A New Twist on Things

7. 7. Read paragraph 1 from the passage.

8. “It wasn’t a happy relationship with Old Lady Lottis, right from the start. We didn’t know what we were getting into when we moved into our house, sight unseen and right next to her. The Lottis house was big and tall and sat way back away from the street. Our backyard

bordered her front yard, and we got chased off with a broom if a ball fell into her tall weeds and scraggly grass. She kept the balls, too, unless we beat her to them.”

How does this paragraph from the passage contribute to the development of the setting?

• Describing the house as “big and tall” creates a sense of awe.

• Mentioning the “tall weeds and scraggly grass” creates a sense of mystery.

• Describing the yards helps the reader picture the relationship between the narrator and Miz Lottis.

• Mentioning that the house was set back from the street helps the reader understand why Miz Lottis is alone.

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8. 8. Read this sentence from paragraph 7.

"There was quite a skirmish before Gordon trapped the animal in a corner of the room."

What does the word skirmish mean in this sentence?

• accident

• argument

• fight

• search

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9. 9. The narrator is one of the characters in the passage. Which two excerpts from the passage best show that readers know of the narrator’s experiences and understand the narrator’s thoughts and feelings about Miz Lottis?

• The Lottis house was big and tall and sat way back away from the street. Our backyard bordered her front yard, and we got chased off with a broom if a ball fell into her tall weeds and scraggly grass. (paragraph 1)

• No one in the neighborhood called her Miz Lottis or had anything to do with her. And hardly anyone ever came to her house. (paragraph 3)

• A couple months after that her son drowned in the irrigation canal at the edge of town. Then her little girl, the only comfort left to her, died in the influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918. (paragraph 4)

• Mom and I visited several times after that. I stuck it out with Mom because I thought we might change the woman’s crabby disposition. We didn’t. (paragraph 17)

• I had beautiful hair then, down to my waist,’ she said wistfully. She threw her head back, gathered her white hair up, and dug a comb in. (paragraph 21)

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10. 10. Read these sentences from paragraph 44. "About then, school let out for the year, anyway, when a tornado took the roof off the high school and banged up the grade school pretty bad, too. It downpoured until we felt like we lived in the bottom of a bucket. Local folks took it with a smile. After all, we did live in Tornado Alley." What is the effect of the underlined clause?

• It adds humor to a serious or dangerous situation.

• It adds information about the effect of bad weather on the land.

• It helps readers know that some people enjoyed playing in the rain.

• It helps readers understand how people felt trapped and unable to get dry.

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11. 11. Read paragraph 52 from the passage.

12. "Mom looked like she was about to call her Old Lady Lottis herself when Gordon spoke up. ‘She didn’t, Mom. We found the monkey up in the attic admiring himself in a mirror.’ He started to laugh. ‘It was so funny, wasn’t it, Miz Lottis?’”

13. Which best describes how this paragraph helps develop the plot?

• It shows that Gordon has forgiven Miz Lottis.

• It shows that Mom’s feelings about Miz Lottis were wrong.

• It shows that Miz Lottis realizes Gordon didn’t take the combs.

• It shows that Mom’s feelings about Gordon’s guilt have changed.

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12. 12. Which two sentences from the passage show a change in the narrator Geraldine’s point of view regarding Miz Lottis?

• Gordon had sworn off the poor-old-Miz-Lottis project and taken to calling her Old Lady Lottis, just like the other kids in the neighborhood. (paragraph 25)

• But before the week was over, my brother was in the Odessa County jail, thanks to Old Lady Lottis. (paragraph 32)

• We shouted for joy when they came pounding at our cellar door and tumbled in on top of us. (paragraph 47)

• Miz Lottis looked dumbstruck. She shook her whole body vigorously. (paragraph 51)

• What about that poor old soul, Miz Lottis? Well, about half her house was gone, but she rebuilt it, and made up her mind to be happy about the part that was left untouched. (paragraph 56)

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13. 13. In what way are the boy who writes to Keller in Passage 1 and the boy in Passage 2 similar?

• Both have an ambition.

• Both are creative.

• Both are shy.

• Both ask for help.

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14. Click the letter of each sentence in

the correct box, according to whether it is a theme of Passage 1, Passage 2, or

both passages.

What is the theme of Passage 1 ?

• Success comes from a combination of natural talent and practice.

• Winning isn’t always the most important thing.

• People can learn by studying what others do.

• Different people have different gifts.

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14. Click the letter of each sentence in

the correct box, according to whether it is a theme of Passage 1, Passage 2, or

both passages.

What is the theme of Passage 2 ?

• Success comes from a combination of natural talent and practice.

• Winning isn’t always the most important thing.

• People can learn by studying what others do.

• Different people have different gifts.

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14. Click the letter of each sentence in

the correct box, according to whether it is a theme of Passage 1, Passage 2, or

both passages.

What is the theme of Both Passages?

• Success comes from a combination of natural talent and practice.

• Winning isn’t always the most important thing.

• People can learn by studying what others do.

• Different people have different gifts.

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