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GED Language Arts Reading Literary Texts Summary

Checked 10/25/26

Reading Literary Texts: key points

  • A theme is a lesson about life the story shows, not a summary of what happens.
  • Infer a character's feelings from actions, words, and reactions in the text.
Importance
★★★★☆ (4 / 5)
Weight
About 8 of 38 Reading Comprehension questions (20%)

Understanding characters, plot, setting, and theme in short fiction excerpts, and inferring feelings and motives from what characters say and do (targets R.2.6, R.3.2, R.3.3).

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Reading Literary Texts: 10 sample questions

Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 1. The fence between the Garcia and Miller yards had leaned for years, and for years each family had waited for the other to fix it. Then a spring storm knocked it flat. The next Saturday, Mr. Miller came out with a hammer and found Mrs. Garcia already there, holding a box of nails. "I suppose it's half mine," she said. "I suppose it is," he said. They worked until noon without saying much. When the last board was nailed in place, Mrs. Garcia went inside and came back with two glasses of lemonade. They stood on either side of the new fence and drank, and for the first time in years, they talked about something other than the fence. Which statement best expresses a theme of the story?

  1. ① It is better to fix things by yourself than to ask for help.
  2. ② Good fences should be built from strong wood.
  3. ③ Storms cause damage that is expensive to repair.
  4. ④ Working together on a shared problem can bring people closer.
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ④ Working together on a shared problem can bring people closer.

Key point: Theme: a life lesson, not a plot summary

The neighbors avoided each other for years, but after fixing the fence together they share lemonade and talk "about something other than the fence." The lesson is that shared work can build a relationship.

Wrong choices

  • "It is better to fix things by yourself than to ask for help.": The story shows the opposite: the neighbors succeed by working together.
  • "Good fences should be built from strong wood.": The story never discusses building materials.
  • "Storms cause damage that is expensive to repair.": The storm is an event in the plot, not the lesson of the story.
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 2. Rosa had worked the morning shift at the diner for nineteen years. She knew which regulars took their coffee black and which wanted the little cream cups lined up in a row. On the morning the new owner announced that the diner would switch to tablets for ordering, Rosa said nothing. She simply tied her apron a little tighter. That afternoon, her grandson Leo found her at the kitchen table, staring at a borrowed tablet as if it might bite. "It's just buttons, Grandma," he said. "Buttons don't know Mr. Patel wants his eggs soft," she answered. But she slid the tablet toward him. "Show me again. Slowly." What does Rosa's request, "Show me again. Slowly," suggest about her?

  1. ① She is unsure about the change but willing to learn.
  2. ② She already knows how to use the tablet well.
  3. ③ She wants Leo to take her shifts.
  4. ④ She has decided to quit her job.
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ① She is unsure about the change but willing to learn.

Key point: Character: infer traits from words and actions

Rosa doubts the tablet ("Buttons don't know Mr. Patel wants his eggs soft"), but she slides it toward Leo and asks him to show her again. She is uneasy yet ready to learn.

Wrong choices

  • "She already knows how to use the tablet well.": She stares at the tablet "as if it might bite" and asks to be shown "again," so she does not know it well.
  • "She wants Leo to take her shifts.": She asks Leo to teach her, not to work for her.
  • "She has decided to quit her job.": Nothing suggests quitting; she is practicing for the new system.
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 3. Every summer, Grandpa took Tomás fishing at the same bend in the river. Tomás found it boring. They sat for hours, often catching nothing, while Grandpa hummed old songs and pointed out herons in the reeds. The summer after Grandpa died, Tomás drove to the river alone. He told himself it was only to scatter a few of Grandpa's things, his faded cap and a lure he had painted himself. But he stayed until the sun went down. He watched a heron step slowly through the shallow water, and he found himself humming, though he could not remember when he had learned the tune. Why does Tomás most likely stay at the river until sunset?

  1. ① He finally catches a large fish.
  2. ② He is waiting for a friend to arrive.
  3. ③ Being there helps him feel close to his grandfather.
  4. ④ His car will not start.
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Answer: ③ Being there helps him feel close to his grandfather.

Key point: Motives: infer why a character acts

Tomás came only to leave Grandpa's things, but he stays, watches a heron as Grandpa used to point out, and hums one of Grandpa's tunes. The place connects him to the grandfather he lost.

Wrong choices

  • "He finally catches a large fish.": The story never says he catches a fish on this trip.
  • "He is waiting for a friend to arrive.": He drove to the river alone, and no friend is mentioned.
  • "His car will not start.": Nothing about his car is mentioned.
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 4. Coach Bell blew her whistle and called the team in. They had lost every game that season, and the last one by twenty points. "I'm not going to talk about the score," she said. "I want each of you to tell me one thing you did better today than you did last month." The girls looked at each other. Finally, Keisha mumbled, "I made two free throws." Then Ana said she had stopped trying to dribble with her eyes on the ball. One by one, they all found something. "That," said Coach Bell, "is what I'll remember about this season." What does Coach Bell value most, based on the passage?

  1. ① Each player's personal improvement
  2. ② Keeping the team's losses a secret
  3. ③ Winning games by many points
  4. ④ Having one star player
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Answer: ① Each player's personal improvement

Key point: Character values: infer from what a character asks for

The coach refuses to talk about the score and asks each player to name one thing she did better than last month. She ends by saying that is what she will remember. She values growth over winning.

Wrong choices

  • "Keeping the team's losses a secret": Nothing suggests she wants to hide the losses; she simply focuses elsewhere.
  • "Winning games by many points": The team lost every game, and she chooses not to discuss the score.
  • "Having one star player": She asks every player to speak, not just one.
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 5. Marcus checked his reflection in the bus window for the third time. His tie was straight, but his hands would not stop shaking. He had practiced his answers all week in front of the bathroom mirror while his daughter giggled from the hallway. At the office, the receptionist told him to wait. Another applicant sat across from him in a sharp gray suit, reading a thick folder. Marcus looked down at his single printed page. When his name was called, he stood, took a breath, and thought of his daughter's note tucked in his pocket: "You got this, Dad." He walked in smiling. What change in Marcus takes place over the course of the passage?

  1. ① He moves from nervous doubt to calm confidence.
  2. ② He moves from confidence to fear.
  3. ③ He stays nervous from beginning to end.
  4. ④ He moves from anger to sadness.
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ① He moves from nervous doubt to calm confidence.

Key point: Character change: compare the beginning and the end

At the start his hands shake, and in the waiting room he compares himself to another applicant. At the end, he takes a breath, thinks of his daughter's note, and walks in smiling.

Wrong choices

  • "He moves from confidence to fear.": The order is reversed: he begins nervous and ends confident.
  • "He stays nervous from beginning to end.": He walks in smiling, which shows a change from his earlier nerves.
  • "He moves from anger to sadness.": The story shows no anger or sadness.
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 6. Rosa had worked the morning shift at the diner for nineteen years. She knew which regulars took their coffee black and which wanted the little cream cups lined up in a row. On the morning the new owner announced that the diner would switch to tablets for ordering, Rosa said nothing. She simply tied her apron a little tighter. That afternoon, her grandson Leo found her at the kitchen table, staring at a borrowed tablet as if it might bite. "It's just buttons, Grandma," he said. "Buttons don't know Mr. Patel wants his eggs soft," she answered. But she slid the tablet toward him. "Show me again. Slowly." Where does most of Rosa's work take place?

  1. ① At a school kitchen
  2. ② At a grocery store
  3. ③ At a hospital
  4. ④ At a diner
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ④ At a diner

Key point: Setting: where and when the story happens

The first sentence says Rosa "had worked the morning shift at the diner for nineteen years," and the story mentions regulars, coffee, and ordering.

Wrong choices

  • "At a school kitchen": Leo is her grandson, but the story never mentions a school kitchen.
  • "At a grocery store": Nothing in the story mentions a grocery store.
  • "At a hospital": No hospital appears in the story.
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 7. The fence between the Garcia and Miller yards had leaned for years, and for years each family had waited for the other to fix it. Then a spring storm knocked it flat. The next Saturday, Mr. Miller came out with a hammer and found Mrs. Garcia already there, holding a box of nails. "I suppose it's half mine," she said. "I suppose it is," he said. They worked until noon without saying much. When the last board was nailed in place, Mrs. Garcia went inside and came back with two glasses of lemonade. They stood on either side of the new fence and drank, and for the first time in years, they talked about something other than the fence. What event leads the neighbors to finally repair the fence?

  1. ① A storm knocks the fence down.
  2. ② Mr. Miller sells his house.
  3. ③ The city orders them to fix it.
  4. ④ Mrs. Garcia hires a builder.
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ① A storm knocks the fence down.

Key point: Plot: find the event that starts the action

For years each family waited for the other. "Then a spring storm knocked it flat," and the next Saturday they both came out to fix it.

Wrong choices

  • "Mr. Miller sells his house.": Nothing in the story says Mr. Miller is moving.
  • "The city orders them to fix it.": No city order is mentioned.
  • "Mrs. Garcia hires a builder.": Mrs. Garcia brings nails and works on the fence herself; no builder is hired.
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 8. Every summer, Grandpa took Tomás fishing at the same bend in the river. Tomás found it boring. They sat for hours, often catching nothing, while Grandpa hummed old songs and pointed out herons in the reeds. The summer after Grandpa died, Tomás drove to the river alone. He told himself it was only to scatter a few of Grandpa's things, his faded cap and a lure he had painted himself. But he stayed until the sun went down. He watched a heron step slowly through the shallow water, and he found himself humming, though he could not remember when he had learned the tune. How did Tomás feel about the fishing trips when Grandpa was alive?

  1. ① He found them boring.
  2. ② He found them exciting.
  3. ③ He was afraid of the river.
  4. ④ He liked catching many fish.
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ① He found them boring.

Key point: Stated feelings: sometimes the text says it directly

The story says plainly, "Tomás found it boring." They sat for hours, often catching nothing.

Wrong choices

  • "He found them exciting.": The text states the opposite: he found the trips boring.
  • "He was afraid of the river.": Nothing suggests he was afraid of the river.
  • "He liked catching many fish.": The story says they were "often catching nothing."
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 9. Marcus checked his reflection in the bus window for the third time. His tie was straight, but his hands would not stop shaking. He had practiced his answers all week in front of the bathroom mirror while his daughter giggled from the hallway. At the office, the receptionist told him to wait. Another applicant sat across from him in a sharp gray suit, reading a thick folder. Marcus looked down at his single printed page. When his name was called, he stood, took a breath, and thought of his daughter's note tucked in his pocket: "You got this, Dad." He walked in smiling. How does Marcus feel on the bus?

  1. ① Nervous
  2. ② Bored
  3. ③ Angry
  4. ④ Sleepy
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ① Nervous

Key point: Feelings from physical details

Marcus checks his reflection three times and "his hands would not stop shaking." These details show he is nervous.

Wrong choices

  • "Bored": Checking his reflection again and again shows worry, not boredom.
  • "Angry": Nothing in the scene suggests anger.
  • "Sleepy": Shaking hands and repeated checking show he is alert and anxious, not sleepy.
Practice questionReviewedReading Comprehension › Reading Literary Texts★★★★☆

Question 10. The wind had been rising since noon, and by evening the old farmhouse groaned like a ship at sea. Nora lit the oil lamp just before the power failed. Outside, branches scraped the windows, and somewhere a gate banged again and again. Her younger brother, Eli, pulled his blanket over his head. "What if the roof blows off?" Nora set the lamp on the table and opened the checkerboard. "Then we'll have the best view of the stars in the county," she said. "Red or black?" Eli peeked out. After a moment, he chose red. What does Nora do to help her brother during the storm?

  1. ① She takes him to a neighbor's house.
  2. ② She calls their parents on the phone.
  3. ③ She goes outside to fix the gate.
  4. ④ She starts a game of checkers with him.
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ④ She starts a game of checkers with him.

Key point: Plot details: what a character does

Nora sets the lamp on the table, opens the checkerboard, and asks, "Red or black?" She uses a game to calm Eli.

Wrong choices

  • "She takes him to a neighbor's house.": They stay inside the farmhouse.
  • "She calls their parents on the phone.": No phone call is mentioned.
  • "She goes outside to fix the gate.": The gate keeps banging; Nora does not go outside.

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Reading Literary Texts: 5 questions →Reading Comprehension: 5 questions →

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