NINTH GRADE SAMPLE TEST
FIRST SIX WEEKS: “CLASHING FORCES”
(“TRIPLET” from Prentice Hall: “The Interlopers, “ “In My Place,” and photograph on
page 251)
Use “The Interlopers” (Prentice Hall, p. 262) to answer questions 1-8.
1. Which of the words in paragraph one helps the reader understand the meaning of the
word keen?
a. quest, enemy
b. watching, listening
c. lawful, proper
d. vision, rifle
2. What is paragraph three mostly about?
a. Why Ulrich is alone
b. Ulrich’s plan to ambush Georg
c. Ulrich’s desire to come face to face with his enemy
d. The wildness of the night
3. What does paragraph 14 reveal about the two men?
a. they hate the thought of the other’s victory
b. they are afraid of death
c. they are afraid of losing the land over which they are fighting
d. they would rather die than lose
4. What is ironic about the outcome of this story?
a. Georg and Ulrich end up liking one another
b. The one time the two men work together brings disaster
c. The wolves kill them rather than the tree
d. The families end the feud
5. Why does the author choose to have the men trapped under the tree?
a. because he believes they both deserve to die
b. because it is a way to keep the men together in one place so they can talk
c. because the tree symbolizes their feud
d. because he wants them both to suffer
6. What is the best antonym for the word languor in paragraph 18?
a. laziness
b. energy
c. sleepiness
d. hatred
7. Why were the men out in the woods to begin with?
a. hunting for one another
b. hunting for food
c. investigating animal tracks
d. looking for new timber stands
8. What was the relationship between the men’s families and their individual feelings
toward one another?
a. the families liked one another, but the two men did not
b. the families wanted the men to get along, but the two men refused
c. the families hated each other, but the two men did not
d. the families despised each other, and the two men learned hatred from their
families
Use “In My Place” (Prentice Hall, P. 250) to answer questions 9-11.
Background on Charlayne Hunter-Gault (1942-): Born into a minister’s family in
South Carolina, Charlayne Hunter-Gault showed writing talent early in life and was
accepted into several universities. Encouraged by civil rights leaders to apply to the
University of Georgia, she made history as one of the first African-American students to
enter an all-white institution.
9. What words help the reader understand the word exclusion in paragraph one?
a. keep me out
b. separate but equal
c. morally undesirable
d. a routine exercise
10. How does the time period affect the story told in the essay?
a. Society at that time recognized that all men were created equal
b. African-Americans were routinely discriminated against
c. The setting is irrelevant to the essay
d. The events described could likely take place today
11. How did people like Charlayne Hunter-Gault contribute to changes that took place in
racial discrimination?
a. no significant contribution to achieving equality
b. ignored as “oddities” by desiring to achieve equality
c. set the standard for what needed to be endured to achieve equality
d. gave up the fight to achieve equality
Use both “The Interlopers” and “In My Place” to answer question 12.
12. What conflict do the men from “The Interlopers” and Charlayne Hunter-Gault share?
a. the struggle against other people’s perceptions
b. the struggle against their own perceptions
c. the struggle against their own emotions
d. the struggle against society’s rules
Use the photograph on page 251 (Prentice Hall) to answer questions 13 and 14.
13. The reader can conclude from the photograph that:
a. The crowd welcomed Charlayne Hunter-Gault into the university
b. The people ignored Charlayne Hunter-Gault’s entrance into the university
c. Charlayne Hunter-Gault’s entrance into the university made page one news across
the country
d. The crowd was hostile toward Charlayne Hunter-Gault
14. The purpose of including the photograph with the essay is probably to :
a. make the action of the text more real
b. take up extra pages in the book
c. reinforce the time frame of the essay
d. create a feeling of time past
OPEN ENDED ITEMS
15. Why do you think the author of “The Interlopers” ends the story the way he does?
Support your answer with evidence from the text.
16. What personality traits must Charlayne Hunter-Gault possess to accomplish what
she did? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
17. Which of the obstacles/conflicts, from “The Interlopers” or “In My Place” would be
more difficult to overcome? Support your answer with evidence from the text.