WKCE Test Practice 2

GRADE 10
Reading
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WKCE Test Practice 2
How to Tell a Story
by Mark Twain
I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought
to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought
to be told, for I have been almost daily in the
company of the most expert storytellers for many
years.
There are several kinds of stories but only one
difficult kind—the humorous. I will talk mainly
about that one. The humorous story is American;
the comic story is English; the witty story is French.
The humorous story depends for its effect upon
the manner of the telling; the comic story and the
witty story upon the matter.
The humorous story may be spun out to great
length and may wander around as much as it
pleases and arrive nowhere in particular; but the
comic and witty stories must be brief and end
with a point. The humorous story bubbles gently
along; the others burst.
The humorous story is strictly a work of art—
high and delicate art—and only an artist can tell
it; but no art is necessary in telling the comic and
the witty story; anybody can do it. The art of
telling a humorous story—understand, I mean by
word of mouth, not print—was created in
America and has remained at home.
The humorous story is told gravely; the teller
does his best to conceal the fact that he even
dimly suspects that there is anything funny about
it; but the teller of the comic story tells you
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beforehand that it is one of the funniest things he
has ever heard, then tells it with eager delight and
is the first person to laugh when he gets through.
And sometimes, if he has good success, he is so
glad and happy that he will repeat the “nub” of it
and glance around from face to face, collecting
applause, and then repeat it again. It is a pathetic
thing to see.
Very often, of course, the rambling and dis-
jointed humorous story finishes with a nub, point,
snapper, or whatever you call it. Then the listener
must be alert, for in many cases the teller will
divert attention from that nub by dropping it in a
carefully casual and indifferent way, with the pre-
tense that he does not know it is a nub.
Artemus Ward used that trick a good deal;
then, when the belated audience presently caught
the joke, he would look up with innocent surprise,
as if wondering what they had found to laugh at.
Dan Setchell used it before him; Nye and Riley and
others use it today.
But the teller of the comic story does not slur
the nub; he shouts it at you—every time. And
when he prints it, in England, France, Germany,
and Italy, he italicizes it, puts some whooping
exclamation points after it, and sometimes
explains it in a parenthesis. All of which is very
depressing and makes one want to renounce
joking and lead a better life.
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WKCE Test Practice 2

1 In the context of this essay, the word nub 5 In what manner, according to Twain, should
most nearly means a humorous story be told?
A funny story. A seriously
B punch line. B comically
C laughter. C uninterested
D oral tale. D goofy
2 Which of the following statements from the 6 Twain believes that the witty story can be
selection is a FACT? effective only if which of the following is
A There are several kinds of stories but only excellent?
one difficult kind—humorous. A the teller
B Artemus Ward used that trick a good B the manner of telling
deal… Dan Setchell used it before him; C the subject matter
Nye and Riley and others use it today.
D the teller’s accent
C The humorous story is American; the
7 Twain points to many differences between
comic story is English; the witty story is
humorous stories and those that are comic or
French.
witty. Fill in the chart below to identify these
D The humorous story is strictly a work of differences.
art… and only an artist can tell it.
3 Which statement probably best describes Type of Length of Artistic Manner
story story Talent in which
Twain’s personal philosophy? required story is
A Life is short so live each day to its fullest. told
B We should take life more seriously.
Humorous
C A good life contains elements of humor
in it.
D It doesn’t matter how one tells a story as Comic or
long as it’s funny. Witty
4 According to Twain, his best qualification for
being the judge of superior storytelling is
that he
A has published many books, most of
which are humorous.
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B has frequently heard stories told by

extremely talented storytellers.
C has conducted extensive library research
on the history of storytelling.
D has attended storytelling contests since
he was a boy.

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WKCE Test Practice 2
The Great War
War Affects the Home Front
By the time the United States joined the Allies,
the war had been going on for nearly three years
in Europe. In those three years, Europe had lost
more men in battle than in all the wars of the pre-
vious three centuries. The war had claimed the
lives of millions and had changed countless lives
forever. The Great War, as the conflict came to be
known, affected everyone. It touched not only the
soldiers in the trenches, but civilians as well. It
affected not just military institutions, but also
political, economic, and social institutions.
Governments Wage Total War
World War I soon became a total war. This
meant that countries devoted all their resources to
the war effort. In Britain, Germany, Austria, Russia,
and France, the entire force of the government
was dedicated to winning the conflict.
In each country, the wartime government took
control of the economy. Governments told facto-
ries what products to produce and how many of
each. Numerous facilities were converted to muni-
tions factories where weapons and ammunition
were manufactured. Nearly every able-bodied civil-
ian was put to work. Unemployment in many
European countries nearly disappeared. European
governments even enlisted the help of foreign
workers. For example, thousands of civilians were
sent from German-occupied Belgium and France
to work in Germany as farm and factory laborers.
Britain and France recruited Chinese, West Indian,
Algerian, and Egyptian laborers to work behind
their lines at the front.
So many goods were in short supply that gov-
ernments turned to rationing. Under this system,
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people could buy only small amounts of those
items that were needed for the war effort.
Eventually, rationing covered a wide range of
goods, from metals to butter and shoe leather.
Governments also suppressed antiwar activity
—sometimes by force. In addition, they censored
news about the war. Many leaders feared that
honest reporting of the war would turn people
against it. Governments also used propaganda—
persuasive information designed to promote their
goals and opinions—to keep up morale and sup-
port for the war. One of the main instruments of
propaganda was the war poster. In nations
throughout Europe, striking, colorful posters urged
support for the war by painting the enemy as
monsters and the Allies as heroes.
The War’s Impact on Women
Total war meant that governments turned to
women for help as never before. Thousands of
women replaced men in factories, offices, and
shops. Women built tanks and weapons, plowed
fields, paved streets, and ran hospitals. They also
kept troops supplied with food, clothing, and
weapons. The propaganda effort sought to glorify
women’s part in the war effort. In reality, much of
the women’s work was dangerous and low pay-
ing. In Britain, the conditions in factories were very
bad. As a result, the membership of women in
trade unions increased by 276 percent during the
war, and women workers sometimes went on
strike during the war itself.
Although most women left the work force
when the war ended, their work for the war effort
set an important precedent. Copyright © McDougal Littell
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WKCE Test Practice 2

8 By the third and fourth years of World War I,
Britain and Germany
A lost fewer men in battle than they had in
any previous wars.
B had the lowest percentages of
unemployed workers as nearly every able
person was put to work.
C prospered due to the increased war
production, and many citizens became
independently wealthy.
D recruited women, Algerians, and
Egyptians to work behind the lines at
the front.
9 How did the short supply of goods affect the
role of the governments?
A The governments rationed civilians’
supplies.
B The governments shortened soldiers’
supplies.
C The governments decreased the war
effort.
D The governments bought up all the
butter and shoe leather.
11 What point does the author make clear
about the effects of the war?
A All citizens of each country supported the
war effort.
B After the war, the governments refused
to relinquish their wartime controls.
C Prior to the war, women had not been a
large part of the work force.
D Governmental propaganda was very
effective.
12 What is one probable outcome of so many
women working to support the war effort?
A Women would later become an
important part of the work force.
B Women would take over the work force
completely.
C Women would never return to the work
force.
D Women would want to serve as combat
soldiers in the next war.

10 What role did women play in the war?

A Women had a significant impact on the
war by taking on several jobs.
B Women were given the easy or less
dangerous jobs.
C Women stayed home to care for the
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children and keep the house while their

husbands fought.
D Women were recruited to the front lines
to help the men fight.

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WKCE Test Practice 2

13 Read the following sentence from the 14 Why did wartime governments suppress
passage. antiwar activity and censor news?
Although most women left the work A The governments felt their citizens were
force when the war ended, their work too free.
for the war effort set an important
B The governments thought winning
precedent.
the war justified temporarily limiting
Which of the following means about the freedoms.
same as precedent?
C The governments had always wanted to
control citizens more carefully.
A mistake
D The governments did not know what was
B limit really happening in Europe.
C result
D example

15 Compose three questions that the passage answers.

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WKCE Test Practice 2
The Battle for San Pietro and the Art of War
During World War II, Ernie Pyle, an American
journalist covering the war, wrote a very famous
story. The story concerned how American troops
reacted to the death of a young military officer
during the famous battle for San Pietro. This battle
was a part of the fighting in Italy in 1943 and
1944. Pyle’s article about this military operation
and what happened to that young soldier became
his most famous piece of writing about the war.
The Germans were strongly established both in
the town itself and in the surrounding hills and
countryside. The Germans had all of the cover,
and the Americans had to walk right in and try to
take the area from them. San Pietro is in the Liri
Valley, and there was no other good way to get
American troops into it than through the south.
Those American troops were determined to suc-
ceed, and they were very courageous, but many
were killed. For the most part, the Americans
could not see their German attackers, who were
hidden in the olive groves and the high rock ridges
surrounding the entrance to the valley.
Compared to some of the other battles in
Italy, the fight for San Pietro was a small opera-
tion. Many soldiers died trying to land and take
the beach at Salerno, and the operation at Monte
Cassino seemed to go on forever. Still, in spite of
its lack of size and importance to the overall war
effort, San Pietro inspired two great documentary
works of art to come out of World War II. Pyle’s
article, which was called “The Death of Captain
Waskow,” appeared in newspapers all over the
country on January 10, 1944. The other work of
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art was a documentary film called San Pietro,
which was made by John Huston and photogra-
phers from the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
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Huston came from Hollywood, where he had
already directed successful films. For years after
the war, Huston would make his mark as a movie
director. However, in the winter of 1943, Huston
was a captain in the U.S. army. His assignment, in
his own words, was to document “the triumphal
entry of American forces into Rome.” It didn’t
work out that way. Instead, Huston and his crew
produced one of the most frightening visions of
modern warfare ever filmed. The documentary
showed how difficult it was for these soldiers to
fight in the mud and rain day after day with little
food and even less rest. It demonstrated both the
respect and the anger soldiers had for the idea of
war, and it was something that people had never
seen on film before.
More than any previous conflict, World
War II was an event to be captured on film and
paper. During the 1930s, there was a shift in film-
making toward a more realistic, “documentary”
style of storytelling. The war began in the middle
of this shift, and the way the war was covered
was very similar to the way fictional stories were
being told in literature and film. In “The Death of
Captain Waskow” and San Pietro, it is easy to see
the influence of documentary storytelling. Both
works present themselves as records of factual
events, and yet both clearly reveal the influence of
fiction. Both show how human beings can be
brave and dignified under the most terrible condi-
tions. At the same time, each piece offers criticism
of those conditions and how humanity could have
created them.
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WKCE Test Practice 2

16 With which of the following statements con-
cerning the battle for San Pietro would the
author most likely agree?
A The battle in San Pietro was more
important to the war effort than any
other battle.
B The U.S. army’s strategy did not give its
soldiers a good chance to survive.
C The officer who died at San Pietro should
have been given a medal.
D The Germans were defending their territory
and should not have been attacked.
17 Which statement best reflects the main idea
of the second paragraph?
A San Pietro, a film by John Huston, was
made in 1944.
B A small battle in Italy during World War II
became the subject of two important
documentaries.
C The battle for San Pietro in Italy was a
relatively small military encounter.
D Ernie Pyle wrote an article called “The
Death of Captain Waskow.”
19 Why did the author most likely write this
passage?
A to indicate the causes of World War II
B to inform readers of the works of John
Huston
C to describe the major battles of World
War II
D to describe the documentary works of art
that emerged from World War II
20 What is ironic about Huston’s statement that
he was to document “the triumphal entry of
American forces into Rome”?
A Instead of the glory of triumph, Huston
documented the hardship of war.
B Instead of the entry into Rome, Huston
documented the entry into San Pietro.
C Instead of Americans winning the battle,
Huston documented them losing it.
D Instead of a film about a war, Huston
documented the death of one officer.

18 According to the author, what is one effect

resulting from the fact that World War II
began during the documentary movement?
A World events other than World War II
were rarely documented during this
period.
B Many historical accounts of World War II Copyright © McDougal Littell
are fictional.
C The coverage of the war drew heavily
upon documentary techniques and
resources.
D U.S. citizens acquired a biased view of
World War II.

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WKCE Test Practice 2

21 How were the fictional war movies of this
period probably filmed?
A They showed people with clean uniforms
who never questioned what they were
doing.
B They were filmed on location in Italy and
used actual Italian soldiers as actors.
C They were often based on newspaper
articles and books written by German
soldiers.
D They showed angry soldiers fighting on
very little food and no sleep.
22 Which statement best reflects the conclusion
the author draws on the battle for San
Pietro?
A It was one of the most frightening and
deadly battles in the war.
B The Americans were strongly established
in the town and the surrounding hills.
C The Germans could not see their
American attackers.
D Compared to some of the other battles in
Italy, San Pietro was a large and
important operation.

23 How were “The Death of Captain Waskow” and San Pietro similar? Use details and information
from the reading to explain your answer.
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