Short Story Unit Pre/Post Common Assessment
Students take this assessment prior to starting the short story fiction unit and after finishing the unit.
- 1.(1) The seals had always behaved in the past. (2) They had never sprayed the audience with water or thrown food back at them. (3) Little did the zookeeper know that today would be different. (4) As he brought the bucket of fish to feed the seals, his mind was elsewhere. (5) He was thinking of his plans to go out with Emily that night. (6) He smiled perfunctorily at the crowds of children and parents standing around the seal pool. (7) It was time for the 4 o'clock feeding show.
- A.
Read excerpt above
- B.
Answer questions below
- 2.Which of these sentences contains the clearest example of foreshadowing?
- A.
Sentence 1
- B.
Sentence 3
- C.
Sentence 5
- D.
Sentence 6
- 3.What do the foreshadowing and other details suggest is going to happen?
- A.
The seals eat the fish as they always do.
- B.
The seals will refuse to perform for the audience
- C.
The seals will make loud honking sounds at the audience.
- D.
The seals will spray water and toss fish at the audience.
- 4.It is not often that you meet someone who is truly different. Emma is different. She is completely unconcerned with the rest of the world, often barely acknowledging its existence. And when you live in Manhattan, it isn't easy to ignore the rest of the world. Chaotic throngs of people rush through each crosswalk. Traffic, noise, and filth are omnipresent. Manhattan is not like the Blue Ridge Mountains. But Emma doesn't seem to notice.
- A.
Read excerpt below
- B.
Answer questions below
- 5.The selection includes an example of which of the following kinds of characterization?
- A.
Indirect
- B.
Abstract
- C.
Direct
- D.
Omniscient
- 6.Which of the following techniques might be used to develop character indirectly?
- A.
Figurative language
- B.
First-person point of view
- C.
Omniscient narrator
- D.
Dialogue
- 7.Asleep, Corky completely forgot where he was. But the minute his eyes fluttered open, he remembered every hideous detail. The bars on the tiny, unreachable window; the thin, lumpy window; the cracked sink and lidless toilet; the cold floor; the marks scratched into the unpainted damp walls. These sights slammed him back into his new reality.
- A.
Read excerpt above
- B.
Answer questions below
- 8.What is the most reasonable inference to make about the setting of this selection?
- A.
The setting is present-day America.
- B.
The setting is a prison.
- C.
The setting is long ago.
- D.
The setting is a boarding school.
- 9.How important is the setting likely to be to the plot of this selection?
- A.
Not important
- B.
Slightly important
- C.
Quite important
- D.
Extremely important
- 10.Guinivere laughed quietly as she rocked the cradle with her foot. It had been so simple in the end! All she had needed was faith: faith in her husband, faith in her beliefs, and above all faith in herself. "I did it! I really, really did it!" she crowed under her breath.
- A.
Read excerpt above
- B.
Answer questions below
- 11.What is the theme of a selection?
- A.
Its ideas
- B.
Its underlying meaning
- C.
Its overall plot
- D.
Its dialogue
- 12.What is the theme of this selection?
- A.
Faith is all we need.
- B.
Believe in yourself.
- C.
Faith is nothing without determination.
- D.
Beliefs are nothing without faith.
- 13.Nostrils flaring and eyes flashing, Great White Horse reared, shaking the great balance scales it carried on its back. The Horse had brought order to the village. Its judgements and rules were etched on the tablets of truth for all time. Yet for how long would the people remember?
- A.
Read excerpt above
- B.
Answer Questions below
- 14.Why do good writers use symbols in their work?
- A.
To make their work relevant
- B.
To provide a comprehension challenge for readers
- C.
To show how educated they are
- D.
To transmit important ideas to readers
- 15.Of the following choices, which is the Horse likeliest to symbolize?
- A.
The power of law and order
- B.
Delight in cruelty
- C.
The effects of fear
- D.
The triumph of nature over civilization
- 16.The quilt had been in Ana's family for generations. Now her mother handed it to Ana. "You're nearly 21, Ana, and I know you are ready to care for it," Ana's mother said stroking the quilt, her voice cracking. Tears dripped down Ana's cheeks as she accepted the treasured keepsake.
- A.
Read the excerpt above
- B.
Answer questions below
- 17.What is the most logical conclusion to draw about the symbolic meaning of the quilt?
- A.
It symbolizes Ana's adulthood.
- B.
It symbolizes the artistic abilities of women in Ana's family.
- C.
It symbolizes the cultural heritage of Ana's family.
- D.
It symbolizes the importance of hard work to Ana's family.
- 18.What is the point of view of the narrator in this sentence?Ruth picked up a hairbrush, looked at it quizzically, and threw it at the mirror.
- A.
First person
- B.
Naive first person
- C.
Third person omniscient
- D.
Third person limited
- 19.What is the point of view of the narrator in this sentence?I looked at the paper and was stunned to realize that I had finally passed a chemistry exam.
- A.
First person
- B.
Third person limited
- C.
Third person omniscient
- D.
Second person
- 20.A modern dentist would certainly enjoy having a hadrosaur as a client. While an adult human being has only 32 teeth, these duck-billed dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous period had up to 2,000, with 500 along each side of each jaw. Unlike human beings, who grow two sets of teeth in their lifetimes, the hadrosaurs, like sharks and modern reptiles, had built-in replacement teeth. If a tooth became worn down or broken off, a new one would grow up to take its place. In skeletal remains of the jaws of these toothy beasts, scientists have found entire banks of replacement teeth. Like athletes sitting on the bench, they were ready and waiting to be put to use.
- A.
Read the excerpt above
- B.
Answer the questions below
- 21.Which of these best describes the tome of the selection?
- A.
Formal and serious
- B.
Light and entertaining
- C.
Persuasive
- D.
Interrogative
- 22.List and define the parts of the plot diagram.
Related Topics
Recent Quizzes
Featured Quizzes
Back to top