week 22 reading quiz: compare and contrast

Test reading skills with compare & contrast passages and poems!

Type your name in the box below. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland adapted fromAlice’s Adventures in Wonderlandby Lewis Carroll1 Alice was getting very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank and of having nothing to do when, suddenly, a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.2 There was nothing so very remarkable in that, nor did Alice think it strange to hear the Rabbit say to itself, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” But when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet. It flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a pocket or a watch to take out of it. Burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.3 In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again. The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down. It was so sudden that Alice had not a chance to stop herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.4 Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything. Then, she looked at the sides of the well and noticed that they were filled with cupboards. Here and there she saw maps and pictures hung up. [. . .]5 Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end! “I wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time?” she said aloud. “I must be getting somewhere near the center of the earth.” [. . .]6 Down, down, down. She felt that she was dozing off when, suddenly, thump! thump! Down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.7 Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up to her feet in a moment. She looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost. Away went Alice like the wind, and she was just in time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, “Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!”Excerpt from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, 1866 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz adapted fromDorothy and the Wizard in Ozby L. Frank Baum1 When Dorothy recovered her senses they were still falling, but not so fast. The top of the buggy caught the air like an umbrella filled with wind. It held them back so that they floated downward with a gentle motion that was not so disagreeable to bear. The worst thing was their terror of reaching the bottom of this great crack in the earth. Crash after crash echoed far above their heads as the earth came together where it had split. The stones and chunks of clay rattled around them on every side. [. . .]2 How long this continued Dorothy could not even guess, she was so greatly bewildered. But by and by, as she stared ahead into the black chasm with a beating heart, she began to dimly see the form of the horse Jim—his head up in the air, his long legs sprawling in every direction as he tumbled through space. Turning her head, she found that she could see the boy beside her.3 Dorothy sighed and started to breathe easier. She realized that death was not in store for her, after all, but that she had merely started upon another adventure. [. . .]4 Just then the buggy tipped slowly over upon its side, the body of the horse tipping also. But they continued to fall, all together, and the boy and girl had no difficulty in remaining upon the seat, just as they were before. Then they turned bottom side up, and continued to roll slowly over until they were right side up again. During this time Jim struggled frantically, all his legs kicking the air; but on finding himself in his former position the horse said, in a relieved tone of voice:5 "Well, that's better!"6 Dorothy and Zeb looked at each other in wonder.7 "Can your horse talk?" she asked.8 "Those were the first words I ever said," called out the horse, who had overheard them, "and I can't explain why I happened to speak then. This is a nice scrape you've got me into, isn't it?"9 "As for that, we are in the same scrape ourselves," answered Dorothy, cheerfully. "But never mind, something will happen pretty soon."Excerpt from Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum, 1908 1. In which two ways are Alice and Dorothy similar? Both feel scared about what happens. Both fall deep inside the earth. Both chase an animal underground. Both are alone when they fall. Both are curious about what they see 2. How is Alice different from Dorothy? Alice is in a buggy when she falls, but Dorothy is not. Alice is chasing the rabbit, but Dorothy is chasing the horse. Alice chooses to go underground, but Dorothy does not. Alice is worried about where she is going, but Dorothy is excited. Snow Day 1 Snow day,Ten-below day,Bundle-up-and-go day.Pile three deep5 On the old wooden sled,Snow-crusted jackets,Cheeks frozen red.Scrunch, crunch, scrunch,Boots punch holes in snow. 10 From three small balls,Watch a snowman grow.Cocoa sipping,Cookie dipping,One free night15 Of homework skipping.A friend’s toboggan1Is ours to borrow—Please let there beNo school tomorrow! 1 toboggan: a light, long, narrow sled Lightning 1 I see lightning,and it’s frighteningtearing up the summer skies.Watch it flashing. 5 See it slashing.Everything electrifies.Hear it cracking.Trees are thwacking.I curl into a ball.10 I cover my headand stay in bedaway from this big squall.Now it’s slowing.The storm is going.15 The lightning’s not so bright.It’s getting dimmer,just a glimmerof flickering, flashing light. 3. How are the poems similar? Both describe the speaker's day off from school. Both describe the speaker's hopes for the next day. Both describe the speaker's activities with friends. Both describe the speaker's response to a weather event. 4. How are the structures of the poems different? One poem explains a problem and a solution, and the other tells events in the order that they happen. One poem has lines that rhyme, and the other does not. One poem has multiple stanzas, and the other does not. One poem tells events in the order that they happen, and the other explains a cause and its effects. 5. How are the poems different? One describes an exciting weather event, and the other describes a frightening one. One describes a very unusual weather event, and the other describes a common one. One contains a brave speaker, and the other contains a cowardly one. One contains an older speaker, and the other contains a very young one. Snow Explorer 1 Sun riseson an untouched planetof ice forest, dunes,and pond frost.5 My bootsmake cratersin the landscape.I speak my name into the air:A mist forms;10 disappears.My footprints say:I was here. 6. In which two ways is the organization of the poems different? One poem rhymes the last words of some lines, and the other does not. One poem has stanzas with equal numbers of lines, and the other does not. One poem describes events in the order they happen, and the other does not. One poem has lines of equal length, and the other does not. One poem is divided into multiple stanzas, and the other is not. 7. Which topic do both poems share? the way snow changes a landscape having a day off from school going sledding with friends playing in the snow 8. How are the settings of the poems similar? Both take place in the speaker's house. Both take place in a snowy forest. Both take place in a crowded area. Both take place outside in the snow.