DTW GED PREP

The plot of a story is the series of events that happen. Most stories have a problem (something goes wrong or needs to be done) and a resolution (how the problem is solved).

Story Summary:

Pat loves animals and keeps many of them in her house. Besides the usual pets (cats, a dog, and fish), she also has more unusual ones like a turtle, a lizard, a spider, and a snake—plus a pen full of rabbits in the yard.

One day, Pat brings a mouse home from school and hides it in a shoebox. When her mother finds it, she gets very upset and says the “zoo” has to end. She insists Pat must give away most of the animals and only keep the dog and two cats.

At first, Pat is sad. But instead of staying sad, she finds a way to stay connected with animals—she volunteers at a nearby pet hospital. She cleans cages and walks dogs after school. In the end, Pat, the animals, and her mom are all happy.

Question 1: What was Pat’s problem?

A. She wanted more animals for her zoo.

B. She could not keep the mouse in the box.

C. Her mother was not able to take care of all of the animals.

D. Her mother wanted to find other homes for some of her pets.

Correct answer: D. Her mother wanted to find other homes for some of her pets.

Why?
The main issue is that Pat’s mother thinks there are too many animals in the house. She says, “This zoo has got to go,” and only lets Pat keep a few pets.

Question 2: Which quotation from the story supports the central problem?

A. “Pat’s house was full of animals.”

B. “Outside she had a pen full of rabbits.”

C. ““This zoo has got to go.’”

D. “Pat was happy, the animals were happy and so was her mother.”

Correct answer: C. “This zoo has got to go.”

Why?
This quote clearly shows the problem—Pat’s mom is putting her foot down and wants most of the animals gone.

Question 3: Which quotation from the story supports the resolution?

A. “Pat missed her animal friends.”

B. “For a while she felt very sad.”

C. “There was a pet hospital a few blocks away.”

D. “she helped the sick animals at the hospital.”

Correct answer: D. “she helped the sick animals at the hospital.”

Why?
This is the solution to Pat’s problem. She can’t keep all her animals, but she finds another way to be around them by helping out at the pet hospital.

QUESTIONS

 Directions: Read the following text, which is excerpted from Mr. Travers’ First Hunt by Richard Harding Davis. Then answer the questions that follow.

       Young Travers, who had been engaged to a girl down on Long Island, only met her father and brother a few weeks before the day set for the wedding. The father and son talked about horses all day and until one in the morning, for they owned fast thoroughbreds, and entered them at race tracks. Old Mr. Paddock, the father of the girl to whom Travers was engaged, had often said that when a young man asked him for his daughter’s hand he would ask him in return, not if he had lived straight, but if he could ride straight.

       Travers was invited to their place in the fall when the fox-hunting season opened, and spent the evening most pleasantly and satisfactorily with his fiancée in a corner of the drawing-room.

       But as soon as the women had gone, young Paddock joined him and said, “You ride, of course?” Travers had never ridden; but he had been prompted how to answer by Miss Paddock, and so said there was nothing he liked better.

       “That’s good,” said Paddock. “I’ll give you Monster tomorrow morning at the meet. He is a bit nasty at the start of the season; and eversince he killed Wallis, the second groom, last year, none of us care much to ride him. But you can manage him, no doubt.”

       Mr. Travers dreamed that night of taking large, desperate leaps into space on a wild horse that snorted forth flames, and that rose at solid stone walls as though they were haystacks.

       He came downstairs the next morning looking very miserable indeed. Monster had been taken to the place where they were to meet, and Travers viewed him on his arrival there with a sickening sense of fear as he saw him pulling three grooms off their feet.

       Travers decided that he would stay with his feet on solid earth just as long as he could, and when the hounds were sent off and the rest had started at a gallop, he waited until they were all well away. Then he

 scrambled up onto the saddle and the next instant he was off after the others, with a feeling that he was on a locomotive that was jumping the ties. Monster had passed the other horses in less than five minutes.

       Travers had taken hold of the saddle with his left hand to keep himself down, and sawed and swayed on the reins with his right. He shut his eyes whenever Monster jumped, and never knew how he happened to stick on; but he did stick on, and was so far ahead that no one could see in the misty morning just how badly he rode. As it was, for daring and speed he led the field.

 There was a broad stream in front of him, and a hill just on its other side. No one had ever tried to take this at a jump. It was considered more of a swim than anything else, and the hunters always crossed it by the bridge.

 Travers saw the bridge and tried to jerk Monster’s head in that direction; but Monster kept right on as straight as an express train over the prairie.

       Travers could only gasp and shut his eyes. He remembered the fate of the second groom and shivered. Then the horse rose like a rocket, lifting Travers so high in the air that he thought Monster would never come down again; but he did come down, on the opposite side of the stream. The next instant he was up and over the hill, and had stopped panting in the very center of the pack of hounds that were snarling and snapping around the fox.

       And then Travers hastily fumbled for his cigar case, and when the others came pounding up over the bridge and around the hill, they saw him seated nonchalantly on his saddle, puffing critically at a cigar, and giving Monster patronizing pats on the head.

       “My dear girl,” said old Mr. Paddock to his daughter as they rode back, “if you love that young man of yours and want to keep him, make him promise to give up riding. A more reckless and more brilliant horseman I have never seen. He took that jump at that stream like a centaur. But he will break his neck sooner or later, and he ought to be stopped.”

       Young Paddock was so delighted with his prospective brother-inlaw’s great riding that that night in the smoking-room he made him a present of Monster before all the men.

       “No,” said Travers, gloomily, “I can’t take him. Your sister has asked me to give up what is dearer to me than anything next to herself, and that is my riding. She has asked me to promise never to ride again, and I have given my word.”

       A chorus of sympathy rose from the men.

       “Yes, I know,” said Travers to her brother, “it is rough, but it just shows what sacrifices a man will make for the woman he loves.”

 5.   Which of the following best describes Travers’ problem?

 A.   He is fearful of asking young Paddock how to ride.

 B.   He worries that his fiancée does not really care for him.

 C.   He wants to impress his fiancée’s family, but he is afraid.

 D.   He wants to impress young Paddock, but he does not know how.

 6.   How does Travers give the impression that he is an excellent rider?

 A.   by getting Monster to do several jumps

 B.   by showing that he is skilled in handling the horse

 C.   by bragging a lot about his riding ability after the hunt

 D.   by managing to stay on Monster as the horse goes wildly onward

7.   Which of the following best explains why Travers did not take the bridge over the stream?

 A.   He preferred to jump over it.

 B.   His fiancée warned him not to.

 C.   He couldn’t get Monster to go over to it.

 D.   He wanted to show off his courage and skill.

 8.   In paragraph 4, what is one probable reason that young Paddock chose Monster for Travers to ride?

 A.   He wants to test Travers.

 B.   He wants to upset his sister.

 C.   He wants to please Travers.

 D.   He thinks Travers deserves the best horse.

ANSWERS

Excerpt from Mr. Travers’ First Hunt by Richard Harding Davis

5. What best describes Travers’ problem?
✅ Answer: C. He wants to impress his fiancée’s family, but he is afraid.
Explanation:
Travers lies about knowing how to ride and fears for his safety but goes through with it to impress his future in-laws.

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6. How does Travers give the impression that he is an excellent rider?
✅ Answer: D. by managing to stay on Monster as the horse goes wildly onward
Explanation:
Though inexperienced and terrified, Travers accidentally leads the hunt and completes daring jumps, giving the illusion of skill.

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7. Why did Travers not take the bridge?
✅ Answer: C. He couldn’t get Monster to go over to it.
Explanation:
Travers tried to steer Monster toward the bridge, but the horse wouldn’t obey, showing he wasn’t in control of the situation.

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8. In paragraph 4, why did young Paddock choose Monster for Travers?
✅ Answer: A. He wants to test Travers.
Explanation:
He mentions the horse’s dangerous nature and expects Travers to prove himself. It’s a test of courage and ability.