i-Ready Diagnostic Test Diagnostic Reading Comprehension: Literature 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A story describes a girl who smiles at everyone but cries alone at night. What literary device is used to reveal her true feelings?
- Foreshadowing
- Dramatic irony (Correct answer)
- Alliteration
- Onomatopoeia
Correct answer: Dramatic irony
Dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows something (her sadness) that other characters do not.
Question 2: A poem ends with the same word it began with. What effect does this create?
- It shows the poem has no conclusion
- It creates a sense of circularity and completeness (Correct answer)
- It means the poet ran out of ideas
- It is an example of alliteration
Correct answer: It creates a sense of circularity and completeness
Repeating the opening word at the end creates a circular structure that gives the poem a sense of wholeness.
Question 3: In a short story, the author writes: 'The clock on the wall ticked away the last seconds of Marcus's childhood.' What does this sentence most likely signal?
- Marcus is about to fix a broken clock
- Marcus is about to experience a major life change (Correct answer)
- Marcus is bored at home
- Marcus wants a new clock for his birthday
Correct answer: Marcus is about to experience a major life change
The clock symbolizes time passing and hints that Marcus is approaching a pivotal, grown-up moment.
Question 4: Which point of view allows the narrator to reveal the thoughts of ALL characters?
- First person
- Second person
- Third person limited
- Third person omniscient (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Third person omniscient
Third person omniscient narrators have access to the inner thoughts and feelings of every character in the story.
Question 5: A character in a novel starts out selfish but ends up giving his last coin to a beggar. His change is best described as:
- Static character development
- Dynamic character development (Correct answer)
- A flat character arc
- Situational irony
Correct answer: Dynamic character development
A dynamic character undergoes meaningful internal change over the course of the story.
Question 6: Read the sentence: 'Her laughter was a song, bright and clear as a bell.' This sentence contains which two literary devices?
- Simile and personification
- Metaphor and simile (Correct answer)
- Alliteration and hyperbole
- Onomatopoeia and metaphor
Correct answer: Metaphor and simile
'Her laughter was a song' is a metaphor, and 'bright and clear as a bell' is a simile using 'as.'
Question 7: An author ends every chapter with the main character making a difficult decision. How does this structure most likely affect the reader?
- It confuses the reader about the plot
- It builds suspense and encourages reading further (Correct answer)
- It makes the story feel slow and boring
- It reveals the story's theme immediately
Correct answer: It builds suspense and encourages reading further
Ending chapters on decisions creates cliffhangers that build suspense and motivate readers to continue.
i-Ready Diagnostic Test Diagnostic Reading Comprehension: Literature 2
A story describes a girl who smiles at everyone but cries alone at night.
What literary device is used to reveal her true feelings?