Name: _________________________ 3rd 9 Weeks Exam Study Guide EXAM DATE: Friday

March 3, 2017

Boys Life by Robert McCammon

1 TICKTICKTICK.
2 In spite of what the calendar says, I have always counted the last day of school as the first day of
summer. The sun had grown steadily hotter and hung longer in the sky, the earth had greened and
the sky had cleared of all but the fleeciest of clouds, the heat panted for attention like a dog who
knows his day is coming, the baseball field had been mowed and whitelined and the swimming pool
newly painted and filled, and as our homeroom teacher, Mrs. Selma Neville, intoned about what a
good year this had been and how much wed learned, we students who had passed through the
ordeal of final exams sat with one eye fixed to the clock.
3 Tickticktick.
4 Have mercy.
5 The world was out there, waiting beyond the square metal-rimmed windows. What adventures my
friends and I would find this summer of 1964, I had no way of knowing, but I did know that summers
days were long and lazy, and when the sun finally gave up its hold on the sky the cicadas sang and
the lightning bugs whirled their dance and there was no homework to be done and oh, it was a
wonderful time. I had passed my math exam, and escapedwith a C-minus average, if truth must be
knownthe snarling trap of summer school
6 Tickticktick.
7 Time, the king of cruelty.
8 From the hallway we heard a stirring and rustling, followed by laughter and shouts of pure, bubbling
joy. Some other teacher had decided to let her class go early. My insides quaked at the injustice of it.
Still, Mrs. Neville, who wore a hearing aid and had orange hair though she was at least sixty years old,
talked on, as if there were no noise of escape beyond the door at all. It hit me, then; she didnt want
to let us go. She wanted to hold us as long as she possibly could, not out of sheer teacher spite but
maybe because she didnt have anybody to go home to, and summer alone is no summer at all.
9 I hope you boys and girls remember to use the library during recess. Mrs. Neville was speaking in
her kindly voice right now, but when she was upset she could spit sparksYou mustnt stop reading
just because school is out. Your minds are made to be used. So dont forget how to think by the time
September comes around a
10 RINGGGGGGG!
11 We all jumped up, like parts of the same squirming insect.
12 One moment, Mrs. Neville said. One moment. Youre not excused yet.
13 Oh, this was torture! Mrs. Neville, I thought at that instant, must have had a secret life in which
she tore the wings off flies.
14 You will leave my room, she announced, like young ladies and gentlemen. In single file, by rows.
Mr. Alcott, you may lead the way.
15 Well, at least we were moving. But then, as the classroom emptied and I could hear the wild
hollering echoing along the hallway, Mrs. Neville said, Cory Mackenson? Step to my desk, please.
16 I did, under silent protest. Mrs. Neville offered me a smile from a mouth that looked like a red-
rimmed string bag. Now, arent you glad you decided to apply yourself to your math? she asked.
17 Yes maam.
18 The classroom was empty. I could hear the echoes fading. I smelled chalk dust, lunchroom chili,
and pencil-sharpener shavings; the ghosts were already beginning to gather.
19 You enjoy writing, dont you? Mrs. Neville asked me, peering over her bifocals.
20 I guess.
21 You wrote the best essays in class and you made the highest grade in spelling. I was wondering if
you were going to enter the contest this year.
22 The contest?
23 The writing contest, she said. You know. The Arts Council sponsors it every August.
24 I hadnt thought about it. The Arts Council, headed by Mr. Grover Dean and Mrs. Evelyn Prathmore,
sponsored an essay and story-writing contest. The winners got a plaque and were expected to read
their entries during a luncheon at the library. I shrugged. Stories about ghosts, cowboys, detectives,
and monsters from outer space didnt seem much like contest-winning material; it was just something
I did for me.
25 You should consider it, Mrs. Neville continued. You have a way with words.
26 I shrugged again. Having your teacher talk to you like a regular person is a disconcerting feeling.
27 Have a good summer, Mrs. Neville said, and I realized suddenly that I was free.
28 My heart was a frog leaping out of murky water into clear sunlight. I said, Thanks! and I ran for
the door. Before I got out, though, I looked back at Mrs. Neville. She sat at a desk with no papers on it
that needed grading, no books holding lessons that needed to be taughtMrs. Neville stared out at
the room of empty desks, carved with the initials of generations who had passed through this place
like a tide rolling into the future. Mrs. Neville suddenly looked awfully old.
29 Have a good summer, Mrs. Neville! I told her from the doorway.
30 Good-bye, she said, and she smiled.
31 I ran out along the corridor, my arms unencumbered by books, my mind unencumbered by facts
and figures, quotations and dates. I ran out into the golden sunlight, and my summer had begun

1. Read the sentence from paragraph 31 in the passage from Boys Life.
I ran out along the corridor, my arms unencumbered by books, my mind unencumbered by facts and
figures, quotations and dates.
What does the word unencumbered mean as it is used in the sentence?
A. not burdened
B. not excited
C. not hurried
D. not aged

2. Which sentence from the passage best supports the answer to number 1?
A. Have a good summer, Mrs. Neville said, and I realized suddenly that I was free.
B. Before I got out, though, I looked back at Mrs. Neville.
C. Mrs. Neville suddenly looked awfully old.
D. Have a good summer, Mrs. Neville! I told her from the doorway.

3. Read the sentence from paragraph 31 in the passage from Boys Life.
The world was out there, waiting beyond the square metal-rimmed windows.
How does the sentence help develop the plot of the passage?
A. It presents the climax.
B. It represents the conflict.
C. It indicates how the action changes.
D. It establishes how the speaker learns a lesson

4. Which detail from the passage best supports the answer to number 3?
A. The sun had grown steadily hotter
B. the baseball field had been mowed
C. and how much wed learned
D. sat with one eye fixed to the clock.
5. In the passage from Boys Life, how does the narrators attitude toward Mrs. Neville gradually
change?
A. from confused to angry
B. from worried to comforted
C. from pitying to discouraged
D. from impatient to understanding

6. Which two sentences from the passage best support the gradual change in the answer to number
5?
A. In spite of what the calendar says, I have always counted the last day of school as the first
day of summer.
B. From the hallway we heard a stirring and rustling, followed by laughter and shouts of pure,
bubbling joy.
C. My insides quaked at the injustice of it.
D. She wanted to hold us as long as she possibly could, not out of sheer teacher spite but maybe
because she didnt have anybody to go home to, and summer alone is no summer at all.
E. Having your teacher talk to you like a regular person is a disconcerting feeling.
F. She sat at a desk with no papers on it that needed grading, no books holding lessons that
needed to be taught.

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Emancipation: A Life Fable by Kate Chopin

1 There was once an animal born into this world, and opening his eyes upon Life, he saw above and
about him confining walls, and before him were bars of iron through which came air and light from
without; this animal was born in a cage.
2 Here he grew, and throve in strength and beauty under care of an invisible protecting hand.
Hungering, food was ever at hand. When he thirsted water was brought, and when he felt the need of
rest, there was provided a bed of straw upon which to lie: and here he found it good, licking his
handsome flanks, to bask in the sun beam that he thought existed but to lighten his home.
3 Awaking one day from his slothful rest, lo! the door of his cage stood open: accident had opened it.
In the corner he crouched, wondering and fearingly. Then slowly did he approach the door, dreading
the unaccustomed, and would have closed it, but for such a task his limbs were purposeless. So out
the opening he thrust his head, to see the canopy of the sky grow broader, and the world waxing
wider.
4 Back to his corner but not to rest, for the spell of the Unknown was over him, and again and again
he goes to the open door, seeing each time more Light.
5 Then one time standing in the flood of it; a deep in-drawn breatha bracing of strong limbs, and
with a bound he was gone.
6 On he rushes, in his mad flight, heedless that he is wounding and tearing his sleek sidesseeing,
smelling, touching of all things; even stopping to put his lips to the noxious pool, thinking it may be
sweet.
7 Hungering there is no food but such as he must seek and ofttimes fight for; and his limbs are
weighted before he reaches the water that is good to his thirsting throat.
8 So does he live, seeking, finding, joying and suffering. The door which accident had opened is open
still, but the cage remains forever empty!

7. As used in paragraph 1, what does the word confining suggest about the walls?
A. The walls are small.
 B. The walls are limiting.
C. The walls are helpful.
D. The walls are reassuring.
8. Which detail from the fable best supports the answer to number 7?
A. There was once an animal born into this world
B. opening his eyes upon Life
C. through which came air and light
D. this animal was born in a cage.
9. Read this sentence from the passage.
Back to his corner but not to rest, for the spell of the Unknown was over him, and again and again he
goes to the open door, seeing each time more Light.
Which statement best describes how this sentence contributes to the development of the plot?
A. The sentence introduces new details about the setting that allow the reader to predict what
will happen in the future.
B. The sentence reflects the change in the animals awareness that eventually leads to action.
C. The sentence reveals background information that makes the problem clearer to the reader.
D. The sentence provides an example of the many challenges that the animal faces in his
changing surroundings.

10. Which sentence from the passage contributes to the plot in a similar way?
A. Here he grew, and throve in strength and beauty under care of an invisible protecting hand.
(paragraph 2)
B. In the corner he crouched, wondering and fearingly. (paragraph 3)
C. Then slowly did he approach the door, dreading the unaccustomed, and would have closed it,
but for such a task his limbs were purposeless. (paragraph 3)
D. So out the opening he thrust his head, to see the canopy of the sky grow broader, and the
world waxing wider. (paragraph 3)

11. Which statement expresses a theme in Emancipation: A Life Fable?

A. Independence is worth the possible hardships
B. Security is necessary for happiness.
C. Confusion can lead to bad decisions.
D. Nature can shelter and comfort wounded animals.

12. Which sentence from the fable best supports the answer to number 11?
A. Here he grew, and throve in strength and beauty under care of an invisible protecting hand.
B. "Awaking one day from his slothful rest, lo! the door of his cage stood open: accident had
opened it.
C. Then one time standing in the flood of it; a deep in-drawn breath- a bracing of strong limbs,
and with a bound he was gone.
D. So does he live, seeking, finding, joying, and suffering.
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Mapping the Invisible by Stephen Ornes

1 Most maps show places you can visit and how to get there. Most maps, however, were not made by
astronomers physicists who study stars and galaxies far, far, far away. At a recent meeting in
Texas, three teams of these scientists presented new maps unlike any atlas, globe or street guide.
These maps show where dark matter, giant blobs of invisible stuff, lurks.
2 One of the most mysterious and common materials in the cosmos, dark matter forms in giant
clusters and long strings. It hides all throughout the universe, although youll never see it no matter
how hard you look.
3 Dark matter is literally the darkest stuff imaginable. It neither produces nor reflects light. And that
makes it invisible to human eyes and to most scientific instruments. It also makes it a challenge to
measure and study. What makes this type of matter more frustrating: Scientific measurements show
that the universe holds about five times as much dark matter as ordinary matter. Ordinary matter,
which makes up the known (and knowable) part of the universe, includes you, your dog, Earth, the
sun, stars and planets.
4 Scientists find dark matter in the same way they detect other things we cant see by observing
how the invisible stuff affects things we can see. We cant see wind, for example, but we can feel a
breeze or watch a windmill spinning on a hill. Dark matter doesnt spin windmills, but it does have
gravity. Like ordinary matter, dark matter pulls on everything around it with gravity. Dark matters
gravity holds galaxies together and bends rays of light as they stream past in much the same way
light bends as it travels through water or glass.
5 To make the new maps, astronomers trained powerful telescopes on large patches of sky to watch
for distorted light arriving from distant galaxies. One group used a telescope perched 14,000 feet
above sea level atop a dormant Hawaiian volcano. It recorded light from stars and other celestial
bodies. Two other groups used a telescope on top of a mountain in New Mexico, which watched the
sky for nine years.
6 These telescopes recorded light that came from galaxies billions of light-years away. (A light-year is
the distance traveled by light in one year. It's about 25 million times the distance from Earth to the
moon.) By studying how the light changed as it traveled through space, the astronomers could
estimate the rough location and shape of dark matter clumps.
7 The scientists work is like figuring out how big and thick a pair of eyeglasses is by looking through
them and measuring how differently the world appears.
8 You can imagine that dark matter is leaving its signature on the images of very distant galaxies,
said Catherine Heymans. She's an astronomer at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She worked
on the team that used data from the Hawaiian telescope.
9 Her teams map shows that giant blobs of dark matter reside with giant blobs of ordinary matter,
such as big galaxies or galactic groups. Even though scientists already suspected that dark matter
and ordinary matter show up in much the same places, it was reassuring to see the same connection
in the maps.
10 We are very happy that this is very similar to what weve been expecting, Ludovic Van Waerbeke
told Science News. He works at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver .
11 One of the new maps shows dark matter in a swath of sky that to the naked eye is more than 600
times as large as a full moon. The other covers an area more than a thousand times as large. But
thats just the beginning: The astronomers want to conduct further studies to better understand those
invisible lumps and hope to survey the whole sky within 10 years or so.

13. According to the author of Mapping the Invisible, why was Heymanss work on dark matter
important?
A. It proved that the Hawaiian telescope could record images of dark matter.
B. It confirmed what the telescope in New Mexico found to be true of dark matter.
C. It showed scientists what they should pursue in future research about dark matter.
D. It gave evidence to support what scientists already believed about dark matter.

14. Which two sentences from the article support the answer to number 13?
A. Two other groups used a telescope on top of a mountain in New Mexico, which watched the
sky for nine years. (paragraph 5)
B. She worked on the project that used data from the Hawaiian telescope. (paragraph 8)
C. Even though scientists already suspected that dark matter and ordinary matter show up in
much the same places, it was reassuring to see the same connection in the maps. (paragraph
9)
 D. We are very happy that this is very similar to what weve been expecting, Ludovic Van
Waerbeke of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver told Science News. (paragraph
10)
E. One of the new maps shows dark matter in a swath of sky that to the naked eye is more than
600 times as large as a full moon. (paragraph 11)
F. The astronomers want to conduct further studies to better understand those invisible lumps
and hope to survey the whole sky within 10 years or so. (paragraph 11)

15. What is the central idea of Mapping the Invisible?

A. Dark matter is so dark that it is invisible to the human eye.
B. Scientists have determined how to locate areas of dark matter.
C. Maps are usually made to show where places are and how to get there.
D. Scientists can see dark matter by looking through powerful telescopes.

16. Which two sentences from the article give details that support the answer to number 15?
A. Most maps, however, were not made by astronomersphysicists who study stars and
galaxies far, far, far away. (paragraph 1)
B. These maps show where dark matter, giant globs of invisible stuff, lurks. (paragraph 1)
C. This matter hides all throughout the universe, although youll never see it no matter how hard
you look. (paragraph 2)
D. Dark matter is literally the darkest stuff imaginable. (paragraph 3)
E. These telescopes recorded light that came from galaxies billions of light-years away.
(paragraph 6)
F. By studying how the light changed as it traveled through space, the astronomers could
estimate the rough location and shape of dark matter clumps. (paragraph 6)

17. How does paragraph 4 contribute to the authors explanation of how scientists study dark matter?
A. It contrasts dark matter with ordinary matter.
B. It gives examples of places where dark matter is found.
C. It compares the study of dark matter to a familiar experience.
D. It offers information about what dark matter looks like.

18. Which information from the article supports the answer to number 17?
A. Long strings of dark matter are found in huge clusters.
B. People cannot see wind, but they can see a windmill spinning.
C. Like dark matter, ordinary matter has gravity.
D. People can use telescopes to understand the universe.

19. Which three sentences belong in a summary of Mapping the Invisible?

A. Scientists have been able to create maps that show where dark matter is located.
B. An atlas, globe, and street guide are types of maps.
C. Scientists cannot see dark matter, but they can see how it affects things around it.
D. People cannot see wind, but they can feel it.
E. One telescope used to study dark matter was perched on top of a Hawaiian volcano.
F. A light-year is the distance traveled by light in one year.
G. Dark matter is one of the most common materials in the universe.

20. What is the authors primary purpose in writing Mapping the Invisible?
A. to explain the success some scientists are having in their work on dark matter
B. to explain why scientists believe that it is becoming easy to understand dark matter
C. to explain that scientists have been researching what they think dark matter is
D. to explain which scientists are most responsible for new discoveries about dark matter
21. Which sentence from the article supports the authors primary purpose for writing Mapping the
Invisible?
A. Scientific measurements show that the universe holds about five times as much dark matter
as ordinary matter. (paragraph 3)
B. By studying how the light changed as it traveled through space, the astronomers could
estimate the rough location and shape of dark matter clumps. (paragraph 6)
C. You can imagine that dark matter is leaving its signature on the images of very distant
galaxies, said Catherine Heymans of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. (paragraph 8)
D. The astronomers want to conduct further studies to better understand those invisible lumps
and hope to survey the whole sky within 10 years or so. (paragraph 11)