Quinsigamond Community College Adult Basic Education Program

ESOL INITIAL ASSESSMENT

GRW: Part B

 

Reading Comprehension

 

ANNIE'S STORY

I brought a very excited heart to the United States. I was born in China and I grew up there.

I thought I would be very happy to live in the wonderful city of San Francisco. But I was wrong. I felt very lonely. I cried when I thought about my family and friends back in China. Eventually I decided to go to school to learn English.

On my first day in school, I made a mistake. I was very embarrassed. On the application form, I wrote my name in the Chinese way. I didn't know what last name and first name meant. Then the teacher called everyone's name. Everyone answered, except me. I thought she did not call my name. I asked her, but she said she had already called everybody's name.

Then she checked the list. She saw that I had made a mistake in my name. She taught the class the difference between writing a name in China and in the United States. I was embarrassed, but I enjoyed learning something new. Then I knew that a positive attitude would help me learn to speak and write English very soon.

Still, two years later, every time I write my name on an application form, it reminds me of that first day in class.

 

Reading Comprehension Questions

 

Read the questions carefully and circle the correct answer:

 

1. Where was Annie from?

a. China

b. San Francisco

c. The United States

 

2. Where does Annie live now?

a. China

b. San Francisco

c. New York

 

3. Why wasn't Annie happy in the United States?

a. Because it was a wonderful place

b. Because she decided to study English

c. Because she missed her family and friends

 

4. What mistake did Annie make in writing her name?

 

She put her last name first.

She didn't spell it correctly.

She wrote it in Chinese.

 

5. Annie says, "On the first day of school, I made a mistake. I was very embarrassed."
What does the word "embarrassed" mean?

a. Angry

b. Ashamed

c. Stupid

 

6. Annie says, "Then I knew that a positive attitude would help me."
What does "Positive attitude" mean?

a. She needed help with her English.

b. She didn't feel confident and optimistic about her ability to learn English.

c. She felt confident and optimistic about her ability to learn English.

 

7. From reading the story, what do you think Annie will do in the future?

a. She will go back to China soon.

b. She will stay in San Francisco.

c. She will move to New York.

SCORING

 

# Correct	SPL 1-2	SPL 3-4	SPL 5-6	SPL 7-8	SPL 9-100
	0 to 4	5 to 9	10 to 14	14 to 19	20 to 22

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Originally published in Adventures in Assessment, Volume 13 (Spring 2001),
SABES/World Education, Boston, MA, Copyright 2001.

Funding support for the publication of this document on the Web provided in part by the Ohio State Literacy Resource Center as part of the LINCS Assessment Special Collection.