Darnell says, "I couldn't stay mad at him." What does Darnell mean?
Understand Spoken Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grade 2 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 1: follow spoken directions and understand words and phrases as they are used in speech. On the real test some of these ask the student to click on a picture.
Listen to the conversation.
The New Puppy
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Darnell: Guess what, Sofia? We got a puppy on Saturday. His name is Biscuit.
Sofia: A puppy! What does he look like?
Darnell: He is brown with one white ear. Last night he chewed my new shoe, and now it has a hole in it.
Sofia: Oh no! Were you mad?
Darnell: A little. But then he licked my face, and I couldn't stay mad at him.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Darnell says, "I couldn't stay mad at him." What does Darnell mean?
- He stopped being mad at Biscuit.Correct answer
- He was never mad at all.
- He had to stay in his room.
- He was mad all night.
Why “He stopped being mad at Biscuit.” is correct
To "stay mad" means to keep being angry. "Couldn't stay mad" means the anger did not last. Darnell was a little mad, but when the puppy licked his face, he stopped. The word stay here does not mean staying in a place, which can confuse English learners.
Why the other answers are wrong
- He was never mad at all. — Darnell says he was mad "a little," so he was mad at first.
- He had to stay in his room. — This takes the word "stay" to mean staying in a place.
- He was mad all night. — This is the opposite. His anger ended when the puppy licked his face.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grade 2, or see the TELPAS practice test for 2nd 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.