The Maze as a Classroom-Based Reading Measure: Construction ... - Free Printable

Let’s solve this step by step.

We are given a passage from Guthrie (1973) that describes how joints work. Then we have two exercises: one from Kingston & Weaver (1970) with blanks to fill, and another from Cranney (1972-73) with multiple-choice options for each blank.

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First, let’s look at the original text from Guthrie (1973):

> The inside surface of [nearly / bones / quite] all joints is covered [move / for / with] cartilage.
> Our joints also [cover / tendon / contain] a special thin fluid [those / that / joint] lubricates them
> so they [quickly / do / bend] not easily wear each [other / stretch / neither] away.

We need to pick the correct words in brackets to make sense.

From context:

- “The inside surface of nearly all joints...” → makes sense. “bones” or “quite” don’t fit here.
- “...is covered with cartilage.” → standard phrase. “move for” doesn’t make sense.
- “Our joints also contain a special thin fluid...” → yes, joints contain synovial fluid. “cover” or “tendon” don’t fit.
- “...fluid that lubricates them” → relative pronoun referring to “fluid”. “those” or “joint” don’t work.
- “so they do not easily wear...” → auxiliary verb needed. “quickly” or “bend” don’t fit grammatically.
- “wear each other away” → common phrase meaning mutual wearing down. “stretch” or “neither” don’t fit.

So corrected sentence from Guthrie:

> The inside surface of nearly all joints is covered with cartilage.
> Our joints also contain a special thin fluid that lubricates them
> so they do not easily wear each other away.

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Now, Kingston & Weaver (1970) has blanks:

> The inside surface of nearly all ______ is covered with cartilage.
> Our joints ______ contain a special thin fluid that ______ them
> so they do not easily ______ each other away.

And word bank:
lubricates, sometimes, bend, joints, joins, also, wear, bodies

Fill in:

1. First blank: “nearly all ______” → should be “joints” (from above). “bodies” could be possible but less precise — joints are the specific structures being discussed. So: joints

2. Second blank: “Our joints ______ contain...” → from original, it’s just “also” → also

3. Third blank: “fluid that ______ them” → from original: “lubricates” → lubricates

4. Fourth blank: “do not easily ______ each other away” → from original: “wear” → wear

Check word bank: we used “joints”, “also”, “lubricates”, “wear” — all available.

So Kingston & Weaver answers:

- joints
- also
- lubricates
- wear

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Now Cranney (1972-73):

Same structure, but now multiple choice per blank.

Blank (1): “The inside surface of nearly all _(1)_ is covered with cartilage.”

Options: (1) teeth, joints, bodies, skin

→ From earlier, it’s joints. Teeth? No. Bodies? Too vague. Skin? No. → joints

Blank (2): “Our joints _(2)_ contain a special thin fluid...”

Options: (2) cannot, sometimes, also, however

→ Original says “also” → also

Blank (3): “...fluid that _(3)_ them...”

Options: (3) stops, joins, lubricates, reduces

→ Must be lubricates

Blank (4): “...so they do not easily _(4)_ each other away.”

Options: (4) cushion, move, lubricate, wear

→ Must be wear

So Cranney answers:

(1) joints
(2) also
(3) lubricates
(4) wear

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All consistent across sources.

Final Answer:

Kingston & Weaver (1970):
joints, also, lubricates, wear

Cranney (1972-73):
(1) joints
(2) also
(3) lubricates
(4) wear