Figure of Speech on Meaning and Tone

What does the verbal irony in this text suggest?

"Someone had better turn on the heat," Trisha said, sweat glistening on her face.

• a. the temperature was too warm.

• b. the temperature was too cool.

What does the idiom in this text suggest?

I walked across an empty land

I knew the pathway like the back of my hand.

—Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know"

• a. The singer is in the strange frightening place.

• b. The singer has walked the path many times before.

What does the verbal irony in this text suggest?

"This is the best day of my life," Mr. Roy mumbled after his car broke down on the way to an important job interview.

• a. Mr. Roy was having a bad day.

• b. Mr. Roy already running late.

What does the simile in this text suggest?

At an annual festival in Turkey, whirling dervishes practice a tradition of spinning like tops to commemorate the teachings of one of their spiritual leaders.

• a. The dancers rotate rapidly.

• b. The dancers move like children.

What does the allusion in this text suggest?

A Good Samaritan identified only as Mr. Li captured the world's attention in May 2014 when he rushed across a street in China to catch a baby falling from a window.

• a. The man generously helped a stranger.

• b. The man was quick-thinking.

Which figure of speech is used in this text?

It's only forty miles to the ranch as the crow flies, but on the winding local roads, it takes about two hours.

• a. Onomatopoeia

• b. Idiom

Which figure of speech is used in this text?

In May 2014, when wildfires threatened parts of San Diego County in California, firefighters worked around the clock in an effort to control the blaze.

• a. Verbal irony

• b. idiom

Which figure of speech is used in this text?

I got hit in the head by a can of soda. Luckily it was a soft drink.

• a. Pun

• b. Allusion

Which figure of speech is used in this text?

Throughout the ages, human beings have pondered the many mysteries of the moon.

• a. Alliteration

• b. Simile

1. Which figure of speech is used in this text?

On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones.

—John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

• a. Metaphor

• b. Simile