English 11: 6.4.3 Test Answers

Read this excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath: Sure, cried the tenant men, but it's our land. We measured it and broke it up. We were born on it, and we got killed on it, died on it. Even if it's no good, it's still ours. That's what makes it ours—being born on it, working it, dying on it. That makes ownership, not a paper with numbers on it. Which best describes how the diction supports the tone of this passage?

A. By beginning the excerpt with the word "Sure," the author articulates a fundamental truth that most reasonable people can agree with. B. By beginning several sentences with "We," the author uses parallelism to express a formal and objective tone that avoids sentimentality. C. By referring to how farmers "died on" and are "dying on" the land, the author conveys sympathy toward the tenant farmers for being displaced. D. (Choose) (incorrect i think) By using a metaphor to compare ownership to a piece of paper, the author indicates that the land should really belong to the farmers.

2 Points In the following dialogue, which discussion technique does Daniel most clearly show? DANIEL: Did you guys feel the article was biased? Kim Sato is a newscaster from Japan. Since newscasters get money and fame when they deliver a big story, I think that it's possible that Kim just wants to stir up some controversy.

A. Conducting research to support conclusions B. Asking clarifying questions C. Assess the claims of others D. Challenging established ideas

Imagine an essay built around this claim: The process known as hydraulic fracturing is touted by the natural gas industry as safe, but environmentalists do not agree with this assessment. Which of the following claim restatements would be most appropriate to start the conclusion paragraph?

A. Debate runs high over the safety of hydraulic fracking, but so far, environmentalists are losing out to the deep pockets of investors in gas energy. B. Natural gas companies are able to drill into previously untapped natural gas reserves to extract gas from shale rock in a process known as fracking. C. Chemicals that are used in the fracking process have been known to leak into aquifers that supply drinking water for residents who live near fracking sites. D. (Choose) Although extracting natural gas from shale in a process called fracking is believed to be safe by industry experts, scientists beg to differ with them.

Read the following excerpt from the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost: He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors.' Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: 'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. Which best describes the speaker's tone in this passage?

A. He is skeptical about his neighbor's idea of what makes good neighbors. B. He is pleased that the neighbor is building a fence even though there are no cows. C. (Choose) He resents his neighbor's desire to keep an unnecessary wall between them. D. He admires his neighbor's helpfulness in wanting to repair the wall.

Read the following passage from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock": In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo. What literary device is most clearly used in this passage?

A. Hyperbole B. Allusion C. (Choose) Slant rhyme D. Alliteration

Read the following excerpt from the "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter: Such a fresh breeze blowing and such a green day with no threats in it. But he had not come, just the same. What does a woman do when she has put on the white veil and set out the white cake for a man and he doesn't come? She tried to remember. No, I swear he never harmed me but in that. He never harmed me but in that . . . and what if he did? What aspect of this excerpt most clearly marks it as a work of Modernism?

A. It communicates the idea that people should never give up on their dreams. B. (Choose) It reflects the betrayal of trust in a cherished ideal. C. It supports the idea that social institutions are inherently painful. D. It conveys the disappointment of unhappy marriages.

Read the following excerpt from the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost: There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors.' Which best describes the effect of the metaphor on the overall meaning in this excerpt?

A. It describes the difference between the bordering properties to underscore the necessity of the wall. B. It compares two unlike things that are harmful to humans to show that the wall is necessary. C. It attributes human qualities to the wall in order to echo the idea of apple trees being livestock. D. (Choose) It gives apple trees the qualities of grazing animals to emphasize that the wall is unnecessary.

Which theme best reflects the ideals of Modernist writers?

A. Nothing good lasts forever. B. Nature is beautiful. C. Love conquers all. D. Hard work leads to success.

It had been a hard pull, but not too much for her. When she thought of all the food she had cooked, and all the clothes she had cut and sewed, and all the gardens she had made — well, the children showed it. There they were, made out of her, and they couldn't get away from that. Sometimes she wanted to see John again and point to them and say, Well, I didn't do so badly, did I? Which two themes does this passage most clearly develop?

A. Sometimes we doubt our own strength; it's fruitless to live in the past. B. Past experiences shape who we are; the insecure often seek to be validated. C. Adversity builds character; tough times make for tough people. D. (Choose) Life presents obstacles to be overcome; parents are children's first role models.

2 Points Read the following passage from "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall": For a second time there was no sign. Again no bridegroom and the priest in the house. She could not remember any other sorrow because this grief wiped them all away. Oh, no, there's nothing more cruel than this — I'll never forgive it. She stretched herself with a deep breath and blew out the light. Which statement provides the best analysis of the passage's symbolism?

A. The light represents Granny Weatherall's life. B. The thunder suggests the beating of Granny's heart. C. The priest stands for the moral purity of her husband. D. The cruelty is more than Granny Weatherall can bear.

Read the following lines from T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock": Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized upon a table; Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: Streets that follow like a tedious argument Of insidious intent To lead you to an overwhelming question. . . . Oh, do not ask, "What is it?" Let us go and make our visit. In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo. Which sentence best analyzes the poet's use of allusion in this passage?

A. The speaker refers to Michelangelo to show how people pretend to be who they're not so they can fit in. B. The speaker mentions Hamlet to show how he comes to terms with indecision and makes a stand. C. The speaker refers to "one-night cheap hotels" to suggest that people can live frugally in difficult times. D. The speaker compares the evening to an etherized patient to suggest the ideas of fatigue and decay.

Read the following excerpt from Katherine Anne Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall": I want you to pick all the fruit this year and see nothing is wasted. There's always someone who can use it. Don't let good things rot for want of using. You waste life when you waste good food. Don't let things get lost. It's bitter to lose things. Now, don't let me get to thinking, not when I'm tired and taking a little nap before supper. . . . What is one purpose of the symbolism used in this passage?

A. To make a piece of fruit seem like a peer to Granny B. To link two unlike concepts: supper and marriage C. (Choose) To show that Granny has moved on with life after being jilted D. To compare Granny to something that has been lost

Read this excerpt from a literary analysis essay: One of Dickinson's most effective devices for conveying her ideas about human nature is personification. She uses a bird to help her describe the abstract idea of hope, declaring that "Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul, / And sings the tune without the words, / And never stops at all." In this particular poem, Dickinson is describing that most intimate of human qualities, hope — the quality that makes us persevere even through the raging storms of life. Is the underlined commentary in the excerpt effective?

A. Yes, because the author clearly connects to Dickinson's feelings about birds. B. No, because the commentary simply paraphrases the quote. C. Yes, because the commentary connects Dickinson's personification to her ideas about human nature. D. No, because the commentary has no relationship to the topic sentence or to the quote it references.

Read the following excerpt from the "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot: And indeed there will be time For the yellow smoke that slides along the street, Rubbing its back upon the window panes; There will be time, there will be time To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet; There will be time to murder and create, And time for all the works and days of hands That lift and drop a question on your plate; Which phrase from the excerpt most clearly conveys the speaker's leisurely tone?

A. days of hands B. prepare a face C. all the works D. (Choose) will be time

2 Points Which transition word most naturally connects the two sentences? Soft drinks provide only empty calories for the consumer. Fruits, _____, provide important vitamins and nutrients with fewer calories.

A. nonetheless B. therefore C. consequently D. however

Read the following passage from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock": After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets, After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor— What literary device is most clearly used in this passage?

A. (Choose) Imagery B. Rhyme C. Understatement D. Allusion

Read the following excerpt from an intercalary chapter in The Grapes of Wrath: Carloads of oranges dumped on the ground. The people came for miles to take the fruit, but this could not be. How would they buy oranges at twenty cents a dozen if they could drive out and pick them up? And men with hoses squirt kerosene on the oranges, and they are angry at the crime, angry at the people who have come to take the fruit. A million people hungry, needing the fruit—and kerosene sprayed over the golden mountains. By including this intercalary chapter, what effect is Steinbeck most likely attempting to achieve?

A. (No) Creating a secondary narrative that runs parallel to the primary narrative but uses different characters and plot B. (No) Giving readers a better understanding of the historic factors that contributed to the start of the Great Depression C. Carrying the theme of perseverance beyond the scope of the narrative by illustrating it to readers in a separate setting D. (Choose) Providing commentary, separate from the narrative, which illustrates the wastefulness that occurred during the Great Depression

Which would be the best sentance to start a conclusion paragraph.

Saturated fats found in foods of animal origin raise cholesterol levels, so the fewer of these foods you eat, the less likely your chance of having a heart attack

Some of the men hated what they did, some of them... some of them...

parallelism