GRADE 5 Reading Administered April 2013 RELEASED Copyright © 2013, Texas Education Agency. All rights reserved. Reproduction of all or portions of this work is prohibited without express written permission from the Texas Education Agency. READING Page 3 Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question. Then fill in the answer on your answer document. Carl Is on the Case Characters CARL: A boy who loves detective mysteries MIKE: Carl’s best friend MRS. WATSON: A librarian who lives next door to Carl AGATHA: Mrs. Watson’s big orange cat SCENE 1 1 [Carl is in his living room, reclining on the couch while staring at the television with his friend Mike. Dramatic music and an announcer’s voice come from the television: “And now for the Saturday-afternoon mystery movie, ‘The Case of the Missing Jewel.’ ” A flash of lightning suddenly brightens the room. Carl sits upright. Mike yelps. A boom of thunder sends them racing to the window.] 2 CARL: A storm to go with our detective movie. I love it! 3 [A scream comes from offstage.] 4 MIKE: Did you hear that? 5 CARL: Yes, I did. We’d better investigate. 6 MIKE: [Peeking through the living room curtains.] Um, maybe we should just leave it alone. We don’t want to miss the best part of the movie. 7 CARL: Don’t worry. I’m recording the movie. Let’s go find out what’s wrong. What’s better than a real-life mystery anyway? 8 [Carl exits stage right. Mike groans and reluctantly follows him.] SCENE 2 9 [Carl and Mike enter stage left to the front door of Mrs. Watson’s house. A spotlight shines on the front door. The rest of the stage is dark.] 10 MRS. WATSON: [Offstage.] Oh! Oh, no! Oh, no! 11 CARL: [Knocks on door.] Mrs. Watson? It’s me, Carl. Page 4 GO ON 12 [The door opens. Mrs. Watson stands just inside. Lights illuminate her living room and the connecting kitchen.] 13 CARL: Are you O.K., Mrs. Watson? Can we help you with anything? 14 MIKE: Or we could just go. You’re probably busy. [Turning to leave.] 15 MRS. WATSON: I’ve lost one of the library’s rarest, most expensive books! In over 30 years as a librarian I’ve never been so careless. Just admitting my mistake is such an embarrassment. Oh, this is a disaster! What am I going to do? 16 CARL: We’d be happy to help you look for it. [Pulls a Sherlock Holmes–style detective hat from his back pocket and puts it on his head. A serious look is on his face.] Where and when did you last see the book? 17 [Mike rolls his eyes.] 18 MRS. WATSON: Oh, I’d be so grateful for your help. [Ushers Carl and Mike into the house.] 19 [Mrs. Watson’s cat comes out from behind the couch.] 20 MRS. WATSON: Oh, don’t mind Agatha. Now, what was I . Oh, yes! I’ll tell you what happened. Yesterday, as I was leaving the library, I noticed that the binding of our first edition of The Raven had a little tear. So I wrapped the book carefully, brought it home with me, and put it right there on the desk. At least I thought that’s where I put it. 21 [Mike scratches Agatha behind her ears.] 22 CARL: So you’re not absolutely positive you put it there? 23 MRS. WATSON: Yes, I’m positive. Well . pretty positive. 24 CARL: Why don’t you and I retrace your steps? 25 MIKE: [Pokes around on the desk and then walks around the couch, flips up cushions, peeks underneath, and mumbles.] It has to be here somewhere. 26 MRS. WATSON: Let me think. I got home late yesterday. The traffic was simply terrible. Page 5 GO ON 27 MIKE: [Nods eagerly.] My dad was taking me to Ranger Scouts last night, and the traffic was bad. 28 [Carl gives him an annoyed look.] 29 MRS. WATSON: I came in through the front door and put my keys on the end table next to the couch. 30 MIKE: That’s where we always keep ours. 31 MRS. WATSON: Then I walked across the living room to put the book on the desk. That’s the last I remember seeing it. 32 CARL: We’re missing something here. 33 [Agatha meows loudly.] 34 MRS. WATSON: It’s almost time for her supper. 35 MIKE: Wait a second! Do you feed her at the same time every day? 36 MRS. WATSON: Every single day! 37 CARL: And yesterday you got home later than usual, right? 38 MIKE: My thoughts exactly, Carl! 39 MRS. WATSON: [Claps her hands together.] Oh my goodness, boys! You’ve solved the mystery. [Mrs. Watson rushes into the kitchen, the boys following behind. She opens a cupboard and spies the missing book on a shelf next to a box of cat food.] 40 MRS. WATSON: I don’t know how to thank you. 41 CARL: [Grinning.] Are those your famous freshly baked cookies that I smell? 42 MRS. WATSON: [Holds out a plate of cookies.] I like your fees, boys! Page 6 GO ON 1 Which of these helps Mike solve Mrs. Watson’s problem? A The detail about the Ranger Scouts meeting B The smell of her cookies C Her keys on the table D Agatha’s meowing 2 This play is divided into two scenes because — F a character in Scene 1 is not present in Scene 2 G the setting changes between Scene 1 and Scene 2 H the conflict is presented in Scene 1 and resolved in Scene 2 J the dialogue begins in Scene 2 3 Which of these is the best summary of Scene 1? A While Mike is visiting Carl during a rainstorm, they hear someone scream. Mike is frightened by it, but Carl is not. B Carl and Mike watch television during a thunderstorm. They hear a scream, and at first they think it has come from the TV. C As Carl and Mike begin to watch a mystery movie, they hear a scream. Carl goes outside to investigate, and Mike follows. D Mike is peeking through Carl’s curtains when he hears a scream. Someone is yelling for help. Page 7 GO ON 4 Read this excerpt from Scene 2. MIKE: [Nods eagerly.] My dad was taking me to Ranger Scouts last night, and the traffic was bad. [Carl gives him an annoyed look.] What can the reader infer about Carl from this excerpt? F Carl thinks that what Mike is saying isn’t important. G Carl doesn’t believe that the traffic was bad. H Carl envies Mike for being a Ranger Scout. J Carl thinks that Mike has been rude to Mrs. Watson. 5 In paragraph 8, the word reluctantly means — A playfully B impatiently C admiringly D unwillingly Page 8 GO ON 6 The playwright included thunder and lightning in Scene 1 most likely to — F create suspense G indicate that the main characters are afraid H alarm the audience J explain the book’s disappearance 7 How is Carl different from Mike? A Carl is more honest. B Carl is more fearful. C Carl is more curious. D Carl is more careless. 8 Which of the props used in this play is needed for the resolution of the conflict? F A book G A set of keys H The plate of cookies J A detective hat Page 9 GO ON Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question. Then fill in the answer on your answer document. The Toy for All Ages 1 The number 915,103,765 is pretty big. You might be surprised to know that that is the number of different ways six eight-stud LEGO bricks can be arranged. No wonder LEGOs have been a popular toy for so many years. Making LEGO Bricks © Iorboaz/Dreamstime.com 2 In the 1930s a Danish carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen started making wooden toys. He called his company LEGO, a blend of the Danish words leg godt, meaning “play well.” After making wooden toys for years, Christiansen wanted to accelerate production so that he could make more toys in less time. He invested in a machine that would allow him to make plastic toys. In 1958 he produced the first plastic LEGO brick. 3 Making LEGO bricks is a fairly simple process. Small plastic granules are heated at an extreme temperature. A machine then presses the melted plastic into brick molds. Once the plastic cools and hardens, the bricks are ready to be packaged and sold. 4 LEGO has produced more than 400 billion of its plastic LEGO bricks over the years. Today more than two million LEGO items are produced every hour, or about 40,000 a minute. Approximately seven LEGO sets are sold around the world every second. The company must work at a fast pace to keep up with demand. 5 Christiansen believed in producing good products. LEGO toys today are still manufactured to Christiansen’s high standards. LEGOs last for many years. In fact, a standard-size LEGO brick made today can be attached to any other LEGO brick made since 1958. Building with LEGO Sets 6 Although Christiansen’s original LEGO bricks all had the same basic rectangular shape, there now are 2,400 different-shaped LEGO bricks made in a variety of colors. LEGO creates building sets for children of all ages. LEGO blocks for preschoolers are larger and easier for toddlers to handle.