Selection: K-29

K-29

Grade level: 11

Word count: 2253 words

Author: Anonymous

Synopsis: To what lengths would you go to keep a promise?

Excerpt: Tong-Yong's mother had died while he was an infant. When he became a youth of nineteen years his father also passed away, leaving him utterly solitary in the world, and without resources, for, being an impoverished man, Tong's father had put himself through great straits to educate the lad, and hadn't been able to lay by even one copper coin of his earnings. Tong lamented greatly to find himself destined to such destitution that he couldn't honor the memory of his good father by having the customary burial rituals performed and a carven monument erected upon a propitious site. The poor only are friends of the poor; among all whom Tong knew there was not one acquaintance able to assist him in defraying the expenses of the funeral.

In one way only could the youth obtain money: by selling his services as a slave to some rich cultivator, which he earnestly pledged to do.

Even as she ceased speaking, the great glow diminished, and Tong, reopening his eyes, knew she had passed away forever, mysteriously and irrevocably as the light of a flame extinguished.

Still his child slumbered, smiling in his sleep. Outside, darkness was breaking; the sky brightened swiftly; the night was past. With splendid majesty the East threw open high gates of gold for the coming of the sun, and, illuminated by the glory of its coming, the morning vapors wrought themselves into astonishing shapes of shifting color, into forms weirdly beautiful as the silken dreams woven in the loom of Tchi-Niu.

Question: Based on these two excerpts, the tone of this selection can best be described as shifting from

1. desperation to contentment.
2. frugality to excess.
3. joyfulness to desperation.
4. resistance to acceptance.

Selection: K-33

K-33

Grade level: 11

Word count: 2751 words

Author: Ambrose Bierce

Synopsis: When a man thinks he sees a snake under his bed, his fear and anxiety grow with each passing moment.

Excerpt: The man groaned; the snake made neither sound nor motion, but its eyes were two dazzling suns and the reptile itself was wholly concealed by them.

It was a stuffed snake; its eyes were two shoe buttons.

Question: Read these excerpts from the selection. In which two ways do they work together?

1. The first uses a metaphor to describe the snake's eyes.
2. The second shows how the human imagination can easily augment reality.
3. The first uses foreshadowing to describe the snake's eyes.
4. The second shows how realistic toys can frighten children.
5. Both excerpts show how people often have a fear of snakes.

Selection: K-13

K-13

Grade level: 11

Word count: 2110 words

Author: Katherine Menard

Synopsis: A growing segment of the population is becoming more knowledgeable about food sources and purchasing produce directly from local farmers.

Excerpt: One of the most significant elements of CSAs is the concept of shared risk. This is most obvious in the way a CSA operation is financed. Shareholders' up-front payments, like all investments, are based on potential, not actuality. Nobody can predict with certainty how much the farm will produce in a given year.

Question: When a consumer joins a CSA, the process can be compared to

1. buying a stock whose profitability is determined by future conditions.
2. joining a club that requires members to spend a certain amount on food.
3. taking a part-time job that helps people in your community.
4. coaching a sports team to get the best results during the season.

Selection: K-15

K-15

Grade level: 11

Word count: 2278 words

Author: Jake Gibson

Synopsis: Einstein shattered many preconceived ideas about the universe.

Excerpt: All entities with mass bend, distort, and manipulate the space encompassing them. The best way to visualize space and how celestial bodies interact with it is to imagine an elastic fabric stretching to the ends of the cosmos. If all stars, planets, and moons were aligned onto a single plane and positioned on the fabric, these astronomical bodies would stretch the fibers, dip, and create contours.

Question: Space can be visualized as

1. an elastic fabric.
2. a colorful rainbow.
3. a fixed plane.
4. a static entity.

Selection: K-45

K-45

Grade level: 11

Word count: 2261 words

Author: Kate Scoville

Synopsis: Mules, dolphins, and dogs are well suited to carry out military operations.

Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.

Question: The genre of this selection is best described as

1. nonfiction.
2. historical fiction.
3. realistic fiction.
4. biography.