Desert Tortoise in the Rain

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Desert Tortoise in the Rain
SCORING

• By Joseph Bruchac

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Desert Tortoise in the Rain By Joseph Bruchac
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• 18 What is the main conflict in the poem?
• A. A tortoise emerges from hibernation.
• B. A tortoise demonstrates curiosity.
• C. A tortoise seeks his former home.
• D. A tortoise lives near the ocean.

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• 19 Based on the information in the poem, what
  conclusion can be drawn about
• the tortoise?
• A. He is clumsy.
• B. He is injured.
• C. He is unhappy.
• D. He is persistent.

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• 20 Which sentence best summarizes the fifth
  stanza of the poem?
• A. The desert tortoise drinks the cool
  raindrops.
• B. A bird sings in the branches of a beautiful
  tree.
• C. A house and fence burn down to the scorched
  ground.
• D. The desert tortoise starts his long journey
  back to the desert.

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• 21 According to the poem, which sentence tells
  how the tortoise is different
• after the fire?
• A. He is free to return home.
• B. He is sick from too much ash.
• C. He is sad that the house is gone.
• D. He is moved by the mountain view.

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• 22 What is the meaning of the phrase the chirr
  of a wren in the third stanza
• of the poem?
• A. The sight of a bird
• B. The sound of a bird
• C. The silence of a bird
• D. The movement of a bird

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23 Why does the tortoise begin his trek back
toward the Mohave? Include two details
from the poem in your answer. __________________
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• Text-based details may include, but are not
  limited to
• The earth-dug bed beneath the porch steps is all
  that remains of a house washed away by fire (home
  burned down)
• The backyard fence which once kept him from the
  sight of ocean or winding canyon, has also been
  returned to ash
• He turns his gaze away from the sea below
• Where human hands a decade ago picked him up to
  carry him here
• Away from his own kind
• As I watch him move with what some call patience
  it seems that words can barely express what the
  tortoise knows
• The tortoise knows of the rain and the fire here
  at the fenced-in edge of a continent where our
  human desires have come again to nothingness

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23 Why does the tortoise begin his trek back
toward the Mohave? Include two details
from the poem in your answer.
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This response includes at least two details from
the poem to explain why the tortoise begins his
trek back toward the Mohave. E. so he
is coming back to his own kind. D. back
to the Mohave where human hands a decade ago
picked him up to carry him here.
E. away from his own kind. A. he
goes because the house is burned down. A.
all that remains of the house washed away by
fire.
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23 Why does the tortoise begin his trek back
toward the Mohave? Include two details
from the poem in your answer.
2
This response includes at least two details from
the poem to explain why the tortoise begins his
trek back toward the Mohave. B. The
backyard fence, which once kept him from the
sight of the ocean or winding
canyon, E. toward the Mohavehis own
kind, D. he was once taken away to
where he didnt belong
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23 Why does the tortoise begin his trek back
toward the Mohave? Include two details
from the poem in your answer.
1
This response includes one detail from the poem
to explain why the tortoise begins his trek
back toward the Mohave. D. Where human
hands a decade ago, picked him up to carry him
here.
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23 Why does the tortoise begin his trek back
toward the Mohave? Include two details
from the poem in your answer.
1
This response includes one detail from the poem
to explain why the tortoise begins his trek
back toward the Mohave. E. he wants to
go back to his own kind
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23 Why does the tortoise begin his trek back
toward the Mohave? Include two details
from the poem in your answer.
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This response includes no details from the poem
to explain why the tortoise begins his trek
back toward the Mohave.