Cite Textual Evidence/Draw Inferences (Literature) Practice Test
•10 QuestionsRead the passage, then answer the question.
On a windy Tuesday in March, Devon Lee, age eleven, stood behind the middle school auditorium curtain with a violin tucked under his chin. The spring concert would start in three minutes. From the gap in the curtain, he could see rows of parents and teachers settling into seats.
“Stop bouncing,” whispered his older sister, Tessa, who was fourteen and playing cello in the same orchestra. She adjusted Devon’s bow hold by nudging his fingers into place. “You’re going to drop it.”
Devon froze for half a second, then started tapping his heel again.
“I’m not bouncing,” he said, even though his sneaker kept thumping the wooden floor.
Mr. Alvarez, the conductor, lifted his hands. “Remember,” he said, “we listen more than we play. Follow the group.”
Devon swallowed. His throat felt like it had turned to sand. He wiped his palm on his black pants, then tried to tune his A string again. The peg slipped, and the note squealed.
Tessa leaned closer. “Hey,” she said, softer now. “If it squeaks, keep going. The audience forgets fast.”
Devon nodded, but his eyes stayed on the shiny stage lights. He blinked hard, as if the lights were too bright.
A boy in the second row waved at Devon through the curtain gap. Devon didn’t wave back. He pressed his lips together and stared at the floor until the conductor’s baton rose.
When the music began, Devon’s first note came out thin, like a thread. He tightened his grip, then forced his shoulders down the way Tessa had shown him at home. By the third measure, his sound grew steadier.
The passage suggests that Devon is nervous before the concert. Which detail from the passage provides the strongest evidence for this idea?
Read the passage, then answer the question.
On a windy Tuesday in March, Devon Lee, age eleven, stood behind the middle school auditorium curtain with a violin tucked under his chin. The spring concert would start in three minutes. From the gap in the curtain, he could see rows of parents and teachers settling into seats.
“Stop bouncing,” whispered his older sister, Tessa, who was fourteen and playing cello in the same orchestra. She adjusted Devon’s bow hold by nudging his fingers into place. “You’re going to drop it.”
Devon froze for half a second, then started tapping his heel again.
“I’m not bouncing,” he said, even though his sneaker kept thumping the wooden floor.
Mr. Alvarez, the conductor, lifted his hands. “Remember,” he said, “we listen more than we play. Follow the group.”
Devon swallowed. His throat felt like it had turned to sand. He wiped his palm on his black pants, then tried to tune his A string again. The peg slipped, and the note squealed.
Tessa leaned closer. “Hey,” she said, softer now. “If it squeaks, keep going. The audience forgets fast.”
Devon nodded, but his eyes stayed on the shiny stage lights. He blinked hard, as if the lights were too bright.
A boy in the second row waved at Devon through the curtain gap. Devon didn’t wave back. He pressed his lips together and stared at the floor until the conductor’s baton rose.
When the music began, Devon’s first note came out thin, like a thread. He tightened his grip, then forced his shoulders down the way Tessa had shown him at home. By the third measure, his sound grew steadier.
The passage suggests that Devon is nervous before the concert. Which detail from the passage provides the strongest evidence for this idea?