Answers NC-English Language Arts 11Exploring Cultural Identity through Language

The Poetry of Physics Answers

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Read the excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc.”In fact, I would saymy delight at being suffusedwith phrases from his saxophone—some like honey, some like vinegar—is surpassed only by my gratitudeto Tommy Potter for taking the timeto join us on this breezy afternoonwith his most unwieldy bassand to the esteemed Arthur Taylorwho is somehow managing to navigatethis crowd with his cumbersome drums.Which of the following suggestions would best enhance a reader’s understanding of this poem?

Read a variety of sources about the style and instruments used by jazz musicians.

Search medical journals to learn how different types of music can affect a person’s mood.

Review case studies on hearing loss due to the prolonged listening of loud music.

Evaluate several poems to learn about the techniques authors use to convey their ideas.

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Read the opening lines from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”Without a doubt, the most spectacular way to die in space is to fall into a black hole. Where else in the universe can you lose your life by being ripped apart atom by atom?Read the beginning stanza from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc.”This is not bad—ambling along 44th Streetwith Sonny Rollins for company,his music flowing through the soft calipersof these earphones,The beginnings of these two pieces are similar because they both

reference a famous jazz musician.

contemplate life and death.

consider humanity’s place in the universe.

open with an upbeat tone.

Read the excerpt from “Death by Black Hole.”If you were made of rubber then you would just stretch in response. But humans are composed of other materials such as bones and muscles and organs. Your body would stay whole until the instant the tidal force exceeded your body’s molecular bonds. (If the Inquisition had access to black holes, this, instead of the rack, would surely have become the stretching device of choice.)Which sentence from the excerpt supports the idea that falling into a black hole would be a violent death?

If you were made of rubber then you would just stretch in response.

But humans are composed of other materials such as bones and muscles and organs.

Your body would stay whole until the instant the tidal force exceeded your body’s molecular bonds.

If the Inquisition had access to black holes, this, instead of the rack, would surely have become the stretching device of choice.

Read the excerpt from “Death by Black Hole.”If you stumbled upon a black hole and found yourself falling feet-first toward its center, then as you got closer, the black hole’s force of gravity would grow astronomically.Read the stanza from “Man Listening to Disc.”This is not bad—ambling along 44th Streetwith Sonny Rollins for company,his music flowing through the soft calipersof these earphones,Which statement best summarizes the two excerpts?

In both pieces the narrators are in grave danger.

In both pieces the narrators are carefree and in no apparent hurry.

In both pieces the narrators are unable to connect with others.

In both pieces the narrators are unaware of their surroundings.

Read the excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc.”And if any of you are curiousabout where this aggregation,this whole battery-powered crew,is headed, let us just saythat the real center of the universe,the only true point of view,is full of the hope that he,the hub of the cosmoswith his hair blown sideways,will eventually make it all the way downtown.What message does Collins convey in this excerpt?

Working downtown can be challenging.

Music is a positive distraction to the routine of daily life.

Curious people believe the world revolves around music.

High volume is much better than low volume.

Which excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc” best supports the idea that the speaker uses the music to isolate himself from others?

as if he were right beside meon this clear day in March,the pavement sparkling with sunlight,

In fact, I would saymy delight at being suffusedwith phrases from his saxophone—some like honey, some like vinegar—

And I bow deeply to Thelonious Monkfor figuring out a wayto motorize—or whatever—his huge pianoso he could be with us today.

The music is loud yet so confidentialI cannot help feeling even morelike the center of the universe

Which excerpt from “Man Listening to Disc” best supports the idea that when the speaker listens to music he is the center of his own world?

my delight at being suffusedwith phrases from his saxophone—some like honey, some like vinegar—is surpassed only by my gratitude

to the woman in the white sweater,the man in the tan raincoat and the heavy glasses,who mistake themselves for the center of the universe— all I can say is watch your step

because the five of us, instruments and all,are about to angle overto the south side of the streetand then, in our own tightly knit way,

the only true point of view,is full of the hope that he,the hub of the cosmoswith his hair blown sideways,

Which statement best explains how Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole” and Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc” present differing views about the universe?

Collins ponders the idea that a person can overcome all obstacles as long as there is music spilling from a headset, while Tyson establishes the idea that human beings are at the mercy of a violent universe.

Since Tyson is a scientist, he poses the idea that the universe can be understood through science, while Collins, a poet, argues that art or music holds the key to understanding the world.

Collins’s poem puts forth the idea that humans can become the center of the universe, while Tyson reveals that humans are insignificantly small and weak in comparison to a black hole.

Tyson’s essay reveals that humanity is powerless when it comes to the larger forces of the universe, while Collins’s poem argues that humanity is the center of the universe, and thus its master.

Read the excerpt from “Man Listening to Disc.”to Tommy Potter for taking the timeto join us on this breezy afternoonwith his most unwieldy bassand to the esteemed Arthur Taylorwho is somehow managing to navigatethis crowd with his cumbersome drums.And I bow deeply to Thelonious Monkfor figuring out a wayto motorize—or whatever—his huge pianoso he could be with us today.Which of the following additional features would best enhance the reader’s understanding of this excerpt?

a diagram showing the narrator’s route through the city

a visual simulation of the man walking down the street

audio samples of music by the specified musicians

textbook chapters on the history of jazz musicians

Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”Black holes are regions of space where the gravity is so high that the fabric of space and time has curved back on itself, taking the exit doors with it. Another way to look at the dilemma: the speed required to escape a black hole is greater than the speed of light itself. . . . light travels at exactly 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum and is the fastest stuff in the universe. If light cannot escape, then neither can you, which is why, of course, we call these things black holes.Which of the following features would best enhance the reader’s understanding of this excerpt?

a photograph of a black hole

a demonstration of the speed of light

an interactive animation of a black hole

a definition of the term black hole

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The Poetry of Physics Answers

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