The Censors Reading Comprehension Quiz

Read the dictionary entry for the word absorb, a form of which is used in paragraph 10. After changing the last b to a p, which suffix would turn absorb into a noun meaning "state of being engrossed in something"?

• -ure

• -tion

• -ment

• -sion

The setting is important to the theme because it is where —

• Juan and his mother live

• an explosion hurt one of the workers

• government officials censor letters

• Juan first met Mariana

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Paragraph 10 is mostly about —

• what Juan does at work to track down his letter to Mariana

• what Juan fools authorities with to hide what he is really doing

• how Juan becomes obsessed with censoring the other people's letters

• how Juan reports another worker who is planning to organize a strike

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.9-10.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Working in Section E is significant because it is where —

• letters are read and examined

• letters are checked for explosives

• letters are searched for poison dust

• letters are analyzed for microprints

Which excerpt from the selection is an example of irony?

• Poor Juan! One day they caught him with his guard down before he could even realize that what he had taken as a stroke of luck was really one of fate’s dirty tricks. (paragraph 1)

• He knows that all letters pass from hand to hand and go through all sorts of tests in the huge censorship offices and that, in the end, very few continue on their way. (paragraph 2)

• Ulterior motives couldn’t be overlooked by the Censorship Division, but they needn’t be too strict with those who applied. (paragraph 5)

• Juan and the other employees were allowed to go back to their work, albeit feeling less secure. (paragraph 7)

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

What is the best summary of this selection?

• Juan becomes so caught up in his work at the government censorship agency that he censors the letter to Mariana that he had hoped to retrieve, and he is killed for his action.

• Government officials become aware of Juan when he joins the censorship bureau, soon implicates others in crimes, and quickly becomes the agency’s best censor.

• Juan writes a letter to Mariana, a woman he loves, thereby alerting the government officials to where she is living in a foreign country and putting her in danger.

• The government’s censorship agency hires Juan, who plans to intercept a letter he has written to Mariana, a woman he loves and hopes to save from serious danger.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which excerpt from the selection is the best example of situational irony?

• And that’s why Juan’s so down in the dumps: thinking that something might happen to Mariana because of his letters. (paragraph 2)

• Little by little, Juan was absorbed by his job and he felt at peace since he was doing everything he could to get his letter for Mariana. (paragraph 6)

• Day after day he crossed out whole paragraphs in red ink, pitilessly chucking many letters into the censored basket. (paragraph 10)

• Naturally, he censored it without regret. And just as naturally, he couldn’t stop them from executing him the following morning, another victim of his devotion to his work. (paragraph 12)

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

• Juan knew that his letter to Mariana would someday arrive at his desk, that is what he hoped would happen.

• Juan became more and more obsessed with the idea of intercepting the letter; it had grown from a seed into a giant oak in his mind.

• The Censorship Division building, where Juan worked was crowded and noisy on the outside, and busy and silent on the inside.

• After he began working at the Censorship Division, Juan took his job seriously; stayed focused on the tasks at hand; and was quickly promoted to other divisions.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.1

CCSS.L.9-10.2

CCSS.L.9-10.2A

Which two sentences best express messages of the selection?

• People often regret taking their jobs too seriously.

• A government that censors its people may censor anyone.

• Tracking down lost friends can put them in great danger.

• Knowing when to stop is as important as knowing when to begin.

• Obsessions can sometimes overwhelm a person’s main goal.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

What is the first event that happens in “The Censors”?

• Juan takes a job with government censors to retrieve the letter he wrote.

• Juan writes a letter to Mariana, a girl he likes, who now lives in Paris.

• Juan discovers the letter he has written in his censorship basket.

• Juan quickly moves up the ladder at the censorship office.