"The Flight of Icarus"

Which statement best explains how the setting impacts the plot of the story?

• Daedalus saw the air as a means of escape.

• Daedalus was a gifted engineer and inventor.

• Daedalus was imprisoned in a high tower.

Read the sentence.

Daedalus was an ingenious artist and was not discouraged by his failures.

The author’s purpose for using this sentence in paragraph 2 of the myth is to explain which of the following?

• explain that Daedalus was a successful artist but afraid of failure

• explain that Daedalus was a smart person who does not give up

• explain that Daedalus was a smart person but afraid of failure

Reread the last sentence of paragraph 3 of the selection.

What is the effect of this description of Icarus playing on the shore?

• It shows the reader that Icarus did not help his father.

• It shows that Icarus was happy to be on the island.

• It shows that Icarus was a young boy who liked to play.

In paragraph 6 of the selection, the author compares Icarus to a bird.

The purpose of this comparison is to —

• foreshadow Icarus’s inability to fly

• foreshadow Icarus’s love for his father

• foreshadow Icarus’s joy when he flies

Which detail from the selection supports the key idea that Icarus flew too high?

• Up and up Icarus soared . . .

• . . . the sun became so hot that the largest feathers dropped off

• He cried out to his father . . .

The word exaltation is derived from the Latin word exaltare, which means “raise or elevate.”

Its purpose in paragraph 9 is to explain--

• that Daedalus was happy to escape the island

• that Icarus was happy to escape the island

• why Icarus flew higher and higher in the sky

Which two details from the text support the idea that a theme of the selection is independence?

• Daedalus managed to escape from the tower . .

• He was bewitched by a sense of freedom . . .

• Soon Icarus was sure that he, too, could fly . . .

• . . . thrown caution to the winds in the exaltation of his freedom

Which sentence states an important theme in this myth?

• Only true heroes can perform superhuman acts

• People must know their place in the universe

• Doing things with family members is always fun

Read this detail from paragraph 5:

He bade him watch the movements of the birds, how they soared and glided overhead

This detail emphasizes that —

• Daedalus wanted to make wings from birds’ feathers

• birds were worshipped as gods in ancient Greece

• nature was highly respected by ancient Greeks

Against his father’s advice, Icarus flew higher and higher because he--

• was overtaken by the thrill that came from flying freely

• became lost when the sun blinded him

• was eager to prove that he was stronger than his father