Reading Comprehension · Grade 7

Name Date

The Stopwatch

Story · 5 questions · 424 words

1 Tessa Halvorsen checked her watch after every single lap, the way some people check their phones for messages. At the end of each practice, she copied her times into a green notebook, and whenever a number went up instead of down, she sulked all the way home. So when Coach Pell announced that the team would leave their watches in their bags for the rest of the season, Tessa was the first to argue, "How will I ever know if I'm getting faster?" Coach Pell lifted the old silver stopwatch that hung around her neck on a faded red cord and said simply, "I'll know."

2 For three weeks, Tessa ran without her numbers, and it felt like walking through a dark house. She kept guessing at every turn of the track: too slow, too fast, too slow again. Coach Pell clicked the stopwatch at the beginning and end of every run, but she never once read a time aloud. Instead she offered comments like "Your arms were loose today" or "You gave up on the last curve again." Tessa rolled her eyes whenever she thought the coach wasn't looking, because loose arms were not something you could write down in a notebook.

3 At the league meet, Tessa lined up for the 1,600 meters, four laps of the track, with nothing on her wrist at all. During the first lap, she reached for a watch that was not there, so she concentrated on her breathing instead. During the second, she noticed her shoulders creeping up toward her ears and deliberately let them drop. By the final lap, two runners were still ahead of her, and her legs felt as heavy as wet sand. On the last curve, exactly where she usually gave up, she pumped her arms harder and caught one of them a single step before the finish line.

4 Afterward, still gasping, Tessa found Coach Pell beside the fence and immediately asked, "What was my time?" The coach unhooked the stopwatch and placed it in Tessa's hand, and Tessa saw that the glass was cracked and both hands were stuck at zero. "It hasn't worked in years," Coach Pell admitted. "I just like the click." Tessa stared at it. "Then how did you know if I was getting faster?" "I watched you," the coach said with a shrug. "Somebody had to, since you were only watching your wrist." That night, Tessa opened her green notebook, and next to the date, where a time usually went, she wrote four words: loose arms, last curve.

Written for PlayOwl

Questions

Read the passage. Fill in the circle next to the best answer, or every box that fits when a question says "Choose all that are true". Name the paragraph that proves each answer.

  1. 1In paragraph 2, running without her numbers "felt like walking through a dark house." What does this simile show about Tessa?

    • She is afraid of running by herself after the sun goes down.
    • She feels unsure, since she cannot tell how fast she is going.
    • She is bored with practicing on the same school track every day.
    • She feels certain she will run her best time at the league meet.

    Evidence: paragraph

  1. 2At the start of the story, how do Tessa and Coach Pell see a runner's progress differently?

    • Tessa thinks progress depends on her coach, and the coach thinks it depends on luck.
    • Tessa thinks progress means beating other runners, and the coach thinks it means having fun.
    • Tessa measures progress in times; the coach sees it in how a runner moves and tries.
    • Tessa thinks she is getting slower, and the coach thinks Tessa is already fast enough.

    Evidence: paragraph

  2. 3Which sentences show Tessa using what Coach Pell told the team during the race? Choose all that are true.

    More than one answer. Fill in every box that fits.

    • "During the first lap, she reached for a watch that was not there …"
    • "During the second, she noticed her shoulders creeping up toward her ears and deliberately let them drop."
    • "By the final lap, two runners were still ahead of her, and her legs felt as heavy as wet sand."
    • "On the last curve, exactly where she usually gave up, she pumped her arms harder and caught one of them …"
    • "Afterward, still gasping, Tessa found Coach Pell beside the fence …"

    Evidence: paragraph

  3. 4In paragraph 1, Coach Pell says, "I'll know." What does the end of the story suggest she meant?

    • She meant she would look up Tessa's times in the official meet results.
    • She meant she could judge the times from the sound of the stopwatch.
    • She meant she expected Tessa to tell her how every practice had felt.
    • She meant she would judge Tessa's progress by watching her, not by timing her.

    Evidence: paragraph

  4. 5Which statement best expresses a theme of the story?

    • Keeping careful records of every result is the only sure way to improve.
    • Noticing how you do something can matter more than measuring it.
    • Coaches should always tell their runners the truth about their race times.
    • Old equipment works just as well as new equipment if you take care of it.

    Evidence: paragraph