Practice Test 11

Read the passage, then answer the question.

On the day of the community clean-up, Eli arrived at the park with a trash grabber he’d borrowed from his neighbor and a pair of gloves that were too big. The morning was bright, almost impatient, and the grass glittered with dew like it had been freshly invented.

A cluster of volunteers stood near the pavilion. Some wore matching shirts; others looked as though they’d been persuaded at the last minute. Eli hovered at the edge, pretending to study the map of assigned areas even after he’d memorized it.

“Hey,” a voice called. Ms. Sato, the art teacher, waved him over. “You’re on trail duty, right?”

Eli nodded.

“Good,” she said. “Trail duty needs someone who notices things.”

Eli almost corrected her—he didn’t notice things, not in a useful way. He noticed the crooked seam on his glove, the way two boys laughed and then stopped when he looked up, the plastic bottle half-buried like a secret.

He walked the trail alone at first. Every few steps, he reached down with the grabber, plucking wrappers from the weeds. The work was repetitive, but it gave his hands something to do besides fidget.

Halfway down the path, he saw a little kid struggling with a jammed bag dispenser. The kid yanked harder, and the roll tore, fluttering like a white flag.

Eli hesitated. He could keep walking. No one had asked him to help.

Then he turned back. He knelt, untangled the roll carefully, and tore off a clean bag. “Here,” he said.

The kid’s face brightened. “Thanks!”

Eli stood up quickly, as if being seen too clearly might be dangerous. But when he continued down the trail, his steps felt steadier.

Question: Which theme is best developed in the passage?

Read the passage and answer the question.

On the day of the neighborhood clean-up, the river behind the apartments looked like it had given up trying to be beautiful. Plastic bottles bobbed at the edges. A shopping cart rested half-submerged, as if it had wandered there and decided not to return.

Tariq tugged on a pair of oversized work gloves and followed his aunt down the muddy path. She carried a grabber tool like a cane, tapping it against rocks. “We take what the river can’t swallow,” she said.

Tariq made a face. “It’s gross.”

“Gross doesn’t mean impossible,” she replied.

A few volunteers stood in a loose line, holding trash bags that snapped in the wind. Someone played music from a phone, but the sound was thin against the rush of water.

Tariq reached for a bottle and hesitated. The label had peeled away, leaving a cloudy skin. He imagined germs leaping onto him like tiny monsters. Still, he pinched the bottle between two fingers and dropped it into the bag.

His aunt watched without commenting. Instead, she pointed to the shopping cart. “That,” she said, “is a story.”

“A story?” Tariq asked.

“Someone pushed it. Someone let it go. And now the river has to drag it around.” She planted her boots and leaned her weight into the grabber tool. The metal jaws clamped onto the cart’s handle with a harsh click.

Tariq stared. The cart didn’t budge.

His aunt didn’t sigh or complain. She adjusted her grip, then pulled again, slower this time, as if she were persuading the cart rather than fighting it. Mud sucked at the wheels. The cart shifted an inch.

Tariq stepped beside her. Without speaking, he grabbed the handle with his gloved hands and pulled. Together, they inched it toward the bank.

Question: How does the shopping cart function as a symbol in the passage?