Two Point Zero Three

Consider this passage from The Secret Garden.

"He was a sour young man and got no good of all his money and big place till he was married."

. . . "She was a sweet, pretty thing and he'd have walked the world over to get her a blade o' grass she wanted."

Which theme from the novel is apparent in this passage?

• Secrets are sweeter when shared between friends.

• Love opens a person's heart.

• Grief can make people do strange things.

• Curiosity is a natural part of childhood

Read the passage.

Her hair was like curly silk and she had a delicate little nose, and she had large laughing eyes. All her clothes were thin and floating, and Mary said they were "full of lace."

"Is it so very bad? Oh, is it?" Mary heard her say.

"Awfully, Mrs. Lennox. You ought to have gone to the hills two weeks ago."

She wrung her hands.

"Oh, I know I ought!" she cried. "I only stayed to go to that silly dinner-party. What a fool I was!"

Which detail best supports the idea that Mrs. Lennox is a silly, self-centered woman?

• She stayed in the cholera-infested area so she could attend a dinner party.

• Her hair was like curly silk.

• All her clothes were thin and floating.

• She wrung her hands.

Read the passage (there are two questions about this passage):

Her hair was like curly silk and she had a delicate little nose, and she had large laughing eyes. All her clothes were thin and floating, and Mary said they were "full of lace."

"Is it so very bad? Oh, is it?" Mary heard her say.

"Awfully, Mrs. Lennox. You ought to have gone to the hills two weeks ago."

The Memsahib wrung her hands.

"Oh, I know I ought!" she cried. "I only stayed to go to that silly dinner-party. What a fool I was!"

Which detail best supports the idea that Mrs. Lennox is worried?

• Her hair was like curly silk.

• The Memsahib wrung her hands.

• She ought to have gone to the hills two weeks ago.

• All her clothes were thin and floating.

What is Mary's motivation for calling Martha a "daughter of a pig"?

• anger

• loneliness

• prejudice

• fear

What is Martha's motivation for comforting Mary while she cries?

• fear of losing her housemaid job

• sympathy and kindness

• embarrassment

Read the passage:

"I should like to see them," said Mary. "Where is the green door? There must be a door somewhere."

Ben drove his spade deep and looked as uncompanionable as he had looked when she first saw him.

Which explains why Ben Weatherstaff's expression became "uncompanionable"?

• He doesn't know the answer to Mary's question.

• Talking about the secret garden is painful for Ben.

• He is exhausted from working so hard.

• He dislikes Mary.

Which contributes to Mary's loneliness?

• Martha's Yorkshire chatter

• She has never been close to her parents

• Mary's interactions with the robin

Consider this passage from The Secret Garden.

“I’m lonely,” she said.

She had not known before that this was one of the things which made her feel sour and cross. She seemed to find it out when the robin looked at her and she looked at the robin.

Which theme from the novel is apparent in this passage?

• Secrets can have unintended consequences.

• Everyone needs human companionship.

• Curiosity is a natural part of childhood.