The Quiet Shift

Lexile: 1000 | Grade: 9

Passage

The trees do not shout when the season changes. They do not hold press conferences or send out warnings.

Instead, they whisper. One leaf, yellow and brave, lets go first. Then another follows, and another still, until the sky is freckled with color and the sidewalks rustle with soft farewells.

You may not notice it happening. Change never begs for attention. It simply begins—quiet as a breath, steady as a heartbeat.

We often think of transformation as thunderous: the slam of a door, the snap of a decision. But more often, it is the pause between words, the silence after a goodbye, the gentle turn of a key.

In the end, it is not the noise of the world that moves us. It is the hush that follows, and the new rhythm we find inside it.

Questions

Q1: Which sentence best conveys the central metaphor of the passage?

  • A. 'The trees do not shout when the season changes.'
  • B. 'One leaf, yellow and brave, lets go first.'
  • C. 'Change never begs for attention.'
  • D. 'It is the hush that follows, and the new rhythm we find inside it.'

Q2: What literary device is used in the sentence: 'The sky is freckled with color and the sidewalks rustle with soft farewells'?

  • A. Alliteration and personification
  • B. Hyperbole and irony
  • C. Metaphor and onomatopoeia
  • D. Simile and foreshadowing

Q3: How does the author use contrast to emphasize the nature of change?

  • A. By comparing seasons to traffic patterns
  • B. By contrasting loud, dramatic transformations with quiet, natural ones
  • C. By showing how noise leads to peace
  • D. By comparing change to a thunderstorm and a rainbow

Q4: What is the tone of the passage?

  • A. Mournful and bitter
  • B. Calm and reflective
  • C. Angry and confrontational
  • D. Joyful and energetic

Q5: What abstract idea does the passage use seasonal change to symbolize?

  • A. The unpredictability of weather
  • B. The importance of staying still
  • C. The quiet and constant nature of personal growth
  • D. The excitement of dramatic life events

Printable Comprehension Practice

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Answers & Reasoning

Q1: Which sentence best conveys the central metaphor of the passage?

✅ Correct Answer: C

💡 Reasoning: This sentence connects the metaphor of seasonal change with the broader idea that transformation is quiet and gradual.

Q2: What literary device is used in the sentence: 'The sky is freckled with color and the sidewalks rustle with soft farewells'?

✅ Correct Answer: A

💡 Reasoning: The phrase 'soft farewells' personifies the falling leaves, and the repetition of the 's' sound is an example of alliteration.

Q3: How does the author use contrast to emphasize the nature of change?

✅ Correct Answer: B

💡 Reasoning: The author contrasts loud images like slamming doors with quiet metaphors like the falling leaf to emphasize subtlety in transformation.

Q4: What is the tone of the passage?

✅ Correct Answer: B

💡 Reasoning: The language and imagery are gentle and introspective, encouraging the reader to reflect on the quiet power of change.

Q5: What abstract idea does the passage use seasonal change to symbolize?

✅ Correct Answer: C

💡 Reasoning: The seasonal imagery serves as a metaphor for internal change that happens subtly and steadily, without grand gestures.