Name: _____________________________________________ Period: ______ Date:__________________
The Gymnast
By Gary Soto
Use the information in the story to answer the following questions. Circle the letter of the correct answer.
1. Which can be inferred about the narrator as he watches Isaac practice gymnastics in the backyard?
A. The narrator is good at gymnastics.
B. The narrator does not like Isaac’s gymnastics clothes.
C. The narrator wants to learn gymnastics
D. The narrator does not like the taste of the nutrient water.
2. Which detail from the passage supports this inference (answer for question 1)?
A. “watching my cousin,…while he instructed,”
B. “greenish water he said was filled with nutrients”
C. “watching my cousin,…do spindly cartwheels and back flips”
D. “The shoes were loose, but I liked them.”
3. Which best compares and contrasts Isaac’s behavior in the backyard and on the front lawn?
A. Isaac eats plums in backyard; he drinks nutrient water in the front yard
B. Isaac teaches gymnastics in the backyard; he shows off his skills in the front yard
C. Isaac does not do back flips in the backyard; he does do back flips in the front yard
D. Isaac does difficult stunts in the backyard; he does easy stunts in the front yard
4. Which detail from the passage helps support your answer to question 3?
A. “My cousin was a show-off”
B. “This is the correct way.”
C. “When a car passed he did a back flip.”
D. I ate plums and sat under an aluminum arbor”
5. What was the effect of the narrator putting on the vinyl slippers?
A. His skin pushes out of the slippers.
B. He can do gymnastics better
C. He is mistaken for a gymnast
D. He finds they fit better than Isaac’s shoes.
6. Which detail from the passage supports your answer to question 5?
A. “went outside to do cartwheels”
B. “I took a few steps, admiring my feet,”
C. “sort of like gymnastic shoes.”
D. “looked like bloated water balloons,”
7. Based on context clues in the passage, what does the word ‘limelight” in the fourth paragraph mean?
A. A type of dog
B. A type of gymnastic shoe
C. A light in the shape of a lime
D. The center of attention
Name: _____________________________________________ Period: ______ Date:__________________
8. Which context clue helped you answer question 7?
A. “dog who had come over to look”
B. “his cloth gymnast shoes”
C. “I liked the way they looked,”
D. “They seemed special,”
9. Which word from the passage is a synonym for the phrase “was jealous”?
A. “envied”
B. “liked”
C. “begged”
D. “admired”
10. Which detail helped you choose the synonym in question 9?
A. The narrator is a good Chinese checkers player
B. The narrator enjoys watching Wide World of Sports
C. The narrator wishes to become a great gymnast
D. The narrator thinks he looks good as a gymnast