Out of the Dust Spring 1934

In "Apples", Billie Jo discusses the apple blossoms in her front yard. What character trait describes her as she thinks about her current situation?

• She remains indifferent.

• She is hopeless for any sign of normal life in the future.

• She is hopeful as she anticipates the delicious apples that will soon be ready to eat

• She is nervous that the apples may not grow this year with the drought.

In "Give Up on Wheat", while Ma and Daddy are arguing about what would be best for the family, why does Daddy bring up Ma's apple trees?

• The apple trees must be fertilized each week.

• The apple trees take up too much of the wheat field.

• Ma must take care to see that she waters the apple trees daily.

• Ma must pick some of the little green apples so that those that are left will grow big and juicy.

What does the author mean when she uses the phrase, "...winds came, bringing a red dust like prairie fire, hot and peppery, searing the inside of my nose, the whites of my eyes"?

• She means that the winds were powerful and caused damage to Billie Jo's face.

• She means that the winds were warm on Billie Jo's skin.

• She means that the winds made the dust move quickly, which caused painful sensations in Billie Jo's nose and eyes when it hit her.

• She means that the dust was flaming as it blazed across the land.

What mood is created when the author uses the following figurative language? "...winds came, bringing a red dust like prairie fire, hot and peppery, searing the inside of my nose, the whites of my eyes"?

• soothing and optimistic

• questioning and mysterious

• irritated and angry

• anxious and sympathetic

What does the term "rehabilitate" mean in the sentence below? Beginning in 1935, federal conservation programs were created to rehabilitate the Dust Bowl, changing the basic farming methods of the region by seeding areas with grass, rotating crops, and using contour plowing, strip plowing, and planting "shelter belts" of trees to break wind.

• to restore something back to its original state

• to remove something from its original state

• to add something to its original state

• to have something remain in its original state

What context clues did you use to help you determine the meaning of the term rehabilitate in the passage below? Beginning in 1935, federal conservation programs were created to rehabilitate the Dust Bowl, changing the basic farming methods of the region by seeding areas with grass, rotating crops, and using contour plowing, strip plowing, and planting "shelter belts" of trees to break wind.

• ...planting "shelter belts" of trees to break wind.

• Beginning in 1935, federal conservation programs were created...

• ...using contour plowing...

• ...changing the basic farming methods of the region.

How does Ma react to the hardships she faces in her current environment?

• She is determined not to lose hope that the crops will grow again when the rain starts.

• She remains indifferent and does not seem to have an opinion about the situation at all because she is more focused on the coming baby.

• She is hateful and angry to everyone.

• She remains stubborn and is steadfast about her family's suffering.

What does the following passage reveal about Billie Jo? The piano is some comfort in all this. I go to it and I forget the dust for hours, testing my long fingers on wild rhythms, but Ma slams around in the kitchen when I play and after a while, she sends me to the store.

• Playing the piano gives Billie Jo a creative outlet and serves to calm her and take her mind away from the bad times

• Billie Jo is only happy when she is alone and playing the piano.

• Billie Jo cannot understand why her mother is never content anymore.

• Billie Jo is relieved that her mother finally lets her out of the house to run an errand.

What is the meaning of the word "wisp" in the following passage? One quarter of the wheat is lost: blown away or withered up. What remains is little more than a wisp of what it should be.

• (n.) a small, thin person, typically a child

• (n.) a small, frail twisted bunch of something such as grass

• (n.) a small bunch of stiff grass used to groom a horse

• (n.) a flock of snipe

What does the following passage reveal about Billie Jo? I've never heard of that play. "Most everyone's heard of Madame Butterfly," Mad Dog says. How does that singing plowboy know something I don't? And how much more is out there most everyone else has heard of except me?

• Billie Jo is jealous that she does not know as much as Mad Dog does about entertainment such as plays and films.

• Billie Jo is feeling left out because she does not seem to know things that others around her know about.

• Billie Jo is angry that nobody told her about the play called Madame Butterfly.

• Billie Jo feels as though she is more intelligent than others in her class, so she should indeed know about the play.