. The whole while, Tammy had a great time eating pizza at Enchanted Castle, watching movies late at night, and enjoying her weekend free of stress and pressure. At the end of the quarter, Sammy was lucky to squeak by with a "C" minus in reading while Tammy earned an "A." Sammy still hasn't learned his lesson and probably won't complete this activity either.

• Deadlines are for losers.

• Mr. Morton liked Tammy better than Sammy.

• Reading class is too hard.

• It is better to do things right the first time.

What is the theme of this passage?

• Always be yourself.

• Being shy is okay.

• You should change for others.

• You should never play with the shy kids.

In which sentence does the author attempt to stir emotions in the reader?

• They tell their children not to interrupt when others are talking.

• Children are taught to apologize when they’ve been disrespectful to a schoolmate.

• Imagine the confusion children feel when adults refuse to practice the simple courtesies they themselves preach.

• It’s true that we live in a fast-paced world now, and technology has contributed to the “instantness” of our society.

The word justify in paragraph 2 means to —

• provide an opportunity

• give up on a task

• make acceptable

• explain in detail

What is the main theme of the story 'The Tortoise and the Hare'?

• A) Slow and steady wins the race.

• B) Fast and furious is the way to go.

• C) Never trust a tortoise.

• D) Hares are always winners.

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?

• A) She don't like apples.

• B) He doesn't likes apples.

• C) They doesn't like apples.

• D) She doesn't like apples.