Pretest Answers

Read the excerpt from "The Most Dangerous Game." Bleak darkness was blacking out the sea and jungle when Rainsford sighted the lights. He came upon them as he turned a crook in the coast line, and his first thought was that he had come upon a village, for there were many lights. But as he forged along he saw to his great astonishment that all the lights were in one enormous building—a lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward into the gloom. His eyes made out the shadowy outlines of a palatial chateau; it was set on a high bluff, and on three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows. In the writing of this excerpt, the writer employed

Read the excerpt from "The Most Dangerous Game." Some wounded thing, by the evidence a large animal, had thrashed about in the underbrush; the jungle weeds were crushed down and the moss was lacerated; one patch of weeds was stained crimson. A small, glittering object not far away caught Rainsford's eye and he picked it up. It was an empty cartridge. "A twenty-two," he remarked. "That's odd. It must have been a fairly large animal too. The hunter had his nerve with him to tackle it with a light gun. It's clear that the brute put up a fight. I suppose the first three shots I heard was when the hunter flushed his quarry and wounded it. The last shot was when he trailed it here and finished it." Which literary elements are used in this excerpt? Choose three correct answers.

Read the excerpt from "The Most Dangerous Game." "Off there to the right—somewhere—is a large island," said Whitney. "It's rather a mystery—" "What island is it?" Rainsford asked. "The old charts call it ‘Ship-Trap Island,"' Whitney replied. "A suggestive name, isn't it? Sailors have a curious dread of the place. I don't know why. Some superstition—" In writing this excerpt, the author employed

Read the excerpt from "The Most Dangerous Game." Bleak darkness was blacking out the sea and jungle when Rainsford sighted the lights. He came upon them as he turned a crook in the coast line, and his first thought was that he had come upon a village, for there were many lights. But as he forged along he saw to his great astonishment that all the lights were in one enormous building—a lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward into the gloom. His eyes made out the shadowy outlines of a palatial chateau; it was set on a high bluff, and on three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows. "Mirage," thought Rainsford. But it was no mirage, he found, when he opened the tall spiked iron gate. The stone steps were real enough; the massive door with a leering gargoyle for a knocker was real enough; yet above it all hung an air of unreality. Which literary elements are used in this excerpt? Choose two correct answers.

Read the excerpt from "The Most Dangerous Game." Rainsford's first impression was that the man was singularly handsome; his second was that there was an original, almost bizarre quality about the general's face. He was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come. His eyes, too, were black and very bright. He had high cheek bones, a sharp-cut nose, a spare, dark face, the face of a man used to giving orders, the face of an aristocrat. Turning to the giant in uniform, the general made a sign. The giant put away his pistol, saluted, withdrew. Kobe is writing an essay about "The Most Dangerous Game.” This excerpt supports his idea that Zaroff’s physical appearance mirrors his

Read the excerpt from "The Most Dangerous Game." The bed was good, and the pajamas of the softest silk, and he was tired in every fiber of his being, but nevertheless Rainsford could not quiet his brain with the opiate of sleep. He lay, eyes wide open. Once he thought he heard stealthy steps in the corridor outside his room. He sought to throw open the door; it would not open. He went to the window and looked out. His room was high up in one of the towers. The lights of the chateau were out now, and it was dark and silent, but there was a fragment of sallow moon, and by its wan light he could see, dimly, the courtyard. There, weaving in and out in the pattern of shadow, were black, noiseless forms; the hounds heard him at the window and looked up, expectantly, with their green eyes. Rainsford went back to the bed and lay down. By many methods he tried to put himself to sleep. He had achieved a doze when, just as morning began to come, he heard, far off in the jungle, the faint report of a pistol. Naomi is writing an essay about "The Most Dangerous Game.” Which detail from the excerpt best supports her idea that Rainsford feels agitated?

Read the excerpt from a student’s essay. Student Work The first mention of Ship-Trap Island already gives the reader an uneasy feeling. Whitney describes the island’s fearsome reputation among the ship’s crew as Rainsford peers into the black night to see any sign of the place. He cannot see the mysterious island, and Whitney knows little about it, other than that it frightens the sailors. Interestingly, it fills Whitney with a sense of dread as well. Which revision of the first sentence best incorporates the literary term mood ?

Read the excerpt from a student’s essay. Student Work The most striking thing about General Zaroff is his blatant disregard of human life. It is clear that his years of hunting and fighting in wars has hardened him against feeling any sympathy for his human prey. This is very clear, _________, when he describes the people he hunts to Rainsford. He calls them the "scum of the earth” and says the world is better off without them. Which transition best fills in the blank?