IV. READING COMPREHENSION

Read the two passages and choose the most likely answer to each of the questions. Blacken the letter corresponding to your choice on the answer sheet. (2 points each, 20 points in all)

Passage One

Having been sitting out in his back yard in the snow for about an hour, Bobby was getting cold. Bobby didn’t wear boots; he didn’t like them and anyway he didn’t own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother’s Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought, “This is useless, even if I do have an idea, I don’t have any money to spend.” Ever since his father had passed away three years before, the family of five had struggled. His mother worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.

What the family lacked in money and material things was more than made up for in love and family unity. Three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing. Wiping tears from his eyes, Bobby started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were.

It wasn’t easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to. Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. Suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun’s rays reflecting off on something along the curb. He reached down and picked up a shiny dime. Never before had anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby did at that moment. Warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he couldn’t buy anything with only a dime. He noticed a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother. The shop owner put his hand on Bobby’s shoulder and said to him, “You just wait here and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

When the shop owner came out and moved to the counter, Bobby saw in his hand twelve long-stemmed red roses, with green leaves and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby’s heart sank as the owner placed them neatly into a long white box. “That will be ten cents, young man,” the shop owner said. Slowly, Bobby gave the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime! Sensing the boy’s reluctance, the shop owner added, “I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?” This time Bobby did not hesitate, and took the long box from the man. Walking out of the door that the owner was holding open for him, Bobby heard the shopkeeper say, “Merry Christmas, son.”

As he returned inside, the shopkeeper’s wife walked out. “Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?” Staring out of the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, “When the little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with that small dime, I saw myself, many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars ...” The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn’t feel the cold at all.

41. Why did the six-year-old boy Bobby feel so upset on Christmas Eve?

A. He had no father to take care of him.

B. His mother could not buy boots for him.

C. The family was suffering from poverty in spite of the mother’s hard work.

D. All of the children in the family but him had Christmas gifts for their mother.

42. The dime Bobby found on the street could be best described as ______.

A. a great treasure                                          B. a Christmas gift

C. fresh air                                                    D. bright light

43. Why did the boy hesitate when he paid for the roses?

A. He was reluctant to spend the only dime he had.

B. He could not understand the shopkeeper’s words.

C. He could not believe the roses were fixed for him.

D. He was not sure if roses were the best Christmas gift.

44. Which of the following statements is true about the story?

A. Seeing the twelve roses, Bobby was excited and eager to get them.

B. Christmas sale was given in memory of that unknown bearded man.

C. With deep sympathy for the boy, the shopkeeper didn’t take his money.

D. The shopkeeper mentioned the rose sale to put the boy completely at ease.

45. Which of the following might be the best title for the story?

A. Value of Roses                                           B. Love—Passed on

C. Home Is the Best                                       D. No Pains, No Gains