Question

Lucky Bug


The field behind Cora’s house was alive with lightning bugs and the sounds of evening on a farm. She handed her cousin a Mason jar, and the pair ran off into the fading light.


“Do you think that if the holes in the lid were star-shaped, stars would shine all over the walls when the bugs light up?” asked Emma.


Cora laughed, “These jars aren’t for lightning bugs. They’re for catching a cricket. Well, I’m catching a cricket, but you’re welcome to catch whatever you want.”


“Eww! No thanks! I’m completely disgusted by bugs,” said Emma.


“Crickets are insects, not bugs, and they’re very special,” said Cora.


Emma rolled her eyes and said with exasperation, “Insects and bugs are the exact same thing, Cora. Honestly, you’re able to romanticize just about anything, aren’t you?”


Cora shrugged, “I can’t help it. It’s a gift I get from my grandmother.” Cora tucked the jar under her arm and placed both hands on her hips, surveying the vast expanse of the field. “When I look at nature, I don’t just see plants and bugs and sunshine, I see all the magic that brings those things together.”


Emma laughed and placed her arm around her cousin, “One of these days I’m going to find you living in a tree and sprouting feathers.”


Cora’s eyes grew bright and shiny, “A bird? Oh, no way, I’d rather morph into a cricket that lives in a golden cage and sings for a princess.”


Emma asked, “Why are you so cricket-crazy this summer?”


Cora said, “My grandmother told me that in her culture, back in Japan, crickets are considered the luckiest of creatures. When she was a girl, she had plenty of pet crickets, and she kept them in a golden cage that she made with her mother.”


Emma held the Mason jar up to the light, “Boy, this jar sure is a downgrade from a golden cage.”


Cora beamed, “It’s only a temporary arrangement. After all, it is my birthday tomorrow.”


Emma shook her head and smiled at her favorite cousin, “Only you would want a cricket condo for your fourteenth birthday.” The pair laughed and went back to work searching for the luck for the lucky cricket that would call cora's golden cage home. Which sentence BEST describes the development of the passage's theme?

A.
The theme, the benefits of technology, is developed as Cora's grandmother demonstrates how to use a tape recorder.

B.
The theme, don't harm animals, is developed as Cora learns not to keep crickets in jars.

C.
The theme, nature can seem magical, is developed as Emma learns about singing crickets.

D.
The theme, older generations have much to teach, is developed as Cora's grandmother passes down the family's serious cultural traditions.

Answer 1

The sentence that BEST describes the development of the passage's theme is:

**D. The theme, older generations have much to teach, is developed as Cora's grandmother passes down the family's serious cultural traditions.**

This is because Cora speaks about the cultural significance of crickets in her grandmother's life and how her grandmother's stories and traditions shape Cora's perspective on nature and crickets.