Question 1 of 16 · Reading
Vocabulary in context · Curriculum connections: 6.2B
The Long Way Around — original fiction
Original classroom material; people, sources and data are fictional.
At the trail planning meeting, Niko pushed his drawing of the shortest route to the center of the table. It crossed the ridge and reached the pond before any of the other routes. He imagined visitors thanking him for saving them time. His partner Celia laid a second drawing beside it. Her route circled the ridge. “Mine has places to rest,” she said. Niko counted the extra turns and frowned.
The following afternoon, they walked both routes with the park volunteer. On the ridge trail, loose stones rolled beneath Niko’s shoes. He remembered carrying his little brother’s picnic bag there last summer; at the steepest stretch, he had wanted to put everything down. Celia stopped to mark the grade of the slope. Niko reached the pond first, but he waited alone for the others.
The longer trail passed a shaded bench and a wide, level clearing. The volunteer pointed out that visitors could pause there without blocking the path. Celia did not call it a better trail. She wrote down its distance and surface, just as she had for the ridge route. Niko began to notice that her map described choices rather than awarding a prize.
At the next meeting, Niko brought both routes on the same sheet. He marked the ridge path with its steep stretch and loose stones, and the longer path with its bench. “This one is shorter,” he told the group, “but the map should let visitors decide what they can manage.” Celia placed a ruler beside him. Together they checked that both distances were drawn accurately.