A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”.
A Very Old Man
The Rocking Horse Winner”
Vocabulary
TRHW
100

Why was the angel in Pelayo and Elisenda’s backyard?

  • He was looking for shelter from the rainstorm.
  • He was kicked out of heaven.
  • He was shipwrecked.
  • He fell out of the sky.
  • He fell out of the sky.
100

What happened at the end of the story?

  • The townspeople discovered that they were all really angels.
  • The townspeople discovered that the angel was really a man.
  • The angel flew away.
  • The angel died.
  • The angel flew away.
100

How does Paul’s mother feel about her children?

  • They make the center of her heart grow warm.
  • She wants to correct the faults they see in her.
  • Their eyes tell her she needs more money.
  • She thinks they will be unlucky people.
  • She wants to correct the faults they see in her.
100

To materialize means to:

  • Take form
  • Win something
  • Make purchases
  • Combine thoroughly
  • Take form
100

Paul’s parents create problems for themselves because they

  • Refuse to work hard
  • Spend little time together
  • Live outside their income
  • Comply with their children’s demands
  • Live outside their income
200

How does the angel react to his visitors?

  • He yells at them in a language they cannot understand.
  • He asks them for mothballs.
  • He ignores them.
  • He shows them how to fly.
  • He yells at them in a language they cannot understand.
200

Which of the following is an aspect of the story that is consistent with the genre of magical realism?

  • The angel remains in the spiritual world and never interacts with human beings.
  • The angel looks exactly the way the townspeople think an angel should look.
  • An angel lands in a magical place?
  • An angel lands in an ordinary town full of ordinary people.
  • An angel lands in an ordinary town full of ordinary people.
200

Where does Paul demand his rocking-horse take him?

  • Away from the house’s whispers
  • Out of childhood in the nursery
  • To all the races in England
  • To wherever there is luck
  • To wherever there is luck
200

To careen is to:

  • Turn sharply
  • Rush wildly
  • Answer instantly
  • Change rapidly
  • Rush wildly
200

What does Paul claim about himself that makes him different from his parents?

  • Money means nothing to him
  • The house whispers to him
  • He is able to love others
  • The house whispers to him
300

Why is the spider lady more interesting to the people than the angel?

  • The spider lady is a miracle healer.
  • The spider lady openly shares her story.
  • The spider lady can predict the future.
  • The spider lady spins a web.
  • The spider lady openly shares her story.
300

Which of the following events in the story is an example of irony?


  • The appearance of the angel was upstaged by the arrival of a carnival act.
300

You may conclude that Paul’s conception of luck is based on each person’s personal luck when he:


  • Asks Uncle Oscar to keep their bets secret
300

What does uncanny mean?

  • Physically painful to someone
  • Difficult to understand
  • Possible in the imagination
  • Strange in an eerie way
  • Strange in an eerie way
300

Consider Paul’s satisfaction when he rides his rocking-horse. You may conclude that Paul believes

  • The rocking-horse is lucky because money provided it
  • He can control or grow his luck through his own actions
  • Luck can only come when he drowns out the bad whispers
  • Everyone has the ability to gain luck from other people
  • He can control or grow his luck through his own actions
400

What details about Pelayo and Elisenda hint that they are about the angel?


  • They let him sleep in the shed when the chicken coop fell down.
400

What is ironic about the angel’s appearance?

His wings are caked in mud, and his clothing is filthy

400

When do Paul and Bassett lose money at the horse races?


  • When Paul feels less than sure of the winner
400

Iridescent means:


  • Shiny with rainbow colors
400

One of Basset’s character traits is that he takes racing very seriously. What theme does this trait most likely help develop?


  • The attitudes of adults can influence children
500

What happened in December, after the child started school?


  • The angel’s feathers began to grow back.
500

Which element of the story is realistic in style?

  • The angel’s speaking with the voice of a Norwegian fisherman.
  • A Portuguese man who couldn’t sleep because of the noise coming from the stars.
  • The baby growing up and starting school.
  • Marking an angel with a branding iron.
  • The baby growing up and starting school.
500

The word rocking-horse in the story’s title helps develop the theme because it highlights the idea that:


  • Paul is too young to have adult experiences
500

What is a seizure?

  • A powerful emotion
  • An unhappy surprise
  • A sudden attack
  • An unlucky event
  • A sudden attack
500

Paul says he started to try to win money on horses to:


  • Stop the house from whispering
M
e
n
u