eurekami
The Mapmaker's Apprentice
6th grade reading
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The Mapmaker's Apprentice
Ines had worked in Master Corvo's shop for three years, and in all that time he had never let her draw a single line on a real map. She ground his inks, stretched his parchment and swept up the shavings from his quills. When she asked why she could not draw, he only said, "A mapmaker must first learn to see."
So Ines watched. She watched sailors come in, sunburnt and impatient, to buy charts of the southern coast. She watched merchants argue over which mountain pass was fastest. Most of all, she watched Master Corvo, who spent far longer listening to travellers than he did holding his pen.
One winter morning, a fisherman stumbled into the shop, soaked and shaking. A storm had pushed his boat far north, past the edge of every chart in the city. He had found a narrow channel between two islands that no map showed, and it had saved his life.
Master Corvo was in bed with a fever. The fisherman was leaving on the evening tide.
Ines hesitated only for a moment. Then she sat the fisherman by the fire and asked him questions — not just where the channel was, but how the water changed colour near the rocks, where the gulls gathered, how long it took to row from one island to the other. She wrote down every answer. Only when she had heard everything did she pick up a pen.
When Master Corvo recovered, she laid the new chart in front of him. He studied it for a long time without speaking. Then he took his own pen, signed his name in the corner, and beneath it, for the first time, he wrote hers.
Question 1
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". What jobs did Ines do in the shop for three years?
- A. She prepared materials and cleaned up.
- B. She sailed with the fishermen.
- C. She sold charts to merchants.
- D. She drew maps of the coast.
Question 2
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". What does Master Corvo mean by "A mapmaker must first learn to see"?
- A. A mapmaker must learn to observe and gather information carefully.
- B. A mapmaker needs very good eyesight.
- C. A mapmaker should travel to every place.
- D. Ines needs glasses.
Question 3
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". Why did Ines have to act quickly?
- A. The shop was about to close forever.
- B. Merchants were waiting for the map.
- C. A storm was coming to the city.
- D. The fisherman was leaving that evening and Master Corvo was ill.
Question 4
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". What does Ines's way of questioning the fisherman show?
- A. She does not trust the fisherman.
- B. She has learned her master's method of listening before drawing.
- C. She is impatient to finish quickly.
- D. She wants to become a fisherman.
Question 5
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". Which quotation best shows that Master Corvo approves of Ines's work?
- A. "beneath it, for the first time, he wrote hers."
- B. "Master Corvo was in bed with a fever."
- C. "He studied it for a long time without speaking."
- D. "She wrote down every answer."
Question 6
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". Which statement best expresses a theme of the story?
- A. Fishermen are the bravest people.
- B. Patient observation is the foundation of real skill.
- C. Masters should never trust apprentices.
- D. Maps are more important than people.
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