1. Read the following passage from "The Women's Baths."
"I have never known my grandmother to be so generous and open-handed as on the day which we spent at the market baths. She was pleased and proud as she listened to the blessings called down on her by those who had received her largesse. Then she gave me an intentionally lofty look, as if to say: 'Can you appreciate your grandmother's status now? How about telling your mother about this, now that she's begun to look down her nose at me?'
As she left the baths there was a certain air of haughtiness in her step, and she held herself proudly upright, although I had only known her walk resignedly, with a bent back at home.
Now she was enjoying the esteem which was hers only when she visited the market baths. At last I understood their secret... "
A. She’s full of herself and hates the narrator’s mother.
B. This is the only place where she still has a sense of importance.
C. Now she has control over her home life.
D. She’s a bitter woman who had no sense of dignity.
2. Hyperbole, pronounced, hi-PER-bo-lee, is an exaggeration. If I say, “I could eat a horse!” That’s hyperbole. Where do you see hyperbole in this passage from “The Happy Man”? Give one example, and explain how that’s hyperbole.
“Inside him, he felt a boundless power, and imperishable energy, and ability to achieve anything with confidence, precision, and obvious success. His heart was overflowing with love for people, animals, and things and with an all-engulfing sense of optimism and joy. It was as if he were no longer troubled or bothered by fear, anxiety, sickness, death, argument, or the question of earning a living. Even more important than that, and something he could not analyze, it was a feeling which penetrated to every cell of his body and soul; it played a tune full of delight, pleasure, serenity, and peace and gunned in its incredible melodies the whispering sound of the world which is denied to the unhappy.”
3. Read the following passage from “The Happy Man” in which the narrator contemplates his unusual state of happiness.
“He could not bear to stay in his office at the newspaper; he felt no desire to work at all. He hates the very idea of thinking about his daily business and completely failed to bring his mind down from his stronghold in the kingdom of happiness. How could he possibly write about a trolley bus falling into the Nile when he was so intoxicated by this frightening happiness? Yes, it really was frightening. How could you see anything else, when there was no reason for it at all, when it was so strong that it made him exhausted and paralyzed his will - art from the fact that it had been with him for half a day without letting up in the slightest degree?
He left the pages of paper blank and started walking backwards and forwards across the room, laughing and cracking his fingers…”
All of the following words can be used to describes the man except
A. Upset
B. Nervous
C. Sad
D. Overjoyed
4. Read the following passage from “The Swimming Contest” in which the narrator spontaneously decides to take a holiday in an Arab village.
“That evening I was invited to join the family at supper, and Abu-Nimr introduced me to the people who sat round the table: his round-faced bustling wife, who smiled into soance without resting her eyes on me; his sons, aged thirteen and fifteen, who attended high school in the city; his plump, white-skinned daughter, married to a policeman who was away from home all week, and who came home loaded with a wicker basket containing a trussed pigeon, apples from Betar, and a dozen eggs commandeered from some villagers who happened to call at the police station.
The food that was served was no more than a continuation of that faraway supper in the orange grove. At that moment I realized with I had come there for.”
Which of these ideas is most closely related to a theme in these lines?
A. Hatred of people who are different
B. Love of culture
C. Thinking back on his youth
D. Trying to gain control over the situation
5. A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. Read these sentences: John went to the store. John bought a pie. John came home. If I didn’t want to keep writing “John”, I could replace his name with “He”. “He” is a pronoun replacing the proper noun, John.
Read this sentence and choose the best response:
The girls were all getting ready for prom, but they didn’t hear sally say that she was feeling ill.
Which pronouns could replace the underlined nouns?
A. He, they, it
B. We, you, I
C. Them, those, hers
D. They, it, her
6. Look at these two words: its it’s
The difference between them is that one is a contradiction and the other shows possession.
“It’s” is a contradiction. It’s short for “it is”. Whenever you see this in a sentence, make sure you can use “it is” there. If not, don’t use it. “Its” (without an apostrophe) is possessive. That’s the one you use when saying what belonged to someone or something. “That was its end.”
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the word:
Mary doesn’t want to go to school because ____ too cold outside.
A. It’s
B. Its
7. The dog put ___ bone in a hole it dug.
A. It’s
B. Its
8. “There’s” is a contraction that means “there is”.
“Theirs” is a possessive pronoun that shows what belongs to someone.
Choose the best response below to replace the underlined words in this sentence.
___ is the best food I’ve tasted. ___ just something about it that I love!
A. There’s, theirs
B. Theirs, there’s
9. What is “setting” when we’re talking about literature ?
A. It’s the people in the story.
B. It’s the conflict of the story.
C. It’s the place and time the story occurs.
D. It’s only ever in stories about the past.
10. What is it so important for the grandmother to have her granddaughter come with her to the baths in “The Woman’s Baths”? Be specific in your response and use details from the story.
11. In “The Swimming Contest”, what happens in the end? What does it mean to say that “nobody actually wins in war”? Be sure to use specific examples from the story to support your claims.
1. B. This is the only place where she still has a sense of importance.
2. One example of hyperbole in the passage is "Inside him, he felt a boundless power, and imperishable energy, and ability to achieve anything with confidence, precision, and obvious success."
3. A. Upset
4. B. Love of culture
5. D. They, it, her
6. A. It's
7. B. Its
8. A. There’s, theirs
9. C. It’s the place and time the story occurs.
10. The grandmother is proud of her status at the baths and wants her granddaughter to appreciate it and tell her mother about it. She feels important and generous there, and this is the only place where she feels that way.
11. In the end of "The Swimming Contest", the narrator returns to his normal life and job, but he is forever changed by his experience in the Arab village. The idea that "nobody actually wins in war" means that ordinary people are caught in the middle of conflicts and can suffer no matter which side they are on. This is shown through the characters of Abu-Nimr and his family, who are just trying to survive and live their lives amidst the violence and turmoil of war.
1. B. This is the only place where she still has a sense of importance.
2. One example of hyperbole in the passage is: "Inside him, he felt a boundless power, and imperishable energy, and ability to achieve anything with confidence, precision, and obvious success." This is hyperbole because it exaggerates the narrator's feelings of power and ability to an extreme degree.
3. A. Upset
4. B. Love of culture
5. D. They, it, her
6. A. It’s
7. B. Its
8. A. There’s, theirs
9. C. It’s the place and time the story occurs.
10. In "The Woman's Baths", it is important for the grandmother to have her granddaughter come with her to the baths because it is the only place where she still feels a sense of importance and receives admiration from others. The grandmother is proud of her generosity and enjoys the respect she receives at the market baths. By having her granddaughter witness this, she hopes to make her appreciate her grandmother's status and teach her a lesson about judging others.
11. In "The Swimming Contest", at the end of the story, the narrator spontaneously decides to take a holiday in an Arab village. This decision represents a shift in his perspective and a rejection of the values and norms of his own culture. The phrase "nobody actually wins in war" suggests that the narrator's experiences in war have made him disillusioned with the idea of victory and the destruction caused by conflict. It implies that even in war, both sides suffer and there are no true winners. This realization influences the narrator's desire to seek solace and peace in the Arab village, where he can briefly escape the turmoil and violence of the world.