Have an account?
Skip to Content
Build your own quiz
Suggestions for you
15 questions
Show Answers
See Preview
- 1. Multiple Choice
Read the following paragraph from "The Pin."
First, I made a list of my goals. They included making new friends, getting to know my teachers, and keeping busy in a positive way. As I was walking through the hall, I saw a poster announcing the upcoming election for school officers. Suddenly, it all fell into place. I would run for freshman class president! The idea seemed a little crazy, even to me. How could a newcomer, an unknown, get elected?
Which of the following is the best paraphrase of the ideas in this paragraph?
The narrator sets some goals for himself, which include getting to know others by running for a position on the student council.
The narrator resolves to make new friends by being more involved in school and decides to run for the office of freshman class president.
The narrator decides to run for freshman class president after realizing that he needs to actively make new friends because he has not been very positive.
The narrator sees a poster advertising the office of class president and decides to run for office because he feels like he needs to meet new friends and get to know his teachers.
- 2. Multiple Choice
Which detail from "Telephone Conversation" best contributes to its humorous tone?
"Madam," I warned, "I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of pressurized good breeding.
Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered omnibus squelching tar.
"Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see the rest of me."
- 3. Multiple Choice
Read the following lines from the poem "Africa."
Impetuous son that tree young and strong
That tree there
In splendid loveliness amidst white and faded flowers
That is Africa your Africa
That grows again patiently obstinately
And its fruit gradually acquires
The bitter taste of liberty
Which word best describes the tone created by these lines?
consoling
firm
resentful
stubborn
- 4. Multiple Choice
Read the following sentences from "Marriage is a Private Affair." In these sentences, Nene recalls a letter from his father.
I have found a girl who will suit you admirably - Ugoye Nweke, the eldest daughter of our neighbour, Jacob Newke. She has a proper Christian upbringing. When she stopped schooling some years ago her father (a man of sound judgement) sent her to live in the house of a pastor where she has received all the training a wife could need. Her Sunday School teacher has told me she reads her Bible very fluently. I hope we shall begin negotiations when you come home in December.
Which of the following words best expresses the speaker's attitude toward his son?
formal
reserved
strict
stiff
- 5. Multiple Choice
Read the following sentences from the story "Loyalties." The father speaks to his son about the recent Biafran victory.
"What was I telling you the other day? That Ojukwu is a real man, just the sort of leader we need to get things moving. Those dirty Nigerians will taste pepper if they try to attack us, let me tell you," my father was saying.
Which type of humor does the father use when speaking to the boy?
hyperbole
incongruity
sarcasm
irony
- 6. Multiple Choice
Choose the word or group of words that belongs in the underlined space in the following sentence:
My family __________Sebago Lake in Casco, Maine, every year.
visits
will visit
will have visited
had visited
- 7. Multiple Choice
Choose the word or phrase that best matches the underlined word in the following sentence:
During the long spelling bee the young contestant was indefatigable.
unbeatable
inexhaustible
single-minded
optimistic
- 8. Multiple Choice
Choose the word or phrase that best matches the underlined word.
Even though it was clear she did not understand the concepts, she dementedly rambled about her failed math test.
loudly
sadly
endlessly
madly
- 9. Multiple Choice
Choose the word or phrase that best matches the underlined word.
The fashion show for celebrity impersonators was an ostentatious presentation.
showy
loud
tasteful
rude
- 10. Multiple Choice
Read the following paragraph from "The Pin."
My old school had just one class at each grade. It was a real life Little House on the Prairie. I was well known and popular. Other kids looked up to me and wanted to be my friend. You might say that I was a big fish in a small pond. When I started at my new school, I had to make a lot of adjustments.
Which of the following is the best paraphrase of the ideas in this paragraph?
The narrator enjoys being the most popular kid at his old school. He doesn't really like the idea of having to change.
The narrator comes from a very small school that resembles Little House on the Prairie and was used to being admired by others. He was excited about starting at a new school that was bigger.
The narrator enjoyed his former school, which was small enough for him to earn the admiration and respect of others. However, his new school was different and he needed to get used to it.
The narrator liked the fact that his old school was small enough for him to be known and liked by almost everyone in it. His new school gave him the uneasy feeling of being a little fish in a much bigger pond.
- 11. Multiple Choice
Which of the following sentences from "The Pin" best supports the optimistic tone in the story?
I could and would work hard to improve my situation.
I wore a corny-looking straw hat like old-time politicians used to wear at conventions.
I boldly walked up to people and introduced myself.
Now I wear a pin on my lapel that says “Freshman Class President.”
- 12. Multiple Choice
Read the following sentences from "The Pin."
That all changed when my family moved. My new school is three times bigger than my old school. At first, no one here knew me. The kids were polite, but they did not treat me like a good friend. For a few days, I felt sad and homesick. Then I decided to change my attitude. I could and would work hard to improve my situation.
Which of the following words would the narrator most likely use to describe the students at school?
conceited
cordial
standoffish
wary
- 13. Multiple Choice
Read the following sentences from the story "Loyalties."
I was twelve years old at the time. One afternoon my father came rushing home earlier than usual.
"Wife," he shouted to my mother who was out the back preparing food; "wife, have you not heard the news?" He was so excited he went rushing through the house. I followed him.
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself, a grown man like you rushing around like a small boy? What is it?" my mother said.
"Ojukwu has announced the new state of Biafra. We are no longer Nigerians, you hear? We are now Biafrans," he said and smiled.
"And what then?" my mother asked.
"Woman, don't you know what you are saying? Don't you realize that this is an important day, an historic occasion?"
My mother stood up and put her hands on her hips. Her face was streaming from the heat of the fire.
"Whether we are in Nigeria or whether we are in Biafra we are almost out of firewood," she said.
Using the ideas in these sentences, the reader can most likely conclude that the mother:
does not respect the politics of Ojukwu.
regards her husband as foolish and impulsive.
would rather work at the fire than listen to her husband.
takes a more practical view of political change than her husband.
- 14. Multiple Choice
Read the following sentences from "Marriage is a Private Affair." In these sentences, Nnaemeka shares a letter from his father with his new wife, Nene.
It amazes me that you could be so unfeeling as to send me your wedding picture. I would have sent it back. But on further thought I decided just to cut off your wife and send it back to you because I have nothing to do with her. How I wish that I had nothing to do with you either.
Which of the following words best expresses the speaker's attitude toward his son?
formal
reserved
strict
stiff
- 15. Multiple Choice
Read the following sentences from "Marriage is a Private Affair."
"I owe it to you, my son, as a duty to show you what is right and what is wrong. Whoever put this idea into your head might as well have cut your throat. It is Satan's work." He waved his son away.
"You will change your mind, Father, when you know Nene."
"I shall never see her," was the reply. From that night the father scarcely spoke to his son. He did not, however, cease hoping that he would realize how serious was the danger he was heading for. Day and night he put him in his prayers.
Using the ideas in these sentences, the reader can most likely conclude that the Father:
believes his son has chosen a self-destructive path.
resents Nene for the hold she has on his son.
wishes his son were dead rather than foolish.
rejects Nene because she does not share his religious beliefs.
- Answer choicesTagsAnswer choicesTags