Question
Afternoon of the Luddites
"Why don't you send your grandpa a postcard?" Mom suggested. "You know that stack he sent you is already addressed and stamped just waiting for you to write a short note. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you."
Conner stared blankly at the blank TV screen. He was not afraid of technology, but his parents' ridiculous decision to reduce the family's "screen time" was turning him into a reluctant Luddite. He meandered down the hall past his little brother's room. Tater Bug, clad in a knight's helmet and red cape from the treasure chest that held costumes from years of Halloween escapades, wielded a foam sword over his head, yelling "death to tyrants!" as he charged a pile of stuffed animals. Conner sighed and turned down the hall, jealous that his little brother could still play with such imaginative abandon. Tater Bug wasn't even aware of the TV dilemma plaguing the family. Finally, Conner went out the back door and saw Tater Bug's soccer ball on the patio. He nudged it with his foot, and it began a slow roll into the yard. With a couple of quick steps, Conner drew back his foot and gave the ball an angry kick that sent it bouncing off the fence with a loud bang into mom's flowerbed. Conner considered that writing postcards might be safer, but it felt good to attack the ball.
"I want to play!" Tater Bug yelled, running out the back door with his arms outstretched like a champion soaring above tall buildings with the red cape flying behind him. The boy grabbed the ball, spun around, and kicked it back to Conner. Before he knew it, Conner was demonstrating how to bend the ball into the goal to score an unexpected point and win the game in the final quarter.
"Goal!" the brothers yelled when the ball disappeared into the hollyhocks.
Mom and Dad appeared on the patio holding some cold drinks, and Mom swallowed back a warning not to hurt the flowers.
"At least they're doing something," she muttered.
"They can always replant whatever they destroy," Dad laughed.
4
What is the best objective summary of the passage?
A.
Because Conner's parents are Luddites afraid of technology, they won't let anyone watch TV. Mom starts to get mad when Conner and his brother nearly destroy the backyard playing soccer, but Dad plans to have them miss even more TV by repairing the damage.
B.
Fuming because his parents won't allow him to watch TV, Conner destroys his mom's flowerbed. Nonetheless, he ends up having fun playing soccer with his little brother. His parents don't mind because they'll keep him from watching TV by making him replant the flowers.
C.
Conner finds it hard to find anything fun to do when his parents decide to reduce the family's screen time, so he begins kicking around a soccer ball. His parents are happy when his little brother joins the game, but Conner worries about the flowers.
D.
A reduction of screen time in Conner's family has caused him to become bored with nothing constructive to do. He doesn't want to write postcards, and he's too old to play knights with his little brother, but some soccer practice gets the whole family outside.
"Why don't you send your grandpa a postcard?" Mom suggested. "You know that stack he sent you is already addressed and stamped just waiting for you to write a short note. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you."
Conner stared blankly at the blank TV screen. He was not afraid of technology, but his parents' ridiculous decision to reduce the family's "screen time" was turning him into a reluctant Luddite. He meandered down the hall past his little brother's room. Tater Bug, clad in a knight's helmet and red cape from the treasure chest that held costumes from years of Halloween escapades, wielded a foam sword over his head, yelling "death to tyrants!" as he charged a pile of stuffed animals. Conner sighed and turned down the hall, jealous that his little brother could still play with such imaginative abandon. Tater Bug wasn't even aware of the TV dilemma plaguing the family. Finally, Conner went out the back door and saw Tater Bug's soccer ball on the patio. He nudged it with his foot, and it began a slow roll into the yard. With a couple of quick steps, Conner drew back his foot and gave the ball an angry kick that sent it bouncing off the fence with a loud bang into mom's flowerbed. Conner considered that writing postcards might be safer, but it felt good to attack the ball.
"I want to play!" Tater Bug yelled, running out the back door with his arms outstretched like a champion soaring above tall buildings with the red cape flying behind him. The boy grabbed the ball, spun around, and kicked it back to Conner. Before he knew it, Conner was demonstrating how to bend the ball into the goal to score an unexpected point and win the game in the final quarter.
"Goal!" the brothers yelled when the ball disappeared into the hollyhocks.
Mom and Dad appeared on the patio holding some cold drinks, and Mom swallowed back a warning not to hurt the flowers.
"At least they're doing something," she muttered.
"They can always replant whatever they destroy," Dad laughed.
4
What is the best objective summary of the passage?
A.
Because Conner's parents are Luddites afraid of technology, they won't let anyone watch TV. Mom starts to get mad when Conner and his brother nearly destroy the backyard playing soccer, but Dad plans to have them miss even more TV by repairing the damage.
B.
Fuming because his parents won't allow him to watch TV, Conner destroys his mom's flowerbed. Nonetheless, he ends up having fun playing soccer with his little brother. His parents don't mind because they'll keep him from watching TV by making him replant the flowers.
C.
Conner finds it hard to find anything fun to do when his parents decide to reduce the family's screen time, so he begins kicking around a soccer ball. His parents are happy when his little brother joins the game, but Conner worries about the flowers.
D.
A reduction of screen time in Conner's family has caused him to become bored with nothing constructive to do. He doesn't want to write postcards, and he's too old to play knights with his little brother, but some soccer practice gets the whole family outside.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
C. Conner finds it hard to find anything fun to do when his parents decide to reduce the family's screen time, so he begins kicking around a soccer ball. His parents are happy when his little brother joins the game, but Conner worries about the flowers.