The Golden Touch Test

In “The Golden Touch,” what is the king’s main problem at the breakfast table?

• He sees that his daughter is upset with him.

• He is unsure about how to store his golden food.

• His food turns to gold before he can swallow it.

• His cook made hot cakes instead of fish and potatoes.

In “The Golden Touch,” who grants the king his wish?

• a stranger

• the King himself

• a palace servant

• the king's daughter

As described in “The Golden Touch,” what are King Midas’s two great loves?

• the garden and the river

• his daughter and gold

• dreams and solitude

• food and drink

If Marla is admiring the burnished wood, what is she most likely admiring? Base your answer on the meaning of burnished.

• the wood’s shape

• the wood’s deep polish

• the wood’s grain patterns

• the wood’s smooth texture

At the end of “The Golden Touch,” how does King Midas undo the damage he has caused?

• He changes flowers to gold.

• He apologizes to those he has hurt.

• He banishes himself from the kingdom.

• He sprinkles water on things he has touched.

Part A Which word best describes King Midas in the first part of “The Golden

Touch”?

• wise

• cruel

• greedy

• rascally

Part B Which sentence from “The Golden Touch” best supports the answer to

Part A?

• He had planted a garden, in which grew the biggest and beautifullest and sweetest roses that any mortal ever saw or smelt.

• The very tip-top of enjoyment would never be reached, unless the whole world were to become his treasure-room, and be filled with yellow metal which should be all his own.

• Midas was enjoying himself in his treasure-room, one day, as usual, when he perceived a shadow fall over the heaps of gold.

• Midas now took his spectacles from his pocket, and put them on his nose, in order that he might see more distinctly what he was about.

Which of the following identifies one of Midas’s main problems in “The

Golden Touch”?

• Marygold refuses to forgive her father for the mistakes he’s made.

• Midas and the stranger disagree about the usefulness of Midas’s new power.

• Midas cannot satisfy his hunger for gold and his hunger for food at the same time.

• Marygold is weeping because she knows her father has given in to his desire for wealth.

Which excerpt from early in “The Golden Touch” most strongly hints at a

tragic event to come?

• Once upon a time, there lived a very rich man, and a king besides, whose name was Midas; and he had a little daughter, whom nobody but myself ever heard of, and whose name I either never knew, or have entirely forgotten.

• He made it his custom, therefore, to pass a large portion of every day in a dark and dreary apartment, under ground, at the basement of his place. It was here that he kept his wealth. To this dismal hole … Midas betook himself whenever he wanted to be particularly happy.

• He drew out his handkerchief, which little Marygold had hemmed for him. That was likewise gold…. Somehow or other, this last transformation did not quite please King Midas. He would rather that his little daughter’s handiwork should have remained just the same.

In the following sentence, which word could best be substituted for lustrous?

Base your answer on the meaning of lustrous.

"The moon is lustrous."

• milky

• radiant

• sinister

• romantic