English CR
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood,and I- I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference. What theme do the words in this poem convey?
Choices can have long-lasting consequences.
Read the following passage and answer the question that follows. The new boy took two broad coppers out of his pocket and held them out with derision. Tom struck them to the ground. In an instant both boys were rolling and tumbling in the dirt, gripped together like cats; and for the space of a minute they tugged and tore at each other's hair and clothes, punched and scratched each other's nose, and covered themselves with dust and glory. Presently the confusion took form, and through the fog of battle Tom appeared, seated astride the new boy, and pounding him with his fists. "Holler 'nuff!" said he.The boy only struggled to free himself. He was crying—mainly from rage."Holler 'nuff!"—and the pounding went on.At last the stranger got out a smothered "'Nuff!" and Tom let him up and said:"Now that'll learn you. Better look out who you're fooling with next time." From the context of the passage, what does the phrase in bold mean?
Cry, "Enough!"
Read the passage below, and answer the question that follows. "No," replied Woot, thoughtfully, "I am not at all wise, I beg to assure your Majesty. The more I wander the less I find that I know, for in the Land of Oz much wisdom and many things may be learned.""To learn is simple. Don't you ask questions?" inquired the Scarecrow."Yes; I ask as many questions as I dare; but some people refuse to answer questions.""That is not kind of them," declared the Tin Woodman. "If one does not ask for information he seldom receives it; so I, for my part, make it a rule to answer any civil question that is asked me.""So do I," added the Scarecrow, nodding."I am glad to hear this," said the Wanderer, "for it makes me bold to ask for something to eat." What is something that you can infer about Woot the Wanderer's character from this passage?
He is a curious person.
Why is tone important?
It can convey the speaker's intentions.
Read the text below, and answer the question that follows. "Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting -"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sittingOn the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floorShall be lifted - nevermore! What theme do the words in this poem create in this poem?
Loneliness and sadness can be difficult to banish.
"It's a fine, clear evening, Miss Conway," he said."It is to them with the heart to enjoy it, Mr. Donovan," said Miss Conway. She took a deep slow breath."I hope no one—no one of your family—has died?""Death has taken," said Miss Conway, "not one of my family, but one who—I must not speak of my troubles to you, Mr. Donovan.""Why not, Miss Conway? Perhaps I could understand."Miss Conway smiled a little smile. And oh, her face was sadder than when she was not smiling. "Laugh and the world laughs with you," she said. "But the world is not interested in sadness. I have learned that, Mr. Donovan. I have no friends in this city. But you have been kind to me. Thank you for it." What is something that you can infer about Miss Conway's character from this passage?
She is a dramatic person.
Which of the the following contains an error in parallel structure?
The assignment said to read, analyze, and assessing the text.
Which of the following contains a shift in tone?
The girl sat despondently at the window, watching the rain run down the window like so many teardrops, and she thought about what she was going to eat for breakfast.
Read the passage below, and answer the question that follows. If you had seen little Jo standing at the street corner in the rain, you would hardly have admired him. It was apparently an ordinary autumn rainstorm, but the water which fell upon Jo (who was hardly old enough to be either just or unjust, and so perhaps did not come under the law of impartial distribution) appeared to have some property peculiar to itself: one would have said it was dark and adhesive -- sticky. But that could hardly be so, even in Blackburg, where things certainly did occur that were a good deal out of the common. What mood is created by the description of the setting?
The mood is dark and dreary.
Which of the following would be considered a dream sequence?
The narrator interrupts the narrative and has the character ponder and think about things that are important to him or her
Read the passage from a short story, and answer the question that follows. That is what Trysdale was doing, standing by a table in his bachelor apartments. On the table stood a singular-looking green plant in a red earthen jar. The plant was one of the species of cacti, and was provided with long, tentacular leaves that perpetually swayed with the slightest breeze with a peculiar beckoning motion. What can you tell about the story from the description of the setting?
The plant is going to be an important part of the story.
What is likely to occur if a writer does not contemplate a potential audience?
The writer may be misunderstood.
What might be a valid reason to adapt your style of writing?
a prior knowledge of your audience
Which of the following is an important element of a well-organized paragraph?
a topic sentence
Read the text below, and answer the question that follows. Have you reckon'd a thousand acres much?Have you reckon'd the earth much?Have you practis'd so long to learn to read?Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems,You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions of suns left,)You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self. Which figure of speech is used in this text?
anaphora
How might a distinctive style enhance the effectiveness of a literary work?
by offering a unique perspective
Which element will be found when a story is told through linear sequencing?
chronological progression
Read the excerpt from Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and answer the question that follows. I was daily hoping to hear that my master had sold my children; for I knew who was on the watch to buy them. But Dr. Flint cared even more for revenge than he did for money. My brother William and the good aunt who had served in his family twenty years, and my little Benny, and Ellen, who was a little over two years old, were thrust into jail, as a means of compelling my relatives to give some information about me. Which of the following best describes the tone used by Jacobs in this passage?
direct
Read the excerpt from A Librarian's Open Shelf, "Do Readers Read" by Arthur E. Bostwick, and answer the question that follows.As a matter of fact, the formation of a cultivated and permanent taste for good reading is generally a matter of lifelong education. It must be begun when the child reads his first book. An encouraging sign for the future is the care that is now taken in all good libraries to supervise the reading of children and to provide for them special quarters and facilities. A somewhat disheartening circumstance, on the other hand, is the multiplication of annotated and abbreviated children's editions of all sorts of works that were read by the last generation of children without any such treatment. Who do you think might be among Bostwick's intended audience?
educators
Read the passage below, and answer the question that follows. When I woke up that morning, I had no idea it would be the most important day of my life. I ate breakfast and caught the bus like normal, with no idea whom I would bump into that day. Which point of view is used in this passage?
first person
Read the text below, and answer the question that follows. By the rude bridge that arched the flood,Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,Here once the embattled farmers stoodAnd fired the shot heard round the world. Which figure of speech is used in this text?
hyperbole
What kind of diction is used in the following text? The whole place, like, exploded! It was bonkers! There were flames everywhere and firefighters crawling around like ants! You should have seen it!
informal diction
Read the passage below, and answer the question that follows. From this long, flowery, forested, well-watered park the walls rise abruptly in plain precipices or richly sculptured masses partly separated by side cañons baring wonderful wealth and variety of architectural forms, which are as wonderful in beauty of color and fineness of finish as in colossal height and mass The So-called war of the elements has done them no harm. There is no unsightly defacement as yet; deep in the sky, inviting the onset of storms through unnumbered centuries, they still stand firm and seemingly as fresh and unworn as new-born flowers. What kind of atmosphere does the author describe in this passage?
majestic and breathtaking
I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder—louder—louder! How would you characterize the tone conveyed by the repetition of the word louder?
ominous
Read the passage below, and answer the question that follows. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door."'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-Only this, and nothing more."Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrowFrom my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore-For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-Nameless here for evermore. What kind of atmosphere does the author describe in this passage?
ominous and dark
Read the passage below, and answer the question that follows. Sam, the hero of our story, woke up and got ready like any normal day. He had no idea how much his life was about to change. Sally woke up as well, nursing a headache and never considering what fate might have in store for her that day. Which point of view is used in this passage?
omniscient
Read the excerpt from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, and answer the question that follows. Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds. How would you characterize the tone of this statement?
optimistic and instructive
Read the excerpt from A Librarian's Open Shelf, "Do Readers Read" by Arthur E. Bostwick, and answer the question that follows. Possibly the modern newspaper habit, with its encouragement of slipshod reading, may play its part in producing the general result, and doubtless a careful detailed investigation would reveal still other partial causes, but the chief and determining cause must be lack of interest. And it is to be feared that instead of taking measures to arouse a permanent interest in good literature, which would in itself lead to the reading of standard works and would sustain the reader until he had finished his task, we have often tried to replace such an interest by a fictitious and temporary stimulus, due to appeals to duty, or to that vague and confused idea that one should "improve one's mind," unaccompanied by any definite plan of ways and means. What elements might make this style of writing inaccessible to present-day readers?
outdated vocabulary choices and grammatical structure
What kind of diction is used in the following text? The entire structure was engulfed in a voluminous conflagration that adversely affected the fundamental integrity of the complex.
overly educated diction
Which of the following is not a standard stage in the writing process?
procrastinating
Which of these statements best describes the revision process?
reviewing, expanding, and modifying content
Which of the following is not an example of vernacular?
using alliteration, such as "the bright beams of blue light"
In the context of written works, to what does diction refer?
word choices
