wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Helen Keller:Story of my Life

Total questions: 40

Worksheet time: 1hrs 28mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

According to "The Story of My Life," how does Helen mainly perceive her surroundings?

a)

sight

b)

taste

c)

touch

d)

hearing

2.

Why does Helen break the doll that Miss Sullivan had given her?

a)

She wants to anger Miss Sullivan because she doesn't want to learn.

b)

She wants a different doll.

c)

She likes her rag doll better.

d)

She is impatient with the lessons she does not understand.

3.

Read this sentence:

"In despair, Miss Sullivan had dropped the subject for a time, only to renew it at the first opportunity."

What characteristics of Miss Sullivan are revealed? (choose 2)

a)

Miss Sullivan is impatient.

b)

Miss Sullivan is persistent.

c)

Miss Sullivan is angry.

d)

Miss Sullivan is wise.

4.

What action directly causes Helen to understand the concept of language?

a)

Walking in the sunshine with Miss Sullivan.

b)

Tracing the shapes of letters with her hand.

c)

Putting the broken pieces of the doll back together.

d)

Having water flow over her hand while spelling the word, water.

5.

Helen says that at first, "I was at once interested in this finger play and tried to imitate it." This sentence reveals that from Helen's perspective, sign language was....

a)

an exchange of information

b)

a way to discipline her

c)

an annoying interruption

d)

an amusing activity

6.

Helen says: "I left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought."

The sentence above reveals which personal quality of Helen that fostered her success in learning to use language?

a)

enthusiasm

b)

impatience

c)

humor

d)

compassion

7.

In her story, Helen describes her experience learning to communicate. What "strange new sight" comes to her then?

a)

She feels love for the first time.

b)

She realizes she is able to see with eyeglasses.

c)

She discovers she can picture objects in her mind.

d)

She discovers everything has a name and thus has value.

8.

Which of the following best state Helen Keller's purposes in writing this story? (choose 2 answers)

a)

To entertain readers with a tale based on personal experience

b)

To inform readers about an important event in her life and express her emotions about it.

c)

To share her reflections upon the influence of an important person in her life.

d)

To persuade readers to help deaf children by providing proper education

9.

Helen states:

"Neither sorrow nor regret followed my passionate outburst. I had not loved the doll. In the still dark world in which I lived, there was no strong sentiment or tenderness."

Which words convey a bleak, unhappy tone? (choose 2)

a)

passionate

b)

still

c)

dark

d)

strong

e)

sentiment

10.

Helen states:

"Neither sorrow nor regret followed my passionate outburst. I had not loved the doll. In the still dark world in which I lived, there was no strong sentiment or tenderness."

The statement above shows Helen's perspective at the beginning of the story. How did her perspective change by the end of the story? (choose 2 answers)

a)

She learned that she would never be able to leave her dark world.

b)

She learned that things have names, and so these things can have value.

c)

She learned that only Miss Sullivan could save her from her dark world.

d)

She learned that this concept of language could open up a new world to her.

11.
In her autobiography, Keller says that the most important day of her life was the day she
a)
learned about wataer
b)
learned to spell mug
c)
met her new teacher
d)
smelled honeysuckle
12.
What was the first thing that Sullivan taught Keller?
a)
spelling
b)
obeying
c)
hugging
d)
speacking
13.
The first word that Keller truly understood was
a)
doll
b)
water
c)
mother
d)
mug
14.
What did Keller realize after understanding her first word?
a)
Her teacher was a miracle worker
b)
Her ship was out of the fog.
c)
She could imitate anything.
d)
Everyhing has a name.
15.
Something tangible is
a)
real
b)
large
c)
full
d)
clea
16.
What does uncomprehending mean?
a)
not working
b)
not helping
c)
not moving
d)
not understanding
17.
A sensation is a
a)
meaning
b)
wish
c)
feeling
d)
movement
18.
Consciousness is an awareness of
a)
an unfair rule
b)
someone's needs
c)
another's sadness
d)
one's own thoughts
19.
Repentance is 
a)
worry
b)
sorrow
c)
courage
d)
faith
20.
How does Keller describe her state before Sullivan arrived?
a)
She was eager to learn.
b)
She was weak and angry
c)
She felt sad but not hopeless.
d)
She was as lonely as a ship at sea.
21.
Keller  says that when she first began spelling words, she was
a)
just making movements
b)
giving new life to things
c)
pleasing her teacher
d)
learning new words
22.
Keller's use of first-person point of view in this autobiography helps you understand
a)
Keller's mother's pride in her daughter
b)
Sullivan's ideas about helping Keller
c)
Keller's reason for breaking the doll
d)
Sullivan's great love for Keller
23.
Keller explains in her autobiography that learning that language existed changed her by
a)
filling her with both joy and sorrow
b)
bringing her closer to her mother
c)
making her admire Sullivan
d)
setting her soul free
24.
What did Keller feel the night after she understood the word water?
a)
religious faith 
b)
intense happiness
c)
love for her family
d)
love for Sullivan
25.
An autobiography is
a)
a scary story
b)
someone writing about their own life
c)
a lie
d)
someone writing about someone else's life
26.

"Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor had succeeded this passionate struggle." What is the meaning of the word "preyed" as it is used in this sentence?

a)

Advantage

b)

Constant struggle

c)

Despair

d)

Hunted

27.

"When I finally succeeded in making the letters correctly I was flushed with childish pleasure and pride." What is the meaning of the word "flushed" as it is used in this sentence?

a)

Cleansed

b)

Driven from

c)

Intensely feeling

d)

Sudden flow

28.

"Then my eyes filled with tears; for I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow." What is the meaning of the word "repentance" as it is used in the sentence?

a)

Defense

b)

Guilt

c)

Pride

d)

Solace

29.

"There was a moment of sinister silence, then a multitudinous stirring of the leaves." What does the connotative meaning of the phrase "sinister silence" suggest as it is used in this sentence?

a)

The phrase describes the unsettling calm before the storm hits.

b)

The phrase highlights Helen's fear of being in the tree.

c)

The phrase explains the process of the storm.

d)

The phrase suggests Helen's understanding of nature.

30.

"It was the sweet allurement of the mimosa tree in full bloom that finally overcame my fears." What is the meaning of the word "allurement" as it is used in this sentence?

a)

Caution

b)

Fragrance

c)

Temptation

d)

Warning

31.

"The beautiful truth burst upon my mind—I felt that there were invisible lines stretched between my spirit and the spirits of others."


How does the word "burst" on page 22 impact the tone of the passage?

a)

By suggesting Helen's confusion

b)

By creating a sense of urgency

c)

By conveying a sense of regret

d)

By highlighting the excitement of Helen's understanding

32.

Which of the following inferences best describes what Helen felt after learning what “water” means?

a)

Helen was proud of herself for finally understanding what “water” meant.

b)

Helen was angry that she didn’t realize what “water” meant sooner.

c)

Helen was joyful because she realized the objects around her had names and meaning.

d)

Helen was jealous that many people knew more words than her.

33.

Paragraph 4 of “The Story of My Life” are told in the ______ tense, from a _______ point of view.

a)

past; third-person

b)

present; first-person

c)

present; third-person

d)

past; first-person

34.

Which sentence most strongly expresses Helen’s feelings before she could understand language?

a)

“Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor had succeeded this passionate struggle.”

b)

“As we returned to the house every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life.”

c)

“The most important day in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me.”

d)

“I did not know what the future held of marvel or surprise for me.”

35.

Which of the following inferences best describes Anne Sullivan?

a)

Anne Sullivan was an effective teacher because she was outgoing.

b)

Anne Sullivan was dedicated to helping Helen learn language.

c)

Anne Sullivan was frustrated when Helen broke the new doll.

d)

Anne Sullivan was strict about making Helen quickly learn new words.

36.

Which of the following statements best explains why Helen felt happy at the end of this excerpt?

a)

She was going out into the warm sunshine.

b)

She learned the meaning of the word “doll.”

c)

The language she was learning helped her make sense of the world.

d)

She didn’t like the big rag doll and she was glad it was broken..

37.

Which sentence from the text most strongly supports that the language she learned helped Helen make sense of the world?

a)

“I learned a great many new words that day.”

b)

“I do not remember what they all were; but I do know that mother, father, sister, teacher were among them—words that were to make the world blossom for me, like ‘Aaron’s rod, with flowers.’”

c)

“This thought, if a wordless sensation may be called a thought, made me hop and skip with pleasure.”

d)

“Then my eyes filled with tears; for I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow.”

38.

Which sentence from the text most strongly supports the idea that water was important in teaching Helen about names?

a)

“Some one was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout.”

b)

“I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers.”

c)

“Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness of something forgotten—a thrill of returning thought, and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me.”

d)

“Miss Sullivan had continued to impress upon me that “m-u-g” is mug and that “w-a-t-e-r” is water but I persisted in confounding the two.”

39.

What context clues assist you in defining "unconsciously" in the following sentence? My fingers lingered almost unconsciously on the familiar leaves and blossoms which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring.

a)

greet

b)

blossoms

c)

leaves

d)

familiar

40.

What context clues assist you in defining "languor" in the following sentence? Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor had succeeded this passionate struggle.

a)

anger and bitterness

b)

preyed and upon

c)

continually and weeks

d)

succeeded and languor