Chapter 10: City Girl

Read the passage. Then answer questions about the passage below.

   Proyecto Salón Hogar

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Questions 1) What other title might fit this passage best?    A. "Pining for Boston"    B. "Learning Hurricanes"    C. "Picking Strawberries"    D. "Snow Storms that Don't Come"   2) What seems to be the author's purpose in the first four paragraphs of this passage?    A. to let the reader know that the narrator went into early labor    B. to let the reader know that the narrator does not like pulled pork    C. to let the reader know that the narrator is unfamiliar with country life    D. to let the reader know that the narrator wants to move back to Boston   3) "I had to avert my eyes from the huge pig, skin and head on, insides chopped and splayed open across an entire 12-      foot long table."    Choose the best way to rewrite the above sentence.    A. I had to open my eyes to the huge pig, skin and head on, insides chopped and         splayed open across an entire 12-foot long table.    B. I had to direct my eyes towards the huge pig, skin and head on, insides chopped         and splayed open across an entire 12-foot long table.    C. I had to turn my eyes away from the huge pig, skin and head on, insides chopped         and splayed open across an entire 12-foot long table.    D. I had to cover my eyes from the huge pig, skin and head on, insides chopped and         splayed open across an entire 12-foot long table.   4) What does materialize mean?    A. to arrive    B. to increase in size    C. to become actual or real    D. to be concerned with consumer goods.   5) Select the best literary term for the following quote: “Y’all in duh country naw, girl.”    A. yarn, suggesting an improbable tale    B. vice, characterized as an evil habit or wicked tendency    C. whimsical, characterized as expressing fanciful or odd notions    D. vernacular, meaning the native language of people in a particular geographical area   6) Which best describes the narrator's attitude in this passage?    A. forgetful of rural life    B. unaware of country ways    C. anxious to get back to Boston    D. wishful for her children to grow up in the city

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7) Which is the best antonym for cursory?    A. angry and willful    B. fast and intelligent    C. slow and deliberate    D. slow and superficial   8) What does it mean to literally do something?    A. to think about doing something    B. to do something exactly as said    C. to do something and regret it later    D. to do something with a bad attitude   9) What message does the author convey by having the narrator wait out the storm in a glass room?    A. It signifies how vulnerable she is.    B. It signifies the narrator's nontraditional tastes.    C. It lets the reader know that she has not taped up her windows.    D. It lets the reader know she can see everything that's going on.   10) Which best describes the use of woolen curtain in this passage?    A. It is used an analogy, meaning the comparison of two things.    B. It is used as comic relief, meaning it offers humor in a tense situation.    C. It is used as personification, meaning something described as if it were human.    D. It is used as satire, meaning it ridicules the weakness of an institution.   11) If the passage were to continue, what might happen next?    Check all that are correct.    __ A. Water might get into the house.    __ B. The narrator may flee to safety to Wayne's house.    __ C. The narrator might get in her car and drive to store for sandbags.    __ D. The narrator might ask to borrow some of Wayne's sandbags.   12) Which proverb is most likely learned by the narrator during the hurricane?    A. Like will draw like.    B. Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.    C. It is best to prepare for the day of necessity.    D. It is wise to turn circumstances to good account.   13) How might the narrator have changed her fate?    A. She could have taped her windows.    B. She could have replaced her old batteries.    C. She could have prepped her generator.    D. She could have purchased the items from the hurricane list.

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	Dreams Directions: Read the story. Then answer the questions below.     The relationship between my mother, sister and me had been cold and inimical for as long as I could remember. To me, my mother was irrational, often hurling hurtful invectives for the slightest infraction. My sister, five years my senior, seemed not to have a brain in her head. Tammy dithered about everything, incapable of making any firm decision.    No matter how often my mother deprecated her dumb, ugly, fat —Tammy made futile attempts to fawn her way back into mother’s good graces. My father would pontificate, ―You three are more alike then you know. In April of 2000, my mother kicked us both out of the house. (Dad had been exiled many years before.) My sister and I went our separate ways.    It was then that I began having recurring dreams. In one, I am running to catch up with a woman. Each time I get near, I trip and fall. Another woman comes with great alacrity and offers her hand, but when I reach to grab it, she disappears.    In another, a female professor hands me a test. Although I have spent hours studying for it, I know none of the answers. The professor derides me for my poor performance. These dreams were not hard to understand. In fact they were pellucid , and absent any knowledge of dream interpretation, I was still able to devise their significance.    I knew that they both reflected the pugnacious relationship I shared with my mother and sister. However, there was one dream I could never quite construe. I bite into an apple. All of my teeth fall out. I had this dream far more than any of the others. Years later, in an effort to heal our fractious relationship, Mom, Tammy and I would elect to go to counseling together.    After several sessions, I tell my dream about teeth tumbling out of my head. ―”My God,” said my mother. ―”I’ve had the exact same dream many times.” ―”Me too,” said Tammy solemnly. Breakthrough? No idea. But I was reminded of the words of my now-dead father. Perhaps the three of us are more alike than we know.   Questions   1) Which is most likely to make a relationship inimical?    A. great pathos    B. frequent maledictions    C. magnanimous gestures    D. ingenuous discussions   2) Which is the best synonym for invectives ?    A. icons    B. decisions    C. paragons    D. accusations
Page 4     3) If this passage were true, which would best describe it?    A. a literary essay, based on a piece of literature    B. a memoir essay, centered on a significant memory from the past    C. a persuasive essay, characterized by choosing a side and refuting other arguments    D. an expository essay, meant to acquaint the reader with a body of knowledge   4) What event does the father's comment foreshadow?    A. Mother is irrational.    B. Tammy is fawning.    C. The sisters are both kicked out of the house.    D. The narrator, mother and Tammy all have the same dream.   5) What is the tone of this passage?    A. matter-of-fact    B. mawkish    C. maudlin    D. mercurial   6) How does the relationship between the narrator, her mother and sister seem to change from the beginning of passage to end?    A. from brusque to florid    B. from egregious to impassive    C. from enervating to rejuvenating    D. from destructive to collaborative   7) Which is the best antonym for pellucid ?    A. conspicuous    B. disquieting    C. enlightening    D. incomprehensible   8) "I bite into an apple. All of my teeth fall out."    Choose the best way to combine the above sentences.    A. I bite into an apple, all of my teeth fall out.    B. As all my teeth fall out, I bite into an apple.    C. I bite into an apple, and all of my teeth fall out.    D. While I bite into I bite into an apple, all my teeth fell out.   Page 5
	9) "The professor derides me for my poor performance."    Choose the best way to rewrite the above sentence.    A. The professor is in disbelief due to my poor performance.    B. The professor laughs mockingly at my poor performance.    C. The professor gives me a failing grade for my poor performance.    D. The professor gives me a tutorial because of my poor performance.    10) Which words have a negative connotation?    Check all that are correct.    __ A. alacrity    __ B. deprecated    __ C. dithered    __ D. pugnacious   11) If the professor in the narrator's dream represented someone in her life, who might that person be, and why?    A. the sister, because she was described in the passage as dithering    B. the mother, because she was described in the passage as mean-spirited    C. the narrator, because she seems to be testing everyone in the passage    D. the father, because he understood that that the three women were alike   12) Which is the best way to make these fragments grammatically correct?    Breakthrough? No idea.    A. Breakthrough, no idea.    B. Was this a breakthrough? I have no idea.    C. If this was a breakthrough I have no idea.    D. I had no idea. This was a breakthrough.   What kind of dreams do you have? What do they mean…anything? Explain.      __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________
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	Grammar: Using the Verb "To be" Write the correct form of the verb "To be" in present tense.       Example: I (be) am happy.    1) I (be) _____ tired.    2) I (be) _____ hungry.    3) I (be) _____ late!         Example: He / She / It (be) is happy.    4) He (be) _____ cool.    5) She (be) _____ pretty.    6) It (be) _____ fast.         Example: You / We / They (be) are happy.    7) You (be) _____ nice.    8) We (be) _____ sleepy.    9) They (be) _____ funny.   Now we’ll use nouns instead of pronouns…    10) John (be) _____ excited.    11) Tiffany and Uma (be) _____ my friends.    12) Ricardo, John and I (be) _____ watching a movie.    13) Hadil (be) _____ kind.    14) Alisa (be) _____ young.    15) The hammer (be) _____ new.    16) My mother and father (be) _____ cooking dinner.    17) Rachel (be) _____ driving to school.    18) Nikkos and Billy (be) _____ playing at the park.    19) The students (be) _____ studying English.    20) The test (be) _____ hard!    21) My best friend (be) _____ coming to my house.
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	Vocabulary: Context Clues What are context clues?   Context clues are built into sentences around difficult words. If you analyze the words around the difficult ones in your reading, you may be able to figure out their meaning without having to consult a dictionary. You will be able to make logical guesses about the meanings of many words.     There are many types of context dues. The most common context clues are:    1. examples    2. definitions    3. opposites and contrasts   An author can show what a word means by using one or more examples. These examples are not synonyms of the word.   Phrases like: such as, including, or consists of often indicate that what follows is an example.   Colons (:) and dashes (-) can also signal examples.    Example: I like to eat green vegetables, such as broccoli and green beans. (The phrase such as indicates that green beans are an example of the vegetables the writer likes.)
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	Figure out the meaning of each underlined word using context clues. Write a synonym in the space provided.      ___________ 1. She's resilient, not weak.    ___________ 2. La Mrs. is so vociferous. I wish she would be quiet.    ___________ 3. He's averse to my position. I would love his support.    ___________ 4. The first day was a real chaos with all of us children trying to get ready in such a small place.    ___________ 5. Lorenzo had talent for song and mimicry.   Connotation and Denotation What are the connotation and denotation of a word?    Relationships between words and meanings can be complicated, and they are studied in the field of semantics. Words do not always have a single, simple meaning. The two main kinds of meanings of a word are called denotation and connotation.        Denotation is the literal meaning, or the definition, of a word --the explicit, particular, definition, that can usually be identified with reasonable precision. Some dictionaries only have denotative meanings.    Connotation is the suggestive meaning of a word — the values, judgments, and status implied by a word or an association, emotional or otherwise, what the word evokes. Many words have evaluative implications behind them and convey a positive or negative attitude toward the things they name. The feeling behind a word — whether it makes you smile or frown --is the word's connotation. It is the emotional meaning of a word.    The most important thing to consider when choosing your words is the meaning you wish to convey. Before stating your idea, you must first consider the basic meaning in your mind. Then you can use synonyms with the same basic meaning.      Upon choosing the exact word you would like to use, you must think about its connotation, or the suggestive or associative implications attached to it.      You must decide if the connotation matches the meaning you wish to convey. When you write, choose words that show precisely the meaning and connotation you have in mind.      Example:                        Word                                                   Denotation                                                  Connotation                       new                                                   of recent origin                                             better, improved
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	Write the denotation and connotation of the following words. Use a dictionary if necessary.                                                      Denotation                                                            Connotation    1. uniform        2. house        3. poor        4. old        5. decrepit       Writing: Explanation Explain in good detail how to tie your shoes.      __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________     Explain your favorite foods and why they are your favorite.    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________    __________________________________________________________________________________________
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