Narrative Elements in "How I Learned English" — Unit test Answers

Read the passage.“Show time!” hollered the music teacher.Raymond haltingly approached the stage. His knees knocked, and his hands trembled. He could feel beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. It was time for his solo violin performance. The stage director turned Raymond to face the stage and gave him a little shove. Now Raymond stood frozen in the center of the stage. The audience stared and waited expectantly.Somewhere from behind the side curtain, Raymond heard a faint voice. It was Pedro – his best friend. He was whispering words of encouragement. “You can do it. Close your eyes and let your hands work their magic.”Raymond obeyed and tightly closed his eyes. He lifted the violin and gently tucked it under his chin. His other hand holding the bow began skillfully dancing across the strings of his violin.At the end of his performance, the audience stood and clapped enthusiastically. Raymond opened his eyes as a big smile spread across his face. “I did it!” he thought while bowing to the cheering crowd.Who is the protagonist in this passage?

Read the excerpt from “How I Learned English.”It was in an empty lotRinged by elms and fir and honeysuckle.Bill Corson was pitching in his buckskin jacket,Chuck Keller, fat even as a boy, was on first,His t-shirt riding up over his gut,Ron O’Neill, Jim, Dennis, were talking it upIn the field, a blue sky above themTipped with cirrus.The imagery in this excerpt appeals mostly to the reader’s sense of

Read the excerpt from a folktale.The grasshopper played his fiddle all summer long, while the busy ant stored food for the winter. "You’re no fun!” sang the grasshopper. "Why don’t you play awhile?” But when the cold weather came, Grasshopper sang a different, hungry tune. He was grateful the ant had gathered so much food and very thankful to be invited for winter supper!Which theme can be found in this excerpt?

Read the excerpt from "How I Learned English.”I watched it [the ball] closing inClean and untouched, transfixedBy its easy arc before it hitMy forehead with a thud.The word thud helps readers visualize and understand that the ball came in

Read the excerpt from a short story.When Charlie Robbins showed up at the pool for swim team tryouts, Marquise Dawson laughed out loud. "When did you learn to swim," he shouted, "yesterday?" Brent Harris laughed and high-fived Marquise. John Frederick gave them both a look and motioned for Charlie to join him at the other side of the pool. Being the new kid always had its challenges, but Charlie had moved many times and knew how to handle boys like Marquise and Brent.Who is the protagonist in this story?

Which excerpt from Act 2 of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street best reflects the idea that fear can lead people to make false accusations?

Which excerpt from Act 2 of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street best states the overall message?

How does the resolution of Act 2 of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street relate to the teleplay’s overall message?

Which excerpt from “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” best reveals that Lemon Brown has grown to trust Greg?

Read the excerpt from The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.As they suddenly start toward the house. In this brief fraction of a moment they take the first step toward performing a metamorphosis that changes people from a group into a mob. They begin to head purposefully across the street toward the house at the end. Steve stands in front of them. For a moment their fear almost turns their walk into a wild stampede but Steve's voice, loud, incisive and commanding, makes them stop.STEVEWait a minute . . . wait a minute! Let's not be a mob!The people stop as a group, seem to pause for a moment and then much more quietly and slowly start to walk across the street.

Read the excerpt from Act 2 of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. FIGURE ONEUnderstand the procedure now? Just stop a few of their machines and radios and telephones and lawn mowers . . . throw them into darkness for a few hours and then you just sit back and watch the pattern.

Read the excerpt from “How I Learned English.”I fell back,Dazed, clutching my brow,Groaning, “Oh my shin, oh my shin,”And everybody peeled away from meAnd dropped from laughter, and there we were,All of us writhing on the ground for one reasonOr another.Which phrase from the excerpt allows readers to hear what is happening in the poem?

Which detail from The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street most clearly foreshadows that the residents of Maple Street will turn on Steve?

Read the excerpt from act 1 of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. TOMMYThat was the way they prepared things for the landing. They sent four people. A mother and a father and two kids who looked just like humans . . . but they weren't.There's another silence as Steve looks toward the crowd and then toward Tommy. He wears a tight grin.Based on the stage direction, the reader should visualize Steve as

Read the stage direction from act 1 of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.The crowd picks this up again and with it their suspicions come back with a rush. The murmur becomes a loud chant filling the air with accusations and demands for action. Two of the men pass Don right up the steps. Goodman flattens himself against the screen door.What does this stage direction tell the reader about Goodman’s viewpoint?