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.”
Use the passage to answer the question.
10. Read the following sentences from "The High School Step Team."
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)
Jade and Karla frequently argue with each other.
Karla is not happy that Jade is pressuring her.
Jade is used to doing things that don't involve Karla.
Karla is familiar with Jade's nonverbal reactions.
Use the passage to answer the question.
11. "The High School Step Team" addresses all of the following themes except (1 point)
Practice makes perfect.
Friends are always there to support one another.
Peer pressure can sometimes be a good thing.
It is important to try something new before deciding against it.
Use the passage to answer the question.
12. The author reveals Karla’s character to readers by describing (1 point)
what Karla says, does, and thinks.
how Jade and other students react to Karla.
what Karla’s teachers tell her.
why Karla is embarrassed in the gym.
Use the passage to answer the question.
13. Which is the main way the author reveals Jade’s character to readers? (1 point)
by describing Jade's appearance
by describing Jade's thoughts
by what Jade says and what Karla thinks about Jade
by what other characters say to Jade and how they act around Karla
Use the passage to answer the question.
14. 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)
Karla feels awkward and uncoordinated.
Karla realizes that both math and step operate in patterns.
Karla prevents herself from learning by overthinking situations.
Karla is determined to be successful in both math and step team.
15. Read the following sentences from "First Confession."
Nora's turn came, and I heard the sound of something slamming, and then her voice as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, and then another slam, and out she came. God, the hypocrisy of women! Her eyes were lowered, her head was bowed, and her hands were joined very low down on her stomach, and she walked up the aisle to the side altar looking like a saint.
Which of the following words best describes the speaker's tone?
(1 point)
admiring
disbelieving
envious
surprised
16. 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)
the pathway is too narrow for the leopard to pass by.
the leopard appears graceful but can be treacherous.
the narrator should run quickly away from the leopard.
the leopard is staring at the speaker with a hungry gaze.
17. 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)
defensive
hostile
judgmental
suspicious
18. 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)
defensive
hostile
judgmental
suspicious
19. 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)
he is a newcomer to town.
he feels pressured to join the gang.
he purposely chooses to remain distant.
he is embarrassed about his personal situation.
20. 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)
person vs. person
person vs. nature
person vs. society
person vs. self
21. Read the following lines from "Ten Songs."
Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;
They had no pliticians and sang at their ease:
They weren't the human race, my dear, they weren't the human race.
Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
A thousand windows and a thousand doors;
Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.
Stood on a great plain the falling snow;
Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.
Which of the following rhyme schemes has the writer used to create poetic structure?
(1 point)
aab bbc ccd
aab ccd eef
aba bcb cdc
aba bcb cdc
22. Identify the underlined phrase in the sentence.
After several minutes, I finally located my car keys. (1 point)
prepositional
participial
gerund
infinitive
23. Identify the underlined phrase in the sentence.
Mikayla’s homeroom teacher, Mr. Jones, is very proud of her. (1 point)
participial
gerund
appositive
prepositional
24. Identify the underlined phrase in the sentence.
Henry’s desire to win is obvious. (1 point)
gerund
infinitive
prepositional
participial
25. Identify the underlined phrase in the sentence.
Talking is not allowed in class. (1 point)
prepositional
gerund
appositive
infinitive
26. 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)
misplaced modifier
dangling modifier
correct
27. Complete one of the following essay prompts.
Prompt A: Compare and contrast the topics and themes of writers from the Americas and European writers. Include specific examples to support your statements.
Prompt B: Think about all of the selections you’ve read thus far by European writers. Examine one element that the selections have in common, not including the fact that they are all European. Detail your findings.
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For Prompt A: "Compare and contrast the topics and themes of writers from the Americas and European writers. Include specific examples to support your statements."
To approach this prompt, you would need to first identify key topics and themes in literature from the Americas and European literature. Start by brainstorming common themes such as love, violence, identity, nature, etc. Then, research specific examples of American and European literature that explore these themes. Make a list of these examples to refer to in your essay.
In your essay, you can compare and contrast the treatment of these themes in American and European literature. Look for similarities and differences in how the themes are explored, the cultural contexts in which they arise, and the perspectives of the writers. Include specific examples from the literature to support your statements.
For Prompt B: "Think about all of the selections you’ve read thus far by European writers. Examine one element that the selections have in common, not including the fact that they are all European. Detail your findings."
To approach this prompt, you would need to analyze the selections you have read by European writers and identify a common element among them. This could be a literary technique, a recurring theme, a narrative style, or any other aspect that stands out to you.
Read through the selections again, paying attention to the elements that appear consistently. Take note of these elements and organize your findings. You can then structure your essay by introducing the element you have chosen, providing examples from the texts that illustrate this element, and discussing how it contributes to the overall meaning or effect of the literature.
Remember to support your analysis with specific evidence from the texts and to provide clear explanations of how the chosen element is present in each work.