Comprehension Skills Series

The exercise on the next page is a sample exercise. Its purpose is to show how the information you have studied in Parts One and Two is put to use in reading.

A second purpose of the sample exercise is to preview the 30 exercises which appear in Part Four. Reading the sample passage and answering the sample questions will help you get off to a good start.

The answers to all the questions are fully explained. Reasons are given showing why the correct answers are the best answers and where the wrong answers are faulty.

Complete the sample exercise carefully and thoughtfully. Do not go on to Part Four until you are certain that you understand literary forms and figures of speech.

Sample Exercise

Kino lay as rigid as a tree limb. He barely breathed. And his eyes went to the place where he had swept over his tracks. Even the sweeping might be a message to the trackers. He knew these inland hunters. In a country where there is little game they managed to live because of their ability to hunt, and they were hunting him. They scuttled over the ground like animals and found a sign and crouched over it while the horseman waited.

The trackers whined a little, like excited dogs on a warming trail. Kino slowly drew his big knife to his hand and made it ready. He knew what he must do.

1. This paragraph can be considered an example of

poetry.
fiction.
nonfiction.
argumentation.

2. Which one of the following sentences contains a simile?

Kino lay as rigid as a tree limb.
He knew these inland hunters.
He knew what he must do.
Kino slowly drew his big knife to his hand and made it ready.

3. In this selection the author seems concerned with

developing characters who are really animals.
establishing setting and mood.
describing the actions of the hunters.
blending characters, setting, and action.

4. Underline the sentence which clearly suggests Kino's future actions.

1. The best answer to the first question is b, the selection is an example of fiction. Since fiction deals with people, places, and events, b has to be the answer.

Answer a: Poetry requires a particular set-up very different from the paragraph form of this selection.

Answer c: A story of this type cannot be classified as non-fiction because it is not a realistic recording of an actual event.

Answer d: Argumentation deals with ideas, views, and attitudes; this selection deals with people, places, and events.

2. The best answer to the second question is a, "Kino lay as rigid as a tree limb." Kino's position on the ground is being compared to the fixed position of a tree limb. This answer is the only one with "as" which is a key word in a simile.

Answers b, c, and d: None of these sentences contains "like", "as", or "than" which would be necessary for a simile. Also nothing is being compared in these sentences.

3. The best answer to the third question is d, the author seems to be most concerned with blending action, character, and setting. Kino and the trackers are characters; Kino's escape and the tracker's pursuit is action; and expressions like "inland", and "country where there is little game" establish setting. More subtle clues like sweeping over his tracks and scuttling over the ground also help to establish setting.

Answer a: Characters are introduced but they are not really developed. We know very little about them by the time we finish reading the selection.

Answer b: Setting and mood are established to some degree, but this answer is incomplete compared to answer d which is more complete.

4. The best answer to the fourth question is "Kino slowly drew his big knife to his hand and made it ready." An answer which is acceptable but not as good is, "He knew what he must do."

If you had difficulty answering these questions correctly, review the paragraph and questions. If, after that, you still do not understand the answers and explanations, check with your instructor before going on.