1001

 Read this very short story:

“The Moores are having a baby.”

I glanced up from the table, surprised. “They got the okay?”

My husband nodded. “The paperwork came in today, so I heard.” He lowered his eyes in sorrow. “Poor Joanna.”

“She’s only 53,” I breathed.

A bead of sweat dripped down my brow, landing on the cool, concrete floor of the bunker. I tried to remind myself to be thankful for this place, this concrete tomb, but it grew more difficult each day. Perpetuum Technologies, the company that sprung up just in time for the largest nuclear war the world had ever seen, had designed the vault to sustain one thousand people for as long as it took the surface to be inhabitable again.

Exactly one thousand people.

Poor Joanna indeed.

From this story, we can infer:

a. Joanna cannot have children

b. Joanna is very sick

c. Joanna is the first name of Mrs. Moore

d. Joanna is the oldest person in the community

Scroll down for the answer.

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This question requires two processes to figure out.  The first is to understand that Perpetuum Technologies will only sustain 1000 people.  This means that if a new baby comes in, that will push the number over 1000 - so the solution would be to get rid of one person to make room for the baby.  Why Joanna?  The key to that is in the statement that she is only 53.  Since the characters are focused on her age, we can assume that the person selected to be gotten rid of to make room for the baby must be selected on age.  Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Spookily enough, there is a real world Perpetuum Technologies.

Story taken from: https://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/boo-scared-you?utm_term=.bcyrRk5yEk#.cs7Rr7QmX7

Paranormal Romance...

 Look at this movie poster:

What literary term is being used to grab attention?

a. alliteration
b. pun
c. verbal irony
d. satire


















Scroll down for the answer.










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a. is incorrect.  There is nothing alliterative in the title.  You can make a case for "Some Sagas..." as alliteration, but it is not being used to grab the viewer's attention.
b. is correct - play on the word "suck"
c. is incorrect - there is nobody talking, so we really cannot have verbal irony.
d. is incorrect - this movie is a parody, but parodies and satires often get confused.  Satires often poke fun in order to bring awareness to a social issue.

I Hate Scary Movies

Read the following passage:

We were watching this horror movie and saw the killer climb into the house through an open window, pick up a huge knife laying on the kitchen counter, and go into the closet of the little kids' room.  Later, the babysitter and her boyfriend (who is NOT supposed to be over) send the kids to bed.  Right as they are about to do things that should not be done by unwed teenagers, the little kids start crying that there is a monster in the closet.  The babysitter is frustrated and goes up to their room to make them go to sleep.  She says, there is no such thing as monsters.  To prove it, she went to the closet and opened the door.  Of course the killer leaped out and stabbed her to death.  It was very scary.

What is the purpose of showing the killer enter the closet before the killings?

a. to provide specific details
b. to create enriching imagery
c. to create suspense
d. to develop the rising action





Scroll down for the answer.








_______________________________
c. is the correct answer.  This is called dramatic irony (we know something the characters do not know).  Since we know he is there, the suspense builds up waiting for the killer to attack.

~

Did You Ever Think as a Hearse Goes by...

Read the passage from All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque:

"I open my eyes- my fingers grasp a sleeve, an arm. A wounded man? I yell at him- no answer- a dead man. My hand gropes farther, splinters of wood- now I remember again that we are lying in the graveyard....I crawl still farther under the coffin, it shall protect me; though Death himself lies in it."

What literary device is used to show the speaker's determination?

a. alliteration
b. irony
c. metaphor
d. personification






Scroll down for the answer.

_____________________

The correct answer is d.  A key to noticing personification is when the thing personified (in this case Death) is written with a capital letter.  Here  the speaker won't even allow that to stop him.  
However, the best wrong answer is B, since there is some irony in a dead body being used to keep the speaker alive.  

The EOC will often use answer choices that appear in the passage, but do not directly answer the question.

Thanks, Ashley from Ms. Stamey's class, for a thoroughly gruesome story.  Now I'm going to have nightmares!

The Incredible Journey

 Watch this ad that was pulled from the Superbowl 2015:

What literary term is driving the humor and impact of this ad?

a. paradox
b. metaphor
c. situational irony
d. archetype






Scroll down for the answer.







________________________________________
c. is the correct answer.  Situational irony is when the unexpected happens.  Since we expect this be a heart warming feel good ad the sudden twist at the end leaves it memorable.  The other thing driving this ad is allusion since it is playing off of a similar ad that played the year before for a different company.

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!

~

Ajax Cleaner

Look at the advertisement below:

What is the most likely reason that the company chose to name their cleaning product Ajax?

a. because words that begin with "A" come first alphabetically
b. The last name of the creator is "Ajax"
c. Their cleaner is strong, just like the Greek mythology hero Ajax
d. It is just a word that someone made up that sounded like a good cleaner name










Scroll down for the answer.







_________________________
a. is incorrect.  While it does come first alphabetically, since products are not normally listed in alphabetical order, it does not help their product placement
b. is incorrect. 
c. is correct.  Mythology allusions are very popular in product names. The allusion brings the ideas associated with the alluded object to the product.
d. is incorrect. The fact that the question was asked leads us to think that there is an important reason.