The Two Clay Cups
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
A potter made two clay cups. One cup had a painted blue rim. The other was plain. The painted cup teased its neighbor on the shelf.
“Everyone will choose me,” it said. “You have nothing to show.”
Soon, a traveler bought both cups. At camp, the blue cup held flowers beside the tent. The plain cup carried water to a child, then soup to an elder. By night, its surface bore scratches from use. “You look worse than before,” said the blue cup.
The plain cup answered, “That is true. I also know whose thirst I eased.” The painted cup watched the flowers close in the dark. The blue cup still enjoyed being admired, but it no longer mistook a plain surface for a lack of value.
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 main idea of the fable?
The answer is A: The plain cup shows that useful service can matter more than spotless appearance.
The plain cup gains marks while helping people, which changes the painted cup’s judgment.
-
Question 2 of 4
Why does the painted cup change its mind?
The answer is B: It sees the plain cup help people in important ways.
Watching the plain cup carry water and soup reveals a kind of value the painted cup ignored.
-
Question 3 of 4
What does “admired” mean?
The answer is C: looked at with approval
The blue cup values its appearance and expects people to choose it, so admired means looked at approvingly.
-
Question 4 of 4
What does the plain cup carry to the child?
The answer is D: water
The story says the plain cup carries water to a child.
Score: none answered yet.