What is the main idea of the story?

Nara solves the market's wayfinding problem by linking a clear numbered system with familiar local names and landmarks. (After the number-only plan fails, Nara combines numbers, remembered names, and symbols so both newcomers and regulars can coordinate.)

Why did the number-only signs cause confusion even though they were clear?

People still gave spoken directions through old names stored in shared memory. (Sellers and visitors continued to use Copper Fountain and other remembered coordinates, so the new visual system did not match spoken directions.)

What does “coordinates” mean in the third paragraph?

Reference points used to identify locations (Although the named objects were gone, people used their names as reference points for finding market locations.)

What surviving traces did Oren show Nara?

A blue tile and three worn steps (Oren points out the blue tile from the fountain and the worn steps from the former fig stalls.)

The Names Under the Signs: Level 5 Reading Comprehension Questions

Nara was hired to replace signs in a covered market above the harbor. Old boards named aisles after vanished landmarks: Fig Steps, Copper Fountain, and East Gate. Her directory used tidy numbers. Aisle One began at the north door, Aisle Two crossed the center, and visitors needed no local history to understand them.

On installation morning, confusion spread faster than the ladders moved. A fish seller sent ice to Copper Fountain, but the delivery cart stopped at Aisle Three. A visitor followed Aisle Two twice and returned to Nara's desk. The numbers were clear, yet nobody used them when speaking.

Nara walked the market with Oren, its oldest porter. He showed her a blue tile where the fountain had stood and three worn steps that once led to the fig stalls. The old names were not accurate descriptions. They were coordinates held in hundreds of memories.

Before noon, Nara turned the boards over. She kept the large aisle numbers, then painted each familiar name beneath its number and added a simple symbol from the surviving landmark. Oren began every direction with the new number and ended with the old name. Vendors copied him. By closing time, the ice cart reached Aisle Three, also called Copper Fountain, without circling. Nara had expected to choose between a clean system and a messy one. Instead, she built a bridge between them. The market did not need one perfect language for place. It needed signs that allowed newcomers and regulars to confirm they meant the same corner.

Comprehension questions