World Literature Nine Weeks Test Composition
Two questions from each of the 8 weeks of Speak quizzes
Twenty reading comprehension questions (JBHM)
Five analogies based on SATP vocabulary (adjectives AND verbs)
Five reading comprehension questions on Night
Five reading comprehension questions on “The Metamorphosis”
Five comprehension questions on The Buried Life and business letter format
Four questions on response to a new work (poem from the text book)
MULTIPLE CHOICE FORMAT: 50 QUESTIONS
Identify six tools of figurative language and give an example of each:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Read the following passages:
Passage 1: The explosion began with a quick flash that lit up the dark morning, and then, the
mushroom-shaped cloud rose high up into the sky. It was breathtaking to view, but those who
looked directly at it lost their visions at once. Their eye sockets appeared as deep, black wells,
almost as if they had been singed right out.
Passage 2: The girl looked down at her lifeless mother. It was difficult for her to grasp that the
awesome bright light could cause such grief. She reached for her mother’s hand and grasped the
fingers tightly. The girl thought if she could just hold on tightly for a few more moments her
mother would simply open her eyes. Tears began to stream down the girl’s cheeks like raindrops
sliding down the windowpane.
Underline the uses of figurative language in this passage and label what types they are.
How does the figurative language enhance the writing in each?
Read the following paragraph.
On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb to ever be used was dropped on the city of Hiroshima,
Japan. The bomb “Little Boy” was dropped by a U.S. B-29 bomber named the Enola Gay. The
devastation the bomb caused was anything but “little.” The bomb missed the target by about 800
yards, but it killed more than 66,000 people instantly. Seventy thousand of the 76,000 buildings
in Hiroshima were flattened, and an area of about five miles was turned to ashes.
Does the excerpt use formal or informal language? What was the author’s purpose for
doing so?
What two elements do pictures most often influence when placed beside passages?
Theme
Conflict
Literary Devices
Mood
List examples of each of the following text structures:
Process/procedural
Order of importance
Spatial order
Persuasion
Description
If I were making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and asked you for instructions, which
of these text structures would you use and why?
Is there another text structure you could use? Which one and why?
Read the following sentences.
Sentence 1: Each of the worry warts find solace in the words of friends.
Sentence 2: The crate, which was carried into the facility by a demon, were a bomb.
Sentence 3: Washington, D.C., and Detroit, Michigan, was destroyed during the alien space
invasion.
Sentence 4: Captain Crunch, who sealed all the doors, was overwhelmed by the alien attack.
Underline the subject(s) and its corresponding verb.
Which of the sentences above avoids an error in subject-verb agreement and why?
Read the following paragraph.
Although 2000 people each year don’t complete the English II state test on time, and instead are
allotted more time to finish. The impact of this accommodation is far reaching. By the end of
the year, almost twenty other students wanted to know why they did not receive additional time
as well. By 2015, it is estimated that all English II state students will be given as long as they
need to complete their tests, and many incoming freshmen will watch as the sophomore class
ahead of them takes as much time as they need to complete their tests.
Based on the details from the paragraph, what may the reader infer about the future
generation of test takers?
Underline the verbs in the following sentences. Which of the sentences uses the progressive
form correctly?
a. After the aliens had been dropped off on Earth, the buildings had homes have been
demolished.
b. When the scientists had discovered that the aliens were poisonous, they have been
worrying almost every day and night.
c. Scientists today were explaining to the public new uses for nuclear energy for when
they had a safe way to handle it.
d. Scientists are being cautious about these aliens and are talking about the need for
action.
How do you avoid pronoun ambiguity?
Write a sentence in which you have two subjects and use an ambiguous pronoun in the
predicate to describe one of the subjects.
Now, correctly write a sentence in which you have two subjects and avoid pronoun
ambiguity.
Underline context clues which signal that a sentence in an opinion in the following
paragraph. Circle the factual statement.
The creation of such a frightening monster would rock the world’s foundations. Adolf Hitler led
Germany’s army across the European continent during his campaign. He would cause
widespread panic across the entire world. It is completely unbelievable that this man could have
been allowed to hurt anyone.
Read the following paragraph.
(1) On July 16, 1945, the first atomic fission was conducted in New Mexico. (2) The test
was a success and the flash could be seen more than 120 miles away. (3) After watching
the explosion, several of the scientists signed a petition against ever using the bomb. (4)
However, their petition was futile, and the American military determined that it would be
beneficial to use the bomb in the war overseas. (5) Although the war in Europe had
ended with Nazi Germany’s surrender, the Americans decided that the bomb could still
be used in the war with Japan.
How is this paragraph structured?
Spatial
Description
Persuasion
Order of Importance
Where could you add an additional detail about how the how results of the test looked and
the results of the test?
Read the following prompt for an informative essay.
Your teacher has given you an assignment to write an informative essay. Think about the
decisions a scientist or military leader would have to make before using an atomic bomb. Write
about these decisions and give specific examples. Be sure to support your examples with
specific details.
Create an effective thesis statement for this essay which addresses the prompt.
Read the following two paragraphs.
Paragraph 1: On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb to ever be used was dropped on the city
of Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb “Little Boy” was dropped by a U.S. B-29 bomber named the
Enola Gay. The devastation the bomb caused was anything but “little.” The bomb missed the
target by about 800 yards, but it killed more than 66,000 people instantly. Seventy thousand of
the 76,000 buildings in Hiroshima were flattened, and an area of about five miles was turned to
ashes.
Paragraph 2: On August 9, 1945, the American troops dropped a second atomic bomb on the
city of Nagasaki, Japan. The effects of this bomb were just as devastating. It leveled more than
half the city and more than 39,000 people were killed. On August 10, 1945, Japan surrendered.
What is the purpose of these two paragraphs?
Compose a sentence which appropriately summarizes the selections.
Correctly capitalize the following with editor’s marks:
The atomic bomb was first tested in the mountains of northern new mexico.
White sands in southern new mexico was another site used to test nuclear weapons.
In order to avoid exposure to radiation, many of the people in hiroshima had to travel north of
the city.
The plane carrying the atomic bomb began its flight to hawaii and flew east toward japan.
Read the following sentences.
Sentence 1: Oh my, what have I done? I’ve let a menace loose on the world, and it will never be
the same again.
Sentence 2: I feel pride rise up in my chest every time I see my creation walk down the street.
How does the tone change from sentence 1 to sentence 2?
On the JBHM portion of the test, there is a question about coordinate adjectives.
Coordinate adjectives are descriptions strung together and which need a comma to
separate them.
For example:
The scientists stood back in amazement as they watched the bright, flashing white light.
(Bright describes the white light, but so does flashing. They are two separate
adjectives and BRIGHT DOES NOT DESCRIBE FLASHING, therefore they must have a
comma between them. If BRIGHT did describe FLASHING instead of LIGHT, then they would
have a hyphen between them, such as “brightly-colored light.” You are going to be bright,
intelligent young men and women. Not only are you bright, but also you are intelligent!)
Place the comma in the correct places in the following sentences with coordinate adjectives:
The atomic blast rose up into the sky like an incredible hot red ball of fire
The far-reaching serious effects of the bomb were felt by all the citizens of Japan.
The creation of the atomic bomb was done by conscientious intelligent scientists.
Test questions for “The Metamorphosis” are pulled from previous version of the test (merged with JBHM
Comprehensive Test 8).
Test questions on Night will cover the same skills as the JBHM test (study guide questions above) and will
include analysis of dark imagery.
Test questions on The Buried Life will cover paradigms, character analysis, and juxtaposition to other novels
and works covered, as well as formatting questions about business letters and friendly letters.
***OUR TEST IS ON WEDNESDAY. YOU MUST TURN
IN A STUDY GUIDE TO RECEIVE A MIDTERM.***