In paragraph 1, the author writes that Xiomara's "cheeks grew warm." What does this show?
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.
Say It Right
On her first day at Riverside Elementary, Xiomara waited for Mr. Patterson to call her name. When he got to her, he stopped and squinted at his list. “Zy... Zy-o-mara?” he tried. A few kids giggled. Xiomara’s cheeks grew warm, and she just nodded.
That night, she told her mother what had happened. “Everyone says it wrong,” she said. “Maybe I should just tell people to call me Mara.”
Her mother put down the dish she was drying. “Your name belongs to you,” she said. “Your great-grandmother had it, too. But people can’t learn to say it if no one shows them how.”
Xiomara thought about that. Then she took out a marker and a card. On the front, she wrote her name in big letters. Under it, she wrote: see-oh-MAH-rah. She drew a small star over MAH, so people would know which part to say the loudest.
The next morning, she taped the card to the front of her desk. Mr. Patterson stopped beside it and read it slowly. “See-oh-MAH-rah,” he said. “That’s a beautiful name. Thank you for teaching me.”
By the end of the week, even the kids who had giggled were saying it right.
The question
Choose the best answer.
In paragraph 1, the author writes that Xiomara's "cheeks grew warm." What does this show?
- She felt embarrassed.Correct answer
- She had a fever.
- The classroom was too hot.
- She was excited to start school.
Why “She felt embarrassed.” is correct
Warm or red cheeks is a common way to show embarrassment in English writing. The clue is what comes just before: the teacher says her name wrong and a few kids giggle. Students may read the phrase literally and think about temperature or illness.
Why the other answers are wrong
- She had a fever. — Nothing suggests she is sick; her cheeks get warm right after the kids giggle.
- The classroom was too hot. — Her cheeks grow warm because of what happens, not because of the room.
- She was excited to start school. — She is unhappy about how her name was said, not excited.
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.