OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Making Inferences from Text Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A character checks the clock repeatedly, taps their foot, and glances at the door. What can you infer?
- The character is bored and wants to sleep
- The character is anxiously waiting for someone or something (Correct answer)
- The character enjoys watching time pass
- The character is lost and looking for an exit
Correct answer: The character is anxiously waiting for someone or something
These behaviours are associated with anxious waiting.
Making inferences requires combining textual evidence with prior knowledge. These behaviours collectively suggest anxious anticipation.
Question 2: A passage describes a small town where 'the main street shops had their lights off by 6 PM, and the only sound was the wind sweeping through empty parking lots.' What can you infer?
- The town is bustling and thriving
- The town is experiencing economic decline or has a small population (Correct answer)
- The town has a strict curfew
- The shops are closed for a holiday
Correct answer: The town is experiencing economic decline or has a small population
Shops closing early and empty parking lots suggest a lack of economic activity.
The details paint a picture of a quiet, possibly declining town.
Question 3: A letter to the editor states: 'If we continue to ignore the crumbling infrastructure of our schools, we will pay a much higher price in the future.' What is the writer implying?
- Schools should be demolished
- Delaying repairs now will lead to greater costs later (Correct answer)
- The writer wants to raise taxes immediately
- Schools are in perfect condition
Correct answer: Delaying repairs now will lead to greater costs later
The writer implies that inaction now leads to greater consequences later.
The cause-and-effect structure implies that inaction leads to greater consequences later.
Question 4: A poem describes a river that 'once carried canoes full of laughter' but now 'crawls through concrete channels, grey and silent.' What can you infer about the theme?
- The poem celebrates urban development
- The poem mourns the loss of natural beauty and human connection (Correct answer)
- The poem is about the joy of canoeing
- The poem describes a river that has always been grey
Correct answer: The poem mourns the loss of natural beauty and human connection
The contrast between vibrant past and lifeless present suggests mourning for lost nature and connection.
The contrast between vibrant past and diminished present implies a theme of mourning for lost natural beauty.
Question 5: A character says 'I'm fine,' but the narrator describes them gripping the armrest so tightly their knuckles turn white. What should the reader infer?
- The character is genuinely fine
- The character's words contradict their body language, suggesting they are not fine (Correct answer)
- The character has a medical condition
- The narrator is unreliable
Correct answer: The character's words contradict their body language, suggesting they are not fine
The contradiction between words and tense body language suggests concealed feelings.
When words contradict physical actions, the reader should infer the character is not being truthful about their emotional state.
Question 6: An informational text states: 'The polar bear population in Hudson Bay has declined by 30% over the past two decades, coinciding with a significant reduction in sea ice coverage.' What inference can be drawn?
- Polar bears prefer to live on land
- The decline in sea ice is likely contributing to the population decline (Correct answer)
- The population will recover on its own
- Sea ice changes have no effect on wildlife
Correct answer: The decline in sea ice is likely contributing to the population decline
The text presents the decline and sea ice reduction as coinciding, inviting the reader to infer a causal connection.
The word 'coinciding' connects two events, inviting the reader to infer a causal relationship.
OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Making Inferences from Text Questions and Answers 2
A character checks the clock repeatedly, taps their foot, and glances at the door.
What can you infer?