What does pour out mean in this sentence?
Understand Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grades 4–5 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 1: work out what words and phrases mean from context, and understand how sentences and word forms work.
Read the passage. Then answer the questions.
The Bats of Congress Avenue Bridge
On summer evenings, crowds of people gather near the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin. They are not waiting for a parade or a concert. They are waiting for bats.
Up to one and a half million Mexican free-tailed bats live in narrow cracks under the bridge during the warm months. It is the largest bat colony living in a city anywhere in North America. In the winter, most of the bats fly south to Mexico.
At sunset, the bats begin to pour out from under the bridge. They fly out in long, dark ribbons that twist across the sky, and the stream of bats can keep going for many minutes.
The bats are leaving to hunt. Mexican free-tailed bats eat insects, including moths that damage farm crops. In one night, the colony can eat thousands of pounds of insects.
Not everyone was happy when the bats first moved in. After the bridge was rebuilt, the bats found the new cracks underneath and began living there. Many people in Austin were afraid and wanted the bats gone. Bat scientists explained that the bats would not hurt people who left them alone, and that they helped the city by eating pests. Over time, people’s feelings changed. Today, the bats are one of the most famous sights in Austin.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Read this sentence from paragraph 3. At sunset, the bats begin to pour out from under the bridge. What does pour out mean in this sentence?
- fill a cup with something wet
- fall like heavy rain from the sky
- leave slowly, one at a time
- come out fast in large numbersCorrect answer
Why “come out fast in large numbers” is correct
This tests a familiar word used in a new way. Liquid that pours moves in a steady, heavy stream, and the author uses the word to show huge numbers of bats leaving at once. The next sentence supports it with the image of "long, dark ribbons" that keep going for many minutes.
Why the other answers are wrong
- fill a cup with something wet — This is the everyday meaning of "pour," not how it is used for bats.
- fall like heavy rain from the sky — The bats are flying out, not falling.
- leave slowly, one at a time — This is the opposite: the next sentence describes "long, dark ribbons" that keep going for minutes.
Practice more of this
More reading 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.