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📖 The Weight of a Promise

9th Grade reading comprehension · Literary fiction · Read the passage, then circle the best answer.

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When Grandpa Joon moved into the care home, he gave Mina his watch. “It runs slow,” he warned, “but it never stops.” She wore it every day, even when friends teased her about the scratched leather strap.

The watch lost four minutes a week. Every Sunday, Mina reset it while Grandpa watched from his armchair, nodding as if she were performing an important ceremony.

In spring, his memory began to slip. Some Sundays he called her by her mother’s name. But each time she twisted the tiny crown on the watch, his eyes cleared for a moment, and he would say, “Four minutes. Always four minutes.”

Years later, Mina still resets the watch every Sunday. It is slow, scratched and old-fashioned. It is also, she has decided, exactly on time.

Words to know: ceremony: a formal act done in a special way · crown (of a watch): the small knob used to set the time

  1. What did Grandpa warn about the watch?
    1. It was broken.
    2. It ran slow but never stopped.
    3. It was expensive.
  2. Why might resetting the watch feel like a ceremony?
    1. It took hours.
    2. Other people watched.
    3. It was a meaningful ritual between them.
  3. What does “his eyes cleared for a moment” suggest?
    1. He was angry.
    2. He briefly remembered and connected with Mina.
    3. He needed glasses.
  4. What does the final line mean?
    1. Its value lies in the connection it represents, not its accuracy.
    2. The watch was repaired.
    3. Mina bought a new watch.
✂ Answer key: fold or cut along the line

1. B (detail)   2. C (inference)   3. B (inference)   4. A (theme)

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