Question
Stranded!
Like Mother, Like Daughter
1 Ginny leaned over her daughter Chloe’s desk and tousled Chloe’s hair.
2 “Little translation tip, here, Chloe. ‘Get ready, we are leaving in 10 minutes’ does not generally mean, ‘Start drawing the next epic installment of my comic book and then get cranky when my mom interrupts,’” teased Ginny.
3 “But Mom, I am in the middle!” wailed her daughter. “I’m going to forget if I don’t draw it.”
4 All unbidden, memories of fish darting through the sea—and then the shock of finding herself left behind—bubbled up in Ginny’s mind. Like mother, like daughter? she thought to herself, chuckling. At least drawing comics is cheaper—and safer—than reef diving.
5 “My dearest Clo-Clo, you have my sympathy, but what about the day when you get so lost in thought that you miss the boat—and this time, Captain Bill doesn’t notice?”
6 “Huh? I don’t even know who that is. What boat?”
7 “I’ll tell you on the subway. Now, c’mon, we’re going to be late.”
Ginny’s Story
8 A perfect day, Ginny thought to herself as she gazed at the small island ahead, noting the thin line on the horizon formed by the mainland.
9 “Ninety minutes before we return to the mainland,” Captain Bill reminded the eager snorkelers. Ginny set her dive watch, Plenty of time to explore, and lickety-split, she jumped into the sea.
10 Ginny distanced herself from the boat, Far too crowded, how can anyone see anything? Too much splashing, you’ll frighten the fish! The waters congested with snorkelers were soon behind her, and she felt transported to an underwater world all her own, transfixed by the schools of tiny rainbow fish darting before her, astonished by the turtles that occasionally cruised along the white sands below. Do slow down, come closer to the surface, Ginny willed the fish with her mind. The kelp waved gently, the bright coral winked up at her from the sea floor, making her feel as though she were in a dream.
11 Aaarghhh, she sputtered and choked; she was brought back to reality when a massive wave crashed over her head. Ginny poked her head above the water, Nothing?...Nothing!...Where is the boat? Her mind raced frantically; the boat and its passengers were gone, only the small island and the faraway mainland remained. She glanced at her watch, Three hours, how is that possible, where did the time go? The once dreamy waters were now a nightmare.
12 Right, left, right, left, kick, kick harder, I have to get to that island. Ginny swam frantically to shore and pulled herself up onto the island. There, her only option was to wait for a boat. Minutes became hours. How could they forget me? What if no one comes back? What if I"m stranded forever? Her mind raced, and she began to lose hope, until, shining faintly at first, a small vessel came into view. She began waving vigorously, promising herself to never lose track of time again. What a day! This is a story to tell my children.
Lessons Learned?
13 On the train, brilliant squares of sunlight flashed through the station grates in time with the clattering wheels.
14 “You’re just making that up,” said Chloe. “No one would not notice being stranded in the middle of the ocean—that’s just stupid! It’s one of those mortal tales, right, like the one about the fox?”
15 “I think you mean moral tales,” said Ginny. “And no, it really happened. I was just—”
16 “Mom, 59th Street!” said Chloe, pulling at Ginny’s sleeve and pointing out the subway window.
17 “OK,” said Ginny, laughing as she got up for their stop. “I guess I am the only hopelessly distractible one in this group.” Hand in hand, the two left the train.
Reread these sentences from the story.
The waters congested with snorkelers were soon behind her, and she felt transported to an underwater world all her own, transfixed by the schools of tiny rainbow fish darting before her, astonished by the turtles that occasionally cruised along the white sands below. (paragraph 10)
The word congested shares the common prefix con- (also spelled com-) with these words: contact, community, communicate. Using this information, choose the likely meaning of congested.
A. filled by things or people struggling violently
B. filled by things or people crowded together
C. filled by things or people arranged logically
D. filled by things or people fleeing danger
Like Mother, Like Daughter
1 Ginny leaned over her daughter Chloe’s desk and tousled Chloe’s hair.
2 “Little translation tip, here, Chloe. ‘Get ready, we are leaving in 10 minutes’ does not generally mean, ‘Start drawing the next epic installment of my comic book and then get cranky when my mom interrupts,’” teased Ginny.
3 “But Mom, I am in the middle!” wailed her daughter. “I’m going to forget if I don’t draw it.”
4 All unbidden, memories of fish darting through the sea—and then the shock of finding herself left behind—bubbled up in Ginny’s mind. Like mother, like daughter? she thought to herself, chuckling. At least drawing comics is cheaper—and safer—than reef diving.
5 “My dearest Clo-Clo, you have my sympathy, but what about the day when you get so lost in thought that you miss the boat—and this time, Captain Bill doesn’t notice?”
6 “Huh? I don’t even know who that is. What boat?”
7 “I’ll tell you on the subway. Now, c’mon, we’re going to be late.”
Ginny’s Story
8 A perfect day, Ginny thought to herself as she gazed at the small island ahead, noting the thin line on the horizon formed by the mainland.
9 “Ninety minutes before we return to the mainland,” Captain Bill reminded the eager snorkelers. Ginny set her dive watch, Plenty of time to explore, and lickety-split, she jumped into the sea.
10 Ginny distanced herself from the boat, Far too crowded, how can anyone see anything? Too much splashing, you’ll frighten the fish! The waters congested with snorkelers were soon behind her, and she felt transported to an underwater world all her own, transfixed by the schools of tiny rainbow fish darting before her, astonished by the turtles that occasionally cruised along the white sands below. Do slow down, come closer to the surface, Ginny willed the fish with her mind. The kelp waved gently, the bright coral winked up at her from the sea floor, making her feel as though she were in a dream.
11 Aaarghhh, she sputtered and choked; she was brought back to reality when a massive wave crashed over her head. Ginny poked her head above the water, Nothing?...Nothing!...Where is the boat? Her mind raced frantically; the boat and its passengers were gone, only the small island and the faraway mainland remained. She glanced at her watch, Three hours, how is that possible, where did the time go? The once dreamy waters were now a nightmare.
12 Right, left, right, left, kick, kick harder, I have to get to that island. Ginny swam frantically to shore and pulled herself up onto the island. There, her only option was to wait for a boat. Minutes became hours. How could they forget me? What if no one comes back? What if I"m stranded forever? Her mind raced, and she began to lose hope, until, shining faintly at first, a small vessel came into view. She began waving vigorously, promising herself to never lose track of time again. What a day! This is a story to tell my children.
Lessons Learned?
13 On the train, brilliant squares of sunlight flashed through the station grates in time with the clattering wheels.
14 “You’re just making that up,” said Chloe. “No one would not notice being stranded in the middle of the ocean—that’s just stupid! It’s one of those mortal tales, right, like the one about the fox?”
15 “I think you mean moral tales,” said Ginny. “And no, it really happened. I was just—”
16 “Mom, 59th Street!” said Chloe, pulling at Ginny’s sleeve and pointing out the subway window.
17 “OK,” said Ginny, laughing as she got up for their stop. “I guess I am the only hopelessly distractible one in this group.” Hand in hand, the two left the train.
Reread these sentences from the story.
The waters congested with snorkelers were soon behind her, and she felt transported to an underwater world all her own, transfixed by the schools of tiny rainbow fish darting before her, astonished by the turtles that occasionally cruised along the white sands below. (paragraph 10)
The word congested shares the common prefix con- (also spelled com-) with these words: contact, community, communicate. Using this information, choose the likely meaning of congested.
A. filled by things or people struggling violently
B. filled by things or people crowded together
C. filled by things or people arranged logically
D. filled by things or people fleeing danger
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The likely meaning of "congested" in the context of the sentence is:
B. filled by things or people crowded together.
In this case, "congested" describes the waters being filled with many snorkelers, which creates a crowded situation.
B. filled by things or people crowded together.
In this case, "congested" describes the waters being filled with many snorkelers, which creates a crowded situation.