Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

Which of the following words best replaces ticklish as it is used in the passage below (paragraph 6)?

• A. Calm

• B. Exciting

• C. Touchy

• D. Hilarious

The following passage from the excerpt (paragraph 13) mainly suggests that-

• A. Phineas is trying not to show how much pain he is in.

• B. The fact that Phineas survived the accident doesn't make sense.

• C. Everyone is angry that Phineas for not being careful.

• D. No one is sure of what happened before Phineas's accident.

The excerpt from Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science is told in (?) tense, from a (?) point of view.

• A. Past; first person

• B. Past; third person

• C. Present; first person

• D. Present; third person

Which passage from the excerpt most strongly suggests that Phineas is in danger of having an accident?

• A. "All day, Phineas must keep an eye on his diggers to make sure they keep up. All the time between, Phineas and his assistant are working with touchy explosives."

• B. "Phineas is twenty-six years old, unmarried, and five feet, six inches tall, short for our time but about average for his."

• C. "Phineas's special skill is blasting. With well-placed charges of black gunpowder, he shatters rock."

• D. "Yet for many others - psychologists, medical researchers, doctors, and especially those who suffer brain injuries - Phineas Have will become someone worth knowing."

Which of the following selections best summarized a main idea of the excerpt?

• A. Work safety conditions for railroad construction workers needed to be improved.

• B. Phineas's accident was likely his own fault.

• C. Phineas must not have told people the whole story about his accident.

• D. The fact that Phineas survived his accident changed our understanding of the human brain.

Which passage from the text most strongly supports the answer to Question 5?

• A

• B

• C

• D

Which of these inferences about Phineas is best supported by the text?

• A. Phineas did not feel the pain from his skull splitting after his accident.

• B. Phineas will make a full recovery from the accident.

• C. Phineas's men really enjoyed their jobs.

• D. Phineas is a very lazy and slow worker on the railroad.

Which passage from the text best supports the correct answer to Question 7?

• A. "Phineas's excited men crowd alongside, walking next to their injured boss.

• B. "Something terrible had happened, yet Phineas gets down without help."

• C. "Friends, workmates, and the curious crowd around as Dr. Williams climbs down from his carriage."

• D. "Dr. Williams examines Phineas's head. He can't believe that this man is still alive. His skill is cracked open, as if something has popped out from the inside."

Arrange the events from the excerpt in the order they occur:

FIRST

• Phineas and his assistant work on blasting rock.

• A blast throws Phineas's own tamping iron into his head.

• Dr. Williams does not believe that an iron went through Phineas's head.

• Phineas Gage "was no longer Gage."

Arrange the events from the excerpt in the order they occur:

SECOND

• Phineas and his assistant work on blasting rock.

• A blast throws Phineas's own tamping iron into his head.

• Dr. Williams does not believe that an iron went through Phineas's head.

• Phineas Gage "was no longer Gage."