Reading Comprehension II

1. Murphy Mole is the protagonist in the new novel by Trent Troll. Murphy must stop Oscar Rat and Shrimpy Shark from enslaving the inhabitants of Lazy Woods Park. He risks his life in a series of events that lead to a final battle between good and evil. What is a protagonist?

The main character of a story

Someone whose first and last names start with the same letter

Someone with bad body odorsomeone with bad body odoran animal that lives underground

2. Her cardinal rule is this: Be kind to others! She believes that everything else in life will fall properly into place if one follows that rule. What does "cardinal" mean in this context?

Main, or most important

Red

Like a bird

Not worth remembering

3. Helen's attitude toward dealing with criminals has changed over the years. She used to believe that everyone can change and deserves a second chance. She now believes that some crimes are so heinous that those responsible should be shown no mercy.

Guilty

Terrible

Accidental

Unimportant

4. "If you knew the gravity of the situation, you wouldn't be laughing," Mr. Farmer said quietly. He didn't have to say more to get everyone's attention.

A force that draws different objects toward each other

Seriousness

Humor

5. Prunella and Paula are sisters, but they're very different. Just look at how they dress. Prunella doesn't care what she wears. Paula, on the other hand, is quite chic [sheek].

Intelligent

Stylish

Full of feathers

Dressed in old clothes

6. Amy was feeling low. Every business she tried lost money or made only pennies a day. Her newest idea was selling chocolate covered baby shoes. She was convinced that it would be a lucrative business. Her friends tried to warn her that it was not a certain road to riches.

Helping young feet to grow correctly

Showing no careful thought

Bringing in a lot of money, or profit

7. The signal from the cable is too strong for our television. We'll have to use a filter to attenuate it.

Watch it carefully

Take good care of it

Make it be less

Get past it

8. The owner of the restaurant wouldn't allow Samantha to walk through the door. "I'm sorry," she said, "but you started a food fight the last time you were here. You may not have ingress to my restaurant!" What does "ingress" mean in this selection?

A kind of bird that lives by the sea

Any food that can be thrown

A good price for a meal

The right to enter

9. I looked at the plans for your new house. This is earthquake country. You need to fortify the frame or you'll have a disaster with the first tremor.

Shake

Build

Strengthen

Destroy

10. There may be some parts of my plan to arrest the thieves that should be changed. But I feel very strongly that renting the apartment over their headquarters is the linchpin of the scheme. We must do that immediately!

Part that everything else depends on

Piece of metal used to connect things

Place where people live