Figurative Language
Read the excerpt from a poem
The warm gentle breeze plays among
The bright buds of spring,
As busy bees buzz and birds sing.
1. Identify one example of alliteration from the poem.________
2. Identify one example of onomatopoeia from the poem.______
Alliteration: busy bees buzz
Onomatopoeia: Buzz
(1) City officials are finally admitting what residents have known for years: The Fifty-first Street Bridge needs to be repaired. (2) We, the citizens of Springfield, need to fund this project and get work started as soon as possible! (3) To most motorists, the deck, or surface, of the bridge appears to be in decent condition, but this is deceiving. (4) Javier Ortega, an independent structural engineer, says in a report on the bridge that the abutments, or structures at the end of a bridge, are “showing structural fractures.” (5) Shu Peng, a civil engineer, adds that several girders, or support beams, “need immediate repair.” (6) Delay could cause a serious failure, such as that of the Town Line Bridge in Center City back in 2010; a collapse in which, thankfully, no one was hurt. (7) Let’s act now—before it’s too late!
What is the author’s claim in this passage?
The Fifty-first Street Bridge needs to
be repaired immediately.
September 22, 2020: I was walking along Center City’s waterfront today and noticed that litter is a real problem there. It’s unsightly and makes the area unwelcoming to visitors. I don’t think anyone wants to walk along a waterfront where trash is littered everywhere they look. Some people seem unwilling to use the trash bins, or perhaps they think someone else will pick up their litter for them. I did notice, though, that the problem isn't just that people can’t be bothered to use the bins. Trash bins can be hard to find. There don’t seem to be nearly enough of them, and the one’s I saw on my walk were completely full. This needs to change. The next time I walk through the area, I’ll take latex gloves and a garbage bag, and clean up the trash that I see. Then I will feel like I’m doing something to make the waterfront cleaner and nicer looking.
1. Which of the following is a purpose of this passage?
a. to explain why visitors to the waterfront are leaving their trash behind
b. to reflect on the problem that trash is causing along the waterfront
c. to explain that the waterfront has a trash problem that the diarist wants to change
2. What is the central idea in this passage?
a. Everyone can do their part to help ease the litter problem in Center City.
b. The city needs to place more trash and recycling bins along the waterfront.
c. Trash along the waterfront makes it unwelcoming to visitors.
1. C
2. A
Chronological structure supports a purpose to describe events in detail and inform readers about what happened. Which quotation is an example of chronological text structure used to support the author’s purpose.
A. “I was about four years old the first time I ever saw what happened when you acted up to whites.”
B. “I turned around to see what they were laughing at. They were pointing at me.”
A. “I was about four years old the first time I ever saw what happened when you acted up to whites.”
Reread lines 9 –12 of the poem. Then answer the multiple-choice questions that follow.
From “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade
10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
11 Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
12 When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
1.Which of the following features of the poet’s style is created by the sonnet form?
A. the capitalization of Death
B. the semicolons to connect lines
C. the change from thy to thou
D. the efef rhyme scheme.
2.How does the form of this quatrain contribute to its meaning?
A. The arrangement of the lines in the quatrain draws attention to the speaker’s worry that love’s beauty will fade.
B. The iambic pentameter creates a steady rhythm that emphasizes the everlasting beauty of the speaker’s love.
C. The rhyming of the words fade and shade highlights the speaker’s anger at the person he or she loves.
D. The personification of death emphasizes the speaker’s acceptance that love is not forever.
1. D. the efef rhyme scheme
2. B. The iambic pentameter creates a steady rhythm that emphasizes the everlasting beauty of the speaker’s love.
1.How does the author's use of personification in "the wind howled in rage" influence the tone?
1.A) It creates a calm and peaceful tone.
2.B) It enhances the sense of anger and turmoil.
3.C) It contributes to a playful tone.
4.D) It has no impact on the tone.
B) It enhances the sense of anger and turmoil.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
1.Which of the following best summarizes a claim made in this passage?
A.We must commit ourselves to the preservation of the union and its ideals.
B.We cannot dedicate this cemetery because too many men have lost their lives here.
C.What we do here is insignificant; the immediate goal must be a peaceful end to the war.
D. What these men have done is far more important than
2.Which quotation best supports the claim selected in Part A?
A.“ . . . for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
B.“ . . . to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion . . .”
C. “ . . . that from these honored dead . . .”
D. “ . . . a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
1.A. We must commit ourselves to the preservation of the Union and its ideals.
1.D. “ . . . a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the
Read the passage and respond to the questions
August 15, 1945: It has finally happened! Japan formally surrendered to the Allied forces aboard a U.S. Navy battleship Missouri yesterday. We’ve all been waiting for this day for so long! It’s been more than three months since the Nazis surrendered, and now Japan has too! Dorothy and I screamed with relief and joy when we heard the news on the radio! Everyone in the neighborhood celebrated with great enthusiasm well into the night. According to what we’ve been hearing on the radio, everyone in America seems to be celebrating. This long nightmare is over, and soon our boys will be coming back home!
Question 1: What is the central idea of the passage? A) Japan's formal surrender was a strategic military victory.
B) The celebration of Japan's surrender was limited to specific areas.
C) The surrender of Japan marked the end of World War II, bringing joy and relief.
D) The role of the radio in spreading news during World War II.
Question 2: Which piece of evidence supports the central idea that the surrender of Japan marked the end of World War II, bringing joy and relief?
A) "Japan formally surrendered to the Allied forces aboard a U.S. Navy battleship Missouri yesterday." B) "It’s been more than three months since the Nazis surrendered, and now Japan has too!"
C) "Dorothy and I screamed with relief and joy when we heard the news on the radio!"
D) "Everyone in the neighborhood celebrated with great enthusiasm well into the night."
Question 1: What is the central idea of the passage? Answer: C) The surrender of Japan marked the end of World War II, bringing joy and relief.
Question 2: Which piece of evidence supports the central idea that the surrender of Japan marked the end of World War II, bringing joy and relief? Answer: D) "Everyone in the neighborhood celebrated with great enthusiasm well into the night."
The bell rings. Passing period is over. Students hurry into their classroom. They squeeze past rows of desks. They sit in assigned metal seats. Their teacher lectures at the whiteboard. Does this describe your school?
2 Class time at San Diego’s Health Sciences High and Middle College is a little different. When the bell rings, students in Mr. Corrigan’s social studies class enter his classroom. They make their way across the turf. They find a spot on the bleachers. Mr. Corrigan hosts a team huddle. He explains the day’s game plan. Then, students spend the rest of the class period learning in a classroom designed like a football stadium. “We talk sports,” Corrigan said. “We connect sports to history. That’s how I get them all engaged and into the daily lesson.”
1.What is the overall text structure of this excerpt?
A. compare and contrast
B. chronological order
2.Which quotation best illustrates the author’s overall text structure?
"class time at San Diego’s Health Sciences High and Middle College is a little different."
B. “We connect sports to history. That’s how I get them all engaged and into the daily lesson.”
3.Which of these words is a signal word for the overall text structure?
A. different
B. history
1. A. compare and contrast
2. A. “Class time at San Diego’s Health Sciences High and Middle College is a little different.”
3. A. different
Reread lines 7–15 of the poem. Then answer the multiple-choice questions that follow.
From “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas
7. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
8. Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
9. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
10. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
11. And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
12. Do not go gentle into that good night.
13. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
14. Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
15. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
1.What impact does the repeated line “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” have on the meaning of the poem?
A. It points out that “Good men” and “Grave men” are the ones who rage against their deaths.
B. It emphasizes the message that people should put up a fight against their inevitable deaths.
C. It highlights two important rules of the villanelle form: repeating lines and regular rhyme.
D. It reminds the audience that everyone should be angry about dying.
B. It emphasizes the message that people should put up a fight against their inevitable deaths.
The warm gentle breeze plays among
The bright buds of spring,
As busy bees buzz and birds sing.
3. Which of the following accurately describes the tone of the poem?
a.worried and uncertain b. calm and peaceful
4. Identify an example of diction that contributes to the tone you identified in question 3.
3. b
4. Possible response: warm, gentle, plays
11. In order to achieve this, one of the necessary ingredients of the formula is a series of plausible situations with people that are real. When characters are unbelievable you never get suspense, only surprise.
12 Just because there is a touch of murder and an air of mystery about a story it is not necessary to see transoms opening, clutching fingers, hooded creatures, and asps on the Chinese rug.
13 Spellbound was based on complete psychiatric truth. Foreign Correspondent was simply the story of a man hammering away at events with a woman who was not much help. Notorious concerned a woman caught in a web of world events from which she could not extricate herself and The Paradine Case was a love story embedded in the emotional quicksand of a murder trial.
1.What logical fallacy is being made in paragraph 12?
A.Strawman B.Circular reasoning
C.False analogy D. Red herring
2. Which statement best describes how the author’s reasoning could be improved in this selection?
A.The author’s argument could include more circular reasoning that strengthens his argument about suspense.
B.The author’s argument could be stronger by including more solid evidence to support his claim rather than oversimplifying the mystery genre.
C.The author’s argument could be improved by not including specific examples from his own films.
D.The author’s argument could be improved by including a more believable claim about suspense
A.Strawman
A.The author’s argument could be stronger by including more solid evidence to support his claim rather than oversimplifying the mystery genre.
Read the Passage and Answer the following questions
August 15, 1945: It has finally happened! Japan formally surrendered to the Allied forces aboard a U.S. Navy battleship Missouri yesterday. We’ve all been waiting for this day for so long! It’s been more than three months since the Nazis surrendered, and now Japan has too! Dorothy and I screamed with relief and joy when we heard the news on the radio! Everyone in the neighborhood celebrated with great enthusiasm well into the night. According to what we’ve been hearing on the radio, everyone in America seems to be celebrating. This long nightmare is over, and soon our boys will be coming back home!
Question 3: What is the author’s purpose for writing this passage?
A) To provide a historical account of World War II events.
B) To express personal emotions and relief at the end of World War II.
C) To analyze the military strategies used by the Allied forces.
D) To document the technical details of the surrender aboard the Missouri.
Question 4: Which piece of evidence supports the author's purpose of expressing personal emotions and relief at the end of World War II?
A) "Japan formally surrendered to the Allied forces aboard a U.S. Navy battleship Missouri yesterday." B) "It’s been more than three months since the Nazis surrendered, and now Japan has too!"
C) "Dorothy and I screamed with relief and joy when we heard the news on the radio!"
D) "This long nightmare is over, and soon our boys will be coming back home!"
Question 3: What is the author’s purpose for writing this passage?
Answer: B) To express personal emotions and relief at the end of World War II.
Question 4: Which piece of evidence supports the author's purpose of expressing personal emotions and relief at the end of World War II?
Answer: C) "Dorothy and I screamed with relief and joy when we heard the news on the radio!"
4 A War Cabinet has been formed of five Members, representing, with the Opposition Liberals, the unity of the nation. The three party Leaders have agreed to serve, either in the War Cabinet or in high executive office. The three Fighting Services have been filled. It was necessary that this should be done in one single day, on account of the extreme urgency and rigour of events. A number of other positions, key positions, were filled yesterday, and I am submitting a further list to His Majesty to-night. I hope to complete the appointment of the principal Ministers during to-morrow. The appointment of the other Ministers usually takes a little longer, but I trust that, when Parliament meets again, this part of my task will be completed, and that the administration will be complete in all respects.
Which of the following best describes the text structure of paragraph 4?
A. Descriptive: Churchill is describing how the new war cabinet will represent the nation.
B. Cause and Effect: There needs to be action taken in order to address the problem at hand.
C. Compare and Contrast: There are similarities and differences between the war cabinet and the Opposition.
D. Chronological: Churchill describes in order what he has accomplished over the course of two days.
2. Which words from the paragraph are signal words that help you identify the text structure in Part A?
A. urgency, rigor, and key
B. war, unity, nation
C. yesterday, to-night, to-morrow
D. Labor, Opposition, Liberals
1. D. Chronological: Churchill describes in order what he has accomplished over the course of two days.
2. C. yesterday, to-night, to-morrow
Reread lines 7–15 of the poem. Then answer the multiple-choice questions that follow.
From “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas
7. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
8. Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
9. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
10. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
11. And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
12. Do not go gentle into that good night.
13. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
14. Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
15. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
1. How does the form of the poem contribute to its overall meaning?
A. It helps the speaker reveal a series of emotional events in his life in an organized way.
B. It helps the poet write freely about death without having to worry about rhyme or repetition.
C. It helps the speaker emphasize his appeal for people to fight death with structured repetition.
D. It helps the speaker clearly state his point, which contrasts with his father’s perspective on what it means to grow old.
C. It helps the speaker emphasize his appeal for people to fight death with structured repetition.
Read the Poem and respond to the questions below
Isolated in the country house on a stormy night,
Skeleton branches scrape the windows and…
A creak on the stairs! A footstep? But whose?
1. Identify an example of alliteration from line 2 of the poem.
2. Identify the example of onomatopoeia from line 3 of the poem.
3. What tone is created through the poet’s diction and use of sound devices?
1. Skeleton and scrape
2. creak
3. Possible response: an anxious, tense tone
1.Teachers should stop collecting our phones at the beginning of class. This practice is both inhumane, impractical, and dangerous.
2 Our phones keep us connected to each other and to the world. Without that connection, we are like lost puppies, helpless and sad.
3 It is foolish to think that unplugging us makes us somehow smarter. Only teachers stuck in the last century would believe this. If we can find an answer instantly, why should we struggle? What is the point of learning fifteen steps if our microchips can solve something in one?
4 School disasters happen daily, and it’s just a matter of time before one happens here. Without our phones, how do we call for help? A classroom of students without phones is just a tragedy waiting to happen.
1.“Teachers should stop collecting our phones at the beginning of class. This practice is both inhumane, impractical, and dangerous.”
A. The author ad hominem by suggesting teachers are behaving in dangerous ways.
B. The author uses a false analogy by comparing teachers and inhumane behaviors.
A. The author ad hominem by suggesting teachers are behaving in dangerous ways.
DIRECTIONS: Read the passage. Then, answer the questions that follow.
(1) Most people associate the phrase “endangered species” with animals, but there are thousands of endangered plant species. (2) In a neighborhood here in Springfield, Master Gardener Miss Lily Carter has made saving endangered heirloom vegetables her life’s work. (3) She even has a blog discussing each of vegetables she is trying to save. (4) One of the species Miss Lily is most interested in is a special kind of potato that seems to grow only in this region of the state. (5) Over a number of years, Miss Lily has traveled all over the county, collecting seeds and cuttings from a few precious specimens. (6) “Because of my efforts and the efforts of others like me,” she blogs, “this beautiful and delicious potato now has a far better chance of long-term survival.”
(7) These local potatoes are just one of many endangered plants, not all of which have been saved. (8) “People tend to suffer from ‘plant blindness,’” Miss Lily says. (9) According to Miss Lily, people are more willing to pay attention to endangered animals than to plants as they don’t fully understand the important role these endangered plants often play in their environment and in their diet. (10) The concept of plant blindness is supported by statistics. (11) Endangered plants receive only a small percentage of federal dollars earmarked for conservation. (12) People like Miss Lily want to change this. (13) “By educating people about the importance of plants and why we need to save them, perhaps people will come to care about saving these plants as much as they care about saving endangered animals.”
1. What is the central idea of this passage?
a. Endangered plants deserve more attention.
b. Endangered plants are not as important as animals.
c. Saving plants is a popular pastime.
d. Most endangered plants are vegetables.
2. How does the author develop the central idea?
A) By comparing the attention given to endangered animals versus endangered plants.
B) By providing statistics on the allocation of federal dollars for conservation.
C) By using Miss Lily's efforts to illustrate broader conservation challenges.
D) All of the above.
1. A
2. D
The use of cause-and-effect structure in the text is intended to achieve what outcome?
What impact does the repetition in a villanelle have on a poem’s style and theme?
Read the Poem and respond to the question below
Bend low again, night of summer stars.
So near you are, sky of summer stars,
So near, a long-arm man can pick off stars,
Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl,
So near you are, summer stars,
So near, strumming, strumming,
So lazy and hum-strumming.
What tone is created through the repetition of the word strumming (a way of playing a stringed instrument) and the use of the word lazy?
a. a mournful, sad tone c. a calm, relaxed tone
b. a cheery, playful tone d. a tense, nervous tone
C. a calm, relaxed tone
1.Teachers should stop collecting our phones at the beginning of class. This practice is both inhumane, impractical, and dangerous.
2 Our phones keep us connected to each other and to the world. Without that connection, we are like lost puppies, helpless and sad.
3 It is foolish to think that unplugging us makes us somehow smarter. Only teachers stuck in the last century would believe this. If we can find an answer instantly, why should we struggle? What is the point of learning fifteen steps if our microchips can solve something in one?
4 School disasters happen daily, and it’s just a matter of time before one happens here. Without our phones, how do we call for help? A classroom of students without phones is just a tragedy waiting to happen.
1. “Without connection, we are like lost puppies, helpless and sad”
A. The author uses hasty generalization by suggesting that phones are nurturing, living creatures.
B. The author uses afalse analogy by comparing people without phones to lost and sad animals.
2“Only teachers stuck in the last century would believe this”
A. The author uses an ad hominem argument by saying anyone who holds a different belief by suggesting that they are old and outdated.
B. The author uses slippery slope by stating that the reader is interested in the advances of this century.
B. The author uses false analogy by comparing people without phones to lost and sad animals.
A. The author uses an ad hominem argument by saying anyone who holds a different belief by suggesting that they are old and outdated.
. Something terrible has happened, yet Phineas gets down from the cart without help. He climbs the steps of the Cavendish hotel, where he has been living, and takes a seat on the porch beside his landlord, Joseph Adams. A few minutes earlier, Adams had seen the Irishman ride past shouting for Dr. Harlow, the town physician. Dr. Harlow was not to be found, so the rider was sent on to the next village to fetch Dr. Williams. Now Phineas takes a neighborly seat on the porch and tells his landlord what happened to him.
12. That’s how Dr. Edward Williams finds Phineas nearly thirty minutes after the accident. Dr. Williams pulls up in his buggy at the hotel porch, and there is Phineas, talking away. Friends, workmates, and the curious crowd around as Dr. Williams climbs down from his carriage. “Well, here’s work enough for you, Doctor,” Phineas says to him quite cheerfully.
13. Dr. Williams examines Phineas’s head. He can’t believe that this man is still alive. His skull is cracked open, as if something has popped out from the inside. Accident victims are often too shaken to know what happened, so Dr. Williams turns to Phineas’s workmen for the story, but Phineas insists on speaking for himself. He tells Dr. Williams that the iron went right through his head.
14. Dr. Williams does not believe him.
Question 1: Based on how Gage behaves in paragraph 11, the reader can conclude that a central idea is —
A. The landlord and Gage know each other very well.
B. Gage is behaving very strangely for an accident victim.
C. The author is exaggerating how bad the accident really was.
D. Doctors in the 1800s were not as skillful as they are today.
Question 2 Details in paragraphs 13 and 14 build the central idea that—
A. Gage needed to receive medical attention sooner.
B. The town would benefit from more experienced doctors.
C. This is likely the first time someone survived such an accident.
D. Dr. Williams thinks Gage is not telling the truth about what happened.
B. Gage is behaving very strangely for an accident victim.
C. This is likely the first time someone survived such an accident.
What is deductive reasoning?
Starting with a general statement to reach a specific conclusion
Reread lines 9–14 of the poem. Then answer the multiple-choice questions that follow.
9 Would have to be untrue. Would have to court
10 Coquettish death, whose impudent and strange
11 Possessive arms and beauty (of a sort)
12 Can make a hard man hesitate—and change.
13 And he will be the one to stammer, “Yes.”
14 Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?
1.How does the repetition of the phrase would have to affect the meaning of the poem?
A. It emphasizes the idea that the speaker’s lover could not deny death.
B. It shows that men must always go to battle to defend their country.
C. It communicates that losing her lover to the war was not the speaker’s choice.
D. It highlights just how much the speaker admires her lover for fulfilling his duty as a soldier.
2. What is most likely the reason that the poet chose to repeat the first line as the last line of the poem?
A. Repetition is one of the standard rules of a Shakespearean sonnet.
B. The line emphasizes the importance of the speaker’s mother.
C. The choice develops the theme that losing a loved one is painful.
D. The word happiness shows that the speaker will recover from her loss
1. A. It emphasizes the idea that the speaker’s lover could not deny death.
2. C. The choice develops the theme that losing a loved one is painful.