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Use this material to answer questions #1 through #6Read the following excerpt from "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe and then answer the questions below.
But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eve. Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment!-do you mark me well? I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder, louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety seized me-the sound would be heard by a neighbour! The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once-once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more.
Word count: 289 -
1.
Read the sentence from the excerpt below:
I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done.
What is the meaning of the word gaily in this sentence?
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2.
Authors use several literary devices to paint a picture in the reader's mind. Some of those literary devices are listed below:
An allusion is a reference to something else. It can reference another literary work or a historical event, movie, person, or place.
Alliteration is when two or more words begin with the same letter sounds in a sentence.
A simile is comparing two unlike things using "like" or "as."
A hyperbole is an exaggerated statement, often used for humor.
Read the following sentences from the excerpt below:
"But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound ... I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes."
Which of the literary devices above is present in the sentences?
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3.
Read the following sentences from the end of the excerpt below:
I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more.
At the end of the excerpt, how does the narrator feel?
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4.
The climax of a story is the turning point, where the story reaches its peak. Which details support the climax of the excerpt?
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5.
The narrator feels a deep hatred for the old man and kills him by "dragging him to the floor, and pulling the heavy bed over him." Once he commits the murder, the narrator ends the excerpt with: "I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more."
What about the old man does the narrator hate that would drive him to murder?
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6.
Read the sentences from the excerpt below:
Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! ... And now a new anxiety seized me-the sound would be heard by a neighbour!
What does this sentence reveal about the narrator?
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Use this material to answer questions #7 through #12
Read the following excerpt from "The Lady, or the Tiger" by Frank R. Stockton and then answer the questions below.
When all the people had assembled in the galleries, and the king, surrounded by his court, sat high up on his throne of royal state on one side of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened, and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheater. Directly opposite him, on the other side of the inclosed space, were two doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and the privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open either door he pleased; he was subject to no guidance or influence but that of the aforementioned impartial and incorruptible chance. If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells were clanged, great wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of the arena, and the vast audience, with bowed heads and downcast hearts, wended slowly their homeward way, mourning greatly that one so young and fair, or so old and respected, should have merited so dire a fate.
But, if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and station that his majesty could select among his fair subjects, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. It mattered not that he might already possess a wife and family, or that his affections might be engaged upon an object of his own selection...
Word count: 316 -
7.
Read the sentence from the passage below:
...he was subject to no guidance or influence but that of the aforementioned impartial and incorruptible chance.
What is the meaning of the word impartial in this sentence?
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8.
There are two doors from which the accused must choose. What does it mean for the accused if the tiger appears from his chosen door?
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9.
There are two doors from which the accused must choose. What does it mean for the accused if the lady appears from his chosen door?
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10.
Point of view is who authors choose to tell their story. The most popular points of view are listed below.
First-person is when the narrator is telling the story from his or her viewpoint, and we only know the narrator's thoughts, feelings, etc. The pronouns for this point of view include "I," "me," and "my."
Second-person is when the narrator is speaking to the reader. The pronoun associated with this point of view is "you."
Third-person is when the narrator is is telling the story from outside his or her viewpoint and informs the reader of all characters and their actions. The pronouns for this point of view are "he," "she," "they," and so on.
Third-person omniscient is similar to the third-person point of view, except the narrator now knows the thoughts and feelings of each character in the story.
In which point of view is this excerpt written?
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11.
Read the sentences from the excerpt below:
If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells were clanged, great wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of the arena, and the vast audience, with bowed heads and downcast hearts, wended slowly their homeward way, mourning greatly that one so young and fair, or so old and respected, should have merited so dire a fate.
How do the audience members feel after the accused subject is found guilty?
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12.
In this excerpt, the author's purpose is to encourage a conversation on the topic of justice. Which detail supports the author's purpose?
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Use this material to answer questions #13 through #18
Read the following passage from the short story "Miss Harriet" by Guy de Maupassant and then answer the questions below.
There were seven of us in a break, four women and three men, one of
which latter was on the box seat beside the coachman, and we were
following, at a foot pace, the broad highway which serpentines along the
coast.
Setting out from Etretat at break of day, in order to visit the ruins of
Tancarville, we were still asleep, benumbed by the fresh air of the
morning. The women, especially, who were little accustomed to these
early excursions, let their eyelids fall and rise every moment, nodding
their heads or yawning, quite insensible to the emotion of the breaking
of day.
It was autumn. On both sides of the road, the bare fields stretched out,
yellowed by the corn and wheat stubble which covered the soil, like a
beard that had been badly shaved. The spongy earth seemed to smoke. The
larks were singing, high up in the air, while other birds piped in the
bushes.
The sun rose at length in front of us, a bright red on the plane of the
horizon; and in proportion as it ascended, growing clearer from minute
to minute, the country seemed to awake, to smile, to shake itself,
stretch itself, like a young girl who is leaving her bed, in her white
vapor chemise. The Count of Etraille, who was seated on the box, cried:
"Look! look! a hare!" and he extended his arm towards the left, pointing
to a piece of hedge.
Word count: 285 -
13.
A first person point of view is established in the first paragraph of the story. How can you identify the point of view?
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14.
In the first paragraph, the word "serpentines" most likely refers to what?
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15.
The purpose of the characters' early morning coach ride is established in the second paragraph, which reads as follows:
"Setting out from Etretat at break of day, in order to visit the ruins of
Tancarville, we were still asleep, benumbed by the fresh air of the
morning. The women, especially, who were little accustomed to these
early excursions, let their eyelids fall and rise every moment, nodding
their heads or yawning, quite insensible to the emotion of the breaking
of day."
What is the purpose of the characters' early morning coach ride, and how can you tell?
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16.
The setting is described in the third paragraph, which reads as follows:
"It was autumn. On both sides of the road, the bare fields stretched out,
yellowed by the corn and wheat stubble which covered the soil, like a
beard that had been badly shaved. The spongy earth seemed to smoke. The
larks were singing, high up in the air, while other birds piped in the
bushes."
How would you best characterize the setting as described above?
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17.
There is comparative imagery in the fourth paragraph, which reads as follows:
"The sun rose at length in front of us, a bright red on the plane of the
horizon; and in proportion as it ascended, growing clearer from minute
to minute, the country seemed to awake, to smile, to shake itself,
stretch itself, like a young girl who is leaving her bed, in her white
vapor chemise."
Which two things are compared through this imagery?
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18.
What is the overall mood of the passage, and how is it defined?
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Use this material to answer questions #19 through #24
Read the following passage from the short story "The Kiss" by Guy de Maupassant and then answer the questions below.
My dear, we have in our hands the most terrible power in the world: LOVE.
Man is gifted with physical strength, and he exercises force. Woman is gifted with charm, and she rules with caresses. It is our weapon, formidable and invincible, but we should know how to use it.
Know well that we are the mistresses of the world! To tell the history of Love from the beginning of the world would be to tell the history of man himself: Everything springs from it, the arts, great events, customs, wars, the overthrow of empires.
In the Bible you find Delila, Judith; in fables we find Omphale, Helen; in history the Sabines, Cleopatra and many others.
Therefore we reign supreme, all-powerful. But, like kings, we must make use of delicate diplomacy.
Love, my dear, is made up of imperceptible sensations. We know that it is as strong as death, but also as frail as glass. The slightest shock breaks it, and our power crumbles, and we are never able to raise it again.
We have the power of making ourselves adored, but we lack one tiny thing, the understanding of the various kinds of caresses. In embraces we lose the sentiment of delicacy, while the man over whom we rule remains master of himself, capable of judging the foolishness of certain words. Take care, my dear; that is the defect in our armor. It is our Achilles' heel.
Do you know whence comes our real power? From the kiss, the kiss alone! When we know how to hold out and give up our lips we can become queens.
Word count: 296 -
19.
In the first line, what does the word "terrible" most likely mean?
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20.
The narrator mentions the different gifts associated with Man and Woman in the following excerpt:
"Man is gifted with physical strength, and he exercises force. Woman is gifted with charm, and she rules with caresses. It is our weapon, formidable and invincible, but we should know how to use it."
What primary contrast does the narrator seek to establish by mentioning the respective "gifts" associated with Man and Woman?
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21.
What is the primary purpose for the narrator mentioning figures like Delila, Helen, and Cleopatra?
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22.
The narrator characterizes love in the following excerpt:
"Love, my dear, is made up of imperceptible sensations. We know that it is as strong as death, but also as frail as glass. The slightest shock breaks it, and our power crumbles, and we are never able to raise it again."
What contradiction does the narrator include in her characterization of love?
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23.
The narrator gives advice in her final lines, which are reprinted here:
"Do you know whence comes our real power? From the kiss, the kiss alone! When we know how to hold out and give up our lips we can become queens."
What advice does the narrator give about kissing?
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24.
What is the narrator's central argument about women's power?
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Use this material to answer questions #25 through #30
Read the following passage from "The Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper and answer the questions that follow.
There was in this music so much of the deepest enchantment of all his dreams and imaginings that he woke smiling in pure happiness at the sound. In the moment of his waking, it began to fade, beckoning as it went, and then as he opened his eyes it was gone. He had only the memory of that one rippling phrase still echoing in his head, and itself fading so fast that he sat up abruptly in bed and reached his arm out to the air, as if he could bring it back. The room was very still, and there was no music, and yet Will knew that it had not been a dream. He was in the twins' room still; he could hear Robin's breathing, slow and deep, from the other bed. Cold light glimmered round the edge of the curtains, but no one was stirring anywhere; it was very early. Will pulled on his rumpled clothes from the day before, and slipped out of the room. He crossed the landing to the central window, and looked down. In the first shining moment he saw the whole strange-familial world, glistening white; the roofs of the outbuildings mounded into square towers of snow, and beyond them all the fields and hedge: buried, merged into one great flat expanse, unbroken white to the horizon's brim. Will drew in a long, happy breath, silently rejoicing. Then, very faintly, he heard the music again, the same phrase. He swung round vainly searching for it in the air, as if he might see it somewhere like a flickering light. "Where are you?"
Word count: 287 -
25.
Read the excerpt from the passage below.
Will pulled on his rumpled clothes from the day before, and slipped out of the room.
What does rumpled mean in this sentence?
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26.
Read the excerpt from the passage below.
In the first shining moment he saw the whole strange-familial world, glistening white; the roofs of the outbuildings mounded into square towers of snow, and beyond them all the fields and hedge: buried, merged into one great flat expanse, unbroken white to the horizon's brim.
This sentence is an example of which literary device?
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27.
Read the excerpt from the passage below.
In the moment of his waking, it began to fade, beckoning as it went, and then as he opened his eyes it was gone.
What assumption can you make after reading this excerpt?
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28.
Read the excerpt from the passage below.
The room was very still, and there was no music, and yet Will knew that it had not been a dream. He was in the twins' room still; he could hear Robin's breathing, slow and deep, from the other bed. Cold light glimmered round the edge of the curtains, but no one was stirring anywhere; it was very early. Will pulled on his rumpled clothes from the day before, and slipped out of the room.
Which sentence from this excerpt suggests that Will is not alone?
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29.
The author ends the passage with the following sentence.
"Where are you?"
Who is Will referring to as "you"?
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30.
Read the excerpt from the passage below.
In the first shining moment he saw the whole strange-familial world, glistening white; the roofs of the outbuildings mounded into square towers of snow, and beyond them all the fields and hedge: buried, merged into one great flat expanse, unbroken white to the horizon's brim. Will drew in a long, happy breath, silently rejoicing. Then, very faintly, he heard the music again, the same phrase.
What conclusion can we draw from this passage?
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Use this material to answer questions #31 through #36
Read the following passage from "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros and answer the questions that follow.
What they don't understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don't. You open your eyes and everything's just like yesterday, only it's today. And you don't feel eleven at all. You feel like you're still ten. And you are - underneath the year that makes you eleven.
Like some days you might say something stupid, and that's the part of you that's still ten. Or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama's lap because you're scared, and that's the part of you that's five.
And maybe one day when you're all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you're three, and that's okay. That's what I tell Mama when she's sad and needs to cry. Maybe she's feeling three.
Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one. That's how being eleven years old is.
You don't feel eleven. Not right away. It takes a few days, weeks even, sometimes even months before you say Eleven when they ask you. And you don't feel smart eleven, not until you're almost twelve. That's the way it is.
Word count: 278 -
31.
Read the sentence from the passage below.
And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don't.
What is the meaning of the word expect in this sentence?
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32.
Read the sentence from the passage below.
Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one.
Which literary device is used by the author in this sentence?
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33.
Read the sentence from the passage below.
You open your eyes and everything's just like yesterday, only it's today.
What is the author describing in this excerpt?
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34.
The author begins the passage with the following sentence.
What they don't understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine and eight, and seven, and six , and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.
What point is the author trying to make in this sentence?
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35.
Read the excerpt below from the passage.
What they don't understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.
The author is saying that we aren't just one age, but are also all of our younger ages bundled together. Which excerpt below restates this idea?
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36.
Read the excerpt below.
What they don't understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don't. You open your eyes and everything's just like yesterday, only it's today. And you don't feel eleven at all. You feel like you're still ten. And you are - underneath the year that makes you eleven.
Which of the statements below summarizes the author's viewpoint on birthdays given the above excerpt?