Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish, and there was no joy in the brilliance of sunshine. The long stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of overshadowed distances, and on silvery sandbanks hippos and alligators sunned themselves side by side. The broadening waters flowed through a mob of wooded islands; you lost your way on that river as you would in a desert, and butted all day long against shoals, trying to find the channel, till you thought yourself bewitched and cut off for ever from everything you had known once—somewhere—far away—in another existence perhaps. There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself, but it came in the shape of an unrestful and noisy dream, remembered with wonder amongst the overwhelming realities of this strange world of plants, and water, and silence. And this stillness of life did not in the least resemble a peace. It was the stillness of a relentless force brooding over a mysterious intention. It looked at you with a vengeful aspect. I got used to it after a while. I did not see it anymore. I had no time. I had to keep guessing at the channel. I had to discern, mostly by instinct, the signs of hidden banks. I watched for sunken stones. I was learning to clap my teeth smartly before my heart flew out, when I shaved by just barely some infernal sly old snag that would have ripped the life out of the tin-pot steamboat I drove and drowned all the passengers. I had to keep a look-out for the signs of dead wood that we could cut up in the night for the next day's steaming. When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the reality—the reality, I tell you—fades. The inner truth is hidden—luckily, luckily. But I felt it all the same. I felt often its mysterious stillness watching me.14Select the correct answer.Which sentence best expresses a theme of the passage? A. Humans are selfish and needy. B. Nature is bizarre and fascinating. C. Truth is elusive and intimidating. D. Reality is simple and predictable.

When we came to land, we saw no river or spring, nor any sign of inhabitants. Our men therefore wandered on the shore to find out some fresh water near the sea, and I walked alone about a mile on the other side, where I observed the country all barren and rocky. I now began to be weary, and seeing nothing to entertain my curiosity, I returned gently down toward the creek; and the sea being full in my view, I saw our men already got into the boat, and rowing for life to the ship. I was going to holla after them, although it had been to little purpose, when I observed a huge creature walking after them in the sea, as fast as he could; he waded not much deeper than his knees, and took prodigious strides; but our men had the start of him about half a league, and the sea thereabouts being full of pointed rocks, the monster was not able to overtake the boat. This I was afterwards told, for I durst not stay to see the issue of the adventure; but ran as fast as I could the way I first went, and then climbed up a steep hill, which gave me some prospect of the country. I found it fully cultivated; but that which first surprised me was the length of the grass, which, in those grounds that seemed to be kept for hay, was about twenty feet high.10Drag each tile to the correct location on the image.Identify which details are most important or less important for an objective summary of the excerpt.and I walked alone about a mile onthe other side, where I observed thecountry all barren and rocky.I durst not stay to see the issue of theadventure; but ran as fast as I couldthe way I first went . . .I saw our men already got into theboat, and rowing for life to the ship.I observed a huge creature walkingafter them in the sea, as fast as hecould . . .I found it fully cultivated . . .

We returned to the ship, then we took our casks, filled them with water, slept on shore, and the next morning set sail. About noon, a most violent whirlwind arose, lifting the ship above the water, and did not let us down into the seas but kept us suspended like puppets in mid-air for seven days and nights; on the eighth we saw a massive tract of land, like an island, round and remarkably full of light; we got on shore and found that it was inhabited. As night fell, other islands became visible, some were enormous, others minuscule, and all a fiery color. As we advanced, we were suddenly seized by the Hippogypi, who are men carried upon vultures, which they ride as we do horses. These vultures have three heads, and are immensely large; one of their feathers is bigger than a ship mast! The Hippogypi have orders, it seems, to fly around the kingdom, and if they find any stranger, to bring him to the king: they took us therefore and carried us before him. As soon as he saw us, he guessed by our attire what we were, saying "You are Grecians," and we told him we were.     "How did you arrive here?"     We told him what had happened, and he told us his own history, informing us that he also was a man, his name was Endymion, that he had been taken away from earth and brought to this place where he reigned as sovereign. "If I succeed in the war which I am now engaged in against the inhabitants of the sun, you will be happy here." We asked him what the quarrel was about.     "Phaeton, the king of the sun, has been at war with us for ages. I had the intention of sending some of my subjects to establish a colony in Lucifer, which was uninhabited: but Phaeton, out of envy, put a stop to it, by opposing me; we were overcome, our forces at that time being unequal to theirs. I have now resolved to renew the war and establish my colony."2Which excerpt from the passage best supports the idea that Endymion was taken from his home against his will? A.  . . . he had been taken away from earth and brought to this place . . .  B.  . . . they took us therefore and carried us before him. C. "I have now resolved to renew the war and establish my colony." D.  . . . he guessed by our attire what we were, saying "You are Grecians," . . . Reset

. What is the setting of this passage by Mark Twain?The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe river went on rising and rising, for ten or twelve days. The water was three or four feet deep in the low places on the island. Daytimes we paddled all over the island in the canoe. We went winding in and out among the trees. In some places the vines hung so thick we had to back out and go some other way.a raftthe roadthe rivera canoe

Edward Abbey's "The Damnation of a Canyon":For those who may think I exaggerate the contrast between the former river canyon and the present man-made impoundment, I suggest a trip on Lake Powell followed immediately by another boat trip on the river below the dam. Take a boat from Lee's Ferry up the river to within sight of the dam, then shut off the motor and allow yourself the rare delight of a quiet, effortless drifting down the stream. ln that twelve-mile stretch of living green, singing birds, flowing water and untarnished canyon walls — sights and sounds a million years older and infinitely lovelier than the roar of motorboats — you will rediscover a small and imperfect sampling of the kind of experience that was taken away from everybody when the oligarch and politicians condemned our river for purposes of their own.Which rhetorical technique is Abbey using in the underlined section of this excerpt?A.Ad hominemB.LogosC.PathosD.Ethos

Which of the following passages from Edward Abbey's "The Damnation of a Canyon" best demonstrates his use of pathos to build his argument?A.Up most of the side canyons, before damnation, there were springs, sometimes flowing streams, waterfalls and plunge pools the kind of marvels you can now find only in such small–scale remnants of Glen Canyon as the Escalante area.B.The difference between the present reservoir, with its silent sterile shores and debris–choked side canyons, and the original Glen Canyon, is the difference between death and life. Glen Canyon was alive. Lake Powell is a graveyard.C.The rising and falling water level entails various consequences. One of the most obvious, well known to all who have seen Lake Mead, is the "bathtub ring" left on the canyon walls after each drawdown of water, or what rangers at Glen Canyon call the Bathtub Formation.D.As a result the volume of water in the reservoir is continually being increased or decreased according to the requirements of the Basin States Compact and the power–grid system of which Glen Canyon Dam is a component.SUBMITarrow_backPREVIOUS