The Censors Reading Comprehension Quiz

1.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

After Juan writes his letter to Mariana, he becomes very worried that

he will not get a job as a censor if the letter is read.

Mariana will refuse to read the letter.

something will happen to Mariana because of the letter

She wanted to escape her country's oppressive regime.

2.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

What can you infer about the reason Mariana moved to Paris?

She felt lonely and hoped to meet new friends.

She was unemployed and needed a job.

She could not get an apartment in her country.

She wanted to escape her country's oppressive regime.

3.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

When the narrator says in lines 29-30 that "you've got to beat them to the punch" and "sabotage the machinery" it means that Juan must

figure out a way to intercept the letter.

stop writing suspicious letters to friends.

turn in coworkers who pose a threat.

not allow colleagues to beat him up.

4.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

After reporting a coworker, Juan thinks, "You don't form a habit by doing something once." He tells himself this because he feels

angry that his friend dared to break the rules.

pleased with himself for following the rules.

guilty for doing something that goes against his character.

satisfied that he did the right thing, even though it was painful.

5.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

After Juan was promoted to Section E, the narrator says that "his noble mission blurred in his mind." This means that Juan

works so hard to maintain his edge that he becomes exhausted.

loses sight of the fact that he is supposed to intercept the letter.

forgets that his duty as a censor is to serve the government.

tries to turn in other workers but finds that he cannot.

6.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

Juan is shocked at the "subtle and conniving ways employed by people to pass on subversive messages" (lines 70-71). What can you infer about the letters Juan is reading?

They likely contain no hidden meaning at all.

They are attempts to overthrow the government.

They were written by people who are desperate.

They can be understood only by skilled censors.

7.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

Through much of the story, the narrator tells the reader what Juan thinks and feels. However, after explaining that Juan is swiftly promoted, the narrator says, "We don't know if this made him happy." This statement is an example of

metaphor

simile

foreshadowing

hyperbole

8.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

The narrator says that Juan finds his job "both self-denying and uplifting" (lift 89). Select the best text evidence from the story that supports that Juan's job is self denying.

His zeal brought him swift promotion (line 75).

Juan and the other employees were allowed to go back to their work, albeit feeling less secure (line 54).

he felt he had climbed a rung in the ladder (line 61).

he was beat by the time he made it home...barely managed to warm up his soup...fall into bed (line 80-82).

9.

Multiple Choice

30 sec

1 pt

The narrator says that Juan finds his job "both self-denying and uplifting" (lift 89). Select the best text evidence from the story that supports that Juan's job is uplifting.

But Juan wouldn't overdo it; any distraction could make him lose his edge (line 87).

Little by little, Juan was absorbed by his job (line 47-48).

about to congratulate himself for finding his true mission (line 92).

You don't form a habit by doing something once, he told himself. (line 58)

10.

Multiple Select

30 sec

1 pt

The tone of a story is the author's attitude toward the subject. Select the best two examples that support the tone -ironic.

"sabotage the machinery" (line 30)/ "alert, keen, attentive, and sharp to nab cheats" (line 88-89).

"all letters pass from hand to hand" (line 16)/ "so he read them over and over again" (line 77)

"Juan knows there won't be a problem with the letter..." (line 13)/ "he censored it without regret" (line 94).

"get to the bottom of the problem so as to stop it" (line 31)/"scheming to overthrow the Government" (line 74)

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