Wordplay and Language: The Phantom Tollbooth

He walked across the room and dusted the car off carefully. Then, taking the map and rule book with him, he hopped in and, for lack of anything better to do, drove slowly up to the tollbooth. As he deposited his coin and rolled past he remarked wistfully, "I do hope this is an interesting game, otherwise the afternoon will be so terribly dull."

Which part of the passage is most realistic?

• Milo drives a car in his room.

• Milo plays a game in his room.

There was once a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself--not just sometimes, but always.

When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in. On the way he thought about coming home, and coming home he thought about going. Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered why he'd bothered. Nothing really interested him--least of all the things that should have.

The most likely reason the author begins this fantasy with a realistic element is to make the text more

• amusing

• exciting

• believable

• interesting

Milo's eyes opened wide, for there in front of him was a large dog with a perfectly normal head, four feet, and a tail--and the body of a loudly ticking alarm clock.

"What are you doing here?" growled the watchdog.

What is the most likely reason why the author includes realistic elements in his description of the watchdog?

• to help the reader to imagine him

• to entertain the reader by making him unusual

"Allow me to introduce all of us," the creature went on. "We are the Lethargarians, at your service." . . . .

"I'm very pleased to meet you," said Milo, not sure whether or not he was pleased at all. "I think I'm lost. Can you help me please?"

"Don't say 'think,' " said one sitting on his shoe, for the one on his shoulder had fallen asleep. "It's against the law." And he yawned and fell off to sleep, too.

Which phrase from the passage best helps the reader understand why the creatures are called “Lethargarians”?

• "Don't say 'think,' " said one sitting on his shoe.

• The one on his shoulder had fallen asleep.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

Which quotation from The Phantom Tollbooth contains the best example of a pun?

• "I'm the Whether Man, not the Weather Man, for after all it's more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be."

• "I don't know of any wrong road to Dictionopolis, so if this road goes to Dictionopolis at all it must be the right road."

Tags

CCSS.RI.1.1

CCSS.RI.2.1

CCSS.RI.3.1

CCSS.RL.2.1

CCSS.RL.3.1

"R-R-R-G-H-R-O-R-R-H-F-F," exclaimed the watchdog as he dashed up to the car, loudly puffing and panting.

Milo's eyes opened wide, for there in front of him was a large dog with a perfectly normal head, four feet, and a tail--and the body of a loudly ticking alarm clock.

What type of wordplay does the author use in the passage?

• onomatopoeia

• idiom

• homophone

• pun

The roaring watchdog appears and helps Milo find his way out of the Doldrums. Once Milo starts thinking thoughts, he and the watchdog speed quickly away in his car. As the chapter ends, Milo and the watchdog are alone together on the highway.

Which phrase from the passage is an oxymoron?

• "roaring watchdog"

• "thinking thoughts"

• "speed quickly"

• "alone together"

"My, my, my, my, my, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to the land of Expectations, to the land of Expectations, to the land of Expectations. We don't get many travelers these days; we certainly don't get many travelers these days. Now what can I do for you? I'm the Whether Man."

"Is this the right road for Dictionopolis?" asked Milo, a little bowled over by the effusive greeting.

Which phrase from the passage is an idiom?

• "welcome, welcome"

• "land of Expectations"

• "the Whether Man"

• "bowled over"

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3