MERIT 8 Language Arts Benchmark 1 Review
1.
Which sentence uses correct capitalization?
a. The Golden Gate bridge is a very long suspension bridge.
b. It connects San Fransisco to Marin County, North of the city.
c. Another long suspension bridge is in the State of Michigan.
d. It spans the Straits of Mackinac in the northern part of the state.
2.
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
a. Until he went to Europe last summer; Marco had never been out of the country.
b. He visited England, Spain France, and Portugal.
c. Marco liked Spain the best, he liked Portugal the least.
d. When he returned, he gave me three souvenirs: a T-shirt, a calendar, and a book.
3.
Which sentence does NOT include misspelled words?
a. The first fase of the project will be to contact influential donors.
b. What an extraordinary performance that concert was!
c. My cousin made a disastruous mistake during her vacation.
d. Our neighbors have a particularly ferotious dog.
4.
Choose the best supporting sentence to complete the paragraph.
I can’t imagine a worse fate than having to be assigned trash duty for the first eighteen years of your life. All right,
maybe not exactly eighteen, but close to it. While my sister occasionally dried the dishes or mopped the floor,
every Tuesday and Thursday night I could be seen on the front lawn, in my pajamas, taking out the trash.
_________________________________________I had garbage bags explode on my new sneakers. I had raccoons
and squirrels eating garbage on the street in front of my house, leaving me to clean up the scraps. There is nothing
like waking up on a Wednesday morning to your mother screaming that someone has to clean up the mess
outside. How did the worst chore of all become my responsibility?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Recycling has proven to be beneficial to the environment.
My sister isn’t the nicest person in the world, but at least she gets an allowance.
Over the years, I sorted bottles and aluminum cans into the recycling bins.
The garbage collectors really deserve every penny that they make!
5.
Underline the subordinate clause in the following sentence:
When Kara won the award, her sister congratulated her.
6.
Which answer choice correctly combines these two simple sentences to make one compound sentence?
I like peanut butter cookies. My best friend likes oatmeal raisin cookies.
a.
b.
c.
d.
I like peanut butter cookies, my best friend likes oatmeal raisin cookies.
I like peanut butter cookies, but my best friend likes oatmeal raisin cookies.
I like peanut butter cookies, for my best friend likes oatmeal raisin cookies.
I like peanut butter cookies, so my best friend likes oatmeal raisin cookies.
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7.
Underline the phrase from the selection that helps you understand the meaning of suffragist.
Julia Evelina Smith was a suffragist in the seventeenth century. During this time, she fought hard for others to gain
the right to vote.
8.
Which reference material would you use to learn the pronunciation of the word cacophony?
a. atlas
b. thesaurus
c. dictionary
d. encyclopedia
9.
Which reference material would you use to find an antonym for the word significant?
a. atlas
b. thesaurus
c. dictionary
d. encyclopedia
Use the dictionary entry and sentence to complete the next two items.
fea ture (fe’ chƏr), [Middle English feture] n. 1. a distinctive characteristic 2. the main
presentation at a motion-picture theater 3. an extra article or story in a newspaper v. 4.
to give special attention to
10. Which definition best fits the use of the word feature in the sentence below?
One of the kiwi’s strangest features is its long bill with nostrils at the tip.
a. definition 1
b. definition 2
c. definition 3
d. definition 4
11. Label the dictionary entry with the following parts:
a. pronunciation
b. origin of the word
c. part(s) of speech
12. Which of the following sentences does not contain an infinitive?
a. To be or not to be, that is the question.
b. I went to my nephew’s birthday party on Saturday.
c. Hanan wants to run for president of the junior class.
d. Wanda said she intends to continue to come to school every day.
13. Correctly rewrite the following run-on sentence.
The students at our school are electing a president everyone is talking about the campaign.
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14. What is the difference between to the store and to read?
15. Which word with a similar meaning would best replace the underlined word to make a more descriptive sentence?
Because I was running late, I quickly grabbed a backpack.
a. meanly
b. easily
c. nicely
d. hastily
16. Correct the following fragment.
Because she wanted to lose weight.
17. You will need to know the difference between the types of irony listed below and be able to recognize each one:
a. verbal irony:
b.
situational irony:
c.
dramatic irony:
18. Which sentence disrupts the flow of the paragraph below?
Advertisers use many tricks to get people to buy their products. Some people will buy anything that is on
television. One such trick is called the bandwagon technique. It could also be called the “everybody else is doing it”
technique. Simply put, advertisers show or tell you that numerous other people have already purchased the product and
love it. If other people use and love the product, then so should you. When watching television or reading magazines, keep
your eye out for this trick.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Some people will buy anything that is on television.
If other people use and love the product, then so should you.
It could also be called the “everybody else is doing it” technique.
Simply put, advertisers show or tell you that numerous other people have already purchased the product and love
it.
19. Which choice offers the best revision of the fragment below?
A slithering snake and a frightened child.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The slithering snake approached the frightened child hissing.
Hissing, a slithering snake approached the frightened child.
Hissing, the frightened child was approached by a slithering snake.
A slithering snake approached the frightened child that was hissing.
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20. Which of the following sentences does NOT contain an error?
a. Were are you going?
b. I couldn’t tell were the driveway was.
c. Where is the best restaurant in the city?
d. If it where me, I would buy the least expensive car.
21. Read the sentence below from The Outsiders.
"He's got eyes that are like two pieces of pale blue-green ice" (Hinton 6).
Does this sentence contain a simile or a metaphor? How do you know? Explain.
22. Read the group of words below.
driving a big green tractor
Is this group of words a phrase or a clause? How do you know? Explain.
23. Read the sentence below.
It’s fun to go to haunted houses during the fall.
In this sentence, is to go a prepositional phrase or an infinitive phrase? How do you know? Explain.
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