WI Forward - Wisconsin Forward English Language Arts: Reading Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads about a girl who keeps looking out the window during class. What can the reader infer?
- She is an excellent student
- She is distracted or wishing to be somewhere else (Correct answer)
- She is afraid of the teacher
- She is looking for her parents
Correct answer: She is distracted or wishing to be somewhere else
Repeatedly looking out the window suggests distraction or longing to be elsewhere.
Making inferences requires combining text evidence with prior knowledge. A character who keeps looking out the window is showing signs of distraction or a desire to be somewhere else.
Question 2: What is the main difference between a text's theme and its topic?
- The topic is the message; the theme is the subject
- The theme is the underlying message; the topic is the subject (Correct answer)
- They are the same thing
- The topic is one word; the theme is a sentence
Correct answer: The theme is the underlying message; the topic is the subject
The topic is what a text is about; the theme is the deeper message.
A topic is the general subject (e.g., 'courage'). A theme is the author's message about that topic (e.g., 'True courage means standing up for what is right').
Question 3: Which text structure explains why something happened and what resulted?
- Compare and contrast
- Chronological order
- Cause and effect (Correct answer)
- Problem and solution
Correct answer: Cause and effect
Cause and effect explains reasons something occurred and outcomes that followed.
Signal words include 'because,' 'as a result,' 'therefore,' and 'consequently.' Compare/contrast shows similarities and differences; chronological shows time sequence.
Question 4: When an author writes 'the city never sleeps,' what technique is being used?
- Alliteration
- Personification (Correct answer)
- Onomatopoeia
- Foreshadowing
Correct answer: Personification
Giving a city the human ability to sleep (or not) is personification.
Personification attributes human characteristics to non-human things. A city cannot literally sleep, so saying it 'never sleeps' conveys constant activity.
Question 5: A passage states: 'According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will drop below freezing.' This is an example of:
- An opinion
- A personal anecdote
- A factual claim supported by an authority (Correct answer)
- A rhetorical question
Correct answer: A factual claim supported by an authority
Citing the National Weather Service provides credible evidence from an authoritative source.
Using expert evidence from a recognized authority strengthens the argument by grounding it in credible data.
Question 6: What strategy helps determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word in a passage?
- Skip the word and keep reading
- Use context clues from surrounding sentences (Correct answer)
- Replace it with any fitting word
- Only look it up in a dictionary
Correct answer: Use context clues from surrounding sentences
Context clues from surrounding words and sentences help determine meaning.
Types of context clues include definition clues, synonym clues, antonym clues, and example clues. They provide a faster, in-text strategy than a dictionary.
WI Forward - Wisconsin Forward English Language Arts: Reading Questions and Answers 2
A student reads about a girl who keeps looking out the window during class.
What can the reader infer?