WorksheetsUnusual Normality:
Total questions: 18
Worksheet time: 18mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
Last Name
4 lines
2.
First Name
4 lines
3.
Class/Period
a)
4
b)
6
c)
8
d)
3
e)
5
4.
Who is the most likely intended audience for this essay?
a)
School principals and administrators
b)
Foster parents of war orphans
c)
Fellow Sierra Leone child soldiers
d)
Americans and Westerners in general
5.
Read these sentences from paragraph 9 "It was a chance at living again, because all I had come to know, since I was eleven, was how to survive. I didn't know how to live." The tone of these sentences emphasize that the author --
a)
was forced to become a soldier as a child
b)
was able to take advantage of certain stereotypes
c)
was forced to grow up quickly in Sierra Leone
d)
was able to succeed as an immigrant to the United States
6.
What is the best inference that can be made about the author's message in paragraph 17?
I would sit there thinking to myself, What do these school principals think? Do they really think that when there’s a war in your village or when your town is attacked, and people are gunned down in front of you, and you’re running for your life, you’re thinking to yourself, “You know, I must take my report card and put it in the back of my pocket.”
a)
Significant cultural differences exist between Sierra Leone and the United States
b)
Bureaucracies sometimes enforce regulations at the expense of those in need
c)
American's have difficulty comprehending the horrors endured in war-torn places like Sierra Leone
d)
War inflicts emotional scars that time may be slow to heal
7.
Check the boxes of the TWO sentences from paragraph 16-20 that show passive voice.
a)
And then my mother would interject to explain the context.
b)
I would sit there thinking to myself, What do these school principal's think?
c)
Do they really think that when there's a war in your village or when your town is attacked, and people are gunned down in front of you, and you're running for your life, you're thinking to yourself, "You know, I must take my report card and put it in the back pocket."
d)
At some of these interviews, I was able to say some of these things, thinking that it would be funny.
e)
With this essay, along with exams that were given to me, I was accepted to the United Nations International School and placed in the eleventh grade.
8.
Words and phrases such as "humongous" or "weirded out" help establish the author's personality, or --
a)
tone
b)
voice
c)
purpose
d)
message
9.
What tone or attitude is suggested in the quoted text in paragraph 26 and the explanation that follows?
And I would respond by saying, “No, no, no. I’m not weird. Weird has a negative connotation. I prefer the word unusual. It has a certain sophistication and gravitas to it that suits my character.”
a)
Confusion
b)
Persistence
c)
Confidence
d)
Resentment
10.
What word best describes the connotation of "weird" in paragraph 26?
And I would respond by saying, “No, no, no. I’m not weird. Weird has a negative connotation. I prefer the word unusual. It has a certain sophistication and gravitas to it that suits my character.”
a)
Irregular
b)
Peculiar
c)
Extreme
d)
Remarkable
11.
What is the connotation of "macho" in paragraph 60?
And so after we finished breakfast, I was introduced to the game of paintball. They showed me the weapon, how you can shoot it. And I allowed them to teach me to shoot things. They were very macho about it.
a)
Aggressive
b)
Powerful
c)
Determined
d)
Boastful
12.
Of all the events in the Beah's story, which one happened first in the story?
a)
School officials cannot relate to the trials of Beah, a former child soldier
b)
Having been at actual war for his life, Beah excels at paintball
c)
Beah describes his childhood in Sierra Leone
d)
Beah learns that the bravado of young American's is false
13.
Of all the events in the Beah's story, which one happened second in the story?
a)
School officials cannot relate to the trials of Beah, a former child soldier
b)
Having been at actual war for his life, Beah excels at paintball
c)
Beah describes his childhood in Sierra Leone
d)
Beah learns that the bravado of young American's is false
14.
Of all the events in the Beah's story, which one happened third in the story?
a)
School officials cannot relate to the trials of Beah, a former child soldier
b)
Having been at actual war for his life, Beah excels at paintball
c)
Beah describes his childhood in Sierra Leone
d)
Beah learns that the bravado of young American's is false
15.
Of all the events in the Beah's story, which one happened last in the story?
a)
School officials cannot relate to the trials of Beah, a former child soldier
b)
Having been at actual war for his life, Beah excels at paintball
c)
Beah describes his childhood in Sierra Leone
d)
Beah learns that the bravado of young American's is false
16.
The author's traumatic past shaped his response to his new environment. In which TWO of Ishmael Beah's experience in New York does he carry himself like a soldier?
a)
In the airport upon arrival
b)
When strangers walk by
c)
When the boys go rollerblading
d)
On a weekend trip upstate
e)
In his meetings with the school principals
17.
Part A: What is the author’s purpose in writing this selection?
a)
To compare his superficial friendships in Sierra Leone with the real friendships that he forged while living in New York
b)
To describe the disconnection he felt from American teenagers after arriving in the United States
c)
To explain why American teenagers are not interested in the difficult circumstances faced by children in war-torn countries
d)
To narrate a true story about how being a child soldier in Sierra Leone influenced his views about glamorized violence
18.
Part B: Which quote from the selection best supports the answer to Part A?
a)
Thus began my two years of high school and making other teenagers confused about who I was. You see, I didn’t fit into any box. I didn’t have the same worries about what shoes or clothes I wore. (paragraph 21)
b)
And I realized that the way I conducted myself would determine whether they would ever let another child who had been through war into such a school. (paragraph 31)
c)
To them it was sufficient that I was just some kid who lived in the East Village, who was from an African country. (paragraph 32)
d)
They glorified it in a way, because they’d never actually experienced it at all. (paragraph 40)
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