Anh's Adventure
Anh & The Ancient Monastery
Quiz 11 — A Letter Home
15 Questions
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Quizzes 1–10 ✓
Today — two skills together: vocabulary in context (working out what a word means from the words around it) and inference (reading what is not said directly).
Vocabulary in context. When you find a word you don’t know, look at the words around it. The sentence usually tells you what the word means.
“The paper had two lines, each with a mark through them.” → crossed out = removed by drawing a line through the words.
“He moved at a good, even pace — not too fast, not too slow.” → steadily = at an even, constant pace. (You already know this one.)
Question types:
Vocab in context
Inference
Subject
Adverb
Comprehension
Fill in
A
After the evening bell, Anh sat at a small desk in the corner of the corridor. On the desk: a sheet of paper, a pencil, and a lamp. He had been sitting there for a long time. The paper was not blank — but it was not full either. There was one line written and then crossed out. Below it, another line, also crossed out. He sat with the pencil in his hand and looked at the wall.
B
He knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say: I found a library hidden inside a wall. I climbed a hill and found a stone building. I discovered people who spent their lives protecting ideas. I made two friends and they feel like they have always been my friends. My heart still hurts — but differently now. Less sharp. More like the ache of a muscle that has been used hard. But he could not say any of these things. The library was a secret. And the other things — grief, growing, the slow strange process of learning to carry pain instead of being carried by it — he did not have words for yet.
C
Minh passed. He saw the two crossed-out lines without saying anything. He sat down on the floor beside the desk, his back against the wall. A long silence. Then: “When I first came here, I could not sit still for more than three minutes. My mind went everywhere. To breakfast. To my teacher. To the book I was looking for. Everywhere except here.” A pause. “What did you do?” Anh asked. “I breathed,” said Minh simply.
In
—
hold
—
out
—
hold
“That is all. You don’t punish the mind for running. You just bring it back.”
D
“And the letter?” Anh asked. Minh looked at the paper with its two crossed-out lines. “One word,” he said. “Then another word. The same way you swept the path — not all the leaves at once. One stroke. One step.” He stood up and walked away without looking back. Anh looked at the paper. He picked up the pencil. He wrote one word. Then another.
E
This is what he wrote:
Anh’s letter
Dear Grandmother,
I am well. The food here is simple but good. There is soup most mornings. It is not the same as yours.
I have been learning to sweep, to carry water, and to sit still. Sitting still is the hardest.
I have two friends here. One draws pictures of everything he sees. The other is very calm and knows many things. I think they are good people.
I miss your kitchen. I miss Sundays.
I am learning something here. I do not have a word for it yet. But I think it has something to do with not being afraid of difficult things.
I will write again soon.
Anh
F
Toan appeared in the doorway when Anh was folding the letter. He looked at the folded paper. “Who is it for?” “My grandmother.” Toan went quiet — which was unusual for Toan, whose silence never lasted more than a few seconds. He stood in the doorway for a moment. Then, because he was Toan and he could not help it, he did something small with his ears — a tiny movement, part waggle, part shrug — that never failed to make Anh almost smile. “Good,” said Toan. And walked away.
G
Anh sat with the folded letter for a while after Toan left. The lamp was low. The corridor was quiet. He thought about what it means to write to someone you love when you are far away and when the most important things cannot be explained — when the words you need do not exist yet, or exist but are too large for the page. He thought: you write what you can. You send what you have. Then he went to find Minh — to ask how to send the letter — and found Minh already asleep at his desk, one cheek resting on the copied map, the lamp beside him almost out.
Word Help
grief — the deep sadness that comes from losing someone you love
process — a series of steps that happen over time
corridor — a long passage inside a building, with rooms on each side
waggle — to move something back and forth in a small, funny way
punish — to make someone suffer for doing something wrong
resting — lying or sitting quietly, without effort
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1
Vocabulary in context.
When you find a word or phrase you don’t know, look at the words around it. The sentence usually gives you enough information to work out the meaning.
Question 1
In Paragraph A, Anh has “one line written and then crossed out.” What does “crossed out” mean?
Paragraph AVocab in context
A
Written very neatly in a special styleB
Removed by drawing a line through the wordsC
Put to one side to rewrite more carefully laterQuestion 2
In Paragraph B, Anh’s heart “hurts differently now — less sharp, more like the ache of a muscle that has been used hard.” What does this comparison tell you about how Anh feels?
Paragraph BVocab in context
A
His sadness has changed — still there, but the pain of growth rather than only of lossB
His pain has completely gone awayC
He has hurt himself by carrying too many heavy buckets of water during his morning tasksQuestion 3
In Paragraph F, Toan “went quiet — which was unusual for Toan, whose silence never lasted more than a few seconds.” What does this tell you about Toan’s normal character?
Paragraph FVocab in context
A
Toan is normally very talkative and full of energyB
Toan is normally shy but tries to hide itC
Toan is normally very good at sitting still and being patient for long periods of time2
What is not said directly.
Sometimes the most important things in a story are the things the writer does not say. Read carefully and work out what is underneath the words.
Question 4
Anh’s letter does not mention the library, the hill, or the tablet. Why does he leave these out?
Paragraphs B and EInference
A
He forgot about them while he was writingB
He promised to keep the library secret, and the other things have no words yetC
He did not think his grandmother would be interested in old buildings and booksQuestion 5
In his letter, Anh writes: “I am learning something here. I do not have a word for it yet.” What is he most likely trying to say?
The letter and Paragraph BInference
A
He is learning to live with his sadness — one breath, one step at a timeB
He is learning new vocabulary in his studies with MinhC
He has been learning a new language spoken by the scholars who built the libraryQuestion 6
Complete this sentence using one word from the letter.
Anh writes that he has been learning to sweep, to carry water, and to sit still — and that sitting still is the ___.
The letterFill in
Question 7
In Paragraph G, Anh thinks about writing “when the most important things cannot be explained.” What does this tell you about his letter?
Paragraph GInference
A
The letter contains everything Anh wanted to sayB
The letter is full of mistakes that Anh did not have time to correctC
The letter is honest but incomplete — the most important things live in the spaces between the words3
Revision — subjects and adverbs.
Use what you know from earlier quizzes.
Question 8
In Paragraph C, Minh says “My mind went everywhere.” What is the subject of this sentence?
Paragraph CSubject
A
everywhereB
My mindC
wentQuestion 9
In Paragraph D, Minh “stood up and walked away without looking back.” What does the adverb phrase “without looking back” tell you about Minh?
Paragraph DAdverb
A
He was in a hurry and did not have time to say goodbye properlyB
He was angry with Anh for not being able to write the letter more quicklyC
He gave Anh what he needed and trusted him to use it — no checking, no hovering4
What does the story say?
The answer is stated in the story. Read carefully before choosing.
Question 10
In Paragraph C, what did Minh do when his mind ran during meditation?
Paragraph CComprehension
A
He focused on a single object in the room until his mind became stillB
He breathed — in, hold, out, hold — and brought his mind back without punishing itC
He wrote down his thoughts in his notebook so they would stop moving around inside his headQuestion 11
Complete this sentence using one word from the letter.
Anh writes: “One friend draws pictures. The other is very calm and knows many ___.”
The letterFill in
Question 12
In Paragraph D, how does Minh describe the way to write a letter?
Paragraph DComprehension
A
Read what you have already written before adding each new lineB
One word, then another — the same way you sweep a path, one stroke at a timeC
Write the most difficult thing first, before you have time to be afraid of it5
The bigger picture.
These questions ask you to think about the whole story, not just one paragraph.
Question 13
In Paragraph F, Toan goes quiet when he hears the letter is for Anh’s grandmother. What does this moment tell you about Toan?
Paragraph FInference
A
He does not like Anh’s grandmother and does not want to say soB
Beneath his noise and silliness, Toan understands when a moment is serious — and is quiet for itC
He was about to tell a joke but decided it was not a good time because Anh seemed unhappyQuestion 14
Complete this sentence from Paragraph G.
You write what you can. You send what you ___.
Paragraph GFill in
Question 15
At the end, Anh finds Minh asleep at his desk with one cheek resting on the copied map. What does this tell you about Minh?
Paragraph GInference
A
Minh is lazy and often falls asleep when he should be workingB
Minh’s question about the Keepers never really leaves him — even in sleep he is still carrying itC
The lamp went out and he could not see well enough to keep reading, so he closed his eyes to rest them🔮
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📋 Answers
Q1
B — removed by drawing a line through the wordsThe sentence tells you what it looks like: a line written, then crossed out. A cross is a mark through something. Paragraph A says it is there but he did not want it — so he marked it out. Option A describes calligraphy. Option C describes putting something aside, not removing it.
Q2
A — his sadness has changed; it is still there, but differentParagraph B: “less sharp, more like the ache of a muscle that has been used hard.” A muscle aches after hard work — not because it is damaged, but because it has been used. The sadness is still real, but it is the ache of someone who is growing, not only grieving.
Q3
A — Toan is normally very talkative and full of energyParagraph F tells you directly: Toan’s silence “never lasted more than a few seconds.” This means silence is unusual for him — which tells you he is normally talkative, energetic, and hard to keep quiet.
Q4
B — the library is a secret, and the other things have no words yetParagraph B explains both reasons clearly. Minh asked them to keep the library secret. And Anh’s feelings about grief and growing — he does not have words for yet. Both things are unspeakable, but for different reasons.
Q5
A — he is learning to live with his sadness, one step at a timeParagraph B tells us Anh’s heart still hurts but differently — less sharp, more like a muscle being used. His letter line “something to do with not being afraid of difficult things” points directly to this: learning that difficulty is not the end. It is part of the path.
Q6
hardestFrom the letter: “Sitting still is the hardest.” Of everything Anh has been learning — sweeping, carrying water — the stillness is the most difficult. This connects to what Minh taught him about the breathing.
Q7
C — honest but incomplete; the most important things are between the wordsParagraph G: “the most important things cannot be explained” and “the words you need do not exist yet.” The letter is true — but it cannot hold everything. The reader of the letter, like us, will sense what is underneath.
Q8
B — My mindAsk: WHAT went everywhere? My mind. “Everywhere” tells you where it went — it is an adverb. “Went” is the verb. “My mind” is the noun phrase doing the action.
Q9
C — he gave Anh what he needed and trusted him“Without looking back” means he did not check whether Anh was following his advice. He said what needed to be said, and left. That is the action of someone who trusts the other person to find their own way.
Q10
B — he breathed and brought his mind back without punishing itParagraph C: “I breathed. In — hold — out — hold. That is all. You don’t punish the mind for running. You just bring it back.” Options A and C add details that are not in the text.
Q11
thingsFrom the letter: “The other is very calm and knows many things.” Anh describes Minh without naming him. The reader who has been reading since Quiz 2 knows exactly who this is.
Q12
B — one word, then another — like sweeping a path one stroke at a timeParagraph D: “One word. Then another word. The same way you swept the path — not all the leaves at once. One stroke. One step.” Options A and C add details not in the text.
Q13
B — beneath his noise, Toan understands serious momentsToan’s silence is not confusion or dislike — it is presence. He stands quietly in the doorway. Then he does the ear thing, which is his way of saying: I am here. I care. I cannot fix it. But I am here. That is friendship.
Q14
haveParagraph G: “You write what you can. You send what you have.” This is the same lesson Minh taught with the path: you do not need everything to begin. You begin with what you have.
Q15
B — Minh’s question never really leaves himMinh fell asleep on the copied map — the map of the library, the hill, the path he has been following for eight years. Even in sleep, his cheek rests on it. The question about the Keepers is not something he puts down. He carries it. That is who he is.