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NAME
CLASS
SELECTION TEST
DATE
Student Edition page 317
Lamb to the Slaughter
SCORE
LITERARY RESPONSE AND ANALYSIS
Roald Dahl
COMPREHENSION (40 points; 4 points each)
On the line provided, write the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
______ 1. At the beginning of the story, Mary Maloney is —
A plotting to kill her husband
B thinking about what to make for dinner
C happily waiting for her husband
D worried that her husband has betrayed her
______ 2. From Mary Maloney’s dialogue you know that her husband —
F
is unemployed
G is a police officer
H works for a butcher
J
sells life insurance
______ 3. The fact that the lamb is frozen is significant because —
A thawing it will take time
B it mirrors the couple’s icy relationship
C eating improperly thawed meat can make a person ill
D it could be used as a murder weapon
______ 4. Whom do the police first suspect when they arrive on the scene?
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
F
Mrs. Maloney
G The husband’s co-workers
H An intruder
J
The grocer
______ 5. The real reason Mary goes to the store is that she needs —
A food for dinner
B an alibi
C some time to think
D something to distract her
______ 6. Mary attempts to put the police officers at ease by —
F
offering them drinks
G confessing to the crime
H making idle chitchat
J
hiding the murder weapon
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______ 7. One of the police officers thinks the murder weapon was a —
A kitchen knife
B leg of lamb
C wrench, or spanner
D pistol
______ 8. Mary refuses to lie down because she —
F
feels too nervous to relax
G needs to make dinner for the officers
H wants the officers to feel sorry for her
J
wants to keep an eye on the investigation
______ 9. Sergeant Noonan probably refuses to eat the lamb at first because he —
A works better on an empty stomach
B thinks it is unprofessional to eat on duty
C suspects that the lamb has been used as a murder weapon
D doesn’t want to take time away from the investigation
______ 10. Mary probably giggles at the end of the story because —
F
the officers have eaten the murder weapon
G her mind has snapped
H she is glad her husband is dead
J
she wants to charm the officers
On the line provided, write the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
______ 11. The types of irony found in “Lamb to the Slaughter” are —
A dramatic irony and situational irony
B verbal irony and ambiguity
C dramatic irony but no situational irony
D situational irony but no dramatic irony
______ 12. Which of the following statements best express the irony of the story’s title?
F
A lamb generally symbolizes innocence.
G It was the husband who was slaughtered.
H The lamb and the husband were both Mary’s victims.
J
98
The lamb is the murder weapon.
Holt Assessment: Literature, Reading, and Vocabulary
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
LITERARY FOCUS (20 points; 5 points each)
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______ 13. The dramatic irony of the officer’s comment that the murder weapon
is “Probably right under our very noses” comes from the fact that —
A it really is under their noses
B Mary is giggling uncontrollably
C it is not what we expected him to say
D the situation is far worse than he thinks
______ 14. Which of the following choices is the best description of the mood the author creates in
“Lamb to the Slaughter”?
F
Darkly comic
G Light and breezy
H Neutral
J
Eerie and menacing
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT (20 points; 4 points each)
Match the definition on the left with the Vocabulary word on the right. On the
line provided, write the letter of the Vocabulary word.
______ 15. comforting
a. anxiety
______ 16. state of being worried or uneasy
b. hospitality
______ 17. friendly treatment of guests
c. placid
______ 18. calm; tranquil
d. consoling
______ 19. take pleasure in
e. luxuriate
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (20 points)
20. “Lamb to the Slaughter” is full of irony. On a separate sheet of paper,
write a paragraph identifying one example of dramatic irony and one
example of situational irony in the story. Tell how each example is used in
the story.
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Answer Key
considered the possibility that I might not
make it as a Mouseketeer after all. Looks
would never be my meal ticket. I would
have to develop other talents.”
Reading Skills and Strategies:
Constructed Response
Determining an Author’s Purpose
11. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
R. A. Sasaki’s purpose in this passage
from Another Writer’s Beginnings is to
explain why she decided to become a
writer. She is not trying to persuade anyone else to become a writer, nor is she
merely telling a story about her childhood.
The events that led her to become a writer
are important, as are the events that lead
anyone into a career. She wants readers to
consider how seemingly small events and
turns of fate can influence the course of an
entire life.
Literary Focus: Constructed Response
14. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
Form: As a novel—novel. As an essay—
essay.
Length: As a novel—long. As an essay—
short.
Content: As a novel—fictionalized.
As an essay—all true.
Purpose: As a novel—to entertain.
As an essay—to explain.
Statement about life: As a novel—theme.
As an essay—main idea.
Making Inferences About Character
12. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
Goal—Wanting to become a Mouseketeer.
Motivation—Desire to be popular.
Outcome—Abandons the plan.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Goal—Showing her mother the school picture. Motivation—Wants to be reassured
that she is pretty. Outcome—Realizes that
she is not pretty after all.
Goal—Deciding to become a writer.
Motivation—Recognition that she cannot
rely on beauty. Outcome—Becomes a
writer.
Collection 5
Collection 5 Diagnostic Test
Literature, Informational Text,
Vocabulary, page 95
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
C
J
A
G
C
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
G
D
F
B
H
Summarizing the Main Idea
Lamb to the Slaughter
13. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
Roald Dahl
Selection Test, page 97
R. A. Sasaki conveys the main idea that
she decided to become a writer when she
realized that she could not rely on her
appearance to carry her through life.
Details include her mother’s “devastating”
response to the author’s unattractive fifthgrade school picture. The mother’s inability
to find one nice thing to say confirms what
the author had long suspected: that she
was not attractive. This conclusion clearly
shows the main idea: “So for the first time I
Answer Key
Comprehension
1. C
6. F
2. G
7. C
3. D
8. J
4. F
9. B
5. B
10. F
Literary Focus
11. A
13. A
12. J
14. F
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Answer Key
Vocabulary
Constructed Response
15. d
18. c
16. a
19. e
17. b
Constructed Response
20. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
Dramatic irony occurs when the reader
knows more about a situation than the
character does. This story contains many
examples of dramatic irony. For instance,
we know that Mary is going shopping to
provide herself with an alibi. Situational
irony occurs when the reader’s expectations are reversed. One example is that at
the beginning of the story we see a content
housewife who loves her husband; the fact
that she murders him comes as a surprise.
20. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
The situational irony in the essay comes
from the fact that the tragic events he
describes—the sinking of the Titanic—were
exactly the opposite of what was supposed
to happen. The dramatic irony comes from
the fact that the passengers we are reading
about do not know, as the readers do, what
is about to happen to them. Two examples
of dramatic irony are: first, when the radio
operator tells the Californian to “shut up”;
second, when a lifeboat lowers less than
half full. Examples of situational irony
include the men exercising in the gym and
the clerks trying to save the mail.
from Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer
Selection Test, page 103
R.M.S.Titanic
Hanson W. Baldwin
A Fireman’s Story
Harry Senior
From a Lifeboat
Comprehension
1. C
4. F
2. H
5. D
3. D
Comprehension
Literary Focus
6. J
8. G
7. A
9. C
1. C
6. F
Vocabulary Development
2. G
7. B
10. d
13. a
3. C
8. F
11. b
14. c
4. G
9. B
12. e
5. C
10. H
Constructed Response
11. A
13. A
15. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
12. F
14. H
Literary Focus
Vocabulary Development
15. e
18. d
16. b
19. a
17. c
302
It is ironic that Krakauer was lucky
enough to find someone to lower his oxygen intake, but, as it turns out, the oxygen
level was increased. Consequently his feelings of vitality and strength indicate his
imminent danger of running out of oxygen
too soon. Another example of situational
irony and contradiction is that if Harris had
Holt Assessment: Literature, Reading, and Vocabulary
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Mrs. D. H. Bishop
Selection Test, page 100