In paragraph 7, Jamal speaks "sheepishly." What does this word show about how he feels?
Understand Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grades 6–7 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.
Drifting Left
The regional robotics contest in Fort Worth was two days away, and the robot that Lucy and Jamal had built for the Riverside Middle School team still would not drive straight.
"It's the code," Jamal said for the third time that afternoon. He set the robot at one end of the practice mat and pressed start. It rolled forward, then slowly curved to the left until it bumped into the wall. "See? Every single time."
Lucy had written the program, and she had already checked it line by line twice. Both wheels were told to spin at exactly the same speed. Still, she opened the laptop and read through it again, because arguing with Jamal felt like arguing with the wind.
When she finished, she had not found a single mistake. She closed the laptop and picked up the robot instead. She turned it upside down and spun the left wheel with her finger. It wobbled. Then she spun the right wheel. It turned smoothly and quietly.
"Jamal," she said, "come feel this."
He pressed his thumb against the left wheel and moved it back and forth. A small screw that held the wheel to the motor had worked itself loose. Each time the wheel turned, it slipped a little, so that side of the robot fell behind.
Jamal was quiet for a moment. Then he rubbed the back of his neck. "I put that wheel on," he said sheepishly. "I was so sure it was the code that I never even looked."
He tightened the screw, and they tested the robot again. This time it rolled all the way across the mat in a perfectly straight line.
On Saturday, before every match, Jamal checked each screw on the robot himself. Lucy did not have to remind him once.
The question
Choose the best answer.
In paragraph 7, Jamal speaks "sheepishly." What does this word show about how he feels?
- Proud that he finally found the problem
- Angry that Lucy did not check the wheels sooner
- Embarrassed because the mistake was hisCorrect answer
- Worried that the robot will not be ready on time
Why “Embarrassed because the mistake was his” is correct
This tests working out a word's meaning from context. Just before he speaks, Jamal is quiet and rubs the back of his neck, and what he says ("I put that wheel on") admits the problem was his own doing. Those clues point to embarrassment, which is what "sheepishly" means.
Why the other answers are wrong
- Proud that he finally found the problem — Lucy, not Jamal, found the loose screw, and his words admit a mistake rather than boast.
- Angry that Lucy did not check the wheels sooner — Jamal blames himself here, not Lucy.
- Worried that the robot will not be ready on time — The robot is fixed moments later; nothing in the paragraph shows worry about the deadline.
Practice more of this
More reading 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.