Hey! " shouted squirrelly jones one brisk october morning in the middle of his math lesson. "somebody stole my lunch money! "
the class, eager to use any excuse to get out of doing their long list of long division, jumped on the case and instantly started scouring for clues:
"when did you last see your lunch money? " they asked.
"did you look in your pockets? "
"what about your backpack? "
but squirrelly jones never kept his money in his backpack, or his socks, or even a secret compartment under his desk. he always kept his money in his pockets. and now, as he emptied them for the class, it was plain for all to see that lunch money wasn't the only thing squirrelly kept in his pockets. there was a heavy keychain filled with keys to who-knows-what, a rabbit's foot, six tootsie rolls, and an assortment of jumbo lint balls.
meanwhile, the class was quickly deciding on their culprit: meany madison, the oversized class bully! well, hadn't he at one time or another "borrowed" lunch money from each and every one of them, usually just before the lunch bell? hadn't he jostled them in line, begging for their extra milk or that uneaten second half of a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich? who else would take squirrelly's lunch money?
what about the passage the reader determine the author's purpose?
select one:
a. the passage gives data to support an opinion.
b. the passage has dialogue and vivid descriptions.
c. the passage lists steps in chronological order.
d. the passage tells facts about a certain topic.
from the tone of this story, the reader can tell that the author's purpose in writing this passage was
select one:
a. to persuade the reader not to keep lunch money in pockets.
b. to entertain the reader with a story about squirrelly jones.
c. to inform the reader about the dangers of carrying money.
d. to frighten the reader with a scary account of class bullies.