READING

PASSAGE 2

Read the following poems about snow falling. Then answer questions 10-18 in your answer booklet.

December Moon by May Sarton

Before going to bed After a fall of snow I look out on the field Shining there in the moonlight So calm, untouched and white Snow silence fills my head

7 0 -

9 After I leave the window. - 8

8 Hours later near dawn d n u o When I look down again R . r e l p The whole landscape has changed m a S g n

i The perfect surface gone d a e R . Criss-crossed and written on 6 r G Where the wild creatures ranged While the moon rose and shone.

Why did my dog not bark? Why did I hear no sound There on the snow-locked ground In the tumultuous dark?

How much can come, how much can go When the December moon is bright, What worlds of play we'll never know Sleeping away the cold white night After a fall of snow.

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008 16 READING

Explorer by Alan Brownjohn

Two o'clock: Let out of the back door of the house, our cat Is practicing the snow.

The layer of white makes a small, straight, crumbling cliff Where we open the back door inwards. The cat Sniffs it with suspicion, learns you can just about Pat the flaking snow with a careful dab. Then, A little bolder, he dints it with one whole foot —and withdraws it, curls it as if slightly lame,

And looks down at it, oddly. The snow is

Different from anything else, not like 7 0 - 9 1 - A rug, or a stretch of lino, or an armchair to claw upon 8

8 And be told to Get off!

d n u

The snow is peculiar, but not forbidden. The cat o R . r e

Is welcome to go out in the snow. Does l p m a

The snow welcome the cat? S g n i d

He thinks, looks, tries again. a e R . 6 r Three paces out of the door, his white feet find G You sink a little way all the time, it is slow and cold, but it Doesn't particularly hurt. Perhaps you can even enjoy it, as something new. So he walks on, precisely, on the tips of very cautious paws . . .

Half-past three, the cat stretched warm indoors. From the bedroom window we can see his explorations —From door to fence, from fence to gate, from gate to wall to tree, and back, Are long pattered tracks and trade-routes of round paw-marks Which fresh snow is quietly filling.

1lino—type of floor covering

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008 17 READING

MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS

B.1.1.1 B.1.1.1

10. Which word best describes how the 12. Which best describes the setting of speaker in "December Moon" feels "December Moon"? after seeing the snow "criss-crossed A cheerful and written on"? B mysterious A fearful C protected B playful D dangerous C lonesome

52-3438 D curious

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7 A.1.1.2 0 - 9 - 8

8 A.1.6.1 13. Read the lines from "Explorer." d n u o

R "The snow is peculiar, but not . r 11. What is the author's main purpose for e l p forbidden. The cat/Is welcome to go m a writing the poem "December Moon"? S g n i out in the snow." d a e R .

6 A to describe how quickly the snow r G can change Which word is an antonym for forbidden? B to explain why creatures make tracks in the snow A safe

C to describe how the bright moon B chilly keeps the speaker awake C banned D to tell about a dog who does not D allowed bark at other creatures

52-3516 52-3472

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008 18 READING

A.1.3.1 B.1.2.1

14. Based on information in "Explorer," 17. How is the speaker in "December what has the cat never done? Moon" like the cat in "Explorer"?

A looked out the window A Both go outside in the snow.

B stretched out indoors B Both leave tracks in the snow.

C walked in the snow C Both wonder about the snow.

D clawed the armchair D Both observe animals in the snow.

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B.1.1.1 B.1.2.1

15. What is one theme of "Explorer"? 18. What is one similarity between the 7 0 - 9 -

animals in "December Moon"and 8

A Nature can be beautiful. "Explorer"? 8

B Making discoveries is exciting. d n

A The actions of the animals in both u o R . r

poems upset the speakers. e C Animals deserve a loving home. l p m a S g

B The animals in both poems are n

D The bond between people and i d a cautious. e

animals is special. R . 6 r 52-3431 C The animals in both poems make G patterns in the snow.

Questions 16-18 relate to BOTH poems. D The animals in both poems are experiencing snow for the first B.1.2.1 time.

52-3440 16. In both poems, what is the snow doing?

A falling from the sky

B making crumbling cliffs

C shining in the moonlight

D changing the landscape

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Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008 19