25/26 8th ELA Q3 Blind Test #1

This American Indian myth was part of a 1906 publication edited by H. W. Mabie and illustrated by B. Ostertag.

The Star and the Lily

1 An old chieftain sat in his hut, quietly smoking his favorite pipe when, suddenly, a crowd of Indian boys and girls entered and begged him to tell them a story. And so he did...

2 There was once a time when the world was filled with happy people. All the nations lived in peace and harmony, and earth had not yet been stained with the blood of war. Plenty of game roamed the forest and the plains. No one wanted for anything, for everything was fully supplied. Sickness simply did not exist. The beasts of the field were tame; they came and went as man commanded. Spring gave no place for winter—for its cold blasts or its unhealthy chills. Every tree and bush yielded fruit, and flowers carpeted the earth—the air was laden with their fragrance.

Even the birds sang more sweetly, and their colors flashed more brilliant than now. During that time, when earth was a paradise, the Indians were lone inhabitants of the American wilderness. They numbered millions and lived as nature designed them to live, enjoying its many blessings. At night the Indian people lay on the wide green beneath the skies and gazed at the twinkling lights above, for they believed them to be the home of their honorable ancestors, who had been taken home by the Great Spirit.

3 One night they saw one star that shined brighter than all others. Its location appeared far away in the south, near a mountain peak. For many nights it was seen, and some began to believe that the star was only a short distance away, near the tops of some trees. A number of warriors were told to venture on a short journey and investigate the star. They went and returned with news that the star appeared strange, and somewhat like a bird. A committee of the wise men was called to further inquire into the strange phenomenon. Some thought it a precursor of good, others of evil; and still others supposed it to be the star spoken of by their forefathers,

warning them of a dreadful war to come.

4 One moon cycle had nearly gone by, and yet the mystery remained unsolved. One night a young warrior had a dream, in which a beautiful maiden came and stood at his side, and said to him, "Young brave, charmed with the land of my forefathers, its flowers, its birds, its rivers, its beautiful lakes, and its mountains clothed with green, I have left my sisters in the other world to dwell among you. Young brave, ask your wise and your great men where I can live and see the happy race continually. Ask them what form I shall assume in order to be loved and received by your people."

5 The young man awoke and stepped out of his lodge, noticing that the star still blazed in its usual place. At early dawn the chief's crier was sent round the camp to call every warrior to the council lodge. When they met, the young warrior told them about his dream. They concluded that the mysterious southern star had fallen in love with mankind, and that it wanted to live among them.

6 The next night five tall, noble-looking, adventurous braves were sent to welcome the stranger to earth. They went and presented to it a peace pipe, filled with sweet-scented herbs. The men rejoiced that it took the pipe from them. As they returned to the village, the star, with expanded wings, followed and hovered over their homes until the dawn of day. Again the star came to the young man in a dream, desiring to know where it should live and what form it should take. After naming several places—on the top of giant trees, near flat lands, or in flowers—the star chose a place for itself. At first it dwelt in the white rose of the mountains, but there it was so buried

that it could not be seen. It went to the prairie, but feared the buffalo’s hoof. It next sought the rocky cliff, but there it was so high that the children, whom it loved most, could not see it.

7 "I know where I shall live," said the bright being, "where I can see the gliding canoe of those I most admire. Children! Yes, they shall be my playmates, and I will kiss their slumber by the side of cool lakes. The nation shall love me from sea to sea."

8 After saying these words, she rested quietly on the waters. The next morning, thousands of white flowers were seen on the surface of the lakes, and the Indians named them, wahbegwan nee (white flower). This star lived in the southern skies. Her brethren can be seen far off in the cold north, hunting the Great Bear, while her sisters watch her in the east and west.

9 Children! When you see the lily on the waters, take it in your hands and hold it to the skies, that it may be as happy on earth as its siblings are happy in heaven.

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

Welsh Songbird

(1) The "Welsh Songbird," Charlotte Church, was born in Cardiff Wales, on February 21, 1986. (2) Well known for her voice, Charlotte was an overnight star throughout the world. (3) In addition to her numerous concerts worldwide and her top-selling CD's, Charlotte has appeared on several talk shows. (4) She has sung with the famous tenor Plácido Domingo. (5) Her operatic voice has been dubbed "the voice of an angel," and she has climbed to the top of Billboard's Top Ten Artists list.

(6) Although barely old enough to get her driver's license, Charlotte has been a worldwide singing sensation for several years. (7) Concerts are sold out wherever she performs, from the Hollywood Bowl to London's Hyde Park. (8) She is the youngest artist ever to have a number one album in the United Kingdom's classical charts. (9) Trained as a classical artist, she continues to sing classical material but has also branched out into popular songs as well.

(10) Charlotte has international renown as a musical artist. (11) But the private Charlotte is a typical teenager and close to her family. (12) Her parents travel with her on tour and she maintains her A average with the help of tutors. (13) She still has a close circle of friends at home with whom they share time and interests.

(14) Charlotte's rare, pure voice can soar in a classical aria. (15) It can also wrap itself around a popular ballad. (16) She has ignited a renewed interest in classical music among popular audiences that has never been seen before. (17) This Welsh songbird has helped to change musical tastes throughout the world.

Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.

from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

[1] Before they went to see Glinda, however, they were taken to a room of the Castle, where Dorothy washed her face and combed her hair, and the Lion shook the dust out of his mane, and the Scarecrow patted himself into his best shape, and the Woodman polished his tin and oiled his joints. When they were all quite presentable, they followed the soldier girl into a big room where the Witch Glinda sat upon a throne of rubies.

[2] She was both beautiful and young to their eyes. Her hair was a rich red in color and fell in flowing ringlets over her shoulders. Her dress was pure white, but her eyes were blue, and they looked kindly upon the little girl.

[3] "What can I do for you, my child?" she asked. Dorothy told the Witch her story: how the cyclone had brought her to the Land of Oz, how she had found her companions, and of the wonderful adventures they had met with.

[4] "My greatest wish now," she added, "is to get back to Kansas, for Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning clothes, and unless the crops are better this year than they were last, I am sure Uncle Henry cannot afford it."

[5] Glinda leaned forward and kissed the sweet, upturned face of the loving little girl. "Bless your dear heart," she said, "I am sure I can tell you of a way to get back to Kansas."

[6] [. . .] The Witch said to the Scarecrow, "What will you do when Dorothy has left us?"

[7] "I will return to the Emerald City," he replied, "for Oz has made me its ruler and the people like me. The only thing that worries me is how to cross the hill of the HammerHeads."

[8] "I shall command the Winged Monkeys to carry you to the gates of the Emerald City," said Glinda, "for it would be a shame to deprive the people of so wonderful a ruler."

[9] "Am I really wonderful?" asked the Scarecrow.

[10] "You are unusual," replied Glinda. Turning to the Tin Woodman, she asked, "What will become of you when Dorothy leaves this country?"

[11] He leaned on his axe and thought a moment. Then he said, "The Winkies were very kind to me and wanted me to rule over them after the Wicked Witch died. I am fond of the Winkies, and if I could get back again to the Country of the West, I should like nothing better than to rule

over them forever."

[12] "My second command to the Winged Monkeys," said Glinda, "will be that they carry you safely to the land of the Winkies. Your brain may not be so large to look at as those of the Scarecrow, but you are really brighter than he is—when you are well-polished—and I am sure you will rule the Winkies wisely and well."

[13] Then the Witch looked at the big, shaggy Lion and asked, "When Dorothy has returned to her own home, what will become of you?"

[14] "Over the hill of the HammerHeads," he answered, "lies a grand old forest, and all the beasts that live there have made me their King. If I could only get back to this forest, I would pass my life very happily there."

[15] "My third command to the Winged Monkeys," said Glinda, "shall be to carry you to your forest." The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and the Lion now thanked the Good Witch earnestly for her kindness,

[16] Dorothy exclaimed, "You are certainly as good as you are beautiful! But you have not yet told me how to get back to Kansas."

[17] "Your Silver Shoes will carry you over the desert," replied Glinda. "If you had known their power you could have gone back to your Aunt Em the very first day you came to this country."

[18] "But then I should not have had my wonderful brains!" cried the Scarecrow. "I might have passed my whole life in the farmer's cornfield."

[19] "And I should not have had my lovely heart," said the Tin Woodman. "I might have stood and rusted in the forest till the end of the world."

[20] "And I should have lived a coward forever," declared the Lion, "and no beast in all the forest would have had a good word to say to me."

[21] "This is all true," said Dorothy, "and I am glad I was of use to these good friends. But now that each of them has had what he most desired, and each is happy in having a kingdom to rule besides, I think I should like to go back to Kansas."

[22] "The shoes," said the Good Witch, "have wonderful powers. And one of the most curious things about them is that they can carry you to any place in the world in three steps, and each step will be made in the wink of an eye. All you have to do is to knock the heels together three

times and command the shoes to carry you wherever you wish to go."

[23] "If that is so," said the child joyfully, "I will ask them to carry me back to Kansas at once." She threw her arms around the Lion's neck and kissed him, patting his big head tenderly. Then she kissed the Tin Woodman, who was weeping in a way most dangerous to his joints. But

she hugged the soft, stuffed body of the Scarecrow in her arms instead of kissing his painted face, and found she was crying herself at this sorrowful parting from her loving comrades.

[24] Glinda the Good Witch stepped down from her ruby throne to give the little girl a goodbye kiss, and Dorothy thanked her for all the kindness she had shown to her friends and herself. Dorothy now took Toto up solemnly in her arms and having said one last goodbye she clapped the heels of her shoes together three times, saying: "Take me home to Aunt Em!" Instantly she was whirling through the air, so swiftly that all she could see or feel was the wind whistling past her ears.

[25] The Silver Shoes took but three steps, and then she stopped so suddenly that she rolled over upon the grass several times before she knew where she was. At length, however, she sat up and looked about her. "Good gracious!" she cried. For she was sitting on the broad Kansas

prairie, and just before her was the new farmhouse Uncle Henry built after the cyclone had carried away the old one. Uncle Henry was milking the cows in the barnyard, and Toto had jumped out of her arms and was running toward the barn, barking furiously.

[26] Dorothy stood up and found she was in her stocking feet, for the shoes had fallen off in her flight through the air and were lost forever in the desert. Aunt Em had just come out of the house to water the cabbages when she looked up and saw Dorothy running toward her. "My

darling child!” she cried, folding the little girl in her arms and covering her face with kisses. "Where in the world did you come from?"

[27] "From the Land of Oz," said Dorothy gravely. "And here is Toto, too. And oh, Aunt Em! I'm so glad to be at home again!"

Public domain. From The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Published by Geo. M. Hill Co., New York, 1900.