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An Interactive Quiz
about comprehension

POETRY 101
pigeon

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Passages #do steps++

Read the two passages below. For each question, choose the option that fits best.

Poem A is by Cal Beacock.

  1. A bunch of the germs were whooping it up inside the Bronchial Saloon.
  2. The bacillus handling the larynx was jazzing a gag-time tune.
  3. While back of the tongue in a solo game sat Dangerous Ah Kerchoo.
  4. And watching his luck was his light of love: the malady known as Flu.

Poem B, author is unknown.

  1. Ned Nott was shot and Sam Shott was not, so it is better to be Shott than Nott.
  2. Some say Nott was not shot, but Shott says he shot Nott.
  3. Either the shot Shott shot at Nott was not shot, or Nott was shot.
  4. If the shot Shott shot shot Nott, Nott was shot.
  5. But if the shot Shott shot shot Shott, then Shott was shot, not Nott.
  6. However, the shot Shott shot shot not Shott, but Nott.

Ready? Let's begin.


Uncanny {{steps}}  of 10 #do steps++

The word “whooping” [poem A line 1] suggests a pun on …

Cranes and characters

Disease and party noise

Mistake and illness

Shouting and shooting


Disease Noise {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: disease (whooping cough) and party noise (whooping it up).

The word “malady” [poem A line 4] means …

Influenza

Injury

Lady

Love


Influenza {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: an illness. Infer from the context [the malady know as Flu] that malady describes influenza.

Which body part is likened to a piano?

Bronchus

Larynx

Nose

Tongue


Larynx {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: larynx. The larynx is a box-shaped part of the respiratory tract between the base of the tongue and top of the trachea. Infer from the context that the bacillus is handling the larynx to produce a (gag) rag-time tune.

The poem likens the saloon to which body system?

Circulatory (blood)

Digestive (eating)

Nervous (feelings)

Respiratory (breathing)


Respiratory {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: respiratory (breathing). Several words (bronchial, larynx, tongue) refer to the respiratory system.

The poem uses imagery from which setting?

Fantasy

Horror

Science Fiction

Western


Western {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: Western. The references to a saloon, piano, and card game in the back suggest a cliché wild-west setting.

In the second poem, who was shot?

Both Ned and Sam

Ned Nott

Neither Ned nor Sam

Sam Shot


Ned Nott {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: Ned Nott was shot. Says so in the text.

The poem relies upon what device for its effect?

Alliteration (repeated use of letters or sounds)

Hyperbole (exaggeration)

Onomatopoeia (words that sound like what they describing)

Personification (treating an object as if it were human)


Alliteration {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: alliteration. It contains repeated use of the letters N and S and their corresponding sounds.

How does the poem create a sense of mystery?

It is a tongue twister that twists the facts

It raises the question of who shot Nott

It raises the question of who Shott shot

It uses onomatopoeia to twist the facts


Twister {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: it is a tongue twister that likewise twists the facts.

Which of the following could not be concluded?

The first poem has a single stanza

The second poem has a wild-west setting

The rhyming pattern of the first poem is A-A B-B

The rhyming pattern of the second poem is A-A-A


Setting {{steps}}  #do steps++

Best choice: the second poem has a wild-west setting. No specific setting is indicated.

Which of the following is not a proper name in either poem?

Bronchial

Bacillus

Flu

Shott


Bacillus

Best choice: Best choice: bacillus. A proper noun refers to a particular person, place, or object. Bacillus is a type of bacteria.

This concludes the comprehension quiz on two works of verse.

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