AP Lit The Great Silence Quiz

What is the primary reason the parrot narrator believes humans are not listening to them, despite searching for extraterrestrial intelligence?

• Humans believe parrots are not intelligent.

• Humans are only interested in radio signals from space.

• Humans don't consider parrots to be a nonhuman intelligence.

• Humans are actively trying to conceal their own presence.

Answer explanation

The narrator explicitly states, "Why aren’t they interested in listening to our voices? We’re a nonhuman species capable of communicating with them. Aren’t we exactly what humans are looking for?" This implies humans don't consider them to be the intelligence they seek.

Which of the following best describes the historical setting of the Río Abajo Forest mentioned by the narrator?

• A place once filled with parrot voices, now almost silent.

• A bustling hub of human and parrot interaction.

• A pristine, untouched natural habitat.

• A theoretical location for future extraterrestrial contact.

Answer explanation

The narrator states, "Hundreds of years ago, my kind was so plentiful that the Río Abajo Forest resounded with our voices. Now we’re almost gone. Soon this rainforest may be as silent as the rest of the universe."

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

The example of Alex the African grey parrot serves primarily to:

• Demonstrate that parrots are capable of complex communication that humans can understand.

• Prove that animal intelligence is superior to human intelligence.

• Highlight the limitations of human research methods in studying animal communication.

• Show that parrots are skilled at mimicking human speech without understanding.

Answer explanation

The text states, "Pepperberg convinced them that Alex wasn’t just repeating words, that he understood what he was saying. Out of all my cousins, Alex was the one who came closest to being taken seriously as a communication partner by humans."

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Match the character or concept with their primary role or significance in the story.

• The parrot narrator

• A symbol of human aspiration and a tool for listening and speaking.

• Arecibo

• A representative of an intelligent nonhuman species seeking connection.

• Alex

• A representative of an intelligent nonhuman species seeking connection.

Match the type of "silence" with its description as presented in the story.

• The Great Silence

• The theoretical outcome if intelligent species go extinct before expanding into space.

• The silence of a graveyard

• The disconcerting quiet of the universe due to the lack of detectable intelligent life.

• The silencing of our voice

• The disconcerting quiet of the universe due to the lack of detectable intelligent life.

Match the human belief/action with the parrot narrator's interpretation of it.

• Humans built Arecibo to listen.

• A lack of attention rather than malice.

• Humans nearly wiped out parrots.

• A desire to recognize alien intelligence while overlooking closer, similar intelligences.

• Humans not listening to parrots' voices.

• An indication of human greatness and immense aspirations.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Categorize the following details based on which setting they primarily describe or are associated with in the story.

Groups:

(a) Arecibo Observatory

,

(b) Río Abajo Forest

• Species "driven nearly to extinction"

• "Ear capable of hearing across the universe"

• Resounded with our voices

• Cosmic microwave background

• Faint hum from space

• Parrots communicating by imitating contact calls

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Categorize the following character descriptions as primarily applying to Humans or Parrots as presented by the narrator.

Groups:

(a) Humans

,

(b) Parrots

,

(c) Both

• Create beautiful myths

• Can appreciate the importance of sound in mythologies

• Vocal learners

• Have been driven nearly to extinction by the other species

• Capable of building structures like Arecibo

• Have unique contact calls

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Categorize these statements based on whether they describe Human Perspective or Parrot Perspective in "The Great Silence."

Groups:

(a) Human Perspective

,

(b) Parrot Perspective

,

(c) Shared

• "Intelligent life must surely have arisen many times."

• "It's hard to make sense of behavior that's so different from your own."

• "Humans like to think they're unique."

• "Any species that can build such a thing must have greatness within it."

• "We parrots used to think humans weren’t very bright."

• "They didn’t do it maliciously. They just weren’t paying attention."

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Place the following events from the history of parrots and human interaction, as mentioned by the narrator, in chronological order from earliest to latest.

• The Río Abajo Forest resounded with parrot voices.

• Alex said, "You be good. I love you."

• Humans used Arecibo to broadcast a message into outer space.

• Humans only recently considered the possibility that parrots might be intelligent.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.10

CCSS.RI.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.11-12.10

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.10