Why does Mr. Ochoa say, "Stalactites hold tight to the ceiling. Stalagmites might reach them someday"?
Analyze and Evaluate Information in Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 8–9 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 3: make inferences from what was said, and work out a speaker's purpose, opinion, or what will happen next.
Listen to the lesson.
How Caves Are Made
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Mr. Ochoa: Central Texas is full of caves, and some of them are big enough to walk through. Today I want you to understand how a cave can form inside solid rock. The answer is water, and a lot of time.
Mr. Ochoa: Much of the Hill Country sits on a kind of rock called limestone. When rain falls, it picks up a gas called carbon dioxide from the air and the soil. That turns the rainwater into a very weak acid. It's much too weak to hurt your skin, but limestone slowly dissolves in it.
Mr. Ochoa: The water seeps into tiny cracks in the limestone. Over thousands and thousands of years, it dissolves the rock little by little, and the cracks grow into tunnels and rooms.
Mr. Ochoa: Once a cave fills with air, something else happens. Water dripping from the ceiling leaves behind tiny bits of mineral. Drip by drip, those bits build up into stone icicles called stalactites. Where the drops land on the floor, mounds called stalagmites grow upward. Here's how to remember which is which. Stalactites hold tight to the ceiling. Stalagmites might reach them someday.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why does Mr. Ochoa say, "Stalactites hold tight to the ceiling. Stalagmites might reach them someday"?
- To explain why stalagmites grow faster
- To warn students not to touch them
- To help students tell the two apartCorrect answer
- To show that stalactites are stronger
Why “To help students tell the two apart” is correct
This asks about a speaker's purpose. He introduces the lines with "Here's how to remember which is which." The "t" in tight matches stalactites and the "m" in might matches stalagmites, a memory trick many science teachers use.
Why the other answers are wrong
- To explain why stalagmites grow faster — He does not compare how fast they grow.
- To warn students not to touch them — He gives no safety warning.
- To show that stalactites are stronger — Strength is not part of the lesson.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 8–9, or see the TELPAS practice test for 8th and 9th 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.