Question
English, last period. Tabitha only pretends to listen to her teacher pontificate on Robert Frost as she covertly scribbles down notes for her school paper, The Falconer. Tabitha is proud to have become editor of the politics section in only her second year, especially since her father never even finished high school—his constant struggles with reading and writing have sparked a fire in Tabitha, inspiring her to become a journalist one day.
Tabitha taps with her pencil on the sheet of paper, wondering, Do the pros of giving teens unlimited access to social media on their phones outweigh the cons? She has done a great deal of research and lately has become resolved in her belief that unlimited cell phone use is more disruptive and destructive than it is useful, and, last week, she decided to start a new column in The Falconer to discuss that very issue.
Two seats away, her best friends since middle school, Aaliyah and Daniel, giggle and keep glancing down at something under their desks—cell phones hidden inside textbooks. Tabitha feels uneasy. What is the purpose of writing this column if she can’t even persuade her own best friends? She angrily jots down a note: “Put them away!” and passes it to Aaliyah, who hastily writes and passes back a response: “Nerd. Hypocrite.”
Tabitha’s heart sinks. For the past month, Tabitha’s incessant research has gotten under the skin of Aaliyah, who is addicted to selfies and maintains that knowing current memes is more essential to life than knowing Robert Frost—and since Aaliyah wants to study advertising, maybe she has a point. But Tabitha has also observed her friends starting to gossip negatively and almost obsessively about what classmates are posting online, and it feels like their friendship has been usurped by a constant, mean-spirited criticism.
That Friday, Tabitha’s second column comes out in The Falconer. The printed newspaper litters the hallways and sits on students’ desks; meanwhile, Tabitha has anxiously chewed her pen cap nearly completely through. A few students congratulate her on the column, saying they were grateful to have someone finally articulate what they were thinking. But not a word from Aaliyah or Daniel.
In English class she scans the room: everyone is sneakily using their phones and she observes that Daniel has been glancing at her uncomfortably throughout the class period. When the bell rings, there is a bustle of activity as students pack their bags and dozens of smartphones seem to arise magically from backpacks and books.
Outside, Daniel jogs to catch up with Tabitha as she escapes to the bus.
“Hey,” he says breathlessly, “you have to look at what someone posted; I think it was Aaliyah.” Tabitha’s heart jumps into her throat as he pulls out his phone and shows her a photo Aaliyah took of her last summer, hair wild like a mad scientist. Aaliyah has photoshopped on falcon wings and an accompanying speech bubble: “Put away your phone, kids!” Apparently, this has been circulating throughout the entire school.
Tabitha goes home feeling defeated. That night, she feels like a hypocrite for spending all evening thinking about the same platform she has been decrying. The next day, she confesses her dilemma to her dad.
“I can’t say I understand what teenagers want,” he cautions, “but if it were me, I’d throw it right back at them—in my own way!”
The Falconer comes out again the following Friday. Blown-up and printed on the front cover is the same photo Aaliyah broadcasted the previous week, except now, the speech bubble reads: “Put away your phone, kids—and I’ll tell you why!” Inside, Tabitha’s column acknowledges that the picture is humorous and social media can be fun, but then examines how social media posts can sometimes cross a line into dangerous, bullying behavior.
After school, Aaliyah tentatively approaches Tabitha.
“Look,” she says, her eyes tearing up. “That column was actually really good, and I'm sorry; I know it was mean to post that photo, but I just felt like you were criticizing something I care about.”
“I’m sorry you felt that way,” says Tabitha, genuinely surprised. “I promise I’ll try harder to keep an open mind if you will, too. But for now…can we just agree to disagree?”
1. Which BEST describes Tabitha and Aaliyah at the end of the text?
Group of answer choices
They both resent Daniel.
They both respect each other.
They both dislike one another.
They both disapprove of cell phones.
Tabitha taps with her pencil on the sheet of paper, wondering, Do the pros of giving teens unlimited access to social media on their phones outweigh the cons? She has done a great deal of research and lately has become resolved in her belief that unlimited cell phone use is more disruptive and destructive than it is useful, and, last week, she decided to start a new column in The Falconer to discuss that very issue.
Two seats away, her best friends since middle school, Aaliyah and Daniel, giggle and keep glancing down at something under their desks—cell phones hidden inside textbooks. Tabitha feels uneasy. What is the purpose of writing this column if she can’t even persuade her own best friends? She angrily jots down a note: “Put them away!” and passes it to Aaliyah, who hastily writes and passes back a response: “Nerd. Hypocrite.”
Tabitha’s heart sinks. For the past month, Tabitha’s incessant research has gotten under the skin of Aaliyah, who is addicted to selfies and maintains that knowing current memes is more essential to life than knowing Robert Frost—and since Aaliyah wants to study advertising, maybe she has a point. But Tabitha has also observed her friends starting to gossip negatively and almost obsessively about what classmates are posting online, and it feels like their friendship has been usurped by a constant, mean-spirited criticism.
That Friday, Tabitha’s second column comes out in The Falconer. The printed newspaper litters the hallways and sits on students’ desks; meanwhile, Tabitha has anxiously chewed her pen cap nearly completely through. A few students congratulate her on the column, saying they were grateful to have someone finally articulate what they were thinking. But not a word from Aaliyah or Daniel.
In English class she scans the room: everyone is sneakily using their phones and she observes that Daniel has been glancing at her uncomfortably throughout the class period. When the bell rings, there is a bustle of activity as students pack their bags and dozens of smartphones seem to arise magically from backpacks and books.
Outside, Daniel jogs to catch up with Tabitha as she escapes to the bus.
“Hey,” he says breathlessly, “you have to look at what someone posted; I think it was Aaliyah.” Tabitha’s heart jumps into her throat as he pulls out his phone and shows her a photo Aaliyah took of her last summer, hair wild like a mad scientist. Aaliyah has photoshopped on falcon wings and an accompanying speech bubble: “Put away your phone, kids!” Apparently, this has been circulating throughout the entire school.
Tabitha goes home feeling defeated. That night, she feels like a hypocrite for spending all evening thinking about the same platform she has been decrying. The next day, she confesses her dilemma to her dad.
“I can’t say I understand what teenagers want,” he cautions, “but if it were me, I’d throw it right back at them—in my own way!”
The Falconer comes out again the following Friday. Blown-up and printed on the front cover is the same photo Aaliyah broadcasted the previous week, except now, the speech bubble reads: “Put away your phone, kids—and I’ll tell you why!” Inside, Tabitha’s column acknowledges that the picture is humorous and social media can be fun, but then examines how social media posts can sometimes cross a line into dangerous, bullying behavior.
After school, Aaliyah tentatively approaches Tabitha.
“Look,” she says, her eyes tearing up. “That column was actually really good, and I'm sorry; I know it was mean to post that photo, but I just felt like you were criticizing something I care about.”
“I’m sorry you felt that way,” says Tabitha, genuinely surprised. “I promise I’ll try harder to keep an open mind if you will, too. But for now…can we just agree to disagree?”
1. Which BEST describes Tabitha and Aaliyah at the end of the text?
Group of answer choices
They both resent Daniel.
They both respect each other.
They both dislike one another.
They both disapprove of cell phones.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The option that BEST describes Tabitha and Aaliyah at the end of the text is:
**They both respect each other.**
At the end of the story, Aaliyah acknowledges that Tabitha's column was actually good and expresses remorse for her actions, while Tabitha shows understanding and a willingness to keep an open mind. This indicates mutual respect despite their differing views on social media.
**They both respect each other.**
At the end of the story, Aaliyah acknowledges that Tabitha's column was actually good and expresses remorse for her actions, while Tabitha shows understanding and a willingness to keep an open mind. This indicates mutual respect despite their differing views on social media.