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ELA Formative metaphor/simile

Last updated almost 5 years ago
5 questions
Unit 2
Figurative Language
8.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
a. Interpret figures of speech n context.
1

Read the following sentences.
Elaina said, "The painting is like a breath of fresh air. The colors are just like a ray of sunshine."
What figurative langauge is being used is used in both sentences?

1

Read the following sentences.
Elaina said, "The painting is like a breath of fresh air. The colors are just like a ray of sunshine."
What is Elaine saying about the painting?

Read the text and answer the following question. 
The Kimono

Keiko was ashamed of the kimono.  Aunt Fumika had presented it to her tonight after dinner.  This visit from Aunt Fumika had been long awaited by the family.  Keiko's parents had sacrificed much to arrange for Aunt Fumika's journey, and now Aunt Fumika would be here for six weeks.  Now, the kimono from faraway Japan hung forlornly in the closet.  It seemed to wonder if Keiko would ever wear it.  Its intricate embroidery of red and pink floral design was embarrassing to Keiko.  She was distressed by her inner rejection of something that represented her ethnic heritage.
The kimono was traditional.  Its flowery brightness was perfectly suited for spring and summer.  Summer vacation had just begun and her aunt was delighted to have given her special niece such an appropriate present.  Now all of her niece's friends would know that Keiko's people came from Japan.  The red and pink blossoms and green bamboo on her kimono were sure to bring her good fortune.  Aunt Fumika had expressed these things that night at dinner, her ink–black eyes shining as Keiko had unfolded the kimono from its musty box.
Now Keiko lay in bed, agonizing.  How would her friends react to seeing her in traditional Japanese dress instead of her usual California summer attire of a tank top, shorts, and sandals?  Would her friends mock her or appreciate her ethnic pride?  Each night for the next week, Keiko lay in bed staring at the moonlit patterns on the kimono in the closet.  It seemed to reproach her.
Eight nights after Aunt Fumika's arrival, Keiko served a traditional Japanese dessert of ohagi.  As the family savored the rich warmth of the sweet rice balls, Aunt Fumika began to talk of life in Japan.  Aunt Fumika spoke perfect English, though accented.  Keiko could understand every precise word.  Keiko listened intently to the cadences of her aunt's sentences.  They seemed to be swept along by a tide of emotion.  In Aunt Fumika's voice, she could hear fierce pride, deep homesickness, and bittersweet nostalgia.
Keiko pictured the kimono in her closet, smothered behind a thick section of tank tops, sundresses, shorts, and swimsuits.  Suddenly, the shame burning in Keiko's throat became painful.
Pushing away her plate of half–eaten ohagi, she jumped up and ran from the room, tears streaking her cheeks.  She pounded up the stairs, ignoring her aunt's confused cries and her mother's worried questions.  In her bedroom, she gently took the kimono from the closet, slipped it off its hanger, and pulled it on.  Her tears of shame became tears of pride, the same pride she'd heard in Aunt Fumika's voice.
Smiling, she emerged from her bedroom, and walked triumphantly down the stairs into the dining room.  Aunt Fumika stood with a gasp of pleasure and came toward her, arms outstretched.
"Beautiful, Keiko," she murmured, her voice catching as she clasped her niece to her in a warm embrace.  In that moment, Keiko knew she had done exactly the right thing.
1

Read the question to yourself and select the best answer.
Which statement correctly explains the metaphor in this part of the story?
Keiko listened intently to the cadences of her aunt's sentences. They seemed to be swept along by a tide of emotion.

Read the text and answer the following question. 
The Cottage
"In life, you can reject change or go with the flow, and you'll be content if you can learn to roll with it, Francisco," his grandmother had always advised.

"Easier said than done," Francisco muttered to himself as he stopped his bike with a gentle pat of his foot against the dirt path that led to the cottage. 

He was stopping to sit back on the seat of his bike and just look at the cottage.  He tried to look without seeing the "For Sale" sign that his father had just driven into the rose garden last night.  Watching Pops drive the sign into the ground was like having a cold knife driven into his back.  The prospect of leaving the cottage made Francisco feel like he'd been slapped down by a cold wave on a hot beach; this little house by the sea had been his home since he was two.

His family had moved to this seaside town twelve years ago when it had still just been a village.  Now, Francisco felt that developers were slowly encroaching on the town's limits.  Francisco thought the developers were monsters, greedily devouring the wide stretches of unsoiled beaches and empty grassy meadows.  The thing that seemed so wrong to him was that they were only going to fill these beautiful, clean spaces with malls, grocery stores, gas stations, and fancy hotels.  Why such destruction and not even to give people homes?  He knew that because he'd been listening furtively at his door as his parents and grandmother had talked late into the night.  He should've been sleeping, but he had to know, had to listen to the plans, the reasons, to try to make some sense of this senseless farewell.

"I want to get out before the developers knock on the door," his mother had said, "and I don't want to be here when the bulldozers come into town." 

There had been a note of despair in her voice, oddly mixed with a smile.  She always smiled when she was worried about something.  Francisco wished he could be as positive about the sale of the cottage.  After a few minutes of just looking at the cottage, memorizing its smallness, its brown roof, white sides, red door, and brass knocker, he pedaled off toward the beach.  He'd brought a bucket and spade with him.  Digging on the beach had been a favorite pastime for all the years he'd been living at the cottage for as far back as he could remember.  His grandmother told him it was childish.  He didn't care.  It comforted him.  The sea always gave him something from its depths.  It wouldn't fail him today.

An hour later he'd found a brimming bucketful of treasures, including an enormous purple–gray conch that spoke in ocean waves to him every time he held it to his ear.  The conch would go with him, he'd already decided.  When they...left...yes, left the cottage behind forever, the conch would be his reminder of all those joyful, sun–filled days of his childhood by the sea.
1

Read the question to yourself and select the best answer.
This section of the text is an extended example of personification, in which the sea is given humanlike qualities.

Digging on the beach had been a favorite pastime for all the years he'd been living at the cottage, for as far back as he could remember.  His grandmother told him it was childish.  He didn't care.  It comforted him.  The sea always gave him something from its depths.  It wouldn't fail him today.

Which of the following is the most likely reason the author chose to personify the sea in this text, given the text's emotional overtones?

Read the text and answer the following question. All About Charcoal For many people, cookouts are an occasion for friends and family to gather and enjoy a meal outdoors. When planning a cookout, people may gather a wide variety of materials, but one of the most commonly used is charcoal. This light, dusty material resembling small black rocks is useful for building hot, long–burning fires. Charcoal has many additional uses as well. Many people use charcoal, but few know where this unusual rock–like material comes from. The Science Behind Charcoal Although charcoal resembles stone, it is usually made from wood. Wood is primarily composed of three elements: oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. Carbon is the element needed for charcoal. Over hundreds of years, people have perfected ways to extract carbon from the wood, but this process can be challenging. In a regular fire, all three elements in wood burn quickly, leaving behind ash. The useful carbon is mostly ruined. In order to make charcoal, people have to find ways to burn only the oxygen and hydrogen in the wood and leave behind the valuable carbon. The best way to do this is burning wood slowly while keeping the fire away from open air. Some charcoal may also be made from discarded animal bones. Bone charcoal, also known as bone black, is produced by a technique similar to that used for wood charcoal. The bones must be heated in a sealed container to remove any oil, water, or other non–carbon material to leave behind only the carbon. The History of Charcoal People have been creating charcoal for hundreds of years. In medieval times, many villages had people who became experts at creating charcoal. These experts would begin by stacking wood into round piles shaped like cones. Within these piles were open chambers to allow smoke to exit, like small volcanoes. Workers would cover these woodpiles with wet dirt and grass that would seal in heat when burned. It was a primitive system, but it worked. The cone–shaped pile would burn slowly for many hours or days and then cool slowly as well. By the time the fire was completely finished, much of the wood was converted into charcoal. However, even more of the wood was ruined in this process. If a worker used one hundred pounds of wood, he or she would most likely only produce about twenty pounds of charcoal. People had to cut down many trees to feed these wasteful fires. The production of charcoal led to deforestation in some parts of the world. The completed charcoal, however, was a cherished resource. People could use it for heating or cooking, but it was mostly used by blacksmiths. Charcoal fires could reach high temperatures and melt metal, allowing blacksmiths to forge tools, weapons, and armor. Later, people used charcoal in foundries to melt and form large quantities of metal. Other people discovered uses for charcoal in chemistry and medicine, and artists used it as pigment in colorful paints. Charcoal in Modern Times Charcoal is still important in the modern world, but people have found more efficient ways of creating it. Most wood charcoal today is produced in closed ovens. People today get more charcoal from the wood they use and are also able to extract other valuable byproducts from the wood. This makes the process less wasteful of natural resources. Today, charcoal is no longer common as an industrial fuel for melting metal or other such purposes. Rather, modern people most often use charcoal for cooking and cleaning. Charcoal intended for cooking is most often combined with other flammable materials and turned into small rocks called briquettes. Briquettes are easy to ignite and burn with high heat and little smoke, perfect conditions for cooking. Though charcoal is best known for its qualities of combustion, it is not always associated with fire. Charcoal is often used for cleaning and filtration. Charcoal has many tiny holes in it, and its porous nature allows it to grip solids and gases alike. Many people use charcoal for water filtration because the charcoal will hold onto impurities from the water. Charcoal is also important in absorbing gases and odors from the air, and may be used in filters on breathing masks. Although an ancient material, charcoal remains extremely useful in the modern world.
1

Read the question to yourself and select the best answer.
Read this sentence from the text.

Within these piles, were open chambers to allow smoke to exit, like small volcanoes.

Why did the author most likely include the analogy "like small volcanoes" in this sentence?