Reading Comprehension Worksheet 1

In order to get really good at reading comprehension (understanding vocabulary in context, making inferences, determining the authors purpose, etc.), you need to practice. Thats where a reading comprehension worksheet like this one comes in handy. If you need even more practice, check out more reading comprehension worksheets here. Directions: The passage below is followed by questions based on its content; answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. Printable PDFs: Escaping Adolescence Reading Comprehension Worksheet | Escaping Adolescence Reading Comprehension Worksheet Answer Key From Escaping the Endless Adolescence by Joseph Allen and Claudia Worrell Allen. Copyright  © 2009 by Joseph Allen and Claudia Worrell Allen. As 15-year-old Perry shuffled into my office, with his parents trailing tentatively behind, he glanced at me with a strained neutral expression that Id found usually masked either great anger or great distress; in Perrys case it was both. Although anorexia is a disorder most often associated with girls, Perry was the third in a line of anorexic boys I had recently seen. When he came to see me, Perrys weight had dropped to within 10 pounds of the threshold requiring forced hospitalization, yet he denied there was any problem. He just wont eat, his mother began. Then, turning to Perry as if to show me the routine theyd been enacting, she asked with tears in her eyes, Perry, why cant you at least have a simple dinner with us? Perry refused to eat with his family, always claiming he wasnt hungry at the time and that he preferred to eat later in his room, except that that rarely happened. New menus, gentle encouragement, veiled threats, nagging, and outright bribes had all been tried, to no avail. Why would an otherwise healthy 15-year-old boy be starving himself? The question hung urgently in the air as we all talked. Lets be clear from the outset. Perry was a smart, good kid: shy, unassuming, and generally unlikely to cause trouble. He was getting straight As in a challenging and competitive public school honors curriculum that spring. And he later told me that he hadnt gotten a B on his report card since fourth grade. In some ways he was every parents dream child. But beneath his academic success, Perry faced a world of troubles, and while he took awhile to get to know, eventually the problems came pouring out. The problems werent what Id expected, though. Perry wasnt abused, he didnt do drugs, and his family wasnt driven by conflict. Rather, at first glance, his problems would seem more like typical adolescent complaints. And they were, in a way. But it was only as I got to understand him that I realized the adolescent problems Perry experienced werent just occasional irritations, as theyd been for me and my cohort as teens, but rather, had grown to the point where they cast a large shadow over much of his day-to-day world. Id later come to realize that Perry wasnt alone in that regard. One big problem was that while Perry was a strong achiever, he was not at all a happy one. I hate waking up in the morning because theres all this stuff I have to do, he said. I just keep making lists of things to do and checking them off each day. Not just schoolwork, but extracurricular activities, so I can get into a good college. Once he got started, Perrys discontent spilled out in a frustrated monologue. Theres so much to do, and I have to really work to get myself motivated because I feel like none of it really matters... but its really important I do it anyway. At the end of it all, I stay up late, I get all my homework done, and I study really hard for all my tests, and what do I get to show for it all? A single sheet of paper with five or six letters on it. Its just stupid! Perry was gifted enough to jump through the academic hoops that had been set for him, but it felt like little more than hoop-jumping, and this ate at him. But that wasnt his only problem. Perry was well loved by his parents, as are most of the young people we see. But in their efforts to nurture and support him, his parents inadvertently increased his mental strain. Over time, they had taken on all his household chores, in order to leave him more time for schoolwork and activities. Thats his top priority, they said almost in unison when I asked about this. Although removing the chores from Perrys plate gave him a bit more time, it ultimately left him feeling even more useless and tense. He never really did anything for anyone except suck up their time and money, and he knew it. And if he thought about backing off on his schoolwork...well, look how much his parents were pouring into making it go well. Sandwiched between fury and guilt, Perry had literally begun to wither. Reading Comprehension Worksheet Questions 1. This passage is narrated from the point of view of(A) a college professor studying the effects of bulimia on young males.(B) a young male named Perry, struggling with the effects of anorexia.(C) a concerned therapist who works with struggling young adults.(D) a doctor who treats eating, compulsive, and sleeping disorders.(E) a college student working on a thesis about eating disorders in young males. Answer with Explanation 2. According to the passage, Perrys two biggest problems were(A) being an unhappy achiever and his parents increase of his mental strain.(B) his poor attitude toward school and his consumption of everyones time and money.(C) his fury and guilt.(D) drug abuse and conflict within the family.(E) his inability to prioritize and anorexia. Answer with Explanation 3. The primary purpose of the passage is to(A) describe one young mans struggle with anorexia and, in doing so, provide possible reasons a young person may resort to an eating disorder.(B) advocate for young males who are struggling with an eating disorder and the decisions theyve made that have brought them to that struggle.(C) compare one young persons fight against his parents and the eating disorder that is ruining his life to the life of a typical teenager.(D) relate an emotional reaction to the shock of an eating disorder, such as that of Perrys, a typical young adult.(E) explain how todays youth often develop eating disorders and other terrible issues in their overactive lives. Answer with Explanation 4. The author uses which of the following in the sentence starting paragraph 4: But beneath his academic success, Perry faced a world of troubles, and while he took awhile to get to know, eventually the problems came pouring out?  (A) personification(B) simile(C) anecdote(D) irony(E) metaphor Answer with Explanation 5. In the second sentence of the last paragraph, the word inadvertently most nearly means(A) steadily(B) monumentally(C) incrementally(D) mistakenly(E) surreptitiously Answer with Explanation More Reading Comprehension Practice