Poetry
Sadie and Maud By Gwendolyn Brooks
Maud went to college.
Sadie stayed home.
Sadie scraped life
With a fine toothed comb.
She didn't leave a tangle in
Her comb found every strand.
Sadie was one of the livingest chicks
In all the land.
Sadie bore two babies
Under her maiden name.
Maud and Ma and Papa
Nearly died of shame.
When Sadie said her last so-long
Her girls struckout from home.
(Sadie left as heritage Her fine-toothed comb.)
Maud, who went to college,
Is a thin brown mouse.
She is living all alone
In this old house.
How does the author primarily structure “Sadie and Maud”?
a. By comparing the lives of Sadie and Maud
b. By arguing that everyone should go to college
c. By focusing on the problems with motherhood
d. By discussing the pride of parents
a. By comparing the lives of Sadie and Maud
How is Oliver’s mother’s view of kites different from Oliver’s view?
A She thinks Oliver should have stopped his kite-making sooner.
B She thinks Oliver should stop playing with kites and help her with making art.
C She believes that everyone should donate money to support the arts, not kites.
D She believes that people should forget kites and pay attention to serious events.
D She believes that people should forget kites and pay attention to serious events.
Which line from the passage best explains why Oliver did not get any sleep?
A “He had spent hours eliminating everything from his room that reminded him of his failures.” (paragraph 2)
B “Last night, he had resolved to stay up and read as much of it as he possibly could.” (paragraph 2)
C “Even his not-so-secret drawer had been yanked open and emptied.” (paragraph 3)
D “He had tried to build it in the side of his workbench, as a place to hold his most treasured possessions . . . ” (paragraph 3)
A “He had spent hours eliminating everything from his room that reminded him of his failures.” (paragraph 2)
What is the central idea of this passage?
A In the 1600s, astronomers improved telescopes by adjusting lens shape and placement and using mirrors.
B Johannes Kepler had an idea that would create a sharper image and give a larger view of the sky.
C Astronomers in Europe used different types of telescopes to study the stars and planets.
D Hans Lippershey, a Dutch glasses maker, created the first simple telescope.
A In the 1600s, astronomers improved telescopes by adjusting lens shape and placement and using mirrors.
What was the author’s main purpose in this passage?
A to entertain the reader with an exciting story about Galileo and Newton
B to persuade the reader that Newton was the world’s greatest astronomer
C to give information about the history of early telescopes
D to explain how to build a telescope
C to give information about the history of early telescopes
Which detail from the poem best supports the answer to number 1?
a. “Sadie scraped life With a fine toothed comb.”
b. “Maud, who went to college, Is a thin brown mouse.”
c. “Maud went to college. Sadie stayed home.”
d. “Maud and Ma and Papa Nearly died of shame.”
c. “Maud went to college. Sadie stayed home.”
. Which detail from the passage best supports the answer to Question 1?
A “‘This sculpture will be the best yet in the Anguish series,’ his mother said excitedly, stabbing the air with her fork. ‘It represents my finest achievement in anguish!’” (paragraph 6)
B “‘We’ve got tourists coming from all over for that thing . The Festival, I mean. Some of them will be the sort who can appreciate art, unlike that fool mayor!’” (paragraph 8)
C “‘When they see Anguish Number Seven out there projecting despair, they’ll forget all about those frivolous kites and start focusing on the world around them!’” (paragraph 10)
D “He wondered if his mother would be having this conversation with thin air if he and his father walked out of the room, and decided that she probably would.” (paragraph 12)
C “‘When they see Anguish Number Seven out there projecting despair, they’ll forget all about those frivolous kites and start focusing on the world around them!’” (paragraph 10)
7. How does the setting affect the characters and plot?
A Oliver’s father never seems to stop writing.
B Oliver’s mother is wrapped up in her work as an artist.
C Oliver and his father both rely on the local mines for jobs.
D Oliver wakes up in a dark room and feels gloomy about his failure
D Oliver wakes up in a dark room and feels gloomy about his failure
The author calls Newton’s telescope “revolutionary.” Select a detail from paragraph 5 that best supports this claim.
A “But scientists had known for a long time that curved mirrors can also collect light.”
B “In 1672 the English scientist Isaac Newton built a new kind of telescope that collected light with a curved mirror made of copper and tin instead of a big glass lens.”
C “Because Newton’s reflecting telescope used mirrors to ‘fold up’ the light path, it didn’t need such a long tube.”
D “Good curved metal mirrors were much more difficult to make than lenses.”
C “Because Newton’s reflecting telescope used mirrors to ‘fold up’ the light path, it didn’t need such a long tube.”
What claim does the author suggest about the exchange of scientific ideas from the 1600s through the 1800s?
A Scientific ideas were spread by monks who wanted to learn more.
B Scientific ideas passed from country to country during this period.
C Scientific ideas were sent by Kepler to other German astronomers.
D Scientific ideas passed from Newton throughout England.
B Scientific ideas passed from country to country during this period.
3. Which rhyming pattern best describes the first stanza of the poem?
a. ABBA
b. ABCB
c. ABDB
d. ABAB
b. ABCB
What is a theme of this passage?
A Don’t hurt other people’s feelings.
B Don’t betray the trust you have built.
C Don’t give up easily on your dreams.
D Don’t ask other people for help.
C Don’t give up easily on your dreams.
What is a central idea of this passage?
A Oliver often has to take care of himself.
B Oliver wants to tell his parents about his kite failure.
C Oliver is fond of his great-uncle, the kitesmith.
D Oliver is very skilled at making and flying kites.
A Oliver often has to take care of himself.
Which is the best summary of the passage?
A Galileo was the first astronomer to observe that the moon of Venus went through phases. He also observed the moons of Jupiter.
B In the 1600s, for the first time, Newton used mirrors to collect light and magnify images. His mirror telescope was shorter but more powerful than earlier telescopes.
C The telescope improvements of Galileo, Kepler, and Newton in the 1600s allowed greater and sharper magnification of heavenly bodies. Their work led to many discoveries about our solar system and advancements in science.
D Astronomer Johannes Kepler suggested changes that helped revolutionize telescopes, but he did not construct one himself. Others used his ideas to build telescopes that allowed a larger sky view and sharper images of objects
C The telescope improvements of Galileo, Kepler, and Newton in the 1600s allowed greater and sharper magnification of heavenly bodies. Their work led to many discoveries about our solar system and advancements in science.
Which detail from the passage best supports the answer to number 19?
A “In the Middle Ages, monks used half-circles of glass or crystal— reading stones—to help them read books and scrolls.” (paragraph 2)
B “News of Lippershey’s far-seeing tube spread quickly across Europe.” (paragraph 3)
C “Kepler never built a telescope himself, but others soon put his ideas to work.” (paragraph 4)
D “In 1672 the English scientist Isaac Newton built a new kind of telescope that collected light with a curved mirror made of copper and tin instead of a big glass lens.” (paragraph 5)
B “News of Lippershey’s far-seeing tube spread quickly across Europe.” (paragraph 3)
4. “Maud, who went to college, is a thin brown mouse” is an example of:
a. Simile
b. Personification
c. Metaphor
d. Rhyme
c. Metaphor
Read the sentence from paragraph 7.
“Yes dear,” his father said remotely, in much the same tone as he had asked Oliver for tea”
Why does the father most likely repeat the phrase “Yes, dear,” to the mother in paragraphs 7–11?
A The father wants to eat his breakfast without being bothered.
B The father is more concerned about why his son won’t make a kite.
C The father dislikes any kind of artwork including art the mother makes.
D The father has little desire to listen and focuses on his own paperwork.
D The father has little desire to listen and focuses on his own paperwork.
Why was it important that Oliver emptied the “not-so-secret” drawer in his workbench?
A He wanted to make room for gear related to his new interest in mining.
B He got rid of anything that made him think of his kite-making disaster.
C He planned to start working on a better secret drawer as soon as possible.
D He knew his parents had recently discovered his hiding place.
B He got rid of anything that made him think of his kite-making disaster.
Select one sentence from paragraph 6 that best supports the idea that astronomers competed hard to be the first to get information about heavenly bodies.
A “Eventually, telescope makers combined the best of both designs, using curved mirrors to gather light and lenses to sharpen and magnify the image.”
B “ Astronomers in the 1700s and 1800s, eager for new discoveries, often devoted their entire fortunes to making telescopes.”
C “ And when they were done, they built ingenious scaffolds to hold their huge telescopes up.”
D “ They looked up at the night sky, tracked the paths of comets, counted stars, and spied on the planets.”
B “ Astronomers in the 1700s and 1800s, eager for new discoveries, often devoted their entire fortunes to making telescopes.”
BONUS QUESTION
Read the sentence.
He had not thought it possible, but his father had reached a new low point in his sad history of oblivion . What quality is suggested by the word oblivion ?
A a tendency to quit or give up
B a lack of awareness
C a habit of repeating things
D a way of making people feel sad
B a lack of awareness
The mood of this poem could best be described as:
a. Accusatory
b. Regretful
c. Joyful
d. Interested
b. Regretful
What does the breakfast scene in paragraphs 5–15 suggest about the relationship between Oliver and his parents?
A Oliver’s parents barely notice their son.
B Oliver’s parents deeply care about their son.
C Oliver’s parents expect very little from their son. D Oliver’s parents expect their son to cook for them.
A Oliver’s parents barely notice their son.
Read the sentence from paragraph 10.
“When they see Anguish Number Seven out there projecting despair, they’ll forget all about those frivolous kites and start focusing on the world around them!”
What does the word frivolous mean as it is used in the sentence?
A artsy
B gloomy
C silly
D forgettable
C silly
Select one sentence from the section titled Bigger and a Little Better that best contributes to the central idea of the whole passage.
A “ One problem with Galileo’s telescope was that it could only see a small part of the sky, like the view through a drinking straw.”
B “ In 1611 the German astronomer Johannes Kepler suggested that putting a convex (instead of a concave) lens at the eyepiece and using a longer tube would give a sharper picture and a bigger view of the sky.”
C “ Kepler never built a telescope himself, but others soon put his ideas to work.”
D “ The glass lenses also split light like a prism, giving stars colored halos.”
B “ In 1611 the German astronomer Johannes Kepler suggested that putting a convex (instead of a concave) lens at the eyepiece and using a longer tube would give a sharper picture and a bigger view of the sky.”
BONUS QUESTION
“He had spent hours eliminating everything from his room that reminded him of his failures.” Which word has the same meaning as eliminating ?
A yanking
B holding
C opening
D removing
D removing