Animal Farm, Part 7: Rhetoric — Cumulative exam Answers

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 sentence.The Tower of London dates back to the year 1066, is from the same era as Buckingham Palace, is older than Westminster Abbey, and is one of the oldest historical sites in England.Which noun is modified by the underlined phrase?

What is falling action in a story?

Read the excerpt from Enrique’s Journey.Today, Enrique is terrified of another beating. Every time someone new jumps onto his car, he tenses. Fear, he realizes, helps to keep him awake, so he decides to induce it. He climbs to the top of the tank car and takes a running leap. With arms spread, as if he were flying, he jumps to one swaying boxcar, then to another. Some have four- to five-foot gaps. Others are nine feet apart.

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 passage.When she realized that she had missed the bus, Jia became distraught. She paced back and forth, wringing her hands and trying not to cry. There was no doubt about it—she would be late for her meeting and might lose her job as a result of her tardiness.Based on context clues in the passage, what is the most likely meaning of distraught?

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 passage from Sugar Changed the World.In every single American slave state, the population of enslaved people kept rising even after the slave trade was abolished. That was because enough enslaved children were born, lived, and grew to become adults. There was just one exception to this rule: Louisiana, where the native-born enslaved population kept dropping. Sugar was a killer.Unlike the Caribbean, Louisiana has cold snaps. That put an additional pressure on the sugar harvest. Not only did the slaves need to harvest the cane in perfect rhythm with the grinding mills, but the entire crop had to be cut down between mid-October and December. This pace only increased when growers installed improved, steam-powered mills. People needed to work faster than the weather and to keep pace with machines.

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 excerpt from chapter 8 of The Travels of Marco Polo.They have plenty of ambergris, because whales abound in these seas, and also cachalots. And since they catch great numbers of both, they are never short of ambergris; for you know it is the whale that produces ambergris. They have leopards and lynxes and lions also in great numbers. Other beasts, such as harts, stags, and roebuck and such-like game animals, are also abundant, besides game-birds of many kinds. There are also many ostriches of huge size. The great diversity of birds, quite different from ours, is truly marvelous.

Read the sentence.Going to the game at night was always fun, but sometimes Cooper’s spirit for his team was not enough for a win.What type of phrase is the underlined phrase in the sentence?

What does the passage reveal about Old Major’s character? Select three options.

Read the passage from "How the Whale Got His Throat."In the sea, once upon a time, O my Best Beloved, there was a Whale, and he ate fishes. He ate the starfish and the garfish, and the crab and the dab, and the plaice and the dace, and the skate and his mate, and the mackereel and the pickereel, and the really truly twirly-whirly eel. All the fishes he could find in all the sea he ate with his mouth—so! Till at last there was only one small fish left in all the sea, and he was a small 'Stute Fish, and he swam a little behind the Whale’s right ear, so as to be out of harm’s way. Then the Whale stood up on his tail and said, "I’m hungry.” And the small 'Stute Fish said in a small 'stute voice, "Noble and generous Cetacean, have you ever tasted Man?”

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 Sunil's personal narrative.When I first came to the United States from India, I was frustrated by the assumptions people made about me and my culture. People often think that because I'm from India, I am a Hindu. I'm actually Malayali, from Kerala, and I'm Muslim. And the day that a girl at school asked me if it felt weird not living in a longhouse anymore really took the cake. India is known for a lot of different architectural styles, and a longhouse isn't one of them! But the misunderstandings about who I am and where I am from are only the tip of the iceberg. As a person of color, I've been called a lot of names here by people on the street, in the grocery store, in school—practically everywhere—and their underlying message is this: You have no right to feel safe here.

Which information should he include in the MLA in-text citation? Select two options.

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.

Ximena is writing an essay comparing the genres of editorial and biography.What is the most effective way for her to structure her essay?

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

Study the cartoon by Signe Wilkinson.