Which of the following best completes the sentence, maintaining the correct sequence and past tense? Sarah found a dusty old diary in her grandmother's attic. The first entry read, "I went to the market, then I bought some flowers, and ____ I saw a strange man."

• Finally

• Later

• Suddenly

• Meanwhile

• Therefore

"The old, wooden bridge across the river" is a noun phrase. Which of the following sentences uses a noun phrase in a similar way?

• She walked quickly to the store.

• He found a valuable, antique coin.

• They will travel during the summer.

• The cat slept peacefully on the rug.

• We ate dinner after the movie.

John said, "I will finish this project by tomorrow." Later, Mary told her friend what John had said. Which of the following is the correct reported speech?

• John said that he will finish this project by tomorrow.

• John said that he would finish this project by tomorrow.

• John said that he finishes this project by tomorrow.

• John said that he finished this project by tomorrow.

• John says that he will finish this project by tomorrow.

The team played ____ despite the difficult conditions. Which adverb best fits the sentence and implies a high level of skill or effort?

• Skillfully

• Badly

• Casually

• Rarely

• Simply

The detective examined the room. The window was shattered, and muddy footprints ____ across the floor. What can you infer about what happened?

• Were neatly arranged

• Had been carefully cleaned

• Were scattered haphazardly

• Are freshly painted

• Will be cleaned later

The cat licked ____ paw before settling down for a nap.

• its

• it's

• their

• his

• her

The sunset over the ocean was ____.

• quickly

• sadness

• to run

• a book

• beautiful

The old house stood on a hill, with ____ windows and a creaky door.

• modern

• new

• broken

• clean

• painted

___ is a very ____ painting.

• This / colorful

• These / colorfully

• That / colors

• Those / coloring

• It / color

Which of the following is a typical characteristic of a procedure text?

• It tells a fictional story.

• It describes a historical event.

• It expresses personal opinions.

• It analyzes a literary work.

• It provides steps to achieve a goal.