Kubla Khan, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Unit 4: Collection 7 Selection Test
COMPREHENSION Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
1.The first stanza describes—
A) / a scene of horrific wars by the AlphB) / the ancient treasures of Xanadu
C) / the mythical palace that Kubla Khan built
D) / a real place that the speaker visited
2.What is the source of Kubla’s knowledge that trouble is brewing?
A) / A lifeless oceanB) / Ancestral voices
C) / The tumult of the river
D) / The fountain and the caves
3.Which words contrast most strongly with the gentle description of the pleasure-dome in the early lines of the poem?
A) / “And here were forests ancient as the hills”B) / “Through caverns measureless to man”
C) / “Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!”
D) / “And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething”
4.The speaker refers to the “sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!” as “a miracle of rare device” because—
A) / Kubla Khan is said to have employed the cleverest designersB) / it can exist only in the imagination of poet and reader
C) / both good and evil people inhabit it in peace
D) / a sunny palace with icy caves seems an impossible contradiction
5.What effect would being able to revive the damsel’s “symphony and song” have on the speaker?
A) / It would inspire him to imagine and sing of the pleasure-dome.B) / It would help him to learn more about Kubla’s palace.
C) / It would arouse his heart to describe the rule of Kubla.
D) / It would lead him safely through the dangers of this life.
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Match the definition with the vocabulary word listed below. On the line provided, write the letter of the correct vocabulary word.
A) / girdledB) / sinuous
C) / turmoil
D) / meandering
6._____ wandering with no clear direction
7._____ state of agitation or commotion
8._____ enclosed or circled around
9._____ winding; twisting
VOCABULARY SKILL Circle any words in the sentences that provide context clues for the vocabulary word that is in bold.
10.Those roots girdled around the base of the plant in a ringlike fashion.
11.Tickets to run the carnival maze with its sinuous paths and twisting alleys cost $5.
12.The Cub Scout meeting ended in a turmoil of confused shrieks and falling furniture with everyone chasing the escaped snake.
13.A glorious spring day found idle New Yorkers meandering here and there mindlessly throughout Central Park.
LITERARY FOCUS Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
14.“Enfolding sunny spots of greenery” in line 11 contains an example of which of the following literary devices?
A) / metaphorB) / alliteration
C) / simile
D) / allusion
15.In the line “Through caverns measureless to man,” what does the alliteration emphasize?
A) / The overwhelming vastness of the cavernsB) / The neglect of the caverns
C) / The unearthly silent of the caverns
D) / The ancient formation of the caverns
16.Which of the following best describes the effect of the alliteration in the line “By woman wailing for her demon-lover”?
A) / The alliteration suggests swift movement.B) / The w sounds suggest the pleasures of nature.
C) / The alliteration emphasizes the humor of the stanza.
D) / The repeated w sounds mimic the sound of grieving.
17.Which of the following lines contains the best example of alliteration?
A) / “Or chaffy grains beneath the thresher’s flail”B) / “And from this chasm with ceaseless turmoil seething”
C) / “And all should cry, Beware! Beware!”
D) / “It was an Abyssinian maid”
READING FOCUS Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
18.What is evoked by the imagery in lines 19–21: “A mighty fountain momently was forced: / Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst / Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail”?
A) / Volleys of enemy gunfireB) / Showers of dew drops
C) / Pulsing bursts of icy pellets
D) / A shimmering waterfall
19.To which senses does the imagery of these lines appeal: “And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, / Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree”?
A) / Hearing and smellB) / Taste and sight
C) / Sight and smell
D) / Touch and hearing
CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE
20.On a separate sheet of paper, describe how the images of Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan” evoke both the peaceful and the horrifying. Include examples of alliteration and other literary devices to support your answer.