8th Grade ELA

Read the excerpt from the poem below.

What could be sillier than for a cow

To try to cross the ocean in a scow?

With such a captain, to my way of thinking,

The wretched vessel would be sure of sinking!

What does the metaphor in the lines suggest?

Some Words Inside of Words

(for children and others)

by Richard Wilbur

The roc’s a huge, bold, hungry bird who’s able

To eat an elephant. (So says the fable.)

No farmer likes to see one feasting cockily

Right in the middle of his field of broccoli.

At heart, ambassadors are always sad.

Why? Because world affairs are always bad,

So that they’re always having to express

“Regret,” and “grave concern,” and “deep distress.”

The barnacle is found in salty seas,

Clinging to rocks in crusty colonies;

And salt, which chemists call NaCl,

Is found inside the barnacle as well.

What could be sillier than for a cow

To try to cross the ocean in a scow?

With such a captain, to my way of thinking,

The wretched vessel would be sure of sinking!

No one should be entrusted with a rudder

Who has two horns and four hooves and an udder.

Whether the living room is full of trout

And eels and salamanders, and if there’s

A snapping turtle paddling up the stairs.

If that’s what’s going on, your house (beyond

A doubt) is at the bottom of a pond.

Some snakes are nice to handle, but an asp

Is not the kind to take within your grasp.

That is what Cleopatra did, I fear,

And, as you know, she is no longer here.

“Some Words Inside of Words” by Richard Wilbur, copyright © 2004 by Richard Wilbur. Originally appeared in Atlantic Monthly, June 2004. Used by permission of the author.

• The cow is sailing the boat.

• The captain is carrying the cow.

• The cow does not know where he is going.

• The captain does not know how to sail the boat.

What is a synonym for the word ambassadors in Line 5 of the poem?

Some Words Inside of Words

(for children and others)

by Richard Wilbur

The roc’s a huge, bold, hungry bird who’s able

To eat an elephant. (So says the fable.)

No farmer likes to see one feasting cockily

Right in the middle of his field of broccoli.

At heart, ambassadors are always sad.

Why? Because world affairs are always bad,

So that they’re always having to express

“Regret,” and “grave concern,” and “deep distress.”

The barnacle is found in salty seas,

Clinging to rocks in crusty colonies;

And salt, which chemists call NaCl,

Is found inside the barnacle as well.

What could be sillier than for a cow

To try to cross the ocean in a scow?

With such a captain, to my way of thinking,

The wretched vessel would be sure of sinking!

No one should be entrusted with a rudder

Who has two horns and four hooves and an udder.

Whether the living room is full of trout

And eels and salamanders, and if there’s

A snapping turtle paddling up the stairs.

If that’s what’s going on, your house (beyond

A doubt) is at the bottom of a pond.

Some snakes are nice to handle, but an asp

Is not the kind to take within your grasp.

That is what Cleopatra did, I fear,

And, as you know, she is no longer here.

“Some Words Inside of Words” by Richard Wilbur, copyright © 2004 by Richard Wilbur. Originally appeared in Atlantic Monthly, June 2004. Used by permission of the author.

• historians

• diplomats

• reporters

• salespersons

Knowing the meaning of the prefix -en helps the reader know that the word entrusted means __________________.

Some Words Inside of Words

(for children and others)

by Richard Wilbur

The roc’s a huge, bold, hungry bird who’s able

To eat an elephant. (So says the fable.)

No farmer likes to see one feasting cockily

Right in the middle of his field of broccoli.

At heart, ambassadors are always sad.

Why? Because world affairs are always bad,

So that they’re always having to express

“Regret,” and “grave concern,” and “deep distress.”

The barnacle is found in salty seas,

Clinging to rocks in crusty colonies;

And salt, which chemists call NaCl,

Is found inside the barnacle as well.

What could be sillier than for a cow

To try to cross the ocean in a scow?

With such a captain, to my way of thinking,

The wretched vessel would be sure of sinking!

No one should be entrusted with a rudder

Who has two horns and four hooves and an udder.

Whether the living room is full of trout

And eels and salamanders, and if there’s

A snapping turtle paddling up the stairs.

If that’s what’s going on, your house (beyond

A doubt) is at the bottom of a pond.

Some snakes are nice to handle, but an asp

Is not the kind to take within your grasp.

That is what Cleopatra did, I fear,

And, as you know, she is no longer here.

“Some Words Inside of Words” by Richard Wilbur, copyright © 2004 by Richard Wilbur. Originally appeared in Atlantic Monthly, June 2004. Used by permission of the author.

• to be without trust.

• to have more trust.

• to put trust into.

• to create trust.

What is the author’s main purpose in the passage?

Some Words Inside of Words

(for children and others)

by Richard Wilbur

The roc’s a huge, bold, hungry bird who’s able

To eat an elephant. (So says the fable.)

No farmer likes to see one feasting cockily

Right in the middle of his field of broccoli.

At heart, ambassadors are always sad.

Why? Because world affairs are always bad,

So that they’re always having to express

“Regret,” and “grave concern,” and “deep distress.”

The barnacle is found in salty seas,

Clinging to rocks in crusty colonies;

And salt, which chemists call NaCl,

Is found inside the barnacle as well.

What could be sillier than for a cow

To try to cross the ocean in a scow?

With such a captain, to my way of thinking,

The wretched vessel would be sure of sinking!

No one should be entrusted with a rudder

Who has two horns and four hooves and an udder.

Whether the living room is full of trout

And eels and salamanders, and if there’s

A snapping turtle paddling up the stairs.

If that’s what’s going on, your house (beyond

A doubt) is at the bottom of a pond.

Some snakes are nice to handle, but an asp

Is not the kind to take within your grasp.

That is what Cleopatra did, I fear,

And, as you know, she is no longer here.

“Some Words Inside of Words” by Richard Wilbur, copyright © 2004 by Richard Wilbur. Originally appeared in Atlantic Monthly, June 2004. Used by permission of the author.

• to inform about the history of words

• to entertain by having fun with words

• to explain how new words are created

• to persuade readers to learn new words

What is the effect of the point of view used in the poem?

Some Words Inside of Words

(for children and others)

by Richard Wilbur

The roc’s a huge, bold, hungry bird who’s able

To eat an elephant. (So says the fable.)

No farmer likes to see one feasting cockily

Right in the middle of his field of broccoli.

At heart, ambassadors are always sad.

Why? Because world affairs are always bad,

So that they’re always having to express

“Regret,” and “grave concern,” and “deep distress.”

The barnacle is found in salty seas,

Clinging to rocks in crusty colonies;

And salt, which chemists call NaCl,

Is found inside the barnacle as well.

What could be sillier than for a cow

To try to cross the ocean in a scow?

With such a captain, to my way of thinking,

The wretched vessel would be sure of sinking!

No one should be entrusted with a rudder

Who has two horns and four hooves and an udder.

Whether the living room is full of trout

And eels and salamanders, and if there’s

A snapping turtle paddling up the stairs.

If that’s what’s going on, your house (beyond

A doubt) is at the bottom of a pond.

Some snakes are nice to handle, but an asp

Is not the kind to take within your grasp.

That is what Cleopatra did, I fear,

And, as you know, she is no longer here.

“Some Words Inside of Words” by Richard Wilbur, copyright © 2004 by Richard Wilbur. Originally appeared in Atlantic Monthly, June 2004. Used by permission of the author.

• It heightens the sense of humor.

• It establishes the speaker’s intelligence.

• It emphasizes the speaker’s detachment.

• It blurs the contrast between fantasy and reality.

Not a graded Question

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