"What is the American Dream?" and "I,Too"

Which statement would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?

• (A) The American dream is an idea that has been pondered over the course of history.

• (B) Financial success and material gain embody what the American dream is for some people.

• (C) The Declaration of Independence focused on the unalienable rights of the people of the United States.

• (D) The idea of people "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps" to chase opportunity was conceived by Horatio Alger, Jr.

The CENTRAL idea of the article is developed by:

• (A) presenting different aspects and ideas of what the American dream could be

• (B) describing how the American dream has enabled people to go from "rags to riches"

• (C) highlighting one person's definition of the American dream and how he pursued it

• (D) proving that one individual's ideas shaped the definition of what the American dream means to us all

What is the MAIN reason the author includes the section "Chasing the dream"?

• (A) to predict how the American dream will change in the future

• (B) to identify the problems that could result from chasing an unattainable dream

• (C) to present various individuals' differing definitions of the American dream

• (D) to illustrate what might have caused different groups in our country's history to seek their dreams

HOW does the introduction [paragraphs 1-3] introduce the article's MAIN idea?

• (A) by presenting the main event that caused the idea of the American dream

• (B) by contrasting the different ideas historians had about the American dream

• (C) by describing the problems people face when trying to achieve their dreams

• (D) by providing an example of one individual's interpretation of the American dream

What are the two central ideas of the article?

• (A) The opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is an important symbol in recognizing the struggles of African Americans; Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too” describes the plight of the mistreatment of African-Americans throughout history.

• (B) The opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a significant event in American history; poets, like Langston Hughes and W.E.B. DuBois wrote poems that were very important.

• (C) Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too” describes the plight of the mistreatment of African-Americans throughout history; the words “too” and “two” sound the same but have different meanings that can impact the interpretation of Hughes’ poem.

• (D) The opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is an important symbol in recognizing the struggles of African-Americans; the words “too” and “two” sound the same but have different meanings that can impact the interpretation of Hughes’ poem.

Read the following sentence from the article. The full-throated drama of the poem portrays African-Americans moving from out of sight, eating in the kitchen, and taking their place at the dining room table co-equal with the “company” that is dining. Does this sentence support the main idea of the article? Why or why not?

• A) Yes, because it gives reasons why the line from the poem is on the museum.

• (B) Yes, because it summarizes the content of the poem.

• (C) No, because it does not describe what is in the museum.

• (D) No, because it does not explain the importance of the poem.

Which answer choice BEST describes the article’s structure?

• (A) The article gives the chronological history of the struggle of African-Americans.

• (B) The article compares two different perspectives on a recent event.

• (C) The article gives a description with supporting background information.

• (D) The article describes the cause and effect of the treatment of African-Americans.

What is the connection between the introduction [paragraphs 1-3] and the closing paragraph of the article?

• (A) Both recognize the importance of museums to educating the public about events in American history.

• (B) Both provide descriptions of how African-Americans were treated throughout American history.

• (C) Both give explanations of the significance of a line from Langston Hughes’ poem being engraved on the new museum.

• (D) Both give examples of how poetry is used to highlight the struggles of African-Americans throughout history