Why does Annie soften the teacher's words?
Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grades 10–12 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 3: make inferences, draw conclusions, and think about why the author wrote a text and how it is built.
Read the story. Then answer the questions.
The Interpreter
Annie had interpreted for her mother at the pharmacy, the bank, and the doctor's office, but never at a parent-teacher conference for her little brother, Andy. She sat between her mother and Mr. Garrison at a desk built for third graders, her knees almost touching her chin.
"Andy is a bright kid," Mr. Garrison began, and Annie put it into Vietnamese. Her mother smiled and nodded.
"His reading has improved a lot this year. He's moved up two levels." Annie translated that too, and her mother's smile grew.
Then Mr. Garrison turned a page in his folder. "What we need to work on is his behavior during group work. He talks over the other students, and twice this month he refused to let anyone else hold the materials. He's been sent to the hallway to calm down three times."
Annie hesitated. She looked at her mother's hopeful face and thought about the long drive home, about how quiet her mother got when she was disappointed. "He says Andy sometimes talks too much in groups," she said in Vietnamese. "He's working on it."
Her mother nodded slowly. Mr. Garrison went on to explain a chart he wanted Andy to fill out each day, and Annie translated every word of it carefully, as if being exact now could make up for what she had left out.
When they reached the car, her mother didn't start the engine right away. She sat with both hands on the wheel.
"Three times in the hallway," she said in Vietnamese. "That is not 'sometimes talks too much.'"
Annie's face went hot. "You understood?"
"I understand more English than I speak," her mother said. "And I understand my daughter. You wanted to protect me. But I can't help Andy with a problem I don't know about."
Annie stared at the dashboard. "I'm sorry."
Her mother started the car. "Next time," she said, "tell me everything. Let me decide what is too heavy to carry."
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why does Annie soften the teacher's words?
- She does not want her mother to be hurt or disappointed.Correct answer
- She does not know the Vietnamese words for what he said.
- She is afraid that Andy will be angry with her afterward.
- She thinks that Mr. Garrison is being unfair to her brother.
Why “She does not want her mother to be hurt or disappointed.” is correct
This asks for a character's motive, which the story shows but does not state. Before she speaks, Annie looks at her mother's "hopeful face" and thinks about "how quiet her mother got when she was disappointed." Her mother later confirms it: "You wanted to protect me."
Why the other answers are wrong
- She does not know the Vietnamese words for what he said. — She translates everything else easily; paragraph 5 shows she chooses to change this part.
- She is afraid that Andy will be angry with her afterward. — Andy is not there, and Annie is thinking about her mother, not Andy.
- She thinks that Mr. Garrison is being unfair to her brother. — Nothing shows that she disagrees with the teacher.
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.