Amy's Halloween Secret

by ReadWorks

It was almost October 31, and Amy was excited. Halloween was her favorite day of
the year. She found it more fun than Christmas, because she got so many more
presents, in the form of candy. And she also found it more fun than her birthday,
because on Halloween, everyone dressed up and had a party, not just Amy!

Amy was also excited because she had just moved to Brooklyn, in New York City.
Her mother had been hired as an English professor at a nearby university, so Amy,
her mom, and her dad had packed up their things in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved
their lives to the East Coast. Amy had heard a lot of things about New York City and
wondered what Halloween in Brooklyn was like. Did the kids dress up and go trick
or treating, like they did in St. Louis? Did parents hand out candy, or did they only
have healthy treats? What kind of costumes did people wear? Amy was impatient to
find out; thank goodness it was already October 29!

On the 31st, Amy rushed home from school, and found her costume laid out on her
bed, all ready to wear. Her mom had stayed up late the night before working on it.
Now it was ready, and it looked perfect! Amy loved the Winnie the Pooh stories,
and this year, she was going to be Tigger, the bouncy, happy tiger. Her mom had
found the perfect orange and black fabric for her costume, which also matched with
the orange and black colors of Halloween.

After Amy's mom had painted whiskers on Amy's face, the two of them set off to
explore the neighborhood. Amy's mom had cleverly sewn a pouch into the Tigger
costume, where Amy could store her candy. They went around her block and then
ended up near a park, where a lot of kids were playing in their Halloween costumes.
A small house stood at the center of the park. Amy wanted to go closer
and investigate. A plaque next to the house said this was the "Old Stone House,"
built in 1699.
"That's more than three hundred years ago!" Amy said to her mother. "Does anyone
live there now?"

"It's Halloween," her mother said. "I think we should knock on the door and find
out!"

Amy was a little nervous, so she held onto her mother's hand as they walked up to
the door. They knocked. No response. Amy tried again, this time more loudly. She
thought she heard voices inside. Children's voices?

Amy tried pushing the door open and was startled when it moved! Why wasn't the
house locked? Who was inside it? Still clutching her mother's hand, Amy began
exploring. "Hello?" she called out. "Anybody home?"

Silence.

"Trick or treat?" she tried.

Amy and her mother walked all around the house, upstairs and downstairs. It was
dark, and there were no light switches. It was hard to make out much detail, but
Amy could imagine that a family had lived there three hundred years before. There
was clearly no candy to be had, so they decided to leave. Right as Amy was shutting
the door, she swore she saw a little girl, very pale, run past her in the living room.
"Come back soon!" the girl whispered to Amy, which gave Amy the chills.

"What's wrong?" her mother asked her.

"Oh, nothing," Amy said. She decided that the ghost girl in the Old Stone House
would be her Halloween secret.
Which holiday is Amy excited to celebrate?

  Halloween

  Christmas

  Thanksgiving

  her birthday

2What is a main setting in this story?

  Amy’s mom’s university

  Amy’s school in Brooklyn

  St. Louis, Missouri

  the Old Stone House

3Read these sentences from the text.

"Amy was a little nervous, so she held onto her mother's hand as
they walked up to the door. They knocked. No response. Amy tried
again, this time more loudly. She thought she heard voices inside.
Children's voices?

"Amy tried pushing the door open and was startled when it moved!
Why wasn't the house locked? Who was inside it? Still clutching her
mother's hand, Amy began exploring. 'Hello?' she called out.
'Anybody home?'"

How did Amy most likely feel when she thought she heard children's
voices inside the Old Stone House?
  anoyed and angry

 cheerful and excited

   angry and upset

  curious and scared

4Why do Amy and her mother explore the Old Stone House?

  to prove that they are not scared of old buildings

  to see whether anyone is there to give Amy Halloween

candy

  to search for the little ghost girl

  to try and learn about the history of the Old Stone House

5What is a main idea of this text?

  A girl dressed up as Tigger for Halloween.

  A girl stores all her Halloween candy in her costume.

  A girl doesn't want to explore her new neighborhood on

Halloween.

  A girl decides to explore her new neighborhood on

Halloween.

6Read these sentences from the text.

"Right as Amy was shutting the door, she swore she saw a little girl,
very pale, run past her in the living room. 'Come back soon!' the girl
whispered to Amy, which gave Amy the chills.
"'What's wrong?' her mother asked her."

What might the author have meant by the phrase “gave Amy the
chills”?

  made Amy feel excited

  made Amy feel scared

  gave Amy a gift

  made Amy feel hot

7Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.

Amy held onto her mother’s hand as they walked up to the door of
the Old Stone House _____ she was a little nervous.

  but

  then

  so

  because
 A Monument for Peaceby W.M. Akers

 In December, 1864, the Civil War was nearly over. The armies of the Union
had conquered most of the South, but the fighting was not finished. Hoping to
reverse the war's course, the Confederate general John Bell Hood marched his
army toward Nashville. The capital of Tennessee, Nashville, had been under
Union control since 1862. Capturing it, Hood hoped, could save the
Confederacy.
 It was freezing cold when the battle started on December 15th. The
Confederate troops were outnumbered. They fought in ragged uniforms,
sometimes without shoes. Against the superior Union army, they had no
hope. On December 16th, Hood was defeated. The war was over.
 The Union won the Civil War four months later. Although the Southern states
returned to the Union, the country remained divided. Fifty years later, most of
 the war's veterans were dead. Around the country, towns and cities had
begun building monuments in their memory. In the North, monuments were
built to honor the Union. In the South, monuments honored the Confederacy.
Even though the states were united again, no one built a monument to both
sides.
 In 1914, Mrs. James E. Caldwell and her group, the Ladies Battlefield
Association, began raising money to build a monument for those who died in
the Battle of Nashville. They hired Italian sculptor Giuseppe Moretti to
design a statue. They raised money by hosting balls and asking local
businesses for donations. By 1927, they had enough, and the monument was
completed.
 Moretti's statue showed a young man standing between two horses. Behind it,
a tall white obelisk was built, with an angel at the top. "No guns, no swords,
no trappings of war mar the peace-like beauty," Mrs. Caldwell said. It was
not a war monument, but a peace monument.
 The structure was special because it honored all those who died in the war—
no matter which side they fought for. Built less than a decade after World
War I, it was also dedicated to the American soldiers of that conflict.
 In 1974, a tornado knocked the 40-foot-tall obelisk to the ground, where it
shattered to pieces, along with the angel at its top. Moretti's sculpture was
damaged, but it was repaired. The city did not have the money, however, to
build a new column. A few years later, an interstate was built beside
the monument, blocking it from view, and making it hard for anyone to get
to it.
 For two decades, the monument was alone—out of sight and nearly
forgotten by the public. In 1992, the Tennessee Historical Commission chose
a new location for the monument, inside a small park near the original
battlefield. Again, fundraising was necessary—to move the statue and
construct a new obelisk.
 The original statue cost $30,000 in 1927. To move and restore it would cost
much more—some estimate more than $500,000. But after seven years of
work, the money was collected, and the statue was rededicated—with a brand
new obelisk to go with it. Finally, Mrs. Caldwell's monument was whole
again, and the message of peace could be seen once more.

 Which Civil War battle was fought from the 15th to the
16th of December 1864?

  Battle of Gettysburg

  Battle of Atlanta

  Battle of Shiloh

  Battle of Nashville
2How does the author describe the Confederate troops led by
General John Bell Hood?

  lacking in discipline

  courageous and undefeated

  poorly equipped and outnumbered

  well-prepared to face the Union soldiers

3The United States remained divided fifty years after the Civil
War. What evidence from the text supports this conclusion?

  “Fifty years later, most of the war's veterans were dead.”

  “Around the country, towns and cities had begun building

monuments in their memory.”

  “In 1914, Mrs. James E. Caldwell and her group, the Ladies
Battlefield Association, began raising money to build a
monument for those who died in the Battle of Nashville.”

  “In the North, monuments were built to honor the Union. In

the South, monuments honored the Confederacy… No one
built a monument to both sides.”

4What made Caldwell’s monument “not a war monument, but a

peace monument”?

  It was not built to honor a particular war or battle.

  It did not depict any weapons or war paraphernalia.

   It had an angel on top of the obelisk.

  It had two horses.

5What is this passage mostly about?

  the high cost of lives of the Civil War

  the ongoing struggle with inequality in the United States

  the construction and restoration of a monument in

Tennessee

  how best to raise money for public works projects

6Read the following sentences: “The Confederate troops were

outnumbered. They fought in ragged uniforms, sometimes
without shoes. Against the superior Union army, they had no
hope.”

As used in the passage, what does the word “superior” mean?

   better

  condescending

  older

  poorer

7Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

________ two decades spent out of sight behind an interstate, in

1992 the monument found a new home in a small park near the site
of the original battle.

  Thus

  After

  Includinig

  Above all