From Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

1. She kept thinking, eleven of them. Eleven thousand dollars’ worth of slaves. And she had to take them all the way to Canada. Sometimes she told them about Thomas Garrett, in Wilmington. She said he was their friend even though he did not know them. He was the friend of all fugitives. He called them God’s poor. He was a Quaker and his speech was a little different from that of other people. His clothing was different, too. He wore the wide-brimmed hat that the Quakers wear. From Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

2. Question What is the main idea of the passage above? • Thomas Garrett is a friend to all slaves. • Harriet Tubman’s thoughts imply that it will be a hard journey, because the escaped slaves are valuable and will be pursued, and they have to travel all the way to Canada in secrecy. • Harriet Tubman doesn’t want to be responsible for slaves that are that expensive. d. The Quakers wear strange clothing.

3. Answer • B. Harriet Tubman’s thoughts imply that it will be a hard journey, because the escaped slaves are valuable and will be pursued, and they have to travel all the way to Canada in secrecy.

4. Question What is the main idea of the passage above? • “They had come to trust her implicitly, totally.” b. “She suddenly fell asleep in the woods”. c. “She was leading them into freedom.” • It implies that the journey the slaves make is an easy one.

5. Answer • “They had come to trust her implicitly, totally.”

6. From Always to Remember: The Vision of Maya Ying Lin by Brent Ashabranner This (Vietnam War) memorial, with its wall of names, becomes a place of quiet reflection, and a tribute to those who served their nation in difficult times. All who come here can find it a place of healing. This will be a quiet memorial, one that achieves an excellent relationship with both the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, and relates the visitor to them. It is uniquely horizontal, entering the earth rather than piercing the sky. This is very much a memorial of our own times, one that could not have been achieved in another time and place. The designer has created an eloquent place where the simple meeting of earth, sky and remembered names contain messages for all who will know this place.

7. Question In the 2nd paragraph, the word “eloquent” in the 2nd paragraph is used to mean: a. uncomfortable b. complicated c. vividly expressive d. old fashioned

8. Answer c. vividly expressive

9. Question The 2nd paragraph states that the memorial “contains messages for all who will know this place. “ Which description below explains the meaning of the messages? • It is figurative language. The writer is figuratively relaying the message that visitors receive an unspoken message from the design of the wall itself. • The writer is speaking of literal sticky-notes that are left for the visitors. c. The messages are old letters from soldiers in the war. • There are secret-coded messages for those with the key.

10. Answer a. It is figurative language. The writer is figuratively relaying the message that visitors receive an unspoken message from the design of the wall itself.

11. Question The term “memorial” means a. to remember a great moment b. to remember someone who was killed c. to write your autobiography d. to think seriously about

12. Answer b. to remember someone who was killed

13. Question The above passage written about the true story of Maya Lin’s design of the Vietnam memorial, is an example of which genre of writing? a. poem b. science fiction c. historical fiction d. biographical essay

14. Answer d. biographical essay

15. Snoring: Comical Ailment or Serious Symptom? Snoring is often the subject of comedy, but it can be more serious than most people realize. Sometimes it is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a medical condition in which the upper air passages narrow during sleep because of the combined effect of a blockage, relaxing muscles, and gravity. As the air passages narrow, breathing lessens, the oxygen level in the blood drops, and the patient snores to try to get more air. When the throat tissues collapse further, the patient stops breathing altogether, at which point he or she awakens, regains control of the throat muscles, and begins breathing normally. The patient then falls back asleep, but the cycle repeats throughout the night. In fact, a patient suffering from severe sleep apnea may awaken more than one hundred times a night. In most cases, since the patient awakens only partially, he or she is unaware of what is happening.

16. Question What is the author’s purpose in writing this selection? a. to inform b. to entertain c. to persuade

17. Answer a. to inform

18. Question Where would you most likely see this selection? a. dictionary b. magazine article c. technical manual d. almanac

19. Answer b. magazine article

20. Question which part of the selection gives you an immediate idea of what the selection is about? a. The title b. the explanation of snoring c. the next to last sentence d. The last sentence

21. Answer a. The title

22. Question Which answer choice best states the main idea of this selection? • The science behind sleep apnea is questionable. • Sleep apnea is just one of several diseases of the throat. • Sleep apnea results in some very funny stories for people who snore • Snoring may be a sign of sleep apnea, a serious medical condition.

23. Answer • Snoring may be a sign of sleep apnea, a serious medical condition.

24. Snake on the Etowah, by David Bottoms • Snake on the Etowah, by David Bottoms • Kicking through woods and fields, I’d spooked several • and once stepped on a coachwhip among gravestones, • at least one garter curled like a bow • under ivy in my yard. • 5 Once I even woke on the hazy bank of a lake, • wiped dew from my eyes and found • on my ankle • a cottonmouth draped like a bootlace. • I thought I knew how beauty could poison • 10 a moment with fear, • but wading that low river, feet wide on rocks— • my rod hung on the backswing, my jitterbug • snagged on the sun— • I felt something brush my thigh. • 15 The bronze spoon of a copperhead drifted • between my legs. • Out came the little tongue reaching • in two directions, • the head following upriver, • 20 following down, then a wide undulation (1) of tail, • a buff and copper swish. The river eased • around it in a quivering V, • while inside my shudder • it slipped out— • 25 spiny, cool, just below • the surface, sidling against the current.

25. Question The “Snake on the Etowah” has: a. 1 stanza b. 4 stanzas c. 3 stanzas d. 26 stanzas

26. Answer c. 3 stanzas

27. Question • Using context clues, which description below best matches the meaning of the word sidling in the 26th line: • a. moving, sideways in a sly manner • b. riding a horse side-saddle • c. slithering through the grass • d. causing an electric current

28. Answer A. moving, sideways in a sly manner

29. Question • In “Snake on the Etowah”, the topic of David Bottoms’ poem is best described as: • a. A poem that is a metaphor, using figurative language to reveal 2 meanings. • b. A literal moment in nature shared with vivid descriptions and details. • c. A musical poem that uses sound devices to add a rhythm and a beat. • d. A formal poem that reflects death.

30. Answer b. A literal moment in nature shared with vivid descriptions and details.

31. Question • For the speaker in this poem, is it unusual or common to encounter a snake? • a. common • b. unusual

32. Answer A. common

33. Question • In line 8, the speaker uses a simile to compare the cottonmouth to a • a. string • b. worm • c. dragon • d. bootlace

34. Answer d. bootlace

35. Question • What best describes the tone of the speaker in lines 9 – 25 • a. sarcastic • b. nervous/unsettled • c. silly • d. joyful

36. Answer b. nervous/unsettled

37. Question • The above passage is an example of which type of writing? • a. autobiography • b. biography • c. poem • d. essay

38. Answer • C. poem

39. From Travels with Charley, by John Steinbeck • The night was loaded with omens. The grieving sky turned the little water to a dangerous metal and then the wind got up—not the gusty, rabbity wind of the seacoasts I know but a great bursting sweep of wind with nothing to inhibit it for a thousand miles in any direction. Because it was a wind strange to me, and therefore mysterious, it set up mysterious responses in me. In terms of reason, it was strange only because I found it so. But a goodly part of our experience which we find inexplicable must be like that. To my certain knowledge, many people conceal experiences for fear of ridicule. How many people have seen or heard or felt something which so outraged their sense of what should be that the whole thing was brushed quickly away like dirt under a rug?

40. Question • Which of the following excerpts from “Travels with Charley” is an example of a simile? • a. The grieving sky turned the little water to a dangerous metal. • b. Rocinante’s overloaded springs cry with anguish. • c. The strange landscape shouted with color. • d. The truckers are a set-apart bunch of men. The long distance ones are exactly like sailors.

41. Answer • The truckers are a set-apart bunch of men. The long distance ones are exactly like sailors.

42. Question • How would you describe the mood of the above passage? • a. bright, optimistic and upbeat • b. sad, lonely, and depressed • c. bored and uncaring • d. mysterious and frightening

43. Answer • d. mysterious and frightening

44. Question • Which words in the above passage helped to create the mood of the selection? • a. omens, grieving, fear, mysterious, dangerous • b. bursting, brushed, • c. goodly, people, felt • d. gusty, rabbit wind

45. Answer A. omens, grieving, fear, mysterious, dangerous

46. Question • In the statement, “The grieving sky turned the little water to a dangerous metal and then the wind got up...”, which type of figurative language is “grieving sky”? • a. simile • b. metaphor • c. personification • d. oxymoron

47. Answer • c. personification

48. Question • In the above statement, “How many people have seen or heard or felt something which so outraged their sense of what should be that the whole thing was brushed quickly away like dirt under a rug?” What type of figurative language is underlined? • a. simile • b. metaphor • c. personification • d. oxymoron

49. Answer • a. simile

50. Question The above passage about a period of time in John Steinbeck’s life is an example of which type of writing? • a. a memoir (a type of autobiography) • b. a biography • c. a persuasive essay • d. a poem