Choosing Language — Unit test Answers

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Read the quote from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds""Send us rain clouds, Grandfather." They laid the bundle in the back of the pickup and covered it with a heavy tarp before they started back to the pueblo.This quote is located early in the narrative. What does it reveal about Leon?

A
He is more worried about the rain than the death of his grandfather.
B
He is a devout follower of the Roman Catholic Church.
C
He is already planning on asking for holy water from Father Paul.
D
He greatly values the traditional beliefs of the Pueblo people.
2
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Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."I am a writer. And by that definition, I am someone who has always loved language. I am fascinated by language in daily life. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.How does Tan build a central idea of her story in the excerpt?

A
Tan references her writing career to build the idea that writing is the most satisfying career choice for Asian Americans.
B
Tan references her work with language to build the idea that all forms of English are purposeful and meaningful.
C
Tan references her fascination with language to build the idea that daily life is the best language source for writers.
D
Tan references her thoughts about language to build the idea that more people should think about their language usage.
5

Read the excerpt from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”For me, reading has always been a path toward liberation and fulfillment. To learn to read is to start down the road of liberation, a road which should be accessible to everyone. No one has the right to keep you from reading, and yet that is what is happening in many areas in this country today. There are those who think they know best what we should read. These censors are at work in all areas of our daily lives.Which best describes how Anaya uses rhetorical appeal to convince readers that censors want to limit what people can read?

A
Anaya speaks about everyone’s right to read what they choose in order to appeal to the reader’s sense of fairness.
B
Anaya presents documented facts about censors’ motivations in order to appeal to the reader’s sense of logic.
C
Anaya discusses his lifelong love of reading in order to establish his expertise for the reader on the topic of censorship.
D
Anaya refrains from stating a direct opinion in order to allow the reader to form one based on evidence from many areas of the country.
7

Read the two excerpts about Pilar from Dreaming in Cuban.Excerpt 1: They called me brujita, little witch. I stared at them, tried to make them go away.Excerpt 2: Another woman, an elderly mulatta, claimed that her hair was falling out from the menacing stares the baby gave her. Which statement is the best synthesis for the two excerpts?

A
Most Cuban women rely on the services of nannies when raising their children.
B
Supernatural experiences are frequently dismissed as being coincidental in Cuban culture.
C
Inexplicable events are sometimes interpreted as supernatural experiences in Cuban culture.
D
Many Cuban children remember the earliest events of their childhood.
9

Read the passage from “Child of the Americas.”I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness, a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft.How does the imagery create a visual of the speaker’s use of English?

A
It portrays her command of English as precise and beautiful.
B
It shows that she is extremely hesitant to use English.
C
It shows that she only uses English for practical communication.
D
It portrays the language she uses as forceful and hurtful.
10

Read the excerpt from “The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica.”plain ham and cheesethat would cost less at the A&P, but it would not satisfythe hunger of the fragile old man lost in the foldsof his winter coat, who brings her lists of items that he reads to her like poetry, or the others,whose needs she must divine, conjuring up productsfrom places that now exist only in their hearts—closed ports she must trade with.Which best describes how the author’s word choice affects the tone of the poem?

A
The tone is bitter because the woman who runs the deli tries to obtain items from “closed ports.”
B
The tone is sorrowful because “the fragile old man” cannot afford to pay for his food.
C
The tone is nostalgic because the people have “hunger” for items from “places that now exist only in their hearts.”
D
The tone is angry because the food would “cost less at the A&P,” making people feel cheated.
12

Which is the best definition of the term “magic realism”?

A
a narrative genre of literature that takes ordinary events and makes them seem extraordinary to the reader
B
a narrative genre closely linked to nineteenth-century writers throughout the Americas and Europe
C
a narrative genre that can be traced to the history of European colonialism throughout the world
D
a narrative genre characterized by its use of fantastic or mythic elements in otherwise realistic fiction
13

Read the excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds."Leon knocked at the old carved door with its symbols of the Lamb. While he waited he looked up at the twin bells from the king of Spain with the last sunlight pouring around them in their tower.What does the image of the Lamb above the priest’s door symbolize?

A
The Lamb symbolizes the traditions of the Catholic Church.
B
The Lamb symbolizes the sheep raised by the Pueblo people.
C
The Lamb symbolizes the gentleness of the Pueblo people.
D
The Lamb symbolizes the virtues valued in Pueblo culture.
16

Read the quote from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds""Send us rain clouds, Grandfather." They laid the bundle in the back of the pickup and covered it with a heavy tarp before they started back to the pueblo.This quote is located early in the narrative. What does it reveal about Leon?

A
He is more worried about the rain than the death of his grandfather.
B
He is a devout follower of the Roman Catholic Church.
C
He is already planning on asking for holy water from Father Paul.
D
He greatly values the traditional beliefs of the Pueblo people.
17

Read the excerpts from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry” and “Speaking Arabic.”My friend had concluded that if he took his language and culture out of his poetry, he stood a better chance of receiving a fellowship. He took out his native language, the poetic patois of our reality, the rich mixture of Spanish, English, pachuco and street talk which we know so well. In other words, he took the tortillas out of his poetry, which is to say he took the soul out of his poetry. At a neighborhood fair in Texas, somewhere between the German Oom-pah Sausage Stand and the Mexican Gorditas booth, I overheard a young man say to his friend, “I wish I had a heritage. Sometimes I feel—so lonely for one.” And the tall American trees were dangling their thick branches right down over his head.Which best states how the structures of both excerpts support ideas about cultural diversity?

A
Each incorporates non-English words.
B
Each incorporates academic words.
C
Each incorporates offensive words.
D
Each incorporates nonsense words.
18

Read the excerpt from Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue.”I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect.What is the purpose of this text?

A
to inform readers based on Tan’s childhood experience
B
to persuade readers to speak a different way
C
to inform readers of Tan’s mother’s feelings
D
to persuade readers that Tan’s mother is intelligent
19

Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."Yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent. Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It’s my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world. Which best summarizes the central idea of the excerpt?

A
Nonstandard forms of English are valid, complete languages.
B
People from different cultures can easily learn to speak English.
C
The English and Chinese languages have similar structures.
D
Parents should use standard English with their children in the home.
20

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.The sunset flares behind a row of brownstones, linking them as if by a flaming ribbon. Lourdes massages her eyes and begins walking with legs that feel held by splints.“I’m glad to see you, Lourdes. Thank you for everything, hija, the hat, the cigars. You buried me like an Egyptian king, with all my valuables!” Jorge del Pino laughs.Lourdes perceives the faint scent of her father’s cigar . . .“Where are you, Papi?”The street is vacant, as if a force has absorbed all living things. Even the trees seem more shadow than substance.“Nearby,” her father says, serious now.The author uses magic realism by

A
revealing Jorge’s appreciation for his valued burial gifts.
B
describing the support for Lourdes’s unstable legs as she walks.
C
using words such as “flares,” “faint,” “vacant,” and “shadow.”
D
comparing the description of the setting sun with a flaming ribbon.

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