Summer Break

My school got out on May 16th.  My year is done.

We at Extreme English Teacher won't be back in business until this August - as far as I know, I'm staying in English II.  Teachers, you can continue on with me at  https://www.extremeenglishteacher.blogspot.com/ or at our store https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Extreme-English-Teacher.

I'm leaving all the posts up so if anyone finds this and needs some practice questions for summer -  go at it and enjoy!

Don't Even Think About Putting One There

What literary term is this an example of?

The sign says, "NOTICE - NO SIGNS ALLOWED AT THIS INTERSECTION"

a. pun 
b. hyperbole

c. irony 
d. allusion

Scroll down for the answer.








































_________________________
The correct answer is c. irony. The EOC may use the word irony or ironic and it will mean the same thing. There are three common types of irony. This one is situational irony. This is when something unexpected happens. In this case, it is unexpected to see a sign saying no signs allowed.

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Caps for Sale

Read the following passage taken from the book Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina:

Once there was a peddler who sold caps. But he was not like an ordinary peddler carrying his wares on his back. He carried them on top of his head.

First he had on his own checked cap, 

then a bunch of gray caps, 

then a bunch of brown caps, 

then a bunch of blue caps, 

and on the very top a bunch of red caps.

He walked up and down the streets, holding himself very straight so as not to upset his caps. As he went along he called,

“Caps! Caps for sale! Fifty cents a cap!”

In the above passage, what does the word "upset" mean?

a. tip over
b. make someone sad or irritated
c. to stand straight up
d. to move fast




















Scroll down for the answer.
















_____________________
a. is the correct answer

b. is incorrect - you didn't read, did you?  Whenever the EOC asks you what a word means and it seems to be an easy word - watch out.  Many easy words have multiple meanings.

Kill the Beast!

Read the following passage.


In the book, Lord of the Flies, a plane crashes, stranding several young boys on an island with no adults.  Early in the book, we meet Ralph, a kid with golden tan skin and blond hair and Piggy, a fat boy with glasses and asthma.  Another major character they meet is Jack, the leader of the choir who has red hair and lots of freckles.


Make a prediction based only on what is given in the above passage.  Which boy will be the most violent of the three? 


a. Jack
b. Ralph
c. Piggy

Scroll down for the answer.




















______________________
a. is the correct answer.  How could you know?  Well, all we have is their description.  Jack has red hair.  Red is an archetype (a type of symbol) that means violence.


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A Fable

Read the following fable:

The Donkey and His Masters

  A donkey, belonging to an herb-seller who gave him too little food and too much work made a petition to Jupiter to be released from his present service and provided with another master. Jupiter, after warning him that he would repent his request, caused him to be sold to a tile-maker. Shortly afterwards, finding that he had heavier loads to carry and harder work in the brick-field, he petitioned for another change of master. Jupiter, telling him that it would be the last time that he could grant his request, ordained that he be sold to a tanner. The donkey found that he had fallen into worse hands, and noting his master's occupation, said, groaning: "It would have been better for me to have been either starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the other of my former masters, than to have been bought by my present owner, who will even after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him."


The best lesson of this story is:

a. He that finds discontentment in one place is not likely to find happiness in another.
b. Good can be found even in difficult times.
c. There is hope for those who wait patiently.
d. He who hesitates is lost.







Scroll down for the answer.







____________________________
a. is the correct answer.


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Bed 26

Read the following quote from the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque.

"Bed 26, amputated thigh."

He sniffs: "How should I know anything about it, I've amputated five legs to-day;" he shoves me away, says to the hospital orderly. "You see to it," and hurries off to the operating room.

Which of the following themes does the quote represent?

a) destruction of nature
b) dehumanization
c) generational responsibility
d) condemnation of warfare












Scroll down for the answer.

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a) incorrect; no mention of nature
b) correct; he referred the a patient as a body part instead of as a whole
c) incorrect; because he didn't influence anyone
d) incorrect; because there was no fighting involved



Thanks to Matt and Chase from Mrs. Stamey's class for this question, proving that two heads are better than one, even these two!

Excuses, Excuses...

Read the following passage:

I could have been the star player on our team, but my old glove was too small and was my Achilles heel.  Once, I dropped the ball at first base and a kid ended up running all the way home and I dropped the ball while playing third base five times in one game.  The coach looked exasperated and my mom cried, but it's not my fault. 

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

a. for the narrator to compare himself to a Greek hero

b. to exaggerate his mother's reaction to prove his point

c. to reinforce that it is not his fault

d. to show irony about his playing ability

Scroll down for the answer.
























__________________________


c. is the correct answer - allusion means to make a reference to something else, in this case to Achilles, the Greek hero who could only be hurt on his heel.  Today we say that anything that is a weak point is our Achilles heel.  

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