Born Worker Common Assessment

1. “Born Worker” is told in the ____ tense, from a ____ point of view.

• past; first person
• past; second person
• past; third person-omniscient
• past; third person-limited

2. The author most likely chose this narrative point of view to ____.

• suggest that José is the hero of the story and Arnie is the villain
• give readers a window into José’s thoughts at crucial moments in the story
• make readers more resentful of José’s cousin, Arnie
• express disapproval towards the character of Mr. Clemens

3. What do the following lines mainly reveal about Arnie, from Jose’s point of view (paragraph 10)? "“Hi, Arnie,” José said without much enthusiasm. He didn’t like his cousin. He thought he was lazy and, worse, spoiled by the trappings of being middle class. His parents had good jobs in offices and showered him with clothes, shoes, CDs, vacations, almost anything he wanted. Arnie’s family had never climbed a telephone pole to size up the future."

• Arnie doesn’t understand how hard most people have to work for a living.
• José admires Arnie and wants to be like him.
• José is planning to steal Arnie’s possessions.
• Arnie’s family cheated José’s parents out of their savings.

4. Which of the following words best replaces jabbering as it is used in the passage below (paragraph 130)? José walked away from Arnie’s jabbering. He walked away, and realized that there were people like his cousin, the liar, and people like himself, someone he was getting to know. He walked away and in the midmorning heat boosted himself up a telephone pole. He climbed up and saw for himself what his father saw—miles and miles of trees and houses, and a future lost in the layers of yellowish haze.

• teasing
• talking
• chattering
• fighting

5. Which of the following inferences is best supported by the following passage (paragraph 44)? "In the next two weeks, Arnie found an array of jobs. José peeled off shingles from a rickety garage roof, carried rocks down a path to where a pond would go, and spray-painted lawn furniture. And while Arnie accompanied him, most of the time he did nothing. He did help occasionally. He did shake the cans of spray paint and kick aside debris so that José didn’t trip while going down the path carrying the rocks. He did stack the piles of shingles, but almost cried when a nail bit his thumb. But mostly he told José what he had missed or where the work could be improved. José was bothered because he and his work had never been criticized before."

• Arnie is a poor worker due to health problems.
• Arnie is likely taking advantage of his cousin’s work ethic.
• Arnie is a perfectionist.
• Arnie deserves his cut of the profits for his ingenuity.

6. Which sentence from the text most strongly supports the answer to Question 5?

• “In the next two weeks, Arnie found an array of jobs.”
• “José peeled off shingles from a rickety garage roof, carried rocks down a path to where a pond would go, and spray-painted lawn furniture.”
• “And while Arnie accompanied him, most of the time he did nothing.”
• “He did stack the piles of shingles, but almost cried when a nail bit his thumb.”

7. Which of the following inferences is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 125)? "“You’ll be OK,” José repeated, and in the shallow end of the pool, he edged up the steps. He lay the old man in the lounge chair and raced back inside for more ice and another towel. He returned outside and placed the bundle of cubes on the man’s head, where the blood flowed. Mr. Clemens was awake, looking about. When the old man felt his mouth, José reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his false teeth. He fit the teeth into Mr. Clemens’s mouth and a smile appeared, something bright at a difficult time."

• Mr. Clemens is about to die of a brain injury.
• José is worried that the paramedics won’t arrive in time.
• Mr. Clemens tries to show he appreciates José’s kindness, although he is rather incapacitated.
• José is thinking this will get him more and easier work from Mr. Clemens.

8. Which sentence from the text most strongly supports the correct answer to Question 7?

• “‘You’ll be OK,’ José repeated, and in the shallow end of the pool, he edged up the steps.”
• “He returned outside and placed the bundle of cubes on the man’s head, where the blood flowed.”
• “When the old man felt his mouth, José reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his false teeth.”
• “He fit the teeth into Mr. Clemens’s mouth and a smile appeared, something bright at a difficult time.”