What does this phrase suggest about the woman?
Understand Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grades 8–9 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 story. Then answer the questions.
Closing Time
The bell over the door had rung twice since six o'clock, and both times Mateo had looked up hoping it was his aunt coming back from the bank. Instead it had been customers: a man who wanted three conchas, and a woman who could not decide between empanadas and nothing at all.
At six-forty, Mateo started wiping down the glass cases. The game at Cárdenas Park started at seven-thirty, and Joaquín had already texted him four times: You coming or what? Tía Rosa had promised he could leave the minute she got back. He flipped the sign on the door from ABIERTO to CERRADO, even though the bakery did not officially close until seven.
He was carrying the last tray to the back when he heard a knock. An old man stood outside the glass, leaning on a cane, one hand cupped against the window to see in. Mateo recognized him. It was Mr. Ybarra, who came in every Saturday morning and always paid in exact change.
Mateo pointed at the sign and shrugged in a way he hoped looked apologetic. Mr. Ybarra nodded slowly, as if he had expected that answer, and turned to go. That was when Mateo noticed the thin plastic hospital bracelet still around his wrist.
Mateo unlocked the door before he had decided to.
"I'm sorry, mijo," Mr. Ybarra said. "They kept me at the hospital since Tuesday. My granddaughter's birthday is tomorrow, and I promised her the pan de polvo she likes."
There were exactly two dozen cookies left in the back. Mateo boxed them carefully and tied the string the way Tía Rosa had taught him, twice around with a bow on top.
When his aunt came in at seven-fifteen, she found him sweeping a floor that was already clean. She looked at the empty cookie tray, then at the sign, then at him.
"You're late for your game," she said.
"A little," he said, and he found that he did not mind.
The question
Choose the best answer.
In paragraph 1, a woman "could not decide between empanadas and nothing at all." What does this phrase suggest about the woman?
- She wanted to buy every kind of empanada.
- She was not sure she wanted to buy anything.Correct answer
- She did not like the empanadas at the bakery.
- She asked Mateo to choose for her.
Why “She was not sure she wanted to buy anything.” is correct
This item tests figurative, slightly humorous language. Usually a person decides between two things to buy; here one of the two options is "nothing at all," so the joke is that she might leave with nothing. Students who read the phrase literally may think empanadas are the only thing in question.
Why the other answers are wrong
- She wanted to buy every kind of empanada. — The phrase is about whether she would buy anything, not about buying a lot.
- She did not like the empanadas at the bakery. — Nothing in the phrase says she disliked them; she simply could not make up her mind.
- She asked Mateo to choose for her. — The story never says she asked Mateo for help.
Practice more of this
More reading 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.