Animal Farm, Part 6: Author’s Purpose — Cumulative exam Answers

Read the passage from \Animal Farm.On the third Sunday after Snowball's expulsion, the animals were somewhat surprised to hear Napoleon announce that the windmill was to be built after all. He did not give any reason for having changed his mind, but merely warned the animals that this extra task would mean very hard work, it might even be necessary to reduce their rations.

Read the excerpt from "How the Whale Got His Throat.”For the Mariner he was also an Hi-ber-ni-an. And he stepped out on the shingle, and went home to his mother, who had given him leave to trail his toes in the water; and he married and lived happily ever afterward. So did the Whale. But from that day on, the grating in his throat, which he could neither cough up nor swallow down, prevented him eating anything except very, very small fish; and that is the reason why whales nowadays never eat men or boys or little girls.

Read the passage from chapter 2 of Animal Farm.Three nights later old Major died peacefully in his sleep. His body was buried at the foot of the orchard.This was early in March. During the next three months there was much secret activity. Major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life. They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it. The work of teaching and organizing the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals. Pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon, whom Mr. Jones was breeding up for sale.

Read the excerpt from "The Royal House of Thebes."In Thebes, Creon was in control and he proclaimed that none of those who had fought against the city should be given burial. Eteocles should be honored with every rite that the noblest received at death, but Polyneices should be left for beasts and birds to tear and devour. This was to carry vengeance beyond the ordinance of the gods, beyond the law of right; it was to punish the dead. The souls of the unburied might not pass the river that encircles the kingdom of death, but must wander in desolation, with no abiding-place, no rest ever for their weariness. To bury the dead was a most sacred duty, not only to bury one's own, but any stranger one might come upon. But this duty, Creon's proclamation said, was changed in the cause of Polyneices to a crime. He who buried him would be put to death.

Read the excerpt from Animal Farm.That evening Squealer explained privately to the other animals that Napoleon had never in reality been opposed to the windmill. On the contrary, it was he who had advocated it in the beginning, and the plan which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator shed had actually been stolen from among Napoleon's papers. The windmill was, in fact, Napoleon's own creation. Why, then, asked somebody, had he spoken so strongly against it? Here Squealer looked very sly. That, he said, was Comrade Napoleon's cunning. He had seemed to oppose the windmill, simply as a maneuver to get rid of Snowball, who was a dangerous character and a bad influence. Now that Snowball was out of the way, the plan could go forward without his interference. This, said Squealer, was something called tactics. He repeated a number of times, "Tactics, comrades, tactics!" skipping round and whisking his tail with a merry laugh. The animals were not certain what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.

Read the excerpt from Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah.I froze. The priest would declare me a heretic, my parents would call me a traitor, and Mrs. Piogarni would give me detention. I had no idea what to say. I mean, what does a Muslim confess to a priest? I could only think of one thing. That every time Chris Barkley called me a darkie, or teased me about my mom's towel-head, I made a silent prayer asking God to drop a tree on his stupid head.The priest asked me again: "What is your confession, my child?""I’m Muslim," I whispered."Five Hail Marys and five of the Lord’s Prayer.”That was my first and last participation in a church service.

Read the excerpt from Julio's essay about folk tales.When people think of the Grimms’ fairy tales, they think of well-loved children's stories. The cleaned-up adaptations we read now have a reputation for being childhood favorites. However, the stories did not start out that way. The Grimm brothers actually collected tales that were passed on from person to person about terrible living conditions and challenges that people faced. These stories are dark and often tragic. But Germany is not the only source of folklore that, rather than serving as bedtime stories, might keep kids up at night or give them nightmares. Tales of monsters, evil witches, and other horrors can be found in other cultures as well. For example, the Baba Yaga stories from Russia and other Slavic countries portray a scary-looking witch who flies around in a mortar, carries a pestle, and might help or harm, depending on her mood. She is not exactly a calming character for sleepy children.

Read the excerpt from "The Story of a Warrior Queen."Queen Boadicea looked so beautiful and fierce as she stood there, with her blue eyes flashing, and her golden hair blowing round her in the wind, that the hearts of her people were filled with love for her, and anger against the Romans. As she spoke, fierce desires for revenge grew in them. They had hated their Roman conquerors before, now the hatred became a madness.So, when Boadicea had finished speaking, a cry of rage rose from the Britons. They beat upon their shields with their swords, and swore to avenge their Queen, to fight and die for her and for their country.Then Boadicea, leaning with one hand upon her spear, and lifting the other to heaven—prayed. She prayed to the goddess of war, and her prayer was as fierce as her speech, for she had never heard of a God who taught men to forgive their enemies.

Read the example sentence and study the chart of definitions.Our vacation was ruined by the tediousness of the daily group activities, all of which seemed too much alike.

Which sentence best reflects the author’s claim in "Children of the Drug Wars” that children are leaving Central America to reach safety?

What must be true for a research question to be considered effective?

Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World.But there is another story as well. Information about sugar spread as human knowledge expanded, as great civilizations and cultures exchanged ideas. In fact, while sugar was the direct cause of the expansion of slavery, the global connections that sugar brought about also fostered the most powerful ideas of human freedom.

Read the excerpt from Adam's personal narrative.I stepped into the tidal pool carefully, wishing I had brought my water shoes. "What's the matter, afraid of a few crabs?" Laura smiled. "It doesn't hurt that much when they pinch. They're only little," she said. Laura wasn't afraid of anything, or at least I'd never seen her get scared. She was the type to dive off a cliff and not even think about what was in the water below."But there are so many of them!" I winced."I know, it’s so cool!" she replied, scooping a crab into her hand to look at it more closely. I nearly screamed.

Read the passage from chapter 5 of Animal Farm.That evening Squealer explained privately to the other animals that Napoleon had never in reality been opposed to the windmill. On the contrary, it was he who had advocated it in the beginning, and the plan which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator shed had actually been stolen from among Napoleon's papers. The windmill was, in fact, Napoleon's own creation. Why, then, asked somebody, had he spoken so strongly against it? Here Squealer looked very sly. That, he said, was Comrade Napoleon's cunning. He had seemed to oppose the windmill, simply as a maneuver to get rid of Snowball, who was a dangerous character and a bad influence. Now that Snowball was out of the way, the plan could go forward without his interference. This, said Squealer, was something called tactics. He repeated a number of times, "Tactics, comrades, tactics!” skipping round and whisking his tail with a merry laugh. The animals were not certain what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.

Read the excerpt from chapter 7 of Night.One day when we had come to a stop, a worker took a piece of bread out of his bag and threw it into a wagon. There was a stampede. Dozens of starving men fought desperately over a few crumbs. The worker watched the spectacle with great interest.

Read the passage from Animal Farm.The other animals understood how to vote, but could never think of any resolutions of their own. Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in the debates. But it was noticed that these two were never in agreement: whatever suggestion either of them made, the other could be counted on to oppose it. Even when it was resolved—a thing no one could object to in itself—to set aside the small paddock behind the orchard as a home of rest for animals who were past work, there was a stormy debate over the correct retiring age for each class of animal. The Meeting always ended with the singing of "Beasts of England," and the afternoon was given up to recreation.