N
Nikki
Guest
Read the selection. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Well, thish-yer Smiley had rat-tarriers, and chicken cocks, and tomcats and all them kind of things till you couldn't rest, and you couldn't fetch nothing for him to bet on but he'd match you. He ketched a frog one day and took him home, and said he cal'lated to educate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. And you bet you he did learn him, too. He'd give him a little punch behind, and the next minute you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut—see him turn one summerset, or maybe a couple if he got a good start, and come down flatfooted and all right, like a cat. He got him up so in the matter of ketching flies, and kep' him in practice so constant, and he'd nail a fly every time as fur as he could see him. Smiley said all a frog wanted was education and he could do 'most anything—and I believe him.
from "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain
1. Which of these is revealed about the character of Smiley, based on the narrator's description of him? (1 point)
Smiley can communicate with animals.
Smiley is an easy-going person.
Smiley enjoys betting.
Smiley loves to train animals.
2. The reader learns about Smiley through indirect characterization. Which of these best defines the term indirect characterization as it is used in this selection? (1 point)
Smiley's traits are revealed by what another character says about him.
Smiley's traits are revealed by what the author directly says about him.
Smiley's traits are revealed mainly by what he says to other characters.
Smiley's traits are revealed through describing his own thoughts.
3. Which conclusion is most likely, based on the information in the selection? (1 point)
Smiley intends to use the frog for betting.
Smiley intends to sell the frog at a county fair.
The narrator is not a character in the story.
The narrator does not approve of what Smiley is doing.
4. Which strategy would best help a reader clarify the details in this selection? (1 point)
looking up ketched in a dictionary
rereading to understand the dialect
reading others stories by the author
researching the behavior of dogs
5. Which of these best describes stories such as the excerpt from "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"? (1 point)
symbols
fables
allusions
satire
6. Which of these can most directly reveal the theme of a literary work? (1 point)
an author's collective works
critical reviews of the work
characters' comments and actions
the author's background
Read the selection. Then, answer the questions that follow.
In this excerpt from "Old Ironsides," the poet protests the destruction of a historic battleship. The poem helped save the ship, which is now a national memorial.
Her decks, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee—
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!
from "Old Ironsides"
by Oliver Wendell Holmes
7. Who is the speaker in the selection? (1 point)
the ship
the sailor
a fictional character
the poet
8. Which lines from the poem best express the poet's strong feelings that the ship should not be destroyed? (1 point)
lines 1 and 2
lines 9 and 10
lines 5 and 6
lines 13 and 14
9. Which of these would most likely help you fully appreciate the selection? (1 point)
reading other works by the poet
reading other poems about battleships
listening to the poem's musicality
summarizing the poem's message
10. Through the poet's use of imagery, what does he invite the reader to do? (1 point)
engage the senses of sight and sound
appreciate the lure of the sea
oppose warfare at sea
mourn the loss of a great ship
11. Which of these is a clue to the theme of the selection? (1 point)
images of heroes in battle with their enemies
images of the ship being torn apart and sunk by storms
the use of rhythm and rhyme in the poem
the poet's use of punctuation marks in the poem
12. Which of these is a characteristic of imagist poems? (1 point)
refereces to historical or literary events that are meaningful
people, places, or things that represent something beyond themselves
use of common themes of life and death
use of a limited number of words that appeal to the senses to evoke emotion
13. Which of these is often true of poetry? (1 point)
Images in a poem appeal to all the senses.
The the
Well, thish-yer Smiley had rat-tarriers, and chicken cocks, and tomcats and all them kind of things till you couldn't rest, and you couldn't fetch nothing for him to bet on but he'd match you. He ketched a frog one day and took him home, and said he cal'lated to educate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. And you bet you he did learn him, too. He'd give him a little punch behind, and the next minute you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut—see him turn one summerset, or maybe a couple if he got a good start, and come down flatfooted and all right, like a cat. He got him up so in the matter of ketching flies, and kep' him in practice so constant, and he'd nail a fly every time as fur as he could see him. Smiley said all a frog wanted was education and he could do 'most anything—and I believe him.
from "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain
1. Which of these is revealed about the character of Smiley, based on the narrator's description of him? (1 point)
Smiley can communicate with animals.
Smiley is an easy-going person.
Smiley enjoys betting.
Smiley loves to train animals.
2. The reader learns about Smiley through indirect characterization. Which of these best defines the term indirect characterization as it is used in this selection? (1 point)
Smiley's traits are revealed by what another character says about him.
Smiley's traits are revealed by what the author directly says about him.
Smiley's traits are revealed mainly by what he says to other characters.
Smiley's traits are revealed through describing his own thoughts.
3. Which conclusion is most likely, based on the information in the selection? (1 point)
Smiley intends to use the frog for betting.
Smiley intends to sell the frog at a county fair.
The narrator is not a character in the story.
The narrator does not approve of what Smiley is doing.
4. Which strategy would best help a reader clarify the details in this selection? (1 point)
looking up ketched in a dictionary
rereading to understand the dialect
reading others stories by the author
researching the behavior of dogs
5. Which of these best describes stories such as the excerpt from "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"? (1 point)
symbols
fables
allusions
satire
6. Which of these can most directly reveal the theme of a literary work? (1 point)
an author's collective works
critical reviews of the work
characters' comments and actions
the author's background
Read the selection. Then, answer the questions that follow.
In this excerpt from "Old Ironsides," the poet protests the destruction of a historic battleship. The poem helped save the ship, which is now a national memorial.
Her decks, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee—
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!
from "Old Ironsides"
by Oliver Wendell Holmes
7. Who is the speaker in the selection? (1 point)
the ship
the sailor
a fictional character
the poet
8. Which lines from the poem best express the poet's strong feelings that the ship should not be destroyed? (1 point)
lines 1 and 2
lines 9 and 10
lines 5 and 6
lines 13 and 14
9. Which of these would most likely help you fully appreciate the selection? (1 point)
reading other works by the poet
reading other poems about battleships
listening to the poem's musicality
summarizing the poem's message
10. Through the poet's use of imagery, what does he invite the reader to do? (1 point)
engage the senses of sight and sound
appreciate the lure of the sea
oppose warfare at sea
mourn the loss of a great ship
11. Which of these is a clue to the theme of the selection? (1 point)
images of heroes in battle with their enemies
images of the ship being torn apart and sunk by storms
the use of rhythm and rhyme in the poem
the poet's use of punctuation marks in the poem
12. Which of these is a characteristic of imagist poems? (1 point)
refereces to historical or literary events that are meaningful
people, places, or things that represent something beyond themselves
use of common themes of life and death
use of a limited number of words that appeal to the senses to evoke emotion
13. Which of these is often true of poetry? (1 point)
Images in a poem appeal to all the senses.
The the