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Cold Reads Practice

Week of October 6–10, 2025

📖 Directions: Read the selection carefully and answer the questions that follow. Click on your answer choice for each question.

The Wise Spider

An African Folktale

Long ago, all the wisdom in the world belonged to Anansi the Spider. He kept it locked away in a large clay pot. Anansi was very proud of his wisdom and did not want to share it with anyone.

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One day, Anansi decided to hide his pot of wisdom at the top of a tall tree where no one could find it. He tied the pot to his belly with strong rope and began to climb. But the pot kept getting in his way, bumping against the tree trunk with every step.

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Anansi's young son watched from below. "Father," he called out, "why don't you tie the pot to your back instead? Then you could climb much easier."

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Anansi stopped climbing and thought about what his son had said. He realized that even though he had all the wisdom in the world in his pot, his young son had just taught him something new. Anansi became so frustrated that he threw the pot down from the tree. It shattered into thousands of pieces, and the wisdom scattered everywhere, landing in every corner of the world.

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That is why, to this day, everyone in the world has a little bit of wisdom. No one person has it all, and we can all learn from each other.

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1 Which phrase from the story best describes Anansi's feelings about his wisdom?
ALong ago
BVery proud
CLarge clay pot
DTall tree
2 The phrase "kept getting in his way" shows that —
AAnansi was a very slow climber
Bthe pot was making it hard for Anansi to climb
CAnansi wanted to give up climbing
Dthe tree was too tall for Anansi
3 Which detail from the story shows that Anansi's son is clever?
AHe watched his father from below
BHe called out to his father
CHe suggested a better way to carry the pot
DHe stayed on the ground
4 The phrase "scattered everywhere" means that the wisdom —
Adisappeared completely
Bstayed in one place
Cspread out in many directions
Dwent back into the pot
🎉 Great Job!
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