Read the excerpt from "The Willow-Wren and the Bear.”When the time came for the war to begin, the willow-wren sent out spies to discover who was the enemy's commander-in-chief. The gnat, who was the most crafty, flew into the forest where the enemy was assembled, and hid herself beneath a leaf of the tree where the password was to be announced. There stood the bear, and he called the fox before him and said: 'Fox, you are the most cunning of all animals, you shall be general and lead us.' 'Good,' said the fox, 'but what signal shall we agree upon?' No one knew that, so the fox said: 'I have a fine long bushy tail, which almost looks like a plume of red feathers. When I lift my tail up quite high, all is going well, and you must charge; but if I let it hang down, run away as fast as you can.' When the gnat had heard that, she flew away again, and revealed everything, down to the minutest detail, to the willow-wren. When day broke, and the battle was to begin, all the four-footed animals came running up with such a noise that the earth trembled. The willow-wren with his army also came flying through the air with such a humming, and whirring, and swarming that every one was uneasy and afraid, and on both sides they advanced against each other. But the willow-wren sent down the hornet, with orders to settle beneath the fox's tail, and sting with all his might. When the fox felt the first string, he started so that he lifted one leg, from pain, but he bore it, and still kept his tail high in the air; at the second sting, he was forced to put it down for a moment; at the third, he could hold out no longer, screamed, and put his tail between his legs. When the animals saw that, they thought all was lost, and began to flee, each into his hole, and the birds had won the battle.
Read the excerpt from "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.”"Ay, marry, will I join with you all," quoth the Tinker, "for I love a merry life, and I love thee, good master, though thou didst thwack my ribs and cheat me into the bargain. Fain am I to own thou art both a stouter and a slyer man than I; so I will obey thee and be thine own true servant."So all turned their steps to the forest depths, where the Tinker was to live henceforth.
Read the passage from "The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor.”In the times of the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid there lived in Bagdad a poor porter named Hindbad, who on a very hot day was sent to carry a heavy load from one end of the city to the other. Before he had accomplished half the distance he was so tired that, finding himself in a quiet street where the pavement was sprinkled with rose water, and a cool breeze was blowing, he set his burden upon the ground, and sat down to rest in the shade of a grand house. Very soon he decided that he could not have chosen a pleasanter place; a delicious perfume of aloes wood and pastilles came from the open windows and mingled with the scent of the rose water which steamed up from the hot pavement. Within the palace he heard some music, as of many instruments cunningly played, and the melodious warble of nightingales and other birds, and by this, and the appetizing smell of many dainty dishes of which he presently became aware, he judged that feasting and merry making were going on. He wondered who lived in this magnificent house which he had never seen before, the street in which it stood being one which he seldom had occasion to pass.
Read the passage from "The Goatherd and the Wild Goats."A goatherd, driving his flock from their pasture at eventide, found some Wild Goats mingled among them, and shut them up together with his own for the night.The next day it snowed very hard, so that he could not take the herd to their usual feeding places, but was obliged to keep them in the fold.He gave his own goats just sufficient food to keep them alive, but fed the strangers more abundantly in the hope of enticing them to stay with him and of making them his own.When the thaw set in, he led them all out to feed, and the Wild Goats scampered away as fast as they could to the mountains.The Goatherd scolded them for their ingratitude in leaving him, when during the storm he had taken more care of them than of his own herd.One of them, turning about, said to him: "That is the very reason why we are so cautious; for if you yesterday treated us better than the Goats you have had so long, it is plain also that if others came after us, you would in the same manner prefer them to ourselves.”
Read the excerpt from "The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean.”The bean, who had prudently stayed behind on the shore, could not but laugh at the event, was unable to stop, and laughed so heartily that she burst. It would have been all over with her, likewise, if, by good fortune, a tailor who was travelling in search of work had not sat down to rest by the brook.As he had a compassionate heart he pulled out his needle and thread, and sewed her together. The bean thanked him most prettily, but as the tailor used black thread, all beans since then have a black seam.
Which details from the text best support the central idea? Select two options.
Read the excerpt from "The Goatherd and the Wild Goats.”A goatherd, driving his flock from their pasture at eventide, found some Wild Goats mingled among them, and shut them up together with his own for the night.The next day it snowed very hard, so that he could not take the herd to their usual feeding places, but was obliged to keep them in the fold.He gave his own goats just sufficient food to keep them alive, but fed the strangers more abundantly in the hope of enticing them to stay with him and of making them his own.When the thaw set in, he led them all out to feed, and the Wild Goats scampered away as fast as they could to the mountains.The Goatherd scolded them for their ingratitude in leaving him, when during the storm he had taken more care of them than of his own herd.One of them, turning about, said to him: "That is the very reason why we are so cautious; for if you yesterday treated us better than the Goats you have had so long, it is plain also that if others came after us, you would in the same manner prefer them to ourselves.”
Read the excerpt from "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood where a tinker approaches Robin Hood with a warrant for his arrest.""There stands a tinker," quoth Robin, "that would fain take me to Nottingham, there to hang upon the gallows tree.""Then shall he himself hang forthwith," cried Little John, and he and the others made at the Tinker, to seize him."Nay, touch him not," said Robin, "for a right stout man is he. A metal man he is by trade, and a mettled man by nature; moreover, he doth sing a lovely ballad. Say, good fellow, wilt thou join my merry men all? Three suits of Lincoln green shalt thou have a year, besides forty marks in fee; thou shalt share all with us and lead a right merry life in the greenwood; for cares have we not, and misfortune cometh not upon us within the sweet shades of Sherwood, where we shoot the dun deer and feed upon venison and sweet oaten cakes, and curds and honey. Wilt thou come with me?"
Read the excerpt from "The Goatherd and the Wild Goats.”He gave his own goats just sufficient food to keep them alive, but fed the strangers more abundantly in the hope of enticing them to stay with him and of making them his own.When the thaw set in, he led them all out to feed, and the Wild Goats scampered away as fast as they could to the mountains.The Goatherd scolded them for their ingratitude in leaving him, when during the storm he had taken more care of them than of his own herd.One of them, turning about, said to him: "That is the very reason why we are so cautious; for if you yesterday treated us better than the Goats you have had so long, it is plain also that if others came after us, you would in the same manner prefer them to ourselves.”
Read the passage from "The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor.”[The porter] followed the servant into a vast room, where a great company was seated round a table covered with all sorts of delicacies. In the place of honor sat a tall, grave man, whose long white beard gave him a venerable air. Behind his chair stood a crowd of attendants eager to minister to his wants. This was the famous Sindbad himself. The porter, more than ever alarmed at the sight of so much magnificence, tremblingly saluted the noble company. Sindbad, making a sign to him to approach, caused him to be seated at his right hand, and himself heaped choice morsels upon his plate, and poured out for him a draught of excellent wine, and presently, when the banquet drew to a close, spoke to him familiarly, asking his name and occupation.
Read the passage from "The Willow-Wren and the Bear."When the fox felt the first sting, he started so that he lifted one leg, from pain, but he bore it, and still kept his tail high in the air; at the second sting, he was forced to put it down for a moment; at the third, he could hold out no longer, screamed, and put his tail between his legs. When the animals saw that, they thought all was lost, and began to flee, each into his hole, and the birds had won the battle.Then the King and Queen flew home to their children and cried: "Children, rejoice, eat and drink to your heart's content, we have won the battle!” But the young wrens said: "We will not eat yet, the bear must come to the nest, and beg for pardon and say that we are honourable children, before we will do that.” Then the willow-wren flew to the bear's hole and cried: "Growler, you are to come to the nest to my children, and beg their pardon, or else every rib of your body shall be broken.” So the bear crept thither in the greatest fear, and begged their pardon. And now at last the young wrens were satisfied, and sat down together and ate and drank, and made merry till quite late into the night.
Which aspects of a story best help the reader understand the author’s purpose? Select three options.
How does the dialogue develop the characters in this paragraph? Select two options.
How does this paragraph help develop the narrative? Select three options.
Read the passage.Amira is punctilious about where everything in her room should go, and can't stand it when anything is out of place. Her friend Luz is the exact opposite, leaving a trail of stray pens, sticky notes, and unmatched gym socks wherever she goes.What does the word punctilious most likely suggest? Select two options.
Read the sentence.Andrea's opponent was honest and straightforward, but Andrea used her guile to win the contest.What type of context clue in the sentence can be used to determine the meaning of guile?
Read the excerpt from As You Like It by William Shakespeare.All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances.What do Shakespeare's metaphors most likely mean?
Nova revised her verb phrase, "applied for the scholarship" to "rigorously pursued the scholarship," to include vivid imagery.How did Nova’s revision impact her writing?
Read the excerpt from "How the Grimm Brothers Saved the Fairy Tale."What compelled the Grimms to concentrate on old German epics, tales, and literature was a belief that the most natural and pure forms of culture—those which held the community together—were linguistic and based in history. According to them, modern literature, even though it might be remarkably rich, was artificial and thus could not express the genuine essence of Volk culture that emanated naturally from experience and bound the people together. Therefore, all their efforts went toward uncovering stories from the past.
Read the excerpt from "How the Grimm Brothers Saved the Fairy Tale."All of the tales in the first edition bear the marks of their diverse storytellers who believed in the magic, superstitions, and miraculous transformations of the tales. It may be difficult for us to understand why this is the case, but for the storytellers and writers of these tales, the stories contained truths about the living conditions of their times. The tales in the first edition were collected not from peasants, as is commonly believed, but mainly from literate people whom the Grimms came to know quite well. Evidence shows that these people often obtained their tales from illiterate or anonymous informants. Even if they did not know their informants, the Grimms came to trust almost everyone who contributed to their collection. It is this mutual trust that marks the tales as something special and endows them with a certain humanity, what Germans call Menschlichkeit, and it is this mutual trust among folklorists in the nineteenth century that marks it as the golden age of folk and fairy tales. The tales in the first edition set a certain standard that collectors began to follow and still follow even today.
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