Idioms

 Which of the following quotes taken from a movie is an example of an idiom?

a. from: The Avengers
Loki: I am a god, dull creature, and I will NOT be bullied by a ...

b. from: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Kirk: If we play our cards right, we may be able to find out when those whales are being released.

Spock: How will playing cards help?

c. from: Clash of the Titans

Perseus: If I do this, I do it as a man.
Draco: But you are NOT just a man.

d. from: Taken

Bryan: I have a daughter who wants to be a singer. I was wondering if you have any tips for her.
Sheerah: Yeah, I do. Tell her pick another career.

Scroll down for the answer.

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To get this question right, you need to know the definition of idiom:

The term refers to a set expression or a phrase comprising two or more words. An interesting fact regarding the device is that the expression is not interpreted literally. The phrase is understood as to mean something quite different from what individual words of the phrase would imply. Alternatively, it can be said that the phrase is interpreted in a figurative sense. Further, idioms vary in different cultures and countries.

from: http://literarydevices.net/

For all of these, the only one that has a set expression is when Kirk is talking to Spock and says, "play our cards right," so the correct answer is b. 

Never

Read the following excerpt from Kenneth Follet's novel Never, a novel about the beginning of a nuclear war.  Pauline Green is the president of the United States of America in this novel and has just launched an attack on North Korea in retaliation for North Korea's attack on South Korea and Japan.

Pauline had killed hundreds of people, perhaps thousands, by bombing North Korean military bases, and more would have been maimed by the blast and ravaged by the radiation.  In her head she knew she had done the right thing: General Pak's murderous regime had to be closed down.  But no amount of reasoning could make her feel all right about it in her heart.  Every time she washed her hands she thought about Lady Macbeth trying to get the blood off. 

What is the purpose of the allusion in the above passage?

a. to show how Pauline was justified in taking the action she took
b. to show how Pauline feels guilty for the deaths of those caught in the US's bombing
c. to show how guilty General Pak is from his actions
d. to let the reader know that nuclear war is never a justifiable option

Scroll down for the answer

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In order to answer this question correctly, you must:

• know what an allusion in
• be able to find the allusion in the passage
• understand how the allusion relates to the passage

Allusions are often difficult to spot because you may have never read the book being alluded to.  Allusions that may appear on the state test will probably come from Shakespeare, mythology, or the Bible.  

So, how do you find the allusion in the above passage if you do not recognize the work it is coming from?  First thing to do is to look for anything that does not belong.  We have three names: Pauline, General Pak, and Lady Macbeth.  We know from reading the blurb before the passage that Pauline is a character in the book.  We can guess that General Pak is her adversary in North Korea.  That leaves Lady Macbeth, who doesn't seem to have a role here.  That could be our allusion.  We see she is washing blood off her hands.  Given that this was a missile strike, there would be no literal blood on anyone's hands, so we can read this to be figurative.  The phrase "blood on one's hands" deals with a guilty conscience, so armed with that knowledge, we can narrow the answers to B or C.  Since it is Pauline that the passage is focused on and not General Pak, we can narrow the answer to B.

Leaks

Look at this ad found in the restroom at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh:

What literary term is being used in this ad to draw attention and help viewers remember it later when they may need these services?

A. situational irony

B. rhetorical device

C. hyperbole

D. pun

Scroll down for the answer.

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Humor is subjective, but also quite effective in helping readers/viewers remember something they saw.  For advertising, remembering the product or service is essential.  This ad is using bathroom humor (in the bathroom, naturally) to stick with the reader.  That most likely narrows it down to a. situational irony or d. pun (though neither of these are required to be humorous).  In this case, the joke is the play on the word "leaks", so d. pun is the correct answer.

Who Do We Ask for Help When We Don't Know Which Way to Go? Say Map!

Read the following passage from All Quiet on the Western Front:

"We are forlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superficial- I believe we are lost."

What theme is being represented in this passage?


a) comradeship
b) dehumanization
c) loss of innocence
d) oneness of man




Scroll down for the answer.

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a) is wrong because this has nothing to do with anyone being anyone's comrade
b) is the best wrong answer. Even though they have changed, they are still human and are acting like humans, just older humans
c) is correct because they are children that now experienced old men who have lost all innocence from the young child that they are
d) is wrong because no one is being one or acting as one. This has nothing to do with this sentence.



Thanks to Jessie from Ms. Stamey's class for this well written question.  Loss of innocence is a common theme in stories that involve younger characters, so if a passage on the EOC involves someone's childhood, look for it as a theme.  Stay gold, Jessie - and do it for Johnny!

(O.K., bad Outsiders allusion, but it is in keeping with the loss of innocence theme...)

Rebellions Are Built on Hope

 Read the poem below by Emily Dickinson - 

"Hope" is the thing with feathers --
That perches in the soul --
And sings the tune without the words --
And never stops -- at all --

What is the literary term that drives the meaning of this poem?
  

a. metaphor

b. simile

c. repetition

d. allusion

Scroll down for the answer.

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a. is correct.  We do not have what the complete comparison is, but we should be able to figure out that Hope is being compared to a bird.

I'm Waiting...

Read this very short story by Eileen Gunn

Computer, did we bring batteries? Computer?

What is the purpose of the question at the end of the story?

a. to imply that we cannot trust computers to take care of our needs

b. to infer that the batteries were not brought

c. to point out the situational irony in a computer knowing about batteries

d. to play on the archetypal symbolism of batteries

Scroll down for the answer.

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O.K., not a hard one.  You guys all got the correct answer was b.  The question implies that the computer is not answering due to the fact that the batteries are dead and no new ones were brought.

I'll try to come up with a harder one tomorrow.

Freebie - Ace the State Test

 Hello teachers!  Never fear, your daily question is just a downwards scroll away, but I wanted to give you a chance to grab the Last Minute EOC Tips presentation.  You can get it by going to https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Extreme-English-Teacher and grabbing the Free Download (should see it at the top right, but if not, just scroll the products until you see it).  I hope it helps!  If it does, please consider leaving a review.