8th Grade Language Arts Exam
DO NOT write on this test.
Multiple Choice: Answer the following questions using the GREEN side of the scantron sheet.
Pick the best answer to replace the underlined portion.
1. Felicia bought the stereo, brought it home, and set it up.
a. No change
b. and set it up. (no comma)
c. , and hooked it up.
d. , and set it up!
2. I soaked my foot rubbed it, and walked very little for several days.
a. No change
b. my foot, rubbed
c. , my foot rubbed
d. My foot rubbed,
3. We saw the biologist come back with a long scary snake.
a. No change
b. , a long scary snake.
c. a long, scary snake.
d. A long scary, snake.
4. Our lunchroom is bright, cheerful, noisy, and efficient.
a. No change
b. bright cheerful, noisy and
c. bright, cheerful noisy, and
d. bright, cheerful, noisy and
5. Orange juice cereal, and vegetables are on the grocery list.
a. No change
b. Orange juice, cereal, and
c. Orange, juice, cereal, and
d. Orange juice cereal and
Read the following passage, and answer the questions that follow.
In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States, was erected in New York Harbor.
In 1903, a poem by Emma Lazarus called “The New Colossus” was engraved on a bronze plaque that was
placed inside the pedestal of the statue. The title of the poem refers to the Colossus, a huge bronze statue
of the Greek god Helios that towered over the harbor of the Greek city of Rhodes from 280 to 225 B.C.
Lazarus contrasts the imposing Greek statue with “the new Colossus,” the statue of Liberty, a woman
whose torch lights the golden door of America, offering refuge to those seeking freedom.
Are the following statements Fact or Inferences:
6. In 1886 France and the United States were on good terms, friends or allies.
a. Fact
b. Inference
7. The poem by Lazarus was engraved on a bronze plaque inside the statue.
a. Fact
b. Inference
8. Refugees coming to America were happy to see the Statue of Liberty.
a. Fact
b. Inference
9. Lazarus contrasts the Statue of Liberty with the statue of the Greek god Helios in her poem.
a. Fact
b. Inference
Read the following poem, and answer the questions that follow.
Refugee in America
By Langston Hughes
There are words like Freedom
Sweet and wonderful to say.
On my heart-strings freedom sings
All day everyday.
There are words like Liberty
That almost make me cry.
It you had known what I knew
You would know why.
10. What is the author’s purpose in this poem?
a. To persuade
b. To inform
c. To evoke feeling
d. To narrate
11. What conclusion can you make about the authors feelings about freedom?
a. The author feels he is free.
b. The author longs for freedom.
c. The author thinks freedom is out of reach.
d. The author does not like freedom.
12. What does the title Refugee in America suggest?
a. The title suggests the author feels he is an outsider in his own country.
b. The title suggests refugees should not be offered freedom in America.
c. The title suggests there are too many refugees in America.
d. The title suggests refugees should be given freedom and liberty.
Read the following sentences. Insert the appropriate vocabulary word into the sentence.
13. The _________________ student was quickly sent to the office.
a. Glut
b. Garrulous
c. Gravity
d. Guilty
14. A _____________ is a comparison using the words like, or as.
a. Metaphor
b. Hyperbole
c. Simile
d. Figurative language
15. The president understood the _________________of the situation.
a. Gravity
b. Garrulous
c. Hyperbole
d. Metaphor
16. A ________________is the story of someone’s life written by another person.
a. Personal narrative
b. Poem
c. Short story
d. Biography
17. The __________________ escaped to the north, traveling by night.
a. Slave Hunters
b. Fugitives
c. Dispel
d. Gravity
Read the following passage, and answer the questions that follow.
from Harriet Tubman
Conductor of the Underground Railroad
In December 1851, when she started out with the band of fugitives that she planned to take to
Canada, she had been in the vicinity of the plantation for days, planning the trip, carefully selecting the
slaves that she would take.
She had announced her arrival in the quarter by singing the forbidden spiritual, “Go Down
Moses, -way down to Egypt Land” – singing it softly outside the door of a slave cabin, late at night. The
husky voice was beautiful even when it was barely more than a murmur borne on the wind.
Once she had made her presence known, word of her coming spread from cabin to cabin. The
slaves whispered to each other, ear to mouth, mouth to ear, “Moses is here.” “Moses has come.” “Get
ready, Moses is back again.”
18. What can you infer about Harriet Tubman from the first paragraph?
a. She was cold and tired.
b. She was patient and organized.
c. She was in a hurry to get north.
d. She did not care who went with her on the trip.
19. Harriet Tubman announced her arrival by singing a “forbidden spiritual.” What does “forbidden
spiritual” mean?
a. A song that was illegal for slaves to sing.
b. A song that inspired slaves to run.
c. A song that the slave owners liked to sing.
d. A song that she made up.
20. How did Harriet Tubman compare to Moses from the bible?
a. She lived at the same time as Moses
b. She liked and acted like Moses.
c. She lead slaves to freedom like Moses did.
d. She worked with Moses to get slaves out of Egypt.
Read the following spiritual, and answer the questions that follow.
Go Down, Moses
Traditional African American spiritual
When Israel was in Egypt landLet my people go.
Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let my people go.
CHORUS:
Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt Land;
Tell ole Pharaoh to let my people go.
Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses saidLet my people go.
If not I’ll smite your first born deadLet my people go.
CHORUS
No more shall they in bondage toilLet my people go.
Let them come out with Egypt’s spoilLet my people go.
CHORUS
We need not always weep and mournLet my people go.
And wear those slavery’s chains forlornLet my people go.
CHORUS
21. There is a comparison between the Israelites and American Slaves implied in this song. What
does Moses do in this spiritual that Harriet Tubman can not do?
a. Moses asks Pharaoh for the people’s freedom; Tubman can’t ask the owners for the
slaves’ freedom.
b. Moses sings the song, but Tubman can’t.
c. Moses was able to rescue the Israelites, but Tubman could not free slaves.
d. Moses was able to inspire the people, but Tubman could not inspire the slaves.
22. In what step of the writing process will you determine the situation, purpose, audience and task?
a. Prewriting
b. Revising
c. Reflecting
d. Focusing
23. In what step of the writing process will you look at the correctness in capitalization, usage,
punctuation and spelling?
a. Drafting
b. Editing
c. Revising
d. Prewriting
24. When you think about your progress as a writer, you are in what step of the writing process?
a. Reflecting
b. Prewriting
c. Drafting
d. Focusing
25. Why do you use a graphic organizer when you pre-write?
a. So that you get you punctuation and spelling correct.
b. To know who your audience is.
c. To organize your brainstorming ides.
d. To write your rough draft.
Open Response
Read the two poems that follow. Determine the authors’ purpose for each piece. Next, use evidence from
the text to compare and contrast the theme of each of the poems. Use the graphic organizer and SRE to
complete your answer.
Do
Plan
A.
B.
C.
Critical Vocabulary:
Correctness:
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Punctuation: _______
Spelling: _____
Capitalization: _____
Usage: _____
Prove