Unusual Normality:

Last Name

First Name

Class/Period

• 4
• 6
• 8
• 3
• 5

Who is the most likely intended audience for this essay?

• School principals and administrators
• Foster parents of war orphans
• Fellow Sierra Leone child soldiers
• Americans and Westerners in general

Read these sentences from paragraph 9 "It was a chance at living again, because all I had come to know, since I was eleven, was how to survive. I didn't know how to live." The tone of these sentences emphasize that the author --

• was forced to become a soldier as a child
• was able to take advantage of certain stereotypes
• was forced to grow up quickly in Sierra Leone
• was able to succeed as an immigrant to the United States

What is the best inference that can be made about the author's message in paragraph 17? I would sit there thinking to myself, What do these school principals think? Do they really think that when there’s a war in your village or when your town is attacked, and people are gunned down in front of you, and you’re running for your life, you’re thinking to yourself, “You know, I must take my report card and put it in the back of my pocket.”

• Significant cultural differences exist between Sierra Leone and the United States
• Bureaucracies sometimes enforce regulations at the expense of those in need
• American's have difficulty comprehending the horrors endured in war-torn places like Sierra Leone
• War inflicts emotional scars that time may be slow to heal

Check the boxes of the TWO sentences from paragraph 16-20 that show passive voice.

• And then my mother would interject to explain the context.
• I would sit there thinking to myself, What do these school principal's think?
• Do they really think that when there's a war in your village or when your town is attacked, and people are gunned down in front of you, and you're running for your life, you're thinking to yourself, "You know, I must take my report card and put it in the back pocket."
• At some of these interviews, I was able to say some of these things, thinking that it would be funny.
• With this essay, along with exams that were given to me, I was accepted to the United Nations International School and placed in the eleventh grade.

Words and phrases such as "humongous" or "weirded out" help establish the author's personality, or --

• tone
• voice
• purpose
• message

What tone or attitude is suggested in the quoted text in paragraph 26 and the explanation that follows? And I would respond by saying, “No, no, no. I’m not weird. Weird has a negative connotation. I prefer the word unusual. It has a certain sophistication and gravitas to it that suits my character.”

• Confusion
• Persistence
• Confidence
• Resentment

What word best describes the connotation of "weird" in paragraph 26? And I would respond by saying, “No, no, no. I’m not weird. Weird has a negative connotation. I prefer the word unusual. It has a certain sophistication and gravitas to it that suits my character.”

• Irregular
• Peculiar
• Extreme
• Remarkable