Prose Fiction Practice

1. The passage establishes that Vida and Ted have all of the following traits in common EXCEPT:

• A. A willingness to accommodate the requests each makes of the other.

• B. A response to elements of nature.

• C. A perception of others that surfaces in humor.

• D. An awareness of what delights the other.

2. Which of the following is NOT an accurate description of the passage?

• F. A story about a teenager whose summer experiences building and occupying a fort near his house have a positive effect on his relationship with his mother

• G. A glimpse at what connects a mother and a son and what separates them as the boy tests his own limits with a summer project

• H. A look at how two characters -- one grown, one young -- behave when each perceives the fragility of someone or something he or she holds dear

• J. A portrait of two family members whose painful disagreements force one to seek shelter outside the home until they reach an understanding

3. In both the twelfth paragraph (lines 61-69) and the thirteenth paragraph (lines 70-77) the author is portraying characters who:

• A. Feel compelled to act carefully in order to avoid shattering something precious.

• B. Are frustrated to the point of indignation that success seems always slightly out of reach.

• C. Are at first excited by a project but later lose interest as others get involved.

• D. Discover that a personal weakness in some situations can be a personal strength in others.

4. It can most reasonably be inferred that as it is used in line 69 the term wild thing refers not only to a pheasant but also to:

• F. Ted as Vida somewhat reverently sees him.

• G. Vida as seen by Ted when she visits the fort.

• H. Ted as he imagines himself to be.

• J. What Vida wishes Ted would cease to be.

5. Which of the following best describes the difference between Ted as a little boy and Ted at the time he builds and occupies the fort?

• A. By the time Ted builds the fort he has lost the lighthearted manner he had as and has become more of a brooder who avoids the company of others.

• B. As a teenager Ted is physically clumsier and more angular than he was as a child, but he retains the humor, cautiousness, and seriousness that distinguished him at an early age.

• C. As a child Ted was constantly observing others for indications of how he should behave, but as a teenager he looks more to nature for guidance.

• D. As a child Ted was outgoing in a way that appealed to adults, but as a teenager he was introspective in a way that alarmed them.

6. The passage indicates that Vida was not surprised by Ted’s decision to build a fort because she:

• F. knew that more often than not he was inclined to take projects she had started a step farther.

• G. sensed that it fit with his tendency to approach life as if he were self-contained.

• H. had noticed that ever since their camping trip he had been putting more and more distance between himself and her.

• J. had noticed that he no longer worried that his fascination with nature would interfere with his long-standing craving for the company of others.

7. As it is used in the passage, the term silent communion (line 12) refers to the:

• A. Way that without using words Ted communicates his disappointments to Vida.

• B. Promise Ted made to himself that he would not return to the house all summer, even for food.

• C. Way a thought shifted in Ted’s mind from feeling like someone else’s to feeling like his own.

• Exchange of warm emotions between Ted and Vida during the preparation and sharing of food.

8. Which of the following best describes the way the seventh paragraph (lines 25-27) functions in the passage?

• F. It reinforces the image of Vida established elsewhere in the passage as someone whose skeptical nature disheartens Ted on the brink of new projects.

• G. It foreshadows events described later in the passage that lead to the dismantling of the tree house once Ted is back in school.

• H. It reveals that Vida takes an interest in Ted’s project to the extent that she determines ways in which he needs to carry it out to avoid problems.

• J. It reveals that Vida’s willingness to shift responsibility to her son for his actions is greater than his willingness to accept such responsibility.

9. According to the passage, Ted attributes which of the following characteristics to the redwoods?

• A. They make idea supports for a fort because they are strong and tall.

• B. They create a sense of remoteness by absorbing time and sound and by smelling like another place.

• C. They lend a feeling of danger to whatever surrounds them because they themselves are endangered.

• D. They grace their surroundings with a serenity that softens disturbing emotions like fear of the dark.

10. Ted felt that in comparison to the ground floor of the fort, going up into the tree to build the top floor seemed:

• F. safer because the top floor was less accessible to intruders.

• G. safer because the branches provided him with a sense of privacy.

• H. less safe because the place felt bigger and more exposed.

• J. less safe because the top floor was made of cypress instead of redwood.