Mr. Fornnarino's English 2, ELL Real Semester 1 Final
This space contains reference material
beginning next to Question 26.
"Snow"
by Julia Álvarez
Our first year in New York we rented a small apartment with a
Catholic school nearby, taught by the Sisters of Charity, hefty
women in long black gowns and bonnets that made them look peculiar,
like dolls in mourning. I liked them a lot, especially my
grandmotherly fourth grade teacher, Sister Zoe. I had a lovely name,
she said, and she had me teach the whole class how to pronounce it.
Yo-lan-da. As the only immigrant in my class, I was put in a special
seat in the first row by the window, apart from the other children
so that Sister Zoe could tutor me without disturbing them. Slowly,
she enunciated the new words I was to repeat: laundromat,
cornflakes, subway, snow.
Soon I picked up enough English to understand holocaust was in the
air. Sister Zoe explained to a wide eyed classroom what was
happening in Cuba. Russian missiles were being assembled, trained
supposedly on New York City. President Kennedy, looking worried too,
was on the television at home, explaining we might have to go to war
against the Communists. At school, we had air raid drills: an
ominous bell would go off and we'd file into the hall, fall to the
floor, cover our heads with our coats, and imagine our hair falling
out, the bones in our arms going soft. At home, Mami and my sisters
and I said a rosary for world peace. I heard new vocabulary: nuclear
bomb, radioactive fallout, bomb shelter. Sister Zoe explained how it
would happen. She drew a picture of a mushroom on the blackboard and
dotted a flurry of chalk marks for the dusty fallout that would kill
us all.
The months grew cold, November, December. It was dark when I got up
in the morning, frosty when I followed my breath to school. One
morning as I sat at my desk daydreaming out the window, I saw dots
in the air like the ones Sister Zoe had drawn random at first, then
lots and lots. I shrieked, “Bomb! Bomb!” Sister Zoe jerked around,
her full black skirt ballooning as she hurried to my side. A few
girls began to cry.
But then Sister Zoe's shocked look faded. “Why, Yolanda dear, that's
snow!” She laughed. “Snow.”
“Snow,” I repeated. I looked out the window warily. All my life I
had heard about the white crystals that fell out of American skies
in the winter. From my desk I watched the fine powder dust the
sidewalk and parked cars below. Each flake was different, Sister Zoe
had said, like a person, irreplaceable and beautiful.
Catholic
(adj.) a type of Christian church or something related to that type of church
(n.) a long, loose piece of clothing that people sometimes wear
(n.) a piece of shaped cloth women can wear on their heads
hefty
(adj.) strange; unusual
(adj.) heavy; large
(n.) an underground railroad
gown
(n.) a piece of shaped cloth women can wear on their heads
(n.) an underground railroad
(n.) a long, loose piece of clothing that people sometimes wear
bonnet
(v.) to say a word slowly and clearly
(n.) a piece of shaped cloth women can wear on their heads
(n.) a long, loose piece of clothing that people sometimes wear
peculiar
(adj.) strange; unusual
(n.) an underground railroad
(adj.) heavy; large
doll
(n.) a piece of shaped cloth women can wear on their heads
(n.) a toy that looks like a small person or baby
(n.) a long, loose piece of clothing that people sometimes wear
mourning
(n.) Small toasted thin flat pieces of a tall yellow plant sometimes eaten for breakfast
(n.) a toy that looks like a small person or baby
(n.) acting sad because someone has died
disturb
(v.) to say a word slowly and clearly
(v.) to make someone someone to stop doing something because you got them to look at or do something different
(n.) soft, light, and thin pieces of ice that fall from the sky instead of rain when it is cold
enunciate
(v.) to say a word slowly and clearly
(n.) soft, light, and thin pieces of ice that fall from the sky instead of rain when it is cold
(v.) to make someone someone to stop doing something because you got them to look at or do something different
laundromat
(n.) terrible destruction; the breaking of things or people to make them useless or dead
(n.) a place where you wash your clothes by putting them into a machine and putting money in the machine to make it start
(n.) soft, light, and thin pieces of ice that fall from the sky instead of rain when it is cold
cornflakes
(n.) Small toasted thin flat pieces of a tall yellow plant sometimes eaten for breakfast
(n.) soft, light, and thin pieces of ice that fall from the sky instead of rain when it is cold
(n.) an underground railroad
subway
(n.) terrible destruction; the breaking of things or people to make them useless or dead
(n.) soft, light, and thin pieces of ice that fall from the sky instead of rain when it is cold
(n.) an underground railroad
snow
(n.) soft, light, and thin pieces of ice that fall from the sky instead of rain when it is cold
(n.) Small toasted thin flat pieces of a tall yellow plant sometimes eaten for breakfast
(n.) terrible destruction; the breaking of things or people to make them useless or dead
holocaust
(n.) terrible destruction; the breaking of things or people to make them useless or dead
(n.) weapons of destruction
(n.) Small toasted thin flat pieces of a tall yellow plant sometimes eaten for breakfast
missiles
(n.) weapons of destruction
(n.) people who are part of a government that controls everything people do
(n.) a string of beads used by Catholics for counting prayers
Communists
(n.) people who are part of a government that controls everything people do
(n.) a quick or fast attack
(n.) a string of beads used by Catholics for counting prayers
raid
(n.) an underground railroad
(n.) a quick or fast attack
(n.) a very powerful weapon that uses atomic energy to kill a lot of people and destroy large areas
ominous
(adj.) making you feel that something bad is going to happen
(n.) an underground railroad
(adj.) strange; unusual
rosary
(n.) a string of beads used by Catholics for counting prayers
(n.) dangerous energy that can kill living things
(n.) a very powerful weapon that uses atomic energy to kill a lot of people and destroy large areas
nuclear bomb
(n.) a toy that looks like a small person or baby
(n.) a very powerful weapon that uses atomic energy to kill a lot of people and destroy large areas
(n.) an underground railroad
radioactive fallout
(n.) an underground railroad
(n.) a string of beads used by Catholics for counting prayers
(n.) dangerous energy that can kill living things
mushroom
(n.) a small round mark
(n.) a simple type of plant that has no leaves or flowers and that grows on plants or other surfaces (A mushroom cloud is a large cloud shaped like a mushroom, which is caused by a nuclear explosion)
(n.) a scream; a very high loud sound, people make with their voices when they are afraid, angry, excited, or in pain
dot
(n.) a small round mark
(n.) a scream; a very high loud sound, people make with their voices when they are afraid, angry, excited, or in pain
(n.) an underground railroad
shriek
(n.) a scream; a very high loud sound, people make with their voices when they are afraid, angry, excited, or in pain
(n.) an underground railroad
(n.) a small thin piece of something that breaks easily
flake
(n.) a small round mark
(n.) a scream; a very high loud sound, people make with their voices when they are afraid, angry, excited, or in pain
(n.) a small thin piece of something that breaks easily
Part A: In the story “Snow,” Yolanda most likely shouts “Bomb! Bomb!” when she sees "dots in the air" because she
has never seen snow before.
has gotten her new vocabulary words confused.
wants the rest of the class to pay attention to her.
Part B: Which sentence from the passage best supports the answer to Part A?
Slowly, she enunciated the new words I was to repeat: laundromat, cornflakes, subway, snow.
All my life I had heard about the white crystals that fell out of American skies in the winter.
From my desk I watched the fine powder dust the sidewalk and parked cars below.
In the story “Snow,” the author uses snow as a symbol to develop the theme of
the struggle to make friends.
the tension of living in wartime.
adjusting to a new culture.
The excerpt from "Snow" contains the following sentence: "Our first year in New York we rented a small apartment with a Catholic school nearby, taught by the Sisters of Charity, hefty women in long black gowns and bonnets that made them look peculiar, like dolls in mourning." The simile "like dolls in mourning" most likely implies that, to the narrator, the appearance of the Sisters of Charity is
absurd.
unfriendly.
frightening.
Which choice best describes the impact of paragraph 2 in the story “Snow”?
It illustrates unique aspects of American culture that help Yolanda better relate to her classmates and teachers later in the story.
It builds upon the topics of Yolanda’s education and the challenges of learning English introduced in the beginning of the story.
It describes Yolanda's experience of America's political atmosphere to build tension and set up the resolution of the story.
The excerpt from "Snow" contains the following sentence: "Each flake was different, Sister Zoe had said, like a person, irreplaceable and beautiful." Which statement below best describes the point of view expressed by Sister Zoe?