AnswersLVA-English Language Arts 12 -SPRINGContested Usage

Contemporary Poetry: Seamus Heaney’s “Digging” Answers

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1
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Read the excerpt from "Digging."The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slapOf soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edgeThrough living roots awaken in my head.But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

A
leisure time
B
city life
C
writing poems
D
hard work
2
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Read the excerpt from "Digging"The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slapOf soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edgeThrough living roots awaken in my head.But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.Between my finger and my thumbThe squat pen rests.I’ll dig with it.Read the haiku by Bashō. When the winter chrysanthemums go,there’s nothing to write about but radishes.What common concern do these poems share?

A
Both poems recognize the passing of seasons.
B
Both poems find a link between farming and the act of writing.
C
Both poems put a higher value on farming than writing.
D
Both poems lament the dying of flowers and other vegetation.
3

Read the excerpt from "Digging."Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

A
The positive connotation of the word does not clarify whether the writer enjoys holding his pen.
B
The negative connotation of the word highlights the idea that writing is a difficult profession.
C
The positive connotation of the word emphasizes how comfortable the speaker is holding his pen.
D
The negative connotation of the word shows how unpleasant the speaker finds the pen.
4

Which phrases contain an example of assonance? Check all that apply.a cup of coffeethe stars in the darkgloves and a globelike the lightride along the riverthumb through the numbers

A
a cup of coffee
B
the stars in the dark
C
gloves and a globe
D
like the light
E
ride along the river
F
thumb through the numbers
6

Read the excerpt from "Digging."Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests...

A
The assonance connects the thumb and finger to the act of farming.
B
The assonance adds emphasis to the speaker’s past as a farmer.
C
The assonance creates a pleasing and interesting sound.
D
The assonance emphasizes that the speaker is writing about his father.
8

Read the excerpt from "Digging."The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slapOf soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edgeThrough living roots awaken in my head.But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

A
cold, curt, cuts
B
potato, mould, follow
C
peat, edge, living
D
edge, head, them
9

Read the excerpt from "Digging."The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft Against the inside knee was levered firmly.He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deepTo scatter new potatoes that we picked,Loving their cool hardness in our hands.Read the haiku by Bashō. Early fall—the sea and the rice fields all one green.Which sentence best explains the similarities between the excerpt from "Digging” and the haiku?

A
Both are concerned with the topic of writing.
B
Both are concerned with the topic of seasons.
C
Both are concerned with the topic of farming.
D
Both are concerned with the topic of working.
10

Read the excerpt from "Digging."The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft Against the inside knee was levered firmly.

A
It directs the reader’s attention back to the squat pen.
B
It suggests that the spade is too heavy for the father.
C
It emphasizes the speaker’s distaste for hard work.
D
It shows that the father works with skill and control.

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