Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. Courage to Speak “Any volunteers?” Ms. Chavez scanned the class. Ming slouched farther down in her seat. “Come on now, you’ll all have to interview someone sometime this year. No one wants to go first? Okay, I’ll just have to choose someone.” I am an ant, she won’t notice me, Ming thought. “Ming, why don’t you go first? Come on up and pick a name out of a hat.” Ms. Chavez shook the slips of paper around in the hat. Ming dragged herself up to the front of the room. She drew out a slip of paper. “Mrs. Russo,” Ming whispered hoarsely. “Great, the librarian! You’ll have a fine time interviewing her. Now just remember to ask her the questions we came up with, record her answers, and then you can present them next week.” Ms. Chavez cheered as Ming quickly returned to her seat. Ming knew Mrs. Russo was very nice. She had helped Ming use the computer to find science articles last week. Ming knew she could interview Mrs. Russo. It was the class presentation afterward that she dreaded. Even back home in China, Ming had hated speaking in front of the class. Here in the United States, it was worse. She spoke slowly and with a thick accent. Ming sighed and packed up her books. She had a free period next, so she might as well get the interview part completed. Ming found Mrs. Russo in the reference section of the library. “Hi, Ming!” Mrs. Russo said cheerfully. “Need more articles on chimpanzees this week?” “No, I need to interview you,” Ming said quietly. She suddenly felt shy. Why had Mrs. Chavez given this assignment? “Oh, an interview for what? The school paper?” Mrs. Russo asked. “No. For Mrs. Chavez’s ESL class,” Ming whispered. “Sure, ask away! I’ll just keep stacking these books if you don’t mind,” Mrs. Russo replied, turning to the shelves. Ming felt relieved. It was much easier to interview Mrs. Russo’s back. “Are you American?” Ming asked. “Yes… I mean, I was born in Argentina, but I moved here when I was 25. I became an American citizen. Most of my family still lives in Argentina. My husband and our children live here. I am like all Americans, multicultural,” Mrs. Russo laughed. “Is English your first language?” Ming asked. “No, Spanish is,” Mrs. Russo replied. “What does the American Dream mean to you?” Ming asked. “In Argentina, my husband and I couldn’t make enough money to support our family. We knew that we could in the United States. We also knew we’d have to give up being near our family. The American Dream is not perfect. It takes courage and sacrifices, but it is worth it.” Mrs. Russo turned to Ming. Ming smiled. It takes courage not to act like an ant. She understood why Ms. Chavez had given this assignment. She could find the courage to share what she had learned about Mrs. Russo in front of the class. 1. Why does Ming slouch down? (1 point) She doesn't want to get chosen first. She doesn.

1. Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
Courage to Speak
“Any volunteers?” Ms. Chavez scanned the class. Ming
slouched farther down in her seat. “Come on now, you’ll all
have to interview someone sometime this year. No one wants to
go first? Okay, I’ll just have to choose someone.” I am an ant,
she won’t notice me, Ming thought. “Ming, why don’t you go
first? Come on up and pick a name out of a hat.” Ms. Chavez
shook the slips of paper around in the hat. Ming dragged herself
up to the front of the room. She drew out a slip of paper.
“Mrs. Russo,” Ming whispered hoarsely.
“Great, the librarian! You’ll have a fine time interviewing
her. Now just remember to ask her the questions we came up
with, record her answers, and then you can present them next
week.” Ms. Chavez cheered as Ming quickly returned to her
seat.
Ming knew Mrs. Russo was very nice. She had helped Ming
use the computer to find science articles last week. Ming knew
she could interview Mrs. Russo. It was the class presentation
afterward that she dreaded. Even back home in China, Ming had
hated speaking in front of the class. Here in the United States, it
was worse. She spoke slowly and with a thick accent. Ming
sighed and packed up her books. She had a free period next, so
she might as well get the interview part completed.
Ming found Mrs. Russo in the reference section of the

2. library. “Hi, Ming!” Mrs. Russo said cheerfully. “Need more
articles on chimpanzees this week?”
“No, I need to interview you,” Ming said quietly. She
suddenly felt shy. Why had Mrs. Chavez given this assignment?
“Oh, an interview for what? The school paper?” Mrs. Russo
asked.
“No. For Mrs. Chavez’s ESL class,” Ming whispered.
“Sure, ask away! I’ll just keep stacking these books if you
don’t mind,” Mrs. Russo replied, turning to the shelves. Ming
felt relieved. It was much easier to interview Mrs. Russo’s back.
“Are you American?” Ming asked.
“Yes… I mean, I was born in Argentina, but I moved here
when I was 25. I became an American citizen. Most of my
family still lives in Argentina. My husband and our children
live here. I am like all Americans, multicultural,” Mrs. Russo
laughed.
“Is English your first language?” Ming asked.
“No, Spanish is,” Mrs. Russo replied.
“What does the American Dream mean to you?” Ming asked.
“In Argentina, my husband and I couldn’t make enough
money to support our family. We knew that we could in the
United States. We also knew we’d have to give up being near
our family. The American Dream is not perfect. It takes courage
and sacrifices, but it is worth it.” Mrs. Russo turned to Ming.
Ming smiled. It takes courage not to act like an ant. She
understood why Ms. Chavez had given this assignment. She

3. could find the courage to share what she had learned about Mrs.
Russo in front of the class.
1. Why does Ming slouch down? (1 point)
She doesn't want to get chosen first.
She doesn't speak English.
She is embarrassed.
She is uncomfortable with Mrs. Russo.
2. What metaphor is used to describe Ming in the first
paragraph? (1 point)
Ming slouched down farther.
Ming thinks to herself: I am an ant.
Ming dragged herself to the front.
Ming drew out a slip of paper.
3. Which BEST describes the main idea of the fourth
paragraph? (1 point)
Ming knows Mrs. Russo.
Mrs. Russo is nice and helpful.
Ming dreads doing class presentations.
Ming is from China.

4. 4. Which of the following events happens FIRST? (1 point)
Ming interviews Mrs. Russo.
Ming asks Mrs. Russo to help find science articles.
Ming moves to the United States.
Ming is chosen to interview Mrs. Russo.
5. What kind of dialogue does the author show with italics? (1
point)
Ming's thoughts
Ming's interview
the narrator's comments
Ming's classmates' words
6. Which BEST characterizes the author's style? (1 point)
repetition
long, descriptive sentences
realistic dialogue and description
imagery that appeals to all senses
7. Which of these key phrases from the passage would you
consider a cultural reference? (1 point)
acting like an ant

5. picking a name out of a hat
the American Dream
courage and sacrifice
8. Why did Mrs. Russo move to the United States? (1 point)
to become an American citizen
to join her husband living here
to join her family living here
to better support her family
9. Which BEST describes the author's purpose? (1 point)
to persuade
to entertain
to inform
to share personal feelings
10. Which BEST describes the topic of the passage? (1 point)
finding courage in another's example
interview assignment
building a new life in America
the American Dream

6. 11. Complete the following sentence. "__________ earring is
this?" (1 point)
Hers
Her's
Whose
Who's
12. Identify the part of speech of the bolded word. "The typing
fingers looked they were dancing." (1 point)
gerund
past participle
infinitive
present participle
13. In the following sentence, which word is used incorrectly?
"They released they're balloons in their backyard." (1 point)
released
they're
their
backyard