"That was really awesome, Mom," Ryan said when the tour was over. "It was so cool to see all the animals, and the biking made it
easier to get from one exhibit to the next. I can't believe we saw the entire zoo that quickly."
It was time for Ryan's mom to examine the tamarins, so they headed to the Primate Discovery Center. They walked into the veterinarian's room so that his mother could examine the tamarins. The public wasn't allowed to see them until Ryan's mother had looked them over and made sure they were healthy. The room was white, very sterile, and looked like an operating room that you would see on TV. Ryan's eyes widened and a look of uneasiness crossed his face. He was scared, and his mother noticed right away.
"Don't worry, we won't be operating on the tamarins today. We are just checking their health and looking at their eyes, ears, and hands during this visit. We want to make sure they are healthy enough to be put into their enclosure," she said. Just then, a zoo employee brought in the two tamarins, and Ryan immediately understood why they were called cotton-top tamarins. They had white tufts of hair on top of their heads. The zoo employee told Ryan and his mom that these two tamarins were the first of many to come to the zoo. If these two stayed healthy and appeared to be happy in their enclosure, the zoo would be able to get even more tamarins to fill the exhibit which is why they wanted to make sure they had an expert come in to examine them.
It took Ryan's mother 30 minutes to check each tamarin. He held his breath the whole time, worried that she might find something wrong. She wanted to make sure they both had thorough examinations. Finally, after an hour, she gave them both the all clear, and Ryan finally exhaled.
One of the tamarins was looking right at Ryan and had her arms stretched out. Ryan looked at his mom with his eyebrows raised as if asking a question. She nodded at him, so he reached out and picked her up from the examination table. The tamarin licked the end of his nose, and Ryan laughed. He definitely would be back to visit the tamarins as soon as he could.
Read the excerpt from the story Winter Driving.
As he came around a bend in the road, he could feel his tires slip and slide on the ice. But the ice wasn't his only problem. His eyes grew wide when he saw a small hill straight ahead. He scrunched his eyebrows as he concentrated on staying on the road. He worried for a minute since he was driving slowly and the ice on the road might prevent him from making it up the hill.
He drove slowly until he got to the base of the hill. He started making his way up, but it wasn't long before his tires started to spin on the ice. He continued, slow and steady, squeezing the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.
Eventually, Jesper made it to the top of the hill. Phew, he thought. He pulled over so that he could release the steering wheel from his tight grasp. He squeezed his hands into fists a few times to get the blood flowing through his fingers once again. He took a few breaths and continued driving. The snow was still falling, and he knew he definitely didn't want to get stuck sleeping in his car. He had come this far, and he was determined to make it all the way home.
When he reached his driveway, a huge smile spread across his face, and his shoulders finally relaxed. He hadn't realized that his body had been so tense during the entire drive. He put the car in park and turned off the engine with a huge sigh. He was glad to be able to visit with old friends, but the drive home was not enjoyable at all. Next time, he would be sure to check the forecast ahead of time and leave before the weather got bad.
In these stories, the main characters become fearful. Which of the following statements best describes the similarities in how the characters demonstrate their fear?
They ask numerous questions.
They use facial expressions.
They get out of the situation.
They ask for help from others.
