Keystone Practice Questions

Which characteristic of the passage best indicates to readers that it is fiction rather than literary nonfiction?

• the use of third person point of view

• the use of references to past events

• the use of figurative language

• the use of animals with human qualities

^{Do You Fear the Wind? by Hamlin Garland (1860-1940)
Do you fear the force of the wind, 
The slash of the rain? 
Go face them and fight them,
Be savage again. 
Go hungry and cold like the wolf, 
 Go wade like the crane: 
The palms of your hands will thicken, 
The skin of your cheek will tan, 
You'll grow ragged and weary and swarthy, 
 But you'll walk like a man!}
How does the reader know that the passage is poetry rather than narrative prose?

• The author uses dialogue.
• The author uses elements of plot.
• The author uses figurative language.
• The author uses short lines.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.10

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Read the sentence from the passage.

“They looked too regular to be mere rocks, and on approaching nearer the king was sure that a huge building must be at the top of the mountain.”

How does the author’s use of foreshadowing in the sentence affect the passage?

• It hints that the mountain is the home to a family of eagles.

• It hints that the king is more intelligent than his companions.

• It hints that the climb to the top of the mountain is difficult.

• It hints that the king may be in for a surprise.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.11-12.5

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.5

Read the sentences from the passage.

“ ‘On a tower still higher dwells my father, and on yet a higher tower my grandfather, who is two thousand years old. He may know something. I know nothing.’ After considerable difficulty the topmost tower was reached and the venerable bird discovered.”

What does the word venerable mean?

• worthy of respect because of age and character

• capable of good acts and kindness

• able to move quickly and nimbly

• wanting to achieve fame and fortune

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentence from the passage.

“ ‘Wherefore we die, bequeathing this Palace to the eagles who will build their eyries on our towers.’ ”

What does the word bequeathing mean as used in the sentence?

• transferring ownership of

• dedicating in memory of

• rebuilding the foundation of

• extending the height of

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentences from the passage.

“Some of the party suggested a prompt return home. They feared hidden dangers now. But the king remained resolute.”

Why does the king most likely want to continue investigating the palace?

• He wants to get away from his companions.

• He worries about returning home with nothing.

• He feels responsible for learning from the previous kings of the palace.

• He believes that the eagles have an important message waiting for him.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which word is a synonym for the word accumulated?

• drifted

• gathered

• waited

• changed

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

If the passage were written from the first person point of view of the king, what would most likely be different?

• The theme would be less apparent to the reader.

• The change in the king’s character would be more apparent to the reader.

• The setting would be described more clearly for the reader.

• The importance of the king’s companions would be less apparent to the reader.

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

^{“The Angel of Harlem” 
 Dr. May Edward Chinn overcame the discrimination that threatened her attempt to enter the field of medicine by becoming the first African American woman to graduate from Bellevue Hospital Medical College and to intern at Harlem Hospital. Chinn’s father was born a slave and escaped his plantation in Virginia at the age of 11. Her mother was the daughter of a slave and a Native American. During Chinn’s childhood, her mother worked as the live-in cook for the Tiffany family of Tiffany & Co. fame. The Tiffanys treated Chinn as one of their children. She took piano lessons, attended concerts, and learned French and German under their tutelage. Dr. Chinn once accompanied world-renowned actor/singer/athlete Paul Robeson on piano in the 1920s.
 Although she did not complete high school, Dr. Chinn applied and was accepted to Columbia Teacher College. She initially studied classical music because of her love for the art, but a professor mocked her because of her race, so she changed her major to science after receiving a good grade on a research paper she wrote. Dr. Chinn received her Bachelor’s degree in 1921. She went on to attend Bellevue Medical College, and in 1926, May Edward Chinn became the school’s first African American woman graduate.
 However, even after she successfully completed her internship at Harlem Hospital, the administrators refused to grant her the privilege of practicing there. Dr. Chinn opened her own practice and saw patients who probably would have been denied medical care otherwise because of their race or social status. She even performed procedures in some people’s homes. Dr. Chinn went on to earn a Master’s degree in Public Health from Columbia University in 1933.
 In 1940, Harlem Hospital finally granted her the opportunity to practice medicine there, primarily because of the mayor’s push for integration. In 1944, Dr. Chinn went to work for the Strang Clinic as a cancer researcher. She spent the next 29 years working there. Dr Chinn’s research helped develop the Pap smear exam used today to test for cervical cancer.
 What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?}

• to inform readers about Dr. May Chinn and her contributions to medicine
• to describe the difficulties female medical students face on a daily basis
• to inform readers how to attend medical school without graduating high school
• to persuade readers interested in classical music to study medicine instead

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RI.8.6

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.6

Toni Morrison1931–present
 Toni Morrison was born Chloe Wofford in Lorain, Ohio. She was the second child of four. Morrison attended Howard University where she earned her B.A. in English. After receiving a Master's in English from Cornell University, she returned to her alma mater to teach. Between her work at Howard and rearing her two sons as a single mother, Morrison got involved with a group of writers and poets. She brought a short story about a little girl who wished for blue eyes to one of their meetings. That story became Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye. The book was published in 1970. Her second novel, Sula, was nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. Song of Solomon, published in 1977, was her third novel and the first to bring her national attention. The book was chosen as a Book of the Month Club main selection. Solomon was the first novel by an African American author to earn that privilege in more than 30 years. Morrison's 1988 novel Beloved was praised by critics and readers alike. Many balked when it failed to win both the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. That same year, Beloved won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The story about a mother who chose to take her infant daughter's life rather than see her return to slavery was based on the life of a real woman, Margaret Garner. Morrison also used Garner's story for an opera named for her.  In 1993, she became the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Toni Morrison has also enjoyed a distinguished career as an editor through her work with authors like Toni Cade Bambara and Angela Davis. She has been honored by many academic institutions including Barnard College, Oxford University, and the Lourve Museum in Paris.
4. How can the reader tell what genre this is? 

• It is written from first person point of view.
• It is written by someone other than the person it's about.
• It is about a specific time period in Morrison's life.
• It includes detail about the author's personal experiences

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.10

CCSS.RI.6.10

CCSS.RI.7.10

CCSS.RI.8.10

CCSS.RI.9-10.10