"Elena" Quiz

The speaker believes that her Spanish “isn’t good enough” (line 1) most likely because

• She began learning Spanish not long ago

• Her kids speak a modern style of Spanish that she is unfamiliar with

• She can no longer communicate effectively with her children

• She never received an education of her own when she was younger

Read the following passage (lines 12–13) from "Elena."

I bought a book to learn English.
My husband frowned, drank more beer.

The passage mainly suggests that the speaker’s husband...

• doesn’t care as much about learning to speak English

• wishes the family still lived in Mexico

• thinks she spends too much money on unnecessary items

• already speaks English well enough

The speaker locks herself in the bathroom to practice English mainly because...

• She wants to escape any possible distractions from her husband and their children

• she is embarrassed by her lack of English even in front of her own family

• her husband and children are very critical of her desire to learn English

• all the other rooms in their house are being used

Which of the following lines is the best clue to why the speaker locks herself in the bathroom to practice English?

• “My oldest said, ‘Mamá, he doesn’t want you / to be smarter than he is.’”

• “I’m forty, / embarrassed at mispronouncing words, / embarrassed at the laughter of my children,”

• “Sometimes I take / my English book and lock myself in the bathroom,”

• 1. “for if I stop trying, I will be deaf / when my children need my help”

What's the best definition for embarrassed?

• ashamed or uncomfortably self-conscious

• scowled, glared

• secret plans or schemes

• unable to hear

What's the best definition for plots?

• ashamed or uncomfortably self-conscious

• secret plans or schemes

• unable to hear

• saying something the wrong way

What is another word for scowled or glared?

• mispronouncing

• plots

• frowned

• deaf

What is it called if you're saying something the wrong way?

• embarrassed

• plots

• frowned

• mispronouncing

What's the best definition for deaf?

• unable to hear

• ashamed or uncomfortably self-conscious

• saying something the wrong way

• secret plans or schemes