English I - Miss Yost Room 134 - Lesson Plans



Pre-AP The Odyssey Test Review: Books 1-13

Use the following selection to answer questions 1-4.

Since in me, Muse, and through me tell the story

of that man skilled in all way of contending,

the wanderer, harried for years on end,

after he plundered the stronghold

on the proud height of Troy.

He saw the townlands

and learned the minds of many distant men,

and weathered many bitter nights and days

in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only

to save his life, to bring his shipmates home.

But not by will nor valor could he save them,

for their own recklessness destroyed them all—

children and fools, they killed and feasted on

the cattle of Lord Helios, the Sun,

and he who moves all day through the heaven

took from their eyes the dawn of their return.

Of these adventures, Muse, daughter of Zeus,

tell us in our time, lift the great song again.

1. What is the purpose of the Muse in the opening verses?

A. to help Homer tell the story of Odysseus

B. to help Odysseus tell his own tale

C. to ask for Lord Helios’ help

D. none of the above

2. Why is the 6th line of the story (“He saw the townlands”) indented?

A. to show a new paragraph

B. to show a continuation of syllables connected to the previous line

C. both A and B

D. none of the above

3. What is Odysseus’ purpose of his odyssey?

A. to save his life

B. to bring his shipmates home

C. both A and B

D. none of the above

4. What caused all of Odysseus’ men to die?

A. Odysseus fought only to save his own life.

B. Odysseus’ men killed and feasted on the cattle of Lord Helios.

C. Lord Helios removed the eyes of Odysseus’s men.

D. none of the above

Use the following selection to answer questions 5-7.

What of my sailing, then, from Troy?

What of those years

of rough adventure, weathered under Zeus?

The wind that carried west from Ilium

brought me to Ismarus, on the far shore,

a strongpoint on the coast of the Cicones.

I stormed that place and killed the men who fought.

Plunder we took, and we enslaved the women,

to make division, equal shares to all—

but on the spot I told them: ‘Back, and quickly!

Out to sea again!’ My men were mutinous,

fools, on stores of wine. Sheep after sheep

they butchered by the surf, and shambling cattle,

feasting, --while fugitives went inland, running

to call to arms the main force of Cicones.

This was an army, trained to fight on horseback

or, where the ground required, on foot.

5. What was Odysseus’ purpose for visiting Ismarus on the coast of Cicones?

A. to ask for help from the local villagers

B. to plunder the area

C. to protect themselves from an army

D. none of the above

6. Why didn’t Odysseus’ men follow his orders to return to the ship?

A. Odysseus’ men were too drunk

B. Odysseus’ men were too hungry

C. Odysseus’ men were angry

D. Odysseus’ men wanted to kill more people

7. Odysseus and his men stay on land. What happens, in effect?

A. The local survivors escape to get help from their army.

B. Odysseus and his men eat all the sheep and cattle, so they are too full to sail off.

C. Odysseus and his men were able to steal horses from the local survivors.

D. None of the above

Use the following selection to answer questions 8-11.

A prodigious man

slept in this cave alone, and took his flocks

to graze afield—remote from all companions,

knowing none but savage ways, a brute

so huge, he seemed no man at all of those

who eat good wheaten bread; but he seemed rather

a shaggy mountain reared in solitude…

We climbed, then, briskly to the cave. But Cyclops

had gone afield, to pasture his fat sheep…

My men came pressing round me, pleading:

‘Why not

take these chesses, get them stowed, come back,

throw open all the pens [containing sheep], and make a run for it?

We’ll drive the kids and lambs aboard. We say

put out again on good salt water!’

Ah,

how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished

to see the cave man, what he had to offer—

no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends.

We lit a fire, burnt an offering,

and took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence

around the embers, waiting. When he came

he had a load of dry boughs on his shoulder

to stoke his fire at suppertime. He dumped it

with a great crash into that hollow cave,

and we all scattered fast to the far wall.

Then over the broad cavern floor he ushered

the ewes he meant to milk. He left his rams

and he-goats in the yard outside, and swung

high overhead a slab of solid rock

to close the cave. Two dozen four-wheeled wagons,

with heaving wagon teams, could not have stirred

the tonnage of that rock from where he wedged it

over the doorsill.

8. Which definition best describes “kid” in the selection?

A. (informal) a child or young person

B. (used as a familiar form of address)

C. a young goat

D. to talk or deal jokingly with; banter; jest with

9. Which of the following quotes is a simile?

A. a brute / so huge, he seemed no man at all of those / who eat good wheaten bread; but he seemed rather / a shaggy mountain reared in solitude

B. Two dozen four-wheeled wagons, / with heaving wagon teams, could not have stirred / the tonnage of that rock from where he wedged it

C. remote from all companions, / knowing none but savage ways

D. none of the above

10. Odysseus refuses to leave the Cyclops’ cave. What character flaw causes him to decide this?

A. curiosity

B. fear

C. greed

D. none of the above

11. What factors complicate the Greeks’ attempt at escaping the Cyclops’ cave?

A. a slab of solid rock that covers the cave entrance

B. the Cyclops

C. both A and B

D. none of the above

Use the following selection to answer questions 12-15.

Now, by the gods, I drove my big hand spike

deep in the embers, charring it again,

and cheered my men along with battle talk

to keep their courage up: no quitting now.

The pike of olive, green though it had been,

reddened and glowed as if about to catch.

I drew it from the coals and my four fellows

gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops

as more than natural force nerved them; straight

forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it

deep in his crater eye, and leaned on it,

turning it as a shipwright turns a drill

in planking, having men below to swing

the two-handled strap that spins it in the groove.

So with our brand we bored that great eye socket

while blood ran out around the red-hot bar.

Eyelid and lash were seared; the pierced ball

hissed broiling, and the roots popped.

In a smithy

one sees a white-hot axehead or an adze

plunged and wrung in a cold tub, screeching steam—

the way they make soft iron hale and hard--:

just so that eyeball hissed around the spike.

12. What cultural values are represented in Odysseus’ reference to “the gods” in this passage?

A. acknowledgement of the gods’ involvement in human affairs

B. acknowledgement of the gods’ obstacles in human affairs

C. disregarding the gods’ involvement in human affairs

D. disrespecting the gods’ involvement in human affairs

13. Which of the following definitions best describes the word “bored” in this passage?

A. made a hole in

B. a dull, tiresome, or uncongenial person

C. wearied by tedious repetition

D. none of the above

14. How might the figurative language about the blacksmith relate to this work’s historical and cultural setting?

A. The work of a blacksmith would be common and familiar to Greek people living during this time period.

B. The sight of a Cyclops was common and familiar to Greek people living during this time period.

C. Many Greeks would take baths in cold tubs during this time period because heaters did not exist.

D. Figurative language is not used in this passage.

15. Which of the following is NOT an example of a Homeric simile?

A. Odysseus’ men sprinted, lifted it [the pike], and rammed it / deep in his crater eye, and leaned on it, / turning it as a shipwright turns a drill / in planking

B. The pike of olive, green though it had been, / reddened and glowed as if about to catch.

C. In a smithy / one sees a white-hot axehead or an adze / plunged and wrung in a cold tub, screeching steam— / the way they make soft iron hale and hard--: / just so that eyeball hissed around the spike.

D. none of the above

Read the following excerpt from The Odyssey.

(1)“But soon / Athena came to him [Odysseus] from the nearby air, / putting a young man’s figure on—a shepherd, / like a king’s son, all delicately made. / She wore a cloak, in two folds off her shoulders, / and sandals bound upon her shining feet. / A hunting lance lay in her hands.

(2)“At sight of her / Odysseus took heart, and he went forward / to greet the lad, speaking out fair and clear: / ‘Friend, you are the first man I’ve laid eyes on / here in this cove. Greetings. Do not feel / alarmed or hostile, coming across me; only receive me into the safety with my stores. / Touching your knees I ask it, as I might / ask grace of a god. / O sir, advise me, what is this land and realm, who are the people? / Is it an island all distinct, or part / of the fertile mainland, sloping to the sea?’

(3)“To this grey-eyed Athena answered: ‘Stranger, / you must come from the other end of nowhere, / else you are a great booby, having to ask / what place this is. It is no nameless country… / No one would use this ground for training horses, / it is too broken, has no breadth of meadow; / but there is nothing meager about the soil, / the yield of grain is wondrous, and wine, too, / with drenching rains of dewfall. / There’s good pasture for oxen and for goats, all kinds of timber, / and water all year long in the cattle ponds. / For these blessings, friend, the name of Ithaka / has made its way even as far as Troy— / and they say Troy lies far beyond Akhaia.’

(4)“Now Lord Odysseus, the long-enduring, / laughed in his heart, hearing his land described / by Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus who rules / the veering stormwind; and he answered her / with ready speech—not that he told the truth, / but, just as she did, held back what he knew, / weighing within himself at every step what he made up to serve his turn.

(5)“Said he: ‘Far away in Krete I learned of Ithaka— / in that broad island over the great ocean. / And here I am now, come myself to Ithaka! / …[B]y night / we came, and made this haven by hard rowing. / All famished, but too tired to think of food, / each man dropped in his tracks after the landing, / and I slept hard, being wearied out. Before / I woke today, they put my things ashore / on the sand here beside where I lay, / then reimbarked for Sidon, that great city. / Now they are far at sea, while I am left / forsaken here.’

(6)“At this the grey-eyed goddess Athena smiled, and gave him a caress, / her looks being changed now, so she seemed a woman, / tall and beautiful and no doubt skilled / at weaving splendid things. She answered briskly: / ‘Whoever gets around you must be sharp and guileful as a snake; even a god / might bow to you in ways of dissimulation. / You! You chameleon! / Bottomless bag of tricks! Here in your own country / would you not give your stratagems a rest or stop spellbinding for an instant? / You play a part as if it were your own tough skin. / No more of this, though. Two of a kind, we are, / contrivers, both. Of all men now alive / you are the best in plots and story telling. / My own fame is for wisdom among the gods—deceptions, too.’

(7)“‘Would you have guessed that I am Pallas Athena, daughter, of Zeus, I that am always with you in times of trial, a shield to you in battle, I who made the Phaiakians befriend you, to a man? Now I am here again to counsel with you— / but first to put away those gifts the Phaiakians / gave you at departure—I planned it so. / Then I can tell you of the gall and wormwood / it is your lot to drink in your own hall. / Patience, iron patience, you must show; / so give it out to neither man nor woman / that you are back from wandering. Be silent / under all injuries, even blows from men.’” (XIII, 279 – 397).

Use the excerpt from The Odyssey to answer questions 1-10.

16. What motif/theme is most apparent in Paragraph 1?

A. importance of family

B. Homeric simile

C. disguise

D. curiosity

17. In Paragraph 2, Odysseus’ inner conflict stems from—

A. Zeus’s tactics.

B. not knowing who he is.

C. not knowing where he is.

D. no longer having a ship of his own.

18. Which quote shows Odysseus’s confidence?

A. Odysseus took heart, and he went forward / to greet the lad, speaking out fair and clear

B. Greetings. Do not feel / alarmed or hostile, coming across me; only receive me into the safety with my stores. /

C. Touching your knees I ask it, as I might / ask grace of a god.

D. O sir, advise me, what is this land and realm, who are the people? / Is it an island all distinct, or part / of the fertile mainland, sloping to the sea?

19. Read the following dictionary entry.

fertile \fur-tl\ adj 1. capable of producing offspring 2. having nutrients capable of sustaining an abundant growth of plants 3. able to be transformed into fissile or fissionable material, especially in a nuclear reactor 4. conducive to productiveness

Which definition best matches the use of the word fertile in paragraph 2?

A. Definition 1

B. Definition 2

C. Definition 3

D. Definition 4

20. Why does Odysseus laugh “in his heart” in Paragraph 4?

A. Odysseus realizes that Athena is in disguise

B. Odysseus laughs when he is nervous

C. Odysseus is truly in love with Athena

D. Odysseus is happy to be home

21. Which words from paragraph 6 best help the reader understand the meaning of the word dissimulation?

A. You chameleon

B. stop spellbinding

C. sharp and guileful

D. bow

22. In paragraph 6, Athena’s reaction to Odysseus’ story shows that—

A. Athena is amused by Odysseus’ deceit and feels they are similar of cunning ways

B. Athena is angered by Odysseus’ deceit and feels he is inferior to her

C. Athena is confused by Odysseus’ deceit and feels he is superior to her

D. Athena is indifferent by Odysseus’ deceit and feels that he’s simply human

23. Odysseus received gifts from the Phaiakians because—

A. it is ancient Greek culture to do so

B. Athena planned it that way

C. of Odysseus’ cunning abilities

D. the Phaiakians had too many treasures to carry back with them

24. The author structures this selection by—

A. focusing on a cunning interaction between Odysseus and Athena

B. describing Odysseus and Athena as foil characters

C. creating imagery of Odysseus’ homeland

D. creating a parallelism between this situation and that of the cyclops

Choose the term that best describes each quote.

25. “…here we stand, / beholden for your help, or any gifts / you would give—as custom is to honor strangers... / Zeus will avenge / the unoffending guest.”

A. cunning

B. curiosity

C. hospitality

D. loyalty

26. “My men came pressing round me, pleading: ‘Why not / take these cheeses…and make a run for it?’ Ah, / how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished / to see the cave man, what he had to offer…”

A. hospitality

B. curiosity

C. cunning

D. loyalty

27. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy.”

A. cunning

B. curiosity

C. hospitality

D. loyalty

28. “Those [three men] who ate…the Lotus, / never cared to report, nor to return…I [Odysseus] drove them, all three wailing to the ships, / tied them down under their rowing benches…”

A. cunning

B. curiosity

C. hospitality

D. loyalty

29. The Cyclops “thought he’d find out [where my ship was], but I saw through this, and answered with a ready lie…”

A. cunning

B. curiosity

C. hospitality

D. loyalty

30. “…Athena came to him [Odysseus] from the nearby air, / putting a young man’s figure on—a shepherd, / like a king’s son, all delicately made.”

A. storytelling

B. importance of home

C. importance of family/heritage

D. disguise

31. “…my [Odysseus’] shipmates one day summoned me and said: / ‘Captain, shake off this trance, and think of home— / if home indeed awaits us, / your own well-timbered hall on Ithaca.’ / They made me feel a pang, and I agreed.”

A. storytelling

B. importance of home

C. importance of family/heritage

D. disguise

32. “I [Telemachus] wish at least I had some happy man / as father…”

A. storytelling

B. importance of home

C. importance of family/heritage

D. disguise

33. “Recall the past deeds and the strange adventures. / I could stay up until the sacred Dawn / as long as you might wish to tell your story.”

A. storytelling

B. importance of home

C. importance of family/heritage

D. disguise

34. The Phaecians’ “…ocean-going ship / he [Poseidon] saw already near, heading for harbor; / so up behind her swam the island-shaker / and struck her into stone, rooted in stone, at one / blow of his palm…”

A. storytelling

B. divine intervention

C. importance of family/heritage

D. disguise

Choose the best answer for each question to demonstrate comprehension skills of The Odyssey.

35. What two locations does Telemachus visit to learn information about his father?

A. Sparta and Troy

B. Pylos and Sparta

C. Pylos and Cicones

D. Ithaca and Troy

36. When Odysseus tells his tale of his adventure from Troy, he is in—

A. Phaecia

B. Ithaca

C. the Land of the Lotus Eaters

37. The name of Odysseus’ hometown is—

A. Phaecia

B. Ithaca

C. the Land of the Lotus Eaters

38. Which of the following events did NOT happen to Odysseus?

A. When nearing Ithaca’s shore, Odysseus’ men open a bag of wind that sends them back to Aeolia.

B. Odysseus’ ship is destroyed by Zeus’ thunderbolt.

C. Odysseus’ ship is destroyed by Poseidon’s waves.

D. Odysseus must speak to a blind prophet in the Underworld.

39. By the time Odysseus finishes his odyssey and makes it back home to Ithaca, how many of his men have survived?

A. half

B. one dozen

C. one

D. none; only Odysseus survives

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