Borrowers Inference Reading Worksheet
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Borrowers Inference Reading Worksheet
The Borrowers’ lost button
The narrow gap beneath the kitchen floorboards was home to Arjun, her father, and her mother. They were no taller than a teaspoon. Their table was a matchbox, their chairs were made from corks, and a blue button served as a serving dish. Every few days, Arjun’s father, Arun, went out to find things the family needed. He called this “borrowing”, although the people upstairs never knew their things had gone. Arun chose only small items that would not be missed at once: a crumb of bread, a length of thread, or a dropped pin. Before he left, he checked the hallway through a crack in the skirting board. He waited until the house was quiet, then stepped carefully over the floor, listening for footsteps. One evening, Arjun heard a soft clink from above. The blue button had slipped through a gap in the boards and landed in a dusty corner of the hallway. It was the family’s largest dish. Arjun wanted to fetch it straight away, but her mother held up a hand. A pair of heavy shoes crossed the hallway. They stopped just beside the gap. The shoes moved on. Arun crawled out, carrying a spool of thread as a rope. He tied one end to a nail and lowered himself down towards the button. Halfway there, the front door opened. Arun froze. Arjun held her breath too. A stripe of daylight stretched across the floor, and a person’s shadow covered the button. Then a bag was set down, the door shut, and the shadow vanished. Arun climbed back up, tired but smiling. “Tomorrow,” he whispered. “We’ll make a safer plan.” Arjun looked at the button below. It was only a few steps away, yet it seemed farther than ever.
Find the clues
Answer using evidence from the passage. More than one well-supported inference may be possible for the written questions.
- They are about as tall as a teaspoon.
- They are the same size as the people upstairs.
- They are taller than the kitchen table.
- Their size changes when they go outside.
- He is trying not to be seen or heard by the people upstairs.
- He wants to find a particular book.
- He is waiting for Arjun to carry the supplies.
- He is afraid of the dark.
- She has heard or noticed a person nearby and wants Arjun to stay still.
- She wants Arjun to polish the button first.
- She is telling Arjun the button belongs upstairs.
- She has forgotten where the button fell.
3 printable pages
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
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