The Seventh Man

In “The Seventh Man,” which statement best summarizes what happens in the

weeks following K.’s death?

• He falls ill and has nightmares.

• He moves to Nagano.

• He starts attending a different school.

• He spends hours studying K.’s artwork.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Which excerpt from “The Seventh Man” best explains why the seventh man

feels responsible for K.’s death?

• He might have been so absorbed in whatever it was he had found that my

  call made no impression on him.

• I stood there, wondering what to do. Should I go down to the beach?

• I had always loved and protected K. as if he had been my own little

  brother.

• I probably could have run over and dragged him out of the reach of the

  wave.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

In “The Seventh Man,” why does the seventh man’s view of the past begin to

change?

• Studying K.’s art, he remembers that K. was gentle and realizes that his

  last look was not one of hatred.

• After his father dies, he returns home and realizes that he did not need to

  move to Nagano.

• Studying K.’s art, he realizes that K. would not have minded dying in the

  wave.

• After his father dies, he realizes that it was the second wave, not the first,

  that killed K.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

In “The Seventh Man,” what is the most important discovery that the seventh

man makes when he returns to his hometown?

• He discovers that K. was a gentle and artistic soul.

• He learns that his father has died of cancer.

• He realizes that the dark shadow of K.’s death has left him.

• He sees that the town remains the same as when he was a boy.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Which is the most likely reaction a person might have to a desperate situation?

• feeling of boredom

• a desire for sleep

• a feeling of panic

• a desire to learn

In which circumstances is a person most likely to be entranced?

• when watching a beautiful sunset

• when hearing a window break in a storm

• when looking for a lost wallet

• when saying goodbye to old friends

If a person experiences profound sorrow, which of the following must be true?

• The person’s feeling of sorrow will last briefly.

• The person’s feeling of sorrow is deep and intense.

• The person appears to feel sorrow but does not really.

• The person thinks long and hard about his or her feelings.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

What does the giant wave most clearly represent to the seventh man?

• It represents death, which causes hatred among people.

• It represents art, which can capture the spirit of nature.

• It represents our fears, which keep us from doing what we should.

• It represents nature, which is both beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which passage from the text most clearly supports the answer to

Part A?

• I knew that the wave was coming, and K. didn’t know. As clearly as I

  knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way. . . .

  What made me do this, I’m sure, was fear.

• But it was too late. A wave like a huge snake with its head held high,

  poised to strike, was racing toward the shore. I had never seen anything

  like it before.

• In the tip of the [second] wave, as if enclosed in some kind of transparent

  capsule, floated K.’s body, reclining on its side. But that’s not all. K. was

  looking straight at me, smiling.

• Most of [K.’s pictures] were landscapes, pictures of the familiar stretch of

  ocean and sand beach and pine woods and the town, and all done with

  that special clarity and coloration I knew so well from K.’s hand.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A When the seventh man begins to tell his story, he introduces it in this

way:

“In my case, it was a wave,” he said. “There is no way for me to tell, of course, what

it will be for each of you. But in my case it just happened to take the form of a

gigantic wave. It presented itself to me all of a sudden one day without warning. And

it was devastating.”

What does this excerpt most clearly imply? To help you choose your answer,

consider the events of the story.

• He believes that in life, every individual must confront fear in some form

  or another.

• He believes that his life was changed by a disaster in a way that others

  cannot understand.

• He believes that he has succeeded despite not knowing what will happen to

  others.

• He believes that in life, everyone will face the risk of a giant wave caused

  by a storm.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2