2.
Which word would best fit in Box 1?
F
helpful
G
playful
H
young
J
fast
Robby A TRUE STORY
by Catherine Roberts
Art by Barb Armata
THE LITTLE HORSE had a sweet disposition, and everyone liked him. But Robby was blind in one eye, and the other horses took advantage of him by coming up on his blind side and nipping him.
All groups of animals establish a "pecking order," and the horses on the farm were no exception. There was the boss, then the second in command, and so on down the line. They observed this ranking at the water tank and everywhere else, and woe to the horse who went ahead of turn. Robby, of course, was always last in line.
The horses were trained to come at the sound of a whistle. This saved the farmer long treks to the pasture, especially on cold days. Late every afternoon when the whistle blew, the horses would come galloping in for the oats and corn they knew were waiting for them.
One day a new horse joined the herd. He grazed at a discreet distance from the rest, waiting to learn his proper place. Beau had come from a farm with very poor pasture and was enjoying the long grass.
That first day when the whistle blew, the others came running as usual. But Beau, who didn't know what the whistle meant, kept right on grazing.
When the herd got to the top of the hill, Robby looked back and saw Beau still eating. A certain amount of reasoning must have gone on in his little head. He knew Beau didn't understand about the whistle, so turning away from the good supper he knew was waiting, Robby went back down the hill. He nipped at. Beau, getting him to run, and then herded him in after the others.
Beau got his share of the oats and corn that night. And from that day on, he came with the rest at the sound of the whistle.
Robby, the little horse at the end of the line, the one who was pestered and pushed around and knew what it meant to be left out, had taken the trouble to help a newcomer learn the ways of his new home.
1.
What is this story mostly about?
A
a farmer finding a lonely horse
B
one horse treating another horse kindly
C
a new horse learning to get his supper
D
a farmer making friends with his horses
4.
The farmer avoids going to the pasture by teaching the horses to
F
stay in a herd
G
follow Robby home
H
line up at the water tank
J
return when a whistle blows
8.
Why does Robby nip at Beau?
F
to tell Beau who is boss
G
to guide Beau toward supper
H
to show Beau how the other horses play
J
to make Beau leave the herd
11.
The farmer does not like the long treks to the pasture. What does treks mean?
A
gallops
B
trails
C
visits
D
walks
12.
In the story, Robby is always pestered by the other horses. What does pestered mean?
F
bothered
G
harmed
H
herded
J
tripped
"One little Can" is a story from Cricket magazine about a girl who makes a difference in her neighborhood. Read the story. Then do Numbers 13 through 20.
One Little Can
by David LaRochelle
RACHEL SCOWLED IN DISGUST as she walked to the school bus stop. Her neighborhood looked like a junkyard. The sidewalk was littered with newspapers and candy wrappers. The front door to Lee's Grocery was covered with ugly graffiti. It was spring, but instead of green grass and flowers, the yards seemed to be sprouting broken branches and trash.
"Yuck!" Rachel said as she brought her foot back to kick a soda can off the curb. Then she changed her mind, picked the can up, and tossed it into a litter basket on the corner. She hurried to meet her friends at the bus stop.
Mr. Lee scowled as he looked out his grocery store window. "Hmph," he said as the girl passed by. She's probably another troublemaker, he thought. One of those kids who spray-painted graffiti all over my door. Kids today are just no good.
To confirm his suspicion, the girl stepped back to kick a piece of garbage into the street. What she did next, though, surprised him. She bent down, picked up the old can, and dropped it into a trash can.
That's a switch, thought Mr. Lee.
All morning as he unboxed soup cans and cereal boxes, he kept picturing that girl. At noon, when he walked to the corner to mail a letter, he noticed the litter that had piled up in front of his store. He thought of that girl again, then got a broom and started sweeping the walk.
Mrs. Polansky peered out from between the window blinds in her living room. A crumpled sheet of newspaper blew into her yard and got snagged on a rosebush. she hated living across the street from Lee's Grocery. Customers were always dropping their trash in front of the store, and invariably it would blow into her yard.
Maybe I should write a letter to the city council, she thought, or call the mayor. If Mr. Lee is going to let his store be such an eyesore, maybe it should be shut down.
Just then Mr. Lee walked out his door. Mrs. Polansky quickly shut the blinds, but when she peeked out again, he was sweeping up the trash on his sidewalk.
That's a change, thought Mrs. Polansky.
A few minutes later, when she went to let her cat out, she noticed that the stray newspaper had unsnagged itself from her rosebush and was tumbling into the next yard. She caught a glimpse of Ms. Sinclaire, her neighbor, frowning at her from the porch.
Mrs. Polansky looked around at her own unkempt yard.
"Well, fluffy" she said to her cat, "Mr. Lee isn't the only one who can do a bit of outdoor spring cleaning."
She went inside and got her work gloves and a trash bag.
When Rachel got off the school bus that afternoon, the first thing she noticed was the woman planting geraniums around the edges of her front walk. A fat gray cat was swatting at a butterfly that flitted among the bright red blossoms. Hadn't that yard been strewn with dead branches and soggy newspapers this morning? Several other yards looked tidier, too. She even spotted a pair of crocuses peeking up from a freshly raked garden.
When she passed Lee's Grocery, Mr. Lee was out front painting his door the color of a spring sky. He smiled at her as she walked by.
Maybe my neighborhood doesn't look so bad after all, Rachel thought. She knelt down and picked up a lone candy bar wrapper, slam-dunked it into the litter basket, and sang out loud the rest of the way home.
18.
Rachel sings at the end of the story because she
F
is happy to see Mr. Lee
G
had a good day at school
H
is glad that spring has arrived
J
is proud of her neighborhood
19.
The story says that Mr. Lee scowled when he looked out the window.
What does scowl mean?
A
cry
B
frown
C
shout
D
shiver
"Señor Coyote and the Cheese" is a Mexican folktale from Jack and Jill magazine about a coyote and a rabbit. Read the folktale. Then do Numbers 21 through 28.
One night, when a full moon was shining brightly in the sky, Señor Coyote crept up to Conejo (kone-A-hoh), the rabbit. Conejo was sitting at the edge of a pond.
Señor Coyote said, "Conejo, I have you, and I'm going to eat you, pronto!"
"Wait," said Conejo. "Do you see this fine cheese in the pond?"
There, gleaming in the black pond, was something that looked like a big, round, delicious, yellow cheese.
"Do you like cheese?" asked Conejo.
"Oh, I love cheese," said coyote as his mouth watered.
"Swim out then and get it," Conejo said. "I'd go myself, but I can't swim. While you get the cheese, I'll get some tortillas, and we'll have a fiesta."
"How do I know you'll be here when I come out of the pond?" Coyote asked.
"I've been watching this cheese for hours, Conejo said. "Do you think I'd leave it all for you? Hurry, I'm hungry."
Señor Coyote jumped into the pond and swam toward the cheese. But the cheese stayed always ahead of him. Every time he lunged for it and snapped his jaws to catch it, pond water rushed into his mouth, and he coughed and spluttered. Señor Coyote's eyes filled with water, and he had to blink them many times to see the cheese. His heart pounded from the effort of swimming. Finally, disgusted, he gave up and swam to shore and shook the water from his fur.
Conejo was gone. He had tricked Señor Coyote.
Señor Coyote lifted his head to the big, round, yellow moon in the sky and howled in anger and humiliation.
He went hungry that night.
25.
What does Señor Coyote really see in the water?
A
a round, yellow cheese
B
the reflection of the moon
C
a rabbit in disguise
D
a stack of tortillas
27.
In the story, something was gleaming in the pond.
Which word means the same as gleaming?
A
fading
B
rising
C
shining
D
swimming
28.
In the story, every time the coyote lunged for the cheese he got water in his mouth.
What does lunge mean?
F
hope
G
reach
H
ask
J
cry