Read the passage.Knowing that it would be unthinkably rude to laugh, but struggling to suppress the giggles that threatened to break free, Silas fixed his lips into the thinnest of lines. On stage, a bumblebee with an earnest expression continually stopped to straighten her antennae, each time picking up where she had left off and falling further and further behind the other dancers. A tulip lost his footing and went hurtling into a dandelion, and for a moment, Silas was certain a brawl would break out. The tulip and dandelion glared at each other, each refusing to break eye contact as garden gnomes twirled around them. Finally, a butterfly broke into a huge grin and stared, waving at someone in the first row. A caterpillar grabbed him by a wing and dragged him forcefully back into the dance line. That’s when Silas burst into uncontrollable laughter, but he was one of many in the crowd to do so.
Read the excerpt from the interview with E.Y. (Yip) Harburg.We thought American business was the Rock of Gibraltar. We were the prosperous nation, and nothing could stop us now. A brownstone house was forever. You gave it to your kids and they put marble fronts on it. There was a feeling of continuity. If you made it, it was there forever. Suddenly the big dream exploded. How do Harburg’s words reflect the experience of many Americans during the Great Depression?
Read the passage.Molly looked at her little brother and sighed. She forced a smile and asked, "What do you want to do today?” He stared back at her blankly. "Do you want to go to the aquarium and see the penguins and have an ice cream cone? Do you want to go to the park with the giant whale you can climb on, the one where you found the cool blue feathers? Hey! What about the museum with the big skeleton of a dinosaur that you like so much?”"Don’t care,” he responded dully.
Read the passage.Get off the bus. Walk home. Eat a snack. Walk the dog. Do homework. Every day was the same. As Jimmy was walking Socks for the third time in a single day, just to get out of the house, he thought about ways he could make his life a bit more interesting. Not that he wanted too much excitement. Kelly, a girl in his world history class, was a competitive swimmer. And not just for their school. She swam with a club in town and trained every morning for two hours before school and again for two hours after. That seemed like too much to Jimmy.
Read the excerpt from the interview with E.Y. (Yip) Harburg.When I lost my possessions, I found my creativity. I felt I was being born for the first time. So for me the world became beautiful.With the Crash, I realized that the greatest fantasy of all was business. The only realistic way of making a living was versifying. Living off your imagination.Based on the excerpt, which best describes Harburg’s view of the Great Depression?
Read the excerpt from the interview with E.Y. (Yip) Harburg.When I lost my possessions, I found my creativity. I felt I was being born for the first time. So for me the world became beautiful.With the Crash, I realized that the greatest fantasy of all was business. The only realistic way of making a living was versifying. Living off your imagination.Based on the excerpt, which best describes Harburg’s view of the Great Depression?
Read the passage.The rain came out of nowhere. It was just a few sprinkles at first. The droplets grew larger with each passing minute. Soon, there were more of them. They grew to the size of marbles. Liz quickened her step. She hadn’t planned for the rain. There were mud puddles everywhere. Mud splashed up her ankles. Mud soaked into her shoes. Mud squished between her toes. She might as well have been barefoot.
Read the passage."Can’t do it. Won’t do it. No, I refuse to do it.” These were the thoughts that went through Spencer’s mind as he trudged out to the dumpster for the tenth time that afternoon. Those fools thought they could push him around just because he was the newest person on the job. No one else had to walk down the back stairs into the cold, wet afternoon to take out the trash 10 times in one day! "Well, joke’s on them,” he thought as he tossed the bag of trash into the dumpster and kept on walking toward the bus stop instead of heading back in to finish his shift.
Read the passage.Finn skillfully and easily put together my new desk. Grace and I were unsure of what to do, but Finn—like a brother to me—read the instructions thoroughly and got to work immediately. As always, he had tools in the back of his car ready to go. When he finished, I treated him to some tasty tacos.
Read the passage.Finn skillfully and easily put together my new desk. Grace and I were unsure of what to do, but Finn—like a brother to me—read the instructions thoroughly and got to work immediately. As always, he had tools in the back of his car ready to go. When he finished, I treated him to some tasty tacos.
Which sentence is written correctly?
Read the excerpt from the song, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”They used to tell me I was building a dream, And so I followed the mob—When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear I was always there—right on the job. Which best restates the main idea of these lines?
Which lines from the song, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” conveys the image of veterans who are unable to find work?
Which of the following sentences contains a misplaced modifier?
Read the passage.This jungle presented a new challenge for Enid. Sure, she had been on many safaris before. Yes, she had spent hours unsupervised with large animals in her position as a head zookeeper. Her resume listed her qualifications. But something felt different. This day would likely not be smooth sailing. She would have to rely on her finely tuned set of survival skills, but she knew she’d succeed.
Which statement best describes the effect of the free-verse form in "Poetry"?
Read the excerpt from "Rhobert” in Cane.He is way down. Down. Mud, coming to his banty knees, almost hides them. Soon people will be looking at him and calling him a strong man. No doubt he is for one who has had rickets. Lets give it to him. Lets call him great when the water shall have been all drawn off. Lets build a monument and set it in the ooze where he goes down. A monument of hewn oak. [. . .] Lets open our throats, brother, and sing "Deep River” when he goes down. Brother, Rhobert is sinking.Lets open our throats, brother,Lets sing Deep River when he goes down.
Read the excerpt from “Birches” by Robert Frost. When I see birches bend to left and right Across the line of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay. Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen themLoaded with ice a sunny winter morning After a rain. They click upon themselves As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust— Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.Which lines describe the ice wrapping the tree branches?
Read the sentence.Drying its wings by the pool, Sarah saw a wet bee.What is the best way to revise this sentence?
Read the sentence. As president of the Student Council for two years now, I think that it is time we try to establish a better system for spending our funds. What kind of appeal is the speaker using in this sentence?
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