SC Ready Literary Test Prep

Excerpt from George Gray Edgar Lee Masters

I have studied many times

The marble which was chiseled for me--

A boat with a furled sail at rest

in a harbor.

In truth it pictures not my destination

But my life.

For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;

Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;

Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.

Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life

.And now I know that we must lift the sail

And catch the winds of destiny

Wherever they drive the boat.

To put meaning in one's life may end in madness,

But life without meaning is the torture

Of restlessness and vague desire--

It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

Which statement BEST expresses the theme of the poem?

• To live life fully, one must take risks.

• No matter how hard we try, our lives are ruled by fate.

• Searching for meaning inevitably leads to disappointment.

• Only the strong survive; the weak are destined to failure.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

How would an audio adaptation of the story of Odysseus differ from a film version?

• The audio version would be much more visual than film.

• The film version will require excellent listening skills.

• The film version would be much longer than the audio adaptation.

• The audio version will require more imagination on the part of the listener than film.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.7

CCSS.RI.8.7

CCSS.RL.7.7

CCSS.RL.8.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

Excerpt from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Chapter 1) Mark Twain

(6)There was a slight noise behind her and she turned just in time to seize a small boy by the slack of his roundabout and arrest his flight.

"There! I might 'a thought of that closet. What you been doing in there?"

"Nothing."

“Nothing! Look at your hands. And look at your mouth. What IS that truck?”

“I don’t know, aunt.”

“Well, I know. It’s jam—that’s what it is. Forty times I’ve said if you didn’t let that jam alone I’d skin you. Hand me that switch.”

The switch hovered in the air—the peril was desperate--

"My! Look behind you, aunt!"

(7)The old lady whirled round, and snatched her skirts out of danger.

The lad fled on the instant, scrambled up the high board-fence, and disappeared over it.

His aunt Polly stood surprised a moment, and then broke into a gentle laugh.

(8)"Hang the boy, can't I never learn anything?

Ain't he played me tricks enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time?

But old fools is the biggest fools there is.

How does the author show that Tom is really a very clever boy?

• Tom hides in the closet to eat jam.

• Tom plays hookey but gets home before supper.

• Tom outsmarts Aunt Polly and escapes punishment.

• Tom lies to Aunt Polly about eating jam in the closet.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Excerpt from The Invisible Man H. G. Wells

The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand. He was wrapped up from head to foot, and the brim of his soft felt hat hid every inch of his face but the shiny tip of his nose; the snow had piled itself against his shoulders and chest, and added a white crest to the burden he carried. He staggered into the "Coach and Horses" more dead than alive, and flung his portmanteau down. "A fire," he cried, "in the name of human charity! A room and a fire!" He stamped and shook the snow from off himself in the bar, and followed Mrs. Hall into her guest parlour to strike his bargain. And with that much introduction, that and a couple of sovereigns flung upon the table, he took up his quarters in the inn.

The author of the passage uses the word flung in these sentences...

• to show that the stranger was finally warm.

• to show that the stranger was exhausted.

• to show the stranger's great enthusiasm.

• to show that the stranger had been in the parlour before.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Excerpt from The Most Dangerous Game Richard Connell

When the general, nursing his bruised shoulder, had gone, Rainsford took up his flight again. It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight, that carried him on for some hours. Dusk came, then darkness, and still he pressed on. The ground grew softer under his moccasins; the vegetation grew ranker, denser; insects bit him savagely. Then, as he stepped forward, his foot sank into the ooze. He tried to wrench it back, but the muck sucked viciously at his foot as if it were a giant leech. With a violent effort, he tore his foot loose. He knew where he was now. Death Swamp and its quicksand.

Suspense is created in the passage partly due to it being written in which point of view?

• first person point of view

• Second person point of view

• Third Person Limited point of view

• Third Person Omniscient point of view

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.10

CCSS.RL.2.2

CCSS.RL.2.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.4.4

The Mississippi River Without question America's greatest river, the Mississippi, has made major contributions to the physical and economic growth of the nation. Coursing through the heart of America, it supplies water for the cities and industries that have located along its banks. In 1705 the first cargo was floated down the river from the Indian country around Wabash. This was a load of 15,000 bear and deer hides.. The Mississippi River is the main stem of a network of inland navigable waterways which form a system of about 12,350 miles in length. from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain Tom’s mind was made up now. He was gloomy and desperate. He was a forsaken, friendless boy, he said; nobody loved him; when they found out what they had driven him to, perhaps they would be sorry; he had tried to do right and get along, but they would not let him; since nothing would do them but to be rid of him, let it be so; and let them blame him for the consequences—why shouldn't they? What right had the friendless to complain? Yes, they had forced him to it at last: he would lead a life of crime. There was no choice. (Tom is now joined by Joe)…As the two boys walked sorrowing along, they made a new compact to stand by each other and be brothers and never separate till death relieved them of their troubles. Then they began to lay their plans. Joe was for being a hermit, and living on crusts in a remote cave, and dying, some time, of cold and want and grief; but after listening to Tom, he conceded that there were some conspicuous advantages about a life of crime, and so he consented to be a pirate. Three miles below St. Petersburg, at a point where the Mississippi River was a trifle over a mile wide, there was a long, narrow, wooded island, with a shallow bar at the head of it, and this offered well as a rendezvous. It was not inhabited; it lay far over toward the further shore, abreast a dense and almost wholly unpeopled forest. So Jackson's Island was chosen. Who were to be the subjects of their piracies was a matter that did not occur to them.

Which BEST describes a contrast in the styles of the passages?

• The second passage uses poetic techniques such as rhythm and rhyme, while the first only uses rhyme.

• The first passage is full of figurative language and poetic structures while the second is less poetic.

• The first passage is rich in detail and and uses a whimsical tone while the second is more informational.

• The first passage is more informational while the second is more rich in detail and uses a whimsical tone.

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.7

CCSS.RL.7.7

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.8.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

Which statement best describes what the underlined metaphor adds to the meaning of the sentence.

"I finally found escape in the abandoned barn. The torrential rain was rapid machine-gun fire echoing threats of my destruction."

• The reader can tell that the narrator accepts his/her fate.

• The reader can tell that the narrator is fearful of what will happen next.

• The reader can tell that the narrator feels relief in the abandoned barn.

• The reader can tell that the narrator expects thunder and lighting to follow.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

At the end of this passage, Kiva most likely feels...

• scared because this has never happened before

• sad because she had to leave family behind

• concerned about the people screaming

• relieved to be outside and in a safe place.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

The first-person point of view allows the reader to understand the--

• reason why the narrator removed the letter

• actions of the seventh grade girls

• narrator's perspective of himself

• inner thoughts of Mr. Sorenson

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Which clue in the passage suggests the battle is just for pretend?

• "cannon aimed over the heads of the calvary"

• "a letter opener, an ink jar, and a line of fountain pens"

• "Darwinist monsters loomed behind them, ready to devour anyone who dared retreat"

• "the attack had almost begun when Prince Aleksandr thought"

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.8.1