Which animal is the speaker describing?
Understand Spoken Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grades 4–5 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 description. Then answer the question.
A Texas Animal
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This animal lives in Texas and is about the size of a house cat. Its back is covered with hard, bony plates, and it uses its strong claws to dig in the dirt for insects to eat.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Which animal is the speaker describing?
- a box turtle
- an armadilloCorrect answer
- a roadrunner
- a horned lizard
Why “an armadillo” is correct
This tests whether a student can match a spoken description to the right animal using several details at once: the size of a house cat, hard bony plates on its back, and strong claws for digging. The armadillo is the only choice that fits all three. The box turtle is the strongest distractor, because "hard" also makes students think of a shell.
Why the other answers are wrong
- a box turtle — A box turtle has a hard shell, but it is much smaller than a house cat.
- a roadrunner — A roadrunner is a bird with feathers, not hard plates.
- a horned lizard — A horned lizard is small and has spines and horns, not a back covered in bony plates.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 4–5, or see the TELPAS practice test for 4th and 5th 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.