One sunshiny morning, in the good old times of the town of Boston, a young carver in wood, well known by the name of Drowne, stood contemplating a large oaken log, which it was his purpose to convert into the figurehead of a vessel. And while he discussed within his own mind what sort of shape or similitude it were well to bestow up this excellent piece of timber, there came into Drowne's workshop a certain Captain Hunnewell, owner and command of the good brig called the Cynosure, which had just returned from her first voyage.     Ah! that will do, Drowne, that will do!" cried the jolly captain, tapping the log. "I bespeak this very piece of oak for the figurehead of the Cynosure. She has shown herself the sweetest craft that ever floated, and I mean to decorate her prow with the handsomest image that the skill of man can cut out of timber. And, Drowne, you are the fellow to execute it."     "You give me more credit than I deserve, Captain Hunnewell," said the carver, modestly, yet as one conscious of eminence in his art. "But, for the sake of a the good brig, I stand ready to do my best. And which of these designs do you prefer? Here,"—pointing to a staring, half-length figure, in a white wig and scarlet coat,—"here is an excellent model, the likeness of our gracious king. Or what say you to Britannia with the trident?"     "All very fine, Drowne; all very fine," answered the mariner. "But as nothing like the brig ever swam the ocean, so I am determined she shall have such a figurehead as old Neptune never saw in his life. And what is more, as there is a secret in the matter, you must pledge your credit not to betray it."     "Certainly," said Drowne, marveling, however, what possible mystery there could be in reference to an affair so open, of necessity, to the inspection of all the world as the figurehead of a vessel. "You may depend, captain, on my being as secret as the nature of the case will permit."9Which statement provides the best objective summary of the passage? A. A ship's captain by the name of Hunnewell wants to decorate his ship with the handsomest image that anyone could create from an oak timber. B. While contemplating a piece of oak, a woodcarver receives a commission from a mariner to create a mysterious figurehead for the Cynosure. C. One day in old Boston, a mariner paid a visit to a well-known woodcarver for the purpose of designing a figurehead of Britannia. D. The woodcarver Drowne decides to make a new figurehead for the Cynosure in hopes that Captain Hunnewell will purchase it.

Select the correct text in the passage.Which detail shows a connection between the impacts of logging and the author's reluctant acceptance of those impacts?(2) It was a piece of forethought to work unceasingly at that time, for soon commerce attacked the swamp and began its usual process of devastation. Canadian lumbermen came seeking tall straight timber for ship masts and tough heavy trees for beams. Grand Rapids followed and stripped the forest of hard wood for fine furniture, and through my experience with the lumber men "Freckles"' story was written. Afterward hoop and stave men and local mills took the best of the soft wood. Then a ditch, in reality a canal, was dredged across the north end through my best territory, and that carried the water to the Wabash River until oil men could enter the swamp. From that time the wealth they drew to the surface constantly materialized in macadamized roads, cosy homes, and big farms of unsurpassed richness, suitable for growing onions, celery, sugar beets, corn and potatoes, as repeatedly has been explained in everything I have written of the place. Now, the Limberlost exists only in ragged spots and patches, but so rich was it in the beginning that there is yet a wealth of work for a lifetime remaining to me in these, and river thickets. I ask no better hunting grounds for birds, moths, and flowers. The fine roads are a convenience, and settled farms a protection, to be taken into consideration, when bewailing its dismantling....

excerpt adapted fromThe Count of Monte Cristoby Alexander DumasThe dock was soon covered with the usual crowd of curious onlookers, as the arrival of a ship is always a great event in the town of Marseilles. This was especially true when, like the Pharaon, it has been built in the city and belongs to a local shipowner.Meanwhile the vessel was approaching the harbor, but so slowly and with such an air of melancholy that the onlookers, sensing misfortune, began to wonder if an accident happened on board. However, the experienced seamen among them saw that if there had been an accident, it could not have happened to the ship herself, for she had every appearance of being under perfect control. Standing beside the pilot, who was preparing to steer the ship through the narrow harbor, was a young man. With vigilant eyes and rapid gestures, he watched every movement of the ship and repeated each of the pilot's orders.The vague anxiety hovering over the crowd affected one man so much that he could not wait until the ship entered the harbor. This man leaped into a small boat and ordered the boatman to row him out to meet the Pharaon.22What is the mood of the passage? A. angry B. mysterious C. critical D. confident E. tranquil

Barnacles1by Sidney LanierMy soul is sailing through the sea,But the Past is heavy and hindereth me.The Past hath crusted cumbrous shellsThat hold the flesh of cold sea-mells5 About my soul.The huge waves wash, the high waves roll,Each barnacle clingeth and worketh doleAnd hindereth me from sailing!Old Past, let go, and drop i' the sea10 Till fathomless waters cover thee!For I am living, but thou art dead;Thou drawest back, I strive aheadThe Day to find.Thy shells unbind! Night comes behind;15 I needs must hurry with the windAnd trim me best for sailing.________________________________________________1. small shellfish that attach themselves to ships and rocks10Select the correct answer.Which sentence best expresses a theme of “Barnacles”? A. The past can keep a person from making progress. B. Learning from past experiences is the only way to move forward. C. It is important to maintain one’s possessions in good condition. D. Moving against the tide can be difficult and lonely.

In this excerpt from the novel The Country of Pointed Firs, the unnamed narrator—a female writer—receives a visit from a retired sea captain.adapted from Captain Littlepageby Sarah Orne Jewett     "I am an old man, as you can see," said Captain Littlepage, "and I have been a shipmaster the greater part of my life. You may not think it, but I am above eighty years of age."     "You must have left the sea many years ago," I said.     "I should have been serviceable at least five or six years more," he answered.     Now we were approaching dangerous ground, but I asked to hear more with all the deference I really felt.     "I had a valuable cargo of general merchandise from the London docks to Fort Churchill, a station of the old company on Hudson's Bay," said the captain earnestly. "we were delayed in lading, and baffled by head winds and a heavy tumbling sea all the way north—about and across. Then the fog kept us off the coast; and when I made port at last, it was too late to delay in those northern waters with such a vessel and such a crew as I had. They cared for nothing, and idled me into a fit of sickness; but my first mate was a good, excellent man, so we made what speed we could to get clear of Hudson's Bay. I meant it should be my last voyage in her, and so it proved. She had been an excellent vessel in her day. Of the cowards aboard her I can't say so much."     "Then you were wrecked?" I asked.     "I wasn't caught astern o'the lighter by any fault of mine," said the captain gloomily.     "It was a hard life at sea in those days, I am sure," I said.     "It was a dog's life," said the poor old gentleman, "but it made men of those who followed it. I see a change for the worse even in our own town here; full of loafers now. I view it that a community narrows down and grows dreadful ignorant when it is shut up to its own affairs, and gets no knowledge of the outside world except from a cheap, unprincipled newspaper. In the old days, a good part o' the best men here knew a hundred ports of something of the way folks lived in them. Shipping's a terrible loss to this part o' New England from a social point o' view, ma'am."     "It accounts for the change in a great many things,—the sad disappearance of sea–captains,—doesn't it?"     "A shipmaster was apt to get the habit of reading," said my companion. "A captain is not expected to be familiar with his crew, and for the company's sake in dull days and nights he turns to his book. Most of us old shipmasters came to know 'most everything about something . . . These bicycles today offend me dreadfully; they don't afford no real opportunities of experience such as a man gained on a voyage. No, when folks left home in the old days they left it to some purpose, and when they got home they stayed there and had some pride in it. There's no large–minded way of thinking now; the worst have got to be best and rule everything; we're all turned upside down and going back year by year."     "Oh no, Captain Littlepage, I hope not," said I, trying to soothe his feelings.     There was a silence in the schoolhouse, but we could hear the noise of the water on a beach below. It sounded like the strange warning wave that gives notice of the turn of the tide.23Select the correct answer from each drop-down menu.Choose the word and phrase that correctly complete the ideas in the sentence.The author's use of affects the story by .

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