LAST DIARY ENTRY OF JOHN WILKES BOOTH

Read the passage below and choose the best response for each question.

LAST DIARY ENTRY OF JOHN WILKES BOOTH, by John Wilkes Booth 1865

Until today nothing was ever thought of sacrificing to our country’s wrongs. For six months we1 had worked to capture, but our cause being almost lost, something decisive and great must be done. But its failure was owing to others, who did not strike for their country with a heart. I struck boldly, and not as the papers say. I walked with a firm step through a thousand of his friends, was stopped, but pushed on. A colonel was at his side. I shouted Sic semper2 before I fired. In jumping broke my leg. L passed all his pickets, rode sixty miles that night with the bone of my leg tearing the flesh at every jump. I can never repent it, though we hated to kill. Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment. The country is not what it was. This forced Union is not what I have loved. I care not what becomes of me. I have no desire to outlive my country. The night before the deed I

wrote a long article and left it for one of the editors of the National Intelligencer, in which I fully set forth our reasons for our proceedings. He or the government.

After being hunted like a dog through swamps, woods, and last night being chased by gunboats till I was forced to return wet, cold, and starving, with every man’s hand against me, I am here in despair. And why? For doing what Brutus3 was honored for. What made Te11 4 a hero? And yet l, for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew, am looked upon as a common cutthroat.1My action was purer than either of theirs. One hoped to be great himself. The other had not only his country’s but his own wrongs to avenge. I hoped for no gain. I knew no private wrong. I struck for my country and that alone. A country that groaned beneath this tyranny, and prayed for this end, and yet now behold the cold hands they extend to me. God cannot pardon me if I have done wrong. Yet I cannot see my wrong, except in serving a degenerate people. The little, the very little, I left behind to clear my name, the Government will not allow to be printed. So ends all. For my country I have given up all that makes life sweet and holy, brought misery upon my family, and am sure there is no pardon in the Heaven for me, since man condemns me so. I have only heard of what has been done (except what I did myself), and it fills me with horror. God, try and forgive me, and bless my mother. Tonight, I will once more try the river with the intent to cross. Though I have a greater desire and almost a mind to return to Washington, and in a measure clear my name – which I feel I can do. I do not repent the blow I struck. I may before my God, but not to man. I think I have done well. Though I am abandoned, with the curse of Cain upon me, when, if the world knew my heart, that one blow would have made me great, though I did desire no greatness. Tonight, I try to escape these bloodhounds once more. Who, who can read his fate? God’s will be done. I have too great a soul to die like a criminal. Oh, may He, may He spare me that, and let me die bravely. I bless the entire world. Have never hated or wronged anyone. This last was not a wrong, unless God deems it so, and it’s with Him to damn or bless me. As for this brave boy with me, who often prays (yes, before and since) with a true and sincere heart – was its crime in him? If so, why can he pray the same?

I do not wish to shed a drop of blood, but ‘l must fight the course.’ ‘Tis all that’s left to me.

1 Booth and several co-conspirators worked for months to kidnap Lincoln and his successors

15. Which of the following statements best express the central ideas of this text? 

a. Booth believes he will be remembered as a hero against tyranny like Brutus.

b. Booth sees Lincoln as a tyrant who must be eliminated for the good of all.

c. Booth assassinates Lincoln because he feels rejected by the Union, the South, and his family.

d. Booth is willing to sacrifice his life to avenge the deaths of his fellow Confederate soldiers.

16. Which of the following phrases from the text best support the central idea?

a. “l care not what becomes of me. I have no desire to outlive my country.

(Paragraph 1) b. “l am here in despair. And why? For doing what Brutus was honored for.

(Paragraph 2)

c. “And yet l, for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew, am looked upon as a common cutthroat.” (Paragraph 2)

d. “For my country I have given up all that makes life sweet and holy, brought misery upon my family,” (Paragraph 2)

17. How does the relationship between Booth and God develop throughout the text?

a. First Booth has forsaken God, and then decides to act in spite of him.

b. First, Booth believes he has acted out of God’s will, but begins to doubt whether he’ll be forgiven for murder.

c. Booth knows that God will not forgive him for his sins and only becomes more convinced of this throughout the text.

d. Booth has found God after killing Lincoln and then wishes to reconcile with the Lord

18. Which TWO phrases from the text best support the answer to the previous question?

a. “Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment.” (Paragraph 1)

 b. “God cannot pardon me if I have done wrong.” (Paragraph 1)

c. ‘[l] am sure there is no pardon in the Heaven for me, since man condemns me so.” (Paragraph 2)

d. “Tonight, I try to escape these bloodhounds once more. Who, who can read his fate? God’s will be done.” (Paragraph 2)

e. “Oh, may He, may He spare me that, and let me die bravely.” (Paragraph 2)

f. “This last was not a wrong, unless God deems it so, and it’s with Him to damn or bless me.” (Paragraph 2)

19. In the following passage from “The Perils of Indifference,” Elie Wiesel describes the memory of being liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp by American soldiers. How would the meaning of this passage change if he had used the word ‘anger” instead of the word arage”?

“Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he remembers their rage at what they saw. And even if he lives to be a very old man, he will always be grateful to them for that rage, and also for their compassion. ”

a. The word u rage” emphasizes the intensity of their feelings. “Anger” does not.

b. The word “rage” lessens the intensity of their feelings. “Anger” does not.

c. The word “rage” would imply the soldiers were more energetic.

d. The word “anger” is a more formal choice for a speech.

20. How would the meaning of the following passage change if Wiesel used the word suffering” instead of “anguish”?

“Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence… Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. ”

a. “Suffering” would imply a physical rather than emotional torment.

b. “Anguish” intensifies the severity of their suffering more so than “suffering.”

c. “Anguish” implies a more manageable pain.

d. “Anguish” implies a level of confusion along with the pain, whereas

“suffering” does not

1. How would the meaning of the following passage change if Wiesel used the word “troubles” rather than “plight”?

“Have we really learned from our experiences? Are we less insensitive to the plight of victims of ethnic cleansing and other forms of injustices in places near and far?”

0. ‘Plight” implies a problem that has a way out; “troubles” is less specific.

0. “Plight” is a more appropriate choice for formal writing than “troubles.

0. “Plight implies a particularly difficult struggle. “Troubles” is less intense.

0. “Plight” lessens the intensity of the struggle, more so than “troubles.

1. What is the meaning of the word “elicit” in the following passage?

“In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. But indifference is never creative. Even hatred at times may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it. ‘

1. To draw out or bring out

1. To target a specific group

1. To avoid or prevent

1. To defend or argue

1. What is the meaning of the word “denounce” from the same passage?

2. To support

2. To irritate or anger

2. To listen to

2. To declare as wrong or evil

Choose the best response for each of the following questions.

1. Read the following passage and choose the correct text structure used from the choices below.

Many people think that they can get sick by going into cold weather improperly dressed; however, illnesses are not caused by temperature- they are caused by germs. So while shivering outside in the cold probably won’t strengthen your immune system, you’re more likely to contract an illness indoors because you will have a greater exposure to germs.

0. Chronological

0. Spatial/Descriptive Writing

0. Cause and Effect

0. Compare and Contrast

1. Read the following passage and choose the correct text structure used from the choices below.

All matter, all things can be changed in two ways: chemically and physically. Both chemical and physical changes affect the state of matter. Physical changes are those that do not change the make-up or identity of the matter. For example, clay will bend or  flatten if squeezed, but it will still be clay. Changing the shape of clay is a physical change and does not change the matter’s identity. Chemical changes turn the matter into a new kind of matter with different properties. For example, when paper is burnt, it becomes ash and will never be paper again. The difference between them is that physical changes are temporary or only last for a little while, and chemical changes are permanent, which means they last forever. Physical and chemical changes both affect the state of matter.

0. Problem/Solution

0. Chronological

0. Cause and Effect

0. Compare and Contrast

1. Read the following passage and choose the correct text structure used from the choices below.

Bobby Fischer

Robert James Fischer was born in Chicago but unlocked the secrets of chess in a Brooklyn apartment right above a candy store. At the age of six he taught himself to play by following the instruction booklet that came with his chessboard. After spending much of his childhood in chess clubs, Fischer said that, “One day, I just got good.” That may be a bit ofan understatement. At the age of 13 he won the U.S. Junior Chess Championship, becoming the youngest Junior Champion ever. At the age of 14 he won the U.S. Championship and became the youngest U.S. Champion in history. Fischer would go on to become the World Champion of chess, but he would also grow to become his own worst enemy. Instead of defending the title, he forfeited it to the next challenger without even making a move, and the rise of a chess superstar ended with a fizzle.

0. Sequence/Process Writing

0. Cause and Effect

0. Chronological

0. Spatial/Descriptive Writing

1. Read the following passage and choose the correct text structure used from the choices below.

The key to making perfect cookies is merely a matter of preparation and precision. To begin with, read your cookie recipe thoroughly before baking. Make sure that you have  all of the necessary ingredients before you continue. Next, use good tools and utensils. Sometimes, the craftsperson is only as good as his or her tools. By using good tools, you can minimize mistakes and improve the quality of your product. Lastly, you should use top quality ingredients. Unlike in the fairytales, you can’t turn lead into gold. If you use poor quality materials, you’ll create an inferior product. So, to make perfect cookies you should use the highest quality materials available. Bon appetite!

1. Chronological

1. Sequence/Process Writing

1. Problem/Solution

1. Cause and Effect

Read the passage below and choose the best response for each question.

The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder

Nigerian Folktale, translated by Elphinstone Dayrell [1910]

In the olden days the thunder and lightning lived on the earth amongst all the other people, but the king made them live at the far end of the town, as far as possible from other people’s houses.

The thunder was an old mother sheep, and the lightning was her son, a ram. Whenever the ram got angry, he used to go about and burn houses and knock down trees; he even did damage on the farms, and sometimes killed people. Whenever the lightning did these things, his mother used to call out to him in a very loud voice to stop and not to do any more damage; but the lightning did not care in the least for what his mother said, and when he was in a bad temper used to do a very large amount of damage. At last the people could not stand it any longer, and complained to the king.

So, the king made a special order that the sheep (Thunder) and her son, the ram (Lightning), should leave the town and live in the far bush. This did not do much good, as when the ram got angry, he still burnt the forest, and the flames sometimes spread to the farms and consumed them.

28. So, the people complained again, and the king banished both the lightning and the thunder from the earth and made them live in the sky, where they could not cause so much destruction. Ever since, when the lightning is angry, he commits damage as before, but you can hear his mother, the thunder, rebuking him and telling him to stop. Sometimes, however, when the mother has gone away some distance from her naughty son, you can According to the story, for what reasons were the sheep (Thunder) and the ram (Lightning) banished from the town? Choose TWO responses from below.

29. According to the story, for what reasons were the sheep (Thunder) and the ram (Lightning) banished from the town? Choose TWO responses from below.

a. The king had a very bad temper and threw them out of the town.

b. Both the sheep and the ram destroyed property and lives when they got angry.

c. The ram destroyed property and killed people when it got angry.

d. The mother sheep had a very loud voice the people could not tolerate.

e. The king was responding to the complaints of the people about the two.

30. This story suggests that one of the roles of folklore within this culture is:

a. To inspire fear of the supernatural within the people

b. To explain occurrences within nature and climate

c. To persuade the people to respect their leader

d. To strengthen the bond between parents and their children

31. What is the significance of the last sentence of the story?

Sometimes, however, when the mother has gone away some distance from her naughty son, you can still see that he is angry and is doing damage, but his mother’s voice cannot be heard.

a. It illustrates that the voices of the weak are rarely heard.

b. It warns that children left unsupervised can create havoc.

c. It demonstrates that damage can be done even when there is no noise.

d. It explains why there is not always the sound of thunder when lightning is seen.