TWDance

“The Walking Dance” is written in the ________ tense, from a _________ point of view.

• past; first-person

• present; first-person

• present; third-person

• past; third-person

What can readers most likely infer about how Gavin feels from the following passage (paragraph 119)?

Gavin joined them. Being in the mix was disorienting, and Gavin shuffled, trying to sway on beat and settling into a pace that wouldn’t bump the old lady in front of him and avoided the aggressive spins Cousin Ricky and his partner were doing behind him. It was hard. Gavin couldn’t tell if this was the longest song in the history of songs, or more than one song. The tropical beat kept grinding out of the audio mixer: chuk-chukka-chuk, chuk-chukka-chuk.

• Gavin is glad to be at the funeral.

• Gavin dislikes Aurora’s family.

• Gavin feels uncomfortable.

• Gavin does not care about being at the funeral.

After the conclusion of the story, it is most likely that __________.

• Gavin will let David make him another Unknown Taco

• Gavin will feel more comfortable spending time with Aurora’s family

• Carlos will never go back to Laredo

• Gavin will become best friends with Cousin Ricky

Which of the following selections best explains Gavin’s feelings about his role in Aurora’s family?

• Gavin feels almost like a brother to Aurora’s brother David.

• Gavin and Cookie do not get along at all.

• Gavin has always felt like a close member of the family.

• Gavin feels like he doesn’t belong in the family.

Which passage from the text most strongly supports the answer to the previous question?

• “Gavin appreciated the invitation because even though he and Aurora made this trip every year, and even though they had been married for ten years, Gavin often still felt like an outsider in Aurora’s family, especially among the men.”

• “Best of all, Uncle David and Ricky didn’t care that Carlos was a little kid— they cursed and told Carlos all kinds of stories just like he was one of the men.”

• “On the dance floor Ricky was mesmerizing, practically a work of art: a giant, hairy mammoth that somehow, even sweating through his Hawaiian shirt, in defiance of all laws of physics and the universe, achieved beauty—that’s how deeply he felt the music.”

• “Man, shut up, you sell air conditioners for a living.”

Which of the following selections best explains what Gavin realizes because of the cumbia, or Walking Dance?

• Gavin realizes that he does have a role in his family, after all.

• Gavin realizes that his son loves him.

• Gavin realizes that he is a good dancer.

• Gavin realizes that he does not like funerals.

Which sentence from the text most strongly supports the answer to the previous question?

• “Gavin knew the cumbia pretty well, because Aurora was a fan of the late Tejano Queen, Selena.”

• “Aurora would holler “That’s my jam!” and make Gavin dance around the living room with her.”

• “You could be doing anything—cleaning the house, talking on the phone, carrying groceries—and as long as you made the cumbia circle, you were doing it right.”

• “Gavin didn’t know how to talk to his son about death any more than he could dream up sweet nicknames for his daughter.”

What information does the reader learn from being able to know Carlos’s thoughts?

• That his father will do anything to impress his wife’s family.

• That he is excited to see his father’s reaction to eating the unknown taco.

• That the unknown taco will likely make his father sick.

• That Grandpa Frank does not approve of David and Ricky giving Gavin the taco.

How does the use of an omniscient narrator in paragraphs 28–32 help the reader better understand the relationships between the family members?

• The reader can infer that Aurora doesn’t like when Cookie tells her what to do.

• The reader can infer that Cookie knows about armadillos and that they are endangered.

• The reader can infer that Aurora and Cookie don’t have a strong relationship.

• The reader can infer that Gavin respects his mother-in-law.

What evidence from the passage best supports your answer to the last question?

• He sat in the back with Esme and Frank, while Aurora drove and her mother, Cookie, rode up front.

• The air conditioning blasting directly into his face might have been the only thing keeping him from vomiting.

• “Be careful, Aurora. There might be more out and I think they’re endangered.”

• Cookie the Monster, that’s what Aurora called her mother when she acted bossy.