7th Grade Literature Test Review

“Seventh Grade” & “Melting Pot”

Seventh Grade:

  1. In “Seventh Grade,” why does Victor want to take French as his elective?
  1. In “Seventh Grade,” Victor and Michael discuss “picking grapes in order to buy their fall clothes.”

What does this conversation reveal about their characters?

  1. In “Seventh Grade,” how does Victor try to impress Teresa on the first day of French class?
  1. In “Seventh Grade,” how does Victor feel about Mr. Bueller after the first French class?
  1. Know the idioms from “Seventh Grade”?
  1. In “Seventh Grade” an idiom is used “collided with”, what does it actually mean?
  1. In “Seventh Grade,” Michael scowls because
  1. What does the following passage from “Seventh Grade” reveal about Victor's character?

“Victor lingered, keeping his head down and staring at his desk. He wanted to leave when she did so he could bump into her and say something clever”.

  1. How can the reader tell that Victor likes Teresa?
  1. In “Seventh Grade,” how does Mr. Bueller respond when he realizes that Victor pretended to know French to impress Teresa?
  1. At the end of “Seventh Grade,” why does Victor sprint to the library to borrow three French textbooks?

Melting Pot:

  1. In “Melting Pot,” what kind of neighborhood does the narrator live in?
  1. Why are old-timers in “Melting Pot” angry with the new professionals?
  1. How did the narrator of “Melting Pot” get to know her neighbors?
  1. How did the narrator of “Melting Pot” feel when the family of rough types moved away?
  1. What does the narrator of “Melting Pot” like about the Mexican restaurant?
  1. Know the idioms from “Melting Pot”?
  1. What is the intended meaning of the idiom “We live in a pressure cooker” in the story “Melting Pot”?
  1. When the narrator of “Melting Pot” learns that the youngest son of an Ecuadorian family speaks almost no Spanish, her reaction can best be described as
  1. What word or phrase best describes the narrator’s neighborhood in “Melting Pot”?
  1. What does the following passage reveal about the narrator of “Melting Pot”?

“I always suspected . . . that the American fable of the melting pot was a myth.”

  1. In “Melting Pot,” the relationship between the narrator and her neighbors can best be described as:
  1. In “Melting Pot,” the newcomers view the old-timers as bigots because:
  1. Why is the narrator of “Melting Pot” able to understand the view points of both the newcomers and the old-timers?
  1. What does the narrator of “Melting Pot” mean when she refers to a melting pot?

Vocabulary to Know:

  1. In what situation would Victor be most likely to scowl?
  1. The narrator of “Melting Pot” describes her neighbors as fluentin their native and adopted languages. How would they most likely speak?
  1. Which subject would be considered an electivein “Seventh Grade”?
  1. When Michael wears a scowlin “Seventh Grade,” he looks
  1. Bigotsare people who
  1. An elective is a class
  1. Someone who is fluent speaks

Be prepared to answer 1 of the following essays

35.Both “Seventh Grade” and “Melting Pot” describe struggles that involve the main characters. Choose one of the stories and describe the struggle, the people involved, and how those involved ultimately benefit from the struggle.

36.The writers of both “Seventh Grade” and “Melting Pot” use idioms in their stories. In a brief essay, explain the difference between the literal meaning and intended meaning of an idiom. Then, choose an idiom from either “Seventh Grade” or “Melting Pot” and answer these questions: What is the literal meaning of the idiom? What is the intended meaning of the idiom? How does the intended meaning affect your interest in or understanding of the character or situation being described?

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