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"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" 8th Honors

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 11mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

To which senses does the following image appeal?


A hand must have come down out of the night, for there was a little rat-tat as the fingernails brushed and the man's breath fanned his face.

a)

sound, taste

b)

hearing, touch

c)

smell, touch

d)

sight, taste

2.

When the narrator is outside of the story and conveys thoughts and feelings of only one character, the author is using

a)

3rd person limited

b)

1st person

c)

2nd person

d)

3rd omniscient

3.

What mood is evoked in the following passage?


The boy turned on his side. A moth brushed his face, but it was a peach blossom. A peach blossom flicked him, but it was a moth. Nothing stayed put. Nothing had a name. Nothing was as it once was.

a)

suspicion

b)

uncertainty

c)

calm

d)

loneliness

4.

What genre is "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh"?

a)

historical fiction

b)

science fiction

c)

realistic fiction

d)

nonfiction

5.

"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" takes place during

a)

WWI

b)

WWII

c)

the Revolutionary War

d)

the Civil War

6.

It is a “solemn night for a boy just turned fourteen” in “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” because

a)

he knows he will be in his first battle soon.

b)

he doesn't like sleeping in a peach field.

c)

the army is camped near a church.

d)

the wind is full of whispers.

7.

Why does the general stop to talk to the drummer boy in “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh”?

a)

The general is lonely and wants to talk to someone.

b)

The general remembers when he was a drummer boy.

c)

The general realizes the boy is scared and needs encouragement.

d)

The general wants to find out if the boy ran away from home or joined legitimately.

8.

Use context clues to choose the best meaning for the word legitimately as it is used in this sentence.


"Run off from home or joined legitimately, boy?"

a)

legally

b)

sneakily

c)

by lying about one's age

d)

fairly

9.

Use context clues from “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” to determine the meaning of the phrase “ruffle away” in the following sentence.


In silence he listened to his own heart ruffle away—at last gone from his ears and back in his chest again.

a)

move quietly

b)

sing softly

c)

stop abruptly

d)

explode loudly

10.

According to the general in “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” why is the drummer boy so important to the army?

a)

The sound of the drum drowns out the sounds of battle.

b)

The drummer’s beat keeps the soldiers together as an army.

c)

The soldiers might get lost if they can’t hear the drum.

d)

The soldiers enjoy listening to the drum.

11.

When the general says, "Bless you, boy," he gives Joby

a)

a benediction

b)

a warning

c)

advice

d)

instructions

12.

The narrator of “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” writes that


He smelled as all fathers should smell, of salt sweat, ginger tobacco, horse and boot leather, and the earth he walked upon.


What does the narrator imply?

a)

All fathers went off to battle.

b)

All fathers wore riding boots, especially in a battlefield.

c)

All generals smoked a certain kind of tobacco.

d)

All fathers had a scent like the fields in which they worked.

13.

Judging by the context in this passage, what word below is closest in meaning to the word askew?


Beyond the thirty-three familiar shadows, forty thousand men, exhausted by nervous expectation, unable to sleep for dreams of battles yet unfought, lay crazily askew in their uniforms

a)

lazy

b)

crooked

c)

alert

d)

depressed

14.

What is the best description of the setting in "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh"?

a)

in a graveyard at midnight

b)

on a battlefield at dawn

c)

inside a church

d)

in a peach orchard in the middle of the night

15.

Choose the best paraphrase of the following sentence from “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh.”


More innocents will get shot out of pure enthusiasm than ever got shot before.

a)

The excitement of war makes young soldiers risk their lives.

b)

Young soldiers will die because they are frightened on the battlefield.

c)

Young soldiers will be shot because newer weapons have been made.

d)

Younger soldiers are better targets than older soldiers.

16.

The author sets "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" before a battle instead of during a battle

a)

to describe how close together the two armies are camped

b)

to describe the landscape before the battle damages it

c)

to show what the general does before the battle

d)

to show how Joby learns to face his fear of the upcoming battle

17.

In “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” the general says the drummer boy is

a)

the backbone of the army

b)

the heart of the army

c)

the pride of the army

d)

the brains of the army

18.

The purpose of a narrative text is to

a)

persuade

b)

give information

c)

produce a fictional text

d)

tell a story

19.

In “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” after the general leaves, Joby turns the drum up to face the sky. What does this action show?

a)

Joby wants to be ready when the battle begins.

b)

Joby is embarrassed to have the drum turned on its side.

c)

The general told Joby to set the drum upright.

d)

Joby is no longer frightened by sounds of things hitting the drum skin.

20.

The general cried because

a)

he knew the war would end soon.

b)

he knew his side would lose.

c)

he knew the war would go on for a long time.

d)

he knew Joby would be killed.