Figurative Language

Read the following from paragraph 8.

"The ball drops to the ground at the boy’s feet. It lies there stunned, quivering, containing flight beneath its smooth skin."

Why does the author use personification in this quotation?

• The baseball game symbolizes the love of the family.

• The description mimics the boy’s disappointment.

• The author is comparing the ball to a bird.

• The author is showing the distance the ball has traveled.

"16 “I still feel the same way I did when I was a little boy,” he said. “The joy it gave me when I was playing with my friends, pretending to be a Yankee, or pretending with my brother that we were broadcasting the games." from A Crystal-Clear Love Affair

The author includes the quotation in paragraph 16 primarily to substantiate the opinion that —

• renovations made to Yankee Stadium in the 1970s were necessary

• baseball can no longer legitimately be considered the national pastime

• Crystal has matured since his first visit to Yankee Stadium

• Yankee Stadium remains a magical place even after major changes

" 2 When the road got tired of winding, and I got tired of walking, we were always at the same place. The huge boxwood bushes stood tall and graceful, as though they were soldiers, guarding a humble little shack, the closest place to heaven—my home. " From Back Home

The figurative language in paragraph 2 suggests that for the narrator the boxwood bushes are a symbol of —

• hope

• isolation

• independence

• security

" 11 The mountain lion was not running away. His rear end was lowered, his gaze intent. I was reminded of what my dad had said: Ever see a cat jump on a string? That’s what the cougar looked like to me now, a cat getting ready to pounce.

12 There were no sticks nearby. My rod was handy but so thin I doubted it would be intimidating. What was it Dad said? A bite-sized boy like you could make a tasty meal.

13 My fear was so strong and real I was sick with it. Stand up big and tall, my father had instructed. What you want is for that cougar to see you as a meal that’s going to cost him, put up a real fight." From Emory's Gift

From paragraphs 11 through 13, what can the reader infer about the narrator’s relationship with his father?

• The narrator wishes that he could be more like his father.

• The narrator has an instinctive respect for his father.

• The narrator feels conflicted about his father.

• The narrator wants to escape his father’s influence.

Read this sentence from paragraph 1.

"She told him she liked it well enough, though later, alone, she’d wept, thinking of her grandmother, who had died earlier in the year, and of the letter, forever hovering somewhere between India and America, containing the good name she’d chosen for Gogol. "

The author uses figurative language in this sentence to reveal that —

• the letter failed to reach Ashima because it was lost in the mail

• Ashima was too upset to read the letter when it finally arrived

• the letter had expressed the last wish of Ashima’s grandmother

• Ashima’s grandmother had hoped that the letter would unite the two cultures

"3 All these years later, after making more than twenty books of my own, I still feel the miraculous power in language, whether written or spoken, the same power I felt when I sang a train into motion and I learned the name of snake and Sandra taught me the alphabet on the screened porch of our farmhouse in Memphis. How extraordinary, that a few sounds or a few squiggles can rouse up people and voices and landscapes in our minds! Like sunshine, like the urgency of spring, like bread, language is so familiar that we easily forget what an amazing gift it is. " From Hunger for Books

The author uses similes at the end of paragraph 3 to highlight —

• that common things can be taken for granted

• he various ways that language affects people

• the impact of childhood memories on learning

• how children’s books affected the author

Read this sentence from paragraph 2 of “Hunger for Books.”

"At that moment, standing in the children’s room of the library in Ravenna, Ohio, I realized that if there were still people writing such fresh and fragrant books, then maybe one day I could write some as well."

Which quotation from “The Low-Tech Appeal of Little Free Libraries” expresses a similar sentiment?

• When he saw the people of his community gathering around it like a neighborhood water cooler, exchanging conversation as well as books, he knew he wanted to take his simple idea farther.

• But as DooSun You scrolled through the results, an appealingly anti-tech concept popped up.

• “Little Free Libraries create neighborhood heroes,” says Bol.

• When you open the door, serendipity (and your neighbors’ taste) dictates what you’ll find.

"11 The demon iPad beckoned silently from the picnic table: What harm could it be to give the e-mail a quick check? But once that alluring touch screen lights up, who can resist lingering? " From How a Demon iPad Stole My Summer Vacation

In paragraph 11, the author uses personification to show that the computer —

• has its own vulnerabilities

• deserves his sympathy

• is capable of evil

• has the power to tempt him

"2 Not to brag about it, but as a small local newspaper reporter, the first time I saw an American apple was in an illustrated foreign magazine in our internal reference room. It looked like a supermarket with piles of apples neatly arranged, a pile of red apples, then a pile of green apples, then a pile of red apples again, and then another pile of green apples, and so on, stretched out like a dragon. Especially the red apples, they looked so red, so surprisingly red, that there wasn’t even a hint of green on them. " From American Apple

The author uses a simile to describe the apples in paragraph 2 to convey —

• their mythic appeal

• the advertising techniques used in foreign magazines

• their universal symbolism

• the contrast between Chinese and foreign supermarkets

Which is an example of a simile?

• His room was a hurricane of a mess.
• His room looked as if a hurricane came  through.
• A hurricane! AHHH!
• The hurricane screamed through the town. 

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