8th Grade English Spring Final Exam Review

1. Read the excerpt. Then choose the best answer to each question.

2. 
   Dussel: [Pointing to Peter] Thanks to this clumsy fool, there’s someone now who knows we’re up here!  Someone now knows we’re up here, hiding!

   Mrs. Van Daan: [Going to Dussel] Someone knows we’re here, yes.  But who is the someone?  A thief!  A thief!  You think a thief is going to go to the Green Police and say...I was robbing a place the other night and I heard a noise up over my head?  You think a thief is going to do that?

3. Dussel:  Yes.  I think he will.

   Mrs. Van Daan: [Hysterically]  You’re crazy!

5. What is the best match for the word hysterically as used?

• lonely and scared

• upset and angry

• humorously

• uncontrolled emotion

Read the excerpt. Then choose the best answer to each question.

67  [He takes it, unfolding it and showing it to the others.]

68  Anne.  It’s a muffler...to put round your neck...like an ascot, you know.  I made it myself out of odds and ends...I knitted it in the dark each night, after I’d gone to bed.  I’m afraid it looks better in the dark!

69  Mr. Frank. [Putting it on] It’s fine.  It fits me perfectly.  Thank you, Annele.

The reader can conclude that a muffler is —

• a scarf

• a shawl

• a necktie

• a tailpipe

Read the excerpt. Then choose the best answer to each question.

The best part about this room...you can look down and see a bit of the street and the canal.  There’s a houseboat...you can see the end of it...a bargeman lives there with his family...They have a baby and he’s just beginning to walk and I’m so afraid he’ll fall into the canal.  I watch him...

What is the most reasonable inference to draw about Anne’ personality from the details in this speech?

• She is foolish because she has established communications with outsiders in spite of being warned of the danger.

• She is resourceful because she finds outside interests that take her mind off having to live in fear of the Nazis.

• She is nosey because she keeps an eye on the baby even though she does not know the bargeman and his wife.

• She is naive because she thinks only good things about the people she sees and knows.

1. Read these stage directions from The Diary of Anne Frank, Act I:

A match suddenly flares in the attic.  We dimly see Mr. Van Daan.  He is getting his bearings.  He comes quickly down the stairs, and goes to the cupboard where the food is stored.  Again the match flares up, and is as quickly blown out.  The dim figure is seen to steal back up the stairs.

As described in the stage directions and from what you’ve learned about Mr. Van Daan, which sentences best explain his behavior and what it reveals about him?

• He is sneaking food for himself, which shows that he is greedy and selfish.

• He is getting a snack for his wife, which shows that he is kind and considerate.

• He is looking at the prices of the foods, which shows that he is thrifty and prudent.

• He is figuring out how much food is left, which shows that he is careful and organized.

Anne: You’re making a big mistake about me. I do it all wrong. I say too much. I go too far. I hurt people’s feelings. . . .

Peter: I think you’re just fine. . . . What I want to say . . . if it wasn’t for you around here, I don’t know. What I mean . . .

What does Peter mean in this conversation with Anne in The Diary?

• He is expressing his feelings for Anne.

• He is talking about his family.

• He is discussing their situation in hiding.

• He is asking Anne about her past.

At the end of Act II, Anne tells Peter, “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart.”

How does her attitude affect the ending?

• It makes the ending more moving because Anne is the victim of evil.

• It adds suspense because it is doubtful that Anne keeps that attitude.

• It softens the ending because Anne has found a friend in Peter.

• It reveals why Mr. Frank returns to the attic after the war.

Directions: Use the “Freedom of the Press” excerpt below to answer questions 7-11.

Freedom of the Press

1.        . . . The First Amendment prevents the government from censoring the press. However, private publishers can censor whatever they want. Since schools and school districts pay the student newspaper’s publication costs, they are private publishers. This means they can edit information as they see fit. They can even refuse to publish some articles. 

3. “We are now left with this basic unfairness: In my view, it is not right that adults enjoy greater freedom of speech in their newspapers than students do at school. Censorship of any kind weakens American values. Rather than suppress the expression of ideas that may be troubling to some, students should be given the opportunities to learn about civil discourse, dialogue, and debate. This will make them better citizens and our entire democracy stronger.”

5.           The framers of the Constitution believed that if the governments could censor opinions they do not like, the public would be less educated. Given that schools are places of education, it seems counterproductive to limit students’ free speech. The more opinions students are exposed to, the better equipped they will be to handle the issues they will face later in life.

7. The author of “Freedom of the Press” would most likely agree that-

• schools should be able to censor publications

• students’ freedom of speech should not be limited

• schools should not publish anything written by students

• students' exposure to different opinions should be limited

Which sentence best supports the answer to #7?

• Since schools and school districts pay the student newspaper’s publication costs, they are private publishers.

• This means they can edit information as they see fit.

• The more opinions students are exposed to, the better equipped they will be to handle the issues they will face later in life.

• However, private publishers can censor whatever they want.

1. The text states "Given that schools are places of education, it seems counterproductive to limit students’ free speech. The more opinions students are exposed to, the better equipped they will be to handle the issues they will face later in life."

Based on the Latin root “contra” meaning opposite or against, the word counterproductive in the last paragraph of “Freedom of the Press” most likely means-

• highly productive

• overly productive

• under productive

• not productive

The more opinions students are exposed to, the better equipped they will be to handle the issues they will face later in life.

(Who is "they") The antecedent of the pronoun they in the sentence from paragraph 3 is:

• the students

• the teachers

• the books

• the parents