NAME: ____________________________
DATE: __________
YEAR AND SECTION: _____________
SCORE: _________
CONTEXT CLUES:
Directions: Read the sentences below. Read the capitalized and bold word in the sentence. Circle the
answer choice that has the same meaning as the capitalized and bold word.
1. We are DEPLETING the Earth’s reserves of oil. Someday there will not be any left.
a. Using up
c. Adding up
b. Saving up
d. Creating
2. Many Northern birds MIGRATE for the winter. They return in the spring. Based on context clues
in the passage, MIGRATE means
a. Lay eggs
c. Eat
b. Sing
d. Move away
3. They were ECSTATIC at the birth of their baby. They couldn’t stop smiling for days. Based on the
context clues in the sentence, ECSTATIC means:
a. Excited
c. Nervous
b. Discouraged
d. Relieved
4. It has been an extremely BRUTAL summer with very hot temperatures. What does BRUTAL
mean?
a. Harsh
c. Pleasant
b. Windy
d. Gentle
5. As the students GENERATED ideas for solving the problem, Mr. Aguilar wrote them on the board
so they would not be forgotten.
a. Discussed
c. Applied
b. Came up with
d. Discovered
6. Use context clues to determine the meaning of the word in red. When he didn’t understand the
instructions, the student asked the teacher to CLARIFY them.
a. Explain
c. Call
b. Remove
d. Put
7. The lost campers SWELTERED in the heat of the desert sun.
a. Sunbathed
c. Burned
b. Ate
d. Slept
8. Grandpa was in a JOVIAL mood, making jokes and laughing at everything. What does the word
“JOVIAL” mean?
a. Happy
c. Irritable
b. Angry
d. Crazy
9. Since Zedy DEFERRED his vacation, he was able to accomplish more at work first. What does
“DEFERRED” mean?
a. Cancelled
c. Advanced
b. Expedited
d. Delayed
10. I’m in a QUANDARY about which friend’s birthday party to attend this weekend. What does the
word “QUANDARY” mean?
a. Anxiety
c. Superiority
b. Dilemma
d. Surprise
READING COMPREHENSION:
Directions: Read the story and answer each question.
ZEDY’S NEW GLASSES
Zedy squinted when he looked at the movie screen. Zedy squinted when he looked at the chalkboard in
class. Zedy squinted at everything. Zedy even squinted at his mom. “I think you need to get your eyes
checked,” said his mom. “everywhere you go, you squint.” “Squinting just makes it easier for me to see,”
said Zedy. “I’m fine!” “Are you kidding me?” said Mom. “You need to get your eyes checked. You
probably need glasses.” “ Are you kidding me?” repeated Zedy. He really didn’t want glasses. Zedy
already got enough unwanted attention for his baby fat body. Sometimes other kids called him “baste”
and “pigsty face.” Zedy didn’t want to attract any more attention by wearing glasses.
When Zedy went to the eye doctor, the eye test looked just like it did in cartoons and movies. Zedy read
the letters on the chart. The letters on the top of the chart were big, but as Zedy read lower and lower
lines, the letters got smaller and smaller. Finally, he had to guess the letters on the bottom line. The “T”
looked like an “E”, or maybe it was an “I”. the eye doctor pulled down big lenses for Zedy to look
through. Zedy could read the bottom line when he looked through the big lenses. “Oh”, said Zedy. The
“T” was actually an “O”! Maybe I really do need glasses, thought Zedy.
1. Based on the story above that you read, why does Zedy not want to get glasses?
a. He doesn’t want to attract any more attention to himself.
b. He likes to squint.
c. He doesn’t like the way he looks in glasses.
d. All of the above
2. Why does Zedy think he might really need glasses?
a. He has a hard time reading the bottom of the eye chart.
b. He squints at everything.
c. His mom tells him he needs to get his eyes checked.
d. He needs green frames to look cool.
3. Why does Mom say that Zedy should get his eyes checked?
a. Zedy needs glasses to match his body.
b. Zedy bumps into everything
c. Zedy’s mom wears glasses
d. Zedy squints at everything
4. What does Zedy squint at?
a. Movie screen
b. Chalkboard in class
c. His mom
d. All of the above
TADPOLE TALE
Zedy and Vanz walked to a neighborhood pond to look for tadpoles. Vanz carried a red bucket and a net
because he wanted to take some home. Zedy didn’t think they should take the tadpoles. He had read that
tadpoles grow best in their natural environment. In the pond, tadpoles have food, shelter, and a place to
crawl out when they grow into frogs.
When they got to the pond, Zedy saw two big round eyes peeping from above the water. He noticed more
frog eyes. There were frogs scattered everywhere in the pond. When Zedy walked around the edge of the
pond, some of the frogs splashed under the water, some of the frogs remained still like statues, and some
of the frogs squeaked.
Then Zedy saw something moving in the water on the edge of the pond. “Look at this!” he called.
Hundreds of tadpoles swam in the water. The tadpoles wiggled their tails to swim. “It looked like the
water was alive with squirming, squiggling tadpoles.
Vanz used his net to scoop up the tadpoles. Vanz filled the bucket with pond water and Zedy dropped
tadpoles into it. The tadpoles swam in circles inside the bucket. Vanz caught more and more tadpoles.
Soon the bucket seemed to have more tadpoles than the pond.
Zedy watched the tadpoles swim in circles. “It looks like a tadpole blizzard,” he said. “Lets keep them,”
said Vanz. “They’ll grow into frogs!” “Lets keep some of them,” said Zedy. “I think we should set the rest
free, so they can be with their friends.” Zedy and Vanz agreed to set half of the tadpoles free. Zedy gently
poured half the bucket back into the pond, and the tadpoles swam under the water plants.
At home, Vanz created a natural environment for his tadpoles. He poured the other half of the bucket into
a glass aquarium. He added rocks and pond plants, and fed the tadpoles fish flakes. When the aquarium
water got dirty, Vanz changed it with fresh pond water. Over the next eight weeks, Zedy and Vanz
watched the tadpoles grow legs and lose their tails. The tadpoles grew into miniature frogs. One by one,
the tiny frogs crawled onto the rocks in the aquarium. Zedy and Vanz carried the red bucket back to the
pond, this time full of little frogs. The frogs hopped and jumped, trying to get out of the bucket. Zedy and
Vanz carefully turned the bucket sideways and set it on the edge of the pond. The frogs jumped into the
pond water. They seemed to be happy.
Zedy smiled. “Now they are all with their friends,” he said.
5. Why does Zedy want to leave the tadpoles in the pond?
a. Aquarium water needs to be changed when it gets dirty
b. Zedy is scared of tadpoles
c. Vanz bucket is too small
d. Tadpoles grow best in their natural environment
6. What did the different frogs do when Zedy walked around the pond?
a. Remained still
c. Squeaked
b. Splashed under the water
d. All of the above
7. Why is Zedy smiling at the end of the passage?
a. The frogs tried to get out of the bucket
b. Vanz fell in the pond
c. Zedy is happy that the frogs are free to be with their friends
d. Vanz took care of the tadpoles
8. Of the events listed, which event happened first?
a. Vanz scooped up tadpoles with his net
b. Zedy filled the bucket with pond water’
c. Vanz put the tadpoles in the bucket
d. Zedy set some of the tadpoles free
9. Which statement is true?
a. Zedy didn’t think they should take tadpoles
b. Vanz didn’t think they should take tadpoles
c. Zedy and Vanz got in an argument about the tadpoles
d. Sarah wanted to take all the tadpoles.
10. Which statement is false?
a. The tadpoles took eight weeks to grow into frogs
b. Zedy and Vanz agreed to keep some of the tadpoles
c. Zedy was sad when they set the frogs free
d. Zedy found something on the edge of the pond
GETTING THE MAIN IDEA
Directions: Read the following paragraph and choose the best answer below.
1. It was backward day at school. The students had to do things backward. Some of them wore tshirts backward. They took a test before they studied the lesson. Dessert was served first
instead of last. They tried to walk home backward, but they bumped into each other and fell
down. What is the main idea?
a. Students failed their tests.
b. Dessert supposed to come last
c. It is hard to do things backward.
d. The students had a backward day.
2. Carson’s older sister, Madison, is a very good student. She isn’t satisfied to just get by in school.
She is involved in extra activities at school, including the school’s music program and the math
club. She also always tries to answer the teacher’s questions in class. What is the main idea of
the paragraph?
a.
b.
c.
d.
How women were treated in the Madison is a very good student.
Madison likes music, and math.
Madison likes to show off.
Famous female journalists in Madison was before born before Carson.
3. Jenny visited her grandmother in the hospital she saw how kind and helpful the nurses were to
her grandmother. Now she wants to be a nurse when she grows up. She wants to help sick
people get well. What is the main idea?
a. Her grandmother was in the hospital
b. Jenny got sick
c. Jenny wants to be a nurse
d. Jenny was glad the nurses were to being kind to her grandmother
4. Someday we will all have robots that will be our personal servants. They will look and behave
much like real humans. We will be able to talk to these mechanical helpers and they will be able
to respond in kind! Amazingly, the robots of the future will be able to learn from experience.
They will be smart, strong, and untiring workers whose only good will be to make our lives
easier. What is this selection mainly about?
a. You should give up if you are the Robots will look and behave much like real humans.
b. Amazingly, the robots of the future will be learn from experience.
c. We will be able to talk to robots and they will be able to respond.
d. Someday we will have robots that will be our personal servants.
5. Yesterday was my birthday. When I woke up, I noticed my brother Herbert hung up a big sign
that said, “Happy Birthday, Vanz!” Mom made spaghetti for dinner. It’s my favorite food in the
whole world. My friend Zedy came over and handed me a wrapped gift. I wondered what it was.
It was a new basketball! I had a great day. What is the main idea of this paragraph?
a. Vanz got a lot of gifts.
b. Zedy got lots of gifts.
c. Herbert had a great birthday
d. Vanz had a great birthday
NOTING DETAILS
Directions: Read the story and answer the question correctly.
THE GREAT LIBRARY
The great library of Alexandra, in Egypt, was a public library. In ancient times, people called it a
wonder. The books were not like our books. They were scrolls. They were made of paper. They were
round like a tube. The library had many thousands of scrolls.
The library wanted as many books as it could get. Kings would write to other kings. They would ask
for books. Sometimes they didn’t return them.
Books were bought. Sometimes the librarians stole books for the library.
Sadly, the library burnt down. But it was a model for libraries we know today. It was the first great
library.
1. What might be a good heading for the next paragraph for this reading?
a. Stealing Books
c. Kings In Egypt
b. Tubes Are Books!
d. Libraries Since Alexandra
2. What did Kings write to other Kings to get books?
a. The library was important to them
b. Kings everywhere did this
c. The library was a wonder
d. The librarians told them to
3. Which statement is a fact from the passage?
a. Kings were also librarians back then
b. Scrolls were better than our books
c. The library was not liked in ancient times
d. The library had many thousands of scrolls
A PROBLEM AT THE ZOO
Mr. Gonzalez's class was worried. The polar bears at the zoo were acting nervous. The oldest bear was
swimming all the time. He never rested!
The zookeeper told the kids the problem was noise. The bear reserve was near the highway. The bears
heard cars go by. Drivers blew their horns. What could be done?
The class wrote letters to the mayor. The mayor suggested lowering the speed limit for the cars. She also
said she could post signs that said, “NO HONKING! It disturbs the bears.” The signs went up and the speed
limit was lowered.
The class noticed right away that the bears were napping more. They felt they had made a change using
their government.
4. Which event happened last?
a. The class felt they made a change
b. The class had a plan
c. The bears were nervous
d. The class wrote to the mayor
5. How did the class solve the polar bear’s problem?
a. They ignored the problem
b. They made phone calls to solve it
c. They wrote the signs
d. They used the government to solve it
MAKING INFERENCE
Directions: read each passage. Examine the text for clues, then, use your personal knowledge and
experience to help you choose the BEST INFERENCE. Encircle the letter next to the best response.
1. Sadie loves to learn about animals and their habitats. She also really loves learning about space
and all of the planets. What can you infer is her favorite subject in school?
a. Math
c. Reading
b. Science
d. Social studies
2. Zedy is camping alone. It is dry and windy out. He falls asleep in his sleeping bag near the blazing
campfire. What is the BEST inference you could make?
a. The fire may spread
c. There will be a hurricane
b. An animal will leap into the
d. Someone will stop by
flames
3. It is raining. Your friend Vanz is coming to a sleep over. She texts you that she’s on her way but
will be late. What is the BEST inference you could make?
a. Vanz is doing her homework
c. Traffic is slow due to the
b. Vanz is babysitting her brother
weather
d. Vanz can’t come to your house
4. Your mother is wearing a rain coat. What she comes inside, she puts an umbrella. The BEST
inference you could make is that __________.
a. She needs to go to the grocery
c. She is picking you brother up
shopping
from the school
b. It is raining outside
d. It is May
5. Zedy was baking some cookies, but then he got an important phone call. He returned a few
minutes later to a smoke filled chicken. What can you infer?
a. Zedy forgot about the cookies and they are burning
b. The cookies are cooling on the baking pan
c. The oven has turned off
d. A candle was blown out in the kitchen
RESTATEMENT
Directions: Read the sentences and choose the sentence with the closest meaning. Encircle the letter of
your answer.
1. Unlike today, there did not use to be many people who suffered from psychological illness.
a. Today the number of people with psychological illness is small
b. Few people had psychological illness in the past, but today there are many
c. Today more and more people are suffering from psychological illness
d. In the past, people did not suffer from psychological illness.
2. Even though there is strong proof the UFO’s exist, most people refuse to believe in them.
a. Although lots of people that UFOs exist, there is little evidence
b. There is a lot of evidence about UFOs; nevertheless, officials refuse to reveal them to
the public
c. The number of people who believe in UFOs is not very high although there is strong
evidence for them.
d. People believe the stories about UFOs are all lies as there is no concrete evidence.
3. A good book review lets you know whether or not it is the sort of book you want to read.
a. The prime function of a book review is to inform you whether a book is worth reading
b. To be good, a book review has to establish who would enjoy reading it.
c. You can understand from a good book review whether or not it is the kind of book you
would enjoy.
d. One ought to be able to understand from a book review which books are worth reading.
4. Unless the problem is corrected immediately, it will only continue to get worse.
a. We must fix the situation right away; even so, it might not get any better.
b. The situation is going to worsen even more if it is not fixed without delay.
c. Although the crisis has been addressed, things have not begun to get better yet.
d. We’re only causing more problems by allowing the crisis to grow and get out of hand.
5. Having considered all the risks beforehand, the police did not take action without a plan.
a. Although they did not take action without a plan, the police considered the risks
beforehand.
b. While they were considering the risks, the police did not take action without a plan.
c. By the time the police thought about taking action, they had made a plan.
d. Because the police had considered all the risks beforehand, they did not take action
without a plan.
PREPARED BY: VANESSA AGUILAR MARTIN
BSE III
ANSWER KEY:
CONTEXT CLUES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A
D
A
A
B
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
A
C
A
D
B
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
D
C
A
A
C
READING COMPREHENSION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A
A
D
D
D
GETTING THE MAIN IDEA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
D
A
C
D
D
MAKING INFERENCE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
B
A
C
B
A
NOTING DETAILS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
D
A
D
A
D
RESTATEMENT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
B
C
A
B
D