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\nLet\u2019s take a look at this example to see how character development works on the ACT Reading:
\nMy dad understood the reason for my lies,
\nand I thought that we would be able to keep a
\nsecret, father and son. I knew it was possible
\nthat Mom would find me out, and I was avoiding
\n(5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 that day. She didn\u2019t understand me, and she
\nwould never have wanted to do what I had been
\ndoing. Dad told me that he wouldn\u2019t tell her as
\nlong as I kept my grade in English class above a
\nB. But she found me out anyway, and I knew it
\n(10)\u00a0\u00a0 on the day that I came home from school and she
\nwas waiting for me in the kitchen. She was
\nsitting at the table with an opened envelope
\nin front of her, a typed letter and a pink slip in her
\nhands.
\n(15)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I walked inside and closed the door behind
\nme.
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this for, Jake?\u201d Mom asked. She was
\ndrinking a cup of green tea the size of a soup
\nbowl, and it steamed as she stirred it, the metal
\n(20)\u00a0\u00a0 spoon clanking against the ceramic cup\u2019s sides.
\n\u201cWell, um. Let me see,\u201d I said. She handed me
\nthe letter, but I knew what it was going to say
\nbefore I scanned its contents. The name of my
\nhigh school was written in blue at the top of the
\n(25)\u00a0\u00a0 letterhead, and my English teacher had signed
\nher name to the pink slip, which verified that I
\nhad been absent from class seven times in the
\nlast month. I paused and acted as if I were
\nreading the letter carefully, and then I
\n(30)\u00a0\u00a0 responded: \u201cIt appears to be a letter stating the
\nnumber of times I\u2019ve missed English class in the
\nlast month.\u201d
\n\u201cI see that. Is it true?\u201d she asked, accusingly,
\nher eyes narrowing in scrutiny.
\n(35)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She had put me on the spot, and I needed to
\nthink fast. Maybe I should tell her the truth, I
\nthought, the truth being that I had been fishing
\nall of those mornings, that it was the right time
\nof the year for catching trout and that English
\n(40)\u00a0\u00a0 literature could wait. My dad had opened the
\nprevious warning letter, and he said he would
\nhave done the same thing himself. That\u2019s when
\nwe had made the pact. We wouldn\u2019t tell Mom as
\nlong as I showed up for tests and kept up my
\n(45)\u00a0\u00a0 grade<\/strong>. I had done my part, and I was tired of
\ntrying to hide the truth.
\n\u201cJake,\u201d she said sternly, \u201cYou will attend all of
\nyour classes this month, and I will call to make
\n(115) sure of that. No more fishing.\u201d That was that. She
\nwalked back into the kitchen, and I heard her sit
\ndown and start to stir her tea. My dad looked up
\nat me from the bottom of the stairs, his eyes
\nsympathetic and sad.
\n(120)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSorry, bud,\u201d he said. <\/strong>
\n\u201cYeah, me too.\u201d I got up from the stairs and
\nslowly walked to my room, exposed and
\ndefeated.
\n
\nWhich of the following best describes how Jake’s dad felt when he found out that Jake’s mom knew that Jake had been missing school?<\/em>
\nA. Angry and betrayed<\/em>
\nB. Shocked by the news<\/em>
\nC. Convinced that Jake deserves any punishment he receives<\/em>
\nD. Sad and apologetic for his son\u2019s misfortune<\/em>
\n