2017 Middle Grades District Language Arts Test PDF

Language Arts 2017 – Middle Grades – District Student Instructions:  Write your complete ID code on your answer sheet.  If yo...

Language Arts 2017 – Middle Grades – District Student Instructions:  Write your complete ID code on your answer sheet.  If you change your answer, erase well. 1. Mark Twain was NOT the author of which novel below? A. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn B. The Red Badge of Courage C. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court D. The Prince and the Pauper 2. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables includes which one of the following characters? A. Hepzibah Pyncheon B. Simon Legree C. Jim D. Arthur Dimmesdale 3. Starbuck, Queequeg, and Ishmael can all be found in which of the following novels? A. The Last of the Mohicans B. Uncle Tom’s Cabin C. Moby Dick D. The Turn of the Screw 4. Jeffrey, a runaway orphan, learns about segregation from Mars Bar and Amanda in which of the following Newbery Medal-winning novels? A. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry B. Criss Cross C. Sounder D. Maniac Magee 5. After surviving a near-death experience with a vacuum cleaner, which character below develops the abilities to fly and write poetry? A. Shiloh B. Ulysses C. Ivan D. Despereaux 6. Which Newbery Medal winner below is set in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression? A. Bud, Not Buddy B. The Higher Power of Lucky C. Crispin: The Cross of Lead D. Caddie Woodlawn 7. Mary Alice moves to rural Illinois to live with Grandma Dowdel in which of the following Newbery Medal- winning novels? A. Out of the Dust B. Moon over Manifest C. When You Reach Me D. A Year Down Yonder 2017 Governor’s Cup – Language Arts – Middle Grades – District – Page 1 8. Oompa-Loompas dance and play drums as they sing songs about the consequences of bad behavior in which novel below? A. Gulliver’s Travels B. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory C. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood D. Treasure Island 9. What is special about the Hugh Lofting character Dr. Dolittle? A. He can read people’s minds. B. He can fly. C. He can make himself invisible. D. He can talk to animals. 10. Match each character with the classic novel in which she appears. x. Mary Lennox 1. The Secret Garden y. Laura Ingalls 2. Little House in the Big Woods z. Dorothy Gale 3. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz A. x-1, y-2, z-3 B. x-2, y-1, z-3 C. x-2, y-3, z-1 D. x-3, y-2, z-1 11. Victor Vollmer, the protagonist of Vince Vawter’s Paperboy, copes with which of the following challenges as he takes over his friend’s paper route? A. autism B. stuttering C. a club foot D. deafness 12. Holling Hoodhood reads Shakespeare while his classmates learn about religion in what Gary D. Schmidt Newbery Honor Book? A. Chains B. The War That Saved My Life C. The Wednesday Wars D. One Came Home 13. Moose Flanagan’s family moves to Alcatraz, where his dad works as a prison electrician, in which Newbery Honor Book below? A. One Crazy Summer B. The Year of Billy Miller C. The Underneath D. Al Capone Does My Shirts 14. Steve Sheinkin wrote three of the following award-winning nonfiction works. Which one did Phillip Hoose write? A. Bomb B. Moonbird C. The Notorious Benedict Arnold D. The Port Chicago 50 2017 Governor’s Cup – Language Arts – Middle Grades – District – Page 2 15. A Sibert Medal-winning book by Sally M. Walker focuses on H. L. Hunley. Who or what was it? A. a Confederate submarine B. a Nazi spy C. a British inventor D. a department store 16. Deborah Heiligman earned a YALSA Nonfiction Award for a profile of what scientist and his wife’s Leap of Faith? A. Thomas Edison B. Charles Darwin C. Albert Einstein D. Pierre Curie 17. Robert Frost penned which poem below? A. “The Highwayman” B. “Mother to Son” C. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” D. “The Song of Hiawatha” 18. Which of the following poets wrote, “How dreary – to be – Somebody! / How public – like a Frog –” and, “The Carriage held but just Ourselves – / And Immortality”? A. Emily Dickinson B. Elizabeth Barrett Browning C. Emma Lazarus D. Phillis Wheatley 19. He disappoints Mudville by striking out. Which choice below names the title character of an Ernest Lawrence Thayer baseball poem? A. Paul B. Robert C. Casey D. Alfred 20. Match each character with his or her play. x. Walter Lee Younger 1. The Crucible y. Laura Wingfield 2. A Raisin in the Sun z. John Proctor 3. The Glass Menagerie A. x-1, y-2, z-3 B. x-2, y-1, z-3 C. x-2, y-3, z-1 D. x-3, y-1, z-2 21. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote three of the works below. Which one was a speech given by Frederick Douglass? A. “I Have a Dream” B. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” C. “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” D. “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” 2017 Governor’s Cup – Language Arts – Middle Grades – District – Page 3 22. Which of the following choices names Romeo’s best friend, who dies when Tybalt stabs him? A. Mercutio B. Bottom C. Oberon D. Puck 23. Which story below can be found in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book? A. “Zebra” B. “The Monkey’s Paw” C. “Flowers for Algernon” D. “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” 24. In which of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories does the narrator murder an elderly man with a “vulture eye”? A. “The Pit and the Pendulum” B. “The Masque of the Red Death” C. “The Tell-Tale Heart” D. “The Cask of Amontillado” 25. Mark Twain wrote of gambling man Jim Smiley in what short story? A. “To Build a Fire” B. “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League” C. “The Lottery” D. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” 26. Which of the following characters is NOT part of Arthurian legend? A. Lady Godiva B. Merlin C. Queen Guinevere D. Sir Lancelot 27. According to legend, who or what was El Dorado? A. a constellation that guided slaves on the Underground Railroad B. a winged monster that guarded the Egyptian pyramids C. a South American country made of gold D. a large, hairy resident of the Himalayas 28. Which of the following Aesop fables illustrates the dire consequences of failing to prepare for difficult times? A. “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” B. “The Fox and the Grapes” C. “The Ant and the Grasshopper” D. “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” 29. Which sentence below is imperative? A. Would you please set the table? B. Hawaii’s tropical climate is healthy. C. I can’t wait to visit Splash Mountain! D. Get out of my room! 2017 Governor’s Cup – Language Arts – Middle Grades – District – Page 4 30. Match each sentence with the grammatical mistake it contains. x. comma splice 1. Betty wanted red velvet cake, it was her favorite. y. nonparallel structure 2. Sighing disappointedly, the shoes were returned to the store. z. dangling modifier 3. Students closed their notebooks, zipped their backpacks, and were heading for the door. A. x-1, y-2, z-3 B. x-1, y-3, z-2 C. x-2, y-1, z-3 D. x-3, y-2, z-1 31. An adjective clause is part of which of the following sentences? A. I’m packing water bottles for when we get thirsty. B. The lady who lives next door is eighty years old. C. She recognizes that the winds of change are blowing. D. The chihuahua will bark at you after you turn the corner. 32. Which sentence below includes an appositive phrase? A. Kicking a beehive is asking for a trip to the emergency room. B. Melanie caught her roommate eating the last of the ice cream. C. Jackie Evancho, my favorite singer, released her first album at age nine. D. The soccer team’s worst player managed to score a goal. 33. A complex sentence consists of which of the following? A. one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses B. two or more independent clauses C. one independent clause D. two or more independent and one or more dependent clauses 34. Which sentence below is punctuated CORRECTLY? A. He has one wish; to travel to Italy. B. The teens enjoyed a boys’ night out. C. “I should have gotten the lead role” Morgan pouted. D. Over Christmas break, we stayed at a fancy, winter chalet. 35. “her aunt gretchen teaches social studies at oakville elementary school.” How many words should be capitalized in the previous sentence? A. eight B. seven C. six D. five 36. Which of the following sentences contains a subordinating conjunction? A. Either the dog or the toddler stained the carpet. B. Silas loves not only reading novels, but also solving algebraic equations. C. They wanted pizza, but settled for bologna sandwiches. D. We’ll leave as soon as your father gets home. 37. Which noun below is abstract? A. responsibility B. team C. brain D. canyon 2017 Governor’s Cup – Language Arts – Middle Grades – District – Page 5 38. A demonstrative pronoun is part of which of the following sentences? A. I myself don’t believe her story about having a flat tire. B. That cat is frustratingly persistent. C. Who left the lid off the toothpaste? D. Anyone can run for our class’s presidency. 39. Which choice below CORRECTLY spells the word meaning “imperfect”? A. falty B. faulty C. fallty D. fawlty 40. Match each word with its definition. x. swelter 1. to suffer from oppressive heat y. decipher 2. to make out the meaning of z. fortify 3. to make strong A. x-1, y-2, z-3 B. x-2, y-1, z-3 C. x-3, y-1, z-2 D. x-3, y-2, z-1 41. Which of the following words is MISSPELLED? A. cinnamon B. hazardous C. nuetral D. bachelor 42. Which of the following words contains the Latin root meaning “to cut”? A. hypnosis B. incision C. degrade D. fracture 43. Omnivore, omniscient, and omnipotent all contain the Latin root meaning what? A. over B. too C. less D. all 44. Which root below means “to bend”? A. ject B. tract C. flex D. pend 45. Your friend is going on vacation. Which of the following phrases would be the most appropriate sendoff for her? A. bon voyage B. mucho gusto C. a la mode D. mea culpa 2017 Governor’s Cup – Language Arts – Middle Grades – District – Page 6 46. Which term below refers to an outlawed system of racial segregation? A. prix fixe B. feng shui C. apartheid D. bazaar 47. Which of the following Italian words names the profession that photographs celebrities? A. stiletto B. vendetta C. graffiti D. paparazzi 48. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Animal Farm are examples of what kind of symbol-rich story? A. allegory B. tall tale C. myth D. legend 49. Three of the poetic genres below are lyric. Which one is narrative? A. sonnet B. ode C. epic D. elegy 50. Match each sound device with its example. x. assonance 1. The chimes tinkled in the breeze. y. alliteration 2. Katie catches colorful caterpillars. z. onomatopoeia 3. Go slow over the bumpy road. A. x-1, y-3, z-2 B. x-2, y-1, z-3 C. x-3, y-1, z-2 D. x-3, y-2, z-1 TIEBREAKERS 51-60 51. In an Ambrose Bierce short story, what is the “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”? A. a hanging B. a fishing tournament C. a dance-a-thon D. a town picnic 52. Which sentence below contains a euphemism? A. It’s taking her a hundred years to get here. B. The wind howled spookily through the willow trees. C. During the recession, the boss let several employees go. D. My children are the light of my life. 53. Based on the Latin root present in the words myocardium and pericardium, they refer to what organ? A. eye B. heart C. foot D. ear 2017 Governor’s Cup – Language Arts – Middle Grades – District – Page 7 54. Martin W. Sandler’s YALSA-winning nonfiction book Imprisoned details the World War Two internment of which of the following groups? A. African Americans B. Japanese Americans C. Native Americans D. Muslim Americans 55. Which choice below gives the correct definition of “refute”? A. to weaken or damage B. to strengthen or sharpen C. to prove as false D. to begin 56. Which of the following authors created an unusually strong, redheaded orphan who takes her friends Tommy and Annika on fantastic adventures? A. Astrid Lindgren B. Johann Wyss C. Kate Douglas Wiggin D. Lucy Maud Montgomery 57. “We are going to Panama City Beach for spring break!” What is the previous sentence’s verb tense? A. present progressive B. present perfect C. future progressive D. future perfect 58. Revolution, Deborah Wiles’s novel about segregation and Freedom Summer, is set in what decade? A. 1800s B. 1860s C. 1920s D. 1960s 59. Which Native American leader below was a Nez Percé who vowed to “fight no more forever”? A. Geronimo B. Chief Joseph C. Crazy Horse D. Sitting Bull 60. Match each Latin phrase with its meaning. x. tabula rasa 1. for the good y. pro bono 2. seize the day z. carpe diem 3. blank slate A. x-1, y-2, z-3 B. x-2, y-1, z-3 C. x-2, y-3, z-1 D. x-3, y-1, z-2 2017 Governor’s Cup – Language Arts – Middle Grades – District – Page 8  Language Arts – Middle Grades – District 2017 Governor’s Cup 1. B 31. B 2. A 32. C 3. C 33. A 4. D 34. B 5. B 35. D 6. A 36. D 7. D 37. A 8. B 38. B 9. D 39. B 10. A 40. A 11. B 41. C 12. C 42. B 13. D 43. D 14. B 44. C 15. A 45. A 16. B 46. C 17. C 47. D 18. A 48. A 19. C 49. C 20. C 50. D 21. D 51. A TIEBREAKERS 51-60 22. A 52. C 23. D 53. B 24. C 54. B 25. D 55. C 26. A 56. A 27. C 57. A 28. C 58. D 29. D 59. B 30. B 60. D