Battling Adversity: Structure in “The Charge of the Light Brigade” Answers

Read the excerpt from "The Medicine Bag.”"He carefully prepared for his quest with a purifying sweat bath, and then he went alone to a high butte top to fast and pray. After three days he received his sacred dream—in which he found, after long searching, the white man’s iron. He did not understand his vision of finding something belonging to the white people, for in that time they were the enemy. When he came down from the butte to cleanse himself at the stream below, he found the remains of a campfire and the broken shell of an iron kettle. This was a sign that reinforced his dream. He took a piece of the iron for his medicine bag, which he had made of elk skin years before, to prepare for his quest."He returned to his village, where he told his dream to the wise old men of the tribe. They gave him the name Iron Shell, but neither did they understand the meaning of the dream. This first Iron Shell kept the piece of iron with him at all times and believed it gave him protection from the evils of those unhappy days.”The Medicine Bag, by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve. First published in Boy's Life Magazine, March, 1975. Used by permission of the author.

Read the excerpt from "The Medicine Bag.” "My father in his early manhood,” Grandpa began, "made a vision quest to find a spirit guide for his life. You cannot understand how it was in that time, when the great Teton Sioux were first made to stay on the reservation. There was a strong need for guidance from Wakantanka, the Great Spirit. But too many of the young men were filled with despair and hatred. They thought it was hopeless to search for a vision when the glorious life was gone and only the hated confines of a reservation lay ahead. But my father held to the old ways.”

Read the excerpt from The Red Umbrella. After we got our bags, George made a quick call on a nearby pay phone, and then took us outside to his light green station wagon. It was a sunny day in Miami, exactly the same as in Cuba, but there was a difference. In Cuba, the air seemed to taste sweeter, as if there were mangoes growing nearby or your mother had just cooked your favorite dish. Here, although I was only a couple hundred miles away, everything felt more sterile, like I’d just walked into an office building. The rhythm of life was different, too. The pulsing sound of people speaking Spanish around me, or the music that would surprise your ears as you passed by an open window, was missing. In Miami, the sounds of cars filled the air, but I couldn’t get the pulse of the city. I was sure it was there, so maybe I wasn’t listening close enough. Maybe I just didn’t want to hear. . . .George had been talking about American life and telling stories since we’d left the airport, but I couldn’t concentrate on his words. I was grateful that we all spoke Spanish, so it wasn’t that I couldn’t understand. I just couldn’t listen. My mind was elsewhere.

Read the excerpts from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. Excerpt 1 – from lesson"Chica, you look gorgeous!” Ivette gave me a quick hug."You too,” I said."Oh, this old thing?” Ivette gave me a wink and spun around in her new dress. If anyone else had worn it, they might’ve looked like one big domino, but Ivette made it work. She was a fashion queen.I scanned the dance floor. There, under a canopy of white crepe-paper ribbons, ten couples danced as the band played a quick merengue. Next to them, along the back wall, sat the chaperones . . . all keeping a watchful eye on the dancing. I felt like Cinderella at the ball.Excerpt 2 – Chapter 15 After we got our bags, George made a quick call on a nearby pay phone, and then took us outside to his light green station wagon. It was a sunny day in Miami, exactly the same as in Cuba, but there was a difference. In Cuba, the air seemed to taste sweeter, as if there were mangoes growing nearby or your mother had just cooked your favorite dish. Here, although I was only a couple hundred miles away, everything felt more sterile, like I’d just walked into an office building. The rhythm of life was different, too. The pulsing sound of people speaking Spanish around me, or the music that would surprise your ears as you passed by an open window, was missing. In Miami, the sounds of cars filled the air, but I couldn’t get the pulse of the city. I was sure it was there, so maybe I wasn’t listening close enough. Maybe I just didn’t want to hear.

Which statement is the best example of a theme?

Read the two excerpts from The Red Umbrella. Excerpt 1"But that’s about all I have.” He looked down. "I lost my job at the bank.”"Ay, Fernando.” Mamá covered his large hands with her small ones.Papá shook his head. "No, it was expected. It was just a matter of time.”"You’ll get an even better job, Papá,” I said, trying to be positive. Excerpt 2"What’s going on?” I looked over at my mother, sitting in the armchair, hands crossed on her lap. A vacant look in her eyes.Frankie came into the room bouncing a ball. "¿Qué, Papá?”"Come here, Frankie.” Papá tousled Frankie’s hair, then took the ball and placed it on the floor next to the table. "Sit over there, next to your sister.”Papá’s somber mood frightened me. "Did something happen?”

Read the excerpt from "The Medicine Bag.”My kid sister Cheryl and I always bragged about our Sioux grandpa, Joe Iron Shell. Our friends, who had always lived in the city and only knew about Indians from movies and TV, were impressed by our stories. Maybe we exaggerated and made Grandpa and the reservation sound glamorous, but when we’d return home to Iowa after our yearly summer visit to Grandpa, we always had some exciting tale to tell. . . .We never showed our friends Grandpa’s picture. Not that we were ashamed of him, but because we knew that the glamorous tales we told didn’t go with the real thing. Our friends would have laughed at the picture because Grandpa wasn’t tall and stately like TV Indians. His hair wasn’t in braids but hung in stringy, gray strands on his neck, and he was old. He was our great-grandfather, and he didn’t live in a tepee, but all by himself in a part log, part tarpaper shack on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. So when Grandpa came to visit us, I was so ashamed and embarrassed I could’ve died.

Read the excerpt from "The Medicine Bag.” (1) All I could do was stand there with the whole neighborhood watching and shake the hand of the leather-brown old man. (2) I saw how [Grandpa’s] gray hair straggled from under his big black hat, which had a drooping feather in its crown. His rumpled black suit hung like a sack over his stooped frame. (3) As he shook my hand, his coat fell open to expose a bright red satin shirt with a beaded bolo tie under the collar. (4) His get-up wasn’t out of place on the reservation, but it sure was here, and I wanted to sink right through the pavement.

Read the excerpt from The Red Umbrella."But that’s about all I have.” He looked down. "I lost my job at the bank.”"Ay, Fernando.” Mamá covered his large hands with her small ones.Papá shook his head. "No, it was expected. It was just a matter of time.”"You’ll get an even better job, Papá,” I said, trying to be positive."It’ll be difficult, Lucy.” He stroked my hair. "The government controls all the industries. We’re going to have to make some adjustments.”

Read the excerpt from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez."Okay, Lucía. This is where you’re staying. . . . Frankie, you’ll be across the road over there. I’ll walk you over as soon as Lucía gets situated. Just wait for me here.” George stepped out and opened the car door for me.Frankie pulled my arm. "Don’t leave me.”"I’ll be right here, Frankie. I’ll figure something out so we can be together. Promise.” I tried to slide out of the car, but Frankie held on to me."But I don’t know anyone there. Lucy, please,” he whispered."C’mon, Frankie. You’re a big boy. Let Lucía go,” George said.

Read the excerpt from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. My head spun. Leave Cuba? Tomorrow? "No, Frankie, your mother and I . . .”"They’re not going with us.” My fear turned into anger. "You’re sending us away, aren’t you? Like some of the other kids. How can you do that?”Papá’s eyes glistened. "Lucy, we have no choice. You know they won’t let us leave with you. Alicia Milian was able to get us some visa waivers for you and Frankie, but . . .”"Wait. So where are we going?” Frankie asked."To the U.S.,” Papá answered. "It won’t be for long, but you’ll be safe until things get better here.”

Read the two excerpts from The Red Umbrella.Excerpt 1"Prove yourself how?” Mamá tucked in her cotton blouse.He shrugged. "Show them I’m a good revolutionary.” He looked at me and Frankie. "They mentioned the kids several times. Said that Lucía needs to volunteer to work on the farms or join the brigades if she wants to finish her education. And Frankie’ll have to join the Pioneros group to learn all about the revolution.”"No.” Mamá put her hands on her hips. "I won’t do that. There’s no way I’m sending my daughter away. Revolutionaries taking care of her. It’s absurd!”Excerpt 2Papá smiled and looked over at Mamá. She stared at the floor."You think that now. But Frankie’s young. He won’t even realize it.” Papá touched my cheek. I noticed a slight tremble in his hand. "And you, mi hija preciosa. They won’t even let you finish school if you don’t join the revolution.”He stood, put his hands in his pockets, and took a few steps back."This is so hard,” he muttered."Papá . . .” I leaned forward, afraid that I already knew what he was about to say."Your mother and I have decided . . .” Papá walked over and put his arm on Mamá’s shoulder. She sat frozen in place. "We’ve made plans for you to leave Cuba . . . tomorrow.”

Read the sentence.After hiking for hours the rest area appeared in the near distance.Which is the best revision of this sentence?

Read the excerpt from "American History.”That meant that the girls should jump rope and the boys toss basketballs through a hoop at the far end of the yard. He in the meantime would "keep an eye” on us from just inside the building.It was a cold gray day in Paterson. The kind that warns of early snow. I was miserable, since I had forgotten my gloves and my knuckles were turning red and raw from the jump rope.

Which is a phrase?

Read the excerpt from "American History.”On the day that President Kennedy was shot, my ninth grade class had been out in the fenced playground of Public School Number 13. We had been given "free” exercise time and had been ordered by our P.E. teacher, Mr. DePalma, to "keep moving.” That meant that the girls should jump rope and the boys toss basketballs through a hoop at the far end of the yard. He in the meantime would "keep an eye” on us from just inside the building.

Read the excerpt from "American History.”I once read in a Ripley’s Believe It or Not column that Paterson, New Jersey, is the place where the Straight and Narrow (streets) intersect. The Puerto Rican tenement known as El Building was one block up from Straight. It was, in fact, the corner of Straight and Market; not "at” the corner, but the corner. At almost any hour of the day, El Building was like a monstrous jukebox, blasting out salsas from open windows as the residents, mostly new immigrants just up from the island, tried to drown out whatever they were currently enduring with loud music.

Read the sentence.She got soaked walking home in the rain yesterday because her umbrella was in her gym locker.Which part of this sentence is a clause?

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

Read the excerpt from The Red Umbrella."You’ll get an even better job, Papá,” I said, trying to be positive."It’ll be difficult, Lucy.” He stroked my hair. "The government controls all the industries. We’re going to have to make some adjustments.”"Fernando, I can work.” Mamá started to get up. "Take in some sewing. Maybe a little ironing.”"No, no. I won’t have my wife working. I’ll find something. Try to get some work as a handyman. See how that goes.”"But, Papá, can’t you convince them to give you another job . . . in an office?” I thought about how I’d never seen Papá fix anything around our house."No, mi hija. I’ve been told that I need to prove myself first.”

Read the excerpt from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez.As George strode to the car, I glanced back to see Frankie watching me.I gave him a small wave. Frankie just kept staring.I bent down, picked up my bag, and walked into the building. . . . For such a large building, it was strangely quiet, as if even sounds got lost inside. The hallway seemed to stretch on for miles. The heavy double doors creaked as they closed behind me. I quickly turned back and looked through the doors’ narrow windows. My heart shattered. I could see Frankie’s hands splayed against the station wagon’s side window as I heard his muffled yell. "Luuuciiiaaa!”

Which sentence shows the best placement for the modifier “covered in clover”?

Which sentence contains both a simile and personification?

Read this excerpt from A Girl from Yamhill.Proud to be the bearer of astonishing news, I run back. "Daddy! There’s a tree in the sitting room!"I expect my father to spring from his chair, alarmed, and rush to the sitting room. Instead, my parents laugh. They explain about Christmas trees and decorations.Oh. Is that all? A Christmas tree is interesting, but I am disappointed. A tree slipping into the house at night had appealed to me. I want my father to charge into the sitting room to save us all from the intruder.Based on this excerpt, the reader can reasonably infer that the narrator is

Read this excerpt from "The Kick and the Click."The next morning, Anthony awoke to laughing and applauding, so he threw on some jeans and a T-shirt and hurried down the hallway, giving his father a quizzical look when he reached the kitchen doorway.What is the denotation of the word "quizzical"?