ISEE Lower Level Reading : ISEE Lower Level (grades 5-6) Reading Comprehension
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ISEE Lower Level Reading
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Example Questions
Example Question #2 : Literature Passages
Adapted from “A Defense of Slang” in The Romance of the Commonplace by Gelett Burgess (1902)
Could Shakespeare come to Chicago and listen curiously to "the man in the street," he would find himself more at home than in London. In the mouths of messenger boys and clerks he would find the English language used with all the freedom of unexpected metaphor and the plastic, suggestive diction that was the privilege of the Elizabethan dramatists; he would say, no doubt, that he had found a nation of poets. There was hardly any such thing as slang in his day, for no graphic trope was too virile or uncommon for acceptance, if its meaning were patent. His own heroes often spoke what corresponds to the slang of today.
The word, indeed, needs precise definition, before we condemn all unconventional talk with vigor. Slang has been called "poetry in the rough," and it is not all coarse or vulgar. There is a prosaic as well as a poetic license. The man in the street calls a charming girl, for instance, a "daisy." Surely this is not inelegant, and such a reference will be understood a century from now. Slang, to prove adjuvant to our speech, which is growing more and more rigid and conventional, should be terse; it should make for force and clarity, without any sacrifice of beauty.
The passage as a whole suggests that a “nation of poets” __________.
could have been found in Elizabethan England
could not exist without a sacrifice of linguistic beauty
should be considered vulgar and coarse
existed in the upper classes of American society
can be found in working-class Chicago
can be found in working-class Chicago
To solve this question, you have to read in-context. The author states that if Shakespeare came to Chicago and listened to the “man in the street,” he would hear a “nation of poets.” The author even expands his definition of “man in the street” and tells the reader that it is “messenger boys and clerks.” This suggests that a nation of poets would be found in the working classes of Chicago, and of America. The important point here is to extrapolate from information found in the text. The author does not explicitly make a statement about working classes, but he uses idioms such as “man in the street” to implicitly make his point.
Example Question #21 : Analyzing Main Idea, Theme, And Purpose In Humanities Passages
Adapted from “A Defense of Slang” in The Romance of the Commonplace by Gelett Burgess (1902)
Could Shakespeare come to Chicago and listen curiously to "the man in the street," he would find himself more at home than in London. In the mouths of messenger boys and clerks he would find the English language used with all the freedom of unexpected metaphor and the plastic, suggestive diction that was the privilege of the Elizabethan dramatists; he would say, no doubt, that he had found a nation of poets. There was hardly any such thing as slang in his day, for no graphic trope was too virile or uncommon for acceptance, if its meaning were patent. His own heroes often spoke what corresponds to the slang of today.
The word, indeed, needs precise definition, before we condemn all unconventional talk with vigor. Slang has been called "poetry in the rough," and it is not all coarse or vulgar. There is a prosaic as well as a poetic license. The man in the street calls a charming girl, for instance, a "daisy." Surely this is not inelegant, and such a reference will be understood a century from now. Slang, to prove adjuvant to our speech, which is growing more and more rigid and conventional, should be terse; it should make for force and clarity, without any sacrifice of beauty.
The primary purpose of this passage is to __________.
predict an outcome
refute an argument
honor an accomplishment
explain a situation
establish an argument
establish an argument
When approaching questions that ask you to identify the author’s primary purpose, it is important to consider the passage as a whole. There are two useful ways in which this problem could be solved if you did not immediately know the answer. The first is to identify a thesis or topic sentence. In this passage, the topic is laid out in the first two sentences. The author states that had Shakespeare found himself in contemporary Chicago, he would recognize a nation of poets using slang in creative and useful ways. This topic should lead you to believe that this passage is establishing an argument. The second way to solve a “primary purpose” question is to look for key words that provide clues as to the author’s direction. In this passage, the author uses the word “surely” to begin a point and “should” to convey a perceived truth. This is argumentative but affirmative language. If, for example, the passage featured heavy usage of words such as “however” or “nonetheless” it would be more likely that the primary purpose was the refutation of an argument.
Example Question #5 : Literature Passages
Adapted from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (1908)
Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies' eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde's Hollow it was a quiet, well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde's door without due regard for decency and decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof.
There are plenty of people in Avonlea and out of it who can attend closely to their neighbor's business by dint of neglecting their own; but Mrs. Rachel Lynde was one of those capable creatures who can manage their own concerns and those of other folks into the bargain. She was a notable housewife; her work was always done and well done; she "ran" the Sewing Circle, helped run the Sunday-school, and was the strongest prop of the Church Aid Society and Foreign Missions Auxiliary. Yet with all this Mrs. Rachel found abundant time to sit for hours at her kitchen window, knitting "cotton warp" quilts—she had knitted sixteen of them, as Avonlea housekeepers were wont to tell in awed voices—and keeping a sharp eye on the main road that crossed the hollow and wound up the steep red hill beyond. Since Avonlea occupied a little triangular peninsula jutting out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence with water on two sides of it, anybody who went out of it or into it had to pass over that hill road and so run the unseen gauntlet of Mrs. Rachel's all-seeing eye.
She was sitting there one afternoon in early June. The sun was coming in at the window warm and bright; the orchard on the slope below the house was in a bridal flush of pinky-white bloom, hummed over by a myriad of bees. Thomas Lynde—a meek little man whom Avonlea people called "Rachel Lynde's husband"—was sowing his late turnip seed on the hill field beyond the barn; and Matthew Cuthbert ought to have been sowing his on the big red brook field away over by Green Gables. Mrs. Rachel knew that he ought because she had heard him tell Peter Morrison the evening before in William J. Blair's store over at Carmody that he meant to sow his turnip seed the next afternoon. Peter had asked him, of course, for Matthew Cuthbert had never been known to volunteer information about anything in his whole life.
Which of the following pairs of terms best describes Mrs. Rachel Lynde?
Bored and lazy
Shy and unobtrusive
Neglectful and ill-tempered
Nosy and perceptive
Busy and forgetful
Nosy and perceptive
Let's consider what the passage tells us about Mrs. Rachel Lynde. In the first paragraph, it says that "not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde's door without due regard for decency and decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof." Also, at the end of the passage, we are told that "Mrs. Rachel knew that [Matthew Cuthbert] ought [to be planting turnip seeds] because she had heard him tell Peter Morrison the evening before in William J. Blair's store over at Carmody that he meant to sow his turnip seed the next afternoon." Based on these lines, we can tell that Mrs. Rachel Lynde is nosy—she makes it her business to find out what everyone else is up to. We are also told that "anybody who went out of [Avonlea's peninsula] or into [Avonlea's peninsula] had to pass over that hill road and so run the unseen gauntlet of Mrs. Rachel's all-seeing eye." Because her eye is described as "all-seeing" and she is described as "keeping a sharp eye one everything that passed her door" in the first paragraph, Mrs. Rachel Lynde is also described as being perceptive. So, the correct answer is "nosy and perceptive." The passage doesn't support any of the other answer choices.
Example Question #3 : Ideas In Literature Passages
Adapted from The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the Northland. These men wanted dogs, and the dogs they wanted were heavy dogs, with strong muscles by which to toil, and furry coats to protect them from the frost.
Buck lived at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley. Judge Miller's place, it was called. It stood back from the road, half hidden among the trees, through which glimpses could be caught of the wide cool veranda that ran around its four sides. The house was approached by graveled driveways which wound about through wide-spreading lawns and under the interlacing boughs of tall poplars. At the rear things were on even a more spacious scale than at the front. There were great stables, where a dozen grooms and boys held forth, rows of vine-clad servants' cottages, an endless and orderly array of outhouses, long grape arbors, green pastures, orchards, and berry patches. Then there was the pumping plant for the artesian well, and the big cement tank where Judge Miller's boys took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon.
And over this great demesne Buck ruled. Here he was born, and here he had lived the four years of his life. It was true, there were other dogs, There could not but be other dogs on so vast a place, but they did not count. They came and went, resided in the populous kennels, or lived obscurely in the recesses of the house after the fashion of Toots, the Japanese pug, or Ysabel, the Mexican hairless—strange creatures that rarely put nose out of doors or set foot to ground. On the other hand, there were the fox terriers, a score of them at least, who yelped at Toots and Ysabel looking out of the windows at them, protected by a legion of housemaids armed with brooms and mops.
Buck is a __________.
dog
cat
magical creature
bird
human
dog
In the first paragraph, it is said that "trouble was brewing, not alone for [Buck], but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego." This compares Buck with other dogs, suggesting that Buck is also a dog. Also, in the passage's last paragraph, it states, "And over this great demesne Buck ruled . . . It was true, there were other dogs. There could not but be other dogs on so vast a place, but they did not count." These lines also compare Buck to other dogs, suggesting again that Buck is a dog.
Example Question #3 : Ideas In Literature Passages
Adapted from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (1871)
One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it—it was the black kitten's fault entirely. For the white kitten had been having its face washed by the old cat for the last quarter of an hour (and bearing it pretty well, considering); so you see that it COULDN'T have had any hand in the mischief.
The way Dinah washed her children's faces was this: first she held the poor thing down by its ear with one paw, and then with the other paw she rubbed its face all over, the wrong way, beginning at the nose: and just now, as I said, she was hard at work on the white kitten, which was lying quite still and trying to purr—no doubt feeling that it was all meant for its good.
But the black kitten had been finished with earlier in the afternoon, and so, while Alice was sitting curled up in a corner of the great arm-chair, half talking to herself and half asleep, the kitten had been having a grand game of romps with the ball of worsted Alice had been trying to wind up, and had been rolling it up and down till it had all come undone again; and there it was, spread over the hearth-rug, all knots and tangles, with the kitten running after its own tail in the middle.
'Oh, you wicked little thing!' cried Alice, catching up the kitten, and giving it a little kiss to make it understand that it was in disgrace. 'Really, Dinah ought to have taught you better manners! You OUGHT, Dinah, you know you ought!' she added, looking reproachfully at the old cat, and speaking in as cross a voice as she could manage—and then she scrambled back into the arm-chair, taking the kitten and the worsted with her, and began winding up the ball again. But she didn't get on very fast, as she was talking all the time, sometimes to the kitten, and sometimes to herself. Kitty sat very demurely on her knee, pretending to watch the progress of the winding, and now and then putting out one paw and gently touching the ball, as if it would be glad to help, if it might.
Which of the following best describes what happens in this passage?
Dinah washes her white kitten.
The black kitten unwinds the ball of worsted.
Alice spends time with her cats.
Alice talks to her cat and kittens while rewinding a ball one kitten unwound.
Alice waits for her family to arrive.
Alice talks to her cat and kittens while rewinding a ball one kitten unwound.
When answering a main idea question, it is important to select an answer choice that is not too general and not too specific. For example, “Dinah washes her white kitten” and “The black kitten unwinds the ball of worsted” are each too specific to be the main idea of this passage. Neither mention Alice! (Also, the black kitten unwound the ball of worsted in the past of the passage, but even if the timing was correct, the answer choice dealing with it would still be too specific.) “Alice waits for her family to arrive” cannot be the correct answer because we’re not told anything about Alice waiting for her family in the passage. This leaves us with “Alice spends time with her cats” and “Alice talks to her cat and kittens while rewinding a ball one kitten unwound.” This latter answer is a more specific description of the entire passage, so it is the better answer choice.
Example Question #1 : Recognizing The Main Idea In Literary Fiction Passages
Adapted from The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss (1879 Kingston ed.)
Thus talking, we pushed on until we came to a pleasant grove which stretched down to the water's edge. Here, we halted to rest, seating ourselves under a large tree, by a rivulet that murmured and splashed along its pebbly bed into the great ocean before us. A thousand gaily-plumaged birds flew twittering above us, and Fritz and I gazed up at them.
My son suddenly started up.
"A monkey," he exclaimed. “I am nearly sure I saw a monkey."
As he spoke, he sprang round to the other side of the tree, and in doing so, stumbled over a small round object. He handed it to me, remarking as he did so that it was a round bird's nest, of which he had often heard. "You may have done so," said I, laughing, "but this is a coconut."
We split open the nut, but, to our disgust, found the kernel dry and uneatable.
"Hullo," cried Fritz, "I always thought a coconut was full of delicious sweet liquid, like almond milk."
"So it is," I replied, "when young and fresh, but as it ripens the milk becomes congealed, and in course of time is solidified into a kernel. This kernel then dries as you see here, but when the nut falls on favorable soil, the germ within the kernel swells until it bursts through the shell, and, taking root, springs up a new tree."
"I do not understand," said Fritz, "how the little germ manages to get through this great thick shell, which is not like an almond or hazelnut shell, which is divided down the middle already."
"Nature provides for all things," I answered, taking up the pieces. " Look here, do you see these three round holes near the stalk? It is through them that the germ obtains egress. Now let us find a good nut if we can."
As coconuts must be overripe before they fall naturally from the tree, it was not without difficulty that we obtained one in which the kernel was not dried up. When we succeeded, however, we were so refreshed by the fruit that we could defer eating until later in the day, and so spare our stock of provisions.
Which of the following best describes what happens in this passage?
The narrator and Fritz explore.
The narrator and Fritz discuss coconuts.
The narrator and Fritz encounter a coconut tree; the narrator explains coconuts to Fritz, and they find and eat a ripe coconut.
The narrator and Fritz wander away from the rest of their group and find a coconut tree; the narrator explains coconuts to Fritz, and they find and eat a ripe coconut.
The narrator and Fritz find a coconut tree.
The narrator and Fritz encounter a coconut tree; the narrator explains coconuts to Fritz, and they find and eat a ripe coconut.
When picking out the correct answer to a question that asks about a passage’s main idea, it is important to pick out one that describes what happens in each paragraph, but isn’t broad enough to include ideas that aren’t discussed. In this case, the answer choice “The narrator and Fritz discuss coconuts” is too narrow, because more happens in the passage than just this conversation. “The narrator and Fritz explore” is also much too general, as this doesn't mention coconuts at all. Similarly, “The narrator and Fritz find a coconut tree” is also too general when compared to the other available answer choices.
The two remaining answer choices are “The narrator and Fritz encounter a coconut tree; the narrator explains coconuts to Fritz, and they find and eat a ripe coconut,” and “The narrator and Fritz wander away from the rest of their group and find a coconut tree; the narrator explains coconuts to Fritz, and they find and eat a ripe coconut.” These answers differ in one point: the latter includes “The narrator and Fritz wander away from the rest of their group,” whereas the first one doesn’t. Since nothing is mentioned about their wandering away from a group in the passage, the latter of these two answers cannot be correct. This means that the correct answer is “The narrator and Fritz encounter a coconut tree; the narrator explains coconuts to Fritz, and they find and eat a ripe coconut.”
Example Question #11 : Identifying And Analyzing Main Idea And Theme In Literature Passages
Adapted from "The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo" in Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (1902)
Not always was the Kangaroo as now we do behold him, but a Different Animal with four short legs. He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on an outcrop in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Little God Nqa.
He went to Nqa at six before breakfast, saying, “Make me different from all other animals by five this afternoon.”
Up jumped Nqa from his seat on the sand flat and shouted, “Go away!”
He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on a rock-ledge in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Middle God Nquing.
He went to Nquing at eight after breakfast, saying, “Make me different from all other animals; make me, also, wonderfully popular by five this afternoon.”
Up jumped Nquing from his burrow in the spinifex and shouted, “Go away!”
He was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on a sandbank in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Big God Nqong.
He went to Nqong at ten before dinner-time, saying, “Make me different from all other animals; make me popular and wonderfully run after by five this afternoon.”
Up jumped Nqong from his bath in the salt-pan and shouted, “Yes, I will!”
Nqong called Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, dusty in the sunshine, and showed him Kangaroo. Nqong said, “Dingo! Wake up, Dingo! Do you see that gentleman dancing on an ashpit? He wants to be popular and very truly run after. Dingo, make him SO!”
Up jumped Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—and said, "What, that cat-rabbit?"
Off ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, grinning like a coal-scuttle—ran after Kangaroo.
Off went the proud Kangaroo on his four little legs like a bunny.
This, O Beloved of mine, ends the first part of the tale!
He ran through the desert; he ran through the mountains; he ran through the salt-pans; he ran through the reed-beds; he ran through the blue gums; he ran through the spinifex; he ran till his front legs ached.
He had to!
Still ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—always hungry, grinning like a rat-trap, never getting nearer, never getting farther—ran after Kangaroo.
He had to!
Still ran Kangaroo—Old Man Kangaroo. He ran through the ti-trees; he ran through the mulga; he ran through the long grass; he ran through the short grass; he ran through the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer; he ran till his hind legs ached.
He had to!
Still ran Dingo—Yellow-Dog Dingo—hungrier and hungrier, grinning like a horse-collar, never getting nearer, never getting farther; and they came to the Wollgong River.
Now, there wasn't any bridge, and there wasn't any ferry-boat, and Kangaroo didn't know how to get over; so he stood on his legs and hopped.
He had to!
The main purpose of the passage is __________.
to tell us the story of how the Kangaroo came to be as it is
to tell us the nature of the theory of evolution
to explain the growth of the Kangaroo's tail
to describe the enmity between the Kangaroo and the Dingo
to explain why the Kangaroo has no friends
to tell us the story of how the Kangaroo came to be as it is
Whilst the Dingo does chase the Kangaroo, the main theme of the passage is how the Kangaroo came to be as it is. We know this because the first paragraph describes how the Kangaroo used to be different. We can assume that the Kangaroo gets his wish and changes by the end of the story due to events that take place later in the tale.
Example Question #12 : Identifying And Analyzing Main Idea And Theme In Literature Passages
Adapted from "The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts" by Aesop (trans. Jacobs 1909)
A great conflict was about to take place between the Birds and the Beasts. When the two armies were gathered together, the Bat hesitated which to join. The Birds that passed his perch said "Come with us," but he said to them, "I am a Beast."
Later on, some Beasts who were passing underneath him looked up and said "Come with us," but he said, "I am a Bird." Luckily at the last moment peace was made, and no battle took place, so the Bat came to the Birds and wished to join in the celebrations, but they all turned against him and he had to fly away. He then went to the Beasts, but soon had to run away, or else they would have torn him to pieces. "Ah," said the Bat, "I see now: he that is neither one thing nor the other has no friends."
Who won the battle between the beasts and the birds?
The beasts without the help of the bat.
The birds without the help of the bat.
The birds with the help of the bat.
The beasts with the help of the bat.
No one; they never fought.
No one; they never fought.
The author says, “Luckily at the last moment peace was made, and no battle took place.” This tells us that the battle between the beasts and the birds was never fought, so no one could have won.
Example Question #13 : Prose Passages
Adapted from "The Lion and the Mouse" by Aesop (trans. Jacobs 1909)
Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down on top of him; this soon woke up the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon the mouse, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. "Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but maybe I shall be able to assist you one of these days?" The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Sometime after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was in, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?" said the little Mouse. “Little friends may prove great friends and a small mercy can go a long way.”
Which of these statements best summarizes the moral of the story?
“Little friends may prove great friends and a small mercy can go a long way.”
“’Pardon, O King,'" cried the little Mouse: ‘forgive me this time.’”
“Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down on top of him.”
None of these answers; this story has no moral.
“The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him go.”
“Little friends may prove great friends and a small mercy can go a long way.”
The moral of a story is the lesson or message contained within that is meant to teach you a lesson about how to behave. In this story, the moral is primarily that showing a small amount of mercy can go a long way towards furthering your own interests. This is best summarized by the mouse at the end of the story when he says, “'Little friends may prove great friends and a small mercy can go a long way.'”
Example Question #1 : Ssat Elementary Level Reading Comprehension
Adapted from "The Lion’s Share" in The Fables of Aesop by Aesop (trans. Jacobs 1902)
The Lion once went hunting with the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf. They hunted and they hunted till at last they surprised a Stag, and soon took its life. Then came the question of how the spoil should be divided. "Quarter me this Stag," roared the Lion; so the other animals skinned it and cut it into four parts. Then the Lion took his stand in front of the carcass and pronounced judgment: "The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of Beasts; the second is mine as arbiter; another share comes to me for my part in the chase; and as for the fourth quarter, well, as for that, I should like to see which of you will dare to lay a paw upon it." "Humph," grumbled the Fox as he walked away with his tail between his legs; but he spoke in a low growl. “You may share the labors of the great, but you will not share the spoil."
What does the Fox realize at the end of the story?
No matter how much work you put into something you can never account for luck.
Even if you share the workload with those who have power, you will not share the reward.
Lions cannot be trusted to share anything.
None of these answers; it is the Lion who learns a lesson at the end of the story.
Wolves and jackals make loyal allies.
Even if you share the workload with those who have power, you will not share the reward.
This story tells of a lion, and several other animals, who hunt and kill a deer together, and after they have killed it the lion keeps the deer for himself and does not give anything to those who have helped him. At the end of the story, the Fox says, “You may share the labors of the great, but you will not share the spoil." This means that even if you help great people archive things, you will not necessarily share their rewards.
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