Boy's Life

Read the sentence from paragraph 31.

"I ran out along the corridor, my arms unencumbered by books, my mind unencumbered by facts and figures, quotations and dates."

What does the word unencumbered mean as it is used in the sentence? (RL.6.4)

• Not aged

• Not burdened

• Not excited

• Not hurried

In the passage from Boy’s Life, how does the narrator’s attitude toward Mrs. Neville gradually change?(RL.6.3)

• From confused to angry

• From worried to comforted

• From pitying to discouraged

• From impatient to thoughtful

Part A

What can the reader infer about the narrator? (RL.6.1)

• He felt awkward with being kept behind to talk with his teacher.

• He almost had to lose part of his summer to attend summer school.

• He fi nds himself daydreaming instead of focusing on the teacher in class.

• He did not believe that writing was anything other than something he enjoyed.

Part B

Which statement from the passage supports the answer to Part A? (RL.6.1)

• “What adventures my friends and I would find this summer of 1964, I had no way of knowing. . .”

  (paragraph 5)

• “I had passed my math exam, and escaped—with a C-minus average, if truth must be known. . .”

  (paragraph 5)

• “I did, under silent protest.” (paragraph 16)

• “Having your teacher talk to you like a regular person is a disconcerting feeling.” (paragraph 26)

How does the phrase “generations who had passed through this place like a tide rolling into the future ”impact the tone of the passage? (RL.6.4)

• By suggesting the narrator’s boredom with the class

• By suggesting the teacher’s excitement about the summer

• By suggesting the narrator’s optimism about what lies ahead

• By suggesting the teacher’s sense of loss at the end of school

Part A

What is a theme found in the passage? (RL.6.2)

• The elderly should be respected and honored.

• Education should never be taken for granted.

• Overcoming struggles is worth the work.

• People are not always as they seem.

Part B

Which statement helps to convey the theme from Part A? (RL.6.2)

• “. . . intoned about what a good year this had been and how much we’d learned, we students who had

  passed through the ordeal of final exams sat with one eye fixed to the clock.” (paragraph 1)

• “Still, Mrs. Neville, who wore a hearing aid and had orange hair though she was at least sixty years old,

  talked on. . .” (paragraph 8)

• “‘Now, aren’t you glad you decided to apply yourself to your math?” she asked.’” (paragraph 16)

• “She sat at a desk with no papers on it that needed grading, no books holding lessons that needed to be

  taught. . .” (paragraph 28)

What is the meaning of the phrase, “My heart was a frog leaping out of murky water into clear sunlight,” as it is used in paragraph 28? (L.6.5)

• He was fearful and trying to escape.

• He was disgusted by his surroundings.

• He was overcome with joy and excitement.

• He was nervous and unsure of where to go.

What is the meaning of the word intoned as it is used in paragraph 2? (L.6.4)

• Emphasized

• Recited

• Reflected

• Sang