Name ____________________________ Date _______________________
The beginning of chapter five is focused on the behaviors and atmosphere of each member of the Quimby family. Read the following passage and respond to the prompts.
Sunday morning Ramona and Beezus were still resolved to be perfect until dinner time. They got up without being called, avoided arguing over who should read Dear Abby’s advice first in the paper, complimented their mother on her French toast, and went through the drizzly rain to Sunday school neat, combed, and bravely smiling.
Later they cleaned up their rooms without being told. At lunchtime they ate without complaint the sandwiches they knew were made of ground-up tongue. A little added pickle relish did not fool them, but it did help. They dried the dishes and carefully avoided looking in the direction of the refrigerator lest their mother reminded them they were supposed to cook the evening meal.
Mr. and Mrs. Quimby were good-humored. In fact, everyone was so unnaturally pleasant that Ramona almost wished someone would say something cross.
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – pages 91-92
In the first sentence Ramona and Beezus were still resolved to be perfect until dinner time.
What do you think “resolved” means in this sentence?
Look at “resolved” in the dictionary and copy the definition that makes sense to you down below.
Now that you understand the word “resolved,” use it in your own sentence.
When everyone was so “unnaturally pleasant,” what does this mean?
Think about what happened the previous day that would cause such a dramatic change in the family?
