ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA End of Level Assessment English Language Arts Level 8 Use the paragraph below to answer #1-13. 1 The Earth s crust is made up of plates, which move at such a slow rate as to be generally imperceptible. 2 How an earthquake occurs is an interesting and timely topic. 3 An earthquake results when the Earth s plates are pulled or squeezed. 4 As these plates push past each other they build up stress. 5 This stress adds energy to the rock. 6 This energy is stored in the rock, until the rock either breaks or 7 At times the plates push against each other with great force. 8 Releasing this stored energy is a natural outcome. 9 The shift releases massive waves of energy, which travel underground through solid rock and make the earth shake and tremble. 10 Different types of stress cause different deformations in the Earth s crust. 11 A fault is created when a large section of the rock shifts or breaks. 12 This type of stress usually occurs along plate boundaries. 13 The San Andreas, a major fault, is one such deformation. 14 Although the fault line between the Caribbean plate and the North American plate is considered minor, it experienced a deadly quake in January. 15 The quake with a 7.0 magnitude was devastating because the epicenter was close to Haiti s capital, Port-au- Prince, and only 6.2 miles deep. 16 The depth of a quake is important as shallow quakes result in much more energy being released closer to the earth s surface. 17 The result has been an appalling loss of life and to almost completely wipe out Haiti s infrastructure. 1. What type of writing is this? a. Narrative b. Persuasive c. Expository d. Biographical 2. If you were asked to write a feature article on the earthquake in Haiti, how would you develop the human interest angle of the story? a. List the events that occurred just before the quake. b. Note persuasive reasons why we should contribute to Haiti relief funds. c. Define the type of earthquake and its specific characteristics. d. Incorporate personal interviews into the story. 3. The verb in the dependent clause in sentence 3 is: a. Transitive and active b. Transitive and passive c. Intransitive and active d. Intransitive and passive
4. What is the best way to state sentence 6? a. The energy is stored in the rock until the rock either breaks or b. The energy is stored in the rock; until the rock either breaks or c. The energy is stored in the rock. Until the rock either breaks or d. Acceptable as is. 5. What type of phrase is with great force in sentence 7? a. Adverbial b. Adjectival c. Noun 6. What type of verbal can be found in sentence 8? a. Participle b. Gerund c. Infinitive 7. What is the appositive in sentence 13? a. San Andreas b. major c. fault d. deformation 8. What is the syntax of the subordinator (the word that begins the dependent clause) found in sentence 14? a. Relative adjective b. Relative adverb c. Coordinate conjunction d. Subordinate conjunction 9. Which sentence includes a noun clause? a. Sentence 2 b. Sentence 4 c. Sentence 8 d. Sentence 13 10. Which of the following sentences uses the correct possessive form? a. Her father-in-laws enhancement to the seismometer greatly helped b. Her father-in-law s enhancement to the seismometer greatly helped c. Her father s-in-law enhancement to the seismometer greatly helped d. Her fathers-in-law s enhancement to the seismometer greatly helped
Rewrite the following sentence to avoid the dangling participle. 11. Digging through the rubble for days, many injured were finally found. 12. Identify the split infinitive in sentence 17 and rewrite it correctly. 13. What is the syntax of the word Haitians in the following sentence? Countries from all over the world have given the Haitians aid in the form of supplies and trained rescue workers. I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS by Maya Angelou The free bird leaps on the back of the win and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wings in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still and is tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. The free bird thinks of another breeze an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. 14. What type of poem is Caged Bird? a. Narrative b. Lyrical c. Ballad d. Free Verse
15. But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams The grave of dreams is an example of what figure of speech? e. Onomatopoeia 16. and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees The sighing trees is an example of what figure of speech? d. Onomatopoeia 17. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill Trill is an example of what figure of speech? d. Onomatopoeia 18. Ralph is writing an analysis of this poem. Which of the following must he include to insure a top grade? a. Biography of the author. b. An explanation of the meaning and message of the poem, as well as its structure, and language. c. A list of the figures of speech on a chart for easy reading. d. The number of lines and an explanation why the author chose that number. Responses to # 19, 20, and 21 should be in complete sentences. 19. What does the caged bird symbolize? 20. The poet has chosen to repeat stanza 3. What purpose is served by this repetition? 21. What is the theme of this poem? Proofread the following passage. There are 6 errors. On the answer sheet identify the sentence with the error and make the correction on the line (#22-27) Ex. 1 Are science teacher and her students worked diligently and won the competition. sentence 1 error _Are correction Our_
1 Who was John Brown! 2 Some would say that he was a madman while others would say he was simply a liberator seeking freedom for those enslaved. 3 Sparking a slave rebellion was Brown s plan. 4 He was convinced that this would cause the slaves to rise up and demand there rights. 5 It was in 1856 that Brown s small band killed five pro-slavery men, some of who did not own slaves. 6 These brutal murders became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre. 7 But Brown was not convicted for his part in this crime, instead he traveled throughout the North sharing his beliefs and insisting that peace and justice were his goals. 8 Much to the dismay of the slaveholders, many Northerners and antislavery sympathizers treated Brown and his men as heroes. 9 On October 10, 1859, John Brown and seventeen others captured the armory at Harper s Ferry Virginia. 10 But what had started well quickly went awry. 11 The small band was soon surrounded by a local militia. 12 On October 18 th Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee and his Marines stormed the arsenal, capturing or killing the raiders, and an article in a South Carolina newspaper The Charleston Mercury threatened any who would continue mission of John Brown. 13 Although the American Civil War was not to begin for two more years, many feel that John Browns actions actually precipitated the war that finally ended slavery. 14 What is still unresolved is whether John Brown was a madman or a champion for the enslaved. 28.Julio is beginning to work on his research paper on the American presidency. The topic is What qualities does a person need to become a great president? How should Julio focus his research for this project? a. Go to the library and read about all the great presidents. b. Refer to a Social Studies text for details on the American presidency. c. Identify three influential presidents and research their accomplishments. d. Go online and read several articles about the American presidency. 29. After much research, class discussion, and thought, Julio is ready to begin his research paper. What needs to be included in his introductory paragraph? a. The paper s main ideas and supporting details. b. A discussion of the arguments favoring the topic. c. An interesting hook that will draw the reader into the paper. d. A thesis statement and brief overview of what will be discussed in the paper. 30. When Julio has completed his project on the key qualities found in great leaders, he will compile a list of sources from which he gathered the information. What label will he put on the page?