PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Reading Comprehension 8 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage states: 'The old lighthouse had guided sailors home for generations, but the night it went dark, the harbor held its breath.' What literary device is primarily used in the italicized phrase?
- Simile, comparing the harbor to a sleeping creature
- Personification, giving the harbor a human physical response (Correct answer)
- Hyperbole, exaggerating the darkness of the night
- Alliteration, repeating sounds for rhythmic effect
Correct answer: Personification, giving the harbor a human physical response
Giving the harbor the human action of 'holding its breath' attributes a living, emotional quality to an inanimate place — this is personification.
Question 2: An author writes: 'Maya folded the letter without reading it and slid it beneath the mattress.' What can the reader most reasonably infer about Maya?
- She intends to share the letter with a friend later
- She is eager to read the letter when she has more time
- She is avoiding information she is not ready to face (Correct answer)
- She believes the letter contains nothing important
Correct answer: She is avoiding information she is not ready to face
Hiding an unread letter suggests avoidance — Maya's deliberate choice not to read it implies she fears or is unprepared for its contents.
Question 3: Which sentence from a student essay best demonstrates an evidence-based claim?
- The novel is clearly about loneliness because it feels very sad throughout.
- I think the author wanted readers to feel sorry for the main character.
- The author's repeated use of empty rooms and unanswered letters establishes a pervasive theme of isolation. (Correct answer)
- This is one of the most emotional books I have ever read in school.
Correct answer: The author's repeated use of empty rooms and unanswered letters establishes a pervasive theme of isolation.
Only the third sentence connects specific textual evidence (empty rooms, unanswered letters) to a named literary element (theme of isolation), meeting the standard for evidence-based writing.
Question 4: A passage describes a character who 'wore his silence like armor.' What does this figurative language most likely suggest?
- The character is physically large and intimidating
- The character uses quietness as a means of self-protection (Correct answer)
- The character is unable to speak due to an injury
- The character prefers written communication over speech
Correct answer: The character uses quietness as a means of self-protection
Comparing silence to armor implies it serves a defensive purpose — the character shields himself from vulnerability or harm by not speaking.
Question 5: Two authors write about the same historical drought. Author A focuses on government policy failures; Author B focuses on the experiences of farming families. How does point of view most likely affect each text?
- Author A's text will be longer because policy topics require more explanation
- Author B's text will include more statistics because families track rainfall
- Author A will emphasize systemic causes while Author B will emphasize human impact (Correct answer)
- Both texts will reach the same conclusions because they share the same topic
Correct answer: Author A will emphasize systemic causes while Author B will emphasize human impact
Point of view shapes what an author selects and emphasizes — a policy lens highlights institutional failures, while a personal lens foregrounds lived human consequences.
Question 6: A poem ends with the lines: 'She planted seeds in frozen ground / and called it faith.' What is the most likely central idea of the poem?
- Farming is difficult work that requires physical strength
- Acting with hope despite unfavorable circumstances defines belief (Correct answer)
- Winter weather makes agricultural success nearly impossible
- Faith is best expressed through religious ceremony rather than labor
Correct answer: Acting with hope despite unfavorable circumstances defines belief
Planting in frozen ground — an act that defies practical logic — and labeling it 'faith' suggests the poem equates hope-driven action against odds with the nature of belief itself.
PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Reading Comprehension 8
A passage states: 'The old lighthouse had guided sailors home for generations, but the night it went dark, the harbor held its breath.' What literary device is primarily used in the italicized phrase?