Selection Test Reading and Literature

Name Class Date

Unit 2: Collection 5

Selection Test Reading and literature

from High Tide in Tucson Barbara Kingsolver

Comprehension Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items. (40 points; 8 points each)

1. What part of building the pond does Kingsolver describe as “a miracle”?

A) That the pond water rose and fell steadily

B) That the bulldozer did not ruin the land

C) That the pond did not leak after the first rainfall

D) That the pond was teeming with life just hours after it was built

2. How did the battle of the two bull snakes over the same frog turn out?

A) The frog was torn in half.

B) One bull snake won and the other slithered away.

C) The frog escaped and hopped away.

D) The bull snakes let go of the frog and fought each other.

3. How does Kingsolver refer to herself regarding the building of the pond?

A) Creator

B) Quail

C) Believer

D) Goddess

4. According to Kingsolver, what to believe in may never turn out to be half as important as—

A) believing in that thing

B) reaching understanding

C) finding proof

D) becoming one with nature

5. What best states the overall theme of the narrative?

A) Everything on Earth needs water to survive.

B) Ponds, like cities all across the world, are teeming with life.

C) If you stop for a moment, you will realize the world is an amazing place.

D) A pond is a perfect analogy of the cold indifference of the universe.

Unit 2: Collection 5, Selection Test continued

Vocabulary Development Match the definition on the left with the vocabulary word on the right. On the line provided, write the letter of the correct vocabulary word. (10 points; 2 points each)

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6. neighboring; next to each other

7. swallowing up by surrounding completely

8. taking place without external cause or help.

9. plainly not logical, true, or sensible

10. having too much pride in one’s looks

A) absurd

B) spontaneous

C) vain

D) engulfing

E) adjacent

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Literary Focus Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items. (15 points; 5 points each)

11. What best describes Kingsolver’s writing style in this piece?

A) Descriptive

B) Dull

C) Scientific

D) Cold

12. Kingsolver’s tone when writing about the pond is best described as—

A) secretive

B) disbelieving

C) reverent

D) shocked

13. What does Kingsolver mean when she describes the hatched dragonfly eggs as “creeping armadas of larvae”?

A) There was only one larva.

B) There were many larvae.

C) The larvae fought against each other.

D) The larvae carried disease.

Reading Focus Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items. (15 points; 5 points each)

14. Kingsolver’s story of the bull snakes and the frog shows that she thinks—

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A) everything in nature needs to eat

B) the strong win at the end

C) it is better to be the predator than the prey

D) nature can be beautiful, but it is also ruthless

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Unit 2: Collection 5, Selection Test continued

15. When Kingsolver describes the Cooper’s hawk as “the steadiest male presence in my life,” she is—

A) hinting that for many years she had bad luck with men

B) saying that she believes the hawk was looking out for her

C) telling the reader that the Cooper’s hawk is loyal and reliable

D) instilling a sense of awe in the reader about hawks

16. Kingsolver relays the story that her bulldozer friend described her attitude as “absurd optimism” because she wanted to show—

A) that not everyone believed in her vision

B) that her friend had a strange sense of humor

C) that she was popular and outgoing

D) that the story was pure fiction

fifteen minute timed writing (20 points)

17. Certain objects can have many different meanings to different people. On a separate sheet of paper, describe what the pond could mean to Kingsolver. Use examples from the text in your answer.

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