ELA 20-1 – “Out, Out-“ Reading Comprehension
ELA 20-1 Reading Comprehension Test
1 Reading – 10 Questions
Read the following text and answer the questions based on the information provided.
Out, Out –
by: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
His sister stood beside them in her apron
To tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw,
As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap-He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,
As he swung toward them holding up the hand
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all-Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man's work, though a child at heart-He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off-The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then--the watcher at his pulse took fright.
No one believed. They listened at his heart.
Little--less--nothing! --and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.
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ELA 20-1 – “Out, Out-“ Reading Comprehension
1. Which of the following is an example of foreshadowing in the poem?
A. “And from there those that lifted eyes could count”
B. “Under the sunset far into Vermont”
C. “Call it a day, I wish they might have said”
D. “To please the boy by giving him the half hour”
2. This poem is tragic because a young boy dies. How else is it tragic?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The sister could have prevented the tragedy by fetching the boy earlier.
The other workers should have repaired the "rattling" saw.
The boy could have been saved if the boss knew CPR.
The other workers "since they were not the one dead, turned to their affairs."
3. What is an example of onomatopoeia in the poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
"snarled and rattled"
"stove-length sticks of wood"
"as it ran light or had to bear a load"
"no more to build on there"
4. What is the climax of this poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
the boy cuts off his hand
the sister calls her brother to supper
the boy dies
the workers return to work
5. The title “Out, out-“ is an example of which of the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
figurative language
an allusion
a metaphor
a simile
6. What mark of punctuation is used in a distinctive way in this poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Comma
Period
Dash
Semi-colon
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ELA 20-1 – “Out, Out-“ Reading Comprehension
7. What does the following line reveal about the boy?
"That a boy counts so much when saved from work."
A.
B.
C.
D.
He wants very much to finish his workday
He is counting the minutes until he can eat his supper
He is lazy, careless and has a poor attitude
He counts every penny he earns at his job because his family is poor
8. Frost begins the poem with a series of pleasant images describing the landscape. Why would
he do this?
A.
B.
C.
D.
He wants to emphasize the importance of nature
Beautiful description is necessary at the beginning, so the reader is not startled
The setting is an essential aspect of the story
He needs to establish a rural setting before introducing the hard life that accompanies
9. This poem is a narrative poem. What does that mean?
A.
B.
C.
D.
It is written in free verse
It tells a story about a specific event
It follows a unique rhyme scheme
It uses sensory images to convey a theme
10. To what two things does the line, "Neither refused the meeting" refer?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The boy and his sister
The boss and the boy
The boy and the saw
The saw and the boss
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