Adapted from Wonderwings and other Fairy Stories by Edith Howes (1900)

Little Fairy Tenderheart was weeping. She sat on a ledge that overlooked the world, and her tears fell fast. In twos and threes her sisters flew from Fairyland to put their arms about her, but none could comfort her. "Come, dance and sing with us and forget your grief," they said. She shook her head. "The terrible fighting!" she said. "See where far below men rage, killing each other. Rivers run red with blood, and the sorrow of weeping women rises through the air to where I sit. How can I dance and sing?"

"It is the world at war," said an older fairy sadly. "I too have wept in earlier days when men have fought. But our tears are wasted, little sister. Come away."

Fairy Tenderheart looked eagerly at her. "You who have observed the world so many years," she said, "tell me why such dreadful deeds are done down there."

The older fairy bent her eyes on the blackened plains of earth. "I cannot tell you that," she slowly said. "We watch and pity, but we cannot know what works in the hearts of men that they should gather in their millions to destroy their brothers and themselves. No other creature turns on its own kind and kills so terribly as man."

The underlined word “observed” most nearly means __________.

Adapted from The Fox and the Crow by Aesop, translated by Joseph Jacobs (1909)

A Crow, having stolen a bit of meat, perched in a tree and held it in her beak.  A Fox, seeing this, longed to possess the meat himself and by a wily stratagem, succeeded. "How handsome is the Crow," he exclaimed, "in the beauty of her shape and in the fairness of her complexion! Oh, if her voice were only equal to her beauty, she would deservedly be considered the Queen of Birds!" 

This he said deceitfully, but the Crow, anxious to refute the reflection cast upon her voice, set up a loud caw and dropped the flesh. The Fox quickly picked it up, and thus addressed the Crow, "My good Crow, your voice is right enough, but your wit is wanting."

Which of the following is a synonym of the underlined word "deceitfully"?

Adapted from The Fox and the Crow by Aesop, translated by Joseph Jacobs (1909)

A Crow, having stolen a bit of meat, perched in a tree and held it in her beak.  A Fox, seeing this, longed to possess the meat himself and by a wily stratagem, succeeded. "How handsome is the Crow," he exclaimed, "in the beauty of her shape and in the fairness of her complexion! Oh, if her voice were only equal to her beauty, she would deservedly be considered the Queen of Birds!" 

This he said deceitfully, but the Crow, anxious to refute the reflection cast upon her voice, set up a loud caw and dropped the flesh. The Fox quickly picked it up, and thus addressed the Crow, "My good Crow, your voice is right enough, but your wit is wanting."

Which of the following is a synonym of the underlined word "wanting?"

Adapted from The Lion and the Mouse by Aesop, translated by Joseph Jacobs (1909)

Once, when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon woke the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him and opened his big jaws to swallow him. 

"Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse, "forgive me this time and I shall never forget it. Who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some 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.

Some time 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, 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.

Which of the following is a synonym of the underlined word "gnawed"?

Adapted from Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans by Edward Eggleston (1896)

Daniel Webster was a great statesman. As a little boy he was called "Little Black Dan." When he grew larger, he was thin and sickly-looking, but he had large, dark eyes. People called him "All Eyes."

He was very fond of his brother Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a little older than Daniel. Both the boys had fine minds. They wanted to go to college, but their father was poor.

Daniel had not much strength for work on the farm, so little "All Eyes" was sent to school and then to college. Ezekiel stayed at home and worked on the farm.

While Daniel was at school, he was unhappy to think that Ezekiel could not go to college also. He went home on a visit. He talked to Ezekiel about going to college. The brothers talked about it all night. The next day Daniel talked to his father about it. The father said he was too poor to send both of his sons to college. He said he would lose all his little property if he tried to send Ezekiel to college, but if their mother and sisters were willing to be poor, he would send the other son to college.

The mother and sisters were asked. It seemed hard to risk the loss of all they had. It seemed hard not to give Ezekiel a chance. They all shed tears over it.

The boys promised to take care of their mother and sisters if the property should be lost. Then they all agreed that Ezekiel should go to college too.

Daniel taught school while he was studying to help pay the expenses. After Daniel was through his studies in college, he taught school in order to help his brother. When his school closed, he went home. On his way, he went round to the college to see his brother. Finding that Ezekiel needed money, he gave him a hundred dollars. He kept but three dollars to get home with.

The father's property was not sold. The two boys helped the family. Daniel soon began to make money as a lawyer. He knew that his father was in debt. He went home to see him. He said, "Father, I am going to pay your debts."

The father said, "You cannot do it, Daniel. You have not money enough."

"I can do it," said Daniel, "and I will do it before Monday evening."

When Monday evening came round, the father's debts were all paid.

In the context of the passage, which of the following is a synonym of the underlined word "fine?"

Adapted from The Book of Nature Myths by Florence Holbrook (1902)

One day, a crane was sitting on a rock far out in the water when he heard a voice say, "Grandfather Crane, Grandfather Crane, please come and carry us across the lake." It was the voice of a child and when the crane had come to the shore, he saw two little boys holding each other's hands and crying bitterly.

"Why do you cry?" asked the crane, "and why do you wish to go across the lake, away from your home and friends?"

"We have no friends," said the little boys, crying more bitterly than ever. "We have no father and no mother and a cruel witch troubles us. She tries all the time to do us harm and we are going to run away where she can never find us."

"I will carry you over the lake," said the crane. "Hold on well, but do not touch the back of my head, for if you do, you will fall into the water and go to the bottom of the lake. Will you obey me?"

"Yes, indeed, we will obey," they said. "We will not touch your head, but please come quickly and go as fast as you can. We surely heard the voice of the witch in the woods."

It really was the witch and she was saying over and over to herself, "I will catch them and I will punish them so that they will never run away from me again. They will obey me after I have caught them."

The crane bore the two little boys gently to the other shore and when he came back, there stood the witch.

"Dear, gentle crane," she said, "you are so good to everyone. Will you carry me over the lake? My two dear children are lost in the woods and I have cried bitterly for them all day long."

The spirit of the lake had told the crane to carry across everyone that asked to be taken over, so he said, "Yes, I will carry you across. Hold on well, but do not touch the back of my head, for if you do, you will fall into the water and go to the bottom of the lake. Will you obey me?"

"Yes, indeed, I will," said the witch, but she thought, "He would not be so timid about letting me touch the back of his head if he were not afraid of my magic. I will put my hand on his head and then he will always be in my power." So when they were far out over the lake, she put her hand on the crane's head, and before she could say "Oh!" she was at the bottom of the lake.

"You shall never live in the light again," said the crane, "for you have done no good on earth. You shall be a whitefish."

Which of the following is a synonym of the underlined word "timid?"

Adapted from The Rabbi Who Found the Diadem translated from the Talmud by Dr. A. S. Isaacs, as collected in The Junior Classics: Stories of Courage and Heroism (P. F. Collier & Son, 1912)

Great was the alarm in the palace of Rome, which soon spread throughout the entire city. The empress had lost her costly diadem, and it could not be found. They searched in every direction, but all in vain. Half distracted, for the mishap boded no good to her or her house, the empress redoubled her efforts to regain her precious possession, but without result. As a last resource it was proclaimed in the public streets: "The empress has lost a precious diadem. Whoever restores it within thirty days shall receive a princely reward. But he who delays, and brings it after thirty days, shall lose his head."

In those times all nationalities flocked toward Rome; all classes and creeds could be met in its stately halls and crowded thoroughfares. Among the rest was a rabbi, a learned sage from the East, who loved goodness, and lived a righteous life in the stir and turmoil of the Western world. It chanced one night as he was strolling up and down, in busy meditation, beneath the clear, moonlit sky, he saw the diadem sparkling at his feet. He seized it quickly, brought it to his dwelling, where he guarded it carefully until the thirty days had expired, when he resolved to return it to the owner.

He proceeded to the palace, and, undismayed at sight of long lines of soldiery and officials, asked for an audience with the empress.

"What do you mean by this?" she inquired, when he told her his story and gave her the diadem. "Why did you delay until this hour? Did you not know the penalty? Your head must be forfeited."

"I delayed until now," the rabbi answered calmly, "so that you might know that I return your diadem, not for the sake of the reward, still less out of fear of punishment; but solely to comply with the divine command not to withhold from another the property which belongs to him."

"Blessed be thy God!" the empress answered, and dismissed the rabbi without further punishment; for had he not done right for right's sake?

The underlined phrase “all in vain” most nearly means __________.

Adapted from The Rabbi Who Found the Diadem translated from the Talmud by Dr. A. S. Isaacs, as collected in The Junior Classics: Stories of Courage and Heroism (P. F. Collier & Son, 1912)

Great was the alarm in the palace of Rome, which soon spread throughout the entire city. The empress had lost her costly diadem, and it could not be found. They searched in every direction, but all in vain. Half distracted, for the mishap boded no good to her or her house, the empress redoubled her efforts to regain her precious possession, but without result. As a last resource it was proclaimed in the public streets: "The empress has lost a precious diadem. Whoever restores it within thirty days shall receive a princely reward. But he who delays, and brings it after thirty days, shall lose his head."

In those times all nationalities flocked toward Rome; all classes and creeds could be met in its stately halls and crowded thoroughfares. Among the rest was a rabbi, a learned sage from the East, who loved goodness, and lived a righteous life in the stir and turmoil of the Western world. It chanced one night as he was strolling up and down, in busy meditation, beneath the clear, moonlit sky, he saw the diadem sparkling at his feet. He seized it quickly, brought it to his dwelling, where he guarded it carefully until the thirty days had expired, when he resolved to return it to the owner.

He proceeded to the palace, and, undismayed at sight of long lines of soldiery and officials, asked for an audience with the empress.

"What do you mean by this?" she inquired, when he told her his story and gave her the diadem. "Why did you delay until this hour? Did you not know the penalty? Your head must be forfeited."

"I delayed until now," the rabbi answered calmly, "so that you might know that I return your diadem, not for the sake of the reward, still less out of fear of punishment; but solely to comply with the divine command not to withhold from another the property which belongs to him."

"Blessed be thy God!" the empress answered, and dismissed the rabbi without further punishment; for had he not done right for right's sake?

The underlined word “proclaimed” most nearly means __________.

Adapted from The Rabbi Who Found the Diadem translated from the Talmud by Dr. A. S. Isaacs, as collected in The Junior Classics: Stories of Courage and Heroism (P. F. Collier & Son, 1912)

Great was the alarm in the palace of Rome, which soon spread throughout the entire city. The empress had lost her costly diadem, and it could not be found. They searched in every direction, but all in vain. Half distracted, for the mishap boded no good to her or her house, the empress redoubled her efforts to regain her precious possession, but without result. As a last resource it was proclaimed in the public streets: "The empress has lost a precious diadem. Whoever restores it within thirty days shall receive a princely reward. But he who delays, and brings it after thirty days, shall lose his head."

In those times all nationalities flocked toward Rome; all classes and creeds could be met in its stately halls and crowded thoroughfares. Among the rest was a rabbi, a learned sage from the East, who loved goodness, and lived a righteous life in the stir and turmoil of the Western world. It chanced one night as he was strolling up and down, in busy meditation, beneath the clear, moonlit sky, he saw the diadem sparkling at his feet. He seized it quickly, brought it to his dwelling, where he guarded it carefully until the thirty days had expired, when he resolved to return it to the owner.

He proceeded to the palace, and, undismayed at sight of long lines of soldiery and officials, asked for an audience with the empress.

"What do you mean by this?" she inquired, when he told her his story and gave her the diadem. "Why did you delay until this hour? Did you not know the penalty? Your head must be forfeited."

"I delayed until now," the rabbi answered calmly, "so that you might know that I return your diadem, not for the sake of the reward, still less out of fear of punishment; but solely to comply with the divine command not to withhold from another the property which belongs to him."

"Blessed be thy God!" the empress answered, and dismissed the rabbi without further punishment; for had he not done right for right's sake?

The underlined word “dwelling” most nearly means __________.

Adapted from The Rabbi Who Found the Diadem translated from the Talmud by Dr. A. S. Isaacs.

 Great was the alarm in the palace of Rome, which soon spread throughout the entire city. The empress had lost her costly diadem, and it could not be found. They searched in every direction, but all in vain. Half distracted, for the mishap boded no good to her or her house, the empress redoubled her efforts to regain her precious possession, but without result. As a last resource it was proclaimed in the public streets: "The empress has lost a precious diadem. Whoever restores it within thirty days shall receive a princely reward. But he who delays, and brings it after thirty days, shall lose his head."

In those times all nationalities flocked toward Rome; all classes and creeds could be met in its stately halls and crowded thoroughfares. Among the rest was a rabbi, a learned sage from the East, who loved goodness, and lived a righteous life in the stir and turmoil of the Western world. It chanced one night as he was strolling up and down, in busy meditation, beneath the clear, moonlit sky, he saw the diadem sparkling at his feet. He seized it quickly, brought it to his dwelling, where he guarded it carefully until the thirty days had expired, when he resolved to return it to the owner.

He proceeded to the palace, and, undismayed at sight of long lines of soldiery and officials, asked for an audience with the empress.

"What do you mean by this?" she inquired, when he told her his story and gave her the diadem. "Why did you delay until this hour? Did you not know the penalty? Your head must be forfeited."

"I delayed until now," the rabbi answered calmly, "so that you might know that I return your diadem, not for the sake of the reward, still less out of fear of punishment; but solely to comply with the Divine command not to withhold from another the property which belongs to him."

"Blessed be thy God!" the empress answered, and dismissed the rabbi without further punishment; for had he not done right for right's sake?

The underlined word “forfeited” most nearly means __________.