How's Your Reading Comprehension & Skills of Deduction?

Here's an excerpt from a New York State Schools standardized test for 8th graders:

The Hare and the Pineapple

by Daniel Pinkwater

In olden times, the animals of the forest could speak English just like you and me. One day, a pineapple challenged a hare to a race.

(I forgot to mention, fruits and vegetables were able to speak too.)

A hare is like a rabbit, only skinnier and faster. This particular hare was known to be the fastest animal in the forest.

“You, a pineapple have the nerve to challenge me, a hare, to a race,” the hare asked the pineapple. “This must be some sort of joke.”

“No,” said the pineapple. “I want to race you. Twenty-six miles, and may the best animal win."

"You aren't even an animal!" the hare said. “You're a tropical fruit!"

“Well, you know what I mean,” the pineapple said.


The animals of the forest thought it was very strange that tropical fruit should want to race a very fast animal.

"The pineapple has some trick up its sleeve," a moose said.

Pineapples don't have sleeves, an owl said

"Well, you know what I mean,” the moose said. "If a pineapple challenges a hare to a race, it must be that the pineapple knows some secret trick that will allow it to win.”

“The pineapple probably expects us to root for the hare and then look like fools when it loses,” said a crow. “Then the pineapple will win the race because the hare is overconfident and takes a nap, or gets lost, or something.”

The animals agreed that this made sense. There was no reason a pineapple should challenge a hare unless it had a clever plan of some sort. So the animals, wanting to back a winner, all cheered for the pineapple.

When the race began, the hare sprinted forward and was out of sight in less than a minute. The pineapple just sat there, never moving an inch.

The animals crowded around watching to see how the pineapple was going to cleverly beat the hare. Two hours later when the hare crossed the finish line, the pineapple was still sitting still and hadn't moved an inch.

The animals ate the pineapple.

MORAL: Pineapples don't have sleeves




Question 1: The animals ate the pineapple most likely because they were:

A) Hungry

Excited

C) Annoyed

D) Amused


Question 2: Which animal spoke the wisest words?

A) The hare

The moose

C) The crow

D) The owl


Question 3: Before the race, how did the animals feel toward the pineapple?

A) Suspicious

Kindly

C) Sympathetic

D) Envious


Question 4: What would have happened if the animals had decided to cheer for the hare?

A) The pineapple would have won the race.

They would have been mad at the hare for winning.

C) The hare would have just sat there and not moved.

D) They would have been happy to have cheered for a winner.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/talking-pineapple-question-state-exam-stumps-article-1.1064657#ixzz1scpFP4j4

Stay tuned for the correct answers. In the meanwhile I'm interested to read what everyone believes the correct answers are, please post your answers as replies to the multiple guess questions and feel free to add your rational for your answers.

P.S. - Is it a coincidence that this story surfaced on 4/20? I think the author of the story might have been dazed and confused when he penned this little gem.

c
d
a
d
IN my high school year book one of the student yb staff had a picture taken with something painted on his chest and a red cape. He sliped it in after the final proof and it went to the printer like that.

Reads to me like some stoner did the same thing here.

I thought the same answers as Neptune.
1:C 2:D 3:A 4:D

I didn't bother to answer the questions cuz I thought they were dumb. Answers depend too much on the readers point of view not necessarily what the tester had in mind. That's why I don't like the ACT, PSAT or SAT except for the math section.

Not many of the educators that wrote the test had answers either... Remind me again, we have a teacher's union because why? To preserve testing standards like these?

I go with Neptune Chimney's answers too except the first one = A. Of course, it's been a long day....