Seeking a short story from a standardized test I took
Jun 19, 2021 23:17:08 GMT
blutsauger likes this
Post by quinns on Jun 19, 2021 23:17:08 GMT
I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I've posted about this a few times on Reddit, but never got any leads. I'm beginning to lose hope that I'll ever find this story, even though I know it must exist out there somewhere.
When I was in middle school (likely 2007-2009), I took a standardized test called the CRCT, which all k-8 students have to take in Georgia. There's a portion where you have to read short stories and answer questions about them. Most of the stories were pretty innocuous and clearly written solely for the test to make sure we knew what adjectives were or whatever, but one of them was so bizarre that it's stuck with me for over a decade.
Unfortunately, I am probably misremembering a lot of the details since it's been so long, so I'll just say what I know for sure: The story was about a man who was sneaking around outside of an important person's house, I believe in their garden. The man was very afraid of something, though I can't remember what, or if that was ever even specified. It was night time, and it was very clear that he was not supposed to be where he was. He was hiding from someone-- maybe a guard or some kind of night watch. The detail that sticks out most in my mind is that the man wasn't wearing clothes. I almost feel like I must be making that up, but I remember having a conversation with a classmate after the test about how odd it was that they would make us read a story about a naked man running around a garden at night. I am almost certain it was an excerpt of a longer piece, since I remember the title had a roman numeral in it (formatted like "VI. [Title]"). All of the questions about it on the test were about the fight or flight response, which I also thought was kind of odd since none of the other sections were focused on broad themes/concepts like that. I am almost certain it was written in first person.
A couple of years later is when I started searching for it in earnest, but I never found much. Most of my friends who had also taken the test had forgotten about the story entirely by that point, and google didn't turn up with much since I couldn't remember any exact quotes. I've asked English teachers about it, posted on various local subreddits/FB groups to see if anyone remembers it, etc., but no dice. I've even contacted the school board to see if I could get a copy of the test, but they said they don't have records of them anymore since the CRCT is now defunct.
The closest I've ever come is when someone in a Reddit thread suggested that it might be an excerpt from Asimov's I, Robot, in which a child and a robot are playing hide and seek. The tone of that chapter is VERY similar to what I read, and it would make a lot of sense considering the "fight or flight" questions and how that might relate to robots, but I really don't believe it was the same story. I considered it might be another Asimov story, but he has many, and none of the ones I've read have sparked any kind of recollection.
Apologies for how long this post is, but I just found this forum recently and thought some of you may be interested in helping. At this point, I would be thrilled to even just find someone else who took the same test and remembers it. Every couple of years I'll kick the search back up for this, but nothing ever comes of it unfortunately. Any help at all is appreciated!
When I was in middle school (likely 2007-2009), I took a standardized test called the CRCT, which all k-8 students have to take in Georgia. There's a portion where you have to read short stories and answer questions about them. Most of the stories were pretty innocuous and clearly written solely for the test to make sure we knew what adjectives were or whatever, but one of them was so bizarre that it's stuck with me for over a decade.
Unfortunately, I am probably misremembering a lot of the details since it's been so long, so I'll just say what I know for sure: The story was about a man who was sneaking around outside of an important person's house, I believe in their garden. The man was very afraid of something, though I can't remember what, or if that was ever even specified. It was night time, and it was very clear that he was not supposed to be where he was. He was hiding from someone-- maybe a guard or some kind of night watch. The detail that sticks out most in my mind is that the man wasn't wearing clothes. I almost feel like I must be making that up, but I remember having a conversation with a classmate after the test about how odd it was that they would make us read a story about a naked man running around a garden at night. I am almost certain it was an excerpt of a longer piece, since I remember the title had a roman numeral in it (formatted like "VI. [Title]"). All of the questions about it on the test were about the fight or flight response, which I also thought was kind of odd since none of the other sections were focused on broad themes/concepts like that. I am almost certain it was written in first person.
A couple of years later is when I started searching for it in earnest, but I never found much. Most of my friends who had also taken the test had forgotten about the story entirely by that point, and google didn't turn up with much since I couldn't remember any exact quotes. I've asked English teachers about it, posted on various local subreddits/FB groups to see if anyone remembers it, etc., but no dice. I've even contacted the school board to see if I could get a copy of the test, but they said they don't have records of them anymore since the CRCT is now defunct.
The closest I've ever come is when someone in a Reddit thread suggested that it might be an excerpt from Asimov's I, Robot, in which a child and a robot are playing hide and seek. The tone of that chapter is VERY similar to what I read, and it would make a lot of sense considering the "fight or flight" questions and how that might relate to robots, but I really don't believe it was the same story. I considered it might be another Asimov story, but he has many, and none of the ones I've read have sparked any kind of recollection.
Apologies for how long this post is, but I just found this forum recently and thought some of you may be interested in helping. At this point, I would be thrilled to even just find someone else who took the same test and remembers it. Every couple of years I'll kick the search back up for this, but nothing ever comes of it unfortunately. Any help at all is appreciated!
