"Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros

In the story, Rachel thinks of herself as being ages ten, nine, eight, and so on. What does this suggest to the reader about Rachel?

• She makes excuses for her poor behavior

• She is the product of everything that has happened to her throughout her years.

• She distracts herself when she feels unhappy

• She knows why birthdays are such joyful occasions.

According to Rachel, “the part of you that’s five” sometimes needs to

• feel smart

• sit on your mama’s lap because they are scared

• feel sad and cry

• suck your thumb

In paragraph 5, why does Rachel say that she wishes she was “one hundred and two instead of eleven”?

• She does not want to go to school anymore.

• She wants to be a teacher when she grows up

• She is not allowed to do things that adults can do.

• She wishes she had more life experience.

Rachel compares “growing old” to

• a tin Band-Aid box

• a red sweater

• a big red mountain

• rings inside a tree trunk

Rachel’s words in her response to Mrs. Price asking about the sweater contain an ellipsis (. . .). What is the author probably trying to show?

• Rachel has some doubt about whether the sweater is hers.

• Rachel is unable to express herself to Mrs. Price.

• Rachel is waiting for someone to claim the sweater

• Rachel is remembering something that happened long ago.

Read the sentence from the text below.

"But when the sick feeling goes away and I open my eyes, the red sweater’s still sitting there like a big red mountain."

What does Rachel most likely mean by this statement?

• The sweater is too large for her to wear

• All of her thoughts focus on how special the sweater is to her.

• The situation with the sweater makes her feel small and powerless

• She sees the situation with the sweater as an exciting challenge

In the text, Rachel starts to cry because she is overwhelmed by feelings of

• embarrassment.

• anger.

• sadness.

• joy.

For Rachel, the worst part of her day is when

• Mrs. Price puts the sweater on her desk.

• Mrs. Price makes her wear the sweater.

• The bell rings for lunch.

• Mrs. Price pretends like everything is okay

What effect do sensory details (imagery) and figurative language have on the story?

• They add suspense to the story

• They help the reader understand Rachel’s feelings

• They warn the reader not to believe everything Rachel says.

• They give the story a lighthearted and casual tone.

Which of the following lines expresses the story’s irony?

• “And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t.” (paragraph 1)

• “I even move my chair a little to the right.” (paragraph 13)

• “... it’s like hanging all over the edge like a waterfall, but I don’t care.” (paragraph 13)

• “... I put one arm through one sleeve of the sweater that smells like cottage cheese ...” (paragraph 17)