I Hated This Movie

Read this passage from Anecdotage.com:

Shortly after the release of Titanic in 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio was approached by a 14-year-old European girl - who got down on the ground and latched onto his leg. "I looked at her," DiCaprio recalled, "and she just pressed her head against my leg. I said, 'Hi... What are you doing, sweetheart?' and she kept clutching. There was just a sort of obsessed look in her eye. She wasn't looking at me, though... I sort of grabbed her face and said, 'Hi, it's okay, you can get off my leg. It's fine.' She kept saying, 'No, no, no, no!'... I had to gently pry her hands off."

What is the most likely reason the author included the first phrase?

The author:
a. wanted to make sure the reader knew Leonardo is a famous actor.
b. really liked that movie.
c. thought the reader would feel the same way as the girl.
d. felt that this wouldn't have happened except in 1997.








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This is an author's purpose question.  What these questions try to do is to make you think about what the author was trying to do.  In this case, the author was most likely trying to make sure the reader understood who Leonardo is so that the rest of the story would make sense.  The correct answer is a.

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Wat did 'e say?

Read the following quotes taken from the Harry Potter books.  All quotes are from Hagrid, the giant friend of Harry and his pals who lives outside the castle at Hogwarts and is not allowed to use magic like the rest of the characters.

"I'm not blamin' yeh...but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all."

"What's comin' will come, an' we'll meet it when it does."

"Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."

"Yeh did as much as yer father would've done, an' I can' give yeh no higher praise than that."

"Gotta bone ter pick with yeh. I've heard you've bin givin' out signed photos. How come I haven't got one?"


"Yer' great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."
 

What is the most likely reason that the author uses this dialect?
 
a. to show Hagrid is not like everyone else
b. to confuse the reader anytime Hagrid speaks
c. to show that Hagrid isn't as intelligent since he didn't finish his education
d. it foreshadows that Hagrid is not to be trusted
 
 
 

 











 
 
Scroll down for the answer.
 
 
 
 
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a. is correct.  Everything about Hagrid is to make him different.  He's big, he has no fashion sense, he lives in a small house outside the castle, he can but doesn't normally use magic, he speaks differently from the others, etc.
 
Note that you do not need to have read or watched the movies to get this question correct.  The EOC will give you everything you need to know in the little blurb before the passage.

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.

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





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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.

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Mystery Men

Read the following passage.  It involves three small time superheroes talking about a major hero - Captain Amazing.

Furious: You know who doesn't think it's a waste of money? Little Mr. Captain Amazing.

Shoveler: Well, Captain--If we had a billionare like Lance Hunt as our benefactor, yeah, we could spend one-fifty.

Furious: Yeah well that's 'cause Lance Hunt /is/ Captain Amazing.

Shoveler: Oh, don't start that again.

Raja: Oh, here we go.

Shoveler: Lance Hunt wears glasses. Captain Amazing doesn't wear glasses.

Furious: He takes them off when he transforms.

Shoveler: That doesn't make any sense. He wouldn't be able to see.

In the highlighted line above, what is the most likely reason the word "is" is set off by / / ?

a. to separate the names "Lance Hunt" from "Captain Amazing"

b. it was an error in the script writer's draft that was later fixed by the editor

c. to show that this word isn't said aloud

d. to ensure the actor emphasizes that word more

Scroll down for the answer.

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d. is the correct answer.  Remember that the script  author's purpose is to get the actor to read his/her lines correctly.

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Sadly, there's no wisecracking blue genie in this one!

In the book, 1001 Arabian Nights, there is a sultan that hates women and likes to marry one and then have her killed the next night.  After killing many women this way, he finally marries a woman named Scheherazade who tricks him into letting her live by telling him stories each night, but not finishing them.  That way he must let her live to hear the end of the story.

In the movie version, the sultan was betrayed by his first wife and is planning on killing the next, which is Scheherazade.  He has never actually had a wife killed and because she saves him from his madness, he never does.

What was the director's purpose in changing the story in this manner?


a. to create an indifferent tone
b. to focus on the irony of the situation
c. the director probably never read the original story.
d. it makes the sultan a more sympathetic character






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a. is incorrect.  An indifferent tone means that the director doesn't care one way or the other.  Since he made the change, we can assume he cares.
b. is incorrect.  There is no irony in this situation.  Many students automatically pick the irony answer since it sounds intelligent.  Don't fall for that trick.
c. is incorrect. 
d. is correct.  If the sultan is killing women, it makes it hard to accept him as a guy who deserves to get the woman at the end of the movie.


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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










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_________________________
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.

Off with Her Head!

Read the following poem by Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends:

ALICE

She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And up she grew so tall,
She ate from a plate called TASTE ME
And down she shrank so small
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin’ at all

The rhyme scheme of the poem is AB AB CB. Why does the author change the rhyme scheme in line 5?

a. He couldn't find another rhyme for ME.

b. To draw attention to the poem's meaning.

c. Because it is an allusion to Alice in Wonderland.

d. To change the pace of the poem.











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________________________

a. is completely incorrect. Poets are very resourceful and can find a rhyme for almost any word.

b. is correct. The poem is about not being afraid to try new things.

c. is incorrect. While it is an allusion, the change in rhyme has nothing to do with it.

d. is incorrect. While changing the rhyme scheme may change the pace in some poems, it does not in this one.

Thwipp!

Look at the following panel from Amazing Spider-Man #197:

Pay attention to the Kingpin's first speech bubble:
Must I repeat Samuel Clemens' oft-quoted line?


Why doesn't he repeat the often quoted line?
a. He does, it is in the next speech bubble at the bottom of the panel.
b. The author feels that everyone should know the line in question and so it doesn't need to be repeated.
c. There is not enough room in the panel for the quote.
d. The quote was copyrighted and could not be re-printed without permission from Samuel Clemens.
















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____________________
a. is incorrect. 
b. is correct.  Samuel Clemens is the real name of Mark Twain.  Many of Twain's quotes are well known and usually do not have to be repeated completely for people to recognize it.  
c. is incorrect.  
d. is incorrect.  No copyright is needed to quote someone as long as you acknowledge that it is someone else's words.






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It's Alive! It's Alive!

Read the following passage taken from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley:

It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.


The author wrote these words for a purpose.  What is the most likely reason she wrote the opening to chapter 5 this way?


a. to foreshadow the monster's coming to life
b. to set the mood
c. to demonstrate verbal irony
d. to create an allusion to one of her earlier works

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a. is incorrect.  The monster is already coming to life.  Foreshadowing hints at what will happen later.
b. is correct.  She is trying to set your mood with words like, "dreary," "anxiety," and "dismally."  What other words can you find that set the mood here?
c. is incorrect.  Verbal irony is when something is said that is not meant.  Nothing is said in this passage.
d. is incorrect.  Not only has she not written anything before this, there is no reference to anything else.


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The Grinch Returns!

Read the passage below from Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas:


Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant,
Around the whole room, and he took every present!
Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums!
Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums!
And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly,
Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney!


Compare this to the same passage as read in the cartoon version of this story:


Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant,
Around the whole room, and he took every present!
Pop guns, pampoogas, pantookas, and drums!
Checkerboards, bizilbigs, popcorn, and plums!
And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly,
Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney.

Since Dr. Seuss wrote both the book and the cartoon script, why do you think he changed up the words?

a. He needed to make it longer

b. He felt the rhyme should change

c. Since writing the book he had become famous for making up words, so he made up some new ones for the cartoon.

d. Boris Karloff, the voice for the character, suggested the changes be made to fit his style of acting better.

Scroll down for the answer.

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a. is incorrect.  Sometimes scripts are changed to make them longer or shorter, but this doesn't change the time of the reading at all.

b. is incorrect.  The rhyme doesn't change in the two versions.

c. is correct!

d. is incorrect. The script in this case was changed before the voice actor was even picked.

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Read the following passage taken from How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss:

Then he growled, with his grinch fingers nervously drumming,
"I MUST find a way to keep Christmas from coming!"
For, tomorrow, he knew...
...All the Who girls and boys
Would wake up bright and early. They'd rush for their toys!
And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!

 
What is the main purpose for the repetition of the word "noise"?
 
a. it rhymes with toys
b. for the rhythm and meter of the poem
c. to show how annoying the Whos are with their noise
d. for its alliterative properties
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
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c. is the correct answer.  The word is repeated draw attention to how much it annoys the poor Grinch. 

When Was That?

Read this excerpt from Hatchet:


He had been riding his ten-speed with a friend named Terry.  They had been taking a run on a bike trail and decided to come back a different way, a way that took them past the Amber Mall.  Brian remembered everything in incredible detail.  Remembered the time on the bank clock in the mall, flashing 3:31, then the temperature, 82, and the date.  All the numbers were a part of his memory, all of his life was a part of the memory.


What is the purpose of leaving out the date when the other details are given?


a. The author wants to avoid giving too much detail which might bore the reader.
b. The author doesn't want the book to go too long.
c. The author wants the book to seem like modern day to the reader.
d. The date is not important.
















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a. is incorrect.  Details are important here to show that Brian remembers everything.
b. is incorrect.  Giving a date would not make the book noticeably longer.
c. is correct.  By not giving a date (specifically the year) the reader assumes it is modern day.  This is a common technique for authors.
d. is incorrect.  The date is just as important as the time and the temperature.

The film "A Cry in the Wild" was made based on this novel.  Here's the movie trailer clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5Lx2V6gNZQ