"A Blessing"

At what time of day do the events in "A Blessing" take place?

• sunrise

• midday

• twilight

• midnight

In "A Blessing," what have the ponies come "out for the willows" to do?

• greet visitors

• watch cars go by

• graze in the woods

• leap over the fence

In "A Blessing," which of the following represents the separation between people and animals?

• the highway

• the pasture

• the woods

• the fence

In "A Blessing," what is most likely the "blessing"?

• the spring grasses that grow in the pasture

• the light breeze that moves over the landscape

• the relationship between the speaker and his friend

• the feeling of closeness between humans and animals

Where are you most likely to find a blossom?

• in the sky

• in a garden

• inside a gymnasium

• on top of concrete wall

Which is the most likely meaning of shyly in the following sentence?

On her first day at her new school, Layla shyly asked her teacher where the water fountain was.

• loudly

• timidly

• rudely

• clearly

In which of the following situations is the person most likely to feel loneliness?

• All of Jacob's friends attended his birthday party

• Max helped his younger sister with her homework

• With her brothers gone, Ingrid enjoyed reading alone in the quiet house

• On her first day of camp, Rose sat alone, missing her parents and friends

Read these lines from "A Blessing.":

And the eyes of those two Indian ponies

Darken with kindness

They have come gladly out of the willows...

Which words in these lines make the horses seem human?

• eyes, ponies

• ponies, kindness

• kindness, gladly

• gladly, willows

In "A Blessing," what effect do the ponies have on the speaker?

• They make him feel sad

• They bring up old memories

• They make him feel alive

• They cause him to be careful

Which passage from "A Blessing" most clearly supports the effect the ponies have on the speaker?

• We step over the barbed wire into the pasture / Where they have been grazing all day, alone

• They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other. / There is no loneliness like theirs.

• I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms, / For she has walked over to me...

• Suddenly I realize / That if I stepped out of my body I would break / Into blossom