Name: ________________________________________
1715 English 10 Final Exam Review
Reading Skills:
BY DUDLEY RANDALL 1914–2000 Dudley Randall
"Mother dear, may I go downtown
Instead of out to play,
And march the streets of Birmingham
In a Freedom March today?"
"No, baby, no, you may not go,
For the dogs are fierce and wild,
And clubs and hoses, guns and jails
Aren't good for a little child."
"But, mother, I won't be alone.
Other children will go with me,
And march the streets of Birmingham
To make our country free."
"No baby, no, you may not go
For I fear those guns will fire.
But you may go to church instead
And sing in the children's choir."
She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
And bathed rose petal sweet,
And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
And white shoes on her feet.
The mother smiled to know that her child
Was in the sacred place,
But that smile was the last smile
To come upon her face.
For when she heard the explosion,
Her eyes grew wet and wild.
She raced through the streets of Birmingham
Calling for her child.
She clawed through bits of glass and brick,
Then lifted out a shoe.
"O, here's the shoe my baby wore,
But, baby, where are you?"
1. What is the main idea of the poem?
A. Children should not play outside.
B. Church is safer than a freedom march.
C. A freedom march is safer than church.
D. There is no safety when there is hatred.
2. What is the author’s purpose of the poem?
A. to make people see the evil in racism
B. to persuade children to stay inside
C. to inform adults about Birmingham
D. to entertain with a funny story
3. What would be a good title for this poem?
A. Church and Freedom
B. Freedom March
C. Ballad of Birmingham
D. O Sweet Child of Mine
4. What conclusion can you draw from the poem?
A. The child went to the march.
B. The child died.
C. The mother found her child.
D. There was a war in Alabama.
5. Which is a simile?
A. She clawed through the bits of glass like an animal.
B. She was a wild animal.
C. Her hair was a pitch black night.
D. Her eyes were pools of water.
6. What are lines 18-20 an example of?
A. logos
B. parallel structure
C. alliteration
D. assonance
7. What is the allusion in the poem?
A. the bombing of the freedom march
B. the end of the world
C. the bombing of a church in Birmingham
D. 9/11
8. What appeal does the author MAINLY use?
A. logos
B. pathos
C. ethos
9. What is the irony in the poem?
1
1 When a crowd is watching as someone threatens to jump from a building, its behavior seems affected by the time
of day. 2 In daylight, the crowd is usually quite quiet, but under the cover of darkness, many individual members will
shout encouragement to the person to kill himself or herself. 3 Similarly, there was an experiment in which female
college students were asked to press a button to shock other volunteers. 4 When the women pushing the buttons
were visible to the victims, they administered only brief shocks. 5 However, when they were allowed to wear gowns
and masks that hid their identity, they shocked the volunteers twice as much. 6 Clearly the feeling of being
anonymous causes people to engage in antisocial behavior.
1. In sentence 4, administered means
A. principal
B. gave
C. received
D. wanted
2. Which sentence contains the main idea of the passage?
A. Sentence 1
B. Sentence 3
C. Sentence 5
3. The author’s main purpose is to
A. entertain readers with another depressing 10 Steps topic
C. inform readers of anonymous vs. public human behavior
D. Sentence 6
B. encourage people not to jump off buildings
D. persuade the audience to be nice to strangers
4. The relationship between sentences 5 and 6 is one of
A. Time
B. Comparison
B. Contrast
D. Illustration
5. You can infer that the author’s tone in this passage is
A. subjective (biased)
B. objective (without personal bias)
General Questions from Ten Steps:
1. Vocabulary in Context: Use context clues (words surrounding the unfamiliar word) to guess what the word might
mean.
Practice:
Nocturnal creatures, such as bats and owls, have highly developed senses that enable them to function in the dark.
Nocturnal means:
A. feathery
B. living
C. active at night
D. scary
2. Main Ideas: The main idea is the point that someone is trying to express. The main idea is the “umbrella” statement
that everything else can fall under. It might not always be immediately clear, although in textbooks the main idea
commonly appears at the beginning.
Practice: Identify each general idea with a G and each specific idea with an S.
___ deadbold locks
___ alarm system
___ barking dog
___ kinds of security
3. Supporting Details: Supporting details fall under the “umbrella” statement and support the main idea. They are the
specific ideas, whereas the main point is the general idea.
2
4. Implied Main Ideas: Sometimes the author does not tell you the main idea, in which cause you have to figure it out
by considering the supporting details.
5. Relationships I and II: Relationship words make ideas clear. Relationships can involve addition, time, illustration,
comparison and contrast, and cause and effect.
Addition words: another, also, additionally, moreover, finally, etc.
Time words: first, second, third, then, next, following, last, etc.
Illustration words: for example, including, once, such as, to be specific
Comparison words: in a similar manner, in the same way, just as, likewise, etc.
Contrast words: but, yet, however, nevertheless, unlike, differently, even though, on the other hand, etc.
Grammar:
Verb Tense Consistency
Directions: Underline the FIRST verb and then choose which verb agrees with the first.
1. I was walking down the street when I _______ over a rock.
a. was tripping
b. tripped
2. Sara dances every time she ______ that song.
a. hears
b. will hear
3. By the time I got into the house, I already _______ in the rain for an hour.
a. had waited
b. waited
4. Jared has such a good sense of humor, he always ______ me laugh.
a. will make
b. makes
5. He understood what she was talking about, but he still _________ .
a. disagrees
b. disagreed
Parallel Structure
Directions: Circle the part that is not parallel, then re-write the sentence correctly the space underneath.
1. Her shirt was long, pink, and made out of cotton material.
2. The elephant was ugly, covered in wrinkles, and smelly.
3. The team cheered, stomped, and are booing the other team.
4. His hair was short, a curly texture, and brown.
5. When I procrastinate I usually watch tv, play computer games, or will be going to the mall.
3
Main (Independent) and Subordinate (Dependent) Clauses
Directions: Circle the subordinate clause and underline the main clause. Each sentence has one of each.
1. While I was in the other room, my cat was chewing on the tv cord.
2. When I heard her loud screech, I ran into the other room.
3. I gave Sprinkles CPR, despite my slight allergy to cat fur.
4. While I tried to revive her, my sister called the vet.
5. Sprinkles survived, but I had to go to the hospital for my own allergic reaction.
The final exam is 55 multiple choice questions. Bring a pencil and
an eraser—it’s a Scantron test!
4
Final Exam Terms to Know
Tragedy
Tragic Hero
Tragic Flaw
Protagonist
Stage Directions
Allusion
Persuasive
Appeal
Logos
Pathos
Ethos
5
Parallel
Structure
Simile
Metaphor
Verbal:
Irony
Situational:
Dramatic:
Personification
Mood
Author’s
Purpose
Tone
6