Life on the Mississippi Review

According to the selection from Life on the Mississippi, how does the town change when the steamboats stop there?

• It goes from fairly busy to very busy for ten minutes.

• It goes from sleepy to frantically busy for a short time.

• It goes from sleepy to calmly efficient for a couple of hours.

• It goes from bustling to dead because everyone is at the wharf.

As described in the selection from Life on the Mississippi, what did the Mississippi River represent to Twain as a boy?

• a destructive force

• a wonder of nature

• a pathway to adventure

• a chance to make friends

According to the selection from Life on the Mississippi, what makes the steamboat such a source of fascination for the boys?

• It is a marvel of modern technology.

• It is accessible only to the rich and powerful.

• It is connected with stories of shady dealings.

• It is a connection to the world outside Hannibal.

In the selection from Life on the Mississippi, what is the main impression created by Twain’s depiction of the steamboat?

• an impression of splendor and boldness

• an impression of efficient sturdiness

• an impression of age and disrepair

• an impression of grace and calm

In the selection from Life on the Mississippi, what main character flaw does Twain reveal in himself as a boy?

• lack of imagination

• dishonesty

• laziness

• envy

Which of the following sights is most likely to be described as having grandeur?

• a bare stage after a show ends

• a snow-capped mountain range

• a busy kitchen in a popular diner

• a traffic jam in a major coastal city

If a candlestick is gilded, what is most likely to be true about it?

• It will hold only the thinnest of candles.

• It will have been used last during the 1800s.

• It will have a yellow gleam when the candle is lit.

• It will need to be cleaned thoroughly before it is used.

Which of the following sentences best illustrates the word eminence?

• The legendary soldier was knighted by the queen.

• The student of architecture received his degree in May.

• The popular storyteller often visits schools in our town.

• The former librarian recently celebrated her 90th birthday.

What is the most likely effect created by the following passage from Life on the Mississippi?

[T]he great Mississippi, the majestic, the magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile-wide tide along, shining in the sun; the dense forest away on the other side; the point above the town, and the point below, bounding the river-glimpse and turning it into a sort of sea, and withal a very still and brilliant and lonely one.

• The reader is amused to see that the river is a cheerful and bright place.

• The reader is moved to learn that the river is beautiful but forsaken.

• The reader is troubled by the river’s still but dangerous nature.

• The reader is surprised by the river’s turbulence and darkness.

Which pair of phrases from the passage best supports that the following passage creates the effect of the reader being moved to learn that the river is beautiful but forsaken.

[T]he great Mississippi, the majestic, the magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile-wide tide along, shining in the sun; the dense forest away on the other side; the point above the town, and the point below, bounding the river-glimpse and turning it into a sort of sea, and withal a very still and brilliant and lonely one.

• the majestic, the magnificent … very still and brilliant and lonely

• rolling its mile-wide tide … dense forest away on the other side

• along, shining in the sun … bounding the river-glimpse

• rolling its mile-wide tide … turning it into a sort of sea