Free printable CAASPP practice test for Grade 7

English Language Arts

Circle the letter of the best answer. No time limit.

1. Thor in a Wedding Veil

   A Norse myth, retold from a poem first written down in Iceland more than 700 years ago

   Thor woke one morning, reached for his hammer, and closed his fist on empty air.

   He searched beneath the furs of his bed and behind the woodpile, overturned benches and peered into barrels, then tugged at his red beard and roared until the rafters of his hall rattled. Mjolnir, the hammer that kept the giants out of Asgard, the home of the gods, was gone.

   Loki the trickster wandered in at the noise and asked, "Lost something?" Thor did not find the question amusing.

   Still, Loki could be useful when he wanted to be, so he borrowed the goddess Freyja's cloak of falcon feathers and flew north, over the icy mountains, to the land of the giants. There, on a grassy hill, sat Thrym, lord of the giants, braiding gold collars for his dogs and combing the manes of his horses, as relaxed as a farmer on a summer evening.

   "Welcome, Loki," Thrym called. "Tell me, how are things among the gods these days? I imagine someone is missing a hammer."

   "You took it," said Loki.

   "I did," said Thrym, looking pleased with himself. "And I buried it eight miles under the earth. No one will dig it up but me, and I will do that on one condition. Bring me Freyja, the most beautiful of the goddesses, to be my bride."

   Loki flew home with the news, and together he and Thor went to Freyja. She was so furious at the idea that her whole hall shook, and the famous gold necklace at her throat snapped and scattered across the floor. "Marry a giant?" she said. "Find someone else to send."

   When the gods gathered for a council, everyone understood that without Mjolnir, Asgard was defenseless. At last Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, spoke up. "Since Freyja will not go," he said slowly, "let Thor go in her place, dressed as a bride. Put a veil over his face, Freyja's necklace around his neck, and a ring of household keys on his belt. Let him collect his hammer himself."

   The hall went silent, and every face turned slowly toward Thor.

   "Never," Thor rumbled. "The gods would laugh at me forever."

   "The giants," said Loki sweetly, "will be moving into Asgard by next week if you don't get your hammer back. But don't worry, because I'll come along as your bridesmaid."

   So it was settled, and the gods wrapped Thor in a long linen gown, fastened the mended necklace around his thick neck, and draped a veil over his face and beard. Loki dressed as a maid, and then the two of them drove north in Thor's chariot, pulled by his goats, and the mountains cracked and fire leaped from the earth as the furious bride rode by.

   Thrym was overjoyed when the veiled figure arrived. "Spread fresh straw on the benches!" he shouted to his servants. "Freyja is here at last!"

   When the wedding feast began, the bride ate an entire ox, eight salmon, and every one of the sweet cakes that had been baked for the women, then washed it all down with three barrels of mead.

   Thrym stared in astonishment. "I have never seen a bride with such an appetite."

   Loki leaned close to the giant's ear. "My lady was so eager to marry you," he whispered, "that she could not eat a bite for eight nights."

   Satisfied, Thrym lifted the edge of the veil to steal a kiss, and he leaped backward the whole length of the hall. "Why are Freyja's eyes so fierce? They burn like coals!"

   "My lady was so eager to marry you," Loki said smoothly, "that she has not slept for eight nights."

   Thrym nodded, deeply flattered. "Then let the wedding begin," he cried. "Bring in the hammer to bless the bride! Lay Mjolnir in her lap!"

   Two servants staggered in under its weight and set the great hammer on the bride's knees. Beneath the veil, Thor's heart laughed with delight as he closed his fist around the handle, rose to his full height, and tore the veil away. The giants who had chuckled at the bride's appetite stopped chuckling and scattered like startled geese, and Thrym's hall emptied faster than it had filled.

   Thor drove home with Mjolnir across his knees, still wearing the wedding gown. If any of the gods laughed at him, they were wise enough to do it very quietly.

   1.

   What do Loki's answers at the feast reveal about him?

   1. AHe thinks fast and can make a lie sound believable.
   2. BHe cares more about the feast than about the hammer.
   3. CHe wants the giants to discover Thor's secret.
   4. DHe is too frightened of Thrym to say anything.
2. 2.

   Loki speaks "sweetly" when he warns that the giants will move into Asgard. What does this word choice suggest?

   1. AHe is speaking too softly for the other gods to hear.
   2. BHe is truly happy that the giants are coming.
   3. CHe is teasing Thor, using a gentle tone for a harsh warning.
   4. DHe is afraid of Thor and wants to calm him down.
3. 3.

   How does the last sentence of the myth connect to Thor's protest, "The gods would laugh at me forever"?

   1. AIt shows that Loki ordered the other gods to stop laughing.
   2. BIt shows that the gods never noticed he was wearing a gown.
   3. CIt shows that Thor laughed at the giants instead of the gods.
   4. DIt answers his fear: with the hammer back, any laughing is done very quietly.
4. 4.

   In the myth, what does "defenseless" mean in "Without Mjolnir, Asgard was defenseless"?

   1. Aunable to protect itself
   2. Bcrowded with guests
   3. Cunwilling to fight
   4. Dfar away from the giants' land

5. Read this aloud to your child.

   A Safer Crossing on Elm Street

   To the Editor:

   Every school morning, more than 300 students cross Elm Street at Fifth Avenue to reach Lincoln Middle School, and the only thing protecting us is a set of faded white stripes painted on the pavement. I am asking the city to add flashing warning lights and a crossing guard at that corner before someone gets hurt.

   The most serious problem is that drivers do not stop. Elm Street is wide and straight, and many drivers treat it like a highway, even though the speed limit near the school is 20 miles per hour. Last Tuesday, my dad and I stood at the corner from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and counted the cars that drove through the crosswalk while someone was waiting at it or crossing, and in that single hour there were 14. Last spring, a sixth grader had to jump back onto the curb when a delivery van sped through the crosswalk without slowing down.

   Lincoln is also the oldest middle school in the county, and our marching band won first place at the county fair this summer. A school like ours deserves a street that looks as good as we do.

   Some people will say that warning lights and a crossing guard cost too much. But a flashing light costs far less than a trip to the emergency room, and no one can put a price on a student's safety.

   Please do not wait for a serious accident before making this dangerous corner safe.

   Sincerely,
   Hana Sato, seventh grade, Lincoln Middle School

   5.

   Which reason in the talk is irrelevant to the speaker's claim?

   1. AMore than 300 students cross Elm Street each morning.
   2. BMany drivers treat Elm Street like a highway.
   3. CA delivery van sped through the crossing without slowing down.
   4. DLincoln's marching band won first place at the county fair.

6. Read this aloud to your child.

   Why Your Ears Pop

   You are on a plane as it begins to descend for landing, or in a car winding up a mountain road, when suddenly your ears feel stuffed with cotton. Sounds go muffled. Then you swallow, and with a small pop, everything becomes clear again. What just happened inside your head?

   The answer has to do with air pressure, because the air around us is constantly pressing on everything it touches, including your body. At sea level, that pressure is fairly high, because a tall column of air is pressing down from above. At higher elevations, there is less air above you, so the pressure decreases.

   Inside each ear, just behind the eardrum, is a small, air-filled space called the middle ear. The eardrum is a thin sheet of skin stretched like the top of a drum. Normally, the air pressure in the middle ear matches the pressure outside, so the eardrum sits flat and vibrates freely when sound waves strike it.

   When the outside pressure changes quickly, however, the pressure in the middle ear cannot keep up. On the way up a mountain, the outside pressure drops, and the air trapped in your middle ear pushes the eardrum outward. On the way down, the outside pressure rises and pushes the eardrum inward. Either way, a stretched eardrum can't vibrate well, so sounds seem dull, and your ears may even hurt.

   The fix is a narrow passage called the Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear to the back of the throat. It usually stays closed, but swallowing, yawning or chewing opens it briefly. Air rushes in or out until the pressure on both sides of the eardrum is equal again, and the eardrum snaps back into place. That snap is the pop you hear. It also explains why flying with a cold can be so uncomfortable: a cold can swell the Eustachian tubes shut, trapping the pressure inside.

   6.

   In the talk, what does "muffled" mean in "Sounds go muffled"?

   1. Asofter and less clear
   2. Bfaster than usual
   3. Chigher in pitch
   4. Dfull of echoes
7. 7.

   Maya wrote an essay about the Erie Canal. Her essay won first prize in the history contest.

   Which sentence best combines the two sentences without changing what they mean?

   1. AMaya's essay about the Erie Canal won first prize in the history contest, and it was about the Erie Canal.
   2. BMaya wrote an essay about the Erie Canal, it won first prize in the history contest.
   3. CMaya's essay about the Erie Canal won first prize in the history contest.
   4. DMaya's essay won first prize in the history contest.
8. 8.

   Which sentence uses commas correctly?

   1. AThe hike to the falls, in fact, took, less than two hours.
   2. BThe hike to the falls, in fact took less than two hours.
   3. CThe hike to the falls, in fact, took less than two hours.
   4. DThe hike to the falls, in fact took, less than two hours.
9. 9.

   1. At their first meeting, the team studied pictures of real bridges and chose a design made of triangles.
   2. Finally, at the challenge, the bridge held forty pounds of weights without bending.
   3. Over the next two weeks, they glued hundreds of sticks together, one triangle at a time.
   4. The day before the challenge, they painted the bridge and checked every joint for loose glue.

   In what order should these sentences go?

   1. A3, 1, 4, 2
   2. B4, 3, 1, 2
   3. C1, 2, 4, 3
   4. D1, 3, 4, 2
10. 10.

    You ______ seen the look on Coach Davis's face when we won.

    Which word best completes the sentence?

    1. Ashould have
    2. Bshould had
    3. Cshuold have
    4. Dshould of