A Cobra in the Garden

How does the plot change in paragraphs 9 and 10?

• The narrator and her family move to Borneo.

• The narrator finds the cobra's eggs.

• The narrtor imagines the snake's thoughts.

• The family becomes accustomed to seeing the cobra.

Read this chant from the story:

Cobra, cobra, are you there?

Please don't fall onto my hair.

The author included this chant to

• add some humor to the story

• show her anger at the cobra's disruption of their life

• hint that there is something eerie about the cobra

• suggest that she is terrified by the cobra

How does paragraph 18 contribute to the development of a theme in the story?

• by suggesting that the narrator is always on guard, fearing the cobra's attack

• by explaining that the narrator has stopped thinking about her family

• by showing how the narrator now understands the snake and is no longer frightened

• by explaining that the narrator is worried about the small mammals that are the cobra's favorite meal

Which quotation BEST supports a theme of the story?

• "By then, we had known the cobra for more than a year." (paragraph 17)

• "The snake was...less than ten feet from where we were

  sipping tea."

  (paragraph 12)

• "Sometimes it felt as if there was not a moment I did not think of the cobra." (paragraph 17)

• "As we stared openmouthed...she missed a branch and fell splat to the ground." (paragraph 15)

What do the details in paragraph 18 indicate about the cobra?

• The oil-palm tree provides the cobra shelter from other predators.

• She stays near the oil-palm tree because it provides much food in the form of small mammals.

• The cobra prefers the ground where it is smooth and soothing because the narrator has raked it.

• The snake eats the nutty palm kernels, a rich source of food.

How does the author MAINLY develop the narrator's point of view in the story?

• by explaining how the narrator found the cobra's eggs

• by sharing the narrator's description of her home on the island of Borneo

• by sharing the narrator's thoughts about the cobra

• by explaining the narrator's relationship with her husband and three children

Which claim by the author is MOST strongly supported by evidence in the article?

• The black spitting cobra is a danger to humans and should be avoided at all costs.

• Long-tailed macaques are aggresive animals and pose a threat to the local ecosystem.

• The author and her family learned to coexist with the black spitting cobra by being alert and careful.

• The long-tailed macaques were a nuisnace and often caused damage to the author's property.

EXTRA CREDIT:

What culture am I a part of?

• Italian

• Croatian

• Irish

• Greek