ELA9 SAVVAS Unit 1 "American Voices" Group Selections Exam

1. Which answer choice correctly lists the order in which these events happen in

“Rules of the Game”?

I. Waverly learns about opening moves in a chess game.

II. Vincent receives a chess set.

III. Waverly’s brothers lose their interest in chess.

IV. Waverly uses her candies to replace the missing chess pieces.

• a. I, III, II, IV

• b. I, IV, II, III

• c. II, IV, I, III

• d. III, I, IV, II

2. Read the following sentence.

 

Sally, our reigning champion, has competed in chess championships for years, and

she most enjoys playing against opponents with abilities rivaling her own.

Choose the answer that correctly identifies both the participial phrase in the

sentence and the word it modifies.

• a. “our reigning champion”; modifies “Sally”

• b. “has competed”; modifies “Sally”

• c. “playing against”; modifies “enjoys”

• d. “rivaling her own”; modifies “abilities”

3. In what way do the complex characters of Waverly and her mother most

clearly develop a central theme of “Rules of the Game”?

• a. Their differences teach a lesson about getting along with others.

• b. Their errors give insight into the nature of competition.

• c. Their related problems teach a lesson about sympathizing with others.

• d. Their struggles give insight into conflicts between parents and children.

4. Part A

      In “Rules of the Game,” what do Waverly and her brothers think about

the section of Chinatown where they live?

• a. They are afraid of its dangers.

• b. They think it is a dull and lifeless place.

• c. They hate the signs of poverty they see there.

• d. They see it as a place for exploration and fun.

 4. Part B

Which of these quotations from “Rules of the Game” best supports the

answer to question 4. Part A?

• a. At the end of our two-block alley was a small sandlot playground with

  swings and slides well-shined down the middle with use.

• b. The best playground, however, was the dark alley itself. It was crammed

  with daily mysteries and adventures.

• c. On a cold spring afternoon, while walking home from school, I detoured

  through the playground at the end of our alley.

• d. I fled down an alley, past dark curtained shops and merchants washing

  the grime off their windows.

5. In which of these circumstances has the person most likely plotted the given

event?

• a. A parent has lost his or her temper.

• b. A chess player has responded to an attack.

• c. A chess player has calculated possible moves.

• d. A driver has taken the wrong exit on the interstate.

6. According to “The Writing on the Wall,” who wrote the poems etched into the

walls of Angel Island?

• a. educated men among the Chinese immigrants

• b. well-known poets among the Chinese immigrants

• c. bored Chinese Americans waiting to travel back to China

• d. angry Chinese politicians working for change at Angel Island

7. If a poem can be said to have been inscribed, which of the following must be

true?

• a. It had to be memorized and recited out loud.

• b. It had to be recorded in some way on a surface.

• c. It had to be another poem from another century.

• d. It had to be a Chinese symbol for a word or sound.

8. Read this quotation from “The Writing on the Wall.”

 

"Imagine you have traveled on a ship from China to America. Imagine it is sometime

between 1910 and 1940, and you may or may not know the man who you will call

your father when you arrive in the new country whose language you likely do not

know. Imagine that when you arrive . . . you are taken to . . . Angel Island."

Which of the following is a reasonable conclusion to draw from this quotation?

• a. Angel Island was used as an immigration station from at least 1910 until

  at least 1940.

• b. Some Chinese immigrants were quite fluent in English and adapted

  easily.

• c. Immigration from China to the United States was unrestricted after 1940.

• d. Immigration from China to the United States became severely restricted

  in 1910.

9. At the beginning of “The Writing on the Wall,” the author quotes a poem

that begins with these lines:

"Over a hundred poems are on the walls.

Looking at them, they are all pining at the delayed progress."

Which statement best explains the connection of this quotation to the central

idea of the blog post?

• a. The quotation proves that the poems were written by immigrants detained

  on the island.

• b. The quotation illustrates the way the poems captured the experiences of

  the immigrants.

• c. The quotation expresses the writer’s hope that more people will read the

  poems.

• d. The quotation helps demonstrate how angry the immigrants on the island

  felt.