Grade 8 Beginning-of-Year Test

Grade 8 Beginning-of-Year Test

MULTIPLE CHOICE

Read this passage from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Then, answer the question(s).

"Meg, is something troubling you? Are you unhappy at home?" Mr. Jenkins asked.

At last Meg looked at him, pushing at her glasses in a characteristic gesture. "Everything's fine at home."

"I'm glad to hear it. But I know it must be hard on you to have your father away."

Meg eyed the principal warily, and ran her tongue over the barbed line of her braces.

"Have you had any news from him lately?"

Meg was sure it was not only imagination that made her feel that behind Mr. Jenkins's surface concern was a gleam of avid curiosity. Wouldn't he like to know! she thought. And if I knew anything, he's the last person I'd tell. Well, one of the last.

...

Mr. Jenkins waited for an answer, but Meg only shrugged.

"Just what was your father's line of business?" Mr. Jenkins asked. "Some kind of scientist, wasn't he?"

"He is a physicist." Meg bared her teeth to reveal the two ferocious lines of braces.

"Meg, don't you think you'd make a better adjustment to life if you faced facts?"

"I do face facts," Meg said. "They're lots easier to face than people, I can tell you."

"Then why don't you face facts about your father?"

"You leave my father out of it!" Meg shouted.

1. From what point of view is this passage told? a. first person, told by Meg b. first person, told by Mr. Jenkins c. third person, limited to Meg's thoughts and experiences d. third person, providing the thoughts and experiences of many characters

2. From the details in the passage, which of these inferences should readers make about Meg?

a. She is a very young child.

c. She is a college student.

b. She is a preteen or teenager.

d. She is a middle-school teacher.

3. Which conclusion about Meg is best supported by details in the passage?

a. She is usually very happy.

c. She is very shy.

b. She is beautiful but vain.

d. She is awkward but intelligent.

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4. What character trait or traits does Mr. Jenkins display most clearly?

a. He is simple and na?ve.

c. He is nosy and persistent.

b. He is shy but likable.

d. He is rather conceited.

5. Meg and Mr. Jenkins have different perspectives about the disappearance of Meg's father. Which statement most accurately states the difference? a. Meg views her father's disappearance as a private matter, but Mr. Jenkins thinks he can help her by making her talk about it. b. Meg has given up hope that her father will reappear, but Mr. Jenkins is still hopeful. c. Meg knows where her father is and is not worried, but Mr. Jenkins knows nothing and is deeply concerned. d. Meg knows her father is alive, but Mr. Jenkins is sure Meg's father is dead.

6. Which statement most accurately identifies the conflict in the passage? a. Meg and Mr. Jenkins are having a discussion at school. b. Mr. Jenkins wants to discuss Meg's family situation, but Meg does not. c. Meg's father has disappeared. d. Mr. Jenkins wants Meg to face the facts, but Meg is concealing them from him.

7. Which word from the passage is a possessive noun?

a. Everything's

c. father's

b. braces

d. They're

8. If the story were set several centuries earlier, when females had fewer opportunities, in what way would Meg most likely be different? a. She would be named Megan. b. She would have a chemist for a father. c. Like other girls of the time, she would not attend school. d. Like other girls of the time, she would wear braces but not glasses.

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Read this passage. Then, answer the question(s).

When Lucy Ware Webb was a young girl, she had no idea she would one day end up at the White House. Born in Ohio in 1831, Lucy was two years old when her father died. He had gone to Kentucky to help free slaves.

Lucy was a bright girl. At the age of thirteen, she was already taking college classes. Many years later, she would become the first wife of a U.S. president to have earned a college degree.

In Cincinnati, Lucy met her future husband. Rutherford B. Hayes had a law office there, and after meeting Lucy, he visited the Webb home often. In his diary, he wrote about Lucy. "Her low sweet voice is very winning ... a heart as true as steel. ... Intellect she has too. ... By George! I am in love with her!" They married in 1852 and raised five children.

Like her father, Lucy opposed slavery. When the Civil War started, she supported the war. She visited U.S. Army headquarters often and cared for wounded soldiers. The soldiers nicknamed her "Mother Lucy."

After the war, her husband became governor of Ohio. As the state's first lady, Lucy continued to help those in need, even building a children's home in Columbus.

In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was confirmed as the nineteenth president of the United States. Lucy was a well-loved first lady, known for her kindness and intelligence. She even helped save the popular Easter egg event held in Washington. Congress had closed the Capitol Hill grounds because the children were ruining the grass. Lucy moved the event to the White House lawn, where it is still held today.

9. What type of writing does this passage illustrate?

a. biography

c. description

b. autobiography

d. myth

10. What basic type of organization does the author use in this passage?

a. chronological order

c. comparison-and-contrast organization

b. cause-and-effect order

d. problem-and-solution organization

11. Which statement from the passage most clearly expresses an opinion, not a fact? a. Born in Ohio in 1831, Lucy was two years old when her father died. b. At the age of thirteen, she was already taking college classes. c. "Her low sweet voice is very winning ... a heart as true as steel. ..." d. The soldiers nicknamed her "Mother Lucy."

12. Which sentence from the passage uses a verb in the passive voice? a. He had gone to Kentucky to help free slaves. b. Rutherford B. Hayes had a law office there, and after meeting Lucy, he visited the Webb home often. c. After the war, her husband became governor of Ohio. d. In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was confirmed as the nineteenth president of the United States.

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Read this opening passage from the story "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. Then, answer the question(s).

Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon* trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-traveled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o'clock. There was no sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall** over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun. This fact did not worry the man. He was used to the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the skyline and dip immediately from view.

__________________________ *Yukon: referring to a cold northwestern area of Canada near Alaska **pall: dark covering

13. Think about the narrator's choice of words and images in this passage. Which word best

describes the narrator's tone?

a. hopeful

c. grieving

b. angry

d. serious

14. What mood does the narrator's description of the setting create for readers?

a. a gloomy mood

c. a carefree mood

b. a hectic mood

d. a dreamy, magical mood

15. From which part of the story's plot does this passage most likely come?

a. rising action

c. exposition

b. falling action

d. climax

16. In the final sentence, the narrator speaks of "that cheerful orb." Which nearby word refers to the

same thing as orb and helps make the meaning of orb clear?

a. days

c. skyline

b. sun

d. view

17. The narrator says that "there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things." Since tangible means "able to be touched or perceived," what does intangible mean? Base your answer on the meaning of the Latin prefix in- as well as the meaning of tangible. a. able to be touched or perceived again c. previously able to be touched or perceived b. not able to be touched or perceived d. able to be touched on the outside

18. From the details in the passage, what do you predict is most likely to happen later? a. The man will come to a lovely garden. b. The man will return to the comfort of home. c. The man will enjoy the company of several other travelers. d. The man will struggle to survive in the cold.

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Read the following passage. Then, answer the question(s).

Frank Lloyd Wright considered himself one of the greatest architects of all time. Not everyone agrees with this assessment. However, most people recognize his great influence on modern American architecture.

Born in Wisconsin in 1867, Wright grew up in a family that often had trouble making ends meet. He attended the University of Wisconsin but left early for Chicago, where the Great Fire of 1871 created many opportunities in the building trade. After working for several firms, he eventually landed a job at the company in which Louis Sullivan, a famous pioneer of modern architecture, was a partner. Wright remained there for several years, often quarreling with colleagues, before proceeding to establish his own architecture firm where he could experiment with his own ideas and style.

Wright's "prairie style" is very modern, and his buildings often suggest the wide expanse of the American plains. These projects inspired other architects to think of space in a new way. They began to design rooms in a building not as separate spaces but as a flowing whole.

Although his "prairie style" is considered his best, some of Wright's more famous designs show other influences. The Guggenheim Museum in New York City, for example, features a large spiral that contrasts with its urban surroundings. Another of Wright's buildings, Fallingwater in rural Pennsylvania, is built over a waterfall and blends seamlessly into its wooded, natural environment.

19. Which of these details should a summary of this passage NOT include? a. the fact that Wright worked in Chicago b. the fact that Wright is an influence on other architects c. an explanation of the causes of the Great Fire of 1871 d. the term "prairie style"

20. According to the passage, what effect did Chicago's Great Fire of 1871 have on Frank Lloyd Wright? a. It enabled him to find work in Chicago because the government established disaster relief programs. b. It forced him to leave college because of his family's losses in the fire. c. It made it easier for him to find a job with a Chicago architecture firm because there were more opportunities in the building trade. d. It helped him develop his "prairie style."

21. Which meaning of the word trade applies to the phrase many opportunities in the building trade?

a. a line of work or business

c. engage in the exchange of goods

b. the exchange of goods

d. the exchange of any of a variety of

things

22. Using the context clues and your knowledge of the Latin root -ceed-, what can you conclude is the meaning of the word proceeding in this sentence?

Wright remained there for several years, often quarreling with colleagues, before proceeding to establish his own architecture firm where he could experiment with his own ideas and style.

a. coming before b. moving ahead

c. restoring d. carrying

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