In paragraph 2, Daniela has "an even louder bow arm." What does this phrase most likely mean?
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.
First Violin
Ana Lucy had played second violin in the Río Vista Middle School mariachi for two years, and she knew every part of every song. She knew the first violin part best of all, because she had spent most of seventh grade hearing it played slightly wrong.
The player who had it wrong was Daniela Garcia, an eighth grader with a loud laugh and an even louder bow arm. Daniela rushed the fast passages, and in "Cielito Lindo" she always played the high note a little flat. Ana Lucy never said anything. She played her own part carefully and waited.
Now Daniela had moved to Laredo, and Ms. Gonzalez was holding auditions for first violin.
Ana Lucy practiced the solo from "El Son de la Negra" every night for a week. She practiced until her fingertips ached and her little brother started humming it in the shower. On the morning of the audition, she could play it with her eyes closed.
Then Ms. Gonzalez handed her a sheet of music she had never seen.
"I already know you can learn a part," the teacher said. "I want to know if you can lead one. Play this the way you would want the rest of the section to play it."
Ana Lucy stared at the page. Her mouth felt dry. For a moment she thought about Daniela, who had never once looked worried, even when she was wrong. Then she lifted her violin, took a breath, and played the first line slowly and deliberately, loud enough to be heard at the back of the room. She missed a note in the third measure and kept going without stopping.
When she finished, Ms. Gonzalez was writing something on her clipboard.
"You hesitated," the teacher said without looking up. "Then you stopped hesitating. That second part is the one I needed to see."
The question
Choose the best answer.
In paragraph 2, Daniela has "an even louder bow arm." What does this phrase most likely mean?
- She often hurt her arm while playing.
- She talked loudly during rehearsals.
- She played her violin with a lot of force.Correct answer
- She held her bow in an unusual, old-fashioned way.
Why “She played her violin with a lot of force.” is correct
This tests figurative language. A violinist moves the bow with one arm, so a "loud bow arm" means she played strongly and loudly. The author connects it to her "loud laugh" to show her bold personality.
Why the other answers are wrong
- She often hurt her arm while playing. — Nothing in the story mentions an injury.
- She talked loudly during rehearsals. — Her loud laugh is mentioned, but the bow arm is about how she plays.
- She held her bow in an unusual, old-fashioned way. — The word "louder" is about sound, not the way she held the bow.
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.