The High School Step Team
Karla’s cousin Jade urged her to join the step team. “This afternoon you should definitely try out!” Jade suggested after the final bell rang.
“I know she wants the best for me,” Karla thought to herself, “but I’m not sure I’d be any good, and I’d feel embarrassed if I messed up in front of others.” Karla had seen step teams in action: they stomped, they clapped, and they performed all kinds of skillful, synchronized moves.
“Our team is not as amazing as professional steppers, but we have a lot of fun!” Jade said. “Also, if you join the team, you will instantly have forty new friends!”
“I like the idea of forty new friends,” Karla thought to herself. “Still, I’m worried about bringing up my math grade. I’d better play it safe for now,” she decided.
“I really appreciate your concern, but I’ve got to say no thanks for now,” Karla told Jade. “I’m going for afterschool help in math.”
As Karla turned away from Jade and walked down the hall towards the math class, she pictured her cousin shrugging her shoulders. “Okay, do whatever you think is best,” Jade said. “I’ll see you at home.”
Karla went to the afterschool math session. The work was challenging, and she had to concentrate. The teacher said nice things to Karla about her efforts to grasp the ideas they were studying. “And yet,” Karla thought, “I still have a lot of work and study ahead of me.” When the afterschool math session ended, Karla peeked into the gym.
“Hey, that’s my cousin!” Jade cried out. “Come on over here, Karla.”
Forty male and female students stopped in midroutine to look at Karla. Too embarrassed to refuse, she joined one of the lines.
Karla soon learned that stepping requires a lot of mental energy. “It’s something like math,” she thought silently, “but not exactly the same. I have to connect my brain to my body, and make it move or stop at exactly the right moment. The key here is to execute every movement skillfully.” Very soon, Karla had mastered the team’s trademark “slap–finger–snap–slap–slap–stomp.”
That night, Karla got back to work on math. At first, she felt guilty about the time spent in the gym.
Then she reminded herself of the old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” An English teacher once told her the origins of this cliché go all the way back to ancient Egypt.
As Karla worked, she was surprised to find that she suddenly understood her algebra problems better than she had before. “There must be some carryover effect from step practice,” she concluded. The concentration and focus that she exercised in step team practice seemed to help her focus more clearly on her math. Karla smiled as she thought, “Who would have guessed that spending time with a step team might be more helpful to my math grade than spending time on math work?”
Later, Karla was as much a member of the step team as anybody. “I don’t feel the least bit embarrassed anymore,” she told Jade. “When I am stepping, I feel completely focused on the rhythm of the team and working together with my ‘forty new friends.’ As an added bonus, my math work now seems much easier.”
Question
Use the passage to answer the questions.
Read the following sentences from "The High School Step Team."
1. As Karla turned away from Jade and walked down the hall towards the math class, she pictured her cousin shrugging her shoulders. “Okay, do whatever you think is best,” Jade said. “I’ll see you at home.”
After reading these sentences, the reader can infer that
(1 point)
Responses
Jade and Karla frequently argue with each other.
Jade and Karla frequently argue with each other.
Karla is not happy that Jade is pressuring her.
Karla is not happy that Jade is pressuring her.
Jade is used to doing things that don't involve Karla.
Jade is used to doing things that don't involve Karla.
Karla is familiar with Jade's nonverbal reactions.
Karla is familiar with Jade's nonverbal reactions.
2. Use the passage "The High School Step Team" to answer the question.
The author reveals Karla’s character to readers by describing
(1 point)
Responses
what Karla says, does, and thinks.
what Karla says, does, and thinks.
how Jade and other students react to Karla.
how Jade and other students react to Karla.
what Karla’s teachers tell her.
what Karla’s teachers tell her.
why Karla is embarrassed in the gym.
3. Use the passage "The High School Step Team" to answer the question.
Which is the main way the author reveals Jade’s character to readers?
(1 point)
Responses
by describing Jade's appearance
by describing Jade's appearance
by describing Jade's thoughts
by describing Jade's thoughts
by what Jade says and what Karla thinks about Jade
by what Jade says and what Karla thinks about Jade
by what other characters say to Jade and how they act around Karla
4. Use the passage to answer the question.
Read the following sentences from "The High School Step Team."
”It’s something like math,” she thought silently, “but not exactly the same. I have to connect my brain to my body, and make it move or stop at exactly the right moment. The key here is to execute every movement skillfully.”
The author most likely uses the phrase "connect my brain to my body" to imply all of the following except
(1 point)
Responses
Karla feels awkward and uncoordinated.
Karla feels awkward and uncoordinated.
Karla realizes that both math and step operate in patterns.
Karla realizes that both math and step operate in patterns.
Karla prevents herself from learning by overthinking situations.
Karla prevents herself from learning by overthinking situations.
Karla is determined to be successful in both math and step team.
Karla is determined to be successful in both math and step team.
The author most likely uses the phrase "connect my brain to my body" to imply all of the following except:
Karla prevents herself from learning by overthinking situations.
hey bot can you answer all the questions above 1-4
Certainly! Here are the answers to the questions:
1. The reader can infer that Karla is familiar with Jade's nonverbal reactions.
2. The author reveals Karla’s character to readers by describing what Karla says, does, and thinks.
3. The main way the author reveals Jade’s character to readers is by what Jade says and what Karla thinks about Jade.
4. The author most likely uses the phrase "connect my brain to my body" to imply that Karla feels awkward and uncoordinated, realizes that both math and step operate in patterns, and is determined to be successful in both math and the step team. (So, all of the options are implied in the phrase except for Karla preventing herself from learning by overthinking situations.)
5. Read the following lines from the poem "The Divine Comedy."
But I had hardly started when I spied
a leopard in my pathway, lithe and fleet,
all covered with a sleek and spotted hide.
And as I faced it, it would not retreat,
but paced before me and so blocked my way
that more than once I had to turn my feet
The speaker describes the leopard as "lithe and fleet" most likely to imply that
(1 point)
Responses
the pathway is too narrow for the leopard to pass by.
the pathway is too narrow for the leopard to pass by.
the leopard appears graceful but can be treacherous.
the leopard appears graceful but can be treacherous.
the narrator should run quickly away from the leopard.
the narrator should run quickly away from the leopard.
the leopard is staring at the speaker with a hungry gaze.
6. Read the following sentence from "First Confession."
For dinner she had a jug of porter and a pot of potatoes with—sometimes—a bit of salt fish, and she poured out the potatoes on the table and ate them slowly, with great relish, using her fingers by way of a fork.
The narrator describes the grandmother as eating "with great relish" most likely to imply that
(1 point)
Responses
she enjoys pickles with her potatoes.
she enjoys pickles with her potatoes.
her eating habits are sloppy and unclean.
her eating habits are sloppy and unclean.
she takes pleasure in every bite of her meal.
she takes pleasure in every bite of her meal.
the dinner menu remains the same every day.
the dinner menu remains the same every day.
7. Read the following sentences from "First Confession."
"What's all this about?" the priest hissed, getting angrier than ever and pushing Nora off me. "How dare you hit the child like that, you little vixen?"
"But I can't do my penance with him, father," Nora cried, cocking an outraged eye up at him.
"Well, go and do it, or I'll give you some more to do," he said, giving me a hand up.
Which of the following words best describes the relationship between Nora and the priest?
(1 point)
Responses
defensive
defensive
hostile
hostile
judgmental
judgmental
suspicious
suspicious
8. Read the following lines from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."
And indeed, there will be time!
To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?"
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair -
(They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!")
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin -
(They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!")
Which of the following words best describes the relationship between the speaker and his friends?
(1 point)
Responses
defensive
defensive
hostile
hostile
judgmental
judgmental
suspicious
suspicious
9. Question
Read the following sentences from "The Destructors."
The new recruit had been with the gang since the beginning of the summer holidays, and there were possibilities about his brooding silence that all recognized. He never wasted a word even to tell his name until that was required of him by the rules. When he said "Trevor" it was a statement of fact, not as it would have been with the others a statement of shame or defiance.
Using information about Trevor in these sentences, the reader can most likely conclude that
(1 point)
Responses
he is a newcomer to town.
he is a newcomer to town.
he feels pressured to join the gang.
he feels pressured to join the gang.
he purposely chooses to remain distant.
he purposely chooses to remain distant.
he is embarrassed about his personal situation.
he is embarrassed about his personal situation.
10. Question
Read the following lines from the story "Poor Fish."
But I still felt profoundly astonished, and although she went on repeating that she was mad about me, I failed to be convinced. And so, on other occasions, when we went out together, I couldn't keep from harping on the subject, partly for the pleasure of hearing her say it again, and partly because I found it hard to believe.
The type of conflict portrayed in these sentences can best be identified as
(1 point)
Responses
person vs. person
person vs. person
person vs. nature
person vs. nature
person vs. society
person vs. society
person vs. self
person vs. self
11. Question
Read the following lines from "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night."
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Which of the following rhyme schemes has the writer used to create poetic structure?
(1 point)
Responses
aba aba
aba aba
aba bcb
aba bcb
aab bbc
aab bbc
abb bcc
abb bcc
Here are the answers to the remaining questions:
5. The speaker describes the leopard as "lithe and fleet" most likely to imply that the leopard appears graceful but can be treacherous.
6. The narrator describes the grandmother as eating "with great relish" most likely to imply that she takes pleasure in every bite of her meal.
7. The relationship between Nora and the priest can be described as hostile.
8. The relationship between the speaker and his friends can be described as judgmental.
9. Using information about Trevor in these sentences, the reader can most likely conclude that he purposely chooses to remain distant.
10. The type of conflict portrayed in these sentences can best be identified as person vs. self.
11. The rhyme scheme that the writer has used to create poetic structure is aba bcb.
12. Identify the underlined phrase in the sentence.
After several minutes, I finally located my car keys.
(1 point)
Responses
prepositional
prepositional
participial
participial
gerund
gerund
infinitive
13. Identify the underlined phrase in the sentence.
Mikayla’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Jones, is very proud of her.
(1 point)
Responses
participial
participial
gerund
gerund
appositive
appositive
prepositional
14. Identify the underlined phrase in the sentence.
Henry’s desire to win is obvious.
(1 point)
Responses
gerund
gerund
infinitive
infinitive
prepositional
prepositional
participial
participial
15. Identify the underlined phrase in the sentence.
Talking is not allowed in class.
(1 point)
Responses
prepositional
prepositional
gerund
gerund
appositive
appositive
infinitive
16. Determine if the sentence contains a misplaced modifier or dangling modifier, or if it is correct.
Josie's project was a failure, having not prepared properly.
(1 point)
Responses
misplaced modifier
misplaced modifier
dangling modifier
dangling modifier
correct
12. The underlined phrase in the sentence is "After several minutes," which is a prepositional phrase.
13. The underlined phrase in the sentence is "Mikayla’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Jones," which is an appositive phrase.
14. The underlined phrase in the sentence is "to win," which is an infinitive phrase.
15. The underlined phrase in the sentence is "Talking," which is a gerund phrase.
16. The sentence contains a dangling modifier, as the phrase "having not prepared properly" does not logically modify the subject "Josie's project."