ELA 10 - Recognizing Rhetorical Techniques In A Speech (Pre-Test)

Which ideas from the excerpt would be most appropriate to include in a summary? Select two options. Read the excerpt from activist Cesar Chavez's 1984 address to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco. All my life, I have been driven by one dream, one goal, one vision: To overthrow a farm labor system in this nation which treats farm workers as if they were not important human beings. Farm workers are not agricultural implements—they are not beasts of burden to be used and discarded. . . . . . . My motivation comes from my personal life—from watching what my mother and father went through when I was growing up—from what we experienced as migrant farm workers in California. That dream, that vision, grew from my own experience with racism—with hope—with the desire to be treated fairly and to see my people treated as human beings and not as chattel. It grew from anger and rage—emotions I felt 40 years ago when people of my color were denied the right to see a movie or eat at a restaurant in many parts of California. It grew from the frustration and humiliation I felt as a boy who couldn't understand how the growers could abuse and exploit farm workers when there were so many of us and so few of them. - A) My singular objective has been to change farming practices so workers are respected. B) There was a time when people like me were not welcome in restaurants or theaters. C) I have been angry for at least 40 years because of horrible experiences in my life. D) This dream for change came from my own experiences of racism and mistreatment. E) My dreams for change came from watching my parents as I was growing up.

Which statement best summarizes the central idea in this excerpt? Read the excerpt from President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge—and more. To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do—for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. - A) All other countries need to know that we will fight them at any cost to maintain our liberty. B) We value our allies, but we will go our own way if they do not agree to work with us. C) The only way to achieve success is to fight for the things you believe in, such as freedom. D) We will do whatever it takes to preserve our freedom, but will get more done working together.

Which ideas from the excerpt would be most appropriate to include in a summary? Select TWO options. Read the excerpt from a speech petitioning people to adopt animals in need. I am here today to persuade you to see the benefit of adopting your next pet from the animal shelter instead of purchasing it from a pet store. It is crucial to see the value in adopting animals and hopefully putting pet stores out of business. The health and well-being of our animal friends is what is at stake here. Many people think it would be fun to get a cute designer animal from a boutique pet shop, but once we all know the truth behind their practices, we will be lining up at the shelter to fall in love with an animal in need. Your new dog may not be a purebred dog with official papers and a customized small size, but you will know that your animal is healthy and eternally grateful that you provided him with a warm home. - A) Many people want a designer dog from a boutique. B) Animals bred through pet shops suffer health problems. C) People need to adopt animals instead of going to pet shops. D) Many people have a warm home and like animals. E) More people need to decide to have pets in their homes.

How do the words hideous, revolting, and false most affect the tone and meaning of this passage? Read the excerpt from Frederick Douglass's July 4, 1852, speech on the hypocrisy of American slavery. Douglass was an abolitionist and a formerly enslaved person. Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. - A) They suggest the speaker's belief that the future holds hope. B) They present a tone of solidarity with America's actions. C) They show the speaker's disgust over slavery. D) They show the speaker's admiration for America.

What is Sotomayor's intended purpose in posing three powerful questions in a row? Read the excerpt from "A Latina Judge's Voice" by Hon. Sonia Sotomayor. I also hope that by raising the question today of what difference having more Latinos and Latinas on the bench will make will start your own evaluation. For people of color and women lawyers, what does and should being an ethnic minority mean in your lawyering? For men lawyers, what areas in your experiences and attitudes do you need to work on to make you capable of reaching those great moments of enlightenment which other men in different circumstances have been able to reach? For all of us, how do [we] change the facts that in every task force study of gender and race bias in the courts, women and people of color, lawyers and judges alike, report in significantly higher percentages than white men that their gender and race has shaped their careers, from hiring, retention to promotion, and that a statistically significant number of women and minority lawyers and judges, both alike, have experienced bias in the courtroom? - A) Sotomayor is creating a tone of confusion that will challenge the audience to ask their own questions. B) Sotomayor develops a structure of repetition so the audience is better able to answer the questions. C) Sotomayor wants the audience to learn how to deliver a powerful speech on diversity in the courtroom. D) Sotomayor wants the audience to pose serious questions of their own about diversity on the bench.

What does Sotomayor accomplish by using the words "morcilla—pig's intestine"? Read the excerpt from "A Latina Judge's Voice" by Hon. Sonia Sotomayor. If I had pursued my career in my undergraduate history major, I would likely provide you with a very academic description of what being a Latino or Latina means. For example, I could define Latinos as those peoples and cultures populated or colonized by Spain who maintained or adopted Spanish or Spanish Creole as their language of communication. You can tell that I have been very well educated. That antiseptic description, however, does not really explain the appeal of morcilla—pig's intestine—to an American-born child. It does not provide an adequate explanation of why individuals like us, many of whom are born in this completely different American culture, still identify so strongly with those communities in which our parents were born and raised. - A) Sotomayor brings the audience's attention to the uniqueness of her culture. B) Sotomayor creates a mood of sadness to emphasize the loss of her culture. C) Sotomayor establishes herself as being educated in culinary arts. D) Sotomayor forces the audience to consider the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

The tone of this speech most expresses a feeling of Read the excerpt from "Ain't I a Woman?" a speech given by Sojourner Truth, a formerly enslaved person, in 1851. Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them. - A) gratitude. B) triumph. C) acceptance. D) frustration.

The term pathos is best defind as - A) an appeal to emotions. B) the use of changes in tone. C) an appeal to character. D) the use of exaggeration.

How do Sotomayor's descriptions of her family most likely affect readers? Read the excerpt from "A Latina Judge's Voice" by Hon. Sonia Sotomayor. My Latina soul was nourished as I visited and played at my grandmother's house with my cousins and extended family. They were my friends as I grew up. Being a Latina child was watching the adults playing dominos on Saturday night and us kids playing lotería, bingo, with my grandmother calling out the numbers which we marked on our cards with chickpeas. - A) They show readers how Latina families decorate their homes. B) They give readers images of the importance of family. C) They describe the struggle Sotomayor endured in becoming a judge. D) They give readers feelings of hopelessness and desperation.

Which words from the passage have negative connotations that support the author's point? Select THREE options. Read the excerpt from a speech on the benefits of eating organic versus conventionally grown foods. I want my food to be real food. I don't want my only option of nourishment to be chemicals disguised as food. Chemicals that could one day poison my body and lead me down a path of obesity and disease. And I want organic options to be affordably priced so everyone can afford to eat healthy. I believe that these are attainable goals if more people see the value in organic food. - A) "affordably" B) "chemicals" C) "disease" D) "obesity" E) "attainable"