Unbroken Quiz - Part 2

Which type of figurative language is being used?

The sea began to arch its back under the raft, sending the men up to dizzying heights.

simile - a comparison using "like" or "as"

hyperbole - an extreme exaggeration

personification - giving a nonhuman thing/animal human characteristics

• simile

• hyperbole

• personification

The author uses a SIMILE in the following passage to -

It was an experience of transcendence. Phil watched the sky, whispering that it looked like a pearl. The water looked so solid that it seemed they could walk across it.

• describe the white creaminess of the sky

• emphasize the hardness of the water

• highlight the value of nature

Which context clues best help help you determine the meaning of the word REFUGE?

Louie found that the raft offered an unlikely intellectual refuge. He had never recognized how noisy the civilized world was. Here, drifting in almost total silence, with no scents other than the singed odor of the raft, no flavors on his tongue, nothing moving but the slow procession of shark fins, every vista empty save water and sky, his time unvaried and unbroken, his mind was freed of an encumbrance* that civilization had imposed on it. In his head, he could roam anywhere, and he found that his mind was quick and clear, his imagination unfettered** and supple***. He could stay with a thought for hours, turning it about.

*a burden

**free

***soft

• the singed odor of the raft

• his time unvaried and unbroken

• his mind was freed of an encumbrance

Which of the following words BEST describes LOUIE in the following passage?

That evening, Phil heard a small voice. It was Mac, asking Louie if he was going to die. Louie looked over at Mac, who was watching him. Louie thought it would be disrespectful to lie to Mac, who might have something to say or do before life left him. Louie told him that he thought he’d die that night. Mac had no reaction. Phil and Louie lay down, put their arms around Mac, and went to sleep.

detached - separate or disconnected

condescending - patronizing superiority

candid - truthful and straightforward

• detached

• condescending

• candid

Which of the following words BEST describes MAC in the following passage?

That evening, Phil heard a small voice. It was Mac, asking Louie if he was going to die. Louie looked over at Mac, who was watching him. Louie thought it would be disrespectful to lie to Mac, who might have something to say or do before life left him. Louie told him that he thought he’d die that night. Mac had no reaction. Phil and Louie lay down, put their arms around Mac, and went to sleep.

resigned - having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot do anything about

impatient - quickly irritated or provoked

diffident - modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence

• resigned

• impatient

• diffident

The IMAGERY in the following passage PRIMARILY appeals to the sense of -

Phil and Louie could see the bend of their thighbones under their skin, their knees bulging in the centers of birdlike legs, their bellies hollow, their ribs stark. Each man had grown a weedy beard. Their skin glowed yellow from the leached raft dye, and their bodies were patterned with salt sores. They held their sun-scorched eyes to the horizon, searching for land, but there was none. Their hunger dimmed, an ominous sign. They had reached the last stage of starvation.

• touch

• smell

• sight

In the following excerpt, the author uses IMAGERY to -

It was nightfall somewhere around the thirtieth day. The men went through their usual routine, bailing water into the raft and entwining themselves for warmth. The sky was clear and starry, and the moon shone on the water. The men fell asleep.

imagery - descriptive or figurative language that appeals to one of the five senses

mood - general atmosphere or emotional complexion (reader's feelings)

conflict - result of competing desires or the presence of obstacles that need to be overcome

characterization - the act of creating and describing characters in literature

serene - calm, peaceful

• establish a serene mood

• highlight the main conflict of the story

• develop characterization

Which of the following word pairs is closest in meaning to the word REVERENT as used in the passage below?

For a while they spoke, sharing their wonder. Then they fell into reverent silence. Their suffering was suspended. They weren’t hungry or thirsty. They were unaware of the approach of death.

• respectful, worshipful

• insulting, impolite

• tranquil, undisturbed

Which of the following is true of Louis and Phil's experience as they near death?

• As their bodies weaken, they reflect on their lives and feel regret.

• As their physical health declines, so does their mental and emotional health.

• As their physical strength weakens, their clarity of mind improves.

Re-read the excerpt below. What inference is MOST likely?

On the fortieth day, Louie was lying beside Phil under the canopy when he abruptly sat up. He could hear singing. He kept listening; it sounded like a choir. He nudged Phil and asked him if he heard anything. Phil said no. Louie slid the canopy off and squinted into the daylight. The ocean was a featureless flatness. He looked up.

Above him, floating in a bright cloud, he saw human figures, silhouetted against the sky. He counted twenty-one of them. They were singing the sweetest song he had ever heard.

Louie stared up, astonished, listening to the singing. What he was seeing and hearing was impossible, and yet he felt absolutely lucid. This was, he felt certain, no hallucination, no vision. He sat under the singers, listening to their voices, memorizing the melody, until they faded away.

Phil had heard and seen nothing. Whatever this had been, Louie concluded, it belonged to him alone.

• Phil can't share in Louie's experience because he has gone deaf and blind.

• Louie has a spiritual vision/hallucination.

• A cruise ship containing a choir was passing by.