FSA Practice

Which choice BEST expresses the theme of the poem?

• Hope feels like a light, cheerful bird that sings a sweet song even in the face of difficulty.

• No matter how hopeful you are, difficulty and extreme situations will find you.

• Hope endures through all difficulty and despair, no matter how extreme.

• The bird of hope sings its songs even in the most extreme situations.

How does Emily Dickinson develop the theme of “ ‘Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers"?

• by comparing hope to a singing bird

• by describing a song without words

• by comparing life’s difficulties to a storm at sea

• by describing the extremes of life

Which is the BEST paraphrase of the final stanza?

• Extreme situations happen everywhere—in cold locations and on the sea—but there is always hope.

• The bird of hope sings in all places—on both land and sea—but is never extreme or expecting of a crumb.

• I’ve heard about hope being in the coldest lands and stormiest seas even though it never asked for even a crumb from those it

  helps.

• I’ve heard the song of hope in the most extreme difficulties, in cold lands and stormy seas, but it has never expected anything in

  return from me.

Which choice summarizes the poem most effectively?

• The speaker has led a difficult life but is always hopeful.

• A bird perches on the speaker’s soul and sings its song of hope.

• Hope is like a bird whose sweet, wordless song stays in the speaker’s heart through all difficulties, never expecting anything in

  return.

• The speaker admires the hopeful song of birds that continues even in the darkest, most extreme storms.

What character traits would best describe the protagonist at the beginning of the story?

• Well-prepared and confident

• Disorganized and frazzled

• Confused and irritable

• Dreamy and lost

Which of the following details from the story help to support your answer in the previous question:

• "With one wheel gone wrong, she careens into the checkout line.”

• "A perfect shopper, she prides herself on sailing the circulars, clipping coupons, buying in bulk.”

• "Her basket is overflowing with catnip and kitty litter, Pull-Ups and pomegranates—plenty of all.”

• "She takes every copy of the magazine out of the rack.”

What can you infer about the protagonist’s view of her own life?

• She is very satisfied with her current life.

• She is not entirely satisfied with her current life.

• She has created a clear plan to make a change.

• She does not plan on making any changes.

Which of the following details from the story help to support your answer in the previous question?

• " ‘Got an itch you can't identify, don't know what you want, let this be your moment.’ ”

• “…her finger is quickly coated with gold powder and under that is something a little sticky…”

• "It is incredible—she's seeing not only the future but the pathway there.”

• “It is as though she is being pulled into the magazine.”

What do the last sentences of the story below reveal about the protagonist?

Drawing a deep breath, she pulls herself back into the checkout line. She takes every copy of the magazine out of the rack. "I'll take all

you've got," she says.

• She is an avid reader of magazines.

• She feels a certain greed she can’t explain.

• Her dreams are much more attractive than her reality.

• She is easily manipulated by advertising.

According to the story, for what reasons were the sheep (Thunder) and the ram (Lightning) banished from the town? Choose

TWO responses from below.

• The king had a very bad temper and threw them out of the town.

• Both the sheep and the ram destroyed property and lives when they got angry.

• The ram destroyed property and killed people when it got angry.

• The mother sheep had a very loud voice the people could not tolerate.

• The king was responding to the complaints of the people about the two.