Read the excerpt from Judith Ortiz Cofer’s poem “El Olvido.” a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls, a forgetting place where she fears you will die of loneliness and exposure. Jesús, María, y José, she says, el olvido is a dangerous thing.Which strategy would be most helpful in enhancing the reader’s comprehension of the poem?
Read the excerpt from "Like Mexicans."We had lunch: sandwiches, potato chips, and iced tea. Carolyn and her mother talked mostly about neighbors and the congregation at the Japanese Methodist Church in West Fresno. Her father, who was in khaki work clothes, excused himself with a wave that was almost a salute and went outside. I heard a truck start, a dog bark, and the truck rattle away.How does Soto build a central idea of his story in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from “How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About.”In a scenario of two dazed boxers lying flat on their backs, slowly regaining consciousness, the winner of World War III would be that country which could stand on its feet first (and so go on to win World War VI). Therefore, the pentagon’s priority was to provide scientists with a way to rebuild the country as fast as possible, unimpeded by unnecessary restrictions.Which type of rhetoric is used most in this excerpt to convince readers of the author’s point of view?
Read the excerpt from Gary Soto’s short story "Like Mexicans.”My grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in my early teens. For the bad advice, she said that I should become a barber because they made good money and listened to the radio all day. “Honey, they don’t work como burros,” she would say every time I visited her. She made the sound of donkeys braying. “Like that, honey!” For the good advice, she said that I should marry a Mexican girl. “No Okies, hijo”—she would say— “Look, my son. He marry one and they fight every day about I don’t know what and I don’t know what.” For her, everyone who wasn’t Mexican, black, or Asian were Okies. The French were Okies, the Italians in suits were Okies. . . . she lectured me on the virtues of the Mexican girl.The complex narrative structure used in the excerpt is an example of
Read the excerpt from Julia Ortiz Cofer’s poem "El Olvido."It is dangerousto spurn the clothes you were born to wearfor the sake of fashion; dangerousto use weapons and sharp instrumentsyou are not familiar with; dangerousto disdain the plaster saintsbefore which your mother kneelspraying with embarrassing fervorthat you survive in the place you have chosen to live:The items listed in this excerpt symbolize
Read the excerpt from Gary Soto’s story "Like Mexicans."My grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in my early teens. For the bad advice, she said that I should become a barber because they made good money and listened to the radio all day. “Honey, they don’t work como burros,” she would say every time I visited her. She made the sound of donkeys braying. “Like that, honey!” For the good advice, she said that I should marry a Mexican girl. “No Okies, hijo”—she would say— “Look, my son. He marry one and they fight every day about I don’t know what and I don’t know what.” For her, everyone who wasn’t Mexican, black, or Asian were Okies. The French were Okies, the Italians in suits were Okies. . . . she lectured me on the virtues of the Mexican girl.What inference can be made about the grandmother’s point of view in this excerpt?
Read the excerpt from "Like Mexicans."We had lunch: sandwiches, potato chips, and iced tea. Carolyn and her mother talked mostly about neighbors and the congregation at the Japanese Methodist Church in West Fresno. Her father, who was in khaki work clothes, excused himself with a wave that was almost a salute and went outside. I heard a truck start, a dog bark, and the truck rattle away.How does Soto build a central idea of his story in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About."Because most cities would no longer exist, messages would have to be broken up into pieces, scattered throughout the system, moved around cities that no longer existed, and then reassembled at the destination. ARPA combined these ideas with an existing system to create what is now called e-mail.Which reading strategy would most help in comprehending the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from Gary Soto’s story "Like Mexicans."My grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in my early teens. For the bad advice, she said that I should become a barber because they made good money and listened to the radio all day. “Honey, they don’t work como burros,” she would say every time I visited her. She made the sound of donkeys braying. “Like that, honey!” For the good advice, she said that I should marry a Mexican girl. “No Okies, hijo”—she would say— “Look, my son. He marry one and they fight every day about I don’t know what and I don’t know what.” For her, everyone who wasn’t Mexican, black, or Asian were Okies. The French were Okies, the Italians in suits were Okies. . . . she lectured me on the virtues of the Mexican girl.What inference can be made about the grandmother’s point of view in this excerpt?
Read the excerpt from Rudolfo Anaya’s essay “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”Tortillas and poetry. They go hand in hand. Books nourish the spirit, bread nourishes our bodies. Our distinct cultures nourish each one of us, and as we know more and more about the art and literature of the different cultures, we become freer and freer. . . . I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to sample different ethnic foods, the breads of many many groups; just as many of us enjoy sampling books from different areas of the world. I travel to foreign countries, and I know more about myself as I learn more about my fellow human beings. Censorship imposes itself in my path of knowledge, and that activity can be justified by no one.Which phrase from the excerpt uses formal English?
Read the excerpt from Gary Soto’s short story "Like Mexicans.”My grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in my early teens. For the bad advice, she said that I should become a barber because they made good money and listened to the radio all day. “Honey, they don’t work como burros,” she would say every time I visited her. She made the sound of donkeys braying. “Like that, honey!” For the good advice, she said that I should marry a Mexican girl. “No Okies, hijo”—she would say— “Look, my son. He marry one and they fight every day about I don’t know what and I don’t know what.” For her, everyone who wasn’t Mexican, black, or Asian were Okies. The French were Okies, the Italians in suits were Okies. . . . she lectured me on the virtues of the Mexican girl.The complex narrative structure used in the excerpt is an example of
Read the excerpt from Julia Ortiz Cofer’s poem "El Olvido."It is dangerousto spurn the clothes you were born to wearfor the sake of fashion; dangerousto use weapons and sharp instrumentsyou are not familiar with; dangerousto disdain the plaster saintsbefore which your mother kneelspraying with embarrassing fervorthat you survive in the place you have chosen to live:The items listed in this excerpt symbolize
Which best summarizes one central idea of the passage from "Mother Tongue"?
Read the excerpt from “How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About.”In a scenario of two dazed boxers lying flat on their backs, slowly regaining consciousness, the winner of World War III would be that country which could stand on its feet first (and so go on to win World War VI). Therefore, the pentagon’s priority was to provide scientists with a way to rebuild the country as fast as possible, unimpeded by unnecessary restrictions.Which type of rhetoric is used most in this excerpt to convince readers of the author’s point of view?
What best summarizes the central idea of the passage from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About"?
Which best summarizes one central idea of the passage from "Mother Tongue"?
Read the excerpt from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About."Because most cities would no longer exist, messages would have to be broken up into pieces, scattered throughout the system, moved around cities that no longer existed, and then reassembled at the destination. ARPA combined these ideas with an existing system to create what is now called e-mail.Which reading strategy would most help in comprehending the excerpt?
Look at the diagram.This diagram is best used for helping a reader

Read the excerpt from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About."Tanks and submarines were easily simulated, since looking through goggles wasn’t very much different from looking through a pair of binoculars or a periscope. Since the first head-mounted display was built for the Pentagon in 1968, primitive versions of virtual reality have since proliferated to video arcades around the country.Which information from the excerpt best supports the inference that certain video games resulted from issues related to national security?
Read the excerpt from “Like Mexicans.”We talk for an hour and had apple pie and coffee, slowly. Finally, we got up with Carolyn taking my hand. Slightly embarrassed, I tried to pull away but her grip held me. I let her have her way as she led me down the hallway with her mother right behind me. . . . Carolyn waved again. I looked, back, waving. . . . Her people were like Mexicans, only different.Which best explains how Soto’s text structure helps establish his voice in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.Which best describes the language in this excerpt?
Read the excerpt from “First Generation” of Dreaming in Cuban.She considers the vagaries of sports, the happenstance of El Líder, a star pitcher in his youth, narrowly missing a baseball career in America. His wicked curveball attracted the major league scouts, and the Washington Senators were interested in signing him but changed their minds. Frustrated, El Líder went home, rested his pitching arm, and started a revolution in the mountains.Read the excerpt from “Like Mexicans.”We talked for an hour and had apple pie and coffee, slowly. Finally, we got up with Carolyn taking my hand. Slightly embarrassed, I tried to pull away but her grip held me. I let her have her way as she led me down the hallway with her mother right behind me. . . . Carolyn waved again. I looked, back, waving. . . . Her people were like Mexicans, only different.Which best states how the structures of the excerpts are similar?
Read the excerpt from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About."Tanks and submarines were easily simulated, since looking through goggles wasn’t very much different from looking through a pair of binoculars or a periscope. Since the first head-mounted display was built for the Pentagon in 1968, primitive versions of virtual reality have since proliferated to video arcades around the country.Which information from the excerpt best supports the inference that certain video games resulted from issues related to national security?
Read the excerpt from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”I do not believe we should have to leave out the crucial elements of our language and culture to contribute to American literature, but, unfortunately, this is a conclusion I am forced to reach. I have been writing for a quarter century, and have been a published author for eighteen years. As a writer, I was part of the Chicano Movement which created a new literature in this country. Which type of rhetoric is used most in the excerpt to convince readers that Anaya’s conclusion is accurate?
What best summarizes the central idea of the passage from "Like Mexicans"?
Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue." And sure enough, the following week there we were in front of this astonished stockbroker, and I was sitting there red-faced and quiet, and my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting at his boss in her impeccable broken English.What can be inferred from the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from “Like Mexicans.”We talk for an hour and had apple pie and coffee, slowly. Finally, we got up with Carolyn taking my hand. Slightly embarrassed, I tried to pull away but her grip held me. I let her have her way as she led me down the hallway with her mother right behind me. . . . Carolyn waved again. I looked, back, waving. . . . Her people were like Mexicans, only different.Which best explains how Soto’s text structure helps establish his voice in the excerpt?
What best summarizes the central idea of the passage from "Like Mexicans"?
Read the excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds."The priest stared down at his scuffed brown loafers and the worn hem of his cassock. “For a Christian burial it was necessary.”His voice was distant, and Leon thought that his blue eyes looked tired.“It's O.K., Father, we just want him to have plenty of water.”The priest sank down into the green chair and picked up a glossy missionary magazine. He turned the colored pages full of lepers and pagans without looking at them.“You know I can't do that, Leon. There should have been the Last Rites and a funeral Mass at the very least.”Leon put on his green cap and pulled the flaps down over his ears. “It's getting late, Father. I've got to go.”Which statement best describes the thematic significance of this dialogue?
Read the excerpt from Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue.”I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect.Which word best describes Tan’s language in this excerpt?
What best summarizes the central idea of the passage from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About"?
Read the historical fact to make a text to world connection. The Cold War (1947-1991) was fought to contain the spread of communism and deter nuclear attack; subsequently it created a stockpiling of arms and munitions.Then, read the excerpt from Michio Kaku’s book Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century.There was also a sense of urgency. The Pentagon was worried that the shattered remains of the Soviet Union might be rebuilt before the United States. Following a nuclear war, there would be a race to see who could rebuild their country first. In a scenario of two dazed boxers lying flat on their backs, slowly regaining consciousness, the winner of World War III would be that country which could stand on its feet first (and so go on to win World War IV). Therefore, the Pentagon’s priority was to provide scientists with a way to rebuild the country as fast as possible, unimpeded by unnecessary restrictions.Which detail from the excerpt of Michio Kaku’s book provides the most cultural context about the Cold War?
Read the excerpt from Rudolfo Anaya’s essay “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”Tortillas and poetry. They go hand in hand. Books nourish the spirit, bread nourishes our bodies. Our distinct cultures nourish each one of us, and as we know more and more about the art and literature of the different cultures, we become freer and freer. . . . I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to sample different ethnic foods, the breads of many many groups; just as many of us enjoy sampling books from different areas of the world. I travel to foreign countries, and I know more about myself as I learn more about my fellow human beings. Censorship imposes itself in my path of knowledge, and that activity can be justified by no one.Which choice best describes the purpose of this text?
Read the excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds."Before they wrapped the old man, Leon took a piece of string out of his pocket and tied a small gray feather in the old man's long white hair. Ken gave him the paint. Across the brown wrinkled forehead he drew a streak of white and along the high cheekbones he drew a strip of blue paint. He paused and watched Ken throw pinches of corn meal and pollen into the wind that fluttered the small gray feather. Then Leon painted with yellow under the old man's broad nose, and finally, when he had painted green across the chin, he smiled.The actions of Leon and Ken indicate that
Read the excerpt from Judith Ortiz Cofer’s poem “El Olvido.” a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls, a forgetting place where she fears you will die of loneliness and exposure. Jesús, María, y José, she says, el olvido is a dangerous thing.Which strategy would be most helpful in enhancing the reader’s comprehension of the poem?
Read the excerpt from “First Generation” of Dreaming in Cuban.She considers the vagaries of sports, the happenstance of El Líder, a star pitcher in his youth, narrowly missing a baseball career in America. His wicked curveball attracted the major league scouts, and the Washington Senators were interested in signing him but changed their minds. Frustrated, El Líder went home, rested his pitching arm, and started a revolution in the mountains.Read the excerpt from “Like Mexicans.”We talked for an hour and had apple pie and coffee, slowly. Finally, we got up with Carolyn taking my hand. Slightly embarrassed, I tried to pull away but her grip held me. I let her have her way as she led me down the hallway with her mother right behind me. . . . Carolyn waved again. I looked, back, waving. . . . Her people were like Mexicans, only different.Which best states how the structures of the excerpts are similar?
Read the sentence from a student’s critical analysis essay.In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson talks about independence through his use of big words and fancy argument skills.Which is the best revision to the sentence?
Read the historical fact to make a text to world connection. The Cold War (1947-1991) was fought to contain the spread of communism and deter nuclear attack; subsequently it created a stockpiling of arms and munitions.Then, read the excerpt from Michio Kaku’s book Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century.There was also a sense of urgency. The Pentagon was worried that the shattered remains of the Soviet Union might be rebuilt before the United States. Following a nuclear war, there would be a race to see who could rebuild their country first. In a scenario of two dazed boxers lying flat on their backs, slowly regaining consciousness, the winner of World War III would be that country which could stand on its feet first (and so go on to win World War IV). Therefore, the Pentagon’s priority was to provide scientists with a way to rebuild the country as fast as possible, unimpeded by unnecessary restrictions.Which detail from the excerpt of Michio Kaku’s book provides the most cultural context about the Cold War?
Read the excerpt from “Speaking Arabic.”At a neighborhood fair in Texas, somewhere between the German Oom-pah Sausage Stand and the Mexican Gorditas booth, I overheard a young man say to his friend, “I wish I had a heritage. Sometimes I feel—so lonely for one.” And the tall American trees were dangling their thick branches right down over his head.Which best explains how Nye’s text structure helps establish her voice in the excerpt?
Read this excerpt from Rudolfo Anaya’s essay “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”Tortillas and poetry. They go hand in hand. Books nourish the spirit, bread nourishes our bodies. Our distinct cultures nourish each one of us, and as we know more and more about the art and literature of the different cultures, we become freer and freer. . . . I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to sample different ethnic foods, the breads of many many groups; just as many of us enjoy sampling books from different areas of the world. I travel to foreign countries, and I know more about myself as I learn more about my fellow human beings. Censorship imposes itself in my path of knowledge, and that activity can be justified by no one. Which of these changes would make this excerpt more argumentative?
Read the excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds.""What did you say? I didn't hear you.""I said that I had been thinking about something.""About what?”"About the priest sprinkling holy water for Grandpa. So he won't be so thirsty."What does this dialogue reveal about Louise?
Which excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" contains a simile?
Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."Just last week, I was walking down the street with my mother, and I again found myself conscious of the English I was using, the English I do use with her. We were talking about the price of new and used furniture and I heard myself saying this: “Not waste money that way.” My husband was with us as well, and he didn’t notice any switch in my English. And then I realized why. It’s because over the twenty years we’ve been together I’ve often used that same kind of English with him, and sometimes he even uses it with me. It has become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk, the language I grew up with. Which best summarizes the central idea of the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue." And sure enough, the following week there we were in front of this astonished stockbroker, and I was sitting there red-faced and quiet, and my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting at his boss in her impeccable broken English.Which information from the excerpt best supports the inference that all forms of English can be effective forms of communication?
Which phrase best defines the denotative meaning of a word?
Read the excerpt from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”In other cases, the censoring has been direct and brutal. On February 28, 1981 the morning newspaper carried a story about the burning of my novel, Bless Me, Ultima. The book was banned from high school classes in Bloomfield, New Mexico, and a school board member was quoted as saying: “We took the books out and personally saw that they were burned.”Which best describes how Anaya effectively uses rhetorical appeal to convince readers that censorship is a tool of the powerful?
Which choice best defines a word’s connotative meaning?
Read the excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story “The Man to Send Rain Clouds.”Leon watched him climb the hill, and when he had disappeared within the tall, thick walls, Leon turned to look up at the high blue mountains in the deep snow that reflected a faint red light from the west. He felt good because it was finished, and he was happy about the sprinkling of the holy water; now the old man could send them big thunderclouds for sure. What does the holy water symbolize for Leon?
Read the quote from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds."The priest stared down at his scuffed brown loafers and the worn hem of his cassock. "For a Christian burial it was necessary."His voice was distant, and Leon thought that his blue eyes looked tired."It's O.K., Father, we just want him to have plenty of water."The priest sank down into the green chair and picked up a glossy missionary magazine. He turned the colored pages full of lepers and pagans without looking at them."You know I can't do that, Leon. There should have been the Last Rites and a funeral Mass at the very least."Based on this excerpt, what can be inferred about Father Paul’s feelings?
Read the excerpt from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”My friend had concluded that if he took his language and culture out of his poetry, he stood a better chance of receiving a fellowship. He took out his native language, the poetic patois of our reality, the rich mixture of Spanish, English, pachuco and street talk which we know so well. In other words, he took the tortillas out of his poetry, which is to say he took the soul out of his poetry. Which best explains how Anaya’s tone establishes his voice in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."Those tests were constructed around items like fill-in-the-blank sentence completion, such as “Even though Tom was ______, Mary thought he was _____.” And the correct answer always seemed to be the most bland combinations of thoughts, for example, “Even though Tom was foolish, Mary thought he was ridiculous.” Well, according to my mother, there were very few limitations as to what Tom could have been and what Mary might have thought of him. So I never did well on tests like that. What can be inferred from the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.If it were up to me, I’d record other things. Like the time there was a freak hailstorm in the Congo and the women took it as a sign that they should rule . . . Why don’t I know anything about them? Who chooses what we should know or what’s important? I know I have to decide these things for myself. Most of what I’ve learned that’s important I’ve learned on my own, or from my grandmother.What does the excerpt reveal about Cristina Garcia?
Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."Yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent. Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It’s my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world. How does Tan build a central idea of her story in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”I do not believe we should have to leave out the crucial elements of our language and culture to contribute to American literature, but, unfortunately, this is a conclusion I am forced to reach. I have been writing for a quarter century, and have been a published author for eighteen years. As a writer, I was part of the Chicano Movement which created a new literature in this country. Which best describes how Anaya effectively uses rhetoric in the excerpt to convince readers that his conclusion is justified?
Read the excerpt from Frederick Douglass’s speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.What is one way that Douglass achieves his purpose of persuading the reader to see his point of view?
Read the two excerpts about Jorge del Pino from Dreaming in Cuban.Excerpt 1: My grandfather came running and said, “Celia, let the girl go. She belongs with Lourdes.” Excerpt 2: “Pilar doesn’t hate you, hija. She just hasn’t learned to love you yet.”Which statement best synthesizes the ideas in these two excerpts?
Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.My mother says that Abuela Celia’s had plenty of chances to leave Cuba but that she’s stubborn and got her head turned around by El Líder. Mom says “Communist” the way some people says “cancer,” low and fierce.Which element from this excerpt best characterizes Garcia’s story as one of magic realism?
Which strategy would be least useful for helping students monitor comprehension of a text as they are reading?
Students who have read a section of a text and do not understand it should
Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."Just last week, I was walking down the street with my mother, and I again found myself conscious of the English I was using, the English I do use with her. We were talking about the price of new and used furniture and I heard myself saying this: “Not waste money that way.” My husband was with us as well, and he didn’t notice any switch in my English. And then I realized why. It’s because over the twenty years we’ve been together I’ve often used that same kind of English with him, and sometimes he even uses it with me. It has become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk, the language I grew up with. Which best summarizes the central idea of the excerpt?
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