Name ______Reading
Date ______
Baseball in April & Other Stories
Final Test
1. In “The No-Guitar Blues,” would you do the same thing Fausto did with the reward money? Why or why not? (4 pts.)
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2. Why does Manuel volunteer to be in the talent show? (4 pts.)
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3. What happened to Manuel in the first grade that made him nervous about this talent show? (4 pts.)
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4. Why does Manuel get embarrassed during the performance? (4 pts.)
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5. Why is Manuel confused when people say that his performance was “funny,” “crazy,” “hilarious”? (4 pts.)
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6. What does Manuel enjoy after the talent show? (4 pts.)
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7. “The Marble Champ” is best described as which type of work? (4 pts.)
A. a piece of historical fiction
B. a contemporary short story
C. an informational article about how to play marbles
D. an autobiographical account of the author’s childhood experiences
8. “Lupe Medrano, a shy girl who spoke in whispers, was the school’s spelling bee champion, winner of the reading contest at the public library three summers in a row, blue ribbon awardee in the science fair, the top student at her piano recital, and the playground grand champion in chess.”
In the sentence above, what does the word formed by the root word award and the suffix -ee mean? (4 pts.)
A. the highest award
B. an award in science
C. one who gives an award
D. one who receives an award
9. “It wasn’t until last year, when she was eleven years old, that she learned how to ride a bike. And even then she had to use training wheels.”
What is the purpose of the second sentence above? (4 pts.)
A. It highlights the pressure placed on Lupe by her parents.
B. It shows Lupe’s preference for doing things differently.
C. It demonstrates how strict Lupe’s father really is.
D. It reinforces Lupe’s lack of athletic ability.
10. Why does Lupe become interested in marbles? (4 pts.)
A. She thinks marbles is a sport that she might actually be able to master.
B. She wants to be like her brother and enter the playground championship.
C. She enjoys the idea of a sport that can be played indoors and away from the rain or mud.
D. She believes that marbles are beautiful objects and that a collection is a “rich glass treasure.”
11. “She hopped out of bed and rummaged through the closet until she found a can full of her brother’s marbles.”
What does the word rummaged suggest about Lupe in the sentence above? (4 pts.)
A. She did not really care whether or not she found the marbles.
B. She and her brother kept the closet neat and well-organized.
C. She had to move a lot of things around in order to find the marbles.
D. She probably used the marbles often, since she knew where to find them.
12. “She also had to admit that her thumb was weaker than the neck of a newborn chick.”
Identify the comparison in the sentence above and explain what it means. (4 pts.)
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13. Where is there a major contrast in the selection? (4 pts.)
A. Lupe’s academic ability and her athletic ability
B. Lupe’s shy behavior and her classmates’ confident actions at school
C. Lupe’s inexperience at marbles and her brother’s accomplishments in athletics
D. Lupe’s ability to do many hand exercises and her fatigue after shooting marbles
14. Describe Lupe’s problem in the selection and explain how she solves it. (4 pts.)
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15. “Practice, practice, practice. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Lupe got better and beat her brother and Alfonso, a neighbor kid who was supposed to be a champ.”
What does the paragraph above suggest? (4 pts.)
A. that the other kids are letting Lupe win so she will feel better
B. that Lupe’s persistence is helping her meet her goal
C. that Lupe is growing tired of her repetitive exercises
D. that Lupe’s brother is her toughest opponent
16. Why is Alfonso mentioned at the end of the selection? (4 pts.)
A. He highlights Lupe’s improvement when she wins their match.
B. He understands why Lupe’s brother is annoyed with her.
C. He makes Lupe feel useful because he needs her help.
D. He criticizes Lupe the same way everyone else does.
17. In “Growing Up,” how did Maria feel about vacations with her family? (4 pts.)
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18. Why do you think it was hard for Maria’s father to show his emotions around his children? (4 pts.)
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19. What did Maria learn about herself at the end of the story, “Growing Up.” (4 pts.)
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20. A common theme in several of the short stories in this book is having a conscience, or feeling guilty about not doing the right thing. Give an example of this from one of the stories. Describe it and then tell what you think about the situation. (8 pts.)
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21. Compare and contrast two different main characters from two different stories. List at least three character traits for each that they do NOT have in common, and at least two character traits they have that are similar. (16 pts.)
Character #1______/ BOTH / Character #2
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1. / 1. / 1.
2. / 2. / 2.
3. / 3.