Word choice/tone

Struggling to depict the facial features, Liza threw down her paintbrush. She sighed in frustration. She was a landscape painter and not a portrait artist. Liza preferred to paint broad strokes of lakeside scenes and blue skies. Reproducing every aspect of a person’s face was a painful exercise class with a boot camp instructor. She needed to express her art without worrying about tiny details, like the cleft in someone’s chin.

What does the word “sighed” contribute to the tone of the text?

• It makes Liza seem enthusiastic.

• It makes Liza seem defeated.

• It makes Liza seem incompetent.

• It makes Liza seem educated.

No sooner had she said it than there he was, "Mister Irresistible" himself.  Throwing big, cheesy winks at everyone in the room, walking with a swagger like a cartoon baseball player.  He slithered his way over to their side of the room.
What word would you use to describe the tone of this passage?

• Enthusiastic 
• Serious
• Mocking
• Sorrowful 

Just when I thought things could  not get more ridiculous, Rebecca's little terrier, all dressed up in its knitted blue winter outfit, poked its head out of the pink polka dot doggy tote!  The outfit was an odd sweater-and-hood combination.  Perhaps Rebecca thought it flattered Fluffy's eyes.  Fluffy looked around blankly, as if to ask what was so amusing.
What word would you use to describe the tone of this passage?

• Bitter
• Respectful 
• Objective
• Humorous 

Enchantia has become my refuge from the world, a place where I can roam among lavender unicorns. These unicorns speak to me with their mystical gray eyes. They embrace me with their thick layered fur. The unicorns have welcomed me into Enchantia as though I am a magical creature as well and not a regular boy from an ordinary town.

What tone is connoted by the word “refuge” in the text?

• Danger and peril

• Humor and lightness

• Boredom and restlessness

• Safety and security

Most people probably think that acting school is nonstop fun, but I can tell you that it’s a challenge. Memorizing lines of dialogue is not too bad because you’re engaging with another actor. But presenting a monologue leaves you out to sea in a rowboat. You never know what the outcome will be and if the audience will be thrilled or bored with your solitary performance. If you’ve ever stood up in front of a group to give a speech, then you’ll know exactly what I mean.

What meaning is added to the text by the connotation of the word “solitary”?

• The author is performing a monologue in prison.

• The author enjoys monologues more than dialogues.

• The author finds monologues to be lonely.

• The author has never performed a monologue.

What is the "tone" of a story?

• The feeling the passage evokes from the reader.

• The author, narrator, or speaker's attitude toward a subject.

• The time and place of the story.

• The summary of events in the story.

Ling was chewing the gum. When her teacher told her to spit it out and throw it in the trash, she talked back.

What tone did Ling use with her teacher?

• apologetic

• sarcastic

• disrespectful

• uncertain

By seven o’clock the orchestra has arrived, no thin five-piece affair, but a whole pitfull of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and piccolos, and low and high drums. The last swimmers have come in from the beach now and are dressing up-stairs; the cars from New York are parked five deep in the drive, and already the halls and salons and verandas are gaudy with primary colors, and hair shorn in strange new ways, and shawls beyond the dreams of Castile. The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside, until the air is alive with chatter and laughter, and introductions forgotten on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names.

How does Fitzgerald’s use of personification impact the meaning of the text?

• Fitzgerald’s description of the air as “alive with chatter” reveals the narrator’s irritability at the conversation.

• Fitzgerald’s description of “enthusiastic meetings between women” meeting for the first time emphasizes the superficiality of the party.

• Fitzgerald’s comparison of the party to a “circus” illustrates the narrator’s distaste for chaotic settings.

• Fitzgerald’s description of the air as “alive with chatter” emphasizes the excitement and energy in the atmosphere.

Lana was bursting with excitement.  She paced up and down, and every few minutes headed to the window to check for the mail carrier.  When he finally showed up, she ran down the path and stretched out her hand for the mail.  She took a deep breath and, hands shaking, ripped open the envelope.  
What word would you use to describe the tone of this passage?

• humorous 
• persuasive 
• anxious 
• cheerful 

Read the following passage.

This house isn't perfect, but it's where my babies grew up. I know it all by heart. I know every stain on the carpet, every creaking floorboard and every paint chip on the windowsills. Each corner of this small space is filled with memories that I relive when I walk through the narrow hallways.

What words best describe the author's tone in the passage above?

• hopeless and afraid

• angry and violent

• sentimental and tender

• The author doesn't have a tone.

Answer explanation

sentimental and tender

The author's tone can be seen in the phrases "...where my babies grew up." and "...filled with memories." She has a sentimental and tender attitude toward the subject, her home.