English 10A Unit 6 Review

Read the following paragraph from "The Pin."

First, I made a list of my goals. They included making new friends, getting to know my teachers, and keeping busy in a positive way. As I was walking through the hall, I saw a poster announcing the upcoming election for school officers. Suddenly, it all fell into place. I would run for freshman class president! The idea seemed a little crazy, even to me. How could a newcomer, an unknown, get elected?

Which of the following is the best paraphrase of the ideas in this paragraph?

• The narrator sets some goals for himself, which include getting to know others by running for a position on the student council.

• The narrator resolves to make new friends by being more involved in school and decides to run for the office of freshman class president.

• The narrator decides to run for freshman class president after realizing that he needs to actively make new friends because he has not been very positive.

• The narrator sees a poster advertising the office of class president and decides to run for office because he feels like he needs to meet new friends and get to know his teachers.

Which detail from "Telephone Conversation" best contributes to its humorous tone?

• "Madam," I warned, "I hate a wasted journey—I am African."

• Silence. Silenced transmission of pressurized good breeding.

• Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered omnibus squelching tar.

•  "Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see the rest of me."

Read the following lines from the poem "Africa."

Impetuous son that tree young and strong

That tree there

In splendid loveliness amidst white and faded flowers

That is Africa your Africa

That grows again patiently obstinately

And its fruit gradually acquires

The bitter taste of liberty

Which word best describes the tone created by these lines?

• consoling

• firm

• resentful

• stubborn

Read the following sentences from "Marriage is a Private Affair." In these sentences, Nene recalls a letter from his father.

I have found a girl who will suit you admirably - Ugoye Nweke, the eldest daughter of our neighbour, Jacob Newke. She has a proper Christian upbringing. When she stopped schooling some years ago her father (a man of sound judgement) sent her to live in the house of a pastor where she has received all the training a wife could need. Her Sunday School teacher has told me she reads her Bible very fluently. I hope we shall begin negotiations when you come home in December.

Which of the following words best expresses the speaker's attitude toward his son?

• formal

• reserved

• strict

• stiff

Read the following sentences from the story "Loyalties." The father speaks to his son about the recent Biafran victory.

"What was I telling you the other day? That Ojukwu is a real man, just the sort of leader we need to get things moving. Those dirty Nigerians will taste pepper if they try to attack us, let me tell you," my father was saying.

Which type of humor does the father use when speaking to the boy?

• hyperbole

• incongruity

• sarcasm

• irony

Choose the word or group of words that belongs in the underlined space in the following sentence:

My family __________Sebago Lake in Casco, Maine, every year.

• visits

• will visit

• will have visited

• had visited

Choose the word or phrase that best matches the underlined word in the following sentence:

During the long spelling bee the young contestant was indefatigable.

• unbeatable

•  inexhaustible

• single-minded

• optimistic

Choose the word or phrase that best matches the underlined word.

 

Even though it was clear she did not understand the concepts, she dementedly rambled about her failed math test.

• loudly

• sadly

• endlessly

• madly

Choose the word or phrase that best matches the underlined word.

 

The fashion show for celebrity impersonators was an ostentatious presentation.

• showy

• loud

• tasteful

• rude

Read the following paragraph from "The Pin."

My old school had just one class at each grade. It was a real life Little House on the Prairie. I was well known and popular. Other kids looked up to me and wanted to be my friend. You might say that I was a big fish in a small pond. When I started at my new school, I had to make a lot of adjustments.

Which of the following is the best paraphrase of the ideas in this paragraph?

• The narrator enjoys being the most popular kid at his old school. He doesn't really like the idea of having to change.

• The narrator comes from a very small school that resembles Little House on the Prairie and was used to being admired by others. He was excited about starting at a new school that was bigger.

• The narrator enjoyed his former school, which was small enough for him to earn the admiration and respect of others.  However, his new school was different and he needed to get used to it.

• The narrator liked the fact that his old school was small enough for him to be known and liked by almost everyone in it. His new school gave him the uneasy feeling of being a little fish in a much bigger pond.