READTHEORY
Passage and Questions
Name________________
Date________________
• Reading Comprehension Assessment
Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.
A Gum Tree in your Stomach?
When I was little, my grandmother told me that if I swallowed
my gum, it would grow into a gum tree in my stomach. I was so worried
about this happening that I immediately threw all of my gum into the
trash. My grandfather saw me doing this and asked why I was wasting
perfectly good gum.
“I’m afraid that if I swallow it, it will turn into a gum tree!” I told
him.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “It won’t grow into a tree. But it
will sit in your stomach for seven whole years, so don’t swallow it!”
As an adult, I know that my grandmother was only joking—there is no way that gum can turn into
a tree in my stomach. But what about my grandfather’s idea: could a swallowed piece of gum really stay
inside your stomach for seven years?
Before answering that question, it is important to understand what chewing gum is made out of.
Chewing gum has been around for thousands of years. The first gum was made out of chicle, a natural
rubber that comes from the sapodilla tree in Central America. During World War II, when natural rubber
was greatly in demand, scientists discovered ways to make synthetic rubbers like polyethylene and
polyvinyl acetate. These synthetic rubbers are now the base of most chewing gum. Gum manufacturers
add flavors, sweeteners, and other chemicals to the rubber base to make it more pleasant to chew.
If you swallow your chewing gum, your stomach’s digestive juices will break down any of the
flavorings or sweeteners in the gum without any problem. The rubber base of the gum cannot be
digested. However, this does not mean that it will sit in your stomach for years. Instead, the gum will
travel through your digestive system until it is eliminated from your body. This entire process only takes
about three days.
While occasionally swallowing your gum is harmless, doctors do say that swallowing large
amounts of gum in short periods of time can lead to problems. Gum trees will not grow in your stomach,
but there have even been rare cases where people who have swallowed very large amounts of gum have
needed surgery to remove the gum from their bodies. Although these cases are very uncommon, it is best
to take my grandfather’s advice and spit out your gum when you are done chewing it.
1) The main purpose of paragraphs 1-3 is to
A.
B.
C.
D.
introduce the major characters in the passage: the narrator, the grandmother and the grandfather
show that the grandfather’s ideas about gum were much more scientific than the grandmother’s
explain why doctors think that swallowing gum can be dangerous in some cases
tell a personal story that contrasts with the scientific facts in the rest of the passage
READTHEORY
Questions
2) As used in paragraph 5, the best synonym for the word synthetic is
A.
B.
C.
D.
delicious
expensive
artificial
safe
3) According to the passage, gum
I. is made out of rubber
II. is completely digested in the stomach
III. was discovered during World War II
A.
B.
C.
D.
I only
I and II only
II and III only
I, II, and III
4) According to the passage, chicle is
A.
B.
C.
D.
a chemical sweetener found in many kinds of gum
the main ingredient of chewing gum made before World War II
the name given to gum that has been surgically removed from your stomach
a synthetic rubber invented by scientists
5) Based on the information in the passage, swallowing your gum is probably harmless unless
A.
B.
C.
D.
the gum is made out of synthetic rubber
the gum is made out of natural rubber
you swallow your gum while you are asleep
you swallow too much gum
6) The passage mentions two false tales about swallowing gum. Have you ever heard either of these
stories in the past? Did you ever believe them? Why or why not?
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READTHEORY
Questions
7) At the beginning of the passage, the narrator’s grandparents tell him or her two different stories that
both turn out not to be true. Why do you think his or her grandparents told these stories? Did they
really believe these tales? Were they trying to trick the narrator? Explain your ideas below.
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8) Where do you think the narrator learned the information in paragraphs 6, 7, and 8? Who might have
originally written the information that the narrator came across? Brainstorm some ideas below.
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READTHEORY
Answers and Explanations
1) D
Question Type: Inference
In paragraphs 1-3, the narrator tells us a story from childhood involving a grandmother and grandfather. The narrator refers to these
people as “my grandmother” and “my grandfather,” so we can tell that this is a personal story. In this personal story, the
grandmother and grandfather warn the narrator not to swallow chewing gum. The grandmother warns that it will grow into a gum
tree; the grandfather says that it will take seven years to be digested. As the passage progresses, we learn that both of these ideas
are false. The scientific facts presented in the passage suggest that it is largely harmless to swallow gum. In paragraph 6, the
narrator tells us that undigested gum “will travel through your digestive system until it is eliminated from your body. This entire
process only takes about three days.” Both the grandmother and the grandfather are wrong. The personal story that begins the
passage thus serves as a contrast for the scientific information that follows. Therefore (D) is correct. The first three paragraphs do
indeed introduce us to the narrator, the grandmother, and the grandfather. However, the main purpose of the passage is not to tell a
story about the narrator and his/her grandparents. The main purpose of the passage is to inform readers about what happens when
you swallow chewing gum. Because this passage is more concerned with providing information than telling a story, the main
purpose of the first three paragraphs is not to introduce its main characters. Therefore (A) is incorrect. In the first paragraph, we
learn that the narrator’s grandmother has said that swallowed gum will “grow into a gum tree” in your stomach. The grandfather says
that this is ridiculous, and instead claims that the gum will stay in your stomach for “seven whole years.” It is certainly more difficult
to imagine that a gum tree can grow in your stomach than it is to think that gum will sit in your stomach for seven years. However, as
the passage shows, neither idea is very scientific. The passage explains that gum passes through your digestive system in a few
days. Both the grandmother and the grandfather give the narrator unscientific ideas about swallowed gum. One might be more
ridiculous than the other, but the narrator uses evidence to show that neither idea is scientific. Therefore (B) is incorrect. The first
three paragraphs explain what the narrator’s grandparents told him/her about swallowed gum when the narrator was a child. These
paragraphs explain why the narrator thought that gum could not be digested when he/she was little. They do not contain any
information about what doctors think. The author does not mention doctors until the last paragraph, where he/she states: “doctors do
say that swallowing large amounts of gum in short periods of time can lead to problems.” Therefore(C) is incorrect.
2) C
Question Type: Vocabulary
In paragraph 5, the author writes: “During World War II, when natural rubber was greatly in demand, scientists discovered ways to
make synthetic rubbers like polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate.” We can use context clues—hints from known words or phrases
around the unknown word or phrase—to help us figure out what the word synthetic most nearly means. The author explains that
because there was not enough natural rubber during World War II, scientists had to try to find a way to make it. If something is made
by scientists, it is not natural. Something that is not natural is artificial. Therefore (C) is correct. Based on the above information, we
can see that we are looking for a word that means artificial. Delicious is not artificial. Therefore (A) is incorrect. Based on the above
information, we can see that we are looking for a word that means artificial. Expensive is not artificial. Therefore (B) is incorrect.
Based on the above information, we can see that we are looking for a word that means artificial. Safe is not artificial.
Therefore (D) is incorrect.
3) A
Question Type: Global
In paragraph 5, the author states that “the first gum was made out of chicle, a natural rubber that comes from the sapodilla tree in
Central America.” The author then explains that scientists found ways to make synthetic rubbers that “are now the base of most
chewing gum.” Therefore, both early chewing gum and its modern counterpart are made out of rubber. This supports option (I). In
paragraph 6, the author says that although your stomach will digest gum’s flavorings or sweeteners, “the rubber base of the gum
cannot be digested.” The undigested gum “will travel through your digestive system until it is eliminated from your body.” Therefore,
your stomach cannot completely digest gum. The rubber base of the gum cannot be broken down by stomach acid. This
eliminates option (II). In paragraph 5, the author explains that “chewing gum has been around for thousands of years.” The
synthetic rubber base of modern chewing gum was developed during World War II, but chewing gum itself is much, much older. This
eliminates option (III). Therefore (A) is correct.
4) B
Question Type: Detail
In paragraph 5, the author writes: “The first gum was made out of chicle, a natural rubber that comes from the sapodilla tree in
Central America.” The author then explains that “during World War II, when natural rubber was greatly in demand, scientists
discovered ways to make synthetic rubbers like polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate. These synthetic rubbers are now the base of
most chewing gum.” In other words, because natural rubber was hard to come by, scientists had to find a way to make it artificially in
the lab. This artificial rubber became the base of modern chewing gum. Before World War II, gum was made out of chicle. Since
World War II, gum has been made out of synthetic rubber. Therefore (B) is correct. The passage does not provide information to
support choices (A), (C), or (D). Therefore they are incorrect.
5) D
Question Type: Inference
In the last paragraph, the author writes: “while occasionally swallowing your gum is harmless, doctors do say that swallowing large
amounts of gum in short periods of time can lead to problems …. There have even been rare cases where people who have
swallowed very large amounts of gum have needed surgery to remove the gum from their bodies.” Based on this information, we
can see that swallowing your gum is only dangerous if you swallow too much of it. Therefore (D) is correct. The passage does not
provide information to support choices (A), (B), or (C). Therefore they are incorrect.