The Night Face up

The author of the selection uses parallel plots to create tension about —

• when the story shifts between characters’ perspectives

• which events are real and which are dreams

• how the motivations for the characters’ actions change

• when the chronology of dream events takes place

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.11-12.5

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.5

The mood at the beginning of the story can best be described as —

• Ominous

• Pleasant

• comical

• sorrowful

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentence from paragraph 2 of the selection.

A bit inattentive perhaps, but tooling along on the right side of the street, he allowed himself to be carried away by the freshness, by the weightless contraction of this hardly begun day.

Which word best reflects the connotative meaning of the word tooling?

• Cruising

• Machining

• Crawling

• Zigzagging

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentence from paragraph 5.

The man in white came over to him again, smiling, something gleamed in his right hand.

Why does the author include this sentence?

• to use symbolism

• to build suspense

• to slow down the pace

• to introduce comparison

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

What can the reader infer about the main character, based on how he reacts to the change in setting in paragraph 6?

• He knows exactly where he is and what is happening.

• He understands that he is still asleep in the hospital.

• He needs a little time to figure out his new situation.

• He recognizes that the motorcycle accident was a dream.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Read the sentence from paragraph 6.

It was unusual as a dream because it was full of smells, and he never dreamt smells.

What is the author’s purpose for including the above sentence in the story?

• to present irony

• to contrast past events

• to foreshadow future events

• to present an understatement

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.10

CCSS.RL.2.2

CCSS.RL.2.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.4.4

Read the sentence from paragraph 7.

An unexpected sound made him crouch suddenly stock-still and shaking.

If the author had wanted to use a word with a stronger connotation than stock-still, he could have used —

• motionless

• stationary

• quiet

• paralyzed

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentence from paragraph 17.

But he smelled death, and when he opened his eyes he saw the blood-soaked figure of the executioner-priest coming toward him with the stone knife in his hand.

What does the blood-soaked figure of the executioner-priest in the ancient setting correspond to in the modern setting?

• the motorbike

• the cut on his face

• the patient in the next bed

• the surgeon

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.7

CCSS.RI.11-12.7

CCSS.RI.8.7

CCSS.RL.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

Which two excerpts provide the best evidence that the story takes place in a historical setting?

• “It smells of war,” he thought, his hand going instinctively to the stone knife which was tucked at an angle into his girdle of woven wool. (paragraph 7)

• Maybe the trail was very near, with the first daylight he would be able to see it again. (paragraph 11)

• The war of the blossom had started at the beginning of the moon and had been going on for three days and three nights now. (paragraph 11)

• Laid next to the night from which he came back, the tepid shadow of the ward seemed delicious to him. A violet lamp kept watch high on the far wall like a guardian eye. (paragraph 14)

• He was staked to the ground on a floor of dank, icy stone slabs. The cold bit into his naked back, his legs. (paragraph 15)

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Read the sentence based on paragraph 4 of the selection.

It was a relief for him to be able to lie out flat while he gathered his thoughts.

Choose the phrase that modifies the sentence by using an absolute phrase to replace the underlined section.

• flat, stretched out and deep in thought

• flat and to collect his calming thoughts

• flat, but not knowing what he should do

• correct as is