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WorksheetsWriting on the Wall
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 11mins
Which of the following were reasons for detaining an immigrant on Angel Island during the early 1900s? Choose three options.
The immigrant was Chinese.
The immigrant was a woman.
The immigrant was in poor health.
The immigrant's papers were incorrect.
The immigrant was European.
Who wrote the poems etched into the walls of Angel Island?
educated men among the Chinese immigrants
well-known poets among the Chinese immigrants
bored Chinese Americans waiting to travel back to China
angry Chinese politicians working for change at Angel Island
Which of the following factors made it difficult for people to find the poems on the walls of Angel Island? Choose three options.
The walls were painted over.
The buildings became derelict.
The detention center was preserved.
The barracks were deserted for years.
The army burned down the buildings.
Why did people decide to preserve the poems on the walls of the detention center?
The poems are great examples of classical Chinese literature.
The poems document the experiences of hundreds of immigrants.
The poems record the history of the Angel Island detention center.
The poems describe what it was like to be a Chinese American in the early 1900s.
Which of the following is the feeling most often expressed by the poets quoted in “The Writing on the Wall”?
anger
regret
dismay
loneliness
If an immigrant can be said to keep a memento from a place, which of the following must be true?
He or she would not want to go back there again.
He or she would want to send it back to that place.
He or she would not want to forget having been there.
He or she would want to share it with many other people.
If an immigrant can be said to have composed a poem, which of the following must be true?
He or she read it out loud to an audience.
He or she drew upon personal thoughts or feelings to create it.
He or she used a variety of tools to carve it into a wall.
He or she repeated verses that had been memorized in the past.
If a poem can be said to have been inscribed, which of the following must be true?
It had to be memorized and recited out loud.
It had to be recorded in some way on a surface.
It had to be another poem from another century.
It had to be a Chinese symbol for a word or sound.
Which of the following statements best expresses the author’s opinion of the poems discovered at Angel Island?
The poems are well written and use sophisticated techniques.
The style of the poems is too old-fashioned, but the imagery is beautiful.
The ideas and feelings explored in the poems are interesting, but the poems are not well written.
The poems are artifacts that reveal the history of Angel Island, not truly poetry in the traditional sense.
Which of the following is a reasonable conclusion to draw from this quotation?
Imagine you have traveled on a ship from China to America. Imagine it is sometime between 1910 and 1940, and you may or may not know the man who you will call your father when you arrive in the new country whose language you likely do not know. Imagine that when you arrive . . . you are taken to . . . Angel Island.
Angel Island was used as an immigration station from at least 1910 until at least 1940.
Some Chinese immigrants were quite fluent in English and adapted easily.
Immigration from China to the United States was unrestricted after 1940.
Immigration from China to the United States became severely restricted in 1910.
How did the men who wrote poems on the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station feel about who and what they had left behind them in China?
They were glad to have severed ties to their former lives.
They were eager to return to China and to their previous situations.
They were saddened by memories of their lives in China.
They were cheered by knowing that people in China were counting on them.
One of the central ideas of “The Writing on the Wall” is that, for many years, Chinese immigrants were treated unfairly. How does the author develop that idea? Choose three options.
by referring to the effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
by including quotations from the poetry the Chinese immigrants wrote
by describing how extensively the walls were covered by the poets’ work
by describing how long some of the Chinese would-be immigrants were detained
by writing about the difference in how Asian and European immigrants were treated
"Over a hundred poems are on the walls.Looking at them, they are all pining at the delayed progress."
Which statement best explains the connection of this quotation to the central idea of the blog post?
The quotation proves that the poems were written by immigrants detained on the island.
The quotation illustrates the way the poems captured the experiences of the immigrants.
The quotation expresses the writer’s hope that more people will read the poems.
The quotation helps demonstrate how angry the immigrants on the island felt.
Which sentence best expresses one central idea of “The Writing on the Wall”?
People did not immediately see the value in the poems from Angel Island.
People should organize efforts to preserve the poems from Angel Island.
The immigrants who wrote poetry addressed one another in their poems.
Poetry is a mighty and meaningful way to connect people across time.
What is the meaning of the Latin root -mem-?
to repeat
to reveal
to resemble
to remember
The prefix im- often means “not” or “the opposite of.” Which of the following would most likely make an event immemorial? Use the information about the prefix im- and your knowledge of the root -mem- to help you answer.
It might be a secret that no one can know about.
It might be so unimportant that it is considered trivial.
It might have occurred so long ago that no one can recall it.
It might be so unusual that nothing like it has ever happened before.
Which statement best describes the similarity among alliteration, assonance, and consonance?
They are all techniques that use the stressed syllables in words to create the rhythms in poetry.
They are all ways of using the sounds in words to increase the power of what is being communicated.
They are all techniques that use the letters in words to make some stand out visually from the others.
They are all ways of communicating that use precise language to make a point in as few words as possible.
Which choice best illustrates the use of alliteration?
the meanings in these memories of many men
that which was known but never shown
a uniformity of references to facts
and, oh, so openly an omen
Which choice best illustrates the use of assonance?
happily hearing his name
depict their dramatic dreams
to seek deep feelings in what I read
uttered in terms of retrospective terror
Which choice best illustrates the use of consonance?
the potential of permanent peace and prosperity
and stay for days away from her but say her name
trying to confide in the night but rather dying inside
a request for the lost list, mostly forgotten, found at last
