Read the excerpt from Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher."I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in the unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down -- but with a shudder even more thrilling than before -- upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge. How does this excerpt provide information about the narrator of the story?
Read the sentence.Mark Twain is a pseudonym for the writer’s legal name, Samuel L. Clemens.Based on the prefix, pseudo-, what does the word “pseudonym” mean?
Read the excerpt from Chad’s letter to his supervisor at work about receiving a raise.I do a decent job on all of my work and pay attention to detail.Which is the best revision of the underlined portion of the sentence?
Read the excerpt from “The Oval Portrait,” by Edgar Allan Poe.The rays of the numerous candles (for there were many) now fell within a niche of the room which had hitherto been thrown into deep shade by one of the bed-posts. I thus saw in vivid light a picture all unnoticed before. It was the portrait of a young girl just ripening into womanhood. I glanced at the painting hurriedly, and then closed my eyes. Why I did this was not at first apparent even to my own perception. But while my lids remained thus shut, I ran over in my mind my reason for so shutting them. It was an impulsive movement to gain time for thought?—to make sure that my vision had not deceived me—to calm and subdue my fancy for a more sober and more certain gaze.Which statement best describes the effect of the narration on the story?
Read the excerpt from a short story.The apartment house had a communal attic rarely visited by its tenants. The labeled boxes and cast-off furniture offered little intrigue, so few explored its depths. Then one rainy afternoon, I ventured there seeking solitude. Roaming beyond the beams of the lone ceiling bulb, I spied only cobwebs until I rounded the corner of a hulking armoire. Beyond this antique was unrelenting shadow, but I willed myself to advance. Then a grim bellow of thunder resounded, sending me to the floor. Prostrate on the splintered beams, my hands felt a shaft of cold steel and I could but imagine the evil article I’d encountered.What technique does the author use to build suspense in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from a short story.The cave had offered a greater challenge than the group expected. This was not a tourist’s cavern, and there was no stopping to photograph stalagmites—far from it. Each spelunker wore a headlamp, and each had gone so far as to belly crawl through a tight fissure at the urging of their guide. Riya had kept up all afternoon, ignoring her aching legs and the shadows of abundant bats. And now she awaited her turn to walk, legs splayed, across a yawning crevice. Even Old Dot had done it; she could hear the group clapping for her across the darkness. Finding footholds on the left and right, she advanced—one foot, then the other. Reaching ambitiously for jutting rock beyond her grasp, she heard a sickly crumble below and began to fall.How does the excerpt exemplify the ideas King describes in "Danse Macabre"?
Read the excerpt from “The Tell-Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allan Poe.The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. What is the effect of parallelism in this excerpt?
Read the excerpt from Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher."I had so worked upon my imagination as really to believe that about the whole mansion and domain there hung an atmosphere peculiar to themselves and their immediate vicinity -- an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn -- a pestilent and mystic vapor. Which observation can be made about the narrator?
Use the following definitions to answer the question.emanate:1. (verb) to come from, originateeminent:1. (adjective) of high standing, well-knownimmanent:1. (adjective) within something, innateimminent:1. (adjective) about to occur, pendingRead the sentence.The fire burning out of control put the neighborhood in __________ danger.Which word best completes the sentence?
Read this excerpt from chapter 2 of The Scarlet Letter.Standing on that miserable eminence, she saw again her native village, in Old England, and her paternal home; a decayed house of gray stone, with a poverty-stricken aspect, but retaining a half-obliterated shield of arms over the portal, in token of antique gentility.What is the effect of the underlined words in this excerpt?
Read the sentence.Having fallen out of the nest, the bird was insensible at first, but then flew off.To decipher the meaning of the word insensible, break the word into
Use the following definitions to answer the question.emerge:1. (verb) to come up, appearimmerge:1. (verb) to sink into, immerseWhich sentence contains correct word usage?
Use the following definitions to answer the question.emit:1. (verb) to produce, to voiceomit:1. (verb) to leave something out, to forgetWhich sentence contains correct word usage?
An e-mail to your boss asking for a raise in salary would most likely use what type of language?
Use the following definitions to answer the question.conscience:1. (noun) the sense of right and wrong2. (noun) inner thoughtsconscious:1. (adjective) aware2. (noun) area of the mind aware of surroundingsWhich sentence contains correct word usage?
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