At Least It Has a Happy Ending

Read the following passage:

In Romeo + Juliet, the newer movie, there is a scene early in the movie where the Montague Boys drive into a gas station.  The gas station is called Phoenix Gas.  It is here that we first meet Tybalt and the other Capulets.


You do not need anything else.  Based on the above passage, what will happen here?


a. Romeo and Juliet will fall in love.
b. Juliet will first turn down Romeo, but will later fall in love with him.
c. The gas station will explode.
d. Tybalt will die.
















Scroll down for the answer.














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In order to answer this question, you did not have to have read The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (in fact, it would not have helped you) and you do not need to have watched the movie.  All you need to pay attention to is the name of the gas station.  A Phoenix is a mythological bird that catches on fire every so often and emerges again from the ashes.  Fire and gas do not go well together.  This is foreshadowing (a hint of what will happen later in the story).


The correct answer is c. 


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Spidey Kicks Butt

 Read the following taken from "Top Ten Spider-Man Stories" by J. R. Fettinger:

I was reluctant to list ["The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man"] because it is blatantly emotionally manipulative. Also Wizard put it on their top 10, and I wanted to duplicate their list as little as possible. Spider-Man fulfills the wish of a dying boy by visiting him in the hospital and simply spending some time talking to him, including answering the question "Who are you really, Spider-Man?" Yep. Spidey stares out the window for a moment of contemplation before pulling off his mask and telling the boy his real name.

Based on the above passage, what would be a good word to replace "blatantly"?

a. boringly

b. subtly 

c. obviously

d. detrimentally

Scroll down for the answer.

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The way to figure this out if you are not already familiar with the word blatantly to to look at the context.  Mr. Fettinger did not want to include it on the list because it was emotionally manipulative.  Well, a lot of stories can be emotionally manipulative and still be good, so there must be something about this one that makes it almost bad.  Of the answer choices, obviously manipulative is one that most people frown on.  We don't want the author's purpose to be obvious, we want it to surprise us, to grab us before we realize it.  Therefore c. is the correct answer.

If you are a fan of Spidey, check out the entire article at: http://spideykicksbutt.com/Top10s/top10Spideystories.html

Sweet Christmas!

 Look at this panel from Luke Cage: Hero for Hire #3:

What literary term is Cage using to express his anger?

a. alliteration
b. metaphor
c. allusion
d. verbal irony















Scroll down for the answer.










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The answer is C. Allusion.  Luke makes a reference to Pinocchio and a reference to another story is called an allusion.  

Much like Medusa

Read the following quote from Anthem:

"Their hair was golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it."

What does the quote show?

a. simile
b. hyperbole
c. metaphor
d. symbol









Scroll down for the answer.

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The correct answer is a. simile because it uses "as" to compare their hair with the golden sun.

Thanks to Jordan, Courtney, Katie, and Tykavia from Ms. Brooks class for this question.  Jordan said that Courtney also has hair golden as the sun that defies men to restrain it, but Katie and Tykavia told me that it is only because she is having a bad hair day.

The Sky Is Falling!

Read the following haiku by Baiko:



Plum petals falling
I look up...the sky,
a clear crisp moon.


This haiku is primarily about:


a. global warming
b. death
c. autumn
d. love










Scroll down for the answer.






















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b. is the correct answer. Why? Because of archetypes. Archetypes are symbols that stay the same in all cultures. Here we have leaves falling to the ground, which puts us in autumn time. Autumn is typically associated with death since the trees begin to die (or at least look like they are dying). Also the sky is crisp. The sky only has a crisp look when it gets cold outside, another indication of autumn or winter. Add to that the moon, which tells us that it is nighttime (yes, I know you can see the moon during the day, but typically it is associated with night). Night is, you guessed it, symbolic of death. So everything symbolically points to death, which is what this poem is about. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Baiko, the author. Oh, wait a minute, you can’t – he’s DEAD!

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Xenophobia!

Read the following excerpt from Memories by Marya Zaturensky:

From “Spinners”


Here in this alien crowd I walk apart
Clasping remembered beauty to my heart!


What is the meaning of the phrase “clasping remembered beauty”?

A. imagining future events
B. recalling past event
C. creating current events
D. forgetting past events








Scroll down for the answer.

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The answer is B. The idea that she is “clasping” something she remembers show a sentimental or nostalgic tone. She clearly holds these memories dear and doesn’t want to let them go or forget them. The word remembered clarifies that this is a thing of the past.

Thanks to Mrs. Cooper's second block class for this great question.  I am sure that you guys are Mrs. Cooper's favorite class by far.  Much better than those first block kids who are always causing her problems!

H2O

 "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Coleridge is an excellent poem about some freaky things that happen to this guy while on a boat on the ocean.  Currently, he and his crew are thirsting to death.

Read the following excerpt:

“Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”

What is the above an example of?

a. hyperbole

b. imagery

c. situational irony

d. unreliable narrator

Scroll down for the answer.

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a. is incorrect.  While it might seem like he is exaggerating, he really does have water everywhere as he is floating on the ocean.

b. is incorrect.  You can make an argument that there is some description that is going on with the boards a shrink and all, but it is not the best answer here.

c. is correct.  You would think that if you were floating on an ocean that lack of water would be the least of your worries (you've got 99 worries and water ain't one), but since you can't drink the salt water, lack of water is very much indeed a problem (O.K., you've got 100 problems).

d. is incorrect.  We do not have enough to go on to determine if this narrator is reliable or not.