Text Structure
The structure of the following passage is:
Hurricanes and tornadoes are both amazing yet deadly natural phenomena. Both generate deadly conditions, but in different ways. Tornadoes are likely to damage people and property with their high winds, which go up to 300 miles per hour, but hurricanes are generally more feared for their flooding. Also, hurricanes can produce tornadoes, which makes them quite dangerous indeed.
What is compare and contrast?
This is the main idea in the following paragraph:
Bill loves to play games. His favorite game is chess because it requires a great deal of thought. Bill also likes to play less demanding board games that are based mostly on luck. He prefers Monopoly because it requires luck and skill. If he’s alone, Bill likes to play action video games as long as they aren’t too violent.
a. Bill dislikes violence.
b. Bill likes to think.
c. Bill enjoys Monopoly.
d. Bill enjoys playing games.
What is d. Bill enjoys playing games?
The type of figurative language in the following passage:
My heart it was a floating bird
That through the world did wander free,
But he hath locked it in a cage,
And lost the silver key.
What is metaphor?
The following is an example of figurative language:
a. The grass is green.
b. The flower has the sweetest smelling petals in the world.
c. Grasshoppers make a high pitched noise.
d. The flower smells sweet.
What is b. The flower has the sweetest smelling petals in the world?
This type of language focuses on the plain facts about a person or object.
What is objective language?
This is the structure of the following passage:
The twist is a dance inspired by rock and roll music. To do the Twist, first stand with your feet approximately shoulder width apart. The torso may be squared to the knees and hips, or turned at an angle so one foot is farther forward than the other. Then, hold your arms out from your body, bent at your elbow. Next, rotate your hips, torso, and legs as a single unit with your arms staying more or less stationary. Every so often lift one leg off of the floor for styling. Now you’re doing the twist!
What is sequence or process?
This is the main idea in the following paragraph:
Pat is watching too much television. A toddler shouldn’t be spending hours staring blankly at a screen. Worse yet, some of her wild behavior has been inspired by those awful cartoons she watches. We need to spend more time reading books with her and pull the plug on the TV!
a. Watching a lot of television isn’t good for Pat.
b. Books are good.
c. All cartoons are bad.
d. Some cartoons are bad for Pat.
What is a. Watching a lot of television isn't good for Pat?
The type of figurative language used in the following sentence:
Kathy arrived at the grocery store with an army of children.
What is metaphor?
The best definition of emaciation in the following sentence:
His emaciation, that is, his skeleton-like appearance, was frightening to see.
a. to become very thin
b. to look like a ghost
c. to become frightening
d. to be emotional
What is a. to become very thin?
This type of language focuses on the attitudes, values, thoughts, feelings, or beliefs of the person(s) doing the writing or speaking.
What is subjective language?
This is the structure of the of the following passage:
A mobile phone is lost every second by some estimates. A 2011 survey shows that about 22% of Americans have lost a mobile phone. When a person loses their phone, they don’t just lose a device that may have cost as much as $600, they lose phone numbers, photos, and sensitive information. If the phone isn’t locked and it gets lost or stolen, someone may use it to commit identity theft. Perhaps the worst part about this is that it can be prevented. Today’s smart phones have free applications that allow you to find your lost phone using GPS signals. Even if you cannot retrieve your phone, you can use these applications to delete your data so that you are less likely to become a victim of identify theft. Losing your phone feels horrible, but if you take the time to install a phone-finding app, you’ll be much better prepared to deal with it.
What is problem and solution?
This is the main idea in the following paragraph:
The attitudes of Americans toward gambling are amazingly contradictory. You may find, for example, that horse racing is legal in your state, but that you cannot legally play poker for money on your front porch; bookies may be prosecuted by state law, but they are supposed to purchase a federal license nonetheless; one church condemns gambling, while another raises money by sponsoring Bingo games. Gambling laws are inconsistent from state to state or even from town to town and are very difficult to enforce.
a. Americans have negative attitudes toward gambling.
b. Gambling laws are difficult to enforce.
c. Gambling laws are inconsistent from community to community.
d. Churches do not have uniform ideas about gambling.
What is c. Gambling laws are inconsistent from community to community?
The following sentence is an example of this type of figurative language:
The wild and woolly walrus waits and wonders when we'll walk by.
What is alliteration?
This is defined as the opposite of what is expected.
What is irony?
The following is an example of this kind of language:
The television show The Simpsons is just not as funny as it used to be.
What is subjective?
This is the structure of the following passage:
Getting a new phone is a really cool feeling, but your phone can’t do much without applications. In order to get the most from your new phone, you need to download apps. To do this you will need a data connection. Some plans allow you to get data from your phone network. If your plan lets you to do this, you can connect to web services anywhere that your phone gets a signal. If your plan does not let you to do this, you will need to connect your device to a Wi-Fi network. Free Wi-Fi can be found at coffee shops, laundry mats, and other public locations. Once your phone is receiving data, go to the application store on the device. Use the search or browse functions to find fun, interesting, or useful programs. Once you have found an application that you want to try, click the button to download and install it on your device. Not all applications are free, so make sure that you know how much the app costs before agreeing to download it. Also, if you are under the age of 18, get your parent’s permission before downloading anything. You’ll like your new phone so much more once you have some cool apps.
What is sequence or process?
The main idea of the following paragraph:
Advertising affects our lives every day. Brand names are common household words. We start each day using the toothpaste, soap, and breakfast foods promoted by advertisers. Ads have made the cars we drive signs of our success. Our choices of food, dress, and entertainment are swayed by ads. Not one aspect of American life is untouched by advertising.
a. Ads have made the cars we drive signs of our success.
b. Our choices of food, dress, and entertainment are swayed by ads.
c. Brand names are common household words.
d. Advertising affects our lives every day.
What is d. Advertising affects our lives every day?
Here is an example of this type of figurative language:
The ocean waves danced along the beach and tickled the sand.
What is personification?
The author uses figurative language to compare his problems to what two things:
Sometimes I wish that all my problems would just disappear into thin air. But they won't disappear; they'll just keep holding onto me. It's like they're an annoying person that clings to me, follows me around, turns up around every corner. The trouble is that now they seem to be metamorphosing. They're tadpoles turning into frogs--just getting bigger and bigger.
a. the air and some large frogs
b. an irritating dog and a pond
c. an annoying person and some tadpoles
d. the other problems and a metamorphosis
What is c. an annoying person and some tadpoles?
The following is an example of this type of language:
Instead of striving to make work fun, managers should concentrate on creating the conditions in which a variety of personality types, from the excitable to the naturally downbeat, can flourish.
What is subjective?
This is the structure of the following passage:
For better or worse, mobile phones are changing the world; however, one place where phones are definitely making things worse is on the road. Today it is common for motorists to play with their mobile phones while driving. Drivers may get bored or impatient while waiting in traffic and use their smart phones to pass the time by checking sports scores, stock numbers, or news stories. Worse still, they may engage in text messaging. Some drivers are so used to receiving and responding to communications immediately that it does not occur to them to wait until an appropriate time to respond. As soon as they get a message, these drivers will try to read and respond to it. There are many reasons why people use cell phones while driving, but none of them are good reasons.
What is cause and effect?
The main idea of the following paragraph:
There are great numbers of deer around here. This whole area is great country for hunters and fishermen. There are bears, mountain lions, and coyotes. To the east there are streams full of trout, and there are ducks and geese.
a. This whole area is great country for hunters and fishermen.
b. There are great numbers of deer around here.
c. To the east there are streams full of trout, and there are ducks and geese.
d. There are more deer than there are other wildlife in the area.
What is a. This whole area is great country for hunters and fishermen?
These lines are an example of this form of figurative language:
The morning wind arose
And called across the world for day.
What is personification?
Last night me and my homeboys were chillin', shooting hoops at the Y.
The reason the author uses an apostrophe in "chillin'"?
What is the apostrophe stands in for the missing letter g?
The following is an example of this type of language:
Cowbirds are brood parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, thus unloading the messy and demanding business of chick-rearing.
What is objective language?