Quiz: Mark Twain selections
Multiple Choice Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Comprehension The questions below refer to the selection “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”
____ 1. The narrator calls on Simon Wheeler to — a. find out about a friend’s childhood friend, Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley b. hear the story of Jim Smiley c. learn more about the Old West and its humorous characters d. place some bets on horses, dogs, and frogs ____ 2. Why does the narrator listen to Simon Wheeler’s long story? a. The narrator is collecting material for his writing. b. The narrator is waiting for Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, so he can’t leave. c. Simon has backed the narrator into a corner and won’t let him escape. d. Simon and the narrator are old friends, so the narrator doesn’t want to be rude. ____ 3. Jim Smiley’s horse wins races by — a. attacking all the other horses in the race b. raising a lot of dust so the other horses can’t see where to go c. barreling past the other horses, after having a head start d. making so much noise that she scares all the other horses ____ 4. Andrew Jackson, the bull pup, wins fights by — a. tricking all the bettors with his fake asthma attacks b. rolling over and playing dead c. biting other dogs and throwing them over his shoulder d. holding his opponent’s hind leg until the other dog collapses ____ 5. The bull pup finally loses a fight when he — a. starts wheezing and can’t breathe b. is attacked by a fierce, heavy dog c. is filled with buckshot and can’t move d. is pitted against a dog that doesn’t have hind legs ____ 6. Is the stranger as innocent as he appears? a. No, because he tricks Smiley. b. No, because he has a racing frog hidden in his coat. c. Yes, because he doesn’t know anything about frog races. d. Yes, because he is a stranger in town. ____ 7. How does the frog lose the race? a. The other frog attacks him. b. When he realizes that he can’t win, he just gives up and dies. c. The stranger fills him with lead pellets, so the frog is too heavy to hop. d. He gets confused and hops in the wrong direction. ____ 8. Simon Wheeler is best described as — a. dishonest and corrupt b. long-winded and unintentionally funny c. concise and intentionally funny d. greedy but unlucky ____ 9. Jim Smiley is best described as a — a. gullible gambler c. skilled risk taker b. good storyteller d. minister ____ 10. The story ends when — a. Smiley finds the stranger and gets his money back b. Smiley bets on a banana that looks like a cow c. Simon and the narrator bet on a yellow, one-eyed cow d. Wheeler starts telling another story, and the narrator leaves
Literary Focus: Comic Devices The questions below refer to the selection “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”
____ 11. The purpose of this story is to — a. warn readers about the evils of gambling b. entertain readers c. teach readers about famous public figures from the past d. describe life in an Old West mining camp ____ 12. Twain accomplishes his purpose chiefly through — a. telling a story within a story, also called a “frame story” b. using several different narrators c. specific examples of wrongdoing d. outrageous exaggeration and word play ____ 13. Daniel Webster was the most famous public speaker of his day. Twain uses Webster’s name to create humor when he — a. misspells Webster’s first and last names b. pokes fun at Webster’s appearance by naming a dog after him c. makes fun of Webster’s voice by naming a frog after him d. satirizes Webster’s stubbornness by naming a horse after him
Reading Skills: Understanding Vernacular The question below refers to the selection “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”
____ 14. All of the following excerpts contain vernacular language that vividly captures the characters in Calaveras County except — a. “At the door I met the sociable Mr. Wheeler returning . . .” b. “There couldn’t be no solit’ry thing mentioned but that feller’d offer to bet on it. . . .” c. “Thish-yer Smiley has a mare—the boys called her the fifteen-minute nag, but that was only in fun, you know. . . .” d. “always fetch up at the stand just about a neck ahead, as near as you could cipher it down . . .”
Comprehension The questions below refer to the selection “The Lowest Animal.”
____ 15. What is Twain’s theory of humanity? a. People descended from animals. b. Animals descended from people. c. People and animals are on the same level. d. Animals are more cruel and vicious than people. ____ 16. To give his theory credence, Twain claims that — a. he heard about it from a famous scientist b. he read about it in scientific books and studies c. he drew his conclusions from his own experiments d. it was created by Charles Darwin ____ 17. Twain concludes that English earls are cruel because they — a. like to hunt, but anacondas do not hunt b. eat wild animals while anacondas prefer domesticated animals c. eat far more than they need to survive d. kill animals for fun rather than for food ____ 18. You can infer from the example of the earl and the anaconda that Twain — a. had never met an English earl b. knew a lot about anacondas c. was a vegetarian, a person who does not eat meat d. was not a supporter of hunting for sport ____ 19. What example does Twain not cite to make his point that humanity is cruel? a. Native Americans have gouged out prisoners’ eyes. b. King John burned his nephew with a hot iron. c. Americans have hanged their neighbors. d. Zealots in the Middle Ages skinned captives alive, pouring salt on the wounds. ____ 20. According to Twain, human beings are inferior to animals in all of the following ways except — a. animals cannot show love, while humans can b. people wage war c. humans are intolerant of different religions d. we enslave others of our kind, while animals do not ____ 21. The tone of Twain’s essay is best described as — a. light c. uproariously funny b. bitter d. neutral ____ 22. Twain’s last example demonstrates that — a. we should eliminate all religion if we want to get along b. people are foolish and intolerant c. some animals can get along peacefully, while others cannot d. animals need to be tamed before they can live together ____ 23. When Twain says, “Man is the Animal that Blushes . . . or has occasion to,” he means that — a. men and jackasses both laugh c. the animals laugh at man’s foolishness b. animals get embarrassed d. man has reason to be ashamed ____ 24. Twain says that of all the animals, man alone is — a. happy c. cruel b. reasonable d. noble
Literary Focus: Satire The questions below refer to the selection “The Lowest Animal.”
____ 25. Twain satirizes all of the following human foibles except — a. love c. vengeance b. greed d. intolerance ____ 26. In Twain’s example of people refusing to be seen undressed in public, Twain is satirizing — a. religious intolerance c. avarice b. false modesty d. cruelty ____ 27. What is ironic about Twain’s assertion that humans are the “Reasoning Animal”? a. People are the most intelligent creatures on earth. b. Many animals are just as smart as people. c. We rarely get a chance to display the full range of our intelligence. d. Our actions show that we are irrational and unreasoning.
Reading Skills: Recognizing a Writer’s Purpose The question below refers to the selection “The Lowest Animal.”
____ 28. Twain wrote his satire “The Lowest Animal” mainly to — a. bemoan the degeneration of the human race b. criticize people for their cruelty and viciousness c. force people to reexamine their attitudes and behavior d. inspire confidence and hope among despairing people
Vocabulary Development Write a synonym or antonym for each Vocabulary word, as directed. A B C D E ramshackled quiet brief hypothesize popular
29. garrulous antonym: ______30. infamous antonym : ______31. dilapidated synonym : ______32. interminable antonym: ______33. conjecture synonym: ______
Vocabulary Development On the line provided, complete each analogy with a Vocabulary word from the list below. Use each Vocabulary word only once. A B C D E allegiance atrocious appease avaricious sordid
34. GENEROUS : GREEDY :: CHARITABLE : ______35. BABY : PACIFY :: DICTATOR : ______36. SQUALID : FILTHY :: FOUL : ______37. COUNTRY : LOYALTY :: FLAG : ______38. WORTHY : ABOMINABLE :: DESIRABLE : ______Short Answer
Constructed Response The question below refers to the selection “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”
39. Explain three ways that Twain creates humor in “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Consider the form of the story as well as its content. On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that explains your answer. Support your ideas with details from the story.
Constructed Response The question below refers to the selection “The Lowest Animal.”
40. Which of Twain’s arguments are most effective? Why? Select two of Twain’s arguments to evaluate. On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that explains your answer. Support your ideas with details from the essay.