Free printable ISEE practice test for Grade 3

Reading

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 11 minutes.

1. A Gift from France

   The Statue of Liberty stands on an island in New York Harbor. She holds a torch high in her right hand. For more than a hundred years, she has welcomed ships into the harbor. But the statue was not made in the United States. It was a gift from the people of France.

   In 1865, a group of people in France wanted to honor the friendship between the two countries. Both nations believed in freedom. A French artist named Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue. A French builder named Gustave Eiffel designed the iron frame inside it. Eiffel later built the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris.

   The statue's skin is made of thin sheets of copper. Workers hammered the sheets into shape by hand. They built the whole statue in France. Then they took it apart and packed it into more than two hundred crates. In 1885, a ship carried the crates across the Atlantic Ocean.

   The statue needed a tall stone base to stand on. Americans were supposed to pay for the base. At first, people did not give enough money. Then a New York newspaper asked its readers to help. More than 120,000 people sent money. Many of them were children who gave just a few pennies.

   On October 28, 1886, the statue was finally ready. Crowds filled the harbor for a big celebration.

   When it was new, the statue was a shiny brown, like a new penny. Over many years, the copper slowly turned green. This green coat actually protects the metal underneath.

   Today, millions of people visit the statue each year. In her left hand, she holds a tablet. It shows the date July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals. That is the day the United States declared its independence.

   1.

   Why did the statue change from brown to green?

   1. AWorkers painted it green in 1886.
   2. BEiffel built it with a green iron frame.
   3. CAmericans wanted it to match the trees.
   4. DIts copper skin slowly changed color over many years.
2. 2.

   What happened right before a ship carried the crates across the ocean?

   1. AA newspaper asked its readers to help.
   2. BWorkers took the statue apart and packed it.
   3. CThe statue was set on its stone base.
   4. DThe copper slowly turned green.
3. 3.

   In the passage, what does the word "honor" mean in "wanted to honor the friendship"?

   1. Ato show respect for
   2. Bto argue about
   3. Cto bring to an end
   4. Dto pay money for
4. 4.

   Why does the author explain what the date on the tablet means?

   1. ATo show readers how to read Roman numerals
   2. BTo help readers understand why that date matters to the United States
   3. CTo describe what the torch looks like
   4. DTo explain why the statue was made in France
5. 5.

   Grandma was as busy as a bee getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

   What does the phrase in bold mean?

   1. Avery lazy and slow
   2. Bmaking honey in a hive
   3. Ca little bit angry
   4. Dvery busy, with lots to do

6. The Great Hamster Hunt

   On Monday morning, Room 12 had a problem. The door of the hamster cage was open, and Pickles was gone.

   "Nobody panic," said Ms. Park. Then she looked under her own desk, just in case.

   The class split into teams. Team One checked the reading corner. They found three pencils, a lost library book, and a sock nobody would claim. Team Two checked the coat hooks. They found a mitten with a hole in the thumb, but no hamster.

   Diego, who wanted to be a detective when he grew up, lay flat on the floor. "Hamsters leave clues," he said. "Look for crumbs."

   Sure enough, there was a tiny trail of cracker crumbs. It led past the sink, around the globe, and straight to Ms. Park's lunch bag.

   Everyone tiptoed closer. The bag was moving. It wiggled to the left. It wiggled to the right. Then it made a crunching sound.

   Ms. Park opened the bag very slowly. There sat Pickles, right on top of her lunch. His cheeks were stuffed so full of crackers that his head looked twice its normal size. He blinked at them as if to say, "What? I was hungry."

   The whole class burst out laughing. Even Ms. Park laughed, though she had to say goodbye to her crackers.

   Diego carefully lifted Pickles back into his cage. Then he checked the door. The latch was loose, so the door opened whenever Pickles pushed on it. Ms. Park fixed it with a twist tie from the art closet.

   "Good detective work, Diego," she said.

   That afternoon, the class wrote a new rule on the board in big letters: CHECK THE LATCH. Under it, someone drew a hamster with puffy cheeks.

   Pickles did not seem to mind. He was fast asleep in his bedding, still full of crackers.

   6.

   What is this story mostly about?

   1. AA hamster learns how to open a lunch bag.
   2. BTwo teams race to clean up the classroom.
   3. CA class follows clues to find its missing hamster.
   4. DDiego learns how to build a hamster cage.
7. 7.

   What happens right after the class finds the trail of cracker crumbs?

   1. ADiego lifts Pickles back into his cage.
   2. BEveryone tiptoes toward Ms. Park's lunch bag.
   3. CMs. Park fixes the latch with a twist tie.
   4. DTeam Two checks the coat hooks.
8. 8.

   Why was Pickles able to get out of his cage?

   1. AHe chewed a hole in the side of the cage.
   2. BThe latch was loose, so the door opened when he pushed it.
   3. CSomeone moved the cage next to the sink.
   4. DMs. Park took him out to play.
9. 9.

   In the story, what does the word "claim" mean in "a sock nobody would claim"?

   1. Ato wash and dry
   2. Bto look for
   3. Cto say that something belongs to you
   4. Dto give as a gift
10. 10.

    We flew coach to Florida, so our seats were small.

    Which meaning of coach is used in this sentence?

    1. Aa large carriage pulled by horses
    2. Bteach and train someone
    3. Cthe cheaper seats on an airplane
    4. Da person who trains a team