7th Grade Determining Words Extra Practice (RL2.4)

What are context clues?

• a word or phrase with the opposite meaning to another word or phrase

• a statement of the exact meaning of a word, especially in the dictionary

• words or phrases near an unfamiliar word that help you understand the meaning of the word

• a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language

Which of the following IS an example of figurative language?

• I ran past the sign very fast.

• I ran as fast as a cheetah.

• I ran extremely quick.

• I ran to the store and it was very crowded.

What is connotation?

• the words and phrases near an unfamiliar word

• the definition of the word or phrase

• words that mean the same as that word

• a feeling or idea suggested by a word

As I stood atop the mighty skyscraper, a gentle breeze wrapped its arms around me. Down below, the people were as small as ants. Muffled sounds floated up like balloons, the wind murmured softly, and a bird called from somewhere in the distance.

In the example, "a gentle breeze wrapped its arms around me", a breeze and a person's arms are being compared. What is the effect of this comparison?

• to make the breeze seem calming and pleasant, like a hug

• to show the breeze is actually hugging the person.

• to explain how the breeze is acting like a person hugging

• to make the breeze seem as if it like an actual person

As I stood atop the mighty skyscraper, a gentle breeze wrapped its arms around me. Down below, the people were as small as ants, and the cars were toys making their way through a miniature city. Muffled sounds floated up like balloons, the wind murmured softly, and a bird called from somewhere in the distance.

In the example, "the cars were toys", cars and toys are being compared. What is the effect of using the comparison?

• to make the cars seem large

• to make the cars look like actual toys

• to make the cars seem tiny

• to make the cars seem new

"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" by William Wordsworth

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and the temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

What is the impact of the figurative language, "This City is now doth, like a garment, wear/The beauty of the morning;" on the passage?

• The city is like a group of people that are all wearing the same, lovely clothes, new, crisp, and not wrinkled.

• The city is like a piece of clothing that looks like a sunset because of the reds, oranges, and golds.

• The city is like a flower that wears different colors that represent the morning colors

• The city is like a person who is wearing a lovely piece of clothing, one that is fresh and glittering and golden.

"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge" by William Wordsworth

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and the temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

What is the impact of the author's word choice such as splendour, calm, and sweet on meaning or tone?

• He admires the peace and beauty of the city scene.

• He prefers city sights to the valleys and hills of the country.

• He wishes that the river would flow quietly through the city.

• He hopes that the heart of the city will remain still and silent.

from "At Loafing--Holt" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Since I left the city's heat

For this sylvan, cool retreat,

High upon the hill-side here

Where the air is clean and clear,

5 I have lost the urban ways.

Mine are calm and tranquil days,

Sloping lawns of green are mine,

Clustered treasures of the vine;

Long forgotten plants I know,

10 Where the best wild berries grow,

Where the greens and grasses sprout,

When the elders blossom out.

Now I am grown weather-wise

With the lore of winds and skies

15 Mine the song whose soft refrain

Is the sigh of summer rain.

Seek you where the woods are cool,

Would you know the shady pool

Where, throughout the lazy day,

20 Speckled beauties drowse or play?

Would you find in rest or peace

Sorrow's permanent release?--

Leave the city, grim and gray,

Come with me, ah, come away.

25 do you fear the winter chill;

Deeps of snow upon the hill?

'Tis a mantle, kind and warm,

Shielding tender shoots from harm.

Do you dread the ice-clad streams, --

30 They are mirrors for your dreams.

What does the phrase, "Now I am grown weather-wise/With the lore of winds and skies" suggest in lines 13 and 14?

• Living in the woods in the wind and under the skies has made the speaker grow wiser.

• The speaker can "read" the wind and skies in order to predict the weather.

• The speaker warns that country life is not for everyone because the winds and weather are harsh.

• The speaker studies the weather and writes stories about how the wind and skies change.

from "At Loafing--Holt" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Since I left the city's heat

For this sylvan, cool retreat,

High upon the hill-side here

Where the air is clean and clear,

5 I have lost the urban ways.

Mine are calm and tranquil days,

Sloping lawns of green are mine,

Clustered treasures of the vine;

Long forgotten plants I know,

10 Where the best wild berries grow,

Where the greens and grasses sprout,

When the elders blossom out.

Now I am grown weather-wise

With the lore of winds and skies

15 Mine the song whose soft refrain

Is the sigh of summer rain.

Seek you where the woods are cool,

Would you know the shady pool

Where, throughout the lazy day,

20 Speckled beauties drowse or play?

Would you find in rest or peace

Sorrow's permanent release?--

Leave the city, grim and gray,

Come with me, ah, come away.

25 do you fear the winter chill;

Deeps of snow upon the hill?

'Tis a mantle, kind and warm,

Shielding tender shoots from harm.

Do you dread the ice-clad streams, --

30 They are mirrors for your dreams.

Which line or lines from the poem indicate the change the speaker notices about himself since he moved to the country?

• "I have lost the urban ways"

• "Sloping lawns of green are mine..."

• "Long forgotten plants I know..."

• "Mine the song...is the sigh of summer rain."

from "At Loafing--Holt" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Since I left the city's heat

For this sylvan, cool retreat,

High upon the hill-side here

Where the air is clean and clear,

5 I have lost the urban ways.

Mine are calm and tranquil days,

Sloping lawns of green are mine,

Clustered treasures of the vine;

Long forgotten plants I know,

10 Where the best wild berries grow,

Where the greens and grasses sprout,

When the elders blossom out.

Now I am grown weather-wise

With the lore of winds and skies

15 Mine the song whose soft refrain

Is the sigh of summer rain.

Seek you where the woods are cool,

Would you know the shady pool

Where, throughout the lazy day,

20 Speckled beauties drowse or play?

Would you find in rest or peace

Sorrow's permanent release?--

Leave the city, grim and gray,

Come with me, ah, come away.

25 do you fear the winter chill;

Deeps of snow upon the hill?

'Tis a mantle, kind and warm,

Shielding tender shoots from harm.

Do you dread the ice-clad streams, --

30 They are mirrors for your dreams.

How does the figurative and connotative language convey that the speaker likes the country more than the city? Select ALL that are true.

• "Leave the city, grim and gray" conveys a negative connotation about the city and is relieved to leave the city.

• "Mine the song whose soft refrain" conveys a positive connotation about the city and the speaker likes singing about it.

• "Speckled beauties drowse or play?" conveys a negative connotation about the country and the speaker is talking softly about the it.

• "Calm and tranquil days" conveys a positive connotation about the country" and is celebrating the country.