TELPAS Practice

The speaker says her grandmother's "voice is a rope / pulling me home." What does this line mean?

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 poem. Then answer the questions.

Before the Storm

The sky above the pasture

turns the gray of an old nickel,

and the wind runs through the grass

as if it has somewhere to be.

The cows stop chewing.

The windmill spins too fast.

My grandmother calls from the porch,

and her voice is a rope

pulling me home.

Then the first fat drops

hit the dust like coins,

and the whole thirsty field

opens its mouth and drinks.

The question

Choose the best answer.

The speaker says her grandmother's "voice is a rope / pulling me home." What does this line mean?

  • Her grandmother is tying a rope around her waist.
  • Her grandmother has a rough, tired voice.
  • Her grandmother's call brings her home fast.Correct answer
  • Her grandmother is too far away to be heard.

Why “Her grandmother's call brings her home fast.” is correct

This tests a metaphor, a comparison without "like" or "as." A rope can pull something toward you, so calling the voice a rope shows that the call draws the speaker home quickly before the storm. Students who read the line literally may think a real rope is involved.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • Her grandmother is tying a rope around her waist. — This is a literal reading; there is no real rope in the poem.
  • Her grandmother has a rough, tired voice. — The line is about what the voice does, not how it sounds.
  • Her grandmother is too far away to be heard. — The grandmother calls from the porch, and the speaker hears her.

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.