Watson Li 1-4

Questions 1-9 are based on A Person/A Paper/A Promise by Earl Reum.

1. The tone of the poem is best described as(A) bitter and resentful(B) callous and aloof(C) patronizing and arrogant(D) lugubrious and elegiac(E) gauche and accusatory

2. The boy in the poem is portrayed through(A) direct descriptions by the speaker(B) descriptions of his activities(C) descriptions given by the people he interacts with(D) the thoughts he expresses(E) the poems that he writes

3. Which of the following phrases from the poem best sums up its central idea?(A) “And his father always tucked him in bed at night” (line 19)(B) “And his teacher gave him an A / and asked him to write more clearly” (lines 26-27)(C) “And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed / his father snoring soundly” (lines 64-65)(D) “he called it 'Absolutely Nothing' / Because that's what it was really all about” (lines 68-69)(E) “this time he didn't think / he could reach the kitchen” (lines 73-74)

4. Which of the following does not characterize the boy?(A) He is timid and shy(B) He enjoys writing poetry for leisure(C) He is blissfully ignorant of details in his life(D) He is curious and inquisitive(E) He tries to understand the world

5. From the poem, the reader can infer that the speaker feels I. Pity for the boy in the poem II. Unsettled by the fact that religious figures smokeIII. Concerned about adult anti-intellectualism

(A) I only(B) II only(C) III only(D) I and III only(E) I, II, and III

6. Each of the four poems the boy writes are symbols representing(A) the boy's deepening understanding of life(B) the dullness of schoolwork(C) the boy's progressive independence(D) the boy's academic success(E) the boy's increasing messiness and strangeness

7. The different papers that the boy writes his poems on are analogies for(A) the paper that his teacher gives to students(B) the paper that the poem was originally written on(C) the money he has readily available to spend on stationery (D) the quality of life that he has at the time of each writing(E) the color of his dog

8. The theme of the poem is most closely related to(A) a boy's coming of age story(B) hardships that people inherently experience in life(C) a story about a hard-working student writing poetry(D) the increasingly disheveled states students reach(E) understanding the difficulties and disappointments in life

9. Which of the following best describes the organization of the poem?(A) An answer that follows a curious chain of events(B) A group of disjunct ideas that contradict one another(C) A series of developing theories followed by a personal anecdote(D) A specific example of an occurance followed by a detailed explanation(E) A series of chronologically occuring events