"The Last Dog" - Grade 7 Reading Comprehension Questions PDF

Name: Date: “The Last Dog” Katherine Paterson FIRST READ: Comprehension Identify the choice that best answers the question. 1. Where is Brock at the beginning...

Name: Date: “The Last Dog” Katherine Paterson FIRST READ: Comprehension Identify the choice that best answers the question. 1. Where is Brock at the beginning of “The Last Dog”? a. He is inside a research lab. b. He is beside a running brook. c. He is near a quarantine station. d. He is at the gates of a sealed dome. 2. In “The Last Dog,” why is Brock nervous about going outside the dome? a. He realizes that his protective suit may be worn out and may fail. b. He thinks he will run out of liquid and food tablets. c. He has heard that people who leave never return. d. He fears that he may get lost in the mountains. 3. In “The Last Dog,” what does Brock do when he finds the puppy? a. He calls for help on his scanner. b. He takes her inside the dome. c. He leaves her under the tree. d. He searches for her parents. 4. What do the scientists plan to do with Brog, the puppy, in “The Last Dog”? a. They plan to experiment on her. b. They plan to free her into the wild. c. They plan to sell her to fund research. d. They plan to breed her with another dog. 5. At the end of “The Last Dog,” why do the scientists let Brock and Brog leave the dome? a. The scientists have completed their experiments on Brog. b. The scientists want to observe Brock and Brog’s activity outside. c. The scientists think that Brock and Brog have a dangerous disease. d. The scientists realize that Brog will survive only by returning to the wild. © by Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 1  GRADE 7 UNIT 2 SELECTION TEST “THE LAST DOG” BY KATHERINE PATERSON Name: Date: FIRST READ: Concept Vocabulary Identify the choice that best answers the question. 6. Which of the following could best be described as threatening? a. a soaring bird b. a hungry kitten c. a shivering mouse d. a hissing rattlesnake 7. If scientists discover the bones of what can correctly be described as an extinct animal, which of the following must be true? Base your answer on the meaning of extinct. a. There is evidence that the animal was a warm-blooded creature. b. There are no longer any living members of that type of animal. c. There is proof that the animal moved from place to place. d. There are several species that look similar to the animal. 8. What is the most likely meaning of mutation in the following sentence? Some cats have a mutation that causes them to have six toes on each paw. a. The mutation is a special talent. b. The mutation is a serious illness. c. The mutation is a genetic variation. d. The mutation is something common in cats. CLOSE READ: Analyze the Text Identify the choice that best answers the question. 9. Read this excerpt from “The Last Dog.” It was, he pulled the scanner from his outside pouch and checked it, “hot.” Oh, that was what he was feeling. Hot. He remembered “hot” from a virtual lesson he’d had once on deserts. From the excerpt, identify what is most likely true about the people who live in the dome. a. They tend to forget what they learn in lessons. b. They know little about extreme sensations. c. They have difficulty identifying words. d. They prefer to feel cold rather than hot. © by Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2  GRADE 7 UNIT 2 SELECTION TEST “THE LAST DOG” BY KATHERINE PATERSON Name: Date: 10. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part A Which word best describes how Brock feels about the “ancient fictions” that he interacts with in “The Last Dog”? a. bored b. intrigued c. confused d. suspicious Part B Which sentence from “The Last Dog” best supports the answer to Part A? a. Things happened in these fictions more—well, more densely than they did in the virtuals. b. But even though the people in the ancient fictions frightened him a bit, he couldn’t get enough of them. c. And now he was in that world they spoke of and the mountains of it were in plain view. d. He suddenly realized that ever since he started interfacing with the ancient fictions, his fellows had given him that look. 11. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part A How is the reader most likely meant to feel at the end of “The Last Dog”? a. sorrowful about the loss of Brog b. hopeful about Brock and Brog’s future c. angry that Brock has had to leave the dome d. curious about the scientists’ plans for Brock and Brog Part B Which sentence from “The Last Dog” best supports the answer to Part A? a. Out of sight of the dome, Brog was delirious with joy, jumping and running about.... b. It was wonderful how much faster [Brock] could walk without the clumsy suit. c. “And maybe, just maybe, where there are dogs, there are humans as well.” d. They stopped at the brook where they’d met, and both of them had a long drink. © by Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 3  GRADE 7 UNIT 2 SELECTION TEST “THE LAST DOG” BY KATHERINE PATERSON Name: Date: 12. Read this quotation from “The Last Dog.” There was an old proverb: The key to survival is efficiency. Which detail from the story best reflects the meaning of the proverb? a. The dome-dwellers generally do not leave the safety of the dome. b. The dome-dwellers enjoy playing virtual games in their free time. c. The dome-dwellers eat ready-made pellets instead of cooked meals. d. The dome-dwellers are conditioned to fear danger from a young age. CLOSE READ: Analyze Craft and Structure Identify the choice that best answers the question. 13. In “The Last Dog,” what internal conflicts create struggles for Brock? Choose three options. a. He knows that caring for a puppy is a lot of work, but he wants to adopt Brog. b. He knows that making friends is hard, but he wants his podfellows to like him. c. He knows that drinking from the brook is risky, but he wants to taste the water. d. He knows that leaving the dome could be dangerous, but he wants to go outside. e. He knows that the ancient fictions are rather unpopular, but he wants to explore them. 14. Read the following conversation between two researchers in “The Last Dog.” “Cloning—it’s the only thing to do. If she’s the last, we owe it to posterity to keep the line going.” “And how are we going to raise a pack of dogs in a dome? One is nearly eating and drinking us out of test tube and petri dish. We can’t go on this way....” In what way does this conversation illustrate an external conflict? a. It shows a struggle that cannot be resolved. b. It shows a struggle between two characters. c. It shows a struggle within a character’s mind. d. It shows a struggle caused by miscommunication. © by Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 4  GRADE 7 UNIT 2 SELECTION TEST “THE LAST DOG” BY KATHERINE PATERSON Name: Date: 15. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part A In “The Last Dog,” Brock struggles with the researchers over what to do with Brog. How does Brock create a resolution for that conflict? a. He finds a second puppy to be a friend for Brog. b. He makes Brog attack one of the researchers. c. He keeps Brog in the lab for more testing. d. He uses Brog to create a fear of disease. Part B Which sentence from “The Last Dog” shows most clearly that the resolution identified in Part A has been successful? a. Brog, surprised and enraged, spun around and bit Brock on the nose. b. Every scientist leaned backward, body pressed hard against his or her chair back. c. Someone ran to a computer terminal. d. When Brock offered to take Brog out of the dome and let her loose in the mountains, no one argued. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Word Study Identify the choice that best answers the question. 16. What part of speech does the Latin suffix -tion create when added to the end of a word? a. an adjective b. an adverb c. a noun d. a verb 17. The verb donate means “to give for a good cause.” Use this information as well as your knowledge of the suffix -tion to select the correct definition of donation. a. without a good cause b. to give a gift for a good cause c. having the quality of a good cause d. something that is given for a good cause © by Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 5  GRADE 7 UNIT 2 SELECTION TEST “THE LAST DOG” BY KATHERINE PATERSON Name: Date: LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Conventions Identify the choice that best answers the question. 18. Which words in the following sentence form the compound subject? Carmen and Lola are my sisters, and they enjoy reading about space travel to Mars. a. Carmen, Lola b. sisters, they c. space, travel d. space, Mars 19. Which of the following sentences contains a compound predicate? a. Astronauts float without gravity. b. Astronauts wear special spacesuits. c. Astronauts record and report space data. d. Astronauts and astronomers study space. 20. Read the following sentence. Mr. Chan thinks that humans could build a city on the moon. The word thinks is which of the following? a. a simple subject b. a simple predicate c. a compound subject d. a compound predicate © by Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 6