M-STEP Grade 7 ELA Practice Questions - Michigan Student Test Of Educational Progress Grade 7 English Language Arts Exam

Read the excerpt from the story below before answering the question. Paragraph 1: The morning frost sparkled across the abandoned orchard near Lake Michigan as Clara pulled her wool coat tighter around her shoulders. Her grandfather had worked this fruit farm for forty years, but after his injury, the trees had grown wild and unpruned. Clara held a pair of rusty shears in her hand, knowing that if she couldn't prune the north section before the first deep freeze, the spring harvest would be lost. Paragraph 2: Clara took a deep breath of the crisp winter air and clipped the first overgrown branch. The sharp snap echoed in the quiet orchard. Although her fingers grew numb within minutes, seeing the clear outline of the healthy main branch encouraged her to move on to the next tree. Based on Paragraphs 1-2, how does the cold setting influence Clara's actions?