First Exam for ELA: the Odyssey, the Dark Game, Idioms
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A garden would provide numerous benefits to the students.
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Which sentence uses an objective tone?
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She needs to add to the beginning and introduce what her challenge was.
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Look at the table Zareen created to help plan her narrative essay. What does Zareen most need to add to her table to complete the planning for her essay?
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The master stopped at the rusty iron door and pulled it open on rasping hinges. We saw him disappear down the steps into the dark, Then we heard the awful, terrifying sound that haunted our sleep
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Read the excerpt from Iqbal. They grabbed him by the arms and dragged him into the courtyard. We followed, but stopped at the door like a group of frightened baby chicks. We saw Iqbal's knees scrape on the stones on the ground, his arm bang against the edge of the well. The master stopped at the rusty iron door and pulled it slowly open on rasping hinges. We saw him disappear down the steps into the dark, jerking Iqbal after him. Then we heard the awful, terrifying sound that haunted our sleep: the grate of the Tomb as it was raised and then bang! as it fell closed. The sound echoed in the heavy heat of the courtyard. Which details from the excerpt best indicate that the tomb is a frightening place? Check all that apply.
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illustrate the feelings of the characters.
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Read the passage from Perseus. "Your child!" Acrisius cried in great anger. "Who is his father?" But when Danaë answered proudly, "Zeus," he would not believe her. In the passage, the dialogue primarily serves to
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the softly drifting snow the bumpy, twisted tree the scarred, stained rug
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Which phrases include sensory language? Check all that apply.
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It contains background information about the Nature Center that a general audience would need.
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Read the opening paragraph from a formal e-mail. The Nature Center was founded to preserve three hundred acres of woods and wetlands. Our miles of nature trails provide hours of hiking pleasure to our visitors. Our Nature's Classroom has helped countless children gain an understanding of and appreciation for the importance of nature. Each year, we strive to earn enough donations to maintain this local treasure.This year, in honor of the Nature Center's fiftieth birthday, our annual fundraiser will be even more elaborate and elegant than usual. Why can the reader conclude that this e-mail was written for a general audience?
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The narrator longs to be unnoticed in public.
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Read the excerpt from Warriors Don't Cry. I had been patiently waiting, hoping that at any moment my grandmother would signal her approval of my grown-up outfit, upswept hairdo, and high-heeled black patent shoes. Layers of forbidden makeup and dark glasses completed what I thought was the perfect disguise. The white people would never, ever recognize me from any picture they might have seen. What is the central idea of the excerpt?
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to inform readers about historical context
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Read the excerpt from Warriors Don't Cry. Just before the court hearing where Governor Faubus would be called to account, the nine of us were summoned to Mrs. Bates's house to meet with the press. Nothing had changed since our last meeting. The troops were still in place around the school, and every morning the crowd of segregationists grew larger. Governor Faubus was still predicting violence. Several very dignified and important-looking men sat in her living room. One was the NAACP attorney, Wiley Branton. I recognized another man whose picture I'd seen in the newspapers: the famous lawyer Thurgood Marshall, the man who had delivered the argument that resulted in the Supreme Court's 1954 school integration ruling. What is the author's purpose for including these details?
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When I open the cover, the smell of fresh paper wafts up to greet me and the crisp, open page fills me with an exquisite sense of possibility.
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Read the sentence. I was telling my dad about how much I like starting a new notebook. Which revision best uses dialogue to show the narrator's feelings?
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to tell significant stories from one's life
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What is one reason that an author may choose to relate events in memoir form?
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"to get out of a situation."
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Based on the prefix, the word "extricate" most likely means
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knows little about the topic.
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When writing for a general audience, the writer should keep in mind that a general audience most likely
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Moderator
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The _______________ of a discussion keeps the group on track.
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"the state of being false."
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By studying the suffix of "fallacy," a reader can conclude it means
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shouting jostling fists weapons
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Read the excerpt from Warriors Don't Cry. As we approached behind them, we could see only the clusters of white people that stretched for a distance of two blocks along the entire span of the school building. My mind could take in the sights and sounds only one by one: flashing cameras, voices shouting in my ears, men and women jostling each other, old people, young people, people running, uniformed police officers walking, men standing still, men and women waving their fists, and then the long line of uniformed soldiers carrying weapons just like in the war movies I had seen. Which words help create the mood in the excerpt? Check all that apply.
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Caution and precision enabled Wyke's cable-tapping success.
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Read the excerpt from The Dark Game: True Spy Stories from Invisible Ink to CIA Moles. Wyke's work was always delicate and demanding, more so in the damp and confined space. Gently and carefully, Wyke scraped the dirt until he found the three cables encased in black rubber and, he believed, pressurized by nitrogen, a common practice in the 1950s to keep moisture out of cables. He knew that once he cut through the rubber sheathing on the cables, the nitrogen would escape. The resulting drop in pressure would be detected by the Soviets. The engineers solved this potential problem by building a concrete barrier with a steel door to pressurize the tap chamber and separate it from the pre-amp room. (It turned out that the cables were not pressurized.) Wyke next attached wires to the exposed cable—probably with alligator clips—and began to draw power from the cables. Once again, the work called for a deft hand. If he drew off too much power, the Soviets would be sure to notice it. As expected, Wyke did a masterful job, and the tapping began on May 11, 1955. Which sentence best states the controlling idea of the passage?
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helping customers order.
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Read this excerpt from the employee handbook for Carey's Sandwiches. The sublist under Number 1 provides information about
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grave error
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Read the passage. The town council of Hopewell has proposed that the vacant lot at the end of Elm Street be converted into a parking lot. While this unused land may seem like a suitable location, the nearby residents have many objections. For example, the youth in nearby neighborhoods enjoy using the lot for recreation. Many pet owners appreciate the undeveloped land because it allows dogs a place to run. Adding cars and pavement to this cherished natural area would be a grave error. The town council should observe the lot and all its uses before taking action. Which phrase best reveals the author's viewpoint?
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unproven.
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Read the excerpt from The Code Book. A theoretical breakthrough would be a fundamentally new way of finding Alice's private key. If a theory is an idea, then something theoretical is
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Elizabeth Van Lew wanted to help during the Civil War and drew inspiration from a relative who had taken care of wounded Revolutionary soldiers.
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Read this paragraph from The Dark Game. When the war began, Elizabeth Van Lew was considered a southern "spinster." She was in her early forties and unmarried. What could she do, she wondered, to serve her country? The answer came to her when she recalled her father's aunt Letitia telling her how she had ministered to the captured troops of the Continental army during the American Revolution, especially those who had been wounded in action. What is the best summary of this paragraph?
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evidence
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An inference needs to be supported by ____________ in the text.
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to persuade readers of the seriousness of the American Civil War
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Read the excerpt from The Dark Game: True Spy Stories from Invisible Ink to CIA Moles. Yet, by the time Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox, Virginia, some four years later, about 620,000 soldiers had died on the battlefields, more than American battle deaths in all other wars from the Revolution through the Vietnam War. What is the author's primary purpose for including this detail?
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Hidden messages can be shared through a backdoor in encryption software. It reminds me of the way I leave my kitchen door open so the cat can come in.
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Peter is writing about this excerpt from The Code Book. A variation on the Trojan horse is a brand-new piece of encryption software that seems secure, but which actually contains a backdoor, something that allows its designers to decrypt everybody's messages. In 1998, a report by Wayne Madsen revealed that the Swiss cryptographic company Crypto AG had built backdoors into some of its products, and had provided the U.S. Government with details of how to exploit these backdoors. As a result, America was able to read the communications of several countries. Which of Peter's lines shows that he is using personal experience to understand the reading?
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When Russian ships quickly bore down on the cruiser, the captain of the stranded ship immediately did what all naval officers were taught to do: he ordered his signalman to bring him the ship's codebook so he could throw the book, wrapped in lead covers, into the sea.
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Read the excerpt from The Dark Game. On several occasions Room 40 received an unexpected but welcome gift when a German codebook was recovered after a sea battle and presented to the British code breakers. One such gift was a codebook from the German ship Magdeburg, a light cruiser that ran aground on an island off of Finland. When Russian ships quickly bore down on the cruiser, the captain of the stranded ship immediately did what all naval officers were taught to do: he ordered his signalman to bring him the ship's codebook so he could throw the book, wrapped in lead covers, into the sea. But before the signalman could deliver the book to his captain, he was killed by Russian guns. When the Russians recovered his body, the sailor was still clutching the codebook in his arms. Which pieces of textual evidence support the inference that the codebook was of high importance? Check all that apply
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to explain in point-by-point form how to maintain workplace safety
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Look at this workplace document. What is the purpose of the numbered list?
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Elizabeth Van Lew was a successful spy because society did not expect a lady to serve in that role.
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Read this paragraph from The Dark Game. It may seem surprising that no Confederate sympathizers took action against Van Lew, given her strong and public views on secession and slavery. Surely there were suspicions, especially among her upper-crust neighbors, but the matter never went beyond those suspicions. Historians have suggested that the secessionists were victims of their own cultural bias, believing that no aristocratic person, and certainly not a lady, would ever consider taking part in anything as impolite as spying. A true lady managed her servants, prepared parties and gatherings, and blindly supported her husband. Such attitudes worked in Van Lew's favor, diverting suspicion from her. What central idea is implied in this paragraph?
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important
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Central ideas are the most ______________ ideas in a text.
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root words word endings parts of speech
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Which can readers use to find the meaning of an unfamiliar word? Check all that apply.
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bolded text
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Look at this excerpt from a manual for SunFun Inc. Which text feature is used in this document?
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The inference is supported by the excitement the men feel when they discover that the message was sent by Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary.
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Read the excerpt from The Dark Game. As Montgomery and de Grey slowly made their way through the message, they noticed more and more oddities. For example, 97556 appeared near the end of the message; the 90000 family indicated important names that were not used very often in messages. We can imagine their shock when they realized that 97556 stood for Zimmermann. That single name fired the men with excitement as they began working on the message from the beginning. Which statement best explains how the evidence of this excerpt leads to the inference that the men had intercepted a very important message?
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He wants to trick the Cyclops by getting him drunk and weakening him.
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Read the excerpt from The Odyssey. 'Cyclops, try some wine. Here's liquor to wash down your scraps of men. Taste it, and see the kind of drink we carried under our planks. I meant it for an offering if you would help us home. But you are mad, unbearable, a bloody monster! After this, will any other traveler come to see you?' What best describes why Odysseus gave his wine to the Cyclops?
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It has fantastic features that help to explain the reason for the Maasai's traditions.
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Which reason best explains why "The Beginnings of the Maasai" can be classified as a myth?
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Love and family make a homecoming worthwhile
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Read the excerpt from The Odyssey. Their secret! as she heard it told, her knees grew tremulous and weak, her heart failed her. With eyes brimming tears she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck, and kissed him Which theme do these lines support?
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Odysseus will battle the suitors with Telemachus.
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Read the excerpt from The Odyssey. "Count up the suitors for me, let me know what men at arms are there, how many men. I must put all my mind to it, to see if we two by ourselves can take them on or if we should look round for help." Based on this excerpt, what is the best prediction about what will happen next in the story?
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to lead confidently in times of distress
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Read the excerpt from The Odyssey. Said Odysseus: "Run then, while I hold them off with arrows as long as the arrows last. When all are gone if I'm alone they can dislodge me." Based upon this excerpt, which trait has Odysseus learned as part of his transformation?
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cause and effect
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Characters advance the plot of a story through ____________________ relationships, where their actions lead to results that move the plot along.
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an Olympic torch an American flag a white dove
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Which are examples of symbols? Choose all that apply.
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a young man searching through a new city, trying to find his lost friends before they are harmed
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If a writer were writing a modern-day story based on the Theseus myth featured in "Cruel Tribute," what would the story's plot most likely include?
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the motivation of the brothers
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Which part of "The Maori: Genealogies and Origins in New Zealand" best shows that the Maori value freedom?
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But Zeus disdained my offering; destruction for my ships he had in store
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Which excerpt from Part 2 of The Odyssey best supports the conclusion that Odysseus's fate is doomed?
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identifying important words and phrases
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What is the first step in summarizing a plot?
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evidence
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The best way to make inferences is to combine background knowledge with ,______________ or the proof found in the details provided in the text.
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I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest: 'All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home.'
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Which excerpt from The Odyssey best shows Odysseus demonstrating the epic hero traits of strength and leadership?
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after sentence 4
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Read this student essay written about Greek mythology. 1.The Greek god of sheep and shepherds was Pan. 2. Pan had the body of a man, with the horns, legs, and tail of a goat. 3. He played the pan flute, which he made of hollow reeds. 4. Pan became a popular character in art and literature over the years. Where should the quotation below be placed to further develop the paragraph? In fact, Pan was "one of the great inspirations behind the childhood classic, Peter Pan" (Graham 79).
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Antinous's friends will turn on him, and he will suffer for his actions.
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Read this excerpt from The Odyssey. "Oh, Nan, they are a bad lot; they intend ruin for all of us; but Antinous appears a blacker-hearted hound than any. Here is a poor man come, a wanderer, driven by want to beg his bread, and everyone in hall gave bits, to cram his bag—only Antinous threw a stool, and banged his shoulder!" Based on previous knowledge of Greek values, what prediction can best be made about Antinous's future?
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Words cannot actually hurt a person like sticks and stones can.
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Read the excerpt from "Daughter of Invention". "Sticks and stones don't break bones," she chanted. Yoyo could tell, though, by the look on her face, it was as if one of those stones the kids had aimed at her daughters had hit her. But she always pretended they were at fault. "What did you do to provoke them? It takes two to tangle, you know." What is the original meaning of the underlined idiom in this excerpt?
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to walk with measured, stiff strides
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Read the passage from "The Caged Bird." But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. What is the literal meaning of stalks?
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sight
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Read the excerpt from "The Scarlet Ibis." Finally I went back and found him huddled beneath a red nightshade bush beside the road. He was sitting on the ground, his face buried in his arms, which were resting on his drawn-up knees. "Let's go, Doodle," I said. He didn't answer, so I placed my hand on his forehead and lifted his head. Limply, he fell backwards onto the earth. He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained in brilliant red. "Doodle! Doodle!" I cried, shaking him, but there was no answer but the ropy rain. He lay very awkwardly, with his head thrown far back, making his vermillion neck appear unusually long and slim. His little legs, bent sharply at the knees, had never before seemed so fragile, so thin. In this excerpt, the imagery appeals primarily to which sense to help place the reader in the scene?
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tone
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The __________ of a poem is the attitude of the text toward the subject and theme.
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It changes from a symbol of freedom to a symbol of captivity.
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Read the excerpts from different sections "The Scarlet Ibis." Although Doodle learned to crawl, he showed no signs of walking, but he wasn't idle. He talked so much that we all quit listening to what he said. It was about this time that Daddy built him a go-cart and I had to pull him around. At first I just paraded him up and down the piazza, but then he started crying to be taken out into the yard and it ended up by my having to lug him wherever I went. If I so much as picked up my cap, he'd start crying to go with me and Mama would call from wherever she was, "Take Doodle with you." *** He'd nod his head, and I'd say, "Well, if you don't keep trying, you'll never learn." Then I'd paint for him a picture of us as old men, white-haired, him with a long white beard and me still pulling him around in the go-cart. This never failed to make him try again. Based on these excerpts, what best describes the symbol of the go-cart within the story?
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the way characters are described the situations in which the characters interact dialogue between characters conflicts within and between characters
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How do authors present and develop characters? Check all that apply.
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Mrs. Flowers's words
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Read the passage from "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." "I don't need to see the inside, Mrs. Henderson, I can tell . . ." But the dress was over my head and my arms were stuck in the sleeves. What allows the reader to infer that Mrs. Flowers is concerned about Marguerite's feelings?
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anger defiance outrage
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In "The Caged Bird," what is the speaker's tone or attitude toward the subject of oppression? Check all that apply.
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Later in the story, the narrator races ahead and leaves Doodle to struggle behind during a terrible storm.
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Read the excerpt from "The Scarlet Ibis." Doodle was frightened of being left. "Don't go leave me, Brother," he cried, and he leaned toward the coffin. His hand, trembling, reached out, and when he touched the casket he screamed. A screech owl flapped out of the box into our faces, scaring us and covering us with Paris green. Doodle was paralyzed, so I put him on my shoulder and carried him down the ladder, and even when we were outside in the bright sunshine, he clung to me, crying, "Don't leave me. Don't leave me." What do Doodle's repeated pleas of "Don't leave me" foreshadow?
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inform the reader of Mrs. Flowers's social position in Black Stamps.
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Read the passage from "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black Stamps. She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around, cooling her. She was thin without the taut look of wiry people, and her printed voile dresses and flowered hats were as right for her as denim overalls for a farmer. She was our side's answer to the richest white woman in town. The author's purpose in including this passage is to
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idiom
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A(n) __________ cannot be taken literally and must be understood as a whole.
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Kit and Helen decided to remain in the small town and open a coffee shop.
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Use the thesaurus entry for migrate to answer the question. migrate verb Definition: to move from one place to another Synonyms: drift, journey, rove, shift, wander Antonyms: sojourn, stay, stop, halt Which sentence contains another antonym for the word migrate?
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Most people seemed to respond to the candidate's charisma rather than to his political agenda. Alyssa's acting talent was not great, but she hoped her charisma would secure her a role in the play. Though Farhan could be charming, he knew that he could not rely on his charisma to get the job.
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Use the dictionary entry for charisma to answer the question. charisma cha•ris•ma [kuh-riz-muh] adj from Greek charis 1. a magnetic charm that appeals to people In which sentences is the word charisma used correctly? Check all that apply.
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Instead of openly disagreeing with her husband's desire to return to the Dominican Republic, she criticizes the foreign papers he reads.
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Read the excerpt from "Daughter of Invention". But Laura had gotten used to the life here. She did not want to go back to the old country where, de la Torre or not, she was only a wife and a mother (and a failed one at that, since she had never provided the required son). Better an independent nobody than a high-class houseslave. She did not come straight out and disagree with her husband's plans. Instead, she fussed with him about reading the papers in bed, soiling their sheets with those poorly printed, foreign tabloids. "The Times is not that bad!" she'd claim if her husband tried to humor her by saying they shared the same dirty habit. How do Laura's interactions with her husband reveal the conflict she experiences?
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Millicent is beginning to question her decision to join the sorority.
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Read the passage from "Initiation." And from that time on, initiations didn't bother Millicent at all. She went gaily about Lewiston Square from store to store asking for broken crackers and mangoes, and she just laughed inside when people stared and then brightened, answering her crazy questions as if she were quite serious and really a person of consequence. So many people were shut up tight inside themselves like boxes, yet they would open up, unfolding quite wonderfully, if only you were interested in them. And really, you didn't have to belong to a club to feel related to other human beings. Based on the indirect characterization, which is the most logical inference?
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Children are used to working in unfair conditions.
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Read the excerpt from Iqbal. Hussain Khan looked at us and growled, "What do you think you're looking at? Get back to work." We bent to our looms, but then we quickly peeked over our shoulders. Hussain brought the new boy over to an empty loom in the row next to mine, pulled out a rusty shackle, and locked it on the boy's right ankle. "This will be your place, here's where you'll work," he said. Based on the excerpt, which inference can be made about the setting?
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facts
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To indicate that one's purpose for writing is to inform, an author would include clues such as __________
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The haunting refrain stayed with the audience long after the show ended.
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Read the dictionary entry. re • frain [ri-freyn] 1. (verb) to resist doing something 2. (noun) the chorus of a musical piece Which sentence uses refrain as a noun?
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the way characters are described the situations in which the characters interact dialogue between characters conflicts within and between characters
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How do authors present and develop characters? Check all that apply
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Elizabeth Van Lew wanted to help during the Civil War and drew inspiration from a relative who had taken care of wounded Revolutionary soldiers.
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Read this paragraph from The Dark Game. When the war began, Elizabeth Van Lew was considered a southern "spinster." She was in her early forties and unmarried. What could she do, she wondered, to serve her country? The answer came to her when she recalled her father's aunt Letitia telling her how she had ministered to the captured troops of the Continental army during the American Revolution, especially those who had been wounded in action. What is the best summary of this paragraph?
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phrase
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A ___________ is a group of words that work together to express an idea and can function as a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb.
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Grant should ask, "How did Jason defeat his challenges and gain success?" using a book about Greek mythology for research.
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Grant receives the writing prompt below. Write an informative essay about the Greek hero, Jason. Summarize his unhappy youth and explain how he overcame obstacles to become great. Grant's first research question is "What happened in Jason's early life?" What should his second research question be, and what would be the most credible source for research?
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The bumpy road jangled the carriage that we drove around the lake.
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Which sentence uses a prepositional phrase as an adverbial phrase?
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dishonesty
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Read the sentence. While we could never prove it, we suspected him of duplicity, so we were never able to fully trust him despite his numerous good deeds. What is the most likely definition of "duplicity"?
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to emphasize the generational cycle of debt slavery
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Read the excerpt from Free the Children. "School," I had asked him, "would you like to go to school?" "What is school? What is it like? What do people do there?" "What do you hope for the future?" I said. "I will do the same job. I will work to pay the debt. I will work to eat. One day I will take a loan from the owner. My children will have to pay." Why does the author most likely include this interaction?
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an attempt to explain an origin
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What element of a myth is featured in the title "The Beginnings of the Maasai"?
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evidence
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An inference needs to be supported by __________ in the text.
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It is a work environment. It is daytime. The room holds several people.
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Read the excerpt from Iqbal. Suddenly I realized that I had to get back to work. My mind had wandered. Just in time I managed to recapture a thread I was about to lose. Then the sunbeams were blocked and the two swords of light stopped fighting. We all turned around to see the master standing in the doorway. His big body filled it. He was dressed for traveling, with a long coat that almost reached his feet and boots covered with red dust. Based on the descriptive details in the passage, what inferences can be made about the setting? Check all that apply.
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He sympathizes with Neto and decides to try to help.
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Read the excerpt from It's Our World, Too!: Young People Who Are Making a Difference. Neto was waiting by Andy's locker the next morning. "He had tears in his eyes," Andy remembers. "He said that adult fans were swearing at the Mexican players and that it wasn't fair. He was really hurting. He said, 'Is there any way you can help?' I told him I'd try." When Neto left, Andy walked into the principal's office and repeated Neto's story. He asked for the school's support in dealing with the crowd. "The principal told me he hadn't heard adults say those things," Andy recalls. "He said some of the parents would have to call him and complain before the school administration could get involved. He said Neto had probably heard it out of context anyway." Andy stormed out angrily. How is Andy affected by the conflict that Neto experiences?
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It's a prepositional phrase acting as an adverbial phrase.
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Read the sentence. The skillful pilot maneuvered successfully during the training mission. How does the underlined phrase in the sentence function?
