ENGL-7
Unit 3 Assessment
Exam not valid for Paper Pencil Test Sessions
Read the following passage and answer questions 1 through 16.
Jorge and the Pirates
1 Jorge balled up another piece of paper and haphazardly tossed it over his shoulder. It bounced off the rim of the wastebasket, joining dozens of other crumpled pieces of paper scattered across the floor. Dejected, Jorge stared out his bedroom window at the shadowy backyard. 2 He usually finished his homework quickly, but tonight Jorge struggled to write even one sentence. The assignment had sounded easy enough when his teacher, Mrs. Robertson, announced it in class just before dismissal. She instructed the class to write a story about anything at all. 3 “You choose the topic,” she had said, “and let your imagination run wild!” 4 Jorge had been excited by the prospect of an open-ended assignment. This should be easy, he thought to himself. At home, however, he questioned his earlier judgment. He had been sitting unproductively at the desk in his room for hours, but had nothing to show for it. Time and again he had written the words, “Once upon a time...” Each time he struggled to add anything more. His growing frustration and disappointment were adding to his writer’s block. 5
Jorge laid his pencil down, rubbed his eyes, and stretched. I just need one good idea, he thought to himself. Jorge pushed himself away from the desk and leaned back precariously in his chair. He glanced around his room, desperate to draw inspiration from the items he saw. His eyes slowly scanned the room, moving from sports trophies to pictures of friends and family, until he noticed a pennant of his favorite team, the Palisade Pirates. 6
”Pirates!” Jorge said the word aloud and then dwelt silently on the word. Snapping his fingers, he exclaimed, “That’s it! I’ll write about pirates! Everyone enjoys a story about an exciting adventure on the high seas!” 7
With newfound enthusiasm, Jorge quickly picked up his pencil and began to compose his story. “Once upon a time, hostile pirates battled against one another on the treacherous high seas…” he hurriedly wrote. Jorge had just barely finished the first sentence when he noticed a curious aroma. He looked around and sniffed the air in his bedroom. 8
“Is that… saltwater?” he wondered aloud to himself. [Exam ID:0CYE1X
9
Wanting to investigate the unusual smell, he slowly raised his head and glanced outside the window. He was amazed by the unexpected sight that appeared before his eyes! Minutes earlier, the window had offered a drab view of Jorge's backyard, but now Jorge saw an expansive turquoise ocean glistening beneath a brilliant blue sky partially covered with cotton ball-like clouds. Rocking in the choppy waters, two sturdy pirate ships readied for battle. 10
Jorge couldn’t believe it! In his astonishment, he dropped his pencil. As soon as it landed on the wood floor, the scene outside his window began to slowly fade away. Confused, Jorge instinctively snatched up the pencil again. He immediately saw the scene outside his window come into sharp focus again. The pirate ships bobbed and swayed in the water. Their cannons were pointed directly at each other, but nothing more happened. “What are they waiting for?” Jorge wondered. 11
Suddenly, Jorge remembered the story he had begun writing. Glancing at his paper and then back out the window, an exciting thought occurred to him. He pressed the pencil against the paper. “Pirates always battled under black flags,” he hastily wrote. He looked up just in time to see two black flags being hoisted above the pirate ships. They began to flutter in the wind. Jorge’s eyes grew wide and his heart began to pound. He quickly continued writing. 12
As Jorge wrote, he stole glances outside the window. Every word he wrote was played out before his eyes. Cannons fired with explosive booms while saltwater lapped against the window pane. Lost in thought, Jorge scribbled feverishly on his paper. As the battle raged on, ideas continued to pour from his mind and out through his hand. Within minutes, one of the ships began to sink beyond his window, just as Jorge was describing the details on paper. 13
When only one ship remained, Jorge laid down his pencil and leaned back triumphantly. Proud of the story he had written, he stood up and turned to leave the room. Sensing that something was wrong, he turned back and saw that the room was still awash in color. He looked back toward the window and was surprised to find the ocean scene had not yet disappeared. Peering through the ocean mist, Jorge was shocked by what he saw. The cannons on the remaining ship were now pointed directly at him! It suddenly occurred to him what he must do, and in a panic, Jorge lunged toward the desk. He quickly scooped up his pencil and began to scribble furiously. 14
Just when Jorge thought the cannons might send their iron cannon balls through his window, the entire scene disappeared. The ship and ocean vanished, replaced by his quiet and familiar backyard. Though still a little shaken, Jorge breathed a deep sigh of relief. As he slumped in his chair he looked at the last two words he had written, the ones that had saved his life: THE END. 1
Jorge's struggle to choose a topic can best be described as —
A individual versus individual
B individual versus society
C individual versus nature
D individual versus self
2
What helps Jorge write the pirate story?
A Mrs. Robertson's suggestion
B A magic pencil
C The Palisade Pirates
D His imagination
3
Which statement is the best summary of Jorge's pirate story?
Two pirate ships are lost at sea and battle in the A
ocean by shooting loud cannons at each other.
A boy's backyard turns into an ocean where pirates B
aim their cannons at each other in battle.
A pirate ship sailing in Jorge's backyard sinks its C
enemy, then turns its cannons on the boy.
After raising black battle flags, two pirate ships fire D
cannons upon one another until the losing ship sinks.
4
This story is an example of which type of literature?
A Fiction
B Historical fiction
C Personal narrative
D Biography
5
Which question is answered in paragraph 10?
A What were the cannons waiting for?
B Where did Jorge learn about pirates?
C Did anyone else see the ships outside his window?
D What was the result of Jorge dropping his pencil?
6
What is the main conflict in the story?
A Mrs. Robertson assigned writing homework.
B Pirate ships appeared in Jorge's backyard.
C Jorge does not know what to write about.
D A pirate ship may fire its cannons at Jorge.
7
Why did writing the words "THE END" save Jorge's life?
A The words distracted the pirates.
B His assignment was finished on time.
C It made the pirate ship disappear.
D He could join his family for dinner.
8
The idea for the topic of Jorge's story came from —
A the cruise that Jorge's family had taken
B a sports trophy he had won
C his teacher, Mrs. Robertson
D the name of his favorite sports team
9
In which paragraph does the reader learn that Jorge is pleased with his story?
A Paragraph 14
B Paragraph 11
C Paragraph 12
D Paragraph 13
10 In which paragraph does Jorge first realize that his writing controls what happens outside his window?
A Paragraph 9
B Paragraph 10
C Paragraph 11
D Paragraph 12
11 Which event begins the conflict in this story?
A Two pirate ships point their cannons at each other.
B Mrs. Robertson announces a homework assignment.
C Jorge does not know what to write about.
D Jorge looks out his bedroom window.
12 Which word from the passage provides a clue to the meaning of the word aroma in paragraph 7?
A sniffed
B bedroom
C curious
D around
13 In paragraphs 6 and 7, Jorge is best described as —
A optimistic
B cautious
C thoughtful
D bewildered
14 It would have most likely been easier for Jorge to start writing his paper if —
A he had not crumpled up his paper
B Mrs. Robertson had given him a specific topic
C the curtain in his bedroom window had been closed
D the assignment had been written down in his notebook
15 In paragraph 1, the word Dejected could best be replaced with —
A Inspired
B Cheerful
C Miserable
D Honest
16 What is the main idea of the passage?
A boy decides to complete his homework in a timely A
manner.
B A boy learns about the power of imagination.
A boy decides teachers should provide detailed C
information when assigning homework.
D A boy learns writing can be a dangerous activity.
Read the following passage and answer questions 17 through 18.
Turkey Attack Jenny's teacher asked the class to write a fiction story using animals as the main character. Read Jenny's rough draft, and use it to answer the questions that follow. (1)The turkeys were active the week before Thanksgiving. (2)They knew what was coming up. (3)Next Thursday, the farmer would come in the barn and take one of their friends, and they wouldn't never see him again. (4)The farmer usually picked the fattest one. (5)So the little guys had nothing to worry about. (6)But the big guys were all saying their good-byes. (7)The four biggest ones were the most worried. (8)The four had collaborated months prior to Thanksgiving. (9)They was going to beat the system. (10)The four turkeys had decided that as soon as the farmer came in, they all would attack. (11)They would get every turkey to help and they would finally be free to rule themselves. (12)For years, they depended on the disgusting food that the farmer gave them. (13)Not anymore. (14)They were going to be wild turkeys. (15)They were going to fend for themselves, out beyond the barn doors. (16)As Thursday was approaching, the four fat guys decided to tell the others about his brilliant plan. (17)The fattest of the turkeys addressed the others saying "in a effort to keep us off the farmer's table, we will rebel and create our own wild turkey colony." (18)Naturally, all of the turkeys was shocked by the outrageous plan. (19)"We have to work together as a team, the leaders repeated. (20)Eventually, the fat guys were able to convince the others that the plan would definitly work (21)In two days time, the turkeys would attack. (22)As the two days passed by, the turkeys prepared themselves. (23)When the day came, the farmer enters the barn. (24)As planned, the turkeys attacked, but the farmer would not be outsmarted by a bunch of birds. (25)He brought his son with him this year. (26)The turkeys' plan fell through, and things went on as usual at the farmer's family Thanksgiving dinner. (27)The next year would be a whole other story.
17 Read the line from the draft. (line 4) The farmer usually picked the fattest one. Which word is used as an adverb? Type your answer in the box provided.
18 Read the following sentence. (line 14) " They were going to be wild turkeys." Which word is used as an adjective? A they
B turkeys
C wild
D going
Read the following passage and answer questions 19 through 20.
Turkey Attack Jenny's teacher asked the class to write a fiction story using animals as the main character. Read Jenny's rough draft, and use it to answer the questions that follow. (1)The turkeys were active the week before Thanksgiving. (2)They knew what was coming up. (3)Next Thursday, the farmer would come in the barn and take one of their friends, and they wouldn't never see him again. (4)The farmer usually picked the fattest one. (5)So the little guys had nothing to worry about. (6)But the big guys were all saying their good-byes. (7)The four biggest ones were the most worried. (8)The four had collaborated months prior to Thanksgiving. (9)They was going to beat the system. (10)The four turkeys had decided that as soon as the farmer came in, they all would attack. (11)They would get every turkey to help and they would finally be free to rule themselves. (12)For years, they depended on the disgusting food that the farmer gave them. (13)Not anymore. (14)They were going to be wild turkeys. (15)They were going to fend for themselves, out beyond the barn doors. (16)As Thursday was approaching, the four fat guys decided to tell the others about his brilliant plan. (17)The fattest of the turkeys addressed the others saying "in a effort to keep us of the farmer's table, we will rebel and create our own wild turkey colony." (18)Naturally, all of the turkeys was shocked by the outrageous plan. (19)"We have to work together as a team, the leaders repeated. (20)Eventually, the fat guys were able to convince the others that the plan would definitly work (21)In two days time, the turkeys would attack. (22)As the two days passed by, the turkeys prepared themselves. (23)When the day came, the farmer enters the barn. (24)As planned, the turkeys attacked, but the farmer would not be outsmarted by a bunch of birds. (25)He brought his son with him this year. (26)The turkeys' plan fell through, and things went on as usual at the farmer's family Thanksgiving dinner. (27)The next year would be a whole other story.
19 Read the line from the rough draft. In two days time, the turkeys would attack. Jenny wants to add a word to describe how the turkeys will attack. Which one would be the best choice?
A brutal
B visciously
C quick
D gently
20 Read the line from the draft. (3)Next Thursday, the farmer would come in the barn, and take one of their friends. Which adverb best describes take in the sentence?
A forcefully
B weakly
C agreeably
D kindly