English I - Semester 1 Exam Review 2014-2015 Climbing to the Top of the World 1) Every year since she was seven, Larissa Galloway had made the climb to the Top of the World mountain near her home. By now, she knew all four trails to the summit , every bend and slope. And by now, the summer before her senior year of high school, she knew they all covered three long, steep miles. There was no shortcut. 2) That’s what made the Galloways’ annual climbing contest so fun. Every pair of legs had the same distance to travel. And no matter what anybody said, it was a contest. Why else would the last group up have to buy the milkshakes when they got back to town? 3) “Everybody just take it easy,” Uncle Victor said slyly as he tightened the laces on his hiking boots. “Enjoy the scenery. No need to rush through Mother Nature.” 4) “Who’s rushing!” said Aunt Gail (Uncle Victor’s sister). She stuffed a second water bottle in her backpack and pointed to the mountain. “I plan to crawl all the way up.” 5) “What’s a little milkshake?” asked Grandpa Galloway, limbering his calf muscles. “But, just so you all know, I prefer chocolate.” 6) “I’m going to walk backwards,” said cousin Roland,“on my hands. And make mine strawberry.” 7) Rubbing sunscreen on her nose and cheeks, Larissa smiled at the banter . It was as predictable as sore legs and mosquitoes. The friendly joking at the trailhead was all part of the climbing ritual. An even more important part of the ritual was the profile of the groups themselves. Males and females? Aged and youth? Plodders and sprinters? The combinations were always interesting. 8) On this day, just a month before starting her senior year at high school, Larissa found herself grouped with cousin Burl and his girlfriend Tassie Rae, Aunt Charlotte, and four nephews under the age of ten. 9) “Good luck to all!” yelled Uncle Victor as his group disappeared into the trees. 10) “You’re going to need it!” Aunt Gail responded as her group dropped from sight behind a huge boulder in their trail. 11) “Remember—I like strawberry,” said cousin Roland, splashing across a small stream at the head of his group. 12) And Larissa’s trail companions? Before they had hiked the first half mile up their chosen trail, she was checking her pocket for milkshake money. The four nephews were energetic hikers—when they hiked. Most of the time they were chasing squirrels off the trail. Despite the tennis shoes in her backpack, Aunt Charlotte wore sandals and seemed more interested in picking wildflowers than mountain climbing. And on a narrow trail with so many rocks, it was hard for Burl and Tassie Rae to walk side by side, arm in arm. But if they went slowly and picked their way carefully, they could manage. 13) At the one-mile marker, Larissa paused for a drink of water and looked back. After chasing a rabbit, the nephews had fallen behind Aunt Charlotte, who was walking barefoot, carrying her sandals. And all five of them were ahead of Burl and Tassie Rae. 14) “Come on, you guys!” Larissa yelled. “We don’t want to be last.” 15) And that’s when it hit her: always before, in her ten climbs to the Top of the World, she had followed someone else. One year it was her mom; the next it was Grandpa Galloway; the next, Uncle Roland. Group leaders were never nominated or elected, at least not out loud. But tacit or not, their role was as much a part of the ritual as bug repellent and blisters. Larissa realized that if she didn’t take the lead and set the pace, nobody would. 16) So she got the nephews running back on the trail. She convinced Aunt Charlotte that tennis shoes would get her to the wildflower meadows at the top much faster than sandals. And somehow, miraculously, she talked Burl and Tassie Rae into walking single file. 17) The second mile went much faster. Standing at the trail marker, they all drank from their water bottles. 18) “I’ve got a blister,” said 16-year-old Burl. “If it gets too bad, Tassie and I are heading back.” 19) “You can head back if you need to,” Tassie said. “I want to get to the top. Lead on, Larissa.” 20) When a chipmunk scampered within five feet, the nephews didn’t seem to notice. They all looked eagerly at Larissa and at the trail ahead. 21) “Okay, let’s go,” Larissa said, feeling a strange new responsibility. 22) The last mile presented plenty of challenges. One of the nephews ran out of water, and Larissa shared her own. When a willow was about to lash Aunt Charlotte in the face, Larissa yelled “Duck!” and spared her a stinging eye. A thorn in Tassie Rae’s foot slowed them for just a moment before Larissa pulled it out with the tweezers in her first-aid kit. 23) After another half hour they were climbing the last rise. Tired and sore, Larissa expected to see the rest of the family on the summit. But no one was there yet. 24) “We’re first,” one of the nephews yelled. 25) “Hooray!” said Aunt Charlotte. 26 ) Ten minutes later, when the whole family had arrived at the top and was enjoying the view, Larissa heard Grandpa Galloway say, “That Larissa—I remember when she followed me all the way up, wouldn’t take a step by herself.” 27) “Not anymore,” said Aunt Gail. 28) Then Uncle Victor came up to Larissa. “Well,” he said, “it looks like my bunch is buying. What kind of milkshake do you want?” 29) Before answering, Larissa gazed out at the vast panorama of hills, valleys, and plains. 30) “Peppermint peach swirl,” she whispered, as if anything louder would fall instead of float from the top of the world. 1. Based on the clues in the story, when did Larissa and her family MOST likely climb to the Top of the World Mountain? 2. Paragraph 22 is mostly about Larissa doing what? 3. What is the overall theme expressed in this story? 4. The author creates tension in this story by… 5. The MOST likely reason the story begins by introducing the character’s experience with climbing the mountain is to… 6. What does the mountain in this story symbolize? Support your answer with evidence from the text. 7. Which sentence from the story BEST supports the idea that this year's climb to the top of the mountain has been a more significant event in Larissa's life than any of the climbs she had done previously? 8. When family members climb Top of the World Mountain after Larissa's senior year in high school, who is MOST likely to lead one of the teams? The Past By Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1) Fling my past behind me, like a robe 2) Worn threadbare in the seams, and out of date. 30 I have outgrown it. Wherefore should I weep 4) And dwell up on its beauty, and its dyes 5) Of Oriental splendor, or complain 6) That I must needs discard it? I can weave 7) Upon the shuttles of the future years 8) A fabric far more durable. Subdued, 9) It may be, in the blending of its hues, 10) Where somber shades commingle, yet the gleam 11) Of golden warp shall shoot it through and through, 12) While over all a fadeless luster lies, 13) And starred with gems made out of crystalled tears, 14) My new robe shall be richer than the old. 1.Find an example of a simile in the poem. 2. What two things are being compared in this poem? 3. In Line 10, somber shades is an example of … 4. What is the theme of the poem? Mineral Cutting (1) When tapped with a hammer many materials split apart neatly and cleanly into two or more pieces. (2) The sides of the split pieces form plane surfaces. (3) The seperated surfaces are smooth and flat. (4) Some minerals will split apart neatly and cleanly along two or more planes. (5) The planes form characteristic angles in relation to each other. (6) The quality in a mineral that causes it to split apart neatly and cleanly into planes that always have the same angles in relation to each other is called cleavage. (7) It will split apart in a certain way. (8) Zones of weakness called cleavage zones exist in the mineral. (9) The particles -atoms or molecules- making up the mineral are responsible for its cleavage zones. (10) These particles form a regular pattern within the mineral just as the bricks making up a brick wall form a regular pattern. (11) The mineral will split easier along a joint where the particles meet [that is, along a cleavage zone] than in other directions. (12) Because the particles within each particular mineral form their own distinctive patterns. (13) Each mineral has its own distinctive cleavage zones. (14) Diamonds are beautiful and expensive. (15) It is important for a diamond cutter to know the cleavage zones within a diamond. (16) A diamond cutter who wishes to split a large diamond for example first cuts a shallow groove in the diamond. (17) The groove is cut paralell to one of the zones of weakness in the diamond. (18) The diamond cutter then places a steel wedge in the groove and taps the wedge sharply with a hammer. (19) If the zone of weakness has been judged correctly the diamond will cleave neatly and cleanly into two pieces. (20) If the direction zone of weakness has been misjudged however, the diamond may shatter into many small pieces. (21) These pieces are much less valuable than the two larger pieces woulda been. (22) I’d like to be able to purchase a diamond someday. (23) Mica a mineral used in electrical insulation splits readily into thin sheets. (24) In fact, mica can be split into extremely thin sheets because it cleaves in only one direction. (25) Mica is said to have single cleavage. (26) The minerals graphite and talc also have single cleavage. (27) With a knife thin flakes can be peeled off pieces of both of these minerals. 1. What changes, if any, should be made to sentence 16? 2. What change, if any, should be made to sentence 20? 3. What editing needs to occur in the first paragraph of Tony's rough draft? 1. Be able to answer questions on an advertisement. For example, what is the purpose of the advertisement? 2. What can the reader gather from the information on the advertisement? We will review and prepare a couple days before the exam. Please be prepared to discuss these questions in class. You may also take notes in class to help you prepare for the exam. Study hard! Smile! Christmas is almost here! =)