The red cable ______ the batteries of the two cars, so one car can help start the other.
Vocabulary and Grammar in Context · ELPAC Grades 6–8 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Extra practice, not a separate task on the real test: a sentence with one word missing, testing the vocabulary and grammar the passages assume.
Look at the picture. Then read the sentence about it.
Read image description
Two cars are parked nose to nose in a parking lot with both hoods raised. A woman leans over the engine of the first car and clamps the end of a red cable onto the battery. The other end of the cable runs across to the second car. A man sits in the driver's seat of the first car with his window down, watching her.
The question
Look at the picture. Choose the word that best completes the sentence about it.
The red cable ______ the batteries of the two cars, so one car can help start the other.
- collects
- corrects
- connectsCorrect answer
Why “connects” is correct
This tests choosing between three verbs that look alike and start with the same letters. The cable runs from one car's battery to the other's, which is what "connects" means, and the second half of the sentence — one car helping start the other — only works if the batteries are linked. Learners who choose by the first few letters of a word are the ones this item catches.
Why the other answers are wrong
- collects — "Collects" means gathers things together; a cable does not gather batteries.
- corrects — "Corrects" means fixes a mistake, which does not describe what a cable does.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grades 6–8, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 6–8. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California Department of Education or the official ELPAC program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published task formats.