Soap and Water

Which is a theme of the passage?

• Hard work is essential to building a strong character.

• Appearances convey information about people’s personalities.

• Opinions based solely on appearance often prove false.

• Education opens doors to opportunities that would otherwise be closed.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which quotation supports the inference that the narrator is different than Miss Whiteside perceives?

• “She told me that I was utterly unmindful of the little niceties of the well-groomed lady.” (paragraph 2)

• “When I had to say something to her, I mumbled and stuttered, and grew red and white in the face with fear.” (paragraph 3)

• “She did not see how I longed for beauty and cleanliness.” (paragraph 5)

• “I didn’t care for myself, nor the dean, nor the whole laundered world.” (paragraph 7)

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Read the excerpt from paragraph 7.

I was too frenzied to know what I said or did. But I saw clean, immaculate, spotless Miss Whiteside shrivel and tremble and cower before me, as I had shriveled and trembled and cowered before her for so many years.What can be inferred from the excerpt?

• Miss Whiteside is apologetic and remorseful for how she has treated the narrator.

• Miss Whiteside is concerned and worried that the narrator will not accept her apology.

• Miss Whiteside is furious and exasperated with the narrator’s sudden disrespect

• Miss Whiteside is afraid and upset by the narrator’s angry response.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Part A

Which is a theme of the passage?

• Hard work is essential to building a strong character.

• Appearances convey information about people’s personalities.

• Opinions based solely on appearance often prove false.

• Education opens doors to opportunities that would otherwise be closed.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Part B

Which quotation from the passage supports the answer in Part A?

• “Miss Whiteside, the dean of our college, withheld my diploma. When I came to her office, and asked her why she did not pass me, she said that she could not recommend me as a teacher because of my personal appearance.” (paragraph 1)

• “She never looked into my eyes. She never perceived that I had a soul. She did not see how I longed for beauty and cleanliness.” (paragraph 5)

• “But I, after college hours, had only time to bolt a soggy meal, and rush back to the grind of the laundry till eleven at night.” (paragraph 12)

• “For six years I went about nursing the illusion that college was a place where I should find self-expression, and vague, pent-up feelings could live as thoughts and grow as ideas.” (paragraph 19)

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CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.W.9-10.9

Based on the context of paragraph 3, what does diffident mean?

• angry

• disinterested

• envious

• shy

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CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentence from paragraph 8.

Or can it be that in my outburst of fury, at the climax of indignities that I had suffered, the barriers broke, and she saw into the world below from where I came?What does indignities mean?

• humiliations

• inconveniences

• pressures

• punishments

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read paragraph 4.

Every time I had to come to the dean’s office for a private conference, I prepared for the ordeal of her cold scrutiny, as a patient prepares for a surgical operation. I watched her gimlet ever searching for a stray pin, for a spot on my dress, for my unpolished shoes, for my uncared-for fingernails, as one strapped on the operating table watches the surgeon approaching with his tray of sterilized knives.What impact does the metaphor have on the meaning and tone of the passage?

• The metaphor expresses the narrator’s anxiety as the dean carefully inspects her appearance for flaws.

• The metaphor expresses the narrator’s eagerness to please the dean by presenting a neat appearance.

• The metaphor expresses the narrator’s disregard for the strict dress code dictated to her by the dean.

• The metaphor expresses the narrator’s outrage when the dean fails to notice her efforts to look more presentable.

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CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

How do the interactions between the narrator and Miss Whiteside in paragraphs 1-2 advance the plot of the passage?

• The interactions provoke a change in the narrator and compel her to defend herself against Miss Whiteside.

• The interactions raise awareness in the narrator and help her realize that Miss Whiteside does not like her.

• The interactions teach Miss Whiteside a lesson and make her understand that the narrator is actually a kind person.

• The interactions infuriate Miss Whiteside and add additional strain to her relationship with the narrator.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Part A

Select two statements that best describe how the narrator changes as a result of her experiences at college.

• She finds the strength within to stand up for herself.

• She gains a better understanding of how to show authority respect.

• She grows to resent the society she once admired.

• She learns that people act cruelly toward others to mask their own pain.

• She realizes that the opinions of others do not matter.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.3