AnswersCommon Core ELA 11 - ELA3011 ICExploring Cultural Identity through Language

Exploring Cultural Identity through Language — Unit test Answers

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Read the excerpt from Judith Ortiz Cofer’s poem “El Olvido.” a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls, a forgetting place where she fears you will die of loneliness and exposure. Jesús, María, y José, she says, el olvido is a dangerous thing.Which strategy would be most helpful in enhancing the reader’s comprehension of the poem?

A
skimming the lines for familiar words
B
establishing the meaning of words in English and Spanish
C
breaking the lines into shorter phrases
D
rewriting each line by hand
2
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Read the excerpt from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About."Because most cities would no longer exist, messages would have to be broken up into pieces, scattered throughout the system, moved around cities that no longer existed, and then reassembled at the destination. ARPA combined these ideas with an existing system to create what is now called e-mail.Which reading strategy would most help in comprehending the excerpt?

A
breaking it up into shorter sentences and phrases
B
continuing to read and hope it makes sense later
C
relating the content to personal experience
D
rewriting each line by hand
3

Read the excerpt from “Like Mexicans.”We talk for an hour and had apple pie and coffee, slowly. Finally, we got up with Carolyn taking my hand. Slightly embarrassed, I tried to pull away but her grip held me. I let her have her way as she led me down the hallway with her mother right behind me. . . . Carolyn waved again. I looked, back, waving. . . . Her people were like Mexicans, only different.Which best explains how Soto’s text structure helps establish his voice in the excerpt?

A
Soto compares his experience to his wife’s experience in order to criticize marriage in a multicultural society.
B
Soto lists a series of events to present guidelines on how to live in a multicultural society.
C
Soto relates a story from his life to make a point about what it means to live in a multicultural society.
D
Soto uses a cause-and-effect format to show how a person’s heritage can limit his or her marriage choices.
4

Read the excerpt from “First Generation” of Dreaming in Cuban.She considers the vagaries of sports, the happenstance of El Líder, a star pitcher in his youth, narrowly missing a baseball career in America. His wicked curveball attracted the major league scouts, and the Washington Senators were interested in signing him but changed their minds. Frustrated, El Líder went home, rested his pitching arm, and started a revolution in the mountains.Read the excerpt from “Like Mexicans.”We talked for an hour and had apple pie and coffee, slowly. Finally, we got up with Carolyn taking my hand. Slightly embarrassed, I tried to pull away but her grip held me. I let her have her way as she led me down the hallway with her mother right behind me. . . . Carolyn waved again. I looked, back, waving. . . . Her people were like Mexicans, only different.Which best states how the structures of the excerpts are similar?

A
Each relates an anecdote to appeal to the reader’s emotions.
B
Each presents factual evidence to appeal to the reader’s logic.
C
Each documents career credentials to appeal to the reader’s ethics.
D
Each discusses a political event to appeal to the reader’s logic.
5

Read the historical fact to make a text to world connection. The Cold War (1947-1991) was fought to contain the spread of communism and deter nuclear attack; subsequently it created a stockpiling of arms and munitions.Then, read the excerpt from Michio Kaku’s book Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century.There was also a sense of urgency. The Pentagon was worried that the shattered remains of the Soviet Union might be rebuilt before the United States. Following a nuclear war, there would be a race to see who could rebuild their country first. In a scenario of two dazed boxers lying flat on their backs, slowly regaining consciousness, the winner of World War III would be that country which could stand on its feet first (and so go on to win World War IV). Therefore, the Pentagon’s priority was to provide scientists with a way to rebuild the country as fast as possible, unimpeded by unnecessary restrictions.Which detail from the excerpt of Michio Kaku’s book provides the most cultural context about the Cold War?

A
There was also a sense of urgency.
B
The Pentagon was worried that the shattered remains of the Soviet Union might be rebuilt before the United States.
C
In a scenario of two dazed boxers lying flat on their backs. . . .
D
The winner of World War III would be that country which could stand on its feet first.
6

Read the excerpt from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About."Tanks and submarines were easily simulated, since looking through goggles wasn’t very much different from looking through a pair of binoculars or a periscope. Since the first head-mounted display was built for the Pentagon in 1968, primitive versions of virtual reality have since proliferated to video arcades around the country.Which information from the excerpt best supports the inference that certain video games resulted from issues related to national security?

A
There has been a marked increase in war-themed games since the military developed conflict-based simulators.
B
There has been a marked increase in the development of new forms of entertainment since cuts to military spending have occurred.
C
There has been a marked increase in virtual reality games since the military developed conflict-based simulators.
D
There has been a marked increase in new forms of entertainment since the military’s budget was increased.
7

Read the excerpt from Julia Ortiz Cofer’s poem "El Olvido."It is dangerousto spurn the clothes you were born to wearfor the sake of fashion; dangerousto use weapons and sharp instrumentsyou are not familiar with; dangerousto disdain the plaster saintsbefore which your mother kneelspraying with embarrassing fervorthat you survive in the place you have chosen to live:The items listed in this excerpt symbolize

A
the ways of life that are unfamiliar to the speaker.
B
the fervent religious beliefs of the speaker’s mother.
C
the speaker’s desire to forget embarrassing traditions.
D
the traditions and customs of the speaker’s native land.
9

Read the excerpt from "Like Mexicans."We had lunch: sandwiches, potato chips, and iced tea. Carolyn and her mother talked mostly about neighbors and the congregation at the Japanese Methodist Church in West Fresno. Her father, who was in khaki work clothes, excused himself with a wave that was almost a salute and went outside. I heard a truck start, a dog bark, and the truck rattle away.How does Soto build a central idea of his story in the excerpt?

A
By showing how Carolyn’s family lives in a way that is strange to him, Soto supports the idea that culture causes conflict between people.
B
By showing how Carolyn’s family lives in a way that is boring to him, Soto supports the idea that people from different cultures do not share interests.
C
By showing how Carolyn’s family lives in a way that is familiar to him, Soto supports the idea that people from different cultures can also share a culture.
D
By showing how Carolyn’s family lives in a way that is similar to him, Soto supports the idea that there are very few differences among cultures.
11

Read the excerpt from “How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About.”In a scenario of two dazed boxers lying flat on their backs, slowly regaining consciousness, the winner of World War III would be that country which could stand on its feet first (and so go on to win World War VI). Therefore, the pentagon’s priority was to provide scientists with a way to rebuild the country as fast as possible, unimpeded by unnecessary restrictions.Which type of rhetoric is used most in this excerpt to convince readers of the author’s point of view?

A
an appeal to logic
B
an appeal to the author’s character
C
an appeal to emotion
D
an appeal to ethics
13

Read the excerpt from Gary Soto’s story "Like Mexicans."My grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in my early teens. For the bad advice, she said that I should become a barber because they made good money and listened to the radio all day. “Honey, they don’t work como burros,” she would say every time I visited her. She made the sound of donkeys braying. “Like that, honey!” For the good advice, she said that I should marry a Mexican girl. “No Okies, hijo”—she would say— “Look, my son. He marry one and they fight every day about I don’t know what and I don’t know what.” For her, everyone who wasn’t Mexican, black, or Asian were Okies. The French were Okies, the Italians in suits were Okies. . . . she lectured me on the virtues of the Mexican girl.What inference can be made about the grandmother’s point of view in this excerpt?

A
She is eager to assimilate herself and her family into mainstream US culture.
B
She is unwilling to embrace any aspect of multiculturalism because she detests US culture.
C
She wants to preserve her family’s Mexican culture even though she no longer lives in Mexico.
D
She believes that marrying an “Okie” is equivalent to ruining any prospects of financial success.
14

What best summarizes the central idea of the passage from "How the Internet and Other Technologies Came About"?

A
Technological advancement is a side effect of military efforts to win wars.
B
Technological advancement is a side effect of academic competition between countries.
C
Technological advancement is a side effect of economic competition between countries.
D
Technological advancement is a side effect of profit-driven corporations.
15

What best summarizes the central idea of the passage from "Like Mexicans"?

A
People from different ethnicities have a difficult time understanding each other.
B
People can be of different ethnicities and still have shared life experiences.
C
People should marry based on shared ethnicity to maintain their own cultures.
D
People should ignore their ethnicities to develop one common culture.
16

Read the excerpt from Gary Soto’s short story "Like Mexicans.”My grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in my early teens. For the bad advice, she said that I should become a barber because they made good money and listened to the radio all day. “Honey, they don’t work como burros,” she would say every time I visited her. She made the sound of donkeys braying. “Like that, honey!” For the good advice, she said that I should marry a Mexican girl. “No Okies, hijo”—she would say— “Look, my son. He marry one and they fight every day about I don’t know what and I don’t know what.” For her, everyone who wasn’t Mexican, black, or Asian were Okies. The French were Okies, the Italians in suits were Okies. . . . she lectured me on the virtues of the Mexican girl.The complex narrative structure used in the excerpt is an example of

A
acknowledging the story as fictional.
B
several narrators being used.
C
establishing a work of fiction that is based on nonfiction.
D
the chronological order of events being manipulated.
18

Which choice best describes a protagonist in a short story?

A
a character who causes conflict
B
a character who experiences conflict
C
a character who provides information about the main character
D
a character who remains unchanged throughout the story
19

Which excerpt from "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" best illustrates how Leon’s beliefs differ from those of Father Paul?

A
"Well, I'm glad you understand. I hope I'll be seeing you at Mass this week—we missed you last Sunday. See if you can get old Teofilo to come with you." The priest smiled and waved at them as they drove away.
B
Leon walked toward the old man's bed. The red plaid shawl had been shaken and spread carefully over the bed, and a new brown flannel shirt and pair of stiff new Levi's were arranged neatly beside the pillow.
C
It was noontime now because the church bells rang the Angelus. They ate the beans with hot bread, and nobody said anything until after Teresa poured the coffee.
D
Leon turned to look up at the high blue mountains in the deep snow that reflected a faint red light from the west. He felt good because it was finished, and he was happy about the sprinkling of the holy water; now the old man could send them big thunderclouds for sure.
20

Read the excerpt from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”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. Which best explains how Anaya’s word choice establishes his voice in the excerpt?

A
Anaya compares “tortillas” to “the soul” of a Mexican-American writer, demonstrating the ability of these writers to combine Spanish and English in their writing.
B
Anaya compares “tortillas” to “the soul” of a Mexican-American writer, emphasizing his belief that writers must be allowed to express their culture and heritage.
C
Anaya compares “tortillas” to “the soul” of a Mexican-American writer to persuade people to read more literature by writers that come from mixed heritages and diverse cultures.
D
Anaya compares “tortillas” to “the soul” of a Mexican-American writer to express his opinion that only those writers who exist outside of the mainstream are worthy of an audience.

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