Sophomore Exam
I. A Few Roots (10%)
Identify the roots in the following words and define them using words or sketches.
1. misanthropy
2. concentrated
3. chronometer
4. chromosome
5. formulate
6. filament
7. crucial
8. dormant
9. biomimicry
10. cessation
II. A Little Grammar. 28 Sentences. (20%)
Part One: Identify the grammatical elements in sentences that you find in literature (you may use the novels and literary works in Mr. Bonnell's room). You may also use the blue Language Usage books for this section. Use a separate sentence for each element. Explain how the structure is used.
Part Two: Compose your own sentences illustrating their use. Identify the element used in each sentence.
Example:
Prepositional phrase
Literary sentence: "Then we rounded a bend and our headlights swept across a rusted metal sign pockmarked with shotgun pellets, that informed us that the Hoosatonic Inn, straight ahead, was the original birthplace of Pie a la Mode." -Donna Tartt, The Secret History
The prepositional phrase modifies "pockmarked," describing how it was pockmarked.
Original sentence: During the game, we shouted with enthusiasm and delight.
The prepositional phrase modifies "shouted," describing when we shouted.
The List
1. Subjects
2. Verbs
3. Adjectives
4. Adverbs
5. Pronouns
6. Predicate Nominatives
7. Predicate Adjectives
8. Object Complements
9. Direct Objects
10. Indirect Objects
11. Prepositional Phrases
12. Gerunds
13. Infinitive Phrases
14. Appositive Phrases
III. Three questions about A Separate Peace. (20%)
1. What are two complicating factors in A Separate Peace (events or people that create or build conflict)? Describe how these factors create conflict in the novel.
2. Listen to the song and write a response describing how you think it might relate to the internal/external conflicts in the novel. "Zombie" by The Cranberries, lyrics included.
3. List character traits for the two main characters in A Separate Peace. Compare/Contrast these characters with someone you know.
IV. Guernica, A Separate Peace, and The Pale Blue Dot. (25%)
View http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_%28painting%29. Read the background on Picasso's painting. Look at the image of the Pale Blue Dot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_blue_dot Read the excerpt from Carl Sagan's book about it. Think about Black Elk Speaks and his dreams of war and peace. Discuss the overlapping themes of war and peace in the photo, painting, excerpt, and book.
In your essay, incorporate references to this quotation from A Separate Peace: "I think we reminded them of what peace was like, we boys of sixteen. We were registered with no draft board, we had taken no physical examinations. No one had ever tested us for hernia or color blindness. Trick knees and punctured eardrums were minor complaints and not yet disabilities which would separate a few from the fate of the rest. We were careless and wild, and I suppose we could be thought of as a sign of the life the war was being fought to preserve. Anyway, they were more indulgent toward us than at any other time; they snapped at the heels of the seniors, driving and molding and arming them for the war. They noticed our games tolerantly. We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up with destruction."
V. Synthesis Essay (25%)
Think back to your "Magic" essay as well as our class discussions regarding being in the moment. The quotation from The Snow Leopard goes like this: "Here in the secrets of the mountains, in the river roar, I touch my skin to see if I am real; I say my name aloud and do not answer."
You may make reference to the quote, your self-selects, movies, music, Black Elk Speaks, A Separate Peace, your personal experiences, etc., to explore one or more of these themes: the importance of dreams, the value of being in the moment, the value of struggle, or the power of time and place. Be sure to support your ideas with specific examples.
Visual element:
Link a picture to your idea and briefly explain why it "fits" with your essay.