ELA 11 EQT 3 Practice Test

Read the next two poems. Then answer the questions that follow them.

Spring in New Hampshire Claude McKay

Too green the springing April grass, Too blue the silver-speckled sky, For me to linger here, alas, While happy winds go laughing by, 5 Wasting the golden hours indoors, Washing windows and scrubbing floors.

Too wonderful the April night, Too faintly sweet the first May flowers, The stars too gloriously bright, 10 For me to spend the evening hours, When fields are fresh and streams are leaping, Wearied, exhausted, dully sleeping.

“Spring in New Hampshire” by Claude McKay. Courtesy of the Literary Representative for the Works of Claude McKay, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations

Reading Comprehension

Use “Spring in New Hampshire” to answer these questions.

____ 1. In lines 1–2, the writer establishes the mood through his use of —

A. metaphor B. diction C. personification D. imagery ____ 2. The personification of the winds in line 4 conveys a sense of —

A. lost happiness B. innocent joy C. unrequited love D. great excitement ____ 3. The rhythm of the poem changes at the beginning of which line?

A. Line 3 B. Line 4 C. Line 5 D. Line 6

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____ 4. The repetition of the word too in lines 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 emphasizes the —

A. intense beauty of nature B. great loneliness of the speaker C. utter pointlessness of work D. new freshness of springtime ____ 5. 5. How does each stanza contribute to the poem’s meaning?

A. The speaker rejoices at being outside in the first stanza and rejects performing menial jobs in the second stanza. B. In the first stanza, the speaker describes an April afternoon, and in the second stanza the speaker describes an April evening. C. The speaker is lured away from work by an April day in the first stanza and from rest by an April night in the second stanza. D. In the first stanza, work renders the speaker indifferent to nature, and in the second stanza the speaker is exhausted. ____ 6. Which phrase best describes the speaker’s attitude toward the audience?

A. Criticizing the audience for seeking pleasure B. Rejecting the audience’s values and concerns C. Admiring the audience’s commitment to hard work D. Sharing with the audience the joys of the season ____ 7. The personification of the streams in line 11 emphasizes the —

A. confinement of the speaker B. dangers of nature C. bewilderment of the speaker D. freedom of nature ____ 8. Which image from the poem appeals to the reader’s sense of smell?

A. Too blue the silver-speckled sky (line 2) B. Washing windows and scrubbing floors (line 6) C. Too faintly sweet the first May flowers (line 8) D. exhausted, dully sleeping (line 12) ____ 9. The poem’s diction helps create a style that is —

A. spare and cold B. formal and complex C. rich and descriptive D. abstract and vague

Use the excerpt from How Reading Changed My Life to answer these questions.

____ 10. This selection stresses the author’s belief that reading — A. will make a person smarter B. helps people experience other places 2

C. makes a troubled childhood better D. lets a person avoid real life ____ 11. From the author’s comments about her childhood, the reader can tell that her wandering was —

A. a symbol of her love for books B. an attempt to escape her home C. an expression of her ambitions D. the result of her not fitting in ____ 12. From the author’s description of her scholarship test, the reader can tell that —

A. the school had a challenging reading program B. her parents had helped her prepare for the test C. the other girls did not share her love of reading D. she was the only girl at her table who had read the book ____ 13. Which statement expresses what paragraph 7 is mainly about?

A. I would rather read than go to school. B. My home was outside Philadelphia. C. I really lived somewhere else. D. Books always seemed real to me. ____ 14. From the author’s description in the last sentence in paragraph 8, the reader can tell that her childhood —

A. was full of friendship, fun, and games B. was sometimes just like any other child’s C. did not have any ordinary childhood joys D. had nothing in it but books and reading ____ 15. Which sentence best expresses what paragraph 10 is mainly about?

A. The author always felt she was alone in her love of books. B. For the author, books were better than children’s games. C. The author learned much about life and herself from books. D. For the author, books were more perfect than everyday life. ____ 16. Which detail from paragraph 10 helps convey the main idea?

A. All the other children preferred playing outside. B. The author learned the difference between right and wrong from reading. C. The author felt like she was in a different dimension. D. Books were a parallel universe for the author. ____ 17. Which sentence best expresses what paragraphs 11–13 are mainly about?

A. Many people prefer reading to any other activity in life. B. Important people have shared the author’s love of books. C. Many people have risked their lives for literacy. D. The author is influenced by women she admires.

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____ 18. Oprah Winfrey’s childhood experiences differ from the author’s because Winfrey —

A. was criticized for reading too much B. had a lovely childhood in a lovely place C. drew a lifetime of inspiration from books D. lived most intensely through books

Use context clues and your knowledge of connotation and denotation to answer the following questions about words in How Reading Changed My Life.

____ 19. What connotation does the word wild have in paragraph 3?

A. Danger B. Freedom C. Desolation D. Energy ____ 20. What connotation does the word diminished have in paragraph 4?

A. Immensity B. Chaos C. Unhappiness D. Disappointment ____ 21. What connotation does the word sprawled have in paragraph 8?

A. Relaxation B. Punishment C. Disorder D. Security ____ 22. What connotation does the word different have in paragraph 10?

A. Superiority B. Prejudice C. Individuality D. Exclusion

Use context clues and your knowledge of homographs to answer the following questions about words in How Reading Changed My Life.

____ 23. In which sentence does the word block have the same meaning as in paragraph 1?

A. Her school was only one block away from her grandmother’s apartment building. B. With a quick block, the basketball player ruined his opponent’s final shot. 4

C. The child placed one block on top of another until she had built a tower. D. The plumber said any debris could block the drain, leaving water in the sink.

____ 24. In which sentence does the word rest have the same meaning as in the end of paragraph 6?

A. The score called for the flutes to rest while the oboe played a solo. B. Many cultures hold funerals to honor loved ones going to their final rest. C. The hikers were ready to rest after reaching the mountain’s summit. D. She gave the rest of her sandwich to a student who had forgotten his lunch. ____ 25. In which sentence does the word curb have the same meaning as in paragraph 10?

A. Mr. Smith asked her to curb her dog when she walked it in the neighborhood. B. Some riders use curb bits to keep their horses under greater control. C. The teacher reminded the students to curb their speaking during the film. D. He waited at the curb for the light to change before crossing the street. ____ 26. In which sentence does the word glare have the same meaning as in paragraph 11?

A. Thomas offered a smile, but Elizabeth would only glare at him. B. With their colorful clothes, they would glare in the drab crowd. C. I shaded my eyes from the spotlight’s harsh glare and said, “Hello?” D. She wanted nothing more than to hide from her mother’s angry glare.

Revising and Editing

Directions Read this passage and answer the questions that follow.

(1) People have to make choices about life. (2) “A Wagner Matinee” examines the effects of one character’s choices. (3) Willa Cather, the author, explores this idea. (4) From Aunt Georgiana’s physical appearance and the narrator’s observations, we see that her choice brings loss. (5) Her nephew Clark narrates the story. (6) Clark learns Aunt Georgiana will be returning for a visit. (7) Clark reveals the painful consequences of Aunt Georgiana’s choice. (8) Clark remembered her as “pathetic and grotesque.” (9) Her appearance when she arrives matches this description and more. (10) Her clothes are dirty, unshapely, and unfashionable. (11) Her false teeth is “ill-fitting” and her leathery skin yellowed. (12) Aunt Georgiana’s posture is stooped, and “her shoulders were now almost bent together over her sunken chest.” (13) Her hands are “stretched and twisted.” (14) Clark describes her as a Boston lady who meets a “handsome country boy.” (15) To everyone’s shock, Aunt Georgiana “eloped with him, eluding the reproaches of her family and the criticisms of friends by going with him to the Nebraska frontier.” (16) This impulsive choice—abandoning her life in Boston—leads to Aunt Georgiana’s great sacrifice. (17) Clark’s recollections of Aunt Georgiana provides clues to her former self. (18) She had been a piano teacher in Boston. (19) Clark points out that she “was a good pianist.” (20) Aunt Georgiana passed on a love of music to Clark. (21) Her move to the Plains, however, means the loss of music. (22) She tells her 5

nephew not to “‘love it so well, Clark, or it may be taken from you. (23) Oh! dear boy, pray that whatever your sacrifice may be, it be not that.’” (24) As a spur of the moment treat, Clark takes his aunt to a concert of Wagner music. (25) However, Aunt Georgiana’s loss comes into a more painful focus through the music. (26) As the concert begins, Clark notes that his aunt “clutched my coat sleeve.” (27) The music causes her fingers to twitch. (28) The music moves her to tears. (29) At the end, Aunt Georgiana begs to stay. (30) She does not want to leave the concert hall or return to Nebraska.

____ 27. It is important to know that Clark thinks of Aunt Georgiana as “pathetic and grotesque” because —

A. the essay focuses only on Aunt Georgiana’s ugliness B. Aunt Georgiana has always been an unattractive person C. Clark is contrasting her current ugly life with her former beautiful life D. Aunt Georgiana also thinks that Clark is pathetic and grotesque ____ 28. Choose the correct way to revise sentence 8. A. “Pathetic and grotesque” is how Clark remembered her. B. Clark will remember her as “pathetic and grotesque.” C. “Pathetic and grotesque” was Clark’s remembering of her. D. Clark remembers her as “pathetic and grotesque.” ____ 29. The quotation in sentence 11 supports a key point of the essay that Aunt Georgiana’s —

A. trip home was by train B. nephew is the narrator of her story C. love of music remains solid D. appearance shows her hard life ____ 30. What change, if any, should be made in sentence 11?

A. Add quotation marks around Her B. Change is to was C. Change is to are D. Make no change

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