Read the two stories, and then answer the question that follows.
Story #1
How Snake Lost His Legs (From Illuminate)
An African Fable
Since the beginning of time, Snake was a lazy creature. The other animals of the savanna would toil from sunrise to sunset to find food and water, while Snake would simply hide by the watering hole and wait for prey to cross his path. In fact, Snake was so lazy that he unintentionally changed his own fate.
One day, Moon, the ruler of the animals, came down from the sky and called a meeting of all creatures to impart some important news. Snake loved his comfortable hiding place by the water’s edge and did not see the purpose in moving when Mantis, his only friend, would surely come and tell him the news. After all, what could possibly be so important? So, Snake tucked his little legs beneath his long body (for snakes had legs back then) and settled down into the mud.
Across the savanna, the animals gathered underneath the Baobab tree and listened anxiously to Moon. She told them that the water would soon disappear and the earth would turn to sand. The savanna would become a dry and lifeless desert in which nothing could survive. Moon advised the animals to take their families and travel to the other side of the cliff in the east where they would find a new savanna to call home.
The animals immediately set out on their long journey, but faithful Mantis traveled back to the watering hole to find Snake. He told his friend of the impending danger, but Snake just snorted and refused to move. He had no intention of leaving his spot, especially when the cliff in the east was such a long walk away. Surely Moon was exaggerating and the rains would eventually come back. Snake had plenty of water at the hole in the meantime.
But as the days wore on, it grew warmer and warmer. Worse yet, it did not rain for weeks and the watering hole dried up in front of Snake’s eyes. Snake rose unsteadily and looked to the cliff in the east. He took a step forward, but his foot sank heavily into the sand. He tried to step with another foot and achieved the same result; he was stuck!
Snake cried out to Moon for help, begging and pleading until finally she took pity on him. Moon took away Snake’s legs and made his body slippery enough to slide easily through the hot sand. At last, he was able to move again, and he hurriedly slithered toward the cliff in the distance.
Snake lost his legs that day, but he did not lose his tendency for laziness, for to this very day we can still find him lying by the watering hole, waiting for his food to come to him.
Story #2
Lazy Day Sunday (From Illuminate)
It was a lazy Sunday, and Matilda was trying to catch up on the sleep she missed all week. After all, getting up at 7:00 every morning was downright inhuman, and the oversized pillow in the corner of the sofa was a cloud in the sky, calling her to float away with it.
Perhaps that’s why she made the not-so-wise decision to ignore her mother’s request as she ran out to the supermarket. It was a simple request to turn off the oven at 5:30 and pull the roast out to cool, but that cloud in the sky was calling her name. Matilda had opened one eye at 5:35, but she hadn’t really noticed the time, and Mom would be home soon anyway.
Of course, when 6:15 arrived and the smell of smoke began to waft through the living room, she came down from her cloud a little. Where was Mom anyway, and wasn’t there something she had to do?
At 6:20, the smoke alarm went off, and Matilda began to regret the last hour. Suddenly remembering everything her mother had ever said in her entire life, she sprinted into the kitchen and slid right into her little brother, Max.
“Fire!” he shouted through the haze of the smoke-filled kitchen.
“Shh, it’s just a little smoke from the oven.”
But Max had already run out of the kitchen to the sound of the blaring alarm.
Attempting to ignore the chaos around her, Matilda tried to save the roast first (“save” being the operative word, because the charred remains were barely recognizable). Groaning, she pulled on some oven gloves and opened the door, releasing a new wave of thick smoke into the room.
“Mom is going to be so . . .”
She never got to finish her thought because suddenly a spray of white foam enveloped both her and the roast. For a long moment, all she could do was blink as the foam dripped from her chin and hands. Then she slowly turned to find Max holding a fire extinguisher and grinning from ear to ear as he shouted, “I saved you!”
“Max, what are you doing! I wasn’t on fire. . . . What’s that noise?”
The sound of sirens filled the street, and both Matilda and Max ran for the front door. Outside, a group of firefighters, ambulance workers, and, yes, Matilda’s panic-stricken mother (for she had just gotten home from the supermarket) were running for the door.
Taking a deep breath, Matilda turned the knob to face the consequences, vowing that next time she would just listen to her mother. But in her own defense, it was a lazy Sunday, after all.
Question: Which of the following choices best reveals the similarities between the two stories?
(1 point)
Responses
Both stories include characters having to put out fires.
Both stories include characters having to put out fires.
In both stories, both characters almost caused disasters for themselves or others due to laziness.
In both stories, both characters almost caused disasters for themselves or others due to laziness.
Both stories have a theme of the importance of listening to your parents
Both stories have a theme of the importance of listening to your parents
The settings in both stories are identical.
The settings in both stories are identical.
Both stories have a theme of the importance of listening to your parents.
Read the two poems, and then answer the question that follows.
Poem #1
The Sun Has Long Been Set
by William Wordsworth
The sun has long been set,
The stars are out by twos and threes,
The little birds are piping yet
Among the bushes and the trees;
There's a cuckoo, and one or two thrushes,*
And a far-off wind that rushes,
And a sound of water that gushes,
And the cuckoo's sovereign cry
Fills all the hollow of the sky.
Who would go 'parading'
In London, 'and masquerading,'
On such a night of June
With that beautiful soft half-moon,
And all these innocent blisses?
On such a night as this is!
* thrush: a type of songbird
Poem #2
Far from the Madding Crowd
by Nixon Waterman
It seems to me I'd like to go
Where bells don't ring, nor whistles blow,
Nor clocks don't strike, nor gongs sound,
And I'd have stillness all around.
Not real stillness, but just the trees,
Low whispering, or the hum of bees,
Or brooks faint babbling over stones,
In strangely, softly tangled tones.
Or maybe a cricket or katydid,*
Or the songs of birds in the hedges hid,
Or just some such sweet sound as these,
To fill a tired heart with ease.
If 'tweren't for sight and sound and smell,
I'd like the city pretty well,
But when it comes to getting rest,
I like the country lots the best.
Sometimes it seems to me I must
Just quit the city's din and dust,
And get out where the sky is blue,
And say, now, how does it seem to you?
* katydid: an insect related to grasshoppers and crickets
Question: Imagine someone is doing a dramatic reading of "The Sun Has Long Been Set". In what tone should the actor read the poem to the audience to stay true to the poem?
(1 point)
Responses
In a cautious and dangerous tone
In a cautious and dangerous tone
In a very fast and hurried tone
In a very fast and hurried tone
In a loud and excited tone
In a loud and excited tone
In a calming tone
In a calming tone
Read the two poems, and then answer the question that follows.
Poem #1
The Sun Has Long Been Set
by William Wordsworth
The sun has long been set,
The stars are out by twos and threes,
The little birds are piping yet
Among the bushes and the trees;
There's a cuckoo, and one or two thrushes,*
And a far-off wind that rushes,
And a sound of water that gushes,
And the cuckoo's sovereign cry
Fills all the hollow of the sky.
Who would go 'parading'
In London, 'and masquerading,'
On such a night of June
With that beautiful soft half-moon,
And all these innocent blisses?
On such a night as this is!
* thrush: a type of songbird
Poem #2
Far from the Madding Crowd
by Nixon Waterman
It seems to me I'd like to go
Where bells don't ring, nor whistles blow,
Nor clocks don't strike, nor gongs sound,
And I'd have stillness all around.
Not real stillness, but just the trees,
Low whispering, or the hum of bees,
Or brooks faint babbling over stones,
In strangely, softly tangled tones.
Or maybe a cricket or katydid,*
Or the songs of birds in the hedges hid,
Or just some such sweet sound as these,
To fill a tired heart with ease.
If 'tweren't for sight and sound and smell,
I'd like the city pretty well,
But when it comes to getting rest,
I like the country lots the best.
Sometimes it seems to me I must
Just quit the city's din and dust,
And get out where the sky is blue,
And say, now, how does it seem to you?
* katydid: an insect related to grasshoppers and crickets
Question: If someone was doing a live reading of "The Sun Has Long Been Set", which of these effects would be the most appropriate to include?
(1 point)
Responses
A recording of nature sounds such as crickets chirping in the background
A recording of nature sounds such as crickets chirping in the background
A person dressing up like a cuckoo and making funny sounds on stage
A person dressing up like a cuckoo and making funny sounds on stage
A background of the busy city of London
A background of the busy city of London
An informational chart about the different types of birds you could find in the setting of the poem
A recording of nature sounds such as crickets chirping in the background
Read the two poems, and then answer the question that follows.
Poem #1
The Sun Has Long Been Set
by William Wordsworth
The sun has long been set,
The stars are out by twos and threes,
The little birds are piping yet
Among the bushes and the trees;
There's a cuckoo, and one or two thrushes,*
And a far-off wind that rushes,
And a sound of water that gushes,
And the cuckoo's sovereign cry
Fills all the hollow of the sky.
Who would go 'parading'
In London, 'and masquerading,'
On such a night of June
With that beautiful soft half-moon,
And all these innocent blisses?
On such a night as this is!
* thrush: a type of songbird
Poem #2
Far from the Madding Crowd
by Nixon Waterman
It seems to me I'd like to go
Where bells don't ring, nor whistles blow,
Nor clocks don't strike, nor gongs sound,
And I'd have stillness all around.
Not real stillness, but just the trees,
Low whispering, or the hum of bees,
Or brooks faint babbling over stones,
In strangely, softly tangled tones.
Or maybe a cricket or katydid,*
Or the songs of birds in the hedges hid,
Or just some such sweet sound as these,
To fill a tired heart with ease.
If 'tweren't for sight and sound and smell,
I'd like the city pretty well,
But when it comes to getting rest,
I like the country lots the best.
Sometimes it seems to me I must
Just quit the city's din and dust,
And get out where the sky is blue,
And say, now, how does it seem to you?
* katydid: an insect related to grasshoppers and crickets
Question: If a director were making a short movie based on the poem "Far From the Maddening Crowd", which of these would be a choice that would NOT stay faithful to the original poem?
(1 point)
Responses
If the director used loud noises in to represent the loud noises from the first stanza
If the director used loud noises in to represent the loud noises from the first stanza
If the director included beautiful scenes of nature in the movie
If the director included beautiful scenes of nature in the movie
If the director made the scenes of the country calming and relaxing.
If the director made the scenes of the country calming and relaxing.
If the director made the city seem more glamorous and exciting than the boring scenes of the country