Name ______________________________ Class ___________________ Date____________________

Unit 4: Collection 9Selection Test READING AND LITERATURE

The Lowest Animal Mark Twain

COMPREHENSION Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items. (30 points; 6 points each)

1. You can infer from the example of the earl and the anaconda that Twain—A) had never met an English earlB) knew a lot about anacondasC) was a vegetarian, or a person who doesn’t eat meatD) was not a supporter of hunting for sport

2. What does Twain mean when he writes, “Cats are loose in their morals, but not consciously so. . . . The cat is innocent, man is not.”?A) Humans with loose morals understand what they are doing, while cats do not.B) Humans with loose morals do not understand what they are doing, unlike cats.C) Humans are unable to be moral because they understand what they are doing.D) Even though cats choose to be immoral, they are innocent.

3. The tone of Twain’s essay is best described as—A) lightB) bitterC) tearfulD) neutral

4. When Twain writes, “Man is the Animal that Blushes . . . or has occasion to,” he means that—A) humans and jackasses both laughB) animals get embarrassed like peopleC) animals laugh at human foolishnessD) only people have reasons to be ashamed

5. What is Twain’s theory of humanity?A) People are descended from animals.B) Animals are descended from people.C) People and animals are on the same level.D) Animals are more cruel than people.

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22 Unit 4 Resources

Name ______________________________ Class ___________________ Date____________________

Unit 4: Collection 9, Selection Test continued

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Choose the best word from the list to complete each sentence below. Some words will not be used. (10 points; 2 points each)atrocious avaricious caliber dispositiontransition verified wantonly

6. The _______________________ from high school to college or the workplace is a major milestone in a young person’s life.

7. When it was learned that the charity was actually keeping fifty percent of donations

for its administrators, the group was accused of being _______________________.8. Too many people _______________________ use up resources with regard to the

planet’s future.

9. All of the answers had to be _______________________ before the contestant could be given the prize.

10. It takes a particular _______________________ of courage to work with dangerous jungle animals.

VOCABULARY SKILL Match each word on the left to its Greek (Gk) or Latin (L) root on the right. (10 points; 2 points each)

_______ 11. phylum

_______ 12. triangle

_______ 13. trigonometry

_______ 14. invertebrate

_______ 15. hypothesis

A) from Gk metria, meaning “to measure”B) from L angulus, meaning “angle”C) from Gk tithenai, meaning “to put”D) from Gk phylon, meaning “tribe or race”E) from L vertebra, meaning “jointed”

LITERARY FOCUS Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items. (15 points; 5 points each)

16. Read the following passage: “I furnished a hundred kinds of wild and tame animals the opportunity to accumulate vast stores of food, but none of them would do it.” Which technique of satire is Twain using in the passage?A) IronyB) ExaggerationC) ForeshadowingD) Inference

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23 Unit 4 Resources

Name ______________________________ Class ___________________ Date____________________

Unit 4: Collection 9, Selection Test continued

17. Which of the following is among the human traits Twain satirizes in “The Lowest Animal”?A) LoveB) Intelligence

C) CooperationD) Intolerance

18. In his example of people refusing to be seen undressed in public, Twain satirizes—A) religious intoleranceB) false modesty

C) avariceD) cruelty

READING FOCUS Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items. (15points; 5 points each)

19. What is ironic about Twain’s assertion that humans are the “Reasoning Animal”?A) Humans are the most intelligent animals on earth.B) Many animals are able to reason as well as humans.C) Humans are rarely able to display a full range of intelligence.D) Humans are often irrational and unreasoning.

20. Twain wrote his satire “The Lowest Animal” mainly to—A) bemoan the degeneration of the human raceB) criticize people for their cruelty toward animalsC) force people to reexamine their attitudes and actionsD) inspire confidence and hope among despairing people

21. What can you infer about Mark Twain’s beliefs based on the following passage from “The Lowest Animal”? “Man is the only animal that robs his helpless fellow of his country—takes possession of it and drives him out of it or destroys him.”A) Mark Twain strongly supported the concept of nationalism.B) Mark Twain did not believe that governments should raise armies.C) Mark Twain did not believe countries should fight to gain territory.D) Mark Twain believed that humans should fight to defend their territory.

CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (20 points)

22. Which of Twain’s arguments are most effective? Why? Select two of Twain’s arguments to evaluate. On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that explains your answer. Support your ideas with details from the essay.

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24 Unit 4 Resources