What does Ms. Lozano say about the height of the Texas Capitol?
Basic Understanding of Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 6–7 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.
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The Pink Capitol
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Ms. Lozano: This week we're learning about Texas government, so let's start with the building where much of that work happens: the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
Ms. Lozano: The capitol you can visit today was finished in 1888. The state did not have enough money to pay for such a large building, so it paid the builders with land instead: about three million acres in the Texas Panhandle. That land later became one of the largest cattle ranches in the world.
Ms. Lozano: The builders first planned to use limestone. But the limestone they tested had small spots that turned a rusty brown after it sat out in the weather. So they switched to red granite from a hill called Granite Mountain, near the town of Marble Falls. On a sunny afternoon, the walls look almost pink.
Ms. Lozano: Here's a fact Texans like to share: the Texas Capitol is a little taller than the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., by about fifteen feet.
Ms. Lozano: Tonight, read pages forty to forty-five about the three branches of government, the groups that share the work inside that building.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What does Ms. Lozano say about the height of the Texas Capitol?
- It is the tallest building in Austin.
- It is about fifteen feet taller than the United States Capitol.Correct answer
- It is the same height as the United States Capitol.
- It is a little shorter than the United States Capitol.
Why “It is about fifteen feet taller than the United States Capitol.” is correct
This tests remembering a specific fact from a spoken passage. Ms. Lozano says the Texas Capitol is a little taller than the United States Capitol "by about fifteen feet." Students need to keep both the comparison and the number in mind to choose correctly.
Why the other answers are wrong
- It is the tallest building in Austin. — She compares it only with the United States Capitol, not with other buildings in Austin.
- It is the same height as the United States Capitol. — She says the two buildings are different heights.
- It is a little shorter than the United States Capitol. — This reverses the comparison; the Texas Capitol is the taller one.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 6–7, or see the TELPAS practice test for 6th and 7th 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.