Idioms
After promising to go to Beth's parent's cabin for the weekend, Molly got invited to the coolest party of the year and now Molly is really in a pickle.
a. This means that no matter what happens things are going to work out for Molly.
b. This means that Molly is stuck in a difficult situation.
c. This means that Molly has become really popular.
d. This means that Molly smells like vinegar.
b. This means that Molly is stuck in a difficult situation.
Your explanation is as clear as mud.
a. Metaphor
b. Alliteration
c. Simile
d. Personification
c. Simile
"I wish I had brought my spectacles," the old librarian remarked as she squinted and strained to read the text.
a. Magnifying glass
b. Telescope
c. Light
d. Glasses
d. Glasses
In his sophomore year of high school, Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. But at five feet and eleven inches tall, the coach believed that Jordan was too short to play at that level, so Jordan was cut from the team. Jordan didn’t let this obstacle defeat him. In fact, it pushed him to work even harder. He trained vigorously and grew another four inches the following summer.
When he finally made the varsity squad, Jordan averaged 25 points a game and went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in history.
a. Basketball is life
b. Revenge is best served cold
c. Never give up.
d. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
c. Never give up.
Where can you find the main idea?
a. In the middle of a paragraph
b. At the end of a passage
c. After reading one sentence
d. In the title and the first sentence of a paragraph
d. In the title and the first sentence of a paragraph
Mrs. March was afraid of leaving the student teacher with her third period class because she feared that the student teacher was a bit too green to be left alone with such a wild bunch.
a. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too inexperienced.
b. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too jealous of some of the students.
c. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too nice.
d. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too sick to handle the children.
a. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too inexperienced.
He ran faster than the wind.
a. Simile
b. Hyperbole
c. Metaphor
d. Alliteration
b. Hyperbole
The last thing Bruce wanted to do was get in a fight, but when he saw the mugger grab the old woman, Bruce felt obliged to assist her.
a. Allowed to
b. Had to
c. Excited to
d. Nervous to
b. Had to
Justin was jealous when his cousin Cassie was named valedictorian of her class. "Some people are just born smart," he told himself later as he watched TV on the couch. He had not been with Cassie all of those times when she studied late into the night. Justin was also jealous when his cousin Victor was elected class president. "Some people are just more popular than others," Justin told himself while playing video games on the couch. He had not been with Victor while he tirelessly campaigned, listened sympathetically to the problems of others, and treated everyone he knew with kindness and respect. When Justin's cousin Matthew became the quarterback for the varsity squad, Justin was envious. "Some people are just more athletic than others," he told himself as he played around on his computer. Justin had not been with Matthew while Matthew trained relentlessly to develop his athletic abilities. "One day something lucky will happen to me too," Justin told himself as he snacked on junk food.
a. Hard work pays off.
b. Complaining gets you everywhere
c. Luck comes to everyone.
d. Some people are luckier than others.
a. Hard work pays off.
What happens to old, worn-out money that is too dirty and damaged to be used anymore? The United States Treasury Department collects four to five tons of these bills every day! They are destroyed in a machine called a macerator. This machine can shred one million dollars a minute into little, confetti-size pieces of paper. But not all damaged money is useless. Bills that have a piece torn off can be redeemed or replaced by sending them in to the Treasury Department. If you have at least three fifths of the bill, you can mail it to the Treasury Department and they will send you a fresh, new bill of the same amount. If you have less than three fifths of the bill but at least two fifths of it, it can be redeemed for half of the bill’s value. What the Treasury Department will not give you, however, is information about the paper on which our government’s money is printed—it’s top secret.
a. What happens to worn-out, damaged money
b. How the government prints new money
c. The value of money
d. Money
a. What happens to worn-out, damaged money
I know that Catherine has been really unpleasant toward you, Alvin, but take it with a grain of salt: she's mean to everyone.
a. Alvin should try hard to get on Catherine's good side.
b. Alvin should be worried that Catherine is not treating him kindly.
c. Alvin should go and get lunch and reflect on Catherine's attitude.
d. Alvin should not be concerned about how Catherine is treating him.
d. Alvin should not be concerned about how Catherine is treating him.
The classroom was a zoo.
a. Metaphor
b. Simile
c. Hyperbole
d. Personification
a. Metaphor
Don't tell Beth! She's so subservient to Mom that she'll probably let her know about it and spoil the surprise.
a. Obedient
b. Rude
c. Secretive
d. Subject
a. Obedient
Grant Grand was a superstar high school athlete from a small town where football was revered. The people of this town placed such a high value on victories that a top performer like Grant was given privileges and exceptions that all others were denied. Grant did not have to struggle his way through rigorous courses in high school. Instead he attended special study sessions with members of the athletic department where the participants studied little other than football. To the surprise of few, Grant was given a full ride to a reputable university based on his athletic prowess, but Grant was not prepared for this new experience. He expected the university to make numerous special exceptions for him as his high school had, and while he did receive quite a few of these exceptions, it was not enough to compensate for how woefully underprepared he was. Despite numerous good faith interventions by the university, Grant failed to get it together, lost his scholarship, and dropped out after his freshman year.
a. Never give up
b. Don’t be greedy
c. Put first things first.
d. Practice makes perfect.
c. Put first things first.
When you swallow food, it travels from your mouth down a tube called the esophagus and into your stomach. Glands in the stomach will start to work as food enters. One type of gland produced mucus that makes the flood slippery. Other glands release acids to kill any bacteria in the food, and still others make chemicals called enzymes that break food down into tiny pieces. Muscles in the stomach move in wavy motions to break down all this food and all these chemicals into a liquid. The muscles then contract to squeeze that liquid to the other end of the stomach. A special ring-like muscle sits at the bottom opening of the stomach. It opens a little bit to allow just the liquid to pass through. Then it opens wider so that some of the pulpy food can enter your small intestines, where the food will continue to be digested.
a. Which foods irritate the stomach
b. How the stomach digests food
c. The parts of the digestive system
d. Stomach
b. How the stomach digests food
Even though Lucas had been bullying the new kid since the beginning of the year, Lucas shed his crocodile tears after the principal caught him and threatened him with suspension.
a. This means that Lucas genuinely feels sorry for his actions.
b. This means that Lucas display of sorrow was insincere.
c. This means that Lucas was afraid of the principal.
d. This means that Lucas was afraid of the new kid.
b. This means that Lucas display of sorrow was insincere.
The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.
a. Simile
b. Metaphor
c. Personification
d. Alliteration
c. Personification
It seemed inconceivable to me that Brenda was unaware of Andy's feeling for her, particularly after he wrote that poem for her and read it to the entire class.
a. Unbelievable
b. Believable
c. Understandable
d. Cool
a. Unbelievable
After setting his alarm clock for PM instead of AM, Eric woke up late for school. In his haste, he forgot to pack a lunch or bring lunch money. Eric did not mind much at the time and figured that he could just eat some of his friend's food. During lunchtime, Eric explained his situation to the people at his lunch table. His friends were sympathetic to his cause, but they only packed lunches for themselves, not Eric. Katie offered Eric a small bag of carrots. "Yuck! I hate carrots. Thanks anyway," Eric said as he declined Katie's offer. Chuck offered Eric his milk, to which Eric responded, "Is that skim milk? Ewww…. I hate skim milk. Does anyone have any chocolate milk?" Some people at the table did have chocolate milk, but they did not want to give their milk to Eric. To break the silence, Ben offered Eric half of his egg salad sandwich, but Eric again refused quite rudely, "Egg salad is gross. Doesn't anyone have anything good for me?" But that was the last offer that Eric would receive that day.
a. Put first things first
b. Be grateful with what you have.
c. Be careful what you wish for
d. Complaining gets you everywhere
b. Be grateful with what you have.
Paper is usually made from wood. Wood from trees is taken to a paper mill and cut into chips. The chips are placed into huge vats. Then they are boiled and stirred with chemicals until they become soggy and mushy. At this stage the paper is called “pulp.” The pulp is washed and bleached to make the paper white, and clay or chalk is added. The paper is now called “stuff.” Since writing paper needs to have a smooth finish, cotton and other fibers are added to the stuff as it goes through a stack of heavy polished rollers. These rollers weigh thirty tons! The stuff is emptied into a machine that has a screen to drain off the water. The fibers that are left are pushed together into a thin sheet. The sheet goes through a set of felt-covered rollers that press any leftover water out of the paper.
a. What paper is used for
b. The machines used to make paper.
c. Paper
d. How paper is made
d. How paper is made
After I told the client that we could give him a discount on the window repairs, the boss said that we couldn't and now I've got egg all over my face.
a. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who is known to not tell the truth.
b. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who profits from other's misfortunes.
c. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who looks foolish or embarrassed.
d. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who looks very hungry.
c. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who looks foolish or embarrassed.
Becky’s beagle barked and bayed.
a. Alliteration
b. Simile
c. Metaphor
d. Personification
a. Alliteration
This tea tastes absolutely terrible but if you dilute it with some water, you'll be able to stomach it.
a. Drink
b. Stir
c. Make it thinner
d. Remove
c. Make it thinner
Kristin had a good reputation. She was known as a bright student who frequently made honor roll and did volunteer work in her community. Nikki and Simone had reputations too, but they were known for causing trouble, getting into fights, and behaving dishonestly. One day Kristin was walking to the little store on the corner to get some healthy snacks when she bumped into Nikki and Simone. Much to Kristin's surprise, Nikki and Simone were being really nice to her. "How come we never hang out with Kristin? She cool," Simone said. Kristin had always quietly admired Nikki and Simone as girls who didn't take any stuff, so she enjoyed the compliments and the attention. Soon they were all walking into the little store together. The girls were playing around and having a good time while Kristin shopped. She picked out a few snacks and paid for her purchases, but on the way out the store owner stopped them. "Let me see what you've got there, little lady," he said as he reached into Nikki's pocket and pulled out several candy bars. "Now you," he said as he went into Simone's backpack and retrieved several bags of chips and packs of gum. He searched Kristin too, but didn't find anything. Kristin begged and pleaded with him as he called the police, "Please, sir, I'm a good girl." To which the man replied, "If you are such a good girl, then why are you hanging out with these two?" Kristin did not know.
a. Be careful who you surround yourself with.
b. Popularity is everything
c. You can talk yourself out of everything
d. Stealing is wrong.
a. Be careful who you surround yourself with.
Clouds are where water droplets or tiny crystals of ice have come together in the air. They form when warm air that contains moisture rises up into the sky and then begins to cool. Not all clouds are the same. Some are fluffy and white, while others are dark gray or even black. Clouds float along at different heights. They have different temperatures and contain different amounts of water, dust, and ice. Meteorologists, or people who study the weather, have given different names for clouds depending on what they look like. Stratus clouds look like thin layers or sheets above the Earth. Cumulus clouds look like big, fluffy piles of cotton balls. Cirrus clouds are curly white clouds. Nimbus clouds are gray rain clouds. And cumulonimbus clouds are a mixture of cumulus and nimbus clouds. Some cumulonimbus clouds have reached 60,000 feet in height!
a. Clouds
b. Different kinds of weather
c. Different kinds of clouds
d. Where clouds are found
c. Different kinds of clouds