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.

Question

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.

Answer 1

1) "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 rapidly descending. It conveys the suddenness and intensity of her nervousness or fear in a vivid way.

2) "She bent the microphone toward her mouth, like the straw in her pink lemonade." This is a simile, comparing the action of Melanie adjusting the microphone to the way a straw is positioned in a glass of pink lemonade. It suggests that she was being careful and deliberate in positioning the microphone, perhaps indicating her apprehension or desire to make sure everything is just right before speaking.