According to Ms. Carter, where does the moon's light come from?
Basic Understanding of Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 4–5 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 2: understand the main points and important details of spoken stories and informational passages, about everyday life and school subjects.
Listen to the teacher talk about the moon. Then answer the questions.
Why the Moon Changes Shape
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Ms. Carter: Have you ever noticed that the moon looks different from night to night? Sometimes it is a big, round circle. Other times it is a thin curve, like a fingernail. But the moon itself never changes shape. It is always a round ball.
Ms. Carter: The moon does not make its own light. The light we see is sunlight bouncing off the moon. The sun always lights up the half of the moon that faces it.
Ms. Carter: The moon travels around the Earth, and each trip takes about a month. As it moves, we see different amounts of its bright half. When we can see all of the bright half, we call it a full moon.
Ms. Carter: Starting tonight, I'd like each of you to look for the moon before bed and draw what you see in your science journal. If you cannot find it, write that down, too. In a month, you will have your own record of how the moon changes.
The question
Choose the best answer.
According to Ms. Carter, where does the moon's light come from?
- from the sunCorrect answer
- from the stars
- from the moon itself
- from lights on Earth
Why “from the sun” is correct
This is a detail that many children find surprising, so it is worth checking. The teacher says the moon does not make its own light; the light we see is sunlight bouncing off it. A student who hears "its own light" but misses "does not" may pick the moon itself.
Why the other answers are wrong
- from the stars — Stars are never mentioned.
- from the moon itself — The teacher says the moon does not make its own light.
- from lights on Earth — The teacher says the light is sunlight bouncing off the moon.
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.