from an American Childhood 2

1. In the selection from An American Childhood, the narrator describes the materials that come with her microscope kit. She concludes, “It was years before I saw a recognizable, whole diatom. The kit’s diatomaceous earth was a bust.” What does she mean?

• The diatomaceous earth sample in the microscope kit is missing.
• She received the wrong diatomaceous earth materials with the microscope kit.
• The diatomaceous earth sample in the microscope kit does not look as promised.
• She does not understand how to use the microscope with the diatomaceous earth sample.

2. In the selection from An American Childhood, the narrator learns that “you do what you do out of your private passion for the thing itself.” What is another way to state this idea?

• People should keep what they care about mostly to themselves.
• People should not expect to be able to control their likes and dislikes.
• People should follow their interests without expecting other people to share them.
• People should explore ideas in private before performing actions that affect others.

3. Why must the narrator of the selection from An American Childhood wait a long time before she sees the “famous amoeba”?

• She is not sure where the amoeba might live.
• It takes time to adjust the microscope to see an amoeba.
• Local water is not yet warm enough for amoebas to survive.
• Her parents have no interest in helping her to find the amoeba.

4. Which excerpt from An American Childhood best supports the answer to question (3)?

• I wanted especially to see the famous amoeba, who had eluded me.
• He [the amoeba] lived outside in warm ponds and streams, too, but I lived in Pittsburgh, and it had been a cold winter.
• In the basement at my microscope table I spread a scummy drop of Frick Park puddle water on a slide, peeked in, and lo, there was the famous amoeba.
• They [my parents], too, could see the famous amoeba. I told them, bursting, that he was all set up, that they should hurry before his water dried.

5. Which features most clearly identify the selection from An American Childhood as a reflective essay? Choose TWO options.

• It presents the writer’s opinion about a scientific topic.
• It includes no dialogue and very little description.
• It expresses the writer’s thoughts and feelings.
• It shares an experience from the writer’s life.

6. Which of the following best describes the interaction between the narrator and her parents at the dining table in the selection from An American Childhood?

• The narrator is eager; the parents are cold and distant.
• The narrator is anxious; the parents are solemn and concerned.
• The narrator is excited; the parents are pleasant but uninvolved.
• The narrator is distressed; the parents are curious but not alarmed.

7. As the narrator of An American Childhood reflects on her experience with the microscope and her interaction with her parents, what major conclusion does she draw?

• Her parents will never approve of her pastimes.
• Children appreciate the natural world more than adults do.
• Scientific research is not something that her parents can support.
• She is allowed to be her own person outside of her parents’ influence.

8. Which excerpt from An American Childhood best supports the answer to question (7)?

• My parents were still at table, drinking coffee. They, too, could see the famous amoeba.
• Mother regarded me warmly. She gave me to understand that she was glad I had found what I had been looking for.…
• She [Mother] did not say, but I understood at once, that they had their pursuits (coffee?) and I had mine.
• In subsequent years my parents would praise my drawings and poems, and supply me with books, art supplies, and sports equipment.…

9. How can the prefix en- change a word’s part of speech?

• It can change a noun into an adjective.
• It can change an adjective into a noun.
• It can change an adjective into a verb.
• It can change a verb into a noun.

10. Using your understanding of the prefix en-, choose the best definition of the word encrust.

• to cause to have a crust
• to exist between two crusts
• to be like a crust
• to lack a crust