Author’s Purpose, Organizational Text Structures, and Literary Devices Quiz

1. Identify the five types of author’s purpose. (Write answer on answer document.)

Read each passage and answer the questions on your answer document.

Passage #1 - The ice-cream shop around the corner from my house has the best ice-cream in the city. When you first walk inside, there is a long chrome counter with matching stools extending to alongside the far wall. Right where the counter stops, the booth seating begins. There are lots of old-timey knickknacks on the walls and chrome napkin holders on all the tables. My favorite part of the shop is behind the counter glass, where they keep all of the ice-cream flavors. A rainbow of delicious sugary flavors is kept cool and delicious behind the counter glass.*************************************************************************************Passage #2 - Frostbite is a medical condition in which localized damage has been caused to skin and other tissues due to extended exposure to freezing temperatures. Frostbite usually occurs in the extremities (hands or feet) because they are farthest away from the heart and often most likely to be exposed. Frostbite occurs when the body stops circulating blood in an area of the body that is too cold. The body does this in order to preserve body heat and fight hypothermia. In severe cases, frostbite can lead to amputation.*************************************************************************************Passage #3 - My neighborhood, Tranquil Village, is a wonderful place. It is a clean and safe place to raise children. The only thing missing is a neighborhood park. Our children need a place to play that is not only clean and safe but also close to home. Parents are busy people—they work, they take their children to school, and they vote. The parents of Tranquil Village ask you, as their City Council representative, to vote in favor of establishing a park in Tranquil Village.*************************************************************************************Passage #4 - Freezer burn may have wasted more ice-cream than sidewalks. If you don’t know, freezer burn is when ice crystals form on the surface of ice-cream. These ice crystals can ruin the texture and flavor of the ice cream. But you can prevent freezer burn. Since freezer burn is caused when melted ice-cream is refrozen, rather than eating your ice-cream from the container as it melts, scoop your ice-cream into a bowl and put the container back in the fridge immediately. Doing this ought to help you solve your issues with freezer burn.*************************************************************************************Passage #5 –The humpback whale is huge. She is longer than a school bus and weighs 35 tons, but she preys on some of the smallest inhabitants of the sea world—tiny shrimp-like creatures that aren’t much bigger than a piece of popcorn called krill. To feed, she opens her mouth wide, taking in hundreds of gallons of water in a single gulp. A humpback whale has no teeth. Instead, attached to its upper jaw are rows of long, thin fingernail-like material called baleen. Each piece of baleen is about three feet long and has bristles at its end that act like a strainer. When the whale takes in a mouthful of water, it forces the water out through the baleen with its tongue, trapping thousands of tiny krill inside its mouth. Humpback whales eat a lot of krill – up to 4,400 pounds per meal! *************************************************************************************Passage #6 - When you spend your hard-earned savings on a pair of shoes, you want to get the most for your money. One way to do this is to clean your shoes. When you get done, they’ll almost look brand new. First, get out a toothbrush and some cleaning spray. Spray the shoes over a sink with no dishes in it and gently scrub the shoes with a toothbrush. Wash the dirt off of the toothbrush repeatedly while you are scrubbing. When you finish scrubbing the foot covering, it is time to clean the soles. Get out some steel wool or an SOS pad, wet it, and then scrub the soles of your shoes clean. You may need to use a paperclip to free any pebbles stuck in the treading. Lastly, scrub the shoes off with a paper towel or clean rag. If you did a good job, your shoes should look almost as nice as when you first got them.

Author’s Purpose, Organizational Text Structures, and Literary Devices Quiz

Passage #7 - When purchasing goods or services, most consumers have a choice of using cash or a credit card. Credit cards are very convenient. They take up very little space in most wallets, and users don’t have to worry about having enough cash on hand for an immediate purchase—as long as the credit limit is sufficient. However, while credit cards may be more convenient in the moment, paying with cash is a better long-term habit. Credit cards charge interest, which is an additional charge on top of whatever the product or service costs. If a credit card user doesn’t pay his bill immediately, the interest compounds (increases), which can make an everyday purchase turn into long-term debt. On the other hand, using cash means a person is only using money he has and is not accumulating debt to pay in the future. Those who rely solely on cash have fewer concerns about growing debt.*************************************************************************************Passage #8 - When batteries are thrown into the trash, they are harmful to the environment. If batteries are not properly disposed of, they can crack or become damaged. As a result, the toxic substances inside the batteries leak, and the surrounding water and soil are contaminated. Likewise, when batteries are incinerated, or burned, the air is contaminated by toxic fumes. Since incineration produces ashes, the ashes contain toxic substances. Over time, the ashes are buried and the toxic substances make their way into the soil and water. Finally, old car batteries are also harmful because they can crack open when they are dropped. If a neighborhood trash collector drops an old battery in the street or driveway, the toxic contents may spill and pose a health hazard for pets and small children. So it is very important to properly dispose of old batteries to protect our environment.

Match each term to the correct definition.

18. anaphora

19. parallelism

20. allusion

a. the repeated use of similar grammatical structures

b. repetition of words at the beginning of neighboring sentences

c. a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance

Multiple Choice

21. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.a. anaphora b. simile c. parallelism

22. I couldn’t believe a word he had to say, and I was surprised his nose wasn’t growing like Pinocchio’s.a. metaphor b. parallelism c. allusion

23. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.a. simile b. allusion c. anaphora

24. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.a. anaphora b. allusion c. parallelism