Unit 1
Read the paragraph.
Upon visiting Croatia, Anabelle was impressed with its bountiful natural resources. She had a relaxing time on its multiple beautiful beaches and ate copious amounts of fresh produce from its fertile fruit orchards and vegetable gardens.
Which words used in this paragraph are evidence that provides context clues that help define the word bountiful?
(Select all that apply.)
Beautiful
Fertile
Copious
Multiple
fertile, copious and multiple
Read the sentence.
Alfie could do little to assuage his guilt about accidentally breaking Mr. Ferguson’s window, even though Mr. Ferguson just chuckled when he found out what had caused Alfie’s mishap.
Which word is a synonym of assuage as it is used in the sentence?
Arouse
Recognize
Ease
Devalue
ease
Read the paragraph.
Boarding a plane to New York City, Jane felt a sizzle of excitement for all the adventures she would have in the city. Her favorite thing to do was visit the Freedom Tower, which stands proud, powerfully surmounting even the tallest skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline.
Which context clues are most helpful in defining the word surmounting?
Responses
even the tallest skyscrapers
the Manhattan skyline
Freedom Tower, which stands proud
a plane to New York City
Even the tallest skyscrapers
Read the sentences.
Even though Bill had asked Ana to dinner, he was not sure what sort of cuisine she would like. She had told him a number of times that she just simply loved food, period.
Based on the context provided by the passage, which sentence correctly defines the word cuisine?
Cuisine is a specific placement of a restaurant, for example, downtown or in a strip mall.
Cuisine is a specific kind of condiment for food, for example, ketchup or mayonnaise.
Cuisine is a specific table position in a restaurant, for example, left or right of the kitchen.
Cuisine is a specific style of cooking, for example, Thai or Italian.
Cuisine is a specific style of cooking, for example, Thai or Italian.
Read the excerpt from The War of the Worlds.
I was very glad to do as he asked, and so become one of the privileged spectators within the contemplated enclosure. I failed to find Lord Hilton at his house, but I was told he was expected from London by the six o’clock train from Waterloo; and as it was then about a quarter past five, I went home, had some tea, and walked up to the station to waylay him.
Given the context, what is the most accurate definition of the word waylay?
to intercept
to visit
to call
to attack
To intercept
Which response most accurately states the definition of theme?
A story’s theme is the atmosphere created for the reader by the author’s use of descriptive and figurative language.
A story’s theme is the conclusion of the plot, where the author conveys the resolution of the story’s events.
A story’s theme is the central message or universal truth that the author conveys through the characters and plot.
A story’s theme is the summary of the story, which includes all important plot events in the order in which they occurred.
A story’s theme is the central message or universal truth that the author conveys through the characters and plot.
Which option most accurately defines figurative language?
language that conveys factual information about a person, place, or thing to create a realistic effect
language that summarizes an interesting or amusing event to create a more humorous effect
language that orders words and sentences in a way that makes sense to create a linear effect
language that uses unconventional construction or differs from literal meaning to create a more powerful effect
language that uses unconventional construction or differs from literal meaning to create a more powerful effect
Which element of a narrative text is directly involved in the conflict of a story and moves the story along through actions, motivations, and interactions?
tone
plot
setting
character
character
Which response most accurately defines the term sarcasm?
Sarcasm is using humor or jokes to make conversations or stories more engaging for others.
Sarcasm is stating the truth about a situation openly and bluntly, so that readers are surprised.
Sarcasm is using mockery or irony as a way of conveying contempt or dislike.
Sarcasm is using a cruel, condescending tone toward readers or others in a conversation.
Sarcasm is using mockery or irony as a way of conveying contempt or dislike.
Which option correctly identifies an element of narrative text structure that provides information about events that have occurred earlier?
flash-forward
subplot
parallel plot
flashback
flashback
What plot structure should be used when you are writing the aftermath from the intense point of your story?
exposition
rising action
falling action
resolution
Falling action
Which point of view should you use when it comes to writing a character presenting their own perspective?
Third person omniscient
second person
first person
third person limited
First person
What figurative language should you use for writing humor?
hyperbole
metaphor
onomatopoeia
symbolism
Hyperbole or onomatopoeia
Why is using figurative language important in your writing?
to express meanings that are different from their definitions in order to enhance the story
to use words express meanings that parallel to their definition to eliminate confusion
to represent imagery of the story
to represent allusions used in the story
to express meanings that are different from their definitions in order to enhance the story
Why is using an outline important in writing?
it helps the writer think about ideas and organize them
to make the writing look flashy
an outline is not needed at all
to put all of your ideas in a document and never use it again
it helps the writer think about ideas and organize them
Read the passage from the “General Prologue” of The Canterbury Tales.
Each one of you, to pass the time of day,
Shall tell two tales while you are on the way
To Canterbury; then each one of you
On the return shall tell another two,
About adventures said once to befall.
And he who bears himself the best of all—
That is to say, the one who’s judged to tell
The tales that in both aim and wit excel--
Shall win a supper paid for by the lot,
Here in this place, right at this very spot,
When we return again from Canterbury.
Which option best explains the function of the tale-telling game in The Canterbury Tales?
The game frames the narrative and creates a purpose and motivation for each character to tell his or her story.
The game is a plot device that sets up conflict for each of the characters which will be resolved on their journey.
The game establishes and enforces the tone for the pilgrims’ tales.
The game reveals and resolves plot twists for each character in the story.
The game frames the narrative and creates a purpose and motivation for each character to tell his or her story.
Read the paragraph from Utopia in which the character Hythloday addresses those with the power to change society.
…‘If you do not find a remedy to these evils it is a vain thing to boast of your severity in punishing theft, which, though it may have the appearance of justice, yet in itself is neither just nor convenient; for if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this but that you first make thieves and then punish them?’
What option most accurately identifies the literary device used in this excerpt and the way it depicts Hythloday’s perspective about societal values?
Hythloday uses understatement to state his opinion that a society that does not ensure full equality and unity among its people is thus failing to develop into an exemplary community in which people would choose to live.
Hythloday uses irony to present his opinion that a society that does not provide for its people creates desperation and is thus responsible for improving living conditions rather than simply punishing people’s wrongs.
Hythloday uses understatement to illustrate his opinion that a society that does not sufficiently provide for its people should not expect them to abide by the socially acceptable norms.
Hythloday uses irony to depict his opinion that a society that does not have control of its people should not expect anyone to exhibit proper behaviors required by established social norms.
Hythloday uses irony to present his opinion that a society that does not provide for its people creates desperation and is thus responsible for improving living conditions rather than simply punishing people’s wrongs.
Read the excerpt from Gulliver’s Travels, which lists two of the conditions that Gulliver must agree to before the Lilliputians grant him freedom.
“1st, The man-mountain shall not depart from our dominions, without our license under our great seal.
“2d, He shall not presume to come into our metropolis, without our express order; at which time, the inhabitants shall have two hours warning to keep within doors.”
Which option most accurately explains how these conditions contribute to the tone of the narrative?
The conditions are written in a serious manner, contributing to the self-important tone.
The conditions are written in a charitable manner, contributing to the merciful tone.
The conditions are written in an aggressive manner, contributing to the threatening tone.
The conditions are written in a morose manner, contributing to the hopeless tone.
The conditions are written in a serious manner, contributing to the self-important tone.
Read the excerpt from “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” which explains what happens following Dr. Roylott’s death.
Such are the true facts of the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a narrative which has already run to too great a length by telling how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at Harrow, of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly playing with a dangerous pet.
Which option most accurately explains what the excerpt implies about the official investigation into Dr. Roylott’s death?
The police did not believe Holmes’s wild and elaborate story of Dr. Roylott’s involvement in the death of Helen’s sister, and the police insisted on following their own leads.
No one told the police what really happened at the house, so the officials focused on Dr. Roylott’s death, and not on his involvement in his stepdaughter’s death.
Helen’s aunt, wishing to protect Helen’s emotional well-being, asked the police not to investigate further.
After the long ordeal, Helen was not well enough for police questioning and quickly left the city.
No one told the police what really happened at the house, so the officials focused on Dr. Roylott’s death, and not on his involvement in his stepdaughter’s death.
Read the excerpt from Rebecca.
The gates had shut to with a crash behind us, the dusty high-road was out of sight, and I became aware that this was not the drive I had imagined would be Manderley’s, this was not a broad and spacious thing of gravel, flanked with neat turf at either side, kept smooth with rake and brush.
This drive twisted and turned as a serpent, scarce wider in places than a path, and above our heads was a great colonnade of trees, whose branches nodded and intermingled with one another, making an archway for us, like the roof of a church. Even the midday sun would not penetrate the interlacing of those green leaves, they were too thickly entwined, one with another, and only little flickering patches of warm light would come in intermittent waves to dapple the drive with gold. It was very silent, very still.
Which option most clearly explains the relationship between the narrator’s emotions and the setting?
The narrator’s fears about coming to Manderley are reflected in the discomfort she feels about the loud gate, the twisting road, and the inconsistently warm sunlight.
The narrator’s excitement about finally arriving at Manderley is reflected in the lines of trees, thick leaves above her, and the welcoming silence around the property.
The narrator’s disappointment in not fitting in at her new home is reflected in the discomfort she feels about the loud gate, the twisting road, and the inconsistently warm sunlight.
The narrator’s relief at finally getting to live at Manderley is reflected in the lines of trees, thick leaves above her, and the welcoming silence around the property.
The narrator’s fears about coming to Manderley are reflected in the discomfort she feels about the loud gate, the twisting road, and the inconsistently warm sunlight.
Which response most accurately defines pacing?
portrayal of the passage of time and framing throughout the story
portrayal of the passage of time and character actions throughout the story
manipulation of time and setting throughout the story
manipulation of time and tone throughout the story
portrayal of the passage of time and character actions throughout the story
Read the lines from the sonnet “Death Be Not Proud.”
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, …
Which response most clearly explains how the lines use analogy to help express the main idea of the poem?
They compare rest and sleep to death, indicating that it would be possible to die on any night, so people should savor life.
They imply that death must be highly pleasurable, since it is a longer version of rest and sleep from which one wakes up.
They imply ironically that it is impossible to know whether death is like sleep, rest, or anything else, because the dead cannot describe it.
They compare death to rest and sleep to ironically make the point that death and sleep actually have very little in common.
They imply that death must be highly pleasurable, since it is a longer version of rest and sleep from which one wakes up.
Which lines from “The Chimney Sweeper” (Songs of Innocence) most accurately portray the innocent, naïve perspective of the child speaker?
And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm:
So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind:
And the angel told Tom, if he’d be a good boy,
He’d have God for his father, and never want joy.
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry ‘Weep! weep! weep! weep!’
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
And by came an angel, who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins, and set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm:
So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.
Read the excerpt from “Dulce et Decorum Est.”
Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod.
Which response most clearly explains the impact of the description “blood-shod”?
The description is a medical term for having lost so much blood that one is near death, and it explains with clinical precision and understatement why the men were limping.
The description is a synonym for being shell-shocked or, in modern terms, having symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and it shows that the soldiers were affected both physically and emotionally.
The description means the men wore blood, not shoes, on their feet, and this surprising choice of words reminds the reader of the shocking pain of war.
The description means the men’s eyes were red from exhaustion, and this vivid, descriptive language creates a clear image of the effects of war for the reader.
The description means the men wore blood, not shoes, on their feet, and this surprising choice of words reminds the reader of the shocking pain of war.
In the excerpt from The Fellowship of the Ring, Strider encounters difficulty when trying to convince the hobbits that they need his help.
Which quotation by Strider most accurately reveals the plot conflict that is set up by Strider’s situation?
“You can do as you like about my reward: take me as a guide or not. But I may say that I know all the lands between the Shire and the Misty Mountains, for I have wandered over them for many years. I am older than I look. I might prove useful.”
“I have quick ears,” he went on, lowering his voice, “and though I cannot disappear, I have hunted many wild and wary things and I can usually avoid being seen, if I wish.”
“It would have been better,” said Strider. “I would have stopped your going into the common-room, if I could; but the innkeeper would not let me in to see you, or take a message.”
“The lesson in caution has been well learned,” said Strider with a grim smile. “But caution is one thing and wavering is another. You will never get to Rivendell now on your own, and to trust me is your only chance. You must make up your mind.”
“The lesson in caution has been well learned,” said Strider with a grim smile. “But caution is one thing and wavering is another. You will never get to Rivendell now on your own, and to trust me is your only chance. You must make up your mind.”