What does Mr. Anderson most likely expect to happen to the seeds in the refrigerator?
Analyze and Evaluate Information in Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 4–5 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 3: make inferences from what was said, and work out a speaker's purpose, opinion, or what will happen next.
Listen to the teacher talk about seeds. Then answer the questions.
From Seed to Sprout
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Show transcript
Mr. Anderson: Today we are going to plant bean seeds. A seed may look like a tiny pebble, but inside it there is a baby plant, waiting for the right time to grow.
Mr. Anderson: A seed needs water, air, and warmth to begin growing. When it gets these things, the seed swells up and its hard coat splits open. The first part to come out is the root. It grows down into the soil to take in water.
Mr. Anderson: Next, a small green shoot pushes up toward the light. Until the plant grows leaves and can make its own food from sunlight, it lives on food that was stored inside the seed.
Mr. Anderson: We will plant two cups of seeds and water them the same way. One cup will sit on our warm, sunny windowsill. The other will go in the refrigerator in the teachers' lounge. Each day, we will check both cups and write down what we see.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What does Mr. Anderson most likely expect to happen to the seeds in the refrigerator?
- They will grow faster than the others.
- They will turn into a different plant.
- They will grow slowly or not at all.Correct answer
- They will grow leaves before roots.
Why “They will grow slowly or not at all.” is correct
This is a prediction based on the talk. Early on, the teacher says a seed needs water, air, and warmth. The two cups get the same water, but one is warm and one is cold, so the student can predict the cold seeds will have trouble growing. The student has to connect a fact from the start of the talk to the plan at the end.
Why the other answers are wrong
- They will grow faster than the others. — The refrigerator is cold, and the teacher says seeds need warmth to grow.
- They will turn into a different plant. — A bean seed can only grow into a bean plant.
- They will grow leaves before roots. — The teacher says the root always comes out first.
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.