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CAHSEE English Practice Questions
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow. Daniel Boone will always occupy a unique place in our history as the archetype of the hunter and wilderness wanderer. He was a true pioneer, and stood at the head of that class of Indian-fighters, game-hunters, forest-fellers, and backwoods farmers who, generation after generation, pushed westward the border of civilization from the Alleghenies to the Pacific. As he himself said, he was "an instrument ordained of God to settle the wilderness." Born in Pennsylvania , he drifted south into western North Carolina , and settled on what was then the extreme frontier. There he married, built a log cabin, and hunted, chopped trees, and tilled the ground like any other frontiersman. The Alleghany Mountains still marked a boundary beyond which the settlers dared not go; for west of them lay immense reaches of frowning forest, uninhabited save by bands of warlike Indians. Occasionally some venturesome hunter or trapper penetrated this immense wilderness, and returned with strange stories of what he had seen and done.

1. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A: 'The Birth of Daniel Boone' B: 'The Great American Pioneers' C: 'The Life of Daniel Boone' D: 'Daniel Boone's Parents'
2. Who is the most likely author of this passage? A: Indian B: American folklorist C: Newspaper columnist D: Poet
3. What literary device is the author using in the phrase 'frowning forest'? A: personification B: simile C: metaphor D: alliteration
4. What does the word 'game-hunter' mean about Boone? A: He loved to play in the woods. B: He hunted animals. C: He was an excellent chess player. D: He was always ready for action.
5. Based on the passage, which is the most likely birth year for Daniel Boone? A: 1476 B: 1734 C: 1945 D: 1850

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow. The houses in Peking are built in a very rambling fashion, covering a large amount of ground, and our former house was no exception to the rule. It had sixteen small houses, one story high, containing about 175 rooms, arranged in quadrangles facing the courtyard, which went to make up the whole; and so placed, that without having to actually go out of doors, you could go from one to the other by verandas built along the front and enclosed in glass. My reader will wonder what possible use we could make of all of these rooms; but what with our large family, numerous secretaries, Chinese writers, messengers, servants, mafoos (coachmen), and chair coolies, it was not a difficult task to use them. The gardens surrounding the houses were arranged in the Chinese way, with small lakes, stocked with gold fish, and in which the beautiful lotus flower grew; crossed by bridges; large weeping willows along the banks; and many different varieties of flowers in prettily arranged flower beds, running along winding paths, which wound in and out between the lakes. At the time we left for Paris , in the month of June, 1899, the gardens were a solid mass of flowers and foliage, and much admired by all who saw them.
6. What kind of text would this passage most likely appear in? A: editorial B: high school yearbook C: autobiography D: epic poem
7. The purpose of this passage is: A: interrogative B: descriptive C: imperative D: exclamatory
8. Which of the following words probably describes the author? A: wealthy B: foolish C: Chinese D: poor
9. What does the author mean when she says that houses in Peking were built in a 'rambling fashion'? A: They moved from place to place. B: They were very beautiful. C: They were spread out over a large area. D: They were uncomfortable to live in.
10. What is the most likely definition of 'coolie'? A: jazz musician B: donkey C: warlord D: servant
Answer Key
1. C. Boone's life is the subject of the passage.
2. B. The tone of the passage indicates that the author approves of Boone.
3. A. Personification is when something that is not a person is described as if it were a person.
4. B. The word 'game' can mean animals that are hunted by humans.
5. B. The fact that western North Carolina was considered the 'extreme frontier' indicates the years in which Boone lived.
6. C. The passage sounds like a description of the author's childhood.
7. B. The purpose of the passage is to describe the author's home and garden in China.
8. A. The author would need to be wealthy to have so many servants and such a large home.
9. C. The word 'rambling' means spread out over a large space.
10. D. A coolie is a Chinese servant, in this case one who carries a chair.