Reading Standards for Literature > Determining Word Meanings and Figurative Language (CCSS.RL.5.4) Practice Test

On the first day of fifth grade, the hallway hummed like a beehive. I clutched my schedule, and my locker felt like a puzzle box with a code only grown-ups knew. At first, my nervous stomach was a jar of jumping beans, rattling with every step. Then Mrs. Lee greeted me. Her smile was sunshine warming a chilly morning. She showed me how to spin the lock, and click—the door opened. As I found my seat, my confidence grew like a snowball rolling downhill, picking up more and more as it went. By lunchtime, I was laughing with new classmates, and the buzzing hallway sounded more like music than noise. When the final bell rang, I walked out lighter, surprised that the mountain I'd imagined was really just a hill.

At the park, dark clouds marched in like a line of soldiers. The wind teased the trees, tugging at their leaves like a mischievous cat pawing a curtain. When the first fat drops splashed the sidewalk, people popped open umbrellas. Soon the crowd was a sea of umbrellas, bright colors bobbing and swaying as the rain drummed on their tops. Lightning scribbled quick, jagged lines across the sky, and thunder answered like a giant banging a drum. I tucked close to Dad, our small blue umbrella a tiny island in the choppy sea. Even though the storm growled, I felt safe. We waited, listening to the rain's steady song, until the clouds finally grew tired and drifted away, leaving the world rinsed and shining.