A Literature of Place

What does the author of “A Literature of Place” most clearly feel that a sense of place helps a person develop? Choose two options.

• a sense of identity

• a feeling of belonging

• a spirit of rebellion

• a feeling of anxiety

• a need to conform

As the author of “A Literature of Place” suggests, how do sensory perceptions help a person understand a particular landscape?

• Perceptions involving sight, sound, smell, and touch all provide different understandings of a landscape.

• Visual perceptions are the best way to gain an understanding of a particular landscape.

• Perceptions of a particular landscape grow much stronger as a person grows older.

• Changes over time rarely affect perceptions of a particular landscape.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

In “A Literature of Place,” what aspect of language seemed most magical to the author as a child?

• the humor of writers like Mark Twain

• the discovery that words could be written down

• the vivid images that could be used to describe nature

• the descriptions of nature in the literature of other cultures

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

According to “A Literature of Place,” what is one key way in which being close with the landscape benefits human beings?

• It helps them develop strong survival skills.

• It gives them the strength to face danger.

• It encourages them to welcome change.

• It makes them feel less lonely.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

Near the end of “A Literature of Place,” what view does the author most clearly express about humanity’s survival?

• It depends on reading literature about lost landscapes.

• Its chances have been improved by modern science.

• It depends on a relationship with the natural world.

• Its chances are being harmed by climate change.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

If you discern something on the horizon, what must be true?

• You decide to ignore it.

• You recognize it clearly.

• You try to hide it from others.

• You fail to grasp its importance.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which of these types of measurement could best be described as temporal?

• a. a weight, given in pounds

• b. a length, given in inches

• c. a cost, given in dollars

• d. a time, given in hours

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.7

CCSS.RI.9-10.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

CCSS.RI.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

Which of these factors is most clearly a spatial aspect of a painting?

• the colors the artist uses

• the ideas the artist tries to convey

• the distances between the items depicted

• the time it takes to complete the painting

Tags

CCSS.RI.8.7

CCSS.RI.9-10.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

CCSS.RI.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.11-12.7

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A: In “A Literature of Place,” what relationship does the author suggest between modern life and nature writing?

• The further people live from nature, the less they want to read about it.

• The more people learn about nature, the happier they are with modern life.

• The true subject of modern nature writing is the loss of connection with nature.

• Modern nature writing focuses not on the natural world but on human nature.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

Part B. Which of these excerpts from “A Literature of Place” best supports the answer to Part A?

• In the United States in recent years, a kind of writing variously called “nature writing” or “landscape writing” has begun to receive critical attention, leading some to assume that this is a relatively new kind of work.

• If there is anything different in this area of North American writing—and I believe there is—it is the hopeful tone it frequently strikes in an era of cynical detachment, and its explicitly dubious view of technological progress, even of capitalism.

• The real topic of nature writing, I think, is not nature but the evolving structure of communities from which nature has been removed, often as a consequence of modern economic development.

• Another way critics describe nature writing is to call it “the literature of place.” A specific and particular setting for human experience and endeavor is, indeed, central to the work of many nature writers.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2