TEST NAME: CFA RL8.2,3
TEST ID: 1318301
GRADE: 08 - Eighth Grade
SUBJECT: English Language and Literature
TEST CATEGORY: My Classroom
CFA RL8.2,3
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Student:
Class:
Date:
Read the passage - 'Excerpt from “The Lottery Ticket”' - and answer the question below:
Excerpt from “The Lottery Ticket”
Excerpt from “The Lottery Ticket”
by Anton Chekhov
Ivan Dmitritch, a middle-class man who lived with his family on an income of twelve hundred a
year and was very well satisfied with his lot,1 sat down on the sofa after supper and began
reading the newspaper.
“I forgot to look at the newspaper today,” his wife said to him as she cleared the table. “Look
and see whether the list of drawings is there.”
“Yes, it is,” said Ivan Dmitritch; “but hasn’t your ticket lapsed?”
“No; I took the interest on Tuesday.”
“What is the number?”
“Series 9,499, number 26.”
“All right . . . we will look . . . 9,499 and 26.”
Ivan Dmitritch had no faith in lottery luck, and would not, as a rule, have consented to look at
the lists of winning numbers, but now, as he had nothing else to do and as the newspaper was
before his eyes, he passed his finger downwards along the column of numbers. And
immediately, as though in mockery of his skepticism,2 no further than the second line from the
top, his eye was caught by the figure 9,499! Unable to believe his eyes, he hurriedly dropped
the paper on his knees without looking to see the number of the ticket, and, just as though
some one had given him a soaking of cold water, he felt an agreeable chill in the pit of the
stomach; tingling and terrible and sweet!
“Masha, 9,499 is there!” he said in a hollow voice.
His wife looked at his astonished and panic-stricken face, and realized that he was not
joking.
“9,499?” she asked, turning pale and dropping the folded tablecloth on the table.
“Yes, yes . . . it really is there!”
“And the number of the ticket?”
“Oh, yes! There’s the number of the ticket too. But stay . . . wait! No, I say! Anyway, the
number of our series is there! Anyway, you understand. . . .”
Looking at his wife, Ivan Dmitritch gave a broad, senseless smile, like a baby when a
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bright object is shown it. His wife smiled too; it was as pleasant to her as to him that he only
mentioned the series, and did not try to find out the number of the winning ticket. To torment
and tantalize3 oneself with hopes of possible fortune is so sweet, so thrilling!
“It is our series,” said Ivan Dmitritch, after a long silence. “So there is a probability that we
have won. It’s only a probability, but there it is!”
“Well, now look!”
1lot:
life
2skepticism:
3tantalize:
lack of belief or trust
tempt
Classic Reader at http://www.classicreader.com/book/1596/1/ (12/14/2012).
1.
How does the incident with the lottery ticket change Ivan’s perception of
his life?
A.
At the beginning he is unhappy with his life, and at the end he is
excited by the possibility of change.
B.
At the beginning he is unhappy with his life, and at the end he is
terrified by the possibility of change.
C.
At the beginning he is happy with his life, and at the end he is
excited by the possibility of change.
D.
At the beginning he is happy with his life, and at the end he is
terrified by the possibility of change.
Read the passage - 'Excerpt from “The Lottery Ticket”' - and answer the question below:
2.
How does the fact that Ivan is the one checking the lottery numbers
advance the plot?
A.
His hesitation and lack of faith build suspense.
B.
His negative attitude causes conflict.
C.
His teasing nature frustrates Masha.
D.
His carelessness makes them lose.
Read the passage - 'Excerpt from “The Lottery Ticket”' - and answer the question below:
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3.
How does Ivan’s caution toward the lottery contribute to the plot?
A.
It highlights the theme of the story.
B.
It develops the couple’s relationship.
C.
It increases the suspense of the story.
D.
It intensifies the conflict and resolution.
Read the passage - 'Excerpt from “The Lottery Ticket”' - and answer the question below:
4.
How did Masha know that Ivan was not joking?
A.
by his strange voice
B.
by his facial expression
C.
because he was not the sort to joke
D.
because he was no longer holding the paper
Read the passage - 'Excerpt 1 from The Jungle Book: “Mowgli's Brothers”' - and answer the question below:
Excerpt 1 from The Jungle Book: “Mowgli's Brothers”
Excerpt from The Jungle Book:
“Mowgli’s Brothers”
by Rudyard Kipling
It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up
from his day's rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws one after the other to
get rid of the sleepy feeling in their tips. Mother Wolf lay with her big gray nose dropped
across her four tumbling, squealing cubs, and the moon shone into the mouth of the cave
where they all lived.
“Augrh!” said Father Wolf. “It is time to hunt again.” He was going to spring down hill when a
little shadow with a bushy tail crossed the threshold and whined:
“Good luck go with you, O Chief of the Wolves. And good luck and strong white teeth go with
noble children that they may never forget the hungry in this world.”
It was the jackal—Tabaqui, the Dish–licker—and the wolves of India despise Tabaqui
because he runs about making mischief, and telling tales, and eating rags and pieces of
leather from the village rubbish–heaps. But they are afraid of him too, because Tabaqui, more
than anyone else in the jungle, is apt to go mad, and then he forgets that he was ever afraid of
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anyone, and runs through the forest biting everything in his way. Even the tiger runs and hides
when little Tabaqui goes mad, for madness is the most disgraceful thing that can overtake a
wild creature. We call it hydrophobia1, but they call it dewanee—the madness—and run.
“Enter, then, and look,” said Father Wolf stiffly, “but there is no food here.”
“For a wolf, no,” said Tabaqui, “but for so mean a person as myself a dry bone is a good
feast. Who are we, the Gidur–log [the jackal people], to pick and choose?” He scuttled2 to the
back of the cave, where he found the bone of a buck with some meat on it, and sat cracking
the end merrily.
“All thanks for this good meal,” he said, licking his lips. “How beautiful are the noble children!
How large are their eyes! And so young too! Indeed, indeed, I might have remembered that
the children of kings are men from the beginning.”
Now, Tabaqui knew as well as anyone else that there is nothing so unlucky as to compliment
children to their faces. It pleased him to see Mother and Father Wolf look uncomfortable.
Tabaqui sat still, rejoicing in the mischief that he had made, and then he said spitefully:
“Shere Khan, the Big One, has shifted his hunting grounds. He will hunt among these hills for
the next moon, so he has told me.”
Shere Khan was the tiger who lived near the Waingunga River, twenty miles away.
“He has no right!” Father Wolf began angrily—“By the Law of the Jungle he has no right to
change his quarters without due warning. He will frighten every head of game within ten miles,
and I—I have to kill for two, these days.”
“His mother did not call him Lungri [the Lame One] for nothing,” said Mother Wolf quietly. “He
has been lame in one foot from his birth. That is why he has only killed cattle. Now the
villagers of the Waingunga are angry with him, and he has come here to make our villagers
angry. They will scour the jungle for him when he is far away, and we and our children must run
when the grass is set alight. Indeed, we are very grateful to Shere Khan!”
“Shall I tell him of your gratitude?” said Tabaqui.
“Out!” snapped Father Wolf. “Out and hunt with thy master. Thou hast done harm enough for
one night.”
“I go,” said Tabaqui quietly. “Ye can hear Shere Khan below in the thickets. I might have saved
myself the message.”
Father Wolf listened, and below in the valley that ran down to a little river he heard the dry,
angry, snarly, singsong whine of a tiger who has caught nothing and does not care if all the
jungle knows it.
1hydrophobia:
2scuttled:
rabies
moved quickly
Project Gutenberg, 2006. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/236/236-h/236h.htm#link2H_4_0001 (03/21/2013).
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5.
How does the character Shere Khan contribute to the theme of the
selection?
A.
He represents a community trying to look after its members.
B.
He represents a father trying to protect his family.
C.
He represents respect between competitors.
D.
He represents selfishness and danger.
Read the passage - 'Excerpt 1 from The Jungle Book: “Mowgli's Brothers”' - and answer the question below:
6.
Which summarizes the conflict in the selection?
A.
Mother and Father Wolf’s family is in danger due to Shere Khan’s
change in hunting quarters.
B.
Mother and Father Wolf’s family is in danger due to Tabaqui’s change
in hunting quarters.
C.
Mother and Father Wolf’s family is in danger due to Shere Khan’s
desire to hunt wolves.
D.
Mother and Father Wolf’s family is in danger due to a jackal that
hunts wolves.
Read the passage - 'Excerpt 1 from The Jungle Book: “Mowgli's Brothers”' - and answer the question below:
7.
Which is a summary of the selection?
A.
Tabaqui appears at the home of Mother and Father Wolf and hunts in
Father Wolf’s quarters without any warning.
B.
Tabaqui appears at the home of Mother and Father Wolf, rudely teases
them, and reports that Shere Khan plans to begin hunting in their
quarters.
C.
Tabaqui appears at the home of Mother and Father Wolf to warn them
of Shere Khan’s plan for Father Wolf’s hunting grounds and to offer his
help.
D.
Tabaqui appears at the home of Mother and Father Wolf, threatens to
harm their children, and then tells them of his plan to steal their
hunting grounds.
Read the passage - 'Excerpt 1 from The Jungle Book: “Mowgli's Brothers”' - and answer the question below:
CFA RL8.2,3
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8.
Which statement summarizes the theme of the selection?
A.
Gratitude is the greatest gift.
B.
Selfishness and greed are destructive.
C.
Friendship can withstand many obstacles.
D.
Family is the most important thing in life.
Read the passage - 'Excerpt 1 from The Jungle Book: “Mowgli's Brothers”' - and answer the question below:
9.
Which quote from the selection helps develop the theme?
A.
“ ‘And good luck and strong white teeth go with noble children that
they may never forget the hungry in this world.’ ”
B.
“He scuttled to the back of the cave, where he found the bone of a
buck with some meat on it, and sat cracking the end merrily.”
C.
“ ‘Now the villagers of the Waingunga are angry with him, and he has
come here to make our villagers angry.’ ”
D.
“He heard the dry, angry, snarly, singsong whine of a tiger who has
caught nothing and does not care if all the jungle knows it.'
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