Question
Read the passage and answer the following question(s).
Callaghans Together
1
The sight of the grimy Philadelphia docks was one of the most welcoming I’d ever seen in my young life. The seven of us gathered on the deck like a staircase: baby Dennis and Lily, 3 and 5, stuck their wee little faces between the rails. Julia, 7, Frankie, 10, and I, age 12, braved a step up onto the bottom rail and stretched our arms out into the wind. When Frankie’s new cap flew off his head into the water, we heard the hoarse voice of our mother behind us.
2
“Francis James Callaghan, you jump into that water this instant and get that fine new cap!” They were the first words we’d heard her speak in days. Pale as a ghost and twenty pounds thinner, she was held up by my sisters Nellie, 14, and Susie, 18. The three of them, so alike in the face they looked like sisters, gazed out at the sight of our new land.
3
“Look at it, Mum!” My brother Tommy, all of age 16 (though he’d lied to the ship’s captain and said he was two years older), came up from below ship, covered in coal dust. Our mother’s face showed confusion.
4
“Och, where have you been, boy? You’re filthy!” Mum made a move to wipe some of the grime from Tommy’s face and nearly swooned. He caught her, his face full of concern. He eased her into a deck chair.
5
“Don’t trouble with that, Mum, now, it’s only a bit of coal dust.” His chest billowed with pride. “Would you believe it, Mum? I got a job below deck! I’ve been feedin’ The Caledonia’s furnaces since the second day of the crossing.”
6
Mum shook her head, looking shocked and confused. “But, I don’t understand. I’m sorry, children, I didn’t know—”
7
Susie cut her off. “Mum, you were near death! You and nearly half the third-class passengers! Why, Nellie and I had to take care of a dozen babies, bein’ as all their mums had the terrible seasickness as well. It was just awful, Mum. We’re just glad to have you back in the land of the living!”
8
“It all worked out, Mum,” said Tommy, ever the positive one. ”When some of the boiler crew lost their sea legs and dropped off at Dublin, I stepped up. I’ve made back my passage, and a bit more!”
9
Our mother’s eyes welled up with tears. “Och, children, won’t your Pop be proud!”
10
“Will he remember us, do you think, Mum?” I piped up. I barely remembered him myself. Pop had left Scotland more than three years ago. I had made him wait for his kiss goodbye as I was fixed on a marble game with my playmates. He’d never even met little Dennis, his namesake. Our eldest sister, Mary, who’d journeyed ahead of us as well, was a grown woman now with a good position as a cook’s assistant.
11
Mary stood on tiptoe on the dock, reaching for us as though she expected to pluck us off the boat without waiting for us to disembark. Those three years seemed like an eternity. I wondered what awaited us this fine day. What new, glamorous American home would we be in this night? What fine meal and treats had Mary and our father planned for our reunion? I was thrilled, frightened, but most of all proud. The Callaghans were together again in America.
Resize Columns
Question 6.
Read this sentence from paragraph 1.
The sight of the grimy Philadelphia docks was one of the most welcoming I’d ever seen in my young life.
What theme of the story does this sentence introduce?
The family is greatly relieved to end its journey.
The family hopes to make its fortune in America.
The family looks forward to cleaning up after the long journey.
The family hopes to return to Scotland together some day.
Question 7.
Summarize the text by placing the events in the order in which they occur.
The reader learns that Mum and many passengers nearly died.The family sees the docks at Philadelphia.The author wonders if his father will remember them. The author looks forward to life in a new country.Tommy comes up from working by the furnaces.
Drag unused options from here:
The author looks forward to life in a new country.
Tommy comes up from working by the furnaces.
The family sees the docks at Philadelphia.
The reader learns that Mum and many passengers nearly died.
The author wonders if his father will remember them.
Drop and order your selected options here:
Question 8.
Read this sentence from paragraph 8.
“It all worked out, Mum,” said Tommy, ever the positive one.
The word positive describes Tommy as someone who
expresses himself clearly.
is very sure of himself.
looks on the bright side.
likes to speak well of people.
Question 9.
Read this sentence from paragraph 1.
Julia, 7, Frankie, 10, and I, age 12, braved a step up onto the bottom rail and stretched our arms out into the wind.
What information does this sentence introduce about the narrator?
The narrator is surprised about the climate.
The narrator is a young person.
The narrator is from Scotland.
The narrator wants to stand alone at the rail.
Question 10.
What do paragraphs 1 and 10 reveal about the setting and the plot? Use details from the text in your response.
Callaghans Together
1
The sight of the grimy Philadelphia docks was one of the most welcoming I’d ever seen in my young life. The seven of us gathered on the deck like a staircase: baby Dennis and Lily, 3 and 5, stuck their wee little faces between the rails. Julia, 7, Frankie, 10, and I, age 12, braved a step up onto the bottom rail and stretched our arms out into the wind. When Frankie’s new cap flew off his head into the water, we heard the hoarse voice of our mother behind us.
2
“Francis James Callaghan, you jump into that water this instant and get that fine new cap!” They were the first words we’d heard her speak in days. Pale as a ghost and twenty pounds thinner, she was held up by my sisters Nellie, 14, and Susie, 18. The three of them, so alike in the face they looked like sisters, gazed out at the sight of our new land.
3
“Look at it, Mum!” My brother Tommy, all of age 16 (though he’d lied to the ship’s captain and said he was two years older), came up from below ship, covered in coal dust. Our mother’s face showed confusion.
4
“Och, where have you been, boy? You’re filthy!” Mum made a move to wipe some of the grime from Tommy’s face and nearly swooned. He caught her, his face full of concern. He eased her into a deck chair.
5
“Don’t trouble with that, Mum, now, it’s only a bit of coal dust.” His chest billowed with pride. “Would you believe it, Mum? I got a job below deck! I’ve been feedin’ The Caledonia’s furnaces since the second day of the crossing.”
6
Mum shook her head, looking shocked and confused. “But, I don’t understand. I’m sorry, children, I didn’t know—”
7
Susie cut her off. “Mum, you were near death! You and nearly half the third-class passengers! Why, Nellie and I had to take care of a dozen babies, bein’ as all their mums had the terrible seasickness as well. It was just awful, Mum. We’re just glad to have you back in the land of the living!”
8
“It all worked out, Mum,” said Tommy, ever the positive one. ”When some of the boiler crew lost their sea legs and dropped off at Dublin, I stepped up. I’ve made back my passage, and a bit more!”
9
Our mother’s eyes welled up with tears. “Och, children, won’t your Pop be proud!”
10
“Will he remember us, do you think, Mum?” I piped up. I barely remembered him myself. Pop had left Scotland more than three years ago. I had made him wait for his kiss goodbye as I was fixed on a marble game with my playmates. He’d never even met little Dennis, his namesake. Our eldest sister, Mary, who’d journeyed ahead of us as well, was a grown woman now with a good position as a cook’s assistant.
11
Mary stood on tiptoe on the dock, reaching for us as though she expected to pluck us off the boat without waiting for us to disembark. Those three years seemed like an eternity. I wondered what awaited us this fine day. What new, glamorous American home would we be in this night? What fine meal and treats had Mary and our father planned for our reunion? I was thrilled, frightened, but most of all proud. The Callaghans were together again in America.
Resize Columns
Question 6.
Read this sentence from paragraph 1.
The sight of the grimy Philadelphia docks was one of the most welcoming I’d ever seen in my young life.
What theme of the story does this sentence introduce?
The family is greatly relieved to end its journey.
The family hopes to make its fortune in America.
The family looks forward to cleaning up after the long journey.
The family hopes to return to Scotland together some day.
Question 7.
Summarize the text by placing the events in the order in which they occur.
The reader learns that Mum and many passengers nearly died.The family sees the docks at Philadelphia.The author wonders if his father will remember them. The author looks forward to life in a new country.Tommy comes up from working by the furnaces.
Drag unused options from here:
The author looks forward to life in a new country.
Tommy comes up from working by the furnaces.
The family sees the docks at Philadelphia.
The reader learns that Mum and many passengers nearly died.
The author wonders if his father will remember them.
Drop and order your selected options here:
Question 8.
Read this sentence from paragraph 8.
“It all worked out, Mum,” said Tommy, ever the positive one.
The word positive describes Tommy as someone who
expresses himself clearly.
is very sure of himself.
looks on the bright side.
likes to speak well of people.
Question 9.
Read this sentence from paragraph 1.
Julia, 7, Frankie, 10, and I, age 12, braved a step up onto the bottom rail and stretched our arms out into the wind.
What information does this sentence introduce about the narrator?
The narrator is surprised about the climate.
The narrator is a young person.
The narrator is from Scotland.
The narrator wants to stand alone at the rail.
Question 10.
What do paragraphs 1 and 10 reveal about the setting and the plot? Use details from the text in your response.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
**Question 6:**
What theme of the story does this sentence introduce?
**Answer:** The family is greatly relieved to end its journey.
---
**Question 7:**
Summarize the text by placing the events in the order in which they occur.
**Drag and order your selected options here:**
1. The family sees the docks at Philadelphia.
2. The reader learns that Mum and many passengers nearly died.
3. Tommy comes up from working by the furnaces.
4. The author wonders if his father will remember them.
5. The author looks forward to life in a new country.
---
**Question 8:**
The word positive describes Tommy as someone who
**Answer:** looks on the bright side.
---
**Question 9:**
What information does this sentence introduce about the narrator?
**Answer:** The narrator is a young person.
---
**Question 10:**
What do paragraphs 1 and 10 reveal about the setting and the plot? Use details from the text in your response.
**Answer:** Paragraph 1 reveals that the setting is the docks in Philadelphia, where the family has just arrived, giving a sense of relief and excitement as they conclude their journey. The narrator describes the docks as "grim" yet "welcoming," suggesting a mix of challenges ahead but also hope for a new beginning in America. In paragraph 10, the setting emphasizes the family's emotional state, as they contemplate their situation in America and express a desire to reunite with their father, who has been away for three years. The mention of their excitement and wonder about their new life highlights the plot's theme of reunion, new beginnings, and the challenges of immigrating to a new country.
What theme of the story does this sentence introduce?
**Answer:** The family is greatly relieved to end its journey.
---
**Question 7:**
Summarize the text by placing the events in the order in which they occur.
**Drag and order your selected options here:**
1. The family sees the docks at Philadelphia.
2. The reader learns that Mum and many passengers nearly died.
3. Tommy comes up from working by the furnaces.
4. The author wonders if his father will remember them.
5. The author looks forward to life in a new country.
---
**Question 8:**
The word positive describes Tommy as someone who
**Answer:** looks on the bright side.
---
**Question 9:**
What information does this sentence introduce about the narrator?
**Answer:** The narrator is a young person.
---
**Question 10:**
What do paragraphs 1 and 10 reveal about the setting and the plot? Use details from the text in your response.
**Answer:** Paragraph 1 reveals that the setting is the docks in Philadelphia, where the family has just arrived, giving a sense of relief and excitement as they conclude their journey. The narrator describes the docks as "grim" yet "welcoming," suggesting a mix of challenges ahead but also hope for a new beginning in America. In paragraph 10, the setting emphasizes the family's emotional state, as they contemplate their situation in America and express a desire to reunite with their father, who has been away for three years. The mention of their excitement and wonder about their new life highlights the plot's theme of reunion, new beginnings, and the challenges of immigrating to a new country.