Blessings Practice

At what time of day do the events in "A Blessing" take place?

• sunrise

• midday

• twilight

• midnight

In "A Blessing," what have the ponies come "out of the willows" to do?

•  

  greet visitors

•  

   

  watch cars go by

   

•  

  graze in the woods

   

• leap over the fence

In "A Blessing," which of the following represents the separation between people and animals?

• the highway

• the pasture

   

• the fence

• the woods

In "A Blessing," what is most likely the "blessing?"

• the feeling of closeness between humans and animals

• the relationship between the speaker and his friend

•  

  the light breeze that moves over the landscape

• the spring grasses that grow in the pasture

Where are you most likely to find a blossom?

• on top of a concrete wall

• inside a gymnasium

• in a garden

• in the sky

Which is the most likely meaning of shyly in the following sentence?

"On her first day at her new school, Layla shyly asked her teacher where the water fountain was."

• clearly

• rudely

• timidly

• loudly

In which of the following situations is the person most likely to feel loneliness?

• With her brothers gone, Ingrid enjoyed reading alone in the quiet house.

• On her first day of camp, Rose sat alone, missing her parents and friends.

• Max helped his younger sister with her homework.

• All of Jacob's friends attended his birthday party.

Read these lines from "A Blessing"

And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows ...

Which words in these lines make the horses seem human?

• eyes, ponies

• ponies, kindness

• kindness, gladly

• gladly, willows

In "A Blessing," the speaker says the horses have been "grazing all day, alone."  What does he mean by this?

• the horses have been grazing far from the city

• the horses have been grazing apart from each other

• the horses have been grazing without human company

• the horses have been grazing one at a time, taking turns

With which statement would the speaker in "A Blessing" most likely agree?

• moments of silent communication between people and animals are a gift

• people who believe they are communicating with animals are mistaken

• friends can communicate best when they are surrounded by nature

• people with rare and special gifts are able to communicate with animals