The Starfish Last summer I took a trip to an island. I had a lot of fun. I sat and watched the waves and listened to the ocean. I learned to identify birds. I discovered pretty things and enjoyed the

The Starfish

Last summer I took a trip to an island. I had a lot of fun. I sat and watched the

waves and listened to the ocean. I learned to identify birds. I discovered pretty

things and enjoyed the taste of new foods. It was a very nice time.

One evening I took a pleasant walk by the ocean. When the waves came in,

many starfish* fell on the beach. Some starfish went back into the water, and

they were safe. But other starfish were still on the sand. They would die if they

did not get into the water. There were many starfish on the beach that night. It

made me sad, but I knew I could not fix the problem. I stepped very carefully so

I did not damage them.

Then I saw a little girl. She was also sad about the starfish. She wanted to

prevent all of them from dying. She asked me if I could perhaps help her.

"To be frank, I don't think we can do anything," I said.

The little girl started to cry. She sat back against a rock and thought for a

while. Finally, the emotion was gone. She stopped crying and stood up. Then

she picked up a starfish and threw it into the water.

"What are you doing?" I asked her. But she did not answer me. She just threw

as many starfish as she could. "You cannot save all of them!" I said.

She stopped to look at me. "No, I cannot save them all," she replied. Then

she picked up a very big starfish and said, "But I can save

this one." And then she smiled and threw the starfish as

far as she could into the ocean.

*starfish - an animal shaped like a star that lives in the water

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

1. What is this story about?

a. A girl who wants to save starfish

b. How to throw starfish

c. A girl who is too frank

d. Birds and animals at the ocean

2. What causes the little girl's emotion?

a. She cannot fix the damage she finds to homes.

b. She cannot prevent starfish from dying in the sand.

c. She discovers starfish in the water.

d. She steps on a rock and hurts her foot.

3. What does the man think is NOT good about the island?

a. Watching the waves

b. Identifying birds

c. The starfish dying on the sand

d. Tasting new food

4. What does the girl think the man can perhaps do?

a. Identify birds

b. Take a walk on the beach

c. Discover something pretty

d. Help her save starfish

5. Which starfish were safe on the beach?