In paragraph 1, the net hangs “like a gray ghost,” and the bay has “gone the color of pencil lead.” How does this figurative language help establish the mood at the opening of the story?

It creates a hushed, heavy mood, hinting that something unspoken hangs over the household.

It creates a playful mood, suggesting that the father enjoys his quiet hobby late at night.

It creates a frightening mood, warning that the bay poses a physical danger to the family.

It creates a hopeful mood, suggesting that Nadia's acceptance letter will be welcome news.

What is the most likely reason Lincoln begins the speech by referring to events of “Four score and seven years ago”?

to tie the present war to the nation's founding ideals, presenting the conflict as a test of whether they can survive

to remind the audience of the exact date on which the battle at Gettysburg began

to praise the nation's founders as greater heroes than the soldiers who died on the battlefield

to give the audience a detailed history lesson about the battles fought during the founding of the new nation long ago

Part A: Which objection does the author of Passage 1 address in paragraph 5?

that native yards would look untidy and lower property values

that native plants need extra water while they become established

that turf grass is necessary to keep soil from washing away

that a mandate would take away homeowners' freedom to choose

Which sentence from paragraph 1 uses figurative language to describe the natural setting while also hinting at suspense?

“The bay was flat as a held breath when they pushed off from the dock, so smooth that the skiff's bow seemed to be cutting through a sheet of hammered tin.”

“Neither of them had said anything about the letter yet.”

“Lena sat on the middle bench with the bait bucket between her sneakers and watched her grandfather's hands on the tiller— brown, knotted, steady as fence posts.”

“It rode along with them anyway, folded in the back pocket of her shorts, as heavy as a stone.”

Part A: What is the central idea of Anthony's speech?

Because women are persons and therefore citizens, the Constitution already protects their right to vote.

Voting is a privilege that each state may grant or withhold from its residents as it chooses.

Women should gain the vote through a new amendment because the current Constitution clearly excludes them.

Women deserve the vote because many of them are better educated than the men who now vote.

How does the narrator’s description of the bell in paragraph 1 contribute to the story?

It presents the bell through the narrator’s confident but narrow judgment, setting up a belief that the rest of the story will test.

It explains that the bell was installed by the narrator’s mother, linking the object to a family member who no longer works on the truck.

It establishes the bell as a valuable antique, suggesting that the family’s real concern is protecting it from damage while the father is away.

It shows that customers have openly complained about the bell, giving the narrator a practical reason to remove it before the lunch rush.

Which sentence from paragraph 1 best shows that Lincoln deliberately avoids triumphant claims about how the war will end?

“With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.”

“Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper.”

“The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all.”

“At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first.”

In Passage 1, paragraph 4, the author says students are “warehoused in first-period classrooms.” What is the connotation of warehoused in this sentence?

Students are stored like objects rather than taught, suggesting early classes waste their time.

Students are organized efficiently, suggesting early classes run more smoothly than later ones.

Students are kept safe and protected, suggesting early classes are a secure place to rest.

Students are crowded into small rooms, suggesting schools need to build larger classrooms.

How do the opening stage directions and Lourdes's first speech shape the audience's experience of the rest of the scene?

They tell the audience why Lourdes is selling the boxes, so Mateo's accusations carry dramatic irony throughout.

They suggest that the grandmother is still alive, so the audience expects her to return and settle the argument.

They describe the labels in detail, so the audience understands that the collection is worth a great deal of money.

They reveal that Lourdes plans to keep the money herself, so the audience distrusts her whenever she defends the sale.

Part A: How does Emerson develop his central idea from paragraph 1 to paragraph 5?

He moves from an inner conviction about each person's unique gift to a defense of that gift against pressure to conform.

He moves from praising consistency as a great virtue to admitting that famous thinkers were sometimes inconsistent.

He moves from a criticism of society's greed to a call for readers to unite and reform society's public institutions.

He moves from a story about his own schooling to a list of practical rules for how readers should behave in public. Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, 5 And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare; But all the time I’se been a’climbin’ on, 10 And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark, Where there ain’t been no light. So boy, don’t you turn back; 15 Don’t you sit down on the steps, ’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard; Don’t you fall now— For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, 20 And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

Florida FAST Grade 10 ELA Reading

Free Florida FAST Grade 10 ELA Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the Florida FAST Grade 10 ELA Reading, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Across Genres and Vocabulary, Prose and Poetry, Connotation, Informational Text, Reading, Language.

Question 1 · Across Genres and Vocabulary
In paragraph 1, the net hangs “like a gray ghost,” and the bay has “gone the color of pencil lead.” How does this figurative language help establish the mood at the opening of the story?
- A.It creates a playful mood, suggesting that the father enjoys his quiet hobby late at night.
- B.It creates a frightening mood, warning that the bay poses a physical danger to the family.
- C.It creates a hushed, heavy mood, hinting that something unspoken hangs over the household.
- D.It creates a hopeful mood, suggesting that Nadia's acceptance letter will be welcome news.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. It creates a hushed, heavy mood, hinting that something unspoken hangs over the household.
The ghostly net and dull, colorless bay make the late-night porch feel quiet and weighed down, which fits the unspoken tension about the envelope Nadia is hiding in paragraph 3. Reading the ghost image as a literal warning of danger takes the simile too literally; nothing in the story suggests the bay threatens anyone.
Question 2 · Informational Text
What is the most likely reason Lincoln begins the speech by referring to events of “Four score and seven years ago”?
- A.to remind the audience of the exact date on which the battle at Gettysburg began
- B.to tie the present war to the nation's founding ideals, presenting the conflict as a test of whether they can survive
- C.to praise the nation's founders as greater heroes than the soldiers who died on the battlefield
- D.to give the audience a detailed history lesson about the battles fought during the founding of the new nation long ago
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. to tie the present war to the nation's founding ideals, presenting the conflict as a test of whether they can survive
Paragraph 1 recalls a nation “conceived in Liberty” and devoted to equality, and paragraph 2 calls the war a test of “whether that nation... can long endure,” so the opening frames the war as a trial of founding principles. The speech gives no detailed history and never ranks the founders above the soldiers.
Question 3 · Informational Text
Part A: Which objection does the author of Passage 1 address in paragraph 5?
- A.that native plants need extra water while they become established
- B.that turf grass is necessary to keep soil from washing away
- C.that a mandate would take away homeowners' freedom to choose
- D.that native yards would look untidy and lower property values
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. that native yards would look untidy and lower property values
Paragraph 5 opens with “Critics argue that native yards look messy and will lower property values” and then responds to that concern. The freedom objection appears only in Passage 2, and Passage 1 never responds to it.
Question 4 · Across Genres and Vocabulary
Which sentence from paragraph 1 uses figurative language to describe the natural setting while also hinting at suspense?
- A.“Neither of them had said anything about the letter yet.”
- B.“Lena sat on the middle bench with the bait bucket between her sneakers and watched her grandfather's hands on the tiller— brown, knotted, steady as fence posts.”
- C.“The bay was flat as a held breath when they pushed off from the dock, so smooth that the skiff's bow seemed to be cutting through a sheet of hammered tin.”
- D.“It rode along with them anyway, folded in the back pocket of her shorts, as heavy as a stone.”
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. “The bay was flat as a held breath when they pushed off from the dock, so smooth that the skiff's bow seemed to be cutting through a sheet of hammered tin.”
The simile “flat as a held breath” describes the calm bay while suggesting something waiting to be released, which hints at both the storm and the unspoken argument. The stone simile also suggests tension, but it describes the letter in Lena's pocket rather than the natural setting.
Question 5 · Informational Text
Part A: What is the central idea of Anthony's speech?
- A.Voting is a privilege that each state may grant or withhold from its residents as it chooses.
- B.Women should gain the vote through a new amendment because the current Constitution clearly excludes them.
- C.Women deserve the vote because many of them are better educated than the men who now vote.
- D.Because women are persons and therefore citizens, the Constitution already protects their right to vote.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Because women are persons and therefore citizens, the Constitution already protects their right to vote.
From her opening claim that she exercised rights “guaranteed” by the Constitution (paragraph 1) to her conclusion that laws against women are “null and void” (paragraph 6), Anthony argues that women already hold the right to vote. Calling for a new amendment reverses her claim, since she insists no change is needed.
Question 6 · Prose and Poetry
How does the narrator’s description of the bell in paragraph 1 contribute to the story?
- A.It explains that the bell was installed by the narrator’s mother, linking the object to a family member who no longer works on the truck.
- B.It presents the bell through the narrator’s confident but narrow judgment, setting up a belief that the rest of the story will test.
- C.It establishes the bell as a valuable antique, suggesting that the family’s real concern is protecting it from damage while the father is away.
- D.It shows that customers have openly complained about the bell, giving the narrator a practical reason to remove it before the lunch rush.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. It presents the bell through the narrator’s confident but narrow judgment, setting up a belief that the rest of the story will test.
In paragraph 1 the narrator calls the bell “the reason the line backed up” and boasts of “the certainty of someone who had read three articles about efficiency,” so the description reveals a confident but limited view that later events overturn. No customer complaints are mentioned; the narrator alone decides the bell “made people look,” so the idea that customers complained misreads her opinion as fact.
Question 7 · Informational Text
Which sentence from paragraph 1 best shows that Lincoln deliberately avoids triumphant claims about how the war will end?
- A.“Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper.”
- B.“With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.”
- C.“The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all.”
- D.“At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first.”
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. “With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.”
Even while admitting “high hope,” Lincoln states that “no prediction” is ventured, refusing to claim victory and setting a restrained tone for the reflection that follows. The sentence about “the progress of our arms” describes how the war is going, not a refusal to forecast its end, so it does not show the deliberate restraint the question asks about.
Question 8 · Connotation
In Passage 1, paragraph 4, the author says students are “warehoused in first-period classrooms.” What is the connotation of warehoused in this sentence?
- A.Students are organized efficiently, suggesting early classes run more smoothly than later ones.
- B.Students are stored like objects rather than taught, suggesting early classes waste their time.
- C.Students are kept safe and protected, suggesting early classes are a secure place to rest.
- D.Students are crowded into small rooms, suggesting schools need to build larger classrooms.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Students are stored like objects rather than taught, suggesting early classes waste their time.
A warehouse stores goods, so the word suggests students are simply held in place like merchandise “at an hour when they can absorb almost nothing.” The author is not complaining about room size; the second half of the sentence shows the concern is wasted learning, not crowding.
Question 9 · Prose and Poetry
How do the opening stage directions and Lourdes's first speech shape the audience's experience of the rest of the scene?
- A.They suggest that the grandmother is still alive, so the audience expects her to return and settle the argument.
- B.They describe the labels in detail, so the audience understands that the collection is worth a great deal of money.
- C.They reveal that Lourdes plans to keep the money herself, so the audience distrusts her whenever she defends the sale.
- D.They tell the audience why Lourdes is selling the boxes, so Mateo's accusations carry dramatic irony throughout.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. They tell the audience why Lourdes is selling the boxes, so Mateo's accusations carry dramatic irony throughout.
Before Mateo enters, the audience hears the grandmother's letter telling Lourdes to sell the boxes for "his school" and to let him be angry, so when Mateo says "I think you'd sell them for the right price," the audience knows he is wrong. The letter says the money is for Mateo, which rules out the idea that Lourdes means to keep it.
Question 10 · Informational Text
Part A: How does Emerson develop his central idea from paragraph 1 to paragraph 5?
- A.He moves from praising consistency as a great virtue to admitting that famous thinkers were sometimes inconsistent.
- B.He moves from an inner conviction about each person's unique gift to a defense of that gift against pressure to conform.
- C.He moves from a criticism of society's greed to a call for readers to unite and reform society's public institutions.
- D.He moves from a story about his own schooling to a list of practical rules for how readers should behave in public. Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, 5 And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare; But all the time I’se been a’climbin’ on, 10 And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark, Where there ain’t been no light. So boy, don’t you turn back; 15 Don’t you sit down on the steps, ’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard; Don’t you fall now— For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, 20 And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. He moves from an inner conviction about each person's unique gift to a defense of that gift against pressure to conform.
Paragraphs 1–2 describe the power each person must trust, paragraphs 3–4 introduce society as the force that opposes it, and paragraph 5 defends changing one's mind even at the cost of being misunderstood. Emerson never praises consistency; he attacks "a foolish consistency" from the first sentence of paragraph 5.

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