ITEM 4: Read, "From the Land and Back." It is linked to the book icon on the right. You might want to print it if it would help you read the selection. Then respond to the last practice question.

QUESTION:

Which sentence best expresses the theme, or message, of this story?

FIRST, let's look at key words. What words are important in the question?

1. Farmers are friendly people.
2. People often get back what they give.
3. Making new friends can be difficult.
4. People do not like to move.

Explanation:

CHOICE A:

Farmers are friendly people. Maybe - at least the farmer who let others camp in his orchard was friendly. But that doesn't mean all farmers are friendly, does it? The statement is a broad generalization. And it seems there is more to the story than the farmer in the orchard. Remember that a theme or message has to apply to the whole text. Let's change this to a NO.

CHOICE B:

People often get back what they give. Maybe - One family left behind unhelpful, nasty neighbors, and the other family left helpful wonderful folks, you can infer or figure out the speaker is suggesting each family treated their former neighbors in the same way, either unhelpfully or helpfully. The farmer agrees that each family will find the same thing where they go. This statements does seem to apply to the whole passage, so it makes sense that so far, it is the best answer. Let's check the other responses though to be sure.

CHOICE C:

Making new friends can be difficult. Maybe- We can't find this statement in the text, but we can infer that the first family has difficulty making friends. The second family does not. Still we know that the farmer says each family will find the kind of neighbors they expect. Because he says this in two different cases, we have to figure this statement only applies to one family. It might be true, but it is not a theme or message that applies to the whole text. Let's change this to a NO.

CHOICE D:

People do not like to move. NO. Since we've already figured out that CHOICE C is a NO because it does not apply to both families, this would have to be the same. Only one family shows that they might not enjoy moving, but it is not a theme or message that applies to the whole text.

FINAL CHOICE: We started with mostly maybe answers. Questions in which you are asked to choose the best sentence really require careful and clear thinking, and consideration of all answers. You've eliminated A, C, D for reasons that they don't apply to the WHOLE passage, and so can't be considered a theme or message. CHOICE B is the best sentence to express theme or message.