Name: ______________________
Class: _________________
Date: _________
ID: A
Hanging Fire / Teenagers
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Comprehension
Read each of the following questions. Then choose the letter of the best answer.
____
1. Which phrase from “Hanging Fire” indicates that the speaker is not an adult?
A “always so ashy”
B “what if I die”
C “I am fourteen”
D “too small for me”
____
2. A concern that the speaker in “Hanging Fire” repeats in each stanza relates to
A dying soon.
B needing help.
C feeling happy.
D wanting space.
____
3. In lines 19–21 of “Hanging Fire,” the speaker says “there is nothing I want to do and too much that
has to be done” to express
A frustration at having too many chores.
B a constantly changing view of life.
C a feeling of excitement about the future.
D anger about not making the Math Team.
____
4. In “Hanging Fire” what is the effect of the speaker’s repetition of the same phrase at the end of each
stanza?
A It shows that the speaker is not dependent on his or her mother.
B It suggests a good relationship with his or her mother.
C It reveals the mother’s need to better understand her child.
D It emphasizes the speaker’s need for the mother’s guidance.
____
5. In “Teenagers” the speaker is most likely
A a parent.
B a teenager.
C a teacher.
D a principal
____
6. Which is the main focus of “Teenagers”?
A the disappearance of children
B learning a new language
C adjusting to a new home
D communication problems
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Name: ______________________
ID: A
____
7. Which is a simile?
A “I pace the hall, hear whispers,”
B “faces I once held, open as sunflowers”
C “we become strangers in our own home”
D “a code I knew but can’t remember”
____
8. In “Teenagers,” the phrase “glowing almost like pearls” suggests that the speaker
A believes the children are precious.
B wants the children to find work.
C hopes to understand the children.
D finds the children annoying.
____
9. Both “Hanging Fire” and “Teenagers” deal with
A communication between parent and child.
B the issues a teenager faces in school.
C taking responsibility for oneself
D teenagers’ need for discipline.
____ 10. Which is a difference between “Hanging Fire” and “Teenagers”?
A One has a rhyme scheme and the other does not.
B One is about teenagers and the other is not.
C One is written in free verse and the other is not.
D One has an adult speaker and the other does not.
Short Answer
Written Response
Answer the following questions based on your knowledge of the poems.
11. Each stanza of “Hanging Fire” ends with a period, but there are no commas or other punctuation
elsewhere. What is the effect of the lack of punctuation ?
12. What feeling do the speakers in “Hanging Fire” and “Teenagers” share about the image of a closed
door? Use evidence from the poems to support your answer.
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