Use the paragraph to complete the activity.
Melanie walked out onto the stage, and her stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator. She crept slowly over to the podium and bent the microphone toward her mouth, like the straw in her pink lemonade. She gathered up all of her courage and began to speak, her voice an impostor as it boomed through the microphone. She flinched at its unfamiliarity and scanned the room for her mother's face.
In three to five sentences, identify two examples of figurative language from the passage above and explain what each example of figurative language means.
(4 points)
The first example of figurative language is the phrase "stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator." This phrase is a metaphor that is used to describe the feeling of fear and anxiety that Melanie was experiencing.
The second example of figurative language is the phrase "bent the microphone toward her mouth, like the straw in her pink lemonade." This phrase is a simile that is used to compare the microphone to a straw, emphasizing how small and fragile Melanie felt in that moment.
Two examples of figurative language in the passage are "her stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator" and "her voice an impostor as it boomed through the microphone." "Her stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator" is a simile, comparing the feeling in Melanie's stomach to the sensation of an elevator rapidly descending. This figurative language helps convey the intense nervousness or fear she is experiencing. "Her voice an impostor as it boomed through the microphone" is a metaphor, comparing Melanie's voice to an impostor. This suggests that her voice sounds unfamiliar or out of place, possibly due to the nerves she is experiencing.
One example of figurative language in the passage is the phrase "her stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator." This is a simile, comparing the feeling in Melanie's stomach to the sensation of an elevator dropping uncontrollably. It conveys the intense fear and nerves she is experiencing.
Another example is the statement that Melanie bent the microphone toward her mouth "like the straw in her pink lemonade." This is another simile, comparing the action of bending the microphone to how a straw is bent in a drink. It emphasizes the careful and deliberate movement Melanie makes as she approaches the microphone.