A Voice Across the Snow

• ○A. It makes Nesrin uncertain about her family’s plans.
• ○B. It reminds Nesrin of rules at her former school.
• ○C. It blocks Nesrin from an opportunity she values.
• ○D. It gives Nesrin privacy she has been hoping to find.

After three weeks at her new school, Nesrin had finally been invited to sit with Tobin and his friends.She had spent the previous evening deciding which story about her old town might make them laugh.Her lunch container waited beside her backpack.Now she returned its untouched contents to the refrigerator, arranging everything more carefully than necessary.

• ○A. It suggests unfamiliar surroundings rather than a familiar apartment.
• ○B. It suggests unwanted isolation rather than simply a location.
• ○C. It suggests physical danger rather than an ordinary inconvenience.
• ○D. It suggests welcome independence rather than family company.

• ○A. “‘Marooned,’ she typed beneath the closure alert in the class chat.”
• ○B. “The word looked dramatic on the bright screen.”
• ○C. “Tobin’s name appeared in the member list, followed by a tiny gray circle.”
• ○D. “She could hear her family making breakfast, yet she felt cut off from everyone she hoped would know her.”

• ○A. It depends on waiting quietly rather than starting conversations.
• ○B. It can require repeated attempts rather than an instant change.
• ○C. It works better through electronic messages than through lunch conversations.
• ○D. It requires finding people whose interests exactly match yours.

• ○A. She discards two recordings before trying a different approach.
• ○B. She ends her message with an invitation to respond.
• ○C. She sends her message before removing the amusing incident.
• ○D. She describes her sister’s celebration of the school closure.

• ○A. It makes remaining at home seem safer than entering an unfamiliar group.
• ○B. It makes her classmates seem responsible for solving her loneliness.
• ○C. It makes sharing her own voice seem necessary for letting others know her.
• ○D. It makes telling an entertaining story seem like a test she must pass.

While she waited, Nesrin remembered the traveler in “The House of Borrowed Doors,” demanding an entrance without allowing anyone to hear him.She had nearly done the same thing.A reply arrived from Tobin, who was laughing at his own failed attempt to make breakfast.Nesrin answered with a laugh that broke halfway through, and she left that imperfect sound in the recording.

• ○A. It makes the setting feel empty and less welcoming.
• ○B. It makes the setting feel secretive and less trustworthy.
• ○C. It makes the setting feel unfamiliar and less predictable.
• ○D. It makes the setting feel quieter and less intimidating.

• ○A. “From her warm kitchen, Nesrin listened to the soft brush of flakes against the window.”
• ○B. “Tobin sent another message.”
• ○C. “The distance between their buildings remained, but it no longer seemed to be the only thing between them.”
• ○D. “Snow rested on the courtyard railings.”

• ○A. It would replace a formal request with a hesitant apology.
• ○B. It would replace a low-pressure invitation with an insistent demand.
• ○C. It would replace nervous uncertainty with grateful relief.
• ○D. It would replace mild disappointment with amused curiosity.

• ○A. “If you feel like it” leaves Tobin free to choose.
• ○B. “Turn” suggests that another person can speak next.
• ○C. “Your” addresses Tobin rather than the entire class.
• ○D. The short statement follows a longer recorded account.