LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

TRIMESTER 1 EXAM
Name: _______________________________ Class: _______ Date: ______________

PARTS OF SPEECH
Circle the correct part of speech for each question below. Only one answer applies.
1. The words ball, house, computer or classroom are examples of
verbs

nouns

conjunctions

pronouns

2. Words like run, speak, write, or think are examples of

pronouns

prepositions

nouns

verbs

3. Words like slowly, silly, outrageous and goofy are examples of

adverbs

adjectives

conjunctions

prepositions

4. Words like reddish, beautiful, handsome, and shorter are

adverbs

interjections

verbs

adjectives

5. A word or phrase that introduces a surprise or emotion, is an

verb

adjective

interjection

adverb

6. A word that can describe a verb or an adjective is an

pronoun

interjection

adverb

conjunction

7. A word that joins phrases, or words together in a sentence is a

noun

verb

conjunction

preposition

8. A word that tells time or location such as before, behind, after, against, is a
verb

conjunction

preposition

noun

9. The words he, she, they or it are examples of

pronouns

verbs

nouns

conjunctions

STORY STRUCTURE
Read the story below and answer the following questions about the story structure.
When the Spellman family moved next door to us, my mother swore the Lord himself sent them
to test her good nature. See, our block was pretty quiet until the Spellman's came. There were
some senior citizens, the newlywed couple, Mr. Tatum the librarian, and us, the Middleton family,
and we didn't live any way like the Spellman family did. We kept our lawn cut, turned off our
lights at 9PM, and went to church every Sunday. The Spellmans had a different life style all
together.
The first thing that you must know is that there were sixteen of them, all different ages from twin
babies to grown men. That part is only relevant because each Spellman had a loud personality,
and sixteen loud personalities is a lot of volume. They played loud music all hours of the day
and night, had crowds of noisy guests coming and going, and every one of those sixteen
Spellmans must have owned a bike that cluttered the front yard.
Living next to those Spellmans almost drove my mother insane. If she wasn't shaming them for
not attending church, or complaining to her sister Jackie about the way the Spellman girls
dressed, then she was shoeing the Spellman's dogs out of our yard or filing noise complaints
with the police. My mother had never been so busy. She was even organizing a "good
neighbors" committee to discuss ways to improve the neighborhood. All she ever spoke of any
more were the Spellmans and their wrongdoings.
One Sunday afternoon after church service, my mother was driving old Ms. Parker to her house
on the hill when we got a flat tire. My father was out of town at the time, so it was just me, my
mother, and old Ms. Parker. All of us together might have been able to get the spare tire out of
the trunk if we put our wits together; but as far as changing the tire, let's just say that we were at
the mercy of the good Lord. Since old Ms. Parker lived so far up that hill, not a lot of traffic
drove by us. It had been about fifteen minutes since the last car passed when we heard the
rattling and puttering of an old pick-up truck as it pulled over to assist us.
The Spellman boys ran to our car like a NASCAR pit crew. Before my mother could even
protest, they had ushered us out of the car, thrown the car on a jack, and took the tire off. "Her
spare is flat," said the middle one to the big one. "Give her ours," replied the big one, barely
acknowledging the sacrifice. The Spellman boys whizzed and zoomed around the car and just
like that we were back on wheels. My mother was stunned. "I don't know what to say," she
stammered. The big one said, "Well, the Lord said love thy neighbor, and we are neighbors,
right?" After that my mother started acting like a neighbor.
The next day when the Spellman's dogs went traipsing through my mother's flower garden, she
put out a bowl of water for them. When she saw the Spellman girls walking out with not enough
clothes on, she lectured them about being upright ladies and offered them sweaters. And when
she heard the Spellman's music through our walls, she tried to dance a little bit. She even
invited the Spellman's to be part of the good neighbors committee. So she finally took a page
from that book she always read, The Bible, and became a good neighbor herself. The
neighborhood was a better place because of it.

10. Which of the following best describes the exposition part of the story?
A.
B.
C.
D.

The narrator's block is quiet.

The Spellmans change Mom's tire.
Mom gives the dogs water.
Mom gives a ride to old Ms. Parker

11. Which of the following is best described as part of the rising action of the story?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Mom dances a little bit to the music.

Mom becomes a good neighbor.
The Spellmans give their spare tire.
Mom shames them for missing church.

12. Which of the following is best described as the inciting incident of the story?
A.
B.
C.
D.

The Spellman family moves in next door.

Mother gets a flat tire.
Mother starts the "good neighbors" committee.
The dogs walk through mom's garden.

13. Which of the following is best described as part of the climax of the story?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Mother offers sweaters to the Spellman girls.

The Spellmans move in next door.
The Spellmans give mom their spare tire.
Mom files noise complaints.

14. Which of the following is best described as part of the falling action of the story?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Mom shoes away the Spellman's dogs.

Mom dances a little bit to the music.
Mom talks about the girls to her sister, Jackie.
The Spellman's move in next door.

15. Which of the following is best described as the resolution of the story?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Mom becomes a good neighbor.

The Spellmans change moms tire.
Mom files noise complaints on the Spellmans.
Mom drives old Ms. Parker home.

16. Which term best describes the following: modern day, on the block, empty road?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Rising Action
Exposition
Conflict
Setting

17. At the end of the story, which of the following character traits best describes mom?
A. Boring

B. Helpful

C. Angry

D. Rude

CONFLICT
Use the conflict terms below and write the correct term for each question below.

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Society

Man vs. Self

18. Which type of conflict would a character have to solve in a story about climbing
Mount Everest?

19. Which type of conflict does a character overcome in a story about someone who
is bullied in a middle school?

20. What type of conflict is a character dealing with in a story about someone who
has issues with the way they look?

21. In the novel The Misfits, a group of middle school students run for student council
to rid their school of name-calling. Which type of conflict is name-calling?

22. In a story, a little boy has a great day at school but he loses his homework on the
way home from school because a gust of wind blows it away. This character is
experiencing which type of conflict?

23. If I decided to write a short story about a group of workers protesting their poor
workplace conditions this conflict would be an example of what?

24. Which conflict term(s) represent external conflict?

25. Which conflict term(s) represent internal conflict?

ADVANCED PLOT TECHNIQUES

Read each of the statements below and write the Advanced Plot Technique that fits on the line provided.
Dream Sequence Foreshadowing Plot Twist

Flashback Parallel Episodes Flash Forward

26. Everything was perfectthe coach, her gown, her glass slippers. She was so happy. She wanted
this night to last forever. Remember, Cinderella, warned her fairy godmother, you must leave
the ball at midnight. If you stay later, everything will turn back as it was. Your coach will become a
pumpkin again. Your gown will become rags. Promise me you will remember. Of course, Ill
remember, said Cinderella, but as her coach carried her toward the ball, the warning was
replaced in her mind with images of dancing and music.
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27. In the children's movie Up, the old man remembers meeting his wife and marrying her, which
helps us to better understand why he does not want to leave the house that they have shared.
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28. He fell into a deep sleep. Suddenly he was hearing the tapping of the rain and voices and a car
and then a ships horn. A single chime of a church bell. a door opening. A song on the radio. The
steady punches of a sewing machine. He heard aircraft and the dust spraying from trucks and the
wind against the tents.
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29. Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come who shows him his future. Scrooge
sees himself dead, and people finding comfort and happiness in his death. No one mourns his
death and the people he ruined in his life stole his wealth. He sees Mrs. Dilbert, his housekeeper,
selling his property to junkmen and friends. The only one touched by his death is a young and
poor couple. His only legacy is a cheap tombstone in a graveyard. He weeps on his own grave
and asks the third ghost of Christmas to give him a chance to change himself.

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30. Two characters are climbing a mountain in an extreme race challenge. They are being pursued
by other teams of two, all trying to be the first to get to the top and win some money. Suddenly
one of the characters discovers a terrorist plane had crashed landed on the mountain. The
terrorists stole their climbing gear and their radios, putting them all in jeopardy.
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31. Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest.
Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked
right in. At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry.
She tasted the porridge from the first bowl. "This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed. So, she
tasted the porridge from the second bowl. "This porridge is too cold," she said. So, she tasted the
last bowl of porridge. "Ah, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up. After
she'd eaten the three bears' breakfasts she decided she was feeling a little tired. So, she walked
into the living room where she saw three chairs. Goldilocks sat in the first chair to rest her
feet. "This chair is too big!" she exclaimed. So she sat in the second chair. "This chair is too big,

too!" she whined. So she tried the last and smallest chair. "Ah, this chair is just right," she said.

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VOCABULARY
Match-up the descriptions to the correct word by placing the correct letter on the line.

32. Exemplary

________

A. Family members who live on after you have died

33. Ancestor

________

B. To hold your attention firmly

34. Collide

________

C. Unlimited; boundless, endless

35. Riveted

________

D. To enlist in the armed forces; hire for a job

36. Elude

________

E. An act of asking for information

37. Inquiry

________

F. To hit with force while moving

38. Infinite

________

G. To evade or escape from in a skillful way

39. Recruit

________

H. Representing the best of its kind

Red Scarf Girl

Use the word bank below to write the correct term on the line for each definition listed
below and on the next few pages.

Bourgeois

Cultural Revolution

Four Olds

Class Status

Capitalism

Shanghai

Red Successors

Communism

Da-Zi-Bao

Rightist

Black Whelp

Struggle Meeting

Counterrevolutionary

40. "Old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits." According to the
propaganda, these remnants of the old society interfered with the creation of a
modern, socialist society.
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41. A meeting within a work unit to publicly criticize someone. Often these meetings
included humiliation or even physical assault.
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42. An insulting term for a child of a family belonging to any one of the Five Black
Categories.
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43. A member of a conservative party who disagreed with or opposed the
Communist Party. Ji-lis father was labeled as one.
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44. An economic system characterized by private ownership of property, free
competition, and business for profit. The United States and other countries are
examples of this type of nation.
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45. An economic system in which all means of production, such as land and natural
resources, are owned by the entire community and used for the good of all its
members.
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46. A member of the middle class. In China this term is used in a derogatory manner
to describe a person who enjoys and admires a luxurious lifestyle.
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47. A person who actively fights against the Communist party. They are seen as a
public enemy.
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48. Chinas largest city. During the Cultural Revolution it had a population of about
10 million people.
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49. A semiformal organization in elementary schools formed in imitation of the Red
Guards.
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50. A system of classifying people by their economic situation or occupation. This
was particularly important during the Cultural Revolution. Ones classification
was determined by ones fathers degree of redness or blackness.
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51. A form of propaganda in the shape of a large handwritten poster presenting an

important issue. During the Cultural Revolution, these were used to attack and
humiliate people.
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52. The social and political upheaval that overtook China starting in the 1960s.
During this time many innocent people were ruthlessly persecuted. The
movement was launched by Chairman Mao, supposedly to rid the country of antiCommunist influences. Long afterward it was revealed that Chairman Mao
unleashed this chaos in order to protect his own political position.
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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
53. What does Ji-li mean?

54. What were the years of Chinas Cultural Revolution?

55. What were the four olds?

56. Why did Chairman Mao consider it evil for an individual to make a lot of money?

57. Who was Chairman Mao?

58. Why did Ji-lis classmates write a Da-Zi-Bao about her?

59. What did Ji-li learn about her family at the class election?

60. Who was Song Po-Po and why do Ji-lis parents let her go?

61. Why did the Jiang family paint grandmothers trunks?

62. What were the Five Black Categories?

63. One of the officers tells a story about seeing Chairman Mao and everyone cried.
What did this say about their feelings for him?

64. Why did An-Yis grandmother jump out the window?

65. Why was Ji-lis house searched?

66. During the Cultural Revolution, why did the Chinese government not want people
to have weapons?

67. Why did Ji-lis cousin Shan-Shan not help his mother when she fell?

68. Why did Ji-lis father go to Political Study Class?

69. Why was Ji-lis father arrested?

70. After seeing her father in prison, one of the guards tells her to break ties with
her parents. What does this mean?

71. What did the newspaper say about Ji-lis family?

72. What stops Ji-li from changing her name at the police station?

73. What was the purpose of making a landlord wife sweep the alley?

74. Why do you think Chairman Mao used students to spread his message about the
Cultural Revolution?

75. When Ji-li says that the Chinese people were all brainwashed what does she
mean?

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTION: 5 POINTS

IB Global Context: Fairness and Development
An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with
other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and
between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolutions.
Using the above Global Context as a reference, what lesson does Chinas Cultural
Revolution teach us about government? (think Power, Dictatorship, Communism)
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EXAM GRADING
NAME _______________________

CLASS ______________

EXAM SCORE

PERCENTAGE

_______
80