“Harrison Bergeron”, “Malala the Powerful”, and “The Veldt” Vocabulary Test
Directions: Choose the best answer for each of the following. You may write on this test, but fill in your
answers on your bubble sheet.
1. Read the following sentence:
Pearl S. Buck spent most of her adulthood in China, but was forced to flee in 1927 during the Chinese revolution.
Pearl S. Buck can best be described as a –
A. pseudonym.
B. refugee.
C. hindrance.
D. plague.
2. Which of the following causes consternation?
A. a barking dog
B. a teacher
C. an earthquake
D. a vacation
3. Choose the answer that has both meanings of the word plague.
A. cruel or harsh; causing discomfort
B. cold and damp; suddenly or unexpectedly
C. to trouble or annoy; a widespread disease
D. to watch out for danger; an obstacle
4. Choose the sentence that correctly uses the word gravely.
A. The community held a candlelight gravely to honor the young woman who died.
B. You should gravely wear that skirt with that blouse; they look really cute together.
C. The grieving family stood at the gravely.
D. The newscaster gravely announced that the death toll from the monsoon had risen to
5. All of the following pairs of words are synonyms except –
A. unwittingly and purposefully
B. oppressive and controlling
C. hindrance and impediment
D. riveting and engrossing
6. When Shannon’s fever __________, she went outside to play.
A. subsided
B. plagued
C. insufferable
D. conjured
7. The child’s __________ whining drove her mother crazy.
A. jaunt
B. unceasing
C. relish
D. vigilant
352.
8. Many young girls who live in Pakistan have been __________ by Malala Yousafzai’s courageous actions
against the Taliban.
A. oppressed
B. hindered
C. empowered
D. cowered
9. True or false: Some people think getting a shot is insufferable.
A. true
B. false
10. True or false: Harrison Bergeron and Malala Yousafzai both live in oppressive societies.
A. true
B. false
11. True of false: Typically, eighth graders relish doing homework.
A. true
B. false
12. The children’s _________ lack of manners could not be ignored. Choose the correct form of the word to fill
in the blank.
A. appall
B. appalled
C. appallingly
D. appalling
13. Famous author Theodor Seuss Geisel used the __________ Dr. Seuss when writing children’s books.
A. impediment
C. pseudonym
B. vigil
D. refugee
14. An idea, a memory, a rabbit out of a hat, and a spell are all things that can be –
A. empowered.
B. cowered.
C. contemplated.
D. conjured.
15. The drill team __________ their steps as they marched past the judges.
A. hindered
B. synchronized
C. cowered
D. contemplated
16. True or false: Slamming on the brakes of your car is something done abruptly.
A. true
B. false
17. At first, the house in the short story “The Veldt” seems like a perfect place, but the reader soon learns that
it is actually a –
A. refugee.
B. jaunt.
C. utopia.
D. dystopia.
18. All of the following are synonyms of contemplate except –
A. ponder
B. consider
C. ignore
D. reflect upon
19. Musicians and ballerinas __________in fear of Harrison Bergeron.
A. cowered
B. pondered
C. engrossed
D. relished
20. In Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he __________ a world in which all men were treated
equally.
A. appalled
B. envisioned
C empowered
D. subsided
21. True or false: You must be vigilant when crossing the street.
A. true
B. false
22. Read the following excerpt from “The Veldt”:
And again George Hadley was filled with admiration for the mechanical genius who had conceived this room. A
miracle of efficiency selling for an absurdly low price. Every home should have one.
In is clear from the passage that George finds the nursery A. vigilant.
B. veldt.
C. riveting.
D consternation.
23. What is something that might be done unwittingly?
A. studying for a test
B. saying “please” and “thank you”
C. lending your classmate a pencil
D. bumping into someone in the crowded hallway
24. The air in the cold, dark basement of the old house was –
A. cowering.
B. clammy.
C. riveting.
D. jaunt.
25. The children in “The Veldt”, Wendy and Peter Hadley, can best be described as A. synchronized
B. cowering
C. refugees
D. insufferable
Answer Key
1. B
2. C
3. C
4. D
5. A
6. A
7. B
8. C
9. A
10. A
11. B
12. D
13. C
14. D
15. B
16. A
17. D
18. C
19. A
20. B
21. A
22. C
23. D
24. B
25. D