READTHEORY Passage. Name Date. Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.

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Coyote, who is a famous trickster, will try to get the better of Fox whenever he can especially if he can also get a free meal while he s doing it. One day, Fox managed to catch a rabbit. He said.

1 READTHEORY Passage Reading Comprehension Assessment Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below. Name Date Coyote and Fox According to Hopi legend, Coyote and Fox have never liked each other. Coyote, who is a famous trickster, will try to get the better of Fox whenever he can especially if he can also get a free meal while he s doing it. One day, Fox managed to catch a rabbit. He said. This is a fine, fat rabbit. It will make a tasty dinner! Fox got some wood and made a fire. He put the rabbit on a stick and let it roast. It will take a while until the meat is done, he said. I think I ll take a little nap while it cooks. Now Coyote, who was not very far away, was quite hungry. Suddenly, a wonderful smell came to his nose. He followed the smell until he was outside of Fox s house. Looks like Fox is sleeping, Coyote said to himself, peering into the window. I ll just be as quiet as I can. Without making a single sound, Coyote took the rabbit off of the stick and ate up all of the meat, leaving nothing but some bare bones. He then found a little bit of fat left on a bone and smeared it all over Fox s mouth. Then he snuck out of the house, laughing to himself. Fox woke up. He noticed that his mouth was greasy. He looked on his floor and saw a pile of bones. He said: I must have eaten this rabbit. Funny, I don t remember doing that. He sat down on a log to think. This is all very perplexing. If I had eaten that rabbit, I would be full. But I m still hungry. What in the world has happened? Suddenly, he jumped up. It must have been that trickster Coyote! He has stolen my meal! I will find him and teach him a lesson! Fox followed Coyote s tracks, but Coyote saw him coming. Coyote said to himself: Fox is faster than I am. I will never be able to outrun him. Then Coyote noticed a giant rock stuck in the ground right next to him. He thought of a clever plan. He pushed his back up against the rock and pretended to be straining very hard against it. Fox came running. Watch out, Coyote! he said. I m coming to get you! Look out! Coyote cried. Don t you see that I m holding up this rock? If I move, it will roll away and crush us both to death! Fox gasped. He certainly did not want to get crushed by that huge rock! What should I do? he asked Coyote. Here, you lean against it for a moment, Coyote said. I ll find a tree trunk to hold it up and then we can both escape! Lean against it with all of your strength, or it will flatten you! Fox rushed over to the rock and pressed his body against it with all of his might. Coyote darted off into the woods. Fox waited and waited, but Coyote never came back. Fox began to suspect that he had been tricked. He eased himself away from the rock very slowly to see if it would fall on him, but of course, it did not move an inch. That miserable Coyote! Fox said. One day, I ll catch him and then he d better watch out!

2 READTHEORY Questions 1) In this passage, Coyote gets the better of Fox by I. stealing his dinner II. hiding behind a rock III. outrunning him A. I only B. I and II only C. II and III only D. I, II, and III 2) In paragraph 5, Coyote leaves a pile of bare bones because he A. is trying to threaten Fox if Fox does not watch out, he too will be a pile of bones B. either does not like to eat the bones or cannot actually eat them C. wants to leave some evidence of the eaten rabbit D. wants to leave a mess that Fox will have to clean up later 3) As used in paragraph 7, the best synonym for perplexing is A. strange B. exciting C. terrifying D. depressing 4) Near the end of the passage, the author writes: [Fox] eased himself away from the rock very slowly to see if it would fall on him, but of course, it did not move an inch. Based on the information in the passage, the rock most likely does not move because A. Fox is moving very slowly B. Coyote is holding the rock up from the other side C. it is much heavier than Fox thought it was D. it is stuck in the ground 5) Based on the example of Coyote in this passage, it can be understood that a "trickster" is a character who A. uses brute strength to overpower a weaker enemy B. outsmarts other characters to get what he/she wants C. plays jokes on other characters just to get a laugh D. fails at first but wins in the end 6) Why do you think a fox and a coyote were the animals chosen to act in this legend? Are these fitting animals for the roles they play? If so, how come? If not, what animals would have been more fitting and why?

3 READTHEORY Questions 7) The story told in this passage is a legend. Why do you think such legends are told? Why do they become popular? Explain.

4 READTHEORY Answers and Explanations 1) A Question Type: Global In paragraph 5, the author tells us that Coyote snuck into Fox s house while Fox is sleeping. Then he took Fox s rabbit off of the stick and ate up all of the meat, leaving nothing but some bare bones. Coyote steals the rabbit that Fox was going to eat for dinner. In paragraph 7, Fox realizes this, saying: He has stolen my meal! This supports option (I). In paragraph 8, the author explains Coyote s clever escape plan. Coyote sees a giant rock stuck in the ground. He then push[e]s his back up against the rock and pretend[s] to be straining very hard against it. Coyote is not hiding behind the rock, he is leaning against it so that it looks like he is holding it up as a way to trick Fox. This eliminates option (II). In paragraph 8, Coyote sees Fox coming and says to himself: Fox is faster than I am. I will never be about to outrun him. Coyote knows that Fox can run faster than he can. He cannot outrun Fox. This eliminates option (III). Therefore (A) is correct. 2) C In paragraph 5, Coyote eats Fox s rabbit but leaves a pile of bare bones. In paragraph 6, the author writes that Fox looked on his floor and saw a pile of bones. He said: I must have eaten this rabbit. Funny, I don t remember doing that. When Fox sees the pile of bones, he thinks that he must have eaten the rabbit himself. If Coyote had not left the bones, Fox might have thought that the rabbit had been stolen. Coyote leaves the bones as evidence that the rabbit has been eaten as part of his trick on Fox. Therefore (C) is correct. Based on this passage, we can see that Coyote likes to get the best of Fox, but he does so by playing tricks on him, not by threatening him. Coyote uses his cleverness to steal Fox s dinner and then tricks Fox into holding up a rock so that he can escape. Coyote never intimidates (bullies; frightens) Fox or tries to cause him physical harm. Therefore (A) is incorrect. In paragraph 5, the author states: Coyote took the rabbit off of the stick and ate up all of the meat, leaving nothing but some bare bones. Although it is true that many animals cannot eat bones, the author never says this about Coyote. Based on the above information, we can see that Coyote leaves the bones so that Fox thinks that he himself has eaten the rabbit. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Although Coyote likes to get the better of Fox, the author never says that Coyote does this by making a mess in Fox s house. Based on the above information, we can see that Coyote leaves the bones so that Fox thinks that he himself has eaten the rabbit. Therefore (D) is incorrect. 3) A Question Type: Vocabulary perplexing (adjective): confusing, peculiar, odd, weird, bizarre, out of the ordinary. In paragraph 7, Fox thinks to himself: This is all very perplexing. If I had eaten that rabbit, I would be full. But I m still hungry. What in the world has happened? We can use context clues hints from known words or phrases around the unknown word or phrase to help us figure out what the word perplexing most nearly means and then find a synonym. Fox knows that if he had eaten the rabbit, he would be full. However, he is still hungry. He does not understand what has happened. The Fox is very confused by his situation. Based on this context, we can see that we are looking for a word that means confusing, weird, or strange. Therefore (A) is correct. Based on the above information, we can see that we are looking for a word that means confusing, weird, or strange. Exciting does not mean confusing. Therefore, we can eliminate choice (B). Based on the above information, we can see that we are looking for a word that means confusing, weird, or strange. Terrifying does not mean confusing. Therefore, we can eliminate choice (C). Based on the above information, we can see that we are looking for a word that means confusing, weird, or strange. Depressing does not mean confusing. Therefore, we can eliminate choice (D). 4) D In paragraph 8, the author tells us that Coyote noticed a giant rock stuck in the ground right next to him. He thought of a clever plan. He pushed his back up against the rock and pretended to be straining very hard against it. In paragraph 10, Coyote convinces Fox that if he does not hold up the rock, it will crush them both. Fox leans against the rock as Coyote instructs. In paragraph 14, Fox finally realizes that Coyote has tricked him. Sure enough, the rock does not move when he stops pushing up against it. Coyote tricked Fox into thinking that the rock would move if Fox stopped pushing. However, as we can see from paragraph 8, the rock was stuck in the ground the entire time. Therefore (D) is correct. Although paragraph 14 does state that Fox is moving very slowly, Fox s actions do not affect whether or not the rock moves. Based on the above information, we can see that the rock is stuck in the ground. Therefore (A) is incorrect. In paragraph 13, Coyote s plan goes into full effect. The author writes: Fox rushed over to the rock and pressed his body against it with all of his might. Coyote darted off into the woods. After Coyote convinces Fox to stand against the rock, he runs away. Because Coyote runs away, he cannot be holding the rock up from the other side. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Based on the above information, we can see that the rock is stuck in the ground. Although the rock is indeed probably very heavy, the author never specifically mentions its weight. Therefore (C) is incorrect. 5) B The first paragraph of this passage describes Coyote as a famous trickster. In the passage, Coyote gets the best of Fox stealing his dinner and then cleverly escaping when the angry Fox comes looking for him. In paragraph 5, Coyote plays a trick on Fox: he eats Fox s rabbit but leaves the bones and smears fat on Fox s face. When Fox wakes up, he thinks that he has eaten the rabbit. Here, Coyote plays a trick on Fox while also getting what he wants: Fox s dinner. When Fox chases after Coyote, Coyote knows that he cannot outrun Fox. Coyote sees a rock stuck in the ground and, as the author writes: comes up with a clever plan. Coyote pushes up against the rock and pretends to be straining very hard against it. When Fox comes by, Coyote convinces him that he must hold up the rock or be crushed to death. This allows Coyote to make his escape. Here again, Coyote outsmarts the Fox and gets what he wants: his freedom. In both examples, Coyote uses cleverness to outsmart his enemy and get what he wants. Therefore (B) is correct. Based on the passage, Coyote is not any stronger than Fox. The author does not give us any evidence that Coyote can overpower Fox or that Fox is weaker than Coyote. Therefore, we can eliminate (A). In the passage, Coyote does play a joke on Fox and has a laugh at his expense. In paragraph 5, Coyote sneaks into the sleeping Fox s house, eats his dinner, and then

5 READTHEORY Answers and Explanations tries to convince Fox that he was the one who ate the rabbit. The author then tells us that Coyote left laughing to himself. This may make it seem like a trickster likes to play jokes on other characters just to get a laugh. However, Coyote is not just playing pranks on Fox for fun. In the first paragraph, the author tells us that Coyote likes to get the better of Fox especially if he can also get a free meal while he s doing it. In his first trick on Fox, he gets to eat Fox s dinner as well as laugh at him. In paragraph 10, Coyote plays a second trick on Fox. He convinces Fox that if he does not hold up a rock stuck in the ground, it will crush them both. This time, Coyote plays a trick on Fox so that he can escape. In both of these examples, Coyote plays a trick on Fox to gain something: a free meal and his freedom. Although he may get a laugh out of tricking Fox, a simple laugh is not Coyote s main goal. Therefore, we can eliminate (C). Although Coyote does cleverly outsmart the Fox at the end of the passage, he does not fail at the beginning of the story. In fact, Coyote succeeds when he eats Fox s dinner and makes Fox think that he himself at it. Therefore, we can eliminate (D).

The Farmer and the Lion

The Farmer and the Lion 1 A farmer and his wife once lived in the country of Mongolia. Their home was a tent-like house called a ger. One day the wife was cleaning the ger when she heard her husband calling.