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STAAR English I (Reading) High School 2013 - Past Paper

Quiz by Texas Education Agency

Grade 9
ELAR (2009)
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

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18 questions
Show answers
  • Q1
    The hostess can best be described as -
    talkative
    elitist
    composed
    generous
    120s
    110.31.b.5.B
  • Q2
    The American faces the challenge of -
    learning Indian social etiquette so that he will be respected by the other guests
    making sure the hostess doesn't stay quiet longer than he does
    calming his fear of snakes in order to capture the cobra
    keeping the guests quiet until the cobra leaves the room
    60s
    110.31.b.5.B
  • Q3
    Which words from paragraph 7 best help the reader understand the use of the word arresting?
    He speaks quickly
    he knows the commotion
    it sobers everyone
    frighten the cobra
    60s
    110.31.b.1.B
  • Q4
    What is the primary purpose of paragraph 1?
    To introduce the reader to the story's primary conflict
    To reveal that the narrator is unreliable
    To start the story with an exciting event
    To establish the context for the events that follow
    60s
    110.31.b.5
  • Q5
    Which of these is an example of irony in the story?
    The American is the only person at the party besides the hostess who realizes the danger everyone is in.
    The hostess exhibits extreme self-control at the very moment the colonel is saying that women lack it.
    A colonel and a young girl debate whether men and women have different amounts of self-control.
    Cobras normally hide in the rafters of a room, but the cobra in the story is under the table.
    60s
    110.31.b.5
  • Q6
    The books recommended on the website all relate to which aspect of "The Dinner Party"?
    Question Image
    Its story line
    Its characters
    Its symbolism
    Its setting
    60s
    110.31.b.12
  • Q7
    Which words best help the reader understand the meaning of the word 'russet' in line 8?
    blue-black water
    gold, sunburnt
    boats, grasses
    empty blue sky
    120s
    110.31.b.1.B
  • Q8
    Read the following lines from the poem. By using this analogy, the poet emphasizes -
    Question Image
    the speaker's authority as a parent
    the sacredness of nature
    the speaker's emotional vulnerability
    the importance of spending time with family
    60s
    110.31.b.3
  • Q9
    Read these lines from the poem. The poet uses these lines to emphasize the importance of -
    Question Image
    power
    listening
    imagination
    truth
    60s
    110.31.b.3
  • Q10
    Which line best explains why the speaker begins to speak at the end of the poem but then stops?
    That's the trick in life-learning to leave well enough alone.
    the russet and gold of late summer's sunburnt grasses,
    A clap of thunder beyond those hills.
    it hits me that my daughter is a young woman,
    60s
    110.31.b.3
  • Q11
    What does the poet mean by the lines "suddenly everything is a metaphor for how/short a time we are granted on earth"?
    Time passes differently for different people.
    The future represents uncertainty.
    Ordinary occurrences in nature cannot always be described.
    Nature often serves as a reminder that time does not stand still.
    60s
    110.31.b.7
  • Q12
    What is the most likely reason the poet ends the first stanza after line 13?
    To indicate a change in the poem's setting
    To introduce new details about the poem's speaker
    To highlight a shift in point of view
    To emphasize the poem's central message
    60s
    110.31.b.3
  • Q13
    What is the primary purpose of paragraphs 1 and 11?
    To show how the narrator's viewpoint changes
    To contrast the narrator's opinion with Marge's opinion
    To highlight the resolution of the narrator's conflict
    To frame the story with the narrator's primary conflict
    120s
    110.31.b.5.C
  • Q14
    In paragraph 6, what is the effect of the author's use of figurative language?
    It reveals the clerk's confusion.
    It shows how reluctant the old man is to pay.
    It emphasizes the tension of the scene.
    It highlights the old couple's naiveté.
    60s
    110.31.b.7
  • Q15
    Which sentence best supports the idea that the old couple is still in love after many years?
    No, they were white, and you've never seen such a couple in your life-a man and his wife, and they must have been in their seventies.
    They started over toward the elevator and then the old lady turned away from the man and made her way over to the receptionist's desk.
    Marge, he was lookin' at her like every woman on earth dreams of bein' looked at, and her eyes were doin' the same thing back at him.
    The couple smiled in such a dignified way, and it seemed like they hadn't noticed a thing.
    60s
    110.31.b.5.B

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