Student Team Literature
Standardized Reading Practice Test
Maniac Magee
(Harper Trophy Newbery Edition, 1990)
Reading Vocabulary
DIRECTIONS
Choose the word that means the same, or
about the same, as the underlined word. Then
circle the letter for the answer you have
chosen.
SAMPLE A
Accurate means the same as
A boring
B exciting
C exact
D very long
1. A suspicious person is one who is A mistrustful
B interesting
C angry
D quiet
2. Solitude means –
F hurry
G loyalty
H aloneness
J noise
5. Another word for cunning is A kindness
B embarrassment
C cleverness
D weakness
6. Reluctant means F unwilling
G enthusiastic
H devoted
J irritating
7. Another word for aroma is A interest
B texture
C smell
D delight
8. To endure is to F create
G put up with
H set aside
J describe
3. To do something frantically means to
do it A carefully
B slowly
C regretfully
D wildly
9. Someone who is hysterical is A an art lover
B dedicated to his or her work
C wildly emotional
D well dressed
4. A glum person is one who is F cheerful
G careless
H boring
J sad
10. A chaotic situation is very F peaceful
G well organized
H inspiring
J disorderly
Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
1
DIRECTIONS
F
Read the sentence in the box. Then choose
the answer in which the underlined word is
used in the same way. Circle the letter for the
answer you have chosen.
G
SAMPLE B
J
The point of Amanda’s suggestion
was to help Maniac be accepted in
the East End.
H
13
It took Maniac less time to polish off
his sandwich than it had taken
Grayson to go and get it.
In which sentence does the word point mean
the same thing as in the sentence above?
Marcia broke the point of her pencil.
It is usually rude to point at people.
If you listen carefully you will understand
the point I am making.
D John paddled the canoe around the point
and up the little stream.
A
B
C
11
The volume of the laugh coming from
Screecher’s throat was amazingly loud.
In which sentence does the word volume mean
the same thing as in the sentence above?
A
Dante took down a heavy volume from
the bookshelf.
B The perfume spread quickly to fill the
entire volume of the room.
C I found a huge volume of information
about my topic in this article.
D Mama asked Sheryl to turn down the
volume on her tape player.
12
Grayson’s finest moment was the pitch
that struck out Willie Mays.
In which sentence does the word pitch mean the
same thing as in the sentence above?
2
The highway crewmen used hot pitch and
gravel to resurface the road.
The runner streaked toward second just
as Jorge sent a high, fast pitch over the
plate.
The choir director gave us the pitch on the
piano before we began to sing.
Emotions were at a high pitch when the
election results finally came in.
In which sentence does the word polish mean
the same thing as in the sentence above?
A
It is important to polish your writing before
you do your final draft.
B Ernest knew he had to polish his shoes
before he went to church.
C Sheyann wanted to polish off her
homework quickly so she could watch
television.
D Antoine signed up for the dance class so
he could polish his steps.
14
Mars Bar was furious when Maniac
beat him while running backward.
In which sentence does the word beat mean
the same thing as in the sentence above?
F
Grandma beat the eggs before she added
the milk and sugar.
G Brian could beat his brother in wrestling,
but not in basketball or chess.
H The drum major used his long baton to
beat the time during the parade.
J Hundreds of students taking the shortcut
soon beat a path through the bushes.
Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
DIRECTIONS
As you read each sentence, use the other
words in the sentence to help you figure out
what the underlined word means. Then circle
the letter for the answer you have chosen.
SAMPLE C
Maniac slipped his fingers into the old
glove slowly, timidly, as though entering a
holy place. Timidly means –
A roughly
B jokingly
C shyly
D furiously
15 The crowd was clamoring wildly as
Maniac ran around the bases for another
home run. Clamoring means A shouting
B racing
C yawning
D observing
16 McNab flinched to avoid the ball that
was coming straight at him. Flinched
means F blinked
G dodged
H caught
J glared
17 A little of the glare lingered in the lady’s
eyes as she sent Maniac home. Lingered
means A remained
B scolded
C hurried
D smiled
18 When Grayson said, “I was a pitcher,” his
voice was no longer worn and tired, but
fresh and robust. Robust means –
F sleepy
G silly
H angry
J strong
19 Grayson’s special stopball pitch had a
peculiar way of hanging in the air that
Maniac had never seen before.
Peculiar means A fast
B strange
C ordinary
D uninteresting
20 Grayson couldn’t stop laughing at the
ludicrous sight of Maniac in clothes
twice as big as he was. Ludicrous
means F tiresome
G frightening
H silly
J huge
Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
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Reading Comprehension
DIRECTIONS
Read each passage. Then read each question about the passage. Decide which is the best
answer. Circle the letter for the answer you have chosen.
SAMPLE
Amanda was happy to give up her room to Maniac. It gave her an excuse to sleep with
Hester and Lester every night. Most of the time during the day the little ones drove her crazy; she
couldn’t stand to be in the same hemisphere with them. But at night, the best thing was to have
them snuggled up on both sides of her. It made no sense, but that’s how it was.
Mr. Beale divided the little ones’ room into two sections with a panel of plywood, and
Amanda moved her stuff into the back part. Except for her suitcase of books – that stayed in her
old room, with Maniac.
The way Maniac fit in, you would have thought he was born there.
He played with the little ones and read them stories and taught them things. He took Bow
Wow out for runs and he did the dishes without anybody asking. (Which made Amanda feel guilty,
so she started to dry.)
He carried out the trash, mowed the grass, cleaned up his own spills, turned out lights, put
the cap back on the toothpaste tube, flushed the toilet, and – Mrs. Beale called it “the miracle on
Sycamore Street” – he kept his room neat.
1 Amanda was happy that Maniac came to
live with the Beales because
A she always wanted a brother.
B her father redecorated her room when
Maniac came.
C she was tired of taking out the trash
and mowing the lawn.
D it gave her an excuse to sleep with her
little sister and brother.
4
2 The best title for this passage is
F Chores at the Beales’ House.
G Amanda’s New Room.
H Maniac Moves In.
J Mrs. Beale’s Miracle.
Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
Chapter 18
Amanda tried to reason with him. “You can’t listen to that old coot. He’s goofy. He’s always
saying stuff like that. You can’t go because of something one nutty old coot says.”
Maniac pointed out that it wasn’t the nutty old coot who chalked up the front of the house.
Amanda laughed. “That? That’s no big deal. It wasn’t even paint. If they really meant it, they
would’ve done it in paint. And anyway, don’t you know they did my mother a favor? It gave her a
chance to get out the old bucket and do some serious scrubbing. Ever since the kids stopped
crayoning the house, she hasn’t known what to do with herself. Now she’s happy again.”
Maniac didn’t answer. Amanda didn’t understand that most of the hurt he felt was not for
himself but for her and the rest of the family. She stomped her foot. “You gotta stay!”
“I don’t gotta do anything.”
“You go, you’ll starve.”
“Was I starving before I came here?”
“You’ll freeze to death in the winter. Your fingers’ll get so stiff they’ll break off like icicles.”
“I’ll go somewhere.”
“Somewhere? Like the deer pen?”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Or maybe Prairie Dog Town, huh? How about that?” She jabbed him. “You could live in a
gopher hole. You’d be starving, so that would be perfect, because then you’d be so skinny you could
fit right down there all snuggly in their little tunnels.”
He shrugged. “Sounds cozy.”
This was driving Amanda bonkers. He was acting so different, all glum, and wiseacre
answers. As if he didn’t care, not about anything.
“Yeah?” she sniffed. “Well, what’re you gonna do for a pillow, huh? I know you put my pillow
on the floor.”
“I’ll use a hibernating gopher.”
“Fuh-nee. And bathroom, huh? Where will you go to the bathroom?”
“The bushes. McDonald’s. Lots of places.”
She hated it. An answer for everything. And the scariest part was, he was probably right. If
anybody could survive on the loose, it would be this kid who showed up from Hollidaysburg. Who
slept on floors. Who outran dogs.
He was making her so mad!
1
Maniac wants to leave the Beales’ house
because
A he thinks it is more fun to live at the
zoo.
B he doesn’t like the food they serve.
C he doesn’t want them to have trouble
because he stays with them.
D Mars Bar told him to.
2
Amanda’s main reason for wanting
Maniac to stay is that
F she cares about him and will miss him.
G she really believes he will die if he
leaves.
H she doesn’t want to have to do all the
chores.
J he makes her brother and sister
happy.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
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3
In this passage, Amanda is angry
because
A someone chalked up the front of her
house.
B Maniac is acting as if he doesn’t mind
going away.
C Maniac put her pillow on the floor
D Mars Bar tore her book
4
Amanda’s statement, “You’d be so skinny
you could fit right down there all snuggly
in their little tunnels,” is an example of
F personification.
G allusion.
H idiom.
J hyperbole.
5
Which of the following do you think is
probably true?
A Mrs. Beale really enjoyed scrubbing the
chalk off the house.
B Maniac really is upset about leaving the
Beales’ house.
C Amanda will really be glad when Maniac
is gone.
D At this point in the story, Maniac is
really very well liked in the East End.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
6
Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
Chapter 31
It was still dark when Maniac awoke on Christmas morning. Within an hour or two, the
holiday would come bounding down the stairs and squealing ’round the tinseled trees of Two
Mills. But for the moment, Christmas bided its time outside, a purer presence.
Maniac shook Grayson awake, but stayed the old man’s hand when he reached to turn
on the light. They bundled themselves and ventured into the silent night. Maniac carried a paper
bag.
Snow had fallen several days before. In much of the town it had been plowed, shoveled,
and slushed away; but in the park – along the creek, the woods, the playing fields, the
playground – it still lay undisturbed, save for the tracks of rabbits and squirrels. Beyond the tall
pines, stars glittered like snowflakes reluctant to fall.
They visited their tree. They stood silently, just to be near it, letting the magic of it drift
over them. In the pine-patched moonlight, the Queen Anne’s goblets looked for all the world like
filigreed silver.
They walked the creek woods all the way to the zoo, meandering wordlessly throughout
the snowy enchantment. As if by design, they both stopped at the same spot, above the halfsubmerged, rooty clump of a fallen tree. Somewhere under there, they knew, was the den of a
family of muskrats. Maniac whispered: “Merry Christmas.”
They visited the animals at the zoo, at least the outdoor ones, wishing them a happy
holiday. The ducks seemed especially pleased to see them.
By the time they came to the buffalo pen, dawn was showing through the trees. Before
the old man finished saying, “Wanna boost?” Maniac was up and over the fence. If the mother
buffalo was glad to see the fence-hopping human again, she didn’t show it. But Baby came
trotting on over, and the two of them had a warm reunion. Before leaving, Maniac reached into
the paper bag and brought out a present. “For you,” he said. It was a scarf – or rather, three
scarves tied together. He wrapped them around Baby’s neck. “Next year I’ll get you stockings for
your horns,” he grinned, “if you have them by then.” A final nuzzle, and he was back over the
fence.
They headed back home as the town awoke. Breakfast was eggnog and hot tea and
cookies and carols and colored lights and love.
6
The first paragraph contains an
example of
F irony.
G allusion.
H flashback.
J personification.
7
Which of the following is a statement
of fact?
A The snow in the park had not been
plowed or shoveled.
B The tree in the park looked magical
in the moonlight.
C The baby buffalo loved Maniac like a
brother.
D Christmas is a time for showing love.
8
In the paper bag, Maniac carried
F some butterscotch Krimpets.
G tinsel to decorate the tree in the park.
H a present for the baby buffalo.
J a thermos full of eggnog.
9
The information contained in the
passage suggests that
A Maniac and Grayson felt lonely in the
woods.
B Maniac and Grayson were very quiet as
they walked through the woods.
C Maniac and Grayson were in a hurry to
get home again.
D Maniac and Grayson had never been in
the woods before.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
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Chapter 45
“…So, go ahead, what happened?”
“What happened” – Mars Bar snorted – “what happened was, I went out and rescued the
dumb fish [the little McNab boy]. Like to get myself kilt.”
Maniac touched Mars Bar’s arm. “He’s okay?”
Mars Bar snickered. “Yeah, he’s okay, but that ain’t the main part. The main part is, how
he was all grabbin’ on to me comin’ off them tracks. Shakin’. Shiverin’. Huggin’. Like he wanted
to climb inside me. I was afraid” – he shook his head, giggled – “afraid the fishbelly was gonna
kiss me.”
They laughed. Maniac tried to picture it, the two of them, making their way across the
trestle, tie by tie, arms wrapped around each other.
“And even that ain’t the mainest part,” said Mars Bar, his voice rising in wonder. “Even
when we got off, the midget wouldn’t let me go. ‘We’re off it,’ I says to him. ‘You’re rescued.’ But
all he does is grab me harder, like he’s a octopus or somethin’. Off the platform, down the steps,
out to the street – he’s still doin’ it. I couldn’t pry him off nohow.”
“So,” said Maniac, “what did you do?”
“Wha’d I do? I took him home.”
Maniac stopped dead. “What?”
Mars Bar shrugged. “I figured, let my mom pry him off me. ’Course, the other one had to
come too. But I made him leave them muddy sneakers outside.” He put his nose to a fence.
“What’s in there? I don’t see nothin’.”
“Prairie Dog Town. They’re underground. So, what then?”
“So, my mother took over. She pried the one off me, and soon’s she does, he jumps right
onto her, like a octopus. I go to pull him off and she gets all mad at me and says let him go, let
him go. She gets the wet one dried off. Takes off his clothes and puts my old stuff on him. Stuff
she been savin’ case I get a little brother someday. But I won’t, ’cause my mom can’t have no
babies no more. And I ain’t even come to the craziest part yet.”
“What’s that?”
“They didn’t wanna go home. They stayed all day. My mother babyin’ ’em, feedin’ ’em. I
tell her not to, she swats me away. Sometimes my mom ain’t got no sense. She makes me play
games with them. Monopoly and stuff. Finally my father drives them home. It’s after dark. They’re
getting out of the car, and know what they say to me – I’m in the car too – ” He wagged his head.
“They ask me to come in and play that game-a theirs. Rebels. They, like, beg me. They say, ‘Come
one – pleeeeese – if you play with us, we’ll let you be white.’ You believe that?”
Maniac chuckled. “I believe it.”
The sequence chain below shows some
events mentioned in the reading selection.
1
Mars Bar
rescued a
boy from
the
trestle.
2
Mars Bar
took both
boys home
to his
mother.
3
4
Mars Bar
played
Monopoly
with his
guests.
10 Which statement belongs in Box 3?
F The boy held tightly to Mars Bar like an
octopus.
G Mars Bar’s mother dried the wet one off
and gave him clean clothes.
H Mars Bar’s father drove the boys home.
J Mars Bar told Maniac what happened.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
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Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
11 From the information found in the
passage, we can guess that
A Mars Bar is angry with Maniac.
B Maniac is faster than Mars Bar.
C Maniac and Mars Bar are suspicious
of each other.
D Maniac and Mars Bar like and respect
each other.
12 From the information given in the
passage, the reader can guess that
Mars Bar’s mother
F is a kind person who loves children.
G doesn’t have any sense.
H is a very strict person.
J is a fussy housekeeper.
13 The events this passage tells about were
surprising to Maniac and Mars Bar
because
A Mars Bar had never done anything
this brave before.
B Mars Bar did not think his old clothes
would fit the boys.
C the McNab boys were white and had
always hated black people before.
D Mars Bar’s mother usually made him
play outside with his guests.
14 Which prediction is most likely?
F Mars Bar will play Monopoly with the
McNab boys every week.
G Mars Bar’s mother will have another
baby soon.
H Maniac will move back in with the
McNabs.
J The McNab boys’ attitude toward
black people will change.
15 Which of the following states a major
theme of this book that is supported by
this passage?
A Parents and children need to
communicate with each other.
B People of different races can be
friends if they get to know each other.
C Young people can learn from the
experiences of their elders.
D It is dangerous for young people to
follow the influence of the crowd.
Talent Development Secondary · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland · 2012
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