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COLLECTION 10 SUMMATIVE TEST
Epic and Myth
This test asks you to use the skills and strategies you have learned in this collection. Here is an
excerpt from the Odyssey that you have not read before. Read it and then answer the questions that
follow the passage.
FROM THE
Odyssey
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Two nights, two days, in the solid deep-sea swell
he drifted, many times awaiting death,
until with shining ringlets in the East
the dawn confirmed a third day, breaking clear
over a high and windless sea; and mounting
a rolling wave he caught a glimpse of land.
What a dear welcome thing life seems to children
whose father, in the extremity, recovers
after some weakening and malignant illness:
his pangs are gone, the gods have delivered him.
So dear and welcome to Odysseus
the sight of land, of woodland, on that morning.
It made him swim again, to get a foothold
on solid ground. But when he came in earshot
he heard the trampling roar of sea on rock,
where combers, rising shoreward, thudded down
on the sticking ebb—all sheeted with salt foam.
Here were no coves or harborage or shelter,
only steep headlands, rockfallen reefs and crags.
Odysseus’ knees grew slack, his heart faint,
a heaviness came over him, and he said:
“A cruel turn, this. Never had I thought
to see this land, but Zeus has let me see it—
and let me, too, traverse the Western Ocean—
only to find no exit from these breakers.
Here are sharp rocks off shore, and the sea a smother
rushing around them; rock face rising sheer
from deep water, nowhere could I stand up
on my two feet and fight free of the welter.
No matter how I try it, the surf may throw me
against the cliffside; no good fighting there.
If I swim down the coast, outside the breakers,
I may find shelving shore and quiet water—
but what if another gale comes on to blow?
Then I go cursing out to sea once more.
Or then again, some shark of Amphitritê’s
may hunt me, sent by the genius of the deep.
Holt Assessment: Literature, Reading, and Vocabulary
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
by Homer
translated by Robert Fitzgerald
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Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
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I know how he who makes earth tremble hates me.”
During this meditation a heavy surge
was taking him, in fact, straight on the rocks.
He had been flayed there, and his bones broken,
had not gray-eyed Athena instructed him:
he gripped a rock-ledge with both hands in passing
and held on, groaning, as the surge went by,
to keep clear of its breaking. Then the backwash
hit him, ripping him under and far out.
An octopus, when you drag one from his chamber,
comes up with suckers full of tiny stones:
Odysseus left the skin of his great hands
torn on that rock-ledge as the wave submerged him.
And now at last Odysseus would have perished,
battered inhumanly, but he had the gift
of self-possession from gray-eyed Athena.
So, when the backwash spewed him up again,
he swam out and along, and scanned the coast
for some landspit that made a breakwater.
Lo and behold, the mouth of a calm river
at length came into view, with level shores
unbroken, free from rock, shielded from wind—
by far the best place he had found.
But as he felt the current flowing seaward
he prayed in his heart:
“O hear me, lord of the stream:
how sorely I depend upon your mercy!
derelict1 as I am by the sea’s anger.
Is he not sacred, even to the gods,
the wandering man who comes, as I have come,
in weariness before your knees, your waters?
Here is your servant; lord, have mercy on me.”
1. derelict: here, abandoned.
From Book V, “Sweet Nymph and Open Sea,” from The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert
Fitzgerald. Copyright © 1961 by Robert Fitzgerald; copyright renewed © 1989 by Benedict
R. C. Fitzgerald on behalf of the Fitzgerald children. This edition copyright © 1998 by Farrar,
Straus & Giroux, LLC. Reproduced by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC.
Collection 10 Summative Test
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VOCABULARY SKILLS (30 points; 6 points each)
Each of the underlined words below has also been underlined in the selection.
Re-read those passages in which the underlined words appear, and then use
your knowledge of literal and figurative language as well as Greek mythology
to help you select an answer. On the line provided, write the letter of the word
or words that best complete each sentence.
______ 1. When he finally spots land, Odysseus feels weak, as though he has recovered from a
malignant illness.
A mild
B deadly
C brief
D lingering
______ 2. To reach home, Odysseus must traverse several seas.
F
swim
G go around
H cross
J
discover
______ 3. The breakers threaten to tear Odysseus to pieces.
A foaming waves near land
B raging gods
C starving sea monsters
______ 4. Distracted by his meditation, Odysseus nearly drowns.
F
high hopes
G deep thought
H brief illness
J
silent prayers
______ 5. At one point the waves completely submerge Odysseus.
A join
B conquer
C drench
D cover
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Holt Assessment: Literature, Reading, and Vocabulary
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
D fierce winds
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COMPREHENSION (30 points; 6 points each)
______ 6. Before he sees land, Odysseus is adrift in the ocean for —
F
two weeks and two days
G one month
H two nights and two days
J
one week
______ 7. The best place Odysseus finds to come ashore is the —
A edge of a beach
B mouth of a river
C entrance to a harbor
D side of a cliff
______ 8. At one point, Odysseus swims away from the shore because he wants to —
F
return to Troy
G find Poseidon
H find his raft
J
search for a safer place to land
______ 9. Odysseus would have died if he had not possessed —
A self-control
B self-pity
C self-esteem
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
D self-doubt
______ 10. Odysseus bases his appeal to the lord of the stream on the rights of —
F
soldiers
G sailors
H guests
J
heroes
READING SKILLS AND STRATEGIES: CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (10 points)
Monitoring Your Comprehension
11. What alternatives does Odysseus consider when he views the cliffside
from the water? What choice does he make? Does he pursue it?
Collection 10 Summative Test
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LITERARY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (30 points; 10 points each)
12. There are many examples of poetic imagery in the selection. Review the
excerpt, and quote specific passages that create vivid images of the items
listed in the chart below. Then, tell to which senses the image appeals.
Direct Quotations
Appeal to Sense
Sunrise
Sea
Land
13. What are some of the characteristics of an epic? Describe the characters,
what the main character tends to do, and the language and/or tone that is
used. Use examples from this excerpt to support your ideas.
Relating Setting to Historical Concerns
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
14. Much of the Odyssey is set on or near the ocean. Explain how this setting
relates to historical issues—the everyday concerns of Homer’s audience
at their time in history. How would Homer’s audience have reacted to a
recitation of this excerpt? Could they have identified with Odysseus’s
plight?
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Answer Key
page 248
13. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
An epic is written about a hero, who is
usually on a quest or journey. The language
of an epic is elevated; the tone is lofty. The
Odyssey is the model for the epic of the long
journey. Its hero, Odysseus, is known for
his physical strength and mental prowess.
He overpowers and outthinks his opponents. An example of the lofty tone is found
in the following lines: “What of my sailing,
then, from Troy? / What of those years / of
rough adventure, weathered under Zeus?”
Vocabulary Skills
1. B
2. H
3. A
4. G
5. D
Comprehension
6. H
7. B
8. J
9. A
10. H
Reading Skills and Strategies:
Constructed Response
Monitoring Your Comprehension
11. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
First, Odysseus spots land and thinks he
is home safe. But when he swims toward
shore, he sees that there is no beach, only
sheer cliffs and rocks. Concluding that there
is no point in trying to go ashore, Odysseus
considers swimming down the coast, outside the breakers. If he chooses that option,
another storm could drive him out to sea
again, and he could be eaten by a shark.
Swept against the rocks and out to sea,
Odysseus finally decides to swim along the
coast until he comes to the mouth of a river.
Literary Focus: Constructed Response
12. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
Sunrise: Direct Quotation—“shining
ringlets in the East”; Appeal to Sense—
sight
Sea: Direct Quotation—“trampling roar of
sea on rock, / where combers, rising
shoreward, thudded down / on the
sucking ebb—all sheeted with salt foam”;
Appeal to Sense—sound, sight
Land: Direction Quotation—“the mouth of
a calm river / at length came into view,
with level shores / unbroken, free from
rock, shielded from wind—”; Appeal to
Sense—sight, touch
350
14. Seafaring people were a significant part of
Homer’s audience. They knew well the
danger of the ocean. No doubt, they knew
of people who had been in Odysseus’s
position: adrift in the surf and in danger of
sharks, currents, and rocks. One can easily
imagine an excited audience shouting,
“What about sharks?” as Homer describes
the hero’s dilemma. Other listeners might
have been sadly remembering how a family
member was lost under the waves. For
these people, an octopus was not merely
something they had heard about; they had
seen, caught, eaten, and perhaps even been
attacked by this creature. The silent prayer
muttered by Odysseus as the current drags
him would have elicited vivid memories for
many. In this excerpt, the events accurately
mirror the survival issues of this historical
period.
Collection 11
Collection 11 Diagnostic Test
Literature, Informational Text,
Vocabulary, page 253
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
B
H
A
H
A
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
G
C
J
D
F
Holt Assessment: Literature, Reading, and Vocabulary
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Collection 10 Summative Test,