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QuizMultiple Choice

Analyzing Word Choice and Author’s Purpose in Short Stories — Quiz

Question 3 • CMS 2026-2027 English II CREDIT RECOVERY

Read the excerpt from "The Crab That Played with the Sea.” He went North, Best Beloved, and he found All-the-Elephant-there-was digging with his tusks and stamping with his feet in the nice new clean earth that had been made ready for him. ‘Kun?’ said All-the-Elephant-there-was, meaning, ‘Is this right?’ ‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician, meaning, ‘That is quite right’; and he breathed upon the great rocks and lumps of earth that All-the-Elephant-there-was had thrown up, and they became the great Himalayan Mountains, and you can look them out on the map. He went East, and he found All-the-Cow-there-was feeding in the field that had been made ready for her, and she licked her tongue round a whole forest at a time, and swallowed it and sat down to chew her cud. ‘Kun?’ said All-the-Cow-there-was. ‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician; and he breathed upon the bare patch where she had eaten, and upon the place where she had sat down, and one became the great Indian Desert, and the other became the Desert of Sahara, and you can look them out on the map. He went West, and he found All-the-Beaver-there-was making a beaver-dam across the mouths of broad rivers that had been got ready for him. ‘Kun?’ said All-the-Beaver-there-was. ‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician; and he breathed upon the fallen trees and the still water, and they became the Everglades in Florida, and you may look them out on the map. Then he went South and found All-the-Turtle-there-was scratching with his flippers in the sand that had been got ready for him, and the sand and the rocks whirled through the air and fell far off into the sea. ‘Kun?’ said All-the-Turtle-there-was. ‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician; and he breathed upon the sand and the rocks, where they had fallen in the sea, and they became the most beautiful islands of Borneo, Celebes, Sumatra, Java, and the rest of the Malay Archipelago, and you can look them out on the map! Which details from the excerpt best support the conclusion that this story is about the creation of the world? Choose two correct answers.

Answer
A
Things turn into geographical features of the Earth, such as the Himalayas, when the Eldest Magician blows on them.
B
The animals engage in activities that are typical of their species, such as the cow chewing its cud and the beaver building a dam.
C
The Eldest Magician and the animals engage in conversations using language, which is an example of personification.
D
The author refers to the animals as "All-the-Elephant-there-was," "All-the-Beaver-there-was," and "All-the-Turtle-there-was."
E
The author repeats foreign expressions such as "Kun" and "Payah kun" in the conversations between the Magician and the animals.

Explanation

A directly shows the Eldest Magician creating real features of the Earth: rocks become the Himalayas, and other actions create deserts, wetlands, and islands. D also supports a creation-story interpretation because names like “All-the-Elephant-there-was” suggest these animals are the original or only representatives of their kinds. The animals’ typical behavior and their conversations show characterization or personification, but do not as directly establish that the story is about the world’s creation.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

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