Question

directions: read the following poem, \grouped\ by ashley abrams. answer the questions carefully.
we sit in quiet clusters, screens aglow,
pretending not to panic as we scroll.
the deadline looms—a shadow on the floor,
a storm cloud pressing at the classroom door.
someone suggests a plan, another shrugs,
a third just nods while nursing half - cold mugs.
yet slowly, awkward voices start to blend,
like instruments unsure of how to mend.
a rhythm forms; the scattered notes align—
we craft a thing that almost feels like ours,
a fragile triumph born of borrowed hours.

1. which figurative language is used in \the deadline looms—a shadow on the floor\?

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

1. which best identifies the shifts in tone of the poem?

a. bitter to apathetic c. condescending to optimistic
b. frustrated to slightly hopeful d. bitter to somewhat sarcastic

1. identify the rhyme scheme of the first 6 lines of the poem.

a. aabbcc c. abccdd
b. ababcc d. abaacd
born a crime

1. trevor noah grew up in ______ during a period of time called ______.

a. new york; the progressive era
b. switzerland; weimar
c. egypt; the troubles
d. south africa; apartheid

1. the title of the book, born a crime, refers to ________

a. the fact that he was the child of a black woman and a white man, which was illegal.
b. the fact that his mother was hiding from the police when he was born.
c. the fact that he was constantly in trouble when he was little.
d. the fact that his father was in jail when he was born.

1. trevor’s relationship with his mother can best be described as

a. tense
b. lighthearted
c. disrespectful
d. distant

1. how does trevor use different languages?

a. to get out of trouble at school
b. to make connections
c. to speak to members of his church
d. to get a job as a dj

Explanation:

1. A metaphor directly compares two unrelated things without "like" or "as"; here the deadline is compared to a shadow.
2. The poem opens with anxious, uncoordinated panic, then shifts to a small, hopeful sense of shared triumph.
3. Label lines by end sounds: Line1 (aglow) = A, Line2 (scroll) = B, Line3 (floor) = A, Line4 (door) = B, Line5 (shrugs) = C, Line6 (mugs) = C.
4. Born a Crime is set in South Africa during the racial segregation system of Apartheid.
5. The title references Trevor Noah being born to a Black mother and white father, a union illegal under Apartheid.
6. Trevor and his mother share a warm, playful, supportive dynamic described as lighthearted.
7. Trevor uses multiple languages to connect with different groups of people in South Africa.

Answer:

1. b. metaphor
2. b. frustrated to slightly hopeful
3. b. ABABCC
4. D. South Africa; Apartheid
5. A. The fact that he was the child of a black woman and a white man, which was illegal.
6. B. Lighthearted
7. B. To make connections