The Bicycle Shop
Written by Studio AM.
Your result
- Words per minute
- Score
- Pace
Words per minute mean something only with the score beside them. They describe this passage on this read. With fewer than 3 right, try the next slower pace.
Choose a pace and select Start. The passage is paced and timed, then the questions check what you understood. How pace mode works
Reading time 0:00
Nadia opened the bicycle shop at eight, though few people came before noon. The shop smelled of rubber and oil. Along one wall hung wheels of every size, like a row of thin moons.
A boy came in with a flat tire and no money. He put the bicycle on the rack and looked at the floor. Nadia found the hole, patched it, and pumped the tire hard. Then she asked him to sweep the back room. He swept it twice.
After that, the boy returned every Saturday. He learned to straighten a bent wheel and to tighten a loose chain. He was clumsy at first, but his hands grew patient.
In the spring, Nadia gave him a key. She did not explain it, and he did not ask. He simply arrived earlier the next morning and turned on the lights himself.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
-
Question 1 of 4
What is the passage mainly about?
The answer is C: How a boy slowly earns a place in a repair shop
The passage moves from one free repair to weekly visits to a key of his own. The subject is the boy earning his place.
-
Question 2 of 4
What did Nadia ask the boy to do instead of paying?
The answer is A: Sweep the back room
After patching the tire, she asked him to sweep the back room, and he swept it twice.
-
Question 3 of 4
What does giving the boy a key most likely mean?
The answer is B: She trusts him to open the shop on his own.
The next morning he arrives earlier and turns on the lights himself. The key lets him open the shop, which shows trust.
-
Question 4 of 4
What does 'clumsy' mean in this passage?
The answer is C: moves without skill or control
The boy is learning repairs and is clumsy at first, which suggests awkward or poorly controlled movements. Later he works more patiently.
Score: none answered yet.