Department of Education

English Program
PREPARED AND ADAPTED BY

Maribel Arroyo
Yauco English Supervisor

Sandra Blondet
Ponce III English Supervisor

Jo - Ann Febles
Juana Diaz English Supervisor

Tulidania Gonzalez
Guayanilla English Supervisor

Ivelisse León
Ponce II English Supervisor

Dr. Iris Lugo

Ponce I English Supervisor

Carmen Martínez
Santa Isabel English Supervisor

Lina Pérez
Adjuntas English Supervisor

Pat Rios
Peñuelas English Supervisor

Inés Rosado
Guanica English Supervisor

Olga Hernandez
Santa Isabel English Teacher
CONTRIBUTING EDUCATORS

Prof. Iviana Delgado

Ponce I English Teacher

Barbara González Camacho

Guánica English Teacher

Prof. Olga Hernández

Santa Isabel English Teacher

Brenda E. Serrano Santos

Guánica English Teacher

EDITORS

Dr. Evelyn Veguilla

English Program Director

Prof. Alvin Ríos

Jayuya English Supervisor

Prof. Luz Selenia García

Villaba English Supervisor

Prof. Aidita Vélez Ortiz

Cidra English Supervisor

Prof. María V. Martínez

Bayamón I English Supervisor

Luz Magali Ramos Matos

Naguabo English Supervisor

Patricia Nieves Sánchez

Caguas II English Supervisor

Angel Valentin
Hormigueros English Supervisor
 Pre-Post Test
Tenth Grade

PART I

Standard 1: Listening/Speaking

Listen to the following dialogue. Then listen to the questions, and select
the best answer.

1. Why are María and John not going to the disco this weekend?

a. The disco won’t be open.

b. They don’t have enough money.
c. The disco is too expensive.
d. María will be visiting her grandmother.

2. When John replies “That’s too bad. I was really looking forward to it”. We
can infer that John is ______________.

a. disappointed
b. happy
c. angry
d. indifferent

3. The dialogue is mainly about:

a. plans to go to the museum.

b. plans to go to the disco.
c. plans to visit Maria’s grandmother.
d. plans to visit John’s grandmother.

This is a passage about two students named Stephanie and Manuel.

Listen to the passage. Then listen to the questions and select the best
answer.

4. This passage is mainly about:

a. Stephanie’s first day in class.

b. Manuel’s interest in basketball.
c. Stephanie’s interest in Miguel.
d. Manuel’s first day in class.
5. Manuel did not turn in his English homework on Friday because:

a. the class did not have any homework to do.

b. Manuel left his homework at school.
c. Friday was Manuel’s first day in school.
d. he didn’t know he had homework to do.

6. When did Stephanie first meet Manuel?

a. At the beginning of class today.

b. At the beginning of the school year.
c. When they were young.
d. When Manuel first moved to town.

7. Why does Stephanie want to introduce Manuel to Luis?

a. They both play basketball.

b. They both like English.
c. They both go to the same school.
d. They both live on the same street.

Speaking: Answer the following open-ended questions orally.

8. How was your first day in school?

9. How did you feel when you didn’t do your homework?

Rubric for Open-ended questions

Speaks fluently, Speaks clearly and Is able to Has difficulty Has many
correctly, and appropriately to communicate expressing limitations and
appropriately to express feelings feelings and feelings and difficulty in
express feelings and and personal personal personal expressing
personal experiences. experiences. Has experience with experiences. feelings and
Has extensive varied vocabulary. some Has limited personal
vocabulary. Speaks in limitations. vocabulary experiences. Has
complete sentences. Has basic very limited
vocabulary. vocabulary.
Speaks only a few
words.
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
PART II

Standard Two: Reading

ARACHNE

Olivia E. Coolidge

Read the following excerpt taken from Arachne by Olivia E. Coolidge. Then
answer the questions.

Arachne was a maiden who became famous throughout Greece, though

she was neither wellborn nor beautiful and came from no great city. She lived

in an obscure little village, and her father was a humble dyer of wool. In this

he was very skillful, producing many varied shades, while above all he was

famous for the clear, bright scarlet which is made from shellfish, and which

was the most glorious of all the colors used in ancient Greece. Even more

skillful than her father was Arachne. It was her task to spin the fleecy wool into

a fine, soft thread and to weave it into cloth on the high, standing loom within

the cottage. Arachne was small and pale from working too much. Her eyes

were light and her hair was a dusty brown, yet she was quick and graceful, and

her fingers, roughened as they were, went so fast that it was hard to follow

their flickering movements. So soft and even was her thread, so fine her cloth,

so gorgeous her embroidery, that soon her products were known all over

Greece. No one had ever seen the like of them before.

At last Arachne’s fame became so great that people used to come from far

and wide to watch her working. Even the graceful nymphs would steal in from

the stream or forest and peep shyly through the dark doorway, watching in

wonder the white arms of Arachne as she stood at the loom and threw the
shuttle from hand to hand between the hanging threads, or drew out the long

wool, fine as a hair, from the distaff as she sat spinning. “Surely Athene

herself must have taught her,” people would murmur to one another. “Who

else could know the secret of such marvelous skill?” Arachne was used to being

wondered at, and she was immensely proud of the skill that had brought so

many to look on her. Praise was all she lived for, and it displeased her greatly

that people should think anyone, even a goddess, could teach her anything.

1. The author narrates the story from the:

a. first-person point of view

b. third-person point of view
c. second-person point of view
d. fourth-person point of view

2. The story takes place in:

a. Rome
b. Athens
c. Greece
d. France

3. One of Arachne’s greatest traits was her ability to spin wool. Based on this
information, we can say that she is:

a. quick
b. graceful
c. skillful
d. beautiful

4. The problem with Arachne was that:

a. she was very skillful.

b. she was very graceful.
c. she was very proud.
d. she was very beautiful.
5. In the sentences…Came from no great city. She lived in an
obscure little village. The word obscure means:

a. dark
b. unknown
c. light
d. well known

6. An ancient story that relates the actions of gods or heroes or explains

events
in nature can be classified as a:

a. myth
b. legend
c. fable
d. short story

7. Arachne’s father was a:

a. fisherman
b. wool dyer
c. Greek god
d. lawyer

8. In the sentence: “Praise was all she lived for, and it displeased her
greatly that people should think anyone, even a goddess, could teach
her anything”. We can infer that Arachne was:

a. stubborn
b. bright
c. jealous
d. proud

9. In the sentence: “Arachne was used to being wondered at, and she was
immensely proud of the skill that had brought so many to look on
her”. The word wondered means:

a. envied
b. ignored
c. praised
d. admired
Read the following poem. Then select the answers that best complete
each statement.

Who has seen the wind?

Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

10. “The leaves hang trembling” is an example of:

a. simile
b. hyperbole
c. personification
d. metaphor

11. Line six “But when the trees bow down their heads” can be classified
as:

a. metaphor
b. personification
c. simile
d. hyperbole

12. What is the answer to the question Who has seen the wind?

a. the author
b. no one
c. the speaker
d. everyone

13. The wind is passing by is an example of:

a. personification
b. metaphor
c. simile
d. hyperbole
14. Oral Fluency Test

Read the following passage to your teacher aloud.

Rain forests take up only 2 percent of the world’s surface area- 6 percent

of the land – yet they are home to more than half the plants and animals in the

world. Rain forests are being destroyed at a rate of 55,000 square miles a year.

The rain forests cover an area about the size of the continental United States,

excluding Alaska. In relative terms, an area larger than Florida is being

destroyed annually. Every second, a football-field-sized plot of rain forest

comes tumbling down. At this rate, none will be left by the year 2020. We all

must work together to save the rain forests before it’s too late.

A rain forest is a delicate, intricate balance of life. Though most of us are

aware of its role in protecting the ozone layer, some people don’t know that the

rain forest is a world where more than ten million species thrive. Who knows if

among the unexplored regions there lies a cure for cancer?

Taken From: Writer’s Companion (Prentice Hall)

Middle Grades
PART III

Writing

Select the sentence that is correct.

1) a) A Grand Jury will decide whether the man is innocent or guilty.

b) Innocent or guilty a Grand Jury will decide whether the man is.

c) Whether the man is innocent or guilty a Grand Jury will decide.

d) A Grand Jury whether innocent or guilty will decide the man is.

2) a) I eats too much at that party last night.

b) I eat too much at that party last night.

c) I ate too much at that party last night.

d) I eaten too much at that party last night.

3) a) Roberto Velázquez is a puerto rican living in New York.

b) Roberto Velázquez is a Puerto Rican living in New York.

c) Roberto Velázquez is a Puerto Rican living in new york.

d) Roberto velázquez is a Puerto Rican living in New York.

4) a) The title of the book is: Grandpa and the statue of liberty.

b) The title of the book is: grandpa and the Statue of Liberty.

c) The title of the book is: Grandpa and the statue of liberty.

d) The title of the book is: Grandpa and the Statue of Liberty.
5) a) The road from the village to the town is usually covered with snow,
but this year the winter, had been a mild one.

b) The road, from the village to the town, is usually covered with snow,
but this year the winter had been a mild one.

c) The road from the village to the town is usually covered with
snow, but this year the winter had been a mild one.

d) The road from the village to the town is usually covered with snow
but this year the winter, had been a mild one.

6) a) Couldn’t you borrow a girl’s bicycle? “Complained mother”.

b) “Couldn’t you borrow a girls’ bicycle?” complained Mother.

c) “Couldn’t you borrow a girl’s bicycle”? complained mother .

d) “Couldn’t you borrow a girl’s bicycle?” Complained Mother.

The Writing Process

7) The first step in the Prewriting stage is to:

a) gather ideas

b) brainstorm

c) select the topic you will write about

d) organize events

8) The second stage in the writing process when you develop and present
your ideas in sentences in a preliminary product is known as:

a) editing

b) revising

c) drafting
 d) prewriting

9) The process of reworking what you have written to make improvements is

known as:

a) prewriting

b) editing

c) drafting

d) revising

10) To correct errors in grammar and usage; punctuation, and capitalization

are some of the tasks in:

a) editing

b) proofreading

c) publishing

d) prewriting

Read the following essay. Then select the best answer.

My seven-year-old cousin Lamont thinks rules are for breaking, not for

following. Our grandmother says, “A fence is nothin’ to a child but an

invitation to climb.” When she says that, she must be thinking of Lamont.

Once he saw a “Keep Off the Grass” sign outside the science museum, and he

sat down on the grass right next to the sign until I dragged him away. Another

time, when my aunt brought out a plate of cookies and said we could have two

each, he grabbed five right in front of her.

If you ask Lamont why he breaks rules, the reason he gives most often is

that he likes keeping other people on their toes. Child behaviorist Dr. Ramon

Chuya puts it another way: “Children test rules constantly to find out their
limits. They want to know that there are consequences for their behavior, and

they need to find out just what those consequences are.”

11) The writer uses ___________________ to elaborate on the topic sentence.

a) a detail

b) a transitional phrase

c) a quotation

d) a transitional sentence

12) The topic sentence in this essay is________________________.

a) “A fence is nothin’ to a child but an invitation to climb.”

b) Children need to find out what the consequences for breaking the
rules are.

c) My seven-year-old cousin Lamont thinks rules are for breaking,

not following.

d) When she says that, she must be thinking of Lamont.

13) A supporting detail used to sustain the topic is:

a) Lamont’s main reason for breaking rules.

b) A quote from an expert.

c) Lamont’s reason for breaking rules.

d) All of the above.

14) Write an introductory paragraph for the following topic:

Tourist Attractions in Puerto Rico

Present your sub-topics, using transitional words or phrases. Include a

transitional sentence to introduce your paragraph. Provide at least five

supporting details.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________