TELPAS Practice

What does the second sentence mean? (From a Local News Report)

Understand Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grades 10–12 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 1: work out what words and phrases mean from context, and understand how sentences and word forms work.

Read the text. Then answer the question.

From a Local News Report

The city had promised for years to repair the drainage ditch behind Fairview Street. Not until the third flood in two years filled their garages with water did residents finally see a crew arrive with equipment.

The question

Choose the best answer.

What does the second sentence mean?

  • The crew came only after the third flood.Correct answer
  • The repair crew arrived before the floods began.
  • The residents never saw a repair crew arrive.
  • The third flood did not reach the residents' garages.

Why “The crew came only after the third flood.” is correct

This tests an inverted sentence structure that often confuses English learners. 'Not until X did Y happen' means Y happened only after X. Rewriting it in normal order, 'Residents did not see a crew until the third flood', makes the meaning clear.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • The repair crew arrived before the floods began. — 'Not until' means the crew came after the event, not before it.
  • The residents never saw a repair crew arrive. — The sentence says they 'did finally see a crew arrive', so a crew came.
  • The third flood did not reach the residents' garages. — The sentence says the flood 'filled their garages with water'.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 10–12, or see the TELPAS practice test for 10th–12th grade.

This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.