21st CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND IN THE WORLD
SECOND PERIODICAL EXAMINATION
FIRST SEMESTER, SY 2019-2020
Directions: Shade the letter of the correct answer on the answer sheet provided. Use black or blue ink only. Do
not write or leave any marks on this test paper.
1. Which of the following is a true statement about world literature?
A. World literature speaks to the only the people of one country.
B. World literature deals with issues particular to the country where it was written.
C. World literature is widely read beyond the borders of the country where it was written.
D. World literature is written in a language other than English then translated into English.
2. Which book contains a number of speeches by Confucius written down by his disciples?
A. Analects
C. Great Learning
B. Doctrine of Mean
D. Spring and Autumn Annals
3. What invention helped to spread literature throughout Ancient China?
A. movable type
C. typography
B. paper
D. woodblock printing
4. Asian literature includes works produced in the following languages except one. Which one is it?
A. Chinese
B. Hindi Filipino
C. Filipino
D. French
5. Which of the following is considered as the golden age of art and literature in Chinese history?
A. Qin Dynasty
C. Tang Dynasty
B. Shang Dynasty
D. Zhou Dynasty
6. Which of these works is written in Middle English?
A. The Canterbury Tales
C. The Merchant of Venice
B. The Importance of Being Earnest
D. Songs of Innocence and of Experience
7. Which period is the golden age of lyric poetry?
A. Elizabethan Period
B. Romantic Period
C. Twentieth Century Period
D. Victorian Period
8. All of these statements about African Literature are true except one. Which one is it?
A. African Literature includes works produced by African writers in English.
B. African Literature includes works produced in Afro-Asiatic and African languages.
C. African Literature has common themes like colonial oppression and pride in African past.
D. African Literature does not include works by “white” South African writers like Nadine Gordimer.
9. Which of these writers wrote symbolical tales?
A. Ernest Hemingway
B. Nathaniel Hawthorne
C. Sherwood Anderson
D. Washington Irving
10. Which statements can be said about the image?
A Haiku by Basho
A snowy morning
--by myself,
chewing on dried salmon.
A. It shows a solitary man.
B. It shows a very poor man.
C. It shows a very cold morning.
D. It shows a moment during summer time.
11. What does the persona likely feel about his situation?
A Poem by Du Fu
The river's blue, the bird a perfect white,
The mountain green with flowers about to blaze.
I've watched the spring pass away again,
When will I be able to return?
A. contentment
B. excitement
C. fear
D. weariness
12. Which of the following best describes a haiku?
A. a long Chinese poem
B. a short Japanese poem
C. a poem of seven syllables and four lines
D. a poem of seventeen syllables and three lines
13. What is the most common subject of haikus?
A. Buddhism
B. food
C. nature
D. vicissitudes of life
For numbers 14-17, read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
Song VII
My song has put off her adornments.
She has no pride of dress and decoration.
Ornaments would mar our union;
they would come between thee and me;
their jingling would drown thy whispers.
My poet's vanity dies in shame before thy sight.
O master poet, I have sat down at thy feet.
Only let me make my life simple and straight,
like a flute of reed for thee to fill with music.
14. What tone does the phrase “O master poet” help create?
A. a casual, personal tone
C. a formal, respectful tone
B. a dark, threatening tone
D. a sad, regretful tone
15. The speaker of the poem believes that the addressee is superior to him or her. What lines from the
poem support this conclusion?
A. lines 1 and 2
C. lines 4 and 5
B. lines 3 and 4
D. lines 6 and 7
16. What might be an example of the “jingling” ornaments that the speaker refers to in lines 3-5?
A. a bell
B. a diamond necklace
C. a keychain
D. rhyme
17. What is a theme of the poem?
A. Expensive jewelry is often a sign of vanity.
B. Music is a more worthwhile art than poetry.
C. Uncertainty is a necessary evil in art and life.
D. One should try to achieve simplicity in art and in life.
18. In her 124-word story “What Is to Come,” Lilledeshan Bose tells the story of a woman whose husband,
a congressman, has another woman. Which genre is the most appropriate classification for it?
A. fiction
B. flash fiction
C. poetry
D. short story
19. Which is a fictional story often set in the future that combines elements of fantasy and scientific facts?
A. drama
B. magic realism
C. poetry
D. science fiction
20. Which is a major type of literature that makes use of imagery, figurative language, and sometimes uses
rhyme?
A. drama
B. fiction
C. non-fiction
D. poetry
21. What genre of literature tells fictional stories based on or around important people or events from the
past?
A. fantasy
B. historical fiction
C. realistic fiction
D. science fiction
22. Suppose a novel is about a young woman named Daniella who moves out of her parents’ house and
moves into a new apartment owned by Hector, with whom she feels an unexpected emotional
connection. What genre of popular fiction is the novel likely?
A. biography
B. chick literature
C. magic realism
D. novella
23.
Which of the following best defines non-literary texts?
A. The texts that you need to study for an exam.
B. Texts that you read in a classroom, particularly at university level.
C. Texts that are more accurate and correct than other texts and are written by academics.
D. Texts whose primary purpose is to convey information without narrative or fictional elements.
24. Which of these is not a non-literary text?
A. manuals
B. novels
C. recipes
D. textbooks
25. Words or phrases that express meanings in a non-literal way are referred to as
.
A. figures of sound
C. figures of speech
B. figures of emphasis
D. figures of relationship
26. How is style related to genre?
A. A genre is a type of style
C. Genres are not related to styles
B. A style is a type of genre
D. Genres are characterized by different styles
27. Which of the following phrases would best complete this statement: An iamb is
?
A. a metaphor.
C. a way of saying, 'I am.'
B. a small molecule.
D. a beat or foot in poetry.
28. Iambic pentameter is a line of poetry consisting of how many feet of stressed and unstressed syllables?
A. four
B. five
C. six
D. seven
29. What is the rhythm of iambic pentameter meant to sound like?
A. A lawnmower
C. Rustling of leaves
B. The flow of water
D. The human heart
30. Which of the following figures of speech is used in the passage below?
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
–from As You Like It by William Shakespeare
A. hyperbole
B. metaphor
C. simile
D. synecdoche
31. Which of the following correctly states why literary writers use figures of speech?
A. Literary writers use figures of speech to puzzle the readers.
B. Literary writers use figures of speech to lengthen their works.
C. Literary writers use figures of speech to make their works popular.
D. Literary writers use figures of speech to enhance the artistic quality of their works.
32. Complete the following sentence: A euphemism is a mild or roundabout word or phrase
A. used to emphasize the meaning of the text.
B. used to indicate a common idea in a clear, unambiguous way.
C. used to communicate the writer's strong, overpowering emotion.
D. used in place of a word or phrase considered painful or offensive.
33. You are thinking of buying a wedding dress that has been previously loved. What kind of dress are you
getting?
A. A second-hand or used dress.
B. A dress that all the guests really liked.
C. The most popular dress in last month's Bride magazine.
D. A dress that a bride kept wearing during her honeymoon.
34. Which of the following best describes anaphora?
A. repetition of a phrase in a direct row
B. repetition of a phrase at the end of sentences
C. repetition of a phrase in the middle of sentences
D. repetition of a phrase at the beginning of sentences
35. Which phrase is an example of anaphora in the following passage?
Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to
do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science
and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.
A. a world
C. let us fight
B. all men’s happiness
D. with national barriers
36. In which of the following sentences is the word “suits” an example of metonymy?
A. No, Mary, really this dress does not suit you.
B. The suits from upstairs are in a big meeting.
C. Hearts, aces, and clubs are three of the suits in card decks.
D. The CEOs of the two companies were both wearing finely tailored suits.
37. In the following sentence, what word is an example of synecdoche? 'Dan loves to take his boat out on
the waves.'
A. boat
B. Dan
C. out
D. waves
38.
Which of the following is an example of antithesis?
A. “Run to the door and find out who’s there.”
B. “I had to wait in the station for ten days– an eternity.”
C. “Revenge is as bitter as wormwood, and as sweet as mulled wine.”
D. “A single grain of rice can tip the scale – one man may be the difference between victory and
defeat.”
39.
Which of the following best describes a text's biographical context?
A. The text's vocabulary, sentence structures, and literary form.
B. The beliefs, education, culture, and experiences of the author.
C. The reader's own experiences, culture, education, and beliefs.
D. The events and ideas that surround an author and help shape his or her writing.
40. In analyzing a text based on its biographical context, a reader
A. identifies the images used by the author
B. compares the literary work to other works
C. gathers relevant facts about the author’s life
D. examines the style and techniques used by the author
.
41. Why is the historical context of the Diary of Anne Frank, a story of a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany,
important?
A. Anne Frank was a scientist.
B. Without understanding World War II, the story has little meaning.
C. Without understanding Anne Frank's life before the story, it has little meaning.
D. The word usage in the story would be difficult for a modern reader to understand.
42.
Which of the following should not be considered in reading through a biographical context?
A. educational background
B. figurative language
C. political
D. social
43. Which of the following is not true about literature?
A. It is a form of expression.
C. It is based on orchestrated events.
B. It is based on real events.
D. It only focuses on the author’s life.
44. What is a text's context?
A. The situation in which it is written and read.
B. Only the beliefs, education, culture, and experiences of the author.
C. Only the reader's own experiences, culture, education, and beliefs.
D. Only the historical events and ideas that surround an author and help shape his or her writing.
45. How do you annotate?
A. Read and make notes
B. Scanning the content and summarize.
C. Skimming the content and make notes.
D. Underline key words and important terms.
46. Which of the following is not a critical reading strategy?
A. previewing a text
C. contextualizing a text
B. translating a text to another language
D. comparing and contrasting related texts
47. This critical reading strategy involves the examination of the reader’s personal responses to the text.
What is this strategy?
A. making an outline
C. reflecting on a text
B. asking questions about a text
D. evaluating the argument made in a text
48. Which of the following is not the purpose of critical reading?
A. Readers read texts critically for amusement.
B. Readers read texts critically to learn new information.
C. Readers read texts critically to learn more about culture and society.
D. Readers read texts critically for better understanding of their meaning.
49. Which question allow the learners to reflect on a reading text?
A. What is the theme of the story?
B. What is the overall tone of the short story?
C. What happened in the beginning of the story?
D. What event or place in the story reminds you of your life and why?
50. Which of the following is not true about the importance of critical reading in literature?
A. Critical reading is done to make a literary work popular.
B. Critical reading develops one’s critical thinking skills and makes one keen to details.
C. Critical reading enables readers to understand and appreciate a piece of literature further.
D. Critical reading enables readers to write a critical review or analysis of a piece of literature.