Context Clues in Literature

Night after night, Lizzie pored over an old book of poems. The book had poems by poets such as Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Swift and Pope always found witty or clever ways to write about everyday subjects. They always had a new way to describe something that was ordinary.

Lizzie studied their poems carefully because she wanted to be a true poet. She loved the challenge of writing poetry because it was never easy to write. Whenever Lizzie finished a poem, she was proud of it. She believed her poems were original and different just like Swift and Pope.

Which of the following clues from the passage helps the reader know what challenge means?

• "…it was never easy to write."

• "Lizzie studied their poems…."

• "The book had poems by poets…."

• "…she was proud of it."

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Fran knocked on the classroom’s door. She pressed her ear to the door so she could hear voices inside. There was no sound on the other side of the door. She shrugged her shoulders. She guessed that the room was vacant and walked to the classroom next door.

In this passage, the word vacant means

• empty

• noisy

• crowded

• cozy

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I didn’t want anyone to see the red scratches on my arm. I had fallen out of a tree, and the branches cut my arm in several places. I tried to conceal my injuries by wearing a long-sleeved sweater. It was a hard week to wear a sweater. It was almost 90 degrees each day.

In this passage, the word conceal means

• sweat

• cut

• hide

• fail

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Planet 1135

MK Terry

"That is the most outlandish thing I have ever heard!" exclaimed Uncle Tito. "You want us to take our spaceship and go to planet 1135 for vacation? I have never heard of such a bizarre idea. I'm not even sure the spaceship will make it that far. And in fact," he went on, "I am sure even your brother Zepp will say the idea is odd."

I had prepared for his reaction, and I thought that Aunt Zita would say no too, but strangely, she was listening intensely. I wondered for a moment where this extreme focus came from and pushed the button on the telescreen. With a quiet zoom, it powered up and an image of planet 1135 appeared rotating on its axis just like base planet Earth did.

"I know it seems absurd that we should visit planet 1135, but I've done some research, and I think you will find it is not as silly or wacky as you think. The planet explorers recently revealed that a new kind of gemstone had been discovered and that with the right technology, the gemstone could be used to power objects like spaceships, and living pods."

I paused to look at my audience. Uncle Tito reclined in his favorite chair; in fact he was almost laying down he had reclined so far. However, he had become silent and listened as carefully as Aunt Zita was.

With a deep breath, I continued. "I contacted the planet explorers' bureau, and they said that they were financing five families to travel to planet 1135 to gather some of the gemstone with the promise that those families would participate in a study to see how this gemstone could be used. It is an opportunity for us to get more mileage out of our spaceship and to get free power for our living pod. I've completed the paperwork. All you and Aunt Zita need to do is sign it, and we can go."

Suddenly, big smiles came over the faces of Uncle Tito and Aunt Zita. "If it means free power, then I am in!" exclaimed Uncle Tito.

Which phrase from the passage helps the reader understand the meaning of the word intensely?

• prepared for his reaction

• wondered for a moment

• extreme focus

• quiet zoom

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CCSS.RI.4.4

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RL.4.4

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Night after night, Lizzie pored over an old book of poems. The book had poems by poets such as Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Swift and Pope always found witty or clever ways to write about everyday subjects. They always had a new way to describe something that was ordinary.

Lizzie studied their poems carefully because she wanted to be a true poet. She loved the challenge of writing poetry because it was never easy to write. Whenever Lizzie finished a poem, she was proud of it. She believed her poems were original and different just like Swift and Pope.

In the passage, the word pored means

• to stretch wide.

• to read carefully.

• to make a crack.

• to rain very hard.

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CCSS.RI.4.4

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RL.4.4

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CCSS.RL.5.4

Elle grabbed the pile of clothes that were sitting on her pool-side lounge chair. She giggled as she held them in her arms and jumped into the pool. Her brother was getting out of the pool and saw Elle dunking his clothes in the water.

"What are you doing?" he yelled over Elle's laughing fits. He yanked his clothes from her grasp and tried to wring the water out of them. When he untwisted his clothes, they were a little drier, but very wrinkled. He put his clothes back on the chair. Then, he grabbed Elle's towel and tossed it into the pool.

In paragraph 2, the word wring means to

• laugh

• soak

• twist

• swim

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Jackie’s dad was not pleased when he saw the water spot growing above the kitchen ceiling. The water had trickled down from the bathroom, and it was now dripping little by little down onto the floor. The water made a wet spot right above the stove. Her dad made a promptphone call to a plumber the moment he saw the spot. However, the spot had grown as wide as a giant hula hoop. It was too late to save the ceiling.

In the passage, the word trickled means

• to become tricky

• to move slowly

• to jump down

• to make foolish

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My family was nearing the end of our three-day camping trip. We were really hungry. The food had been very scant since the beginning—we had brought only enough food for two days. We tried to spread the food out for three days, but that didn’t work. My brother was so desperate for food that he began to hunt for his own meat. He even went as far as digging up roots to eat.

In the passage, the word scant means

• having a very small supply

• containing the right amount

• eating all the food at once

• holding more than normal

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CCSS.RI.4.4

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Yodel, the golden retriever, barked very loudly on Tuesday afternoon. His bark smotheredall other sounds in the neighborhood. The bark was the only thing anyone could hear on the busy street. Yodel believed he saw a robber enter the house. Trying to warn his owners, he yelped, barking at a high-pitch. Yodel’s owners raced out to meet him, but they found nothing wrong. It turned out that Yodel had seen his own shadow.

In the passage, the word smothered means

• to be quieter

• to be at rest

• to stay calm

• to cover up

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My cousin and I have the same taste in clothes and wear the same size. Sometimes, we swapclothes. I’ll give her my blue dress, and she’ll let me wear her pink sweater. Our mothers don’t mind that we share clothes. When they were young, they would wear each other’s clothes, too.

In the paragraph above, the word swap means

• wear

• shop

• trade

• make

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