How does Yusuf feel at the end of the passage, and how do you know?
Read a Literary Passage · ELPAC Grades 3–5 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
A short story or scene, with questions about characters, events and what words mean in context.
Read the passage. Then answer the questions.
The Loose Board
Every afternoon Yusuf took the long way home so he could pass the empty lot on Palm Street. A wooden fence ran along one side, and one board near the corner hung loose. Behind that board, in a hollow under a stack of bricks, lived a thin gray cat.
On Monday Yusuf brought half of his cheese sandwich. The cat would not come out. On Tuesday he set the food down, walked ten steps away, and sat on the curb with his back turned. He heard nothing. He counted to two hundred.
When he finally looked, the sandwich was gone.
By Friday the cat was waiting. It pressed its nose against the gap in the fence before Yusuf even opened his backpack. Yusuf grinned so wide that his cheeks ached, and he was still grinning when he reached his own front steps.
The question
Choose the best answer.
How does Yusuf feel at the end of the passage, and how do you know?
- Tired, because his cheeks ached after the long walk.
- Worried, because the cat is thin.
- Happy, because he is still grinning when he reaches his front steps.Correct answer
- Proud, because the cat learned his name.
Why “Happy, because he is still grinning when he reaches his front steps.” is correct
This question asks for a feeling plus the evidence that supports it, which is how emotion is usually tested at this level. The passage never uses the word happy; it shows the feeling through Yusuf grinning so wide that his cheeks ache and still grinning when he gets home. Ask the child which exact words in the passage prove the answer.
Why the other answers are wrong
- Tired, because his cheeks ached after the long walk. — The ache comes from grinning, not from walking, so this choice misreads the cause.
- Worried, because the cat is thin. — The cat is called thin in the first paragraph, but the end of the passage is describing Yusuf, not the cat.
- Proud, because the cat learned his name. — The passage says nothing about the cat learning a name.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grades 3–5, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 3–5. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.
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