The Refusal

What is most closely the meaning of superseded as it is used in the passage below (paragraph 3)?

•  gave large sums of money to

• questioned

• defeated in battle

• taken the place of, succeeded

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CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Which of these inferences is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 5)?

• The townspeople are resentful of the capital’s control over them.

• The tax-collector’s family lives a privileged life.

• The tax-collector lives an ordinary life and blends in with the people of the small town.

• The tax-collector wields immense power in the town and causes fear among villagers.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

Which of these statements best describes how the setting establishes conflict and advances the plot of the story?

• The geographic distance between the capital and the town emphasizes the oppression of a government that is out of touch with its people.

• The small size of the town helps highlight a close-knit community of villagers who rely on each other in times of need.

• The hot climate contributes to an unsettling, uncomfortable mood, and causes the soldiers to feel irritable.

• The vivid description of the tax-collector’s elaborate home reveals how wealthy and uncaring he is.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

Which of these inferences is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 7)

• The townspeople don’t mind the refusal because there’s nothing they really want.

• The people of the town have come to expect—and even rely on—the refusal.

• The townspeople blindly follow the orders of the government without questioning.

• The narrator prefers to mind his own business and not pay attention to the ceremony or the refusal.

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CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Which of these inferences about the soldiers is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 5)?

• The soldiers act as spies who bring back incriminating information to the capital

• The presence of soldiers in the small town intimidates its inhabitants.

• The soldiers exercise violence on the citizens of the town.

• The soldiers enjoy a calm, welcoming relationship with the villagers.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

Which of these sentences from the text most strongly supports the correct answer to Question 5?

• “A soldier, for example, enters a shop, buys some trifling object, and stays there leaning against the counter…”

• “... all while keeping his hand on the hilt of the long knife in his belt.”

• “This is revolting, one loses the desire to talk, the customers start leaving the shop…”

• ... and only when it is quite empty does the soldier also leave…”

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CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

Which of these inferences about the refusal is best supported by the passage below (paragraphs 7-8)?

• The citizens who attend the ceremony hope for a refusal, and are happy when it occurs.

• The narrator does not seem to care one way or the other about the refusal.

• The tax-collector is an older, stoic man with a strong allegiance to the distant capital.

• Young people, who don’t fully understand the risk of opposing the capital, are upset about the refusal.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

Which of these passages best supports the correct answer to Question 7?

• “... yet at the same time these official occasions designed to receive the refusal are by no means a formality.”

• “... and in all seriousness and then one returns, if not exactly strengthened or happy, nevertheless not disappointed or tired.”

• “About these things I do not have to ask the opinion of anyone else, I feel them in myself, as everyone does; nor do I have any great desire to find out how these things are connected.”

• “Quite young fellows, in fact, who are utterly incapable of foreseeing the consequences of even the least significant, far less a revolutionary, idea.”

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CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

Order these events chronologically as they take place in the story:

1. The townspeople gather for a ceremony.

2. The narrator describes the location of the town and its relationship with the capital.

3. The colonel rejects a petition from the people of the town.

4. A crowd feels relieved and disperses.

• 4, 3, 2, 1

• 2, 1, 3, 4

• 1, 2, 3, 4

• 3, 2, 1, 4

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CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

CCSS.RL.11-12.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.5

Synonym for: explicitly

• overtly

• stiff

• barren

• special

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CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4