TELPAS Practice

What did Ruben think about veterinarians before Career Day?

Basic Understanding of a Variety of Texts · TELPAS Grades 6–7 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 2: find the main idea and key details, and follow what happens in stories and informational texts.

Read the letter. Then answer the questions.

A Thank-You Letter

Dear Dr. Salinas,

Thank you for coming to Career Day at Westfield Middle School last Thursday. I was the student in the front row who asked the most questions, so you might remember me.

Before your talk, I thought being a veterinarian meant playing with puppies all day. I did not know that you also do surgery, take X-rays, and study how medicines work in different animals. When you said that a cat's body can react to some medicines very differently than a dog's, I was surprised. I had never thought about that.

The part I liked best was your story about the horse with the injured leg. You said it took six weeks of treatment before she could walk normally again, and that her owner cried the first time she trotted across the field. That story showed me that your job takes patience, not just a love of animals.

My mom says that if I keep my grades up, I can volunteer at the animal shelter on Saturdays next summer. I am going to start with my science grade, which needs some work.

Thank you again for answering all of my questions, even the one about snakes.

Sincerely,

Ruben Ortiz

The question

Choose the best answer.

What did Ruben think about veterinarians before Career Day?

  • He thought they mostly took care of horses.
  • He thought they spent all day doing surgery.
  • He thought they were afraid of snakes.
  • He thought they played with puppies all day.Correct answer

Why “He thought they played with puppies all day.” is correct

This asks for a detail from the letter. The phrase "Before your talk, I thought" signals what Ruben used to believe, and "I did not know" signals what he learned. Students have to keep his old idea separate from his new information.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • He thought they mostly took care of horses. — The horse story was something he learned at Career Day.
  • He thought they spent all day doing surgery. — He says he did not know that veterinarians do surgery.
  • He thought they were afraid of snakes. — Snakes come up only as one of his questions.

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.