8th Grade ELA - 1st 9 Weeks

Excerpt from "On the Evolution of Language"

Two or more words may be united to form a new one, and four methods--or stages--of combination may be noted.

a.  By juxtaposition, where the two words are placed together and yet remain as distinct words. In these cases, the words taken alone don't give much of a clue as to their meaning when placed together, as in auto pilot or cold sweat

b.  By compounding, where two words are made into one, in which case the original elements of the new word remain unchanged, as in housetop and rainbow.

c.  By agglutination, in which case a word is slightly changed when it combines with another to form a new word. Yet this modification is not so great as to obscure the original words, as in truthful, where we easily recognize the original words truth and full; and holiday, in which holy and day are recognized.

d. By inflection, where the elements of the words in the compound have been changed so much they can scarcely be recognized. There is a tendency in speech to gradually shorten words as they are spoken by generation after generation. Some words wear out more rapidly than others until they become just a few letters at the beginning or end of a word (affixes and suffixes). The word did may be used with a verb to denote past time until it is worn down to the sound of d, as in the word called rather than did call.

1) The above passage focuses on the topic of "etymology." Based on the context of the passage, what is the meaning of this word?

a. the study of handwritingb. the study of foreign languagesc. the study of wordsd. the study of the alphabet

2) Based on the definitions in the above passage, the word "bedtime" was formed through which of the following methods?

a. juxtapositionb. compoundingc. agglutinationd. inflection

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3) In the above passage, a word combination where it is hard to identify both of the original words is known as which of these?

a. juxtapositionb. compoundingc. agglutinationd. inflection

4) Which type of book would be most likely to include the above passage?

a. a student textbookb. an autobiographyc. an instruction manuald. a fictional novel

5) When conducting an internet search, a website containing the above passage would most likely be found through which “key word search?

a. "types of word combinations"b. "difficult vocabulary words"c. "common words of the English language"d. "frequently misspelled words

"Windmills" Passage from "Don Quixote"

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At this point they came in sight of thirty forty windmills that there are on plain, and as soon as Don Quixote saw them he said to his squire, "...Look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants present themselves..."

"What giants?" said Sancho Panza.

"Those thou seest there," answered his master, "with the long arms, and some have them nearly two leagues long."

"Look, your worship," said Sancho; "what we see there are not giants but windmills, and what seem to be their arms are the sails that turned by the wind make the millstone go."

"It is easy to see," replied Don Quixote, "that thou art not used to this business of adventures; those are giants; and if thou art afraid, away with thee..."

Sancho sent after him, warning him that most certainly they were windmills and not giants he was going to attack. He, however, was so positive they were giants that he neither heard the cries of Sancho, nor perceived what they were, but made at them shouting, "Fly not, cowards and vile beings, for a single knight attacks you."

A slight breeze at this moment sprang up, and the great sails began to move...

As he drove his lance-point into the sail the wind whirled it round with such force that it shivered the lance to pieces, sweeping with it horse and rider, who went rolling over on the plain, in a sorry condition. Sancho hastened to his assistance...

"God bless me!" said Sancho, "did I not tell your worship to mind what you were about, for they were only windmills? No one could have made any mistake about it..."

"Hush, friend Sancho," replied Don Quixote, "...I think, and it is the truth, that the sage has turned these giants into mills in order to rob me of the glory of vanquishing them..."

6) Which of the following best summarizes the events in the above passage?

a. Don Quixote saves his friend when he is attacked by giantsb. Don Quixote tries to fight windmills that he believes are

giants

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c. Sancho Panza convinces his friend to attack the giant windmills

d. Sancho Panza and Don Quixote are attacked by windmills

7) The famous phrase, "tilting at windmills," originated from this passage. Based on the context, what is the meaning of this phrase?

a. helping a friend in troubleb. building something out of nothingc. showing no fear in the face of dangerd. fighting against an imaginary enemy

8) The above passage is taken from a famous novel. Based on the events of the passage, what obstacle must the main character overcome through the rest of the story?

a. his deceitful sidekickb. his powerful and magical enemiesc. his overactive imaginationd. his fear of battle

9) In the first paragraph of the above passage, Don Quixote refers to Sancho Panza as "squire." Based on the context, what is the best meaning for the word "squire"?

a. a loyal apprenticeb. a cunning rivalc. a powerful landownerd. a medical doctor

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10) Based on the events of the above passage, Don Quixote thinks he is which of the following?

a. a giantb. a knightc. a magician d. a coward

11) At the end of the above passage, Don Quixote comes to which conclusion?

a. the giants were only windmills the entire timeb. the giants look like windmills from a distancec. the giants were magically disguised as windmillsd. the giants were hidden inside the windmills

"The Painting" Passage from "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

As the painter looked at the gracious and comely form he had so skillfully mirrored in his art, a smile of pleasure passed across his face, and seemed about to linger there. But he suddenly started up, and closing his eyes, placed his fingers upon the lids, as though he sought to imprison within his brain some curious dream from which he feared he might awake.

"It is your best work, Basil, the best thing you have ever done," said Lord Henry languidly. "You must certainly send it next year to the Grosvenor. The Academy is too large and too vulgar. Whenever I have gone there, there have been either so many people that I have not been able to see the pictures, which was dreadful, or so many pictures that I have not been able to see the people, which was worse. The Grosvenor is really the only place."

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"I don't think I shall send it anywhere," he answered, tossing his head back in that odd way that used to make his friends laugh at him at Oxford. "No, I won't send it anywhere."

Lord Henry elevated his eyebrows and looked at him in amazement... "Not send it anywhere? My dear fellow, why? Have you any reason? What odd chaps you painters are! You do anything in the world to gain a reputation. As soon as you have one, you seem to want to throw it away. It is silly of you, for there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. A portrait like this would set you far above all the young men in England, and make the old men quite jealous, if old men are ever capable of any emotion."

"I know you will laugh at me," he replied, "but I really can't exhibit it. I have put too much of myself into it."

Lord Henry stretched himself out on the divan and laughed.

"Yes, I knew you would; but it is quite true, all the same."

"Too much of yourself in it! Upon my word, Basil, I didn't know you were so vain; and I really can't see any resemblance between you, with your rugged strong face and your coal-black hair, and this young Adonis, who looks as if he was made out of ivory and rose-leaves. Why, my dear Basil, he is a Narcissus, and you—well, of course you have an intellectual expression and all that. But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins... The moment one sits down to think, one becomes all nose, or all forehead, or something horrid. Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How perfectly hideous they are!"

12) Which of the following took place just before the above passage begins?

a. the painter chose a subject for a new paintingb. the painter completed a new paintingc. the painter sold a new paintingd. the painter saw someone else's new painting

13) In the above passage, why doesn't the painter want to exhibit his painting for others to see?

a. it is too personalb. it is not his best workc. it will get him in trouble

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d. it is not the right time yet

14) Which of the following is the most likely setting for the above passage?

a. an art museum that displays paintingsb. an office with paintings on the wallc. a studio where a painter worksd. an art store that sells paintings

15) In the above passage, the character Lord Henry says, "there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." This means the same as which common expression?

a. "all publicity is good publicity" b. "children should be seen, not heard"c. "actions speak louder than words"d. "don't bite the hand that feeds you"

16) According to the final paragraph of the above passage, the character Lord Henry feels that which man would possess the most "beauty"?

a. a person who has achieved greatness in his fieldb. a person who is deep in thought on a difficult subjectc. a person who can clear his mind of all thoughtsd. a person who makes the most effort to stay clean

17) Based on the above passage, which of the following is probably most important to the painter?

a. admiration from fansb. widespread fame and fortunec. satisfaction with his workd. helping those who are less fortunate

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18) Which of these is the most likely reason why an author might include a flashback scene in his work?

a. to show events or actions that are not related to the rest of the story

b. to describe events or actions that never actually took place

c. to show the cause of certain events or actions that take place in the story

d. to show the effects of certain events or actions that take place in the story

19) Which of these would probably be the best indicator to a reader who wants to know if two passages have similar main ideas?

a. the topic sentences of the two passages are very similar

b. both passages make use of alliteration and onomatopoeia

c. both passages are written in a 3rd person point-of-view

d. the length of the two passages is nearly identical

20) When a word has multiple meanings, what is the best way to determine which particular meaning of the word is being used in a sentence?

a. by determining whether it is a simple, compound, or complex sentence

b. by the location of the word in the sentencec. by seeing whether or not the word is capitalizedd. by using contextual clues

21) The above passage is written in first person. What would Line 37 look like if written in third person?

a. His father never knew anyone who got greater joy out of living than I did...

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b. Theodore Roosevelt never knew anyone who got greater joy out of living than did my father...

c. I never knew anyone who got greater joy out of living than did my father...

d. He never knew anyone who got greater joy out of living than did his father...

22) In the advertisement shown above, which of the following facts were most likely to have been omitted?

a. the name of the company that makes the carb. the way the car looks

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c. reasons why people are buying the card. problems people are having with the car

23) In lines 13-14, a man stands up and says, "The die is cast."    Which phrase also has the same meaning?

a. "The end is near."b. "Good things come to those who wait."c. "United we stand; divided we fall."d. "There is no turning back."

24) From what point of view is this passage written?

a. third person omniscient

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b. third person limitedc. first persond. second person

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The Giant Peach It`s hard to miss the Giant Peach.  Just ask anyone who has ever driven up and down I-85 between Charlotte andGreenville.  When the road passes through Gaffney, traffic starts to slow as people turn their heads to get a look at the "Peachoid," a giant water tower shaped and painted to look exactly like a peach.  It`s the roadside attraction that many visitors talk about for years after leaving South Carolina. The history of the Peachoid began in 1980, just as the city of Gaffney realized it needed another freestanding water tower to support the city`s growing water supply.  When the members of the Gaffney Board of Public Works met to discuss the issue, they decided to have a little fun with the project - and possibly convince the federal government to help with the bill.  One Board member suggested that the new water tower could be an opportunity to remind everyone that South Carolina is the largest peach producing state in the south - not Georgia (as most people think).  What better way to do this than to build a one million gallon water tower in the shape of a giant peach? The citizens of Gaffney soon got excited about the new idea, and construction on the "Peachoid" began later that year.  Not surprisingly, there weren`t too many steel companies that were prepared to take on the bizarre task of designing a giant peach.  Bids for construction were taken, and the award was given to the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company. Five months were spent designing and molding the steel for the project.  In the meantime, workers poured foundation consisting of 10 million pounds of concrete.  When the steel arrived, it took more than one and a half miles of continuous welding to erect it.  A huge leaf - sixty feet long, sixteen feet wide, and seven tons - was added next.  Even the tiny stem at the very top of the peach was eighteen inches in diameter and twelve feet long. The erection of the steel was only half of the job.  Somebody had to come in and paint the water tower to look like a peach.  A basic orange wasn`t going to do the trick.  Instead, over twenty colors of paint were used to represent a peach`s fuzz and natural texture.  A bright green was used for the leaf, and the result was a water tower capable of catching any driver off guard. There couldn`t have been a better home for the Peachoid.  Every year, Gaffnew hosts the South Carolina Peach Festival, started in 1976 to celebrate the state`s booming peach industry.  The event features the typical parades, barbecues, and shows - but it usually goes a step further.  In 1978, for example, residents baked the world`s largest peach pie.  In 1989 a world record was broken for the number of guitarists (over 400 of them) and vocalists simultaneously performing a single song, "Louie! Louie!"  In a more talented display of singing, country artists such as Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks have also performed at the festival. Even with its interesting history, the highlight of the Peach Festival was undoubtedly in 1981, during the dedication of the giant "Peachoid."  At the time, there was no other water tower quite like it.  In fact, the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company had to sign an agreement stating that it would not build another "Peachoid" for at least fifteen years. Eleven years later, the city of Clanton, Alabama expressed its desire to have its own giant peach.  At that point, the state of South Carolina decided to let the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company out of its contract so that it could assist in the project (of course, the tower in Alabama is only about half the size as the one in South Carolina).

8th Grade ELA - 1st 9 Weeks

25) The "Peachoid" is a nickname given to the giant peach shaped water tower in Gaffney, SC.  Which of these gives the best definition for the suffix "-oid" ?

a. resemblingb. differingc. reducingd. attracting

26) In the passage above, the name "Lightning Larry" is an example of which of these?

a. understatementb. onomatopoeiac. similed. alliteration

27) Which of these statements from the passage above is a simile?

a. They call him "Lightning Larry"...b. ...I saw him turn off a lamp switch, and then zippp...c. ...he's as fast as a bolt of lightning.d. ...he was in his bed before the light turned off!

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28) Judging from the above words, the definition for the Greek word "meter" is connected to which of the following?

a. They call him "Lightning Larry"...b. ...I saw him turn off a lamp switch, and then zippp...c. ...he's as fast as a bolt of lightning.d. ...he was in his bed before the light turned off!

29) All of the words in the above list are related in what way?

a. they have the same prefixb. they have the same connotationc. they have the same denotationd. they have the same root word

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Excerpts fromTheodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography

 My father, Theodore Roosevelt, was the best man I ever knew. He combined strength and

courage with gentleness, tenderness, and great unselfishness. He would not tolerate in us children selfishness or cruelty, idleness, cowardice, or untruthfulness. As we grew older he made us understand that the same standard of clean living was demanded for the boys as for the girls; that what was wrong in a woman could not be right in a man. 

With great love and patience, and the most understanding sympathy and consideration, he combined insistence on discipline. He never physically punished me but once, but he was the only man of whom I was ever really afraid. I do not mean that it was a wrong fear, for he was entirely just, and we children adored him.

 We used to wait in the library in the evening until we could hear his key rattling in the latch

of the front hall, and then rush out to greet him; and we would troop into his room while he was dressing, to stay there as long as we were permitted, eagerly examining anything which came out of his pockets which could be regarded as an attractive novelty.

 Every child has fixed in his memory various details which strike it as of grave importance.

The trinkets he used to keep in a little box on his dressing-table we children always used to speak of as "treasures." The word, and some of the trinkets themselves, passed on to the next generation.

 My own children, when small, used to troop into my room while I was dressing, and the

gradually accumulating trinkets in the "ditty-box"-the gift of an enlisted man in the navy-always excited rapturous joy. On occasions of solemn festivity each child would receive a trinket for his or her "very own."

 I never knew any one who got greater joy out of living than did my father, or any one who

more whole-heartedly performed every duty; and no one whom I have ever met approached his combination of enjoyment of life and performance of duty.

 He and my mother were given to a hospitality that at that time was associated more

commonly with southern than northern households; and, especially in their later years when they had moved up town, in the neighborhood of Central Park, they kept a charming, open house.

   My mother, Martha Bulloch, was a sweet, gracious, beautiful Southern woman, a delightful

companion and beloved by everybody. She was entirely "unreconstructed" to the day of her death. Her mother, my grandmother, one of the dearest of old ladies, lived with us, and was distinctly overindulgent to us children, being quite unable to harden her heart towards us even when the occasion demanded it.

 Towards the close of the Civil War, although a very small boy, I grew to have a partial but

alert understanding of the fact that the family were not one in their views about that conflict, my father being a strong Lincoln Republican; and once, when I felt that I had been wronged by maternal discipline during the day, I attempted a partial vengeance by praying with loud fervor for the success of the Union arms, when we all came to say our prayers before my mother in the evening.

 She was not only a most devoted mother, but was also blessed with a strong sense of humor,

and she was too much amused to punish me; but I was warned not to repeat the offense, under penalty of my father`s being informed-he being the dispenser of serious punishment.

8th Grade ELA - 1st 9 Weeks

30) In relation to Paragraph 5, which literary device is used in the last sentence of Paragraph 4, Lines 27-28?

a. imageryb. foreshadowingc. metaphord. irony

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31) Roosevelt refers to the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War in Line 51 when describing his mother. Which literary device does he use to do so?

a. metaphorb. allusionc. foreshadowingd. imagery

32) Which of the following is true about the idioms listed above?

a. they can be understood by only a small group of readersb. they should not be taken literallyc. they are not commonly used in everyday languaged. they all have the same meaning

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33) What is the most likely reason that the original passage (shown above at the top) had to be paraphrased?

a. to be sure that the facts were correctb. to avoid plagiarismc. to prevent the original source from being knownd. to apply the subject matter to a different research paper

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