Poetry Collection ELA II

Which of the following situations could best be used to illustrate the meaning of current?

• The eagle catches the wind stream and glides toward the horizon.
• The band marches quickly to the rhythm of the music.
• A dog becomes lost and runs wildly up and down the street.
• A student holds up the poster and everyone begins chanting.

If a bird suddenly begins to trill, which of the following is the bird most likely doing?

• singing
• flying
• eating a healthy diet
• pecking

What is the meaning of the word flurry?

• commotion or excitement of activity
• practicality or usefulness
• harshness or glaring quality
• indifference or lack of caring

Read this line from “Caged Bird.” But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream … To what does the speaker most clearly refer with the phrase “the grave of dreams”?

• dreams that are not realized but that die unfulfilled
• the power of dreams to save someone from despair
• the fact that dreams are all that is real for someone who is caged
• the meaning of dreams for someone who is caged, a condition like death

Which excerpt from “Caged Bird” supports the idea that the caged bird sings because it cannot fly?

• … His tune is heard / on the distant hill / for the caged bird / sings of freedom.
• … leaps / on the back of the wind / and floats downstream / till the current ends …
• … and dips his wing / in the orange sun rays / and dares to claim the sky.
• … the trade winds soft through the sighing trees / and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn / and he names the sky his own …

Which line from the poem best supports the idea that the speaker of "Some Advice to Those That Will Serve Time in Prison" is likely to agree with the statement "a prisoner should make every effort to live and to be as optimistic as possible?"

• . . . always remember / to eat every last piece of bread— / also, don’t forget to laugh heartily.
• “Better I had swung from the end of a rope / like a flag . . .”
• Part of you may live alone inside, / like a stone at the bottom of a well.
• And who knows, / the woman you love may stop loving you.

Read these lines from “Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison.” To think of roses and gardens inside is bad, to think of seas and mountains is good. What does the speaker most likely mean by giving this advice?

• Thinking of roses and gardens is bad because gardens are ordered spaces like a prison, whereas seas and mountains are wild and will remind the prisoner of freedom.
• Thinking of roses or gardens is bad because a prisoner cannot hide in a garden, but a prisoner can escape by getting to the sea or the mountains.
• Thinking of roses and gardens is bad because the prisoner will want to visit them, which can’t be done, but few people want to go to the sea or the mountains.
• Thinking of roses and gardens is bad because the prisoner does not know about gardens, but every prisoner knows about the sea and mountains, so they’re more realistic.

“Caged Bird” is an extended metaphor comparing the caged bird to African Americans experiencing segregation and racial discrimination. Which statements give the best explanation of the metaphor’s meaning?

• Like the caged bird, African Americans cannot live free and natural lives.
• Like the caged bird, African Americans can do whatever they please with their lives.
• Like the caged bird, African Americans have the choice to be free or to live sheltered lives.
• Like the caged bird, African Americans celebrate their safe, secure lives in a protected environment.

Which of the following excerpts from “Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison” contains figurative language?

• Don’t say it’s no big thing: / it’s like the snapping of a green branch / to the man inside.
• It may not be a pleasure exactly, / but it’s your solemn duty / to live one more day / to spite the enemy.
• Look at your face from shave to shave, / forget your age, / watch out for lice . . .
• Read and write without rest, / and I also advise weaving . . .

Read the following sentence. Keisha served on the BOARD of a major manufacturing company. Which of the following sentences uses the multiple-meaning word board in the same sense as the example?

• The board voted to fund an expansion of our program.
• She walked to the end of the board and looked into the pool.
• A large wave knocked Miguel off his board and into the surf.
• Ashley needed one last board to complete her bookshelf.