8th Grade Reading : 8th Grade Reading
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for 8th Grade Reading
All 8th Grade Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Comprehension
Adapted from Pinocchio by Carl Collodi (1883)
There was once upon a time a piece of wood in the shop of an old carpenter named Master Antonio. Everybody, however, called him Master Cherry, on account of the end of his nose, which was always as red and polished as a ripe cherry.
No sooner had Master Cherry set eyes on the piece of wood than his face beamed with delight, and, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction, he said softly to himself:
"This wood has come at the right moment; it will just do to make the leg of a little table."
He immediately took a sharp axe with which to remove the bark and the rough surface, but just as he was going to give the first stroke he heard a very small voice say imploringly, "Do not strike me so hard!"
He turned his terrified eyes all around the room to try and discover where the little voice could possibly have come from, but he saw nobody! He looked under the bench—nobody; he looked into a cupboard that was always shut—nobody; he looked into a basket of shavings and sawdust—nobody; he even opened the door of the shop and gave a glance into the street—and still nobody. Who, then, could it be?
"I see how it is," he said, laughing and scratching his wig, "evidently that little voice was all my imagination. Let us set to work again."
And, taking up the axe, he struck a tremendous blow on the piece of wood.
"Oh! oh! you have hurt me!" cried the same little voice dolefully.
This time Master Cherry was petrified. His eyes started out of his head with fright, his mouth remained open, and his tongue hung out almost to the end of his chin, like a mask on a fountain. As soon as he had recovered the use of his speech he began to say, stuttering and trembling with fear:
"But where on earth can that little voice have come from that said 'Oh! oh!'? Is it possible that this piece of wood can have learned to cry and to lament like a child? I cannot believe it. This piece of wood is nothing but a log for fuel like all the others, and thrown on the fire it would about suffice to boil a saucepan of beans. How then? Can anyone be hidden inside it? If anyone is hidden inside, so much the worse for him. I will settle him at once."
So saying, he seized the poor piece of wood and commenced beating it without mercy against the walls of the room.
Then he stopped to listen if he could hear any little voice lamenting. He waited two minutes—nothing; five minutes—nothing; ten minutes—still nothing!
"I see how it is," he then said, forcing himself to laugh, and pushing up his wig; "evidently the little voice that said 'Oh! oh!' was all my imagination! Let us set to work again."
Putting the axe aside, he took his plane, to plane and polish the bit of wood; but whilst he was running it up and down he heard the same little voice say, laughing:
"Stop! you are tickling me all over!"
This time poor Master Cherry fell down as if he had been struck by lightning. When he at last opened his eyes he found himself seated on the floor.
His face was changed, even the end of his nose, instead of being crimson, as it was nearly always, had become blue from fright.
Why did everyone refer to Master Antonio as Master Cherry?
Master Antonio was called Master Cherry because his nose was always red.
Master Antonio was called Master Cherry because his favorite color was red.
Master Antonio was called Master Cherry because he liked ripe cherries.
Master Antonio was called Master Cherry because his cheeks were always red.
Master Antonio was called Master Cherry because his nose was always red.
We are introduced to Master Antonio in the first paragraph in the passage, and we learn how he received his nickname:
"There was once upon a time a piece of wood in the shop of an old carpenter named Master Antonio. Everybody, however, called him Master Cherry, on account of the end of his nose, which was always as red and polished as a ripe cherry."
Example Question #1 : 8th Grade Reading
Adapted from Pinocchio by Carl Collodi (1883)
There was once upon a time a piece of wood in the shop of an old carpenter named Master Antonio. Everybody, however, called him Master Cherry, on account of the end of his nose, which was always as red and polished as a ripe cherry.
No sooner had Master Cherry set eyes on the piece of wood than his face beamed with delight, and, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction, he said softly to himself:
"This wood has come at the right moment; it will just do to make the leg of a little table."
He immediately took a sharp axe with which to remove the bark and the rough surface, but just as he was going to give the first stroke he heard a very small voice say imploringly, "Do not strike me so hard!"
He turned his terrified eyes all around the room to try and discover where the little voice could possibly have come from, but he saw nobody! He looked under the bench—nobody; he looked into a cupboard that was always shut—nobody; he looked into a basket of shavings and sawdust—nobody; he even opened the door of the shop and gave a glance into the street—and still nobody. Who, then, could it be?
"I see how it is," he said, laughing and scratching his wig, "evidently that little voice was all my imagination. Let us set to work again."
And, taking up the axe, he struck a tremendous blow on the piece of wood.
"Oh! oh! you have hurt me!" cried the same little voice dolefully.
This time Master Cherry was petrified. His eyes started out of his head with fright, his mouth remained open, and his tongue hung out almost to the end of his chin, like a mask on a fountain. As soon as he had recovered the use of his speech he began to say, stuttering and trembling with fear:
"But where on earth can that little voice have come from that said 'Oh! oh!'? Is it possible that this piece of wood can have learned to cry and to lament like a child? I cannot believe it. This piece of wood is nothing but a log for fuel like all the others, and thrown on the fire it would about suffice to boil a saucepan of beans. How then? Can anyone be hidden inside it? If anyone is hidden inside, so much the worse for him. I will settle him at once."
So saying, he seized the poor piece of wood and commenced beating it without mercy against the walls of the room.
Then he stopped to listen if he could hear any little voice lamenting. He waited two minutes—nothing; five minutes—nothing; ten minutes—still nothing!
"I see how it is," he then said, forcing himself to laugh, and pushing up his wig; "evidently the little voice that said 'Oh! oh!' was all my imagination! Let us set to work again."
Putting the axe aside, he took his plane, to plane and polish the bit of wood; but whilst he was running it up and down he heard the same little voice say, laughing:
"Stop! you are tickling me all over!"
This time poor Master Cherry fell down as if he had been struck by lightning. When he at last opened his eyes he found himself seated on the floor.
His face was changed, even the end of his nose, instead of being crimson, as it was nearly always, had become blue from fright.
Based on the text, what does "petrified" mean?
To be tired
To be scared
To be worried
To be happy
To be scared
To help us answer this question, we can look at context clues from the surrounding sentences:
"This time Master Cherry was petrified. His eyes started out of his head with fright, his mouth remained open, and his tongue hung out almost to the end of his chin, like a mask on a fountain. As soon as he had recovered the use of his speech he began to say, stuttering and trembling with fear:"
Based on these sentences from the passages, we can infer that "petrified" means to be scared.
Example Question #3 : Comprehension
Adapted from Pinocchio by Carl Collodi (1883)
There was once upon a time a piece of wood in the shop of an old carpenter named Master Antonio. Everybody, however, called him Master Cherry, on account of the end of his nose, which was always as red and polished as a ripe cherry.
No sooner had Master Cherry set eyes on the piece of wood than his face beamed with delight, and, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction, he said softly to himself:
"This wood has come at the right moment; it will just do to make the leg of a little table."
He immediately took a sharp axe with which to remove the bark and the rough surface, but just as he was going to give the first stroke he heard a very small voice say imploringly, "Do not strike me so hard!"
He turned his terrified eyes all around the room to try and discover where the little voice could possibly have come from, but he saw nobody! He looked under the bench—nobody; he looked into a cupboard that was always shut—nobody; he looked into a basket of shavings and sawdust—nobody; he even opened the door of the shop and gave a glance into the street—and still nobody. Who, then, could it be?
"I see how it is," he said, laughing and scratching his wig, "evidently that little voice was all my imagination. Let us set to work again."
And, taking up the axe, he struck a tremendous blow on the piece of wood.
"Oh! oh! you have hurt me!" cried the same little voice dolefully.
This time Master Cherry was petrified. His eyes started out of his head with fright, his mouth remained open, and his tongue hung out almost to the end of his chin, like a mask on a fountain. As soon as he had recovered the use of his speech he began to say, stuttering and trembling with fear:
"But where on earth can that little voice have come from that said 'Oh! oh!'? Is it possible that this piece of wood can have learned to cry and to lament like a child? I cannot believe it. This piece of wood is nothing but a log for fuel like all the others, and thrown on the fire it would about suffice to boil a saucepan of beans. How then? Can anyone be hidden inside it? If anyone is hidden inside, so much the worse for him. I will settle him at once."
So saying, he seized the poor piece of wood and commenced beating it without mercy against the walls of the room.
Then he stopped to listen if he could hear any little voice lamenting. He waited two minutes—nothing; five minutes—nothing; ten minutes—still nothing!
"I see how it is," he then said, forcing himself to laugh, and pushing up his wig; "evidently the little voice that said 'Oh! oh!' was all my imagination! Let us set to work again."
Putting the axe aside, he took his plane, to plane and polish the bit of wood; but whilst he was running it up and down he heard the same little voice say, laughing:
"Stop! you are tickling me all over!"
This time poor Master Cherry fell down as if he had been struck by lightning. When he at last opened his eyes he found himself seated on the floor.
His face was changed, even the end of his nose, instead of being crimson, as it was nearly always, had become blue from fright.
Why was Master Cherry scared?
Master Cherry was scared because the wood was talking.
Master Cherry was scared because he is old.
Master Cherry was scared because he didn't know who was talking.
Master Cherry was scared because of the storm.
Master Cherry was scared because the wood was talking.
There are two main parts of the passage that tells us why Master Cherry was scared:
"This time Master Cherry was petrified. His eyes started out of his head with fright, his mouth remained open, and his tongue hung out almost to the end of his chin, like a mask on a fountain. As soon as he had recovered the use of his speech he began to say, stuttering and trembling with fear:"
and
"His face was changed, even the end of his nose, instead of being crimson, as it was nearly always, had become blue from fright."
If we look at the text around these parts of the passage, they all come after Master Cherry realizes that the wood is talking; thus, the correct answer is that Master Cherry was scared because the wood was talking.
Example Question #2 : 8th Grade Reading
Where should a comma be placed in the following sentence?
No I do not want to go camping this weekend.
After the word "this"
A comma does not need to be added to this sentence
After the word "not"
After the word "No"
After the word "No"
There are many instances when commas are necessary. For instance, a comma goes after words like "yes", "no", "well", etc. if those words are followed by a complete sentence.
Let's look at the sentence from the question:
No I do not want to go camping this weekend.
"I do not want to go camping this weekend." is a complete sentence; thus, a comma should go after the "No".
The correctly punctuated sentence should look as follows:
No, I do not want to go camping this weekend.
Example Question #3 : 8th Grade Reading
Where should a comma be placed in the following sentence?
Happy birthday Grandpa!
A comma does not need to be added to this sentence
After the word "happy"
After the word "birthday"
After the word "Grandpa"
After the word "birthday"
There are many instances when commas are necessary. For instance, a comma is used to separate the person being spoken to in a sentence from the rest of the sentence.
Let's look at the sentence from the question:
Happy birthday Grandpa!
Someone is saying happy birthday to their grandpa. "Grandpa" is being addressed, so it needs to be separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma after the word "birthday".
The correctly punctuated sentence should look as follows:
Happy birthday, Grandpa!
Example Question #4 : 8th Grade Reading
Where should a comma or commas be placed in the following sentence?
My sister Ali scored the winning goal!
After the word "Ali"
After the word "sister" and "Ali"
After the word "the"
"After the word "the" and "winning"
After the word "sister" and "Ali"
There are many instances when commas are necessary. For instance, a comma is used to separate an interruption in a sentence. The interruption will be details that weren't necessary to the sentence's meaning.
Let's look at the sentence from the question:
My sister Ali scored the winning goal!
Being told the sister's name is an interruption in the sentence. As a reader, we don't need to know that the sister's name is Ali to know that the sister scored the winning goal.
The correctly punctuated sentence should look as follows:
My sister, Ali, scored the winning goal!
Example Question #5 : 8th Grade Reading
Select the type of sentence that is provided:
Mark, will you please stop by the store on your way home to pick up milk?
Declarative
Interrogative
Imperative
Exclamatory
Interrogative
Looking at our answer choices, there are four types of sentences:
- A declarative sentence is a sentence that tells the reader about something, and it will always end with a period.
- An imperative sentence is a sentence that is a command, it tells someone to do something. This type of sentence will end in either a period or an exclamation point.
- An interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks something, it's a question. This type of sentence will always end with a question mark.
- An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that shows excitement, surprise, or a strong emotion. This type of sentence will always end with an exclamation point.
Let's look at the sentence from the question:
Mark, will you please stop by the store on your way home to pick up milk?
This sentence ends in a question mark; thus, this sentence is an interrogative sentence.
Example Question #6 : 8th Grade Reading
Select the type of sentence that is provided:
Basketball tryouts start next week.
Imperative
Exclamatory
Declarative
Interrogative
Declarative
Looking at our answer choices, there are four types of sentences:
- A declarative sentence is a sentence that tells the reader about something, and it will always end with a period.
- An imperative sentence is a sentence that is a command, it tells someone to do something. This type of sentence will end in either a period or an exclamation point.
- An interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks something, it's a question. This type of sentence will always end with a question mark.
- An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that shows excitement, surprise, or a strong emotion. This type of sentence will always end with an exclamation point.
Let's look at the sentence from the question:
Basketball tryouts start next week.
This sentence is telling us something, it's telling us that basketball tryouts are next week. A sentence that tells the reader about something is a declarative sentence.
Example Question #7 : 8th Grade Reading
Select the type of sentence that is provided:
Stop jumping on your bed, you might break something.
Exclamatory
Declarative
Imperative
Interrogative
Imperative
Looking at our answer choices, there are four types of sentences:
- A declarative sentence is a sentence that tells the reader about something, and it will always end with a period.
- An imperative sentence is a sentence that is a command, it tells someone to do something. This type of sentence will end in either a period or an exclamation point.
- An interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks something, it's a question. This type of sentence will always end with a question mark.
- An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that shows excitement, surprise, or a strong emotion. This type of sentence will always end with an exclamation point.
Let's look at the sentence from the question:
Stop jumping on your bed, you might break something.
This sentence is a command. It's telling someone to stop jumping on the bed. Sentences that are commands are called imperative sentences.
Example Question #8 : 8th Grade Reading
Select the word that matches the definition provided.
To move or send out troops for military action
Deploy
Instill
Overt
Revenue
Deploy
To move or send out troops in military action is to deploy.
To use deploy in a sentence, "Matt, a US Marine, will deploy for fifteen months to Iraq."
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