English Language Arts

2016 Practice Test

Grade 8 3
 English Language Arts

Session 1
Research Simulation Task
Directions:
Today, you will take Session 1 of the Grade 8
3 English Language Arts Test.
Read each passage and question. Then, follow the directions to answer each
question. Mark your answers by completely filling in the circles in your test
booklet. Do not make any pencil marks outside of the circles. If you need to
change an answer, be sure to erase your first answer completely.
One of the questions will ask you to write a response. Write your response in the
space provided in your test booklet. Only responses written within the provided
space will be scored.
If you do not know the answer to a question, you may go on to the next question.
If you finish early, you may review your answers and any questions you did not
answer in this session ONLY. Do not go past the stop sign.

Grade 8 4
 English Language Arts

Today you will research the topic of sound and the invention of the phonograph.
You will read the article “The Incredible Talking Machine.” Then you will read a
passage from the article “History of the Cylinder Phonograph” and the article
“Psst . . . Hey, You.” As you review these sources, you will gather information and
answer questions about sound and the invention of the phonograph so you can
write an essay.

The Incredible Talking Machine

by Randall Stross

1 In the end, they named it the phonograph. But it might have been called the
omphlegraph, meaning “voice writer.” Or the antiphone (back talker). Or the didasko
phone (portable teacher). These are some of the names someone wrote in a logbook in
Thomas Edison’s laboratory in 1877, after Edison and his assistants invented the first
rudimentary machine for recording and playing back sounds. From the first, they thought
it would be used to reproduce the human voice, but they had no clear idea of its exact
purpose.
2 Edison once said, “Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent.” But all his life, he was
a better inventor than salesman. The phonograph, his first invention to make him world-
famous, is a perfect example. It was the product of a well-prepared but wandering mind.
3 It was also the outcome of an amazing burst of inventiveness. One evening in July
1877, while relaxing with his assistants after their regular midnight dinner, Edison had an
idea. They were working with ways to use paper strips to make a record of telegraph
messages. Why not adapt those to record the vibrations of the diaphragm in a
telephone mouthpiece? Thinking out loud, Edison suggested attaching a needle to the
back of the diaphragm and mounting it above rollers for the paper strips. Speaking into
the mouthpiece would cause the diaphragm to move, which in turn would cause the
needle to inscribe squiggled indentations into the strips. If the paper were then pulled
through the rollers again with the needle resting in the groove, the indentations would
move the attached diaphragm, which should reproduce the original sound.
4 Edison’s assistants set to work. Within the hour, they had a working device they tried out
by reciting “Mary had a little lamb” into the telephone. In the first trial, all that could be
heard from the playback was “ary ad ell am.” But that was encouraging. The staff went
on working through the night, fiddling with the gizmo—and thus occurred the first
midnight recording session.
5 Edison and his crew later replaced the paper and rollers with tinfoil, which was wrapped
around a cylinder attached to a crank. But Edison did not regard the machine as
commercially promising. At best, he thought, it might be an office machine allowing
businessmen to dictate letters.
6 When word of the invention spread, however, the outside world saw greater possibilities.
The dead could speak to us, eternally! Collectors could keep what the New York Times
called a “well-stocked oratorical cellar.” But the primitive phonograph that Edison
demonstrated for the editors of Scientific American that December remained
exceedingly limited. It could clearly introduce itself—“How do you do? How do you like
the phonograph?”—but that exhausted its recording capacity.

5 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

7 Still, the editors were excited enough to publish an admiring bulletin about the device—a
first shot that set off an avalanche of publicity. A reporter wrote him, “I want to know you
right bad,” and everyone else did too. Investors enlisted him in a new venture, the
Edison Speaking Phonograph Co. But he soon lost interest in making the phonograph a
salable product. The company introduced a toy model that functioned badly and a
second, more expensive one that was used by show-business entrepreneurs who
rented concert halls to demonstrate the wondrous machine to paying audiences. It
broke down frequently and required a trained technician’s constant attention.
8 Ten years elapsed before Edison returned to the phonograph, only after a competitor
developed a wax-coated cylinder that could be removed without ruining the recording,
something impossible to do with Edison’s delicate tinfoil. To him, the idea that his most
cherished invention faced competition was unendurable. He set to work on what he
would call the Perfected Phonograph. When he introduced it to the market, however, in
1889, it was anything but perfect as the dictation device he still thought it to be. But it
played music beautifully. Edison’s backers tried to persuade him that the phonograph
could be marketed for entertainment purposes, but he could not let go of his conviction
that it was destined for the office.
9 Competitors leaped further ahead, developing a new recording medium, the disc, and
rushing to sign musical artists to recording contracts. Eventually, Edison capitulated and
entered the recorded-music business too—a business he was poorly suited to as a man
who disapproved of most genres of popular music. He dismissed “miserable dance and
ragtime selections” and described jazz as something for “the nuts.” Another competitor
soon emerged, the Victor Talking Machine Co. and its Victrola. And while Victor built a
stable of notable musical artists, Edison remained unwilling to pay royalty advances
necessary to recruit stars.
10 In the 1920s, Edison’s phonograph faced a new challenge, commercial radio. The other
phonograph companies introduced radios but Edison refused, wanting nothing to do
with the medium’s inferior sound quality. Prodded by his sons, he grudgingly relented,
but the move came too late—in the midst of the stock-market crash of 1929. Within a
year, his radio company ceased production. Edison died a year later. The music industry
he had set in motion lived on, evolving into stereo, iPods and streaming music. He had
made it all possible, without ever quite grasping how to make the most of it for himself.

Copyright © June 23, 2010 of TIME magazine

Grade 8 6
 English Language Arts

1. Part A

Read the sentence from paragraph 1.

These are some of the names someone wrote in a logbook in Thomas Edison’s
laboratory in 1877, after Edison and his assistants invented the first rudimentary
machine for recording and playing back sounds.

What is the meaning of the word rudimentary as it is used in the sentence?

A basic
B mobile
C practical
D original

Part B

Which sentence from the article supports the answer to Part A?

A “The phonograph, his first invention to make him world-famous, is a perfect

example.” (paragraph 2)
B “It was also the outcome of an amazing burst of inventiveness.” (paragraph 3)
C “But the primitive phonograph that Edison demonstrated for the editors of
Scientific American that December remained exceedingly limited.” (paragraph 6)
D “When word of the invention spread, however, the outside world saw greater
possibilities.” (paragraph 6)

7 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

2. Part A

Which statement describes the central idea of “The Incredible Talking Machine”?

A Edison was dependent on his assistants and backers to be successful.

B Edison was never able to comprehend the full potential of his invention.
C Edison was more gifted at promoting his inventions than designing them.
D Edison was so impressed with his own invention that he ignored constructive
criticism.

Part B

Select two pieces of evidence from the article that best support the answer to Part A.

A “From the first, they thought it would be used to reproduce the human voice, but
they had no clear idea of its exact purpose.” (paragraph 1)
B “The staff went on working through the night, fiddling with the gizmo—and thus
occurred the first midnight recording session.” (paragraph 4)
C “At best, he thought, it might be an office machine allowing businessmen to dictate
letters.” (paragraph 5)
D “Still, the editors were excited enough to publish an admiring bulletin about the
device—a first shot that set off an avalanche of publicity.” (paragraph 7)
E “To him, the idea that his most cherished invention faced competition was
unendurable.” (paragraph 8)
F “He dismissed ‘miserable dance and ragtime selections’ and described jazz as
something for ‘the nuts.’ ” (paragraph 9)

Grade 8 8
 English Language Arts

3. Part A

How does the author of “The Incredible Talking Machine” mainly present information
throughout the article?

A by presenting a cause and its effects

B by describing events in sequential order
C by explaining a problem and its solution
D by comparing and contrasting events

Part B

Which sentence from the article best supports the answer to Part A?

A “If the paper were then pulled through the rollers again with the needle resting in
the groove, the indentations would move the attached diaphragm . . .”
(paragraph 3)
B “It broke down frequently and required a trained technician’s constant attention.”
(paragraph 7)
C “Ten years elapsed before Edison returned to the phonograph, only after a
competitor developed a wax-coated cylinder that could be removed without ruining
the recording. . . .” (paragraph 8)
D “The other phonograph companies introduced radios but Edison refused, wanting
nothing to do with the medium’s inferior sound quality.” (paragraph 10)

9 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

Read the passage from “History of the Cylinder Phonograph.” Then answer the
questions.

from “History of the Cylinder Phonograph”

1 The phonograph was developed as a result of Thomas Edison’s work on two other
inventions, the telegraph and the telephone. In 1877, Edison was working on a machine
that would transcribe telegraphic messages through indentations on paper tape, which
could later be sent over the telegraph repeatedly. This development led Edison to
speculate that a telephone message could also be recorded in a similar fashion. He
experimented with a diaphragm which had an embossing point and was held against
rapidly moving paraffin paper. The speaking vibrations made indentations in the paper.
Edison later changed the paper to a metal cylinder with tin foil wrapped around it. The
machine had two diaphragm-and-needle units, one for recording, and one for playback.
When one would speak into a mouthpiece, the sound vibrations would be indented onto
the cylinder by the recording needle in a vertical (or hill and dale) groove pattern. Edison
gave a sketch of the machine to his mechanic, John Kruesi, to build, which Kruesi
supposedly did within 30 hours. Edison immediately tested the machine by speaking the
nursery rhyme into the mouthpiece, “Mary had a little lamb.” To his amazement, the
machine played his words back to him.
2 Although it was later stated that the date for this event was on August 12, 1877, some
historians believe that it probably happened several months later, since Edison did not
file for a patent until December 24, 1877. Also, the diary of one of Edison’s aides,
Charles Batchelor, seems to confirm that the phonograph was not constructed until
December 4, and finished two days later. The patent on the phonograph was issued on
February 19, 1878. The invention was highly original. The only other recorded evidence
of such an invention was in a paper by French scientist Charles Cros, written on
April 18, 1877. There were some differences, however, between the two men’s ideas,
and Cros’s work remained only a theory, since he did not produce a working model of it.
3 Edison took his new invention to the offices of Scientific American in New York City and
showed it to staff there. As the December 22, 1877, issue reported, “Mr. Thomas A.
Edison recently came into this office, placed a little machine on our desk, turned a
crank, and the machine inquired as to our health, asked how we liked the phonograph,
informed us that it was very well, and bid us a cordial good night.” Interest was great,
and the invention was reported in several New York newspapers, and later in other
American newspapers and magazines.
4 The Edison Speaking Phonograph Company was established on January 24, 1878, to
exploit the new machine by exhibiting it. Edison received $10,000 for the manufacturing
and sales rights and 20% of the profits. As a novelty, the machine was an instant
success, but was difficult to operate except by experts, and the tin foil would last for only
a few playings.

Grade 8 10
 English Language Arts

5 Ever practical and visionary, Edison offered the following possible future uses for the
phonograph in the North American Review in June 1878:
1. Letter writing and all kinds of dictation without the aid of a stenographer.
2. Phonographic books, which will speak to blind people without effort on their part.
3. The teaching of elocution.
4. Reproduction of music.
5. The “Family Record”—a registry of sayings, reminiscences, etc., by members of a
family in their own voices, and of the last words of dying persons.
6. Music-boxes and toys.
7. Clocks that should announce in articulate speech the time for going home, going
to meals, etc.
8. The preservation of languages by exact reproduction of the manner of
pronouncing.
9. Educational purposes; such as preserving the explanations made by a teacher, so
that the pupil can refer to them at any moment, and spelling or other lessons
placed upon the phonograph for convenience in committing to memory.
10. Connection with the telephone, so as to make that instrument an auxiliary in the
transmission of permanent and invaluable records, instead of being the recipient
of momentary and fleeting communication.
6 Eventually, the novelty of the invention wore off for the public, and Edison did no further
work on the phonograph for a while, concentrating instead on inventing the
incandescent light bulb.

“The History of the Edison Cylinder Phonograph”—Public Domain/The Library of

Congress

11 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

4. Part A

In paragraph 4, what is the meaning of the word exploit?

A research
B promote
C improve
D defend

Part B

What phrase from paragraph 4 supports the answer to Part A?

A “ . . . machine was an instant success . . .”

B “ . . . difficult to operate . . .”
C “ . . . except by experts . . .”
D “ . . . last for only a few playings.”

Grade 8 12
 English Language Arts

5. Part A

Which part of the invention process was most likely the key step for securing the
patent?

A testing the machine

B improving the machine’s parts
C constructing the original machine
D demonstrating the machine to the public

Part B

Which statement from the passage supports the answer to Part A?

A “Edison later changed the paper to a metal cylinder with tin foil wrapped around it.”
(paragraph 1)
B “To his amazement, the machine played his words back to him.” (paragraph 1)
C “. . . and Cros’s work remained only a theory, since he did not produce a working
model of it.” (paragraph 2)
D “Interest was great, and the invention was reported in several New York
newspapers. . . .” (paragraph 3)

13 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

Read the article “Psst . . . Hey, You.” Then answer the questions.

Psst . . . Hey, You

by Mark Fischetti

1 You are walking down a quiet grocery store aisle when suddenly a voice says: “Thirsty?
Buy me.” You stop in front of the soda display, but no one is next to you, and shoppers a
few feet away do not seem to hear a thing.
2 At that moment, you are standing in a cylinder of sound. Whereas a loudspeaker
broadcasts sound in all directions, the way a lightbulb radiates light, a directional
speaker shines a beam of waves akin to a spotlight. The beam consists of ultrasound
waves, which humans cannot hear, but which can emit audible tones as they interact
with air. By describing these interactions mathematically, engineers can coax a beam to
exude voice, music or any other sound.
3 Military and sonar researchers tried to harness the phenomenon as far back as the
1960s but only managed to generate highly distorted audible signals. In 1998 Joseph
Pompei, then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published algorithms that
cut the distortion to only a few percent. He then designed an amplifier, electronics, and
speakers to produce ultrasound “that is clean enough to generate clean audio,” Pompei
says. He trademarked the technology Audio Spotlight and started Holosonics, Inc., in
Watertown, MA, in 1999. Rival inventor Woody Norris markets a competing product
called HyperSonic Sound from his American Technology Corporation in San Diego.
4 Pompei’s speakers are installed in company lobbies, and above exhibits at the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts and Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center, among other locations.
Narrations inform visitors standing in front of artifacts or video screens without filling the
rooms with noise. Department stores have tried the arrangement for retail displays, and
automakers are experimenting with them so passengers can hear only their own music
or movies. A speaker above a recliner in the living room would allow Dad to hear the
television while other family members read on the couch in peace.
5 Detractors say that in certain situations headphones can provide similar benefits, and
note random problems, such as unwanted reflections off a car seat. But the primary
obstacle to wider deployment is cost: systems can run from $600 to $1,000 or more. If
the price drops, consumers are more likely to consider buying the gear . . . or encounter
it while shopping.

Grade 8 14
 English Language Arts

DID YOU KNOW . . .

• BOUNCED: Ultrasound waves remain in a tight column where they reflect off a hard,
smooth surface. Police teams could bounce a beam off a building at the end of an
alley or off a distant window inside a warehouse to flush out suspects, who would
run away from the sound—and right into the officers’ waiting arms.
• BATS NOT DOGS: Certain animals can detect the ultrasound noise behind audible
directed sound. The ultrasound speakers emit frequencies from 40,000 to 80,000
cycles a second, or hertz (Hz). Humans typically hear frequencies between 20 and
20,000 Hz. Dogs can hear up to 40,000 Hz or so, mice up to 90,000, and bats,
porpoises, and beluga whales up to 100,000 Hz or higher.
• BONUS: Middle ear bones limit human hearing to below 20,000 Hz. But researchers
have applied ultrasound up to 200,000 Hz to the skulls of volunteers, some of whom
report “hearing” sounds; the skull may be distorting vibrations that reach the
cochlea.

Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 1998 Scientific American, Inc. All rights
reserved.

15 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

6. Part A

In paragraph 2, how does the author help the reader understand how ultrasound
works?

A by describing the features of new technology

B by using familiar concepts to explain new technology
C by explaining how researchers discovered new technology
D by providing additional resources about the new technology

Part B

Which sentence from paragraph 2 best supports the answer to Part A?

A “At that moment, you are standing in a cylinder of sound.”

B “Whereas a loudspeaker broadcasts sound in all directions, the way a lightbulb
radiates light, a directional speaker shines a beam of waves akin to a spotlight.”
C “The beam consists of ultrasound waves, which humans cannot hear, but which
can emit audible tones as they interact with air.”
D “By describing these interactions mathematically, engineers can coax a beam to
exude voice, music or any other sound.”

Grade 8 16
 English Language Arts

7. Part A

What is the central idea of “Psst . . . Hey, You” that is supported by the other articles?

A Sound technology continues to evolve.

B Modern inventors must compete for recognition.
C Directional speakers are useful in commercial business.
D Advances in technology are prohibitively expensive.

Part B

Which sentence from the article best supports the answer to Part A?

A “He then designed an amplifier, electronics, and speakers to produce ultrasound

‘that is clean enough to generate clean audio,’ Pompei says.” (paragraph 3)
B “Rival inventor Woody Norris markets a competing product called HyperSonic
Sound from his American Technology Corporation in San Diego.” (paragraph 3)
C “Pompei’s speakers are installed in company lobbies, and above exhibits at the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center, among other
locations.” (paragraph 4)
D “But the primary obstacle to wider deployment is cost: systems can run from $600
to $1,000 or more.” (paragraph 5)

17 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

8. You have now read two articles about the beginning of sound technology and one
article about modern technology. Write an essay explaining how the process of refining
and marketing the phonograph is similar to the development of the Audio Spotlight in
“Psst . . . Hey, You.” Be sure to use details from all three articles to support your
answer.

Grade 8 18
 English Language Arts

19 Grade 8
English Language Arts

Grade 8 20
 English Language Arts

21 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

Session 2
Literary Analysis Task
Directions:
Today, you will take Session 2 of the Grade 8
3 English Language Arts Test.
Read each passage and question. Then, follow the directions to answer each
question. Mark your answers by completely filling in the circles in your test
booklet. Do not make any pencil marks outside of the circles. If you need to
change an answer, be sure to erase your first answer completely.
One of the questions will ask you to write a response. Write your response in the
space provided in your test booklet. Only responses written within the provided
space will be scored.
If you do not know the answer to a question, you may go on to the next
question. If you finish early, you may review your answers and any questions
you did not answer in this session ONLY. Do not go past the stop sign.

Grade 8 22
 English Language Arts

Today you will analyze a passage from Oliver Twist and a passage from A Portrait
of the Artist as a Young Man. As you read these texts, you will gather information
and answer questions about the effect of dialogue or events so you can write an
essay.

Read the passage from Oliver Twist. Then answer the questions.

from Oliver Twist

by Charles Dickens

1 The room in which the boys were fed, was a large stone hall, with a copper at one end:
out of which the master, dressed in an apron for the purpose, and assisted by one or
two women, ladled the gruel at meal-times. Of this festive composition each boy had
one porringer, and no more—except on occasions of great public rejoicing, when he had
two ounces and a quarter of bread besides. The bowls never wanted washing. The boys
polished them with their spoons till they shone again; and when they had performed this
operation (which never took very long, the spoons being nearly as large as the bowls),
they would sit staring at the copper, with such eager eyes, as if they could have
devoured the very bricks of which it was composed, employing themselves, meanwhile,
in sucking their fingers most assiduously, with the view of catching up any stray
splashes of gruel that might have been cast thereon. Boys have generally excellent
appetites. Oliver Twist and his companions suffered the tortures of slow starvation for
three months: at last they got so voracious and wild with hunger, that one boy, who was
tall for his age, and hadn’t been used to that sort of thing (for his father had kept a small
cookshop), hinted darkly to his companions, that unless he had another basin of gruel
per diem, he was afraid he might some night happen to eat the boy who slept next to
him, who happened to be a weakly youth of tender age. He had a wild hungry eye; and
they implicitly believed him. A council was held; lots were cast who should walk up to
the master after supper that evening, and ask for more; and it fell to Oliver Twist.
2 The evening arrived; the boys took their places. The master, in his cook’s uniform,
stationed himself at the copper; his pauper assistants ranged themselves behind him;
the gruel was served out; and a long grace was said over the short commons. The gruel
disappeared; the boys whispered to each other, and winked at Oliver; while his next
neighbours nudged him. Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless
with misery. He rose from the table, and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in
hand, said: somewhat alarmed at his own temerity:
3 “Please, sir, I want some more.”
4 The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied
astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the
copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder; the boys with fear.
5 “What!” said the master at length, in a faint voice.
6 “Please, sir,” replied Oliver, “I want some more.”
7 The master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and
shrieked aloud for the beadle.

23 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

8 The board were sitting in solemn conclave, when Mr. Bumble rushed into the room in
great excitement, and addressing the gentleman in the high chair, said,
9 “Mr. Limbkins, I beg your pardon, sir! Oliver Twist has asked for more!”
10 There was a general start. Horror was depicted on every countenance.
11 “For more!” said Mr. Limbkins. “Compose yourself, Bumble, and answer me distinctly. Do
I understand that he asked for more, after he had eaten the supper allotted by the
dietary?”
12 “He did, sir,” replied Bumble.
13 “That boy will be hung,” said the gentleman in the white waistcoat. “I know that boy will
be hung.”
14 Nobody controverted the prophetic gentleman’s opinion. An animated discussion took
place. Oliver was ordered into instant confinement, and a bill was next morning pasted
on the outside of the gate, offering a reward of five pounds to anybody who would take
Oliver Twist off the hands of the parish. In other words, five pounds and Oliver Twist
were offered to any man or woman who wanted an apprentice to any trade, business, or
calling.
15 “I never was more convinced of anything in my life,” said the gentleman in the white
waistcoat, as he knocked at the gate and read the bill next morning: “I never was more
convinced of anything in my life, than I am that boy will come to be hung.”
16 As I purpose to show in the sequel whether the white-waist-coated gentleman was right
or not, I should perhaps mar the interest of this narrative (supposing it to possess any at
all), if I ventured to hint just yet, whether the life of Oliver Twist had this violent
termination or no.

From OLIVER TWIST, CHAPTER II: TREATS OF OLIVER TWIST'S GROWTH,

EDUCATION, AND BOARD—Public Domain

Grade 8 24
 English Language Arts

9. Part A

How does the word festive in paragraph 1 affect the meaning of the paragraph?

A by adding sarcasm to show the poor quality of the meal being served
B by creating imagery of the elaborate meal that is about to be served
C by providing a description of a special celebration
D by comparing an elaborate holiday meal with a typical meal

Part B

Which phrase from paragraph 1 supports the answer to Part A?

A “The room in which the boys were fed, was a large stone hall. . . .”
B “. . . the master, dressed in an apron for the purpose, and assisted by one or two
women . . . ”
C “. . . each boy had one porringer, and no more. . . .”
D “. . . except on occasions of great public rejoicing . . .”

25 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

10. Part A

In paragraph 1, why does the author describe the boy who was afraid he might some
night happen to eat the boy who slept next to him?

A to show how the adults in charge at the institution treated the boys
B to provide details that develop a major character in the passage
C to illustrate how the boys are affected by the conditions at the institution
D to offer an example of the way the boys govern themselves in the passage

Part B

Which two phrases offer additional support for the answer to Part A?

A “. . . suffered the tortures of slow starvation . . .” (paragraph 1)

B “. . . one boy, who was tall for his age, and hadn’t been used to that sort of
thing . . .” (paragraph 1)
C “A council was held; lots were cast. . . .” (paragraph 1)
D “The master, in his cook’s uniform, stationed himself at the copper. . . .”
(paragraph 2)
E “. . . he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery.” (paragraph 2)
F “The assistants were paralysed with wonder. . . .” (paragraph 4)

Grade 8 26
 English Language Arts

11. Part A

How do the other boys provoke Oliver Twist’s decision to ask for an extra bowl of
gruel?

A They hint that a weaker boy might be hurt while he is sleeping during the night.
B They discourage him from asking and act surprised by his sudden decision.
C They trick him into asking for more by winking and smiling at him.
D They develop a plan, and he is chosen to carry it out.

Part B

Which quotation from the passage from Oliver Twist supports the answer to Part A?

A “. . . they would sit staring at the copper, with such eager eyes, as if they could
have devoured the very bricks of which it was composed. . . .” (paragraph 1)
B “A council was held; lots were cast. . . .” (paragraph 1)
C “. . . his pauper assistants ranged themselves behind him; the gruel was served
out. . . .” (paragraph 2)
D “He rose from the table . . . somewhat alarmed at his own temerity . . .”
(paragraph 2)

27 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

Read the passage from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Then answer the
questions.

from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

by James Joyce

1 The bell rang and then the classes began to file out of the rooms and along the
corridors towards the refectory. He sat looking at the two prints of butter on his plate but
could not eat the damp bread. The tablecloth was damp and limp. But he drank off the
hot weak tea which the clumsy scullion, girt with a white apron, poured into his cup. He
wondered whether the scullion’s apron was damp too or whether all white things were
cold and damp. Nasty Roche and Saunn drank cocoa that their people sent them in tins.
They said they could not drink the tea; that it was hogwash. Their fathers were
magistrates, the fellows said.
2 All the boys seemed to him very strange. They had all fathers and mothers and different
clothes and voices. He longed to be at home and lay his head on his mother’s lap. But
he could not: and so he longed for the play and study and prayers to be over and to be
in bed.
3 He drank another cup of hot tea and Fleming said:
4 —What’s up? Have you a pain or what’s up with you?
5 —I don’t know, Stephen said.
6 —Sick in your breadbasket, Fleming said, because your face looks white. It will go away.
7 —Oh yes, Stephen said.
8 But he was not sick there. He thought that he was sick in his heart if you could be sick
in that place. Fleming was very decent to ask him. He wanted to cry. He leaned his
elbows on the table and shut and opened the flaps of his ears. Then he heard the noise
of the refectory every time he opened the flaps of his ears. It made a roar like a train at
night. And when he closed the flaps the roar was shut off like a train going into a tunnel.
That night at Dalkey the train had roared like that and then, when it went into the tunnel,
the roar stopped. He closed his eyes and the train went on, roaring and then stopping;
roaring again, stopping. It was nice to hear it roar and stop and then roar out of the
tunnel again and then stop.
9 Then the higher line fellows began to come down along the matting in the middle of the
refectory, Paddy Rath and Jimmy Magee and the Spaniard who was allowed to smoke
cigars and the little Portuguese who wore the woolly cap. And then the lower line tables
and the tables of the third line. And every single fellow had a different way of walking.
10 He sat in a corner of the playroom pretending to watch a game of dominoes and once
or twice he was able to hear for an instant the little song of the gas. The prefect was at
the door with some boys and Simon Moonan was knotting his false sleeves. He was
telling them something about Tullabeg.

Grade 8 28
 English Language Arts

11 Then he went away from the door and Wells came over to Stephen and said:
12 —Tell us, Dedalus, do you kiss your mother before you go to bed?
13 Stephen answered:
14 —I do.
15 Wells turned to the other fellows and said:
16 —O, I say, here’s a fellow says he kisses his mother every night before he goes to bed.
17 The other fellows stopped their game and turned round, laughing. Stephen blushed
under their eyes and said:
18 —I do not.
19 —O, I say, here’s a fellow says he doesn’t kiss his mother before he goes to bed.
20 They all laughed again. Stephen tried to laugh with them. He felt his whole body hot and
confused in a moment. What was the right answer to the question? He had given two
and still Wells laughed. But Wells must know the right answer for he was in third of
grammar.

From A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce—Public

Domain

29 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

12. Part A

In the passage from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the narrator says that
Stephen thought he was sick in his heart. How does the phrase sick in his heart
impact the reader’s understanding of Stephen’s character?

A Stephen has a heart condition that makes him tired and weak.
B Stephen is sick of being around the other boys because they tease him about his
mother.
C Stephen’s desire to be at home with his mother is so strong that he is extremely
sad and lonely.
D Stephen is sick to his stomach because the food in the refectory is of such poor
quality.

Part B

How does the phrase sick in his heart contribute to the tone of the entire passage?

A by creating conflict between Stephen and the other boys to support a tense tone
B by adding detail to Stephen’s character to support a melancholy tone
C by illustrating Stephen’s inner thoughts to support a serious tone
D by describing characters who are suspicious of each other to support an angry
tone

Grade 8 30
 English Language Arts

13. Part A

What can the reader infer about Stephen from his conversation with the other boys?

A Stephen is accepted easily by his peers.

B Stephen is not willing to compromise with his peers.
C Stephen is not confident when interacting with his peers.
D Stephen is frightened of his peers.

Part B

Which two elements of the passage best provide support for the answer to Part A?

A the other boys’ thoughts

B Stephen’s thoughts
C the other boys’ appearances
D Stephen’s appearance
E the other boys’ comments
F Stephen’s comments

31 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

14. Both Charles Dickens and James Joyce incorporate dialogue into their passages.

Use evidence you have gathered from both passages to write an essay analyzing how
the dialogue in each passage functions to reveal aspects of the characters. You should
discuss more than one character from each passage.

Grade 8 32
 English Language Arts

33 Grade 8
English Language Arts

Grade 8 34
 English Language Arts

35 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

Session 2
Narrative Writing Task
Directions:
Today, you will take Session 2 of the Grade 8
3 English Language Arts Test.
Read each passage and question. Then, follow the directions to answer each
question. Mark your answers by completely filling in the circles in your test
booklet. Do not make any pencil marks outside of the circles. If you need to
change an answer, be sure to erase your first answer completely.
One of the questions will ask you to write a response. Write your response in the
space provided in your test booklet. Only responses written within the provided
space will be scored.
If you do not know the answer to a question, you may go on to the next
question. If you finish early, you may review your answers and any questions
you did not answer in this session ONLY. Do not go past the stop sign.

Grade 8 36
 English Language Arts

Today you will read the folktale “The Fox and the Horse.” As you read, pay close
attention to characters and events as you answer the questions to prepare to
write a narrative story.

Read the folktale “The Fox and the Horse.” Then answer the questions.

The Fox and the Horse

1 A peasant once had a faithful horse, but it had grown old and could no longer do its
work. Its master begrudged it food, and said: “I can’t use you anymore, but I still feel
kindly towards you, and if you show yourself strong enough to bring me a lion I will keep
you to the end of your days. But away with you now, out of my stable”; and he drove it
out into the open country.
2 The poor horse was very sad, and went into the forest to get a little shelter from the
wind and weather. There he met a fox, who said: “Why do you hang your head, and
wander about in this solitary fashion?”
3 “Alas!” answered the horse. “Avarice and honesty cannot live together. My master has
forgotten all the service I have done him for these many years, and because I can no
longer plough he will no longer feed me, and he has driven me away.”
4 “Without any consideration?” asked the fox.
5 “Only the poor consolation of telling me that if I was strong enough to bring him a lion
he would keep me, but he knows well enough that the task is beyond me.”
6 The fox said, “But I will help you. Just you lie down here, and stretch your legs out as if
you were dead.” The horse did as he was told, and the fox went to the lion’s den, not far
off, and said: “There is a dead horse out there. Come along with me, and you will have a
rare meal.” The lion went with him, and when they got up to the horse, the fox said, “You
can’t eat it in comfort here. I’ll tell you what. I will tie it to you, and you can drag it away
to your den and enjoy it at your leisure.”
7 The plan pleased the lion, and he stood quite still, close to the horse, so that the fox
should fasten them together. But the fox tied the lion’s legs together with the horse’s tail
and twisted and knotted it so that it would be quite impossible for it to come undone.
8 When he had finished his work he patted the horse on the shoulder and said: “Pull, old
grey! Pull!”
9 Then the horse sprang up and dragged the lion away behind him. The lion in his rage
roared so that all the birds in the forest were terrified and flew away. But the horse let
him roar and never stopped till he stood before his master’s door.
10 When the master saw him he was delighted and said to him: “You shall stay with me
and have a good time as long as you live.”
11 And he fed him well till he died.

“The Fox and the Horse”—Public Domain

37 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

15. Part A

In order for his plan to work, what did the fox need most?

A The horse had to be a good actor.

B The lion had to trust the fox.
C The horse had to be patient with the fox.
D The lion had to be hungry.

Part B

What does the fox tell the lion that causes the answer to Part A?

A The lion should eat his meal in comfort.

B Horse meat is delicious.
C The horse is dead.
D The lion should lie down and wait for the fox to return.

Grade 8 38
 English Language Arts

16. Part A

Which aspect of the horse’s character best helps to resolve the conflict in the folktale?

A trust
B sorrow
C strength
D persistence

Part B

Which sentence from the folktale best illustrates the answer to Part A?

A “The poor horse was very sad, and went into the forest to get a little shelter from
the wind and weather.” (paragraph 2)
B “The horse did as he was told, and the fox went to the lion’s den, not far off, and
said: ‘There is a dead horse out there.’ ” (paragraph 6)
C “When he had finished his work he patted the horse on the shoulder and said:
‘Pull, old grey! Pull!’ ” (paragraph 8)
D “But the horse let him roar and never stopped till he stood before his master’s
door.” (paragraph 9)

39 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

17. Part A

Which two sentences belong in a summary of “The Fox and the Horse”?

A The old horse is sent away by its owner.

B The horse lay down as the fox told him to do.
C The horse receives help from a cunning fox.
D The peasant does not want to feed the old horse.
E The birds in the forest are frightened by the lion.
F The horse ignores the lion’s enraged roar.

Part B

Which two additional sentences belong in the summary in Part A?

A The horse was sad when his master turned him out.
B The fox promises the lion a special meal.
C The fox tricks the lion into being tied to the horse.
D The horse is able to bring a lion back to his master.
E The lion is in his den when the fox comes to trick him.
F The master forgot the horse’s many years of service.

Grade 8 40
 English Language Arts

18. Part A

Which statement best expresses a central idea in the folktale?

A Loyal friends can be trusted.

B Honest people are good friends.
C Individuals who show kindness are often treated the same way.
D Individuals can accomplish more with the help of others.

Part B

Which sentence from the folktale best demonstrates this idea?

A “A peasant once had a faithful horse, but it had grown old and could no longer do
its work.” (paragraph 1)
B “ ‘Only the poor consolation of telling me that if I was strong enough to bring him a
lion he would keep me, but he knows well enough that the task is beyond
me.’ ” (paragraph 5)
C “Then the horse sprang up and dragged the lion away behind him.” (paragraph 9)
D “When the master saw him he was delighted and said to him: ‘You shall stay with
me and have a good time as long as you live.’ ” (paragraph 10)

41 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

19. Beginning after paragraph 9, write an alternate ending to the folktale using details
about the characters and events from the passage. You may choose to use dialogue in
your new ending.

Grade 8 42
 English Language Arts

43 Grade 8
English Language Arts

Grade 8 44
 English Language Arts

45 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

Read the passage and then answer the questions.

DOGSPIRIT
by Gary Paulsen

The idea is to take a dog team from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, across nearly twelve
hundred miles of wilderness, mountain ranges, tundra, sea ice, and wild wind and cold,
alone with the dogs, and there is no sense to it.
That is the race. The Iditarod.
It is wondrously, gloriously, beautifully senseless and crazy and everyone who does it is
changed permanently and misses it, misses the dogs and the run for the rest of his or her
life and can never look at another horizon, sunrise, snowflake, ocean, sky, dog, tree, or
blade of grass without thinking of the run.
But mostly it is a time of learning, and what is learned most is the true character of the
bond between humans and dogs.
An Inuit1 man told me when I asked how sled dogs began that “there have always been
dogs and there have always been men.” There is a powerful and very ancient connection
between the human and the canine races. It is a kind of love, in the purest sense of the
word—dogs love humans for no reason. And humans—most of us—seem to love dogs the
same way. But there is more to it, a spiritual or soul connection that I did not know until I ran
dogs long, until I lived with them.
Training and the race mean you must run them four, five thousand miles. Six if possible.
Just to get them in condition. And that means that you must live with them all the time.
They become more than friends, more even than family. They become part of you, and the
person on the sled must become part of what they are, until it is impossible to find the line
where the dogs end and the person begins. There is just the Team.
And the person is part of it. They accept you as part of it, recognize what you must do and
when you must do it. . . .
On a long training run in Alaska, I went too far and while the dogs had rested each time
they stopped I had not, taking time to cook for them, so that when they ran again I stood on
the sled without sleep, again and again for twenty-nine hours. Somewhere in the mountains
we stopped so that I could rub ointment in their feet. As I kneeled on my haunches and took
my gloves off to rub the ointment between the toes of a big black and white dog named
Fonzie, my eyes closed and would not open.
The exhaustion was so deep, so complete that my head fell until my chin was on my chest
and my hands fell into the snow at my sides and I was asleep.
I do not know how long I slept that way. When my eyes opened, it was close to dark and it
was snowing heavily. I would have frozen that way, perhaps ended there except that I was
packed all around with dogs. They had moved in around me, packed and tangled in a great
ball of sleeping forms so that my hands and legs were covered with them. It is easy to say
that it just happened, that they simply pulled into a ball to ride the storm out and I was lucky
enough to be in the middle. But the closeness was there, their breath was there, their heat

1
Inuit—an Eskimo of North America and Greenland

Grade 8 46
 English Language Arts

was there and the reality—the love of them—was and is more important than explanations.
In the interior of Alaska, my lead dog—Cookie—developed a small cut on her right pad.2 It
was night and I didn’t see the cut until it had bled some, the blood freezing in an icy ball
until it was half an inch in diameter when it finally showed up in the light from my headlamp.
I stopped the sled and went to her to fix it.
The ice was frozen into the wound. She whimpered with pain when I pulled at it to clean it.
The sound cut through me. Cookie had led the team in training and the race, eight
thousand miles, saved my life in bad ice, sat across countless fires from me, slept next to
my sleeping bag on cold nights for years, had become closer to me in many ways than my
family and when she cried I did the most natural thing in the world.
I stuck her foot in my mouth to warm it so I could break the ice ball loose without causing
any further pain. I didn’t think of it. If I had I probably would have done the same thing.
And there came a time, finally, when the bond became so strong I made a conscious
decision to stay with the dogs. . . .
Runs are so incredibly fine—they are like dancing with winter. Dogs are always silent when
they run, silent except for the gentle whuff-whuff of their breathing and the tiny jingle of the
snaps on their collars. During the night if there is a full moon the steam from their breath
comes back over their backs so that they seem to stream out ahead in the moonlight like a
ghost.
The beauty is staggering. In a very little while it is hard to remember how the real world is,
only possible to know the beauty of the dogs.
On such a run, a night run, a pack of wolves had come in alongside us and moved with us
for mile after mile, trotting out to the side, six of them, pacing the dogs in the moonlight,
looking at us, now and then sweeping in to tease the dogs, then swinging out again and
then gone, gone into the moonlight and snow.
We came close to home. The dogs knew it and picked up the pace so that we were loping.
As we crossed the last small swamp before coming to our cabin I saw that there were lights
on and that there was company. I stopped the team.
I could not end it.
I could not end that run, the beauty of it, with the noise of people and the harshness of the
lights. So there, in the moonlight, in the silence I went to Cookie and turned her away from
home, turned her back into the bush and cold and snow and for a moment nothing
happened.
Cookie looked back at me, then out along the trail away from home, then back at me. I said
nothing but stood on the runners and she shrugged into her harness, and we moved back
into the night.
I have, really, never come back.

2
pad—the cushion of flesh on the bottom of a dog’s foot

“Dogspirit” copyright © 1991 by Gary Paulsen. Reprinted by permission of Flannery

Literary.

47 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

20. This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.

Part A

Which sentence best states a central idea of the passage?

A Training for the Iditarod requires that dogs must run thousands of miles.
B The Iditarod is a life-altering experience.
C Training for the Iditarod requires that a person become part of a team.
D The Iditarod is a challenging race.

Part B

Which evidence from the passage best supports the answer to part A?

A . . . and everyone who does it is changed permanently and misses it, misses the
dogs and the run for the rest of his or her life . . .
B . . . when they ran again I stood on the sled without sleep, again and again for
twenty-nine hours.
C . . . had become closer to me in many ways than my family . . .
D . . . before coming to our cabin I saw that there were lights on and that there was
company.

21. Which action best reveals Cookie’s connection to the narrator?

A Cookie leads the team during training.

B Cookie helps pull the sled through the mountains.
C Cookie returns to the trail instead of going home.
D Cookie runs alongside wolves instead of fearing them.

Grade 8 48
 English Language Arts

22. Read the sentence from passage.

As I kneeled on my haunches and took my gloves off to rub the ointment between the
toes of a big black and white dog named Fonzie, my eyes closed and would not open.

Which word from the sentence helps the reader understand the meaning of haunches?

A closed
B gloves
C toes
D kneeled

23. How does the narrator’s interpretation of the dogs’ protective behavior differ from
those who would argue that the dogs gathering around and protecting him “just
happened”?

A His interpretation stresses that few people try to understand the dogs.
B His interpretation provides a thorough explanation of the dogs’ natural instincts.
C His interpretation doubts whether the dogs could repeat their actions.
D His interpretation argues that the dogs’ actions were a purposeful act of caring.

49 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

24. Read this sentence from the passage.

Dogs are always silent when they run, silent except for the gentle whuff-whuff of their
breathing and the tiny jingle of the snaps on their collars.

What does this sentence reveal about the narrator?

A the narrator’s desire to win dog races across mountains and tundra
B the narrator’s sense of awareness about his surroundings
C the respect the narrator has for nature and its vastness
D the enjoyment the narrator gets from being in the wind and cold

25. This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.

Part A

What emotion is mostly conveyed by the language of the passage?

A love
B loneliness
C pride
D fear

Part B

What evidence from the passage best supports the answer in part A?

A The idea is to take a dog team from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, across nearly
twelve hundred miles of wilderness. . . .
B Training and the race mean you must run them four, five thousand miles.
C And there came a time, finally, when the bond became so strong I made a
conscious decision to stay with the dogs. . . .
D . . . a pack of wolves had come in alongside us and moved with us for mile after
mile. . . .

Grade 8 50
 English Language Arts

51 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

Session 3
Reading Literary and
Informational Texts
Directions:
Today, you will take Session 3 of the Grade 8
3 English Language Arts Test.
Read each passage and question. Then, follow the directions to answer each
question. Mark your answers by completely filling in the circles in your test
booklet. Do not make any pencil marks outside of the circles. If you need to
change an answer, be sure to erase your first answer completely.
If you do not know the answer to a question, you may go on to the next question.
If you finish early, you may review your answers and any questions you did not
answer in this session ONLY. Do not go past the stop sign.

Grade 8 52
 English Language Arts

Read the passage and then answer the questions.

Vaqueros: The First Cowboys

by Sylvia Whitman

The vaquero was the first cowboy.

Thanks to paperback novels and Hollywood movies, the word cowboy stirs up a rich soup
of images related to the Wild West. Sometimes the cowboy trots his faithful horse across
the wide-open prairie at sunset—proud, soulful, in touch with nature. Sometimes he gallops
right into a thundering herd of cattle—tough, cool, in control. Over the years, he has
become a symbol of independence—and of America.
But the first cowboys did not come from the United States. They were vaqueros, Mexicans
and Mexican Americans with extraordinary skills in horsemanship and livestock care. They
introduced Anglo-Americans to the cattle business, and although most books and films
have overlooked their contribution, vaqueros helped to shape cowboy culture.
Before Europeans began building colonies in this country, Spanish missionaries and
pioneers settled the area that is today Texas, New Mexico, California, and northern Mexico.
Small ranches and large haciendas1 sprang up all over this vast territory, and owners hired
vaqueros to manage the day-to-day operations.
When Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, many Hispanic landholders
abandoned their property, driven out by Anglo pioneers. New to the beef business, Anglos

1
haciendas: large plantations in Spanish-speaking areas

53 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

hired the out-of-work Hispanic vaqueros and learned their techniques. By the 1870s and
1880s, the heyday of the open range and cattle drives, Anglo cowboys outnumbered
Hispanic vaqueros almost nine to one.
The influence of the vaqueros was far-reaching, however. For example, they modified the
standard horse saddle to make roping a bull easier. Their technique, de la vuelta, involved
throwing a loop of cord over the horns of a bull and then twirling the other end around the
pommel rising out of the front of the saddle. Although an inexperienced roper could lose a
finger if it got caught in the line, this way of bringing down a bull usually prevented injury to
both the bull and the roper’s horse. When the Anglos adopted this method, they called it
dally roping, and they used the vaquero saddle, which eventually became known as the
western saddle.
Most traditional cowboy clothing also originated with the vaqueros. They wore chaps, heavy
leather aprons worn over pants to protect a rider’s legs, and poblanos, low, wide-brimmed
hats, and they carried a quirt, a tightly woven leather whip. To prevent their feet from sliding
through the stirrups, they wore boots with high heels.
The Hispanic cowboys developed a special vocabulary for their trade. Vaqueton, “thick-
skinned,” referred to a vaquero whose boss was always scolding him. When a horse
carried its head high, the ranch hands called it estrello, “stargazer.” If a horse bucked, a
vaquero might yell, “Agarrarse del sauce!” (“Take hold of the willow!”), referring to the
saddle horn, which was carved out of willow wood. Sometimes Anglo cowboys changed
the terminology—and certainly mispronounced it—but a great many Spanish words entered
the English language through the cattle business. Among these are lasso, bronco, corral,
and rodeo.

“Vaqueros: The First Cowboys” by Sylvia Whitman. From Cobblestone issue: Hispanic
Americans, © 1989 Carus Publishing Company, published by Cobblestone Publishing, 30
Grove Street, Suite C, Peterborough, NH 03458. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission
of the publisher.

Grade 8 54
 English Language Arts

26. This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.

Part A

What is most likely the author’s purpose in the passage?

A to reveal the true story of the cowboy

B to demonstrate that vaqueros owe much to the cowboys of the Wild West
C to show the impact of vaquero culture on clothing
D to argue that cowboys deserve credit for their contributions

Part B

Which evidence from the passage best supports the answer in part A?

A Thanks to paperback novels and Hollywood movies, the word cowboy stirs up a
rich soup of images related to the Wild West.
B Over the years, he has become a symbol of independence—and of America.
C They introduced Anglo-Americans to the cattle business, and although most books
and films have overlooked their contribution, vaqueros helped to shape cowboy
culture.
D Small ranches and large haciendas sprang up all over this vast territory, and
owners hired vaqueros to manage the day-to-day operations.

27. What is the meaning of the word heyday as it is used in the passage?

A the time of greatest popularity

B the time when the decline began
C the time after something ended
D the time before something began

28. What is the impact of using Spanish words throughout the passage?

A to emphasize the beauty of the vaqueros’ culture

B to teach the reader how to speak like the vaqueros
C to show how cowboys purposely changed the vaqueros’ words
D to illustrate the widespread influence of the vaqueros

55 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

29. How does the text make connections between American cowboys and Hispanic
vaqueros?

A by describing vivid images of the Wild West

B by creating interest in vaquero traditions
C by making analogies to Hollywood films
D by explaining the characteristics of cowboy culture

30. Which statement best presents the central idea of the passage and the way in which it
is developed?

A The influence of the vaqueros is developed by recounting facts about their leaders
and naming famous ranches on which they worked.
B The importance of the vaqueros is developed through details about their history
and examples of their impact on cowboy culture.
C The relationship of vaqueros to Anglo cowboys is developed by comparing each’s
ranching methods and clothing style.
D The progression of the cowboy culture is developed by contrasting the roles of
vaqueros and Anglo cowboys in the cattle business.

Grade 8 56
 English Language Arts

Read the two poems “Fox“ and “The Wren.” Then answer the questions.

Fox

You don’t ever know where

a sentence will take you, depending
on its roll and fold. I was walking
over the dunes when I saw
the red fox asleep under the green
branches of the pine. It flared up
in the sweet order of its being,
the tail that was over the muzzle
lifting in airy amazement
and the fire of the eyes followed
and the pricked ears and the thin
barrel body and the four
athletic legs in their black stockings and it
came to me how the polish of the world changes
everything, I was hot I was cold I was almost
dead of delight. Of course the mind keeps
cool in its hidden palace—yes, the mind takes
a long time, is otherwise occupied than by
happiness, and deep breathing. Still,
at last, it comes too, running
like a wild thing, to be taken
with its twin sister, breath. So I stood
on the pale, peach-colored sand, watching the fox
as it opened like a flower, and I began
softly, to pick among the vast assortment of words
that it should run again and again across the page
that you again and again should shiver with praise.

“Fox” from WEST WIND: Poems and Prose by Mary Oliver.

Copyright © 1997 by Mary Oliver. Reprinted by permission of
Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

57 Grade 8
English Language Arts

The Wren

he was small not ready yet

frantic
under the hedge
I caught him took him home
my father wasn’t sure
wild birds he said
we’ve tried so many times
but he ate
what we made for him
and in three days
could fly
around the living room
it’s time my father said
you have to let him go

outside
he sat on my shoulder
I shook him off he flew
to a branch of the maple
perched there
silent
his little eyes
I was a child I called him
back he came
stood for a moment
on my finger
then gone
I felt the spring of his legs
all day

“The Wren” from FINDING THE BALANCE, Red Hill Press,

Copyright © 1977 by Barbara McCauley. Reprinted by
permission.

Grade 8 58
 English Language Arts

31. Read the lines from the poem “Fox.”

It flared up
in the sweet order of its being,
the tail that was over the muzzle
lifting in airy amazement
and the fire of the eyes followed
and the pricked ears and the thin
barrel body and the four
athletic legs in their black
stockings

What do the word choices in these lines reveal about the speaker’s encounter with the
fox?

A The phrases “flared up” and “pricked ears” show how attentive the fox becomes as
the speaker approaches.
B The words “flared,” “fire,” and “pricked” suggest that the fox is angered by the
speaker’s presence.
C The phrases “sweet order” and “airy amazement” show how calm the fox is despite
the speaker’s presence.
D The words “tail,” “muzzle,” and “legs” suggest that the posture the fox assumes
seems threatening to the speaker.

32. Read the excerpt from “Fox.”

Of course the mind keeps / cool in its hidden palace—yes, the mind takes / a long
time, is otherwise occupied than by / happiness, and deep breathing.

What do these lines suggest?

A People are too anxious to like the freedom of living in different places.
B People are too busy to relax and enjoy living in the present moment.
C People are too stubborn to be open to the new ideas before them.
D People are too logical to spend time focused on unimportant tasks.

59 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

33. Read the lines from “The Wren.”

he was small not ready yet

frantic
under the hedge

What is the tone of these lines?

A disappointed
B surprised
C playful
D concerned

34. This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.

Part A

Which sentence best states a central idea from “The Wren”?

A Freedom is worth celebrating.

B Families share many memorable moments.
C One can still have a connection to something even when it is gone.
D People enjoy spending time in nature.

Part B

Which line or lines from the poem best supports the answer to part A?

A could fly / around the living room

B it’s time my father said
C I shook him off he flew / to a branch of the maple
D I felt the spring of his legs / all day

Grade 8 60
 English Language Arts

35. Which statement best explains the structure of each poem?

A “Fox” uses rhyme to capture an exciting experience, and “The Wren” uses two
organized stanzas to honor a sad event that the speaker remembers.
B “Fox” is a nonrhyming poem that reflects on one experience, and “The Wren” uses
interesting line breaks to capture the feelings of the speaker.
C “Fox” is a one-stanza poem about a journey, whereas “The Wren” is a narrative
poem that expresses personal feelings.
D “Fox” uses rhyme to present a silly topic, whereas “The Wren” uses a series of
long lines to present a serious subject.

61 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

Read the excerpt from an article and then answer the questions.

excerpt from In Nuptial Dress, Snowy Egrets Are Ethereal Delights

Snowy Egrets
Far across a marsh, swatches of brilliant white rise up out of the grass, seemingly blown
about by the wind, only to glide downward and disappear. Closer, along the water’s edge,
the white resolves into grave, graceful birds, heavy-billed hunters of the heron family,
dressed entirely in a white as luminous as the layers of a wedding gown.
They hunt alone, wiggling their yellow feet in the water to startle fish, hopping about with
wings raised, even diving into the water from the air. But these are social birds and they live
in large, boisterous conglomerations in which shyness, meekness and humility are not
valued. They roost together, they nest together, and when they are not hunting they spend a
large part of their time trying to impress one another.
When an individual returns to the nest, it greets its mate or young with a flaring of the
plumes on its head, neck and back into the diaphanous outline of a much larger bird. When
two males dispute a display or nest area, they square off with head plumes erect and wings
raised, stabbing at each other with their bills but rarely connecting. The young grow up in
an atmosphere of ostentatious display worthy of a medieval court.

Hat Birds
A century ago, fashion-conscious women began adding bird feathers to dresses, muffs,
capes, fans and, most especially, to hats. Feathers and even whole birds became the rage:
the ornithologist Frank M. Chapman reported that in a couple of afternoon walks on New
York’s Fifth Avenue, he had counted 40 recognizable species of “hat birds,” including owls
and crows. Estimates of the number of birds killed for the trade range upwards of five
million a year. Snowies were a favorite. Hunters found them numerous and approachable,
women considered their delicate plumes particularly appealing. The cruelty did not go
unnoticed. Henry C. Mercer (Smithsonian, October 1988) had this to say in the Bucks
County Intelligencer for February 3, 1897: “With repeating rifles and guns chosen for the
work, [the plume hunter] shot one by one ethereal parents, whose instinct brought them
hovering back to the trees where their young cried from the nests, and their mates in
wedding plumes lay bleeding. He tore the white feathers from their backs, heads and
breasts, and threw the bleeding carcasses in heaps to the blow flies. Vultures hovered over
the nestlings as their voices grew weak until they turned black in the sun, or their struggling
forms fell from the treetops to confront his steps in the mud.”
As more and more reports like this were published, reaction set in. Women wearing
feathers were jeered at on the streets as those in wild furs sometimes are today. Queen
Victoria decreed that military officers should no longer wear egret feathers in their hats.
Fledgling Audubon societies worked for legislation that would outlaw plume hunting. They
hired their own wardens to enforce new laws, men who risked their lives for the lives of
birds. In Flamingo, Florida, warden Guy Bradley stopped two hunters with illegal egrets.
They shot him and set his body adrift in his boat. Warden Columbus G. McLoad
disappeared in Placida, Florida; all that was ever found was his sunken boat and his
hat—with two ax gashes.

Grade 8 62
 English Language Arts

The killing of birds did stop and remnant populations began to recover. The snowy egret
rebounded during this century, extending its range far northward of where it had lived
before the devastation, until now it breeds in Canada. (Other birds have not done so well.
The reddish egret, for example, a slightly larger, rose-tinted cousin, still hangs on but is
recovering at a much slower rate.) Today the snowy faces only the universal threat of its
habitat being degraded or altogether lost. The present-day threat is not trivial. Biologists
estimate that the population of wading birds—including snowy egrets—in south Florida is
now only 10 percent of what it reached in the 1930s at the height of the post-hunting
recovery.
We are the winners of the bird wars fought a hundred years ago. We can still go to marsh
or shore and find one of these “white cranes” luring fish to a sudden end with its “golden
slippers,” turning aerial somersaults to attract favorable attention and, above all, fanning
those magnificent plumes for anyone who will watch.

“In Nuptial Dress, Snowy Egrets Are Ethereal Delights” copyright © Nov 1988 by John P.
Wiley. Reprinted with the permission of John F. Wiley for the Estate of John Preston Wiley,
Jr.

63 Grade 8
 English Language Arts

36. Read the sentence from the first paragraph of the article.

Closer, along the water’s edge, the white resolves into grave, graceful birds, heavy-
billed hunters of the heron family, dressed entirely in a white as luminous as the layers
of a wedding gown.

How does this sentence contribute to the ideas in the article?

A It contrasts the once peaceful atmosphere of the egrets’ habitat with the current
threat of damage to their environment.
B It creates a lovely setting that continues an image as the author describes the
egret’s incomparable beauty.
C It contrasts the innocence of the egrets with the greed of taking their feathers for
fashion.
D It explains the actions egrets use to communicate danger to the other birds.

37. Which sentence provides the best objective summary of the article?

A Snowy egrets are shy birds that fall prey to hunters who want to collect their eggs.
B Wardens monitor snowy egrets to keep them from outnumbering other local birds.
C Snowy egrets are social birds that almost disappeared when their feathers
became popular to wear.
D Fashion designers used snowy egret feathers and fur until the public demanded
they stop.

38. In the “Hat Birds” section of the article, what impact does the language used in the
quotation from the Bucks County Intelligencer have on the article?

A It emphasizes the importance of egrets to the fashion industry.

B It captures the skillfulness of those who hunted egrets.
C It exaggerates the effect hunting had on the egrets.
D It creates a picture of the shocking treatment of egrets.

Grade 8 64
 English Language Arts

39. This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.

Part A

Which sentence best states a central idea of the Hat Birds section of the article?

A Egrets eventually increased in number by moving to new habitats.

B People wearing egret feathers would eventually have different fashion ideas.
C The protection of snowy egrets required more than a change in public opinion.
D Scientific tracking of the population of snowy egrets helped keep the birds safe.

Part B

Which sentence from the article best supports the answer to part A?

A A century ago, fashion-conscious women began adding bird feathers to dresses,

muffs, capes, fans and, most especially, to hats.
B . . . the ornithologist Frank M. Chapman reported that in a couple of afternoon
walks on New York’s Fifth Avenue, he had counted 40 recognizable species of
“hat birds,”. . . .
C Fledgling Audubon societies worked for legislation that would outlaw plume
hunting [and] they hired their own wardens to enforce new laws.
D The snowy egret rebounded during this century, extending its range far northward
of where it had lived before the devastation, until now it breeds in Canada.

40. What reasons best explain why the author wrote this article? Choose two answers.

A to retell a legendary tale about snowy egrets

B to persuade readers to visit regions with snowy egrets
C to describe some of the interesting habits of snowy egrets
D to protest the collecting of egret feathers
E to explain how to identify the snowy egret
F to make people aware of the brutal history of hunting snowy egrets

65 Grade 8
 STATE BOARD OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
TEST SECURITY POLICY1
The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved a Test Security Policy on December 10, 1998. This has been
periodically revised.
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education holds the test security policy to be of utmost importance and deems any violation of
test security to be serious.
The State Superintendent of Education may disallow test results that may have been achieved in a manner that is in violation of test
security.
In cases in which test results are not accepted because of a breach of test security or action by the Louisiana Department of Education,
any programmatic, evaluative, or graduation criteria dependent upon the data shall be deemed not to have been met.
Any teachers or other school personnel who breach test security or allow breaches in test security shall be disciplined in accordance
with the provisions of R.S. 17:416 et seq., R.S. 17:441 et seq., R.S. 17:81.6 et seq., policy and regulations adopted by the Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education, and any and all laws that may be enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.

1 Excerpts from Bulletin 118

The mission of the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is to ensure equal access to education and to promote equal excellence
throughout the state. The LDOE is committed to providing Equal Employment Opportunities and is committed to ensuring that all its
programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public. The LDOE does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability,
national origin, race, religion, sex, or genetic information. Inquiries concerning the LDOE’s compliance with Title IX and other civil rights laws
may be directed to the Attorney, LDOE, Office of the General Counsel, P.O. Box 94064, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9064; 877.453.2721 or
customerservice@la.gov. Information about the federal civil rights laws that apply to the LDOE and other educational institutions is available
on the website for the Office of Civil Rights, USDOE, at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/.

This project is made possible through a grant awarded by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from the Louisiana Quality
Education Support Fund—8(g).

This public document was published at a total cost of $25,659. This web-only document was published for the Louisiana Department of
Education, P.O. Box 94064, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9064; by Data Recognition Corporation, 13490 Bass Lake Road, Maple Grove, MN 55311.
This material was published in accordance with the standards for printing by state agencies established pursuant to R.S. 43:31 and in
accordance with the provisions of Title 43 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes.

For further information or to anonymously report testing irregularities, call 1-844-268-7320.

© 2016 by Louisiana Department of Education