The Power of a Dinner Table

Given the information the author provides in paragraphs 1–4, one can infer that so many teenagers attend Kathy and David’s Thursday night dinner because

• they appreciate an occasional free meal

• there are often birthday and graduation celebrations

• they want to escape the problems of poverty

• there are too few homeless shelters

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CCSS.RI.9-10.1

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CCSS.RI.9-10.5

Which two choices are reasons why the author wrote this editorial?

• To personalize the issues faced by many people in the country

• To reward people who choose to help others instead of themselves

• To spotlight the leaders of the next generation

• To express the transformative power of love

• To encourage the passing of new legislation

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CCSS.RI.9-10.6

What does the author mean in paragraph 5 when he writes that hostile soil has produced charismatic flowers?

• The teenagers are transformed from angry people into happy ones.

• The teenagers are wonderful people despite their harsh backgrounds.

• The teenagers start out as total strangers and end up a loving family.

• The teenagers hunger for the emotional support they have been denied.

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CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

In paragraph 7, the author states that he started attending the dinner hungry for something beyond food. Based on the opinions he expresses elsewhere in the editorial, what was he hungering for?

• A human interest story to write about for his readers

• The love he himself hungered for when he was a child

• An antidote to the political ugliness in recent times

• The feeling that people are becoming more empathetic

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CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.9-10.3

CCSS.RI.9-10.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

What does the author mean in paragraph 13 when he says that there’s no margin for error for these kids?

• The stakes are high if these teenagers do not get everything right.

• The demands these teenagers put on themselves are very harsh.

• The errors the teenagers make are more obvious than those of other teenagers

• The consequences of their actions could affect these teenagers for years to come

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CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

What is the author’s purpose for writing about specific kids in paragraph 14?

• To introduce five teenagers who regularly attend dinner

• To examine the need homeless teenagers have for love and attention

• To indicate the level of success these teenagers achieve

• To highlight the abilities and talents these teenagers have

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CCSS.RI.9-10.6

The author’s purpose for quoting Bill Milliken in paragraph 16 is to provide —

• a counterargument

• an expert opinion

• an example

• a piece of evidence

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CCSS.RI.9-10.6

What is the author’s purpose?

• To raise awareness on the effects poverty does to people and how one act of kindness can be the change.

• He just wanted to talk about his experience at the Dinner Table.

• To talk about how fun Kathy and David’s house was.

• To use the topic of poverty in his future campaign debate.

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CCSS.RI.9-10.6

What is the figurative language used in the following sentence “The kids call Kathy and David “Momma” and “Dad,” are unfailingly polite, clear the dishes, turn toward one another’s love like plants toward the sun and burst with big glowing personalities.”?

• Simile

• Metaphor

• Hyperbole

• Personification

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CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

In passage number 4, what does anomalous mean?

• Malicious

• Untypical

• Normal

• Anonymous

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CCSS.L.9-10.4A

CCSS.L.9-10.5

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CCSS.RL.9-10.4