All My Babies Are Gone Now Answer Key

All My Babies Are Gone Now

from Loud and Clear

by Anna Quindlen

1. 
   All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost -adults, two taller than me, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets, and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.
   

2. 
   Everything in all the books I once pored over is finished for me now.
   

Penelope Leach, T. Berry Brazelton, Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages, dust would rise like memories.

3. 
   What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the pl a yground taught me, and the well-meaning relations and the older parents at cocktail parties—what they taught me was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all. Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essa y. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can only be managed with a stern voice and a time-out. One boy is toilet trained at three, his brother at two. When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome.
   

4. 
   As a new parent this e v e r -shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing.
   

Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. . . .

5. 
   I remember fifteen years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil (see: slug) for an eighteen-month-old who did not walk. Was there something
   

wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China. Next year he goes to college. He can walk just fine. He can walk too well. Every part of raising children at some point comes down to this: Be careful what you wish for.

6. 
   Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the "Remember When Mom Did" Hall of Fame. The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language—mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?" (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through spea k er and then dr ove a way without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch The Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?
   

7. 
   But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer da y, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.
   

8. 
   Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. How much influence did I really have over the personality of the former baby who cried only when we gave parties and who toda y, as a teenager, still dislikes socializing and crowds? When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand w ays that I back off and let them be. . . .
   

9. 
   The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact, and I was sometimes over-the-top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to e x c a v ate my essential humanity. That 's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.
   

Reprinted by permission of International Creative Management, Inc. Copyright © 2004.

Use "All My Babies Are Gone Now" to answer the following questions.

5. 
   Beginning with paragraph 7, the author 's tone shifts from —
   

1. 
   complimentary to condescending
   

2. 
   optimistic to cynical
   

3. 
   lighthearted to reflective
   

4. 
   academic to conversational
   

6. 
   By saying that one of her sons "can walk too well" in paragraph 5, the author implies that —
   

1. 
   her son has become overconfident
   

2. 
   she is very proud of her son's accomplishment
   

3. 
   she is not ready for her son to leave her
   

4. 
   her son is unusually graceful and agile
   

7. 
   In which line does the author use passive voice to generalize her experience?
   

1. 
   The nightmare sleepover.
   

2. 
   That's what the books never told me.
   

3. 
   I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.
   

4. 
   Believe me, mistakes were made.
   

8. 
   In the last sentence of paragraph 9, the reader can infer that "the experts" the author refers to are —
   

1. 
   her own children
   

2. 
   the authors of parenting books C the women on the pl a yground D her own parents
   

9. 
   In which line does the author use an analogy to convey her changing philosophy of parenting?
   

1. 
   How much influence did I really have over the personality of the former baby who cried only when we gave parties and who today, as a teenager, still dislikes socializing and crowds?
   

2. 
   Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay.
   

3. 
   One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can only be managed with a stern voice and a time-out.
   

4. 
   I remember fifteen years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active.
   

10. 
    The author 's purpose for writing the selection was most likely to —
    

1. 
   imply that new parents should trust their instincts and enjoy raising their children
   

2. 
   defend herself against the suggestion that she made mistakes when raising her children
   

3. 
   poke fun at so-called experts who claim to be authorities on child development
   

4. 
   blame herself for the choices she made as a parent
   

Use "Those Winter Sundays" and "All My Babies Are Gone Now" to answer the following questions.

11. 
    What is a primary difference between the poem and the essay?
    

1. 
   The events described in the essay took place many years ago, while those in the poem are current.
   

2. 
   The essay focuses on fewer people than the poem does.
   

3. 
   The poem is told from the perspective of a child, while the essay is from that of a parent.
   

4. 
   The issues explored in the essay are more important than those in the poem.
   

12. 
    Read these quotations.
    

Those Winter Sundays All My Babies Are Gone Now

I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call,

and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house.

There is one picture of the three of them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one.

Which of these best describes the difference in tone between the two quotations?

1. 
   The tone of the first quotation is bright and hopeful, while the tone of the second quotation is gloomy and depressed.
   

2. 
   The tone of the first quotation is stark and apprehensive, while the tone of the second quotation is warm and nostalgic.
   

3. 
   The tone of the first quotation is angry and resentful, while the tone of the second quotation is bored and uninspired.
   

4. 
   The tone of the first quotation is sweet and dream y, while the tone of the second quotation is matter-of-fact and deliberate.
   

13. 
    What emotion is expressed in the last two lines of "Those Winter Sundays" and paragraph 7 of "All My Babies are Gone Now"?
    

A Regret

B Fear

C Confusion

D Joy

Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.

Bethany wrote this paper about a time she changed her opinion about someone. Read Bethany's paper and look for the corrections she needs to make. Then answer the questions that follow.

March!

1. 
   For as long as anyone could remember, the marching band at our school had been a joke. (2) Everyone accepted the fact that we were the worst band in the state. (3) Most of us had joined the band for an "easy A" and some built-in friends. (4) But the new band director was determined to change things, his name was Mr. Parker. (5) A year earlier he had moved from Iowa to our little town in Texas. (6) In Iowa he had directed an award-winning marching band for 30 years.
   

7. 
   When he heard about the opening for a new band director at our school he couldn't help investigating. (8) He applied for the position and was hired immediately.
   
   9. 
      The first day of Mr. Parker 's reign was the end of band life as we knew it.
      

9. 
   Initially we just laughed at his absurd bow tie and his drill-sergeant w ays.
   

9. 
   But we weren't laughing for long; Mr. Parker hadn't took the band director 's job to be funn y. (12) He was there to turn us into a respectable band, and nothing—not even a bunch of lazy, flippant teenagers—was going to stop them.
   

(13) I don't think I'll ever forget band camp that year. (14) Mr. Parker was intent on whipping us into shape with the techniques he had been using for years.

(15) Every day we started practice early, ended practice late, and polished our instruments until they shone. (16) We went through our final program so many times that by the end of camp, I probably could have performed it in my sleep.

(17) Mr. Parker refused to allow us to settle for anything less than our best. (18) At first there was a lot of grumbling, and a few students were even tempted to quit, after a while, though, we found ourselves somehow rising to Mr. Parker 's expectations.

(19) As we marched onto the field at the first football game, I could almost hear a collective breathe of amazement from the crowd. (20) What was once a

disjointed crew of halfw a y-decent musicians had been transformed into a unified, harmonious team. (21) Everyone could sense the difference, especially those of us in uniform!

(22) As I look back on that year now, I realize that Mr. Parker is probably the best teacher I've ever had. (23) He combined his thirst for excellence with a compasionate, caring heart. (24) If a band member couldn't get a ride to an early practice, Mr. Parker would find a ride for him. (25) If someone was having a hard time learning a piece of music, Mr. Parker would spend his lunch hour working with the student individually. (26) From the beginning it was obvious that he cared about us, and he had a knack for somehow bringing out the best in everyone.

(27) I know that I am both a better musician and a better person for having Mr. Parker in my life. (28) I'm looking forward to learning even more from him

next year. (29) I just found out I'll be the head drum major for our band when the new school year starts!

Use "March!" to answer the following questions.

14. 
    What is the correct way to write sentence 4?
    

1. 
   But the new band director who was determined to change things had a name of Mr. Parker.
   

2. 
   But the new band director, Mr. Parker, was determined to change things.
   

3. 
   But the new band director was determined to change things, named Mr. Parker.
   

4. 
   The sentence is written correctly in the paper.
   

15. 
    What change, if an y, should be made in sentence 7?
    

1. 
   Insert a comma after school
   

2. 
   Change couldn't to couldn't hardly
   

3. 
   Change investigating to investigatting D No change should be made in sentence 7.
   

16. 
    What change needs to be made in sentence 11?
    

1. 
   Delete the semicolon
   

2. 
   Change took to taken
   

3. 
   Change director's to directors'
   

4. 
   Nothing needs to be changed in sentence 11.
   

17. 
    What change should be made in sentence 12?
    

A Change respectable to respectible B Delete the comma after band

C Change was going to were going D Change them to him

18. 
    What change needs to be made in sentence 18?
    

A Change were even tempted to was even tempted B Change the comma after quit to a semicolon

C Change ourselves to ourselfs D Change rising to risen

19. 
    What change needs to be made in sentence 19?
    

1. 
   Change the comma to a semicolon
   

2. 
   Change almost to allmost C Change breathe to breath D No change is needed.
   

20. 
    What change, if an y, should be made in sentence 23?
    

A Change He combined to Combining B Change excellence to excellent

C Change compasionate to compassionate D Make no change

4A Drama – make complex inferences about the structure of drama, including how archetypes and motifs advance the plot of the play

From 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose

THREE [loudly]. Well, what are you looking at? [They turn away. He goes back to his seat now. EIGHT puts his chair back at right end of table. Silently, rest of JURORS, excluding ELEVEN, take their seats. TWELVE begins to doodle on a piece of paper. ELEVEN moves D L and leans reflectively against wall. TEN blows his nose but no one speaks. Then, finally.]

FOUR. I don't see why we have to behave like children here.

ELEVEN. Nor do I. We have a responsibility. This is a remarkable thing about democracy. That we are – what is the word?... ah, notified! That we are notified by mail to come down to this place, and decide on the guilt or innocence of a man; of a man we have not known before. We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. This is one of the reasons why we are strong. We should not make it a personal thing…

NINE [slowly]. Thank you, very much.

ELEVEN [slight surprise]. Why do you thank me?

NINE. We forget. It's good to be reminded. [ELEVEN nods and leans against wall again.]

FOUR. I'm glad that we're going to be civilized about this.

TWELVE. Well, we're still nowhere.

EIGHT. No, we're somewhere, or getting there – maybe.

FOUR. Maybe.

TWELVE. Who's got an idea?

SIX. I think maybe we should try another vote. [Turns to FOREMAN.] Mr. Foreman?

21. 
    The tone of FOUR can best be described as –
    

1. 
   Eager
   
2. 
   Condescending
   
3. 
   Morose
   
4. 
   Regretful
   

22. 
    The following line is an example of what sentence type –
    

"That we are notified by mail to come down to this place, and decide on the guilt or innocence of a man; a man we have not known before."

A Simple

B Compound

C Complex

D Compound-Complex

23. 
    Why does the playwright include repeated instructions for TEN to blow his nose throughout the play?
    

1. 
   In order to give the character some back story.
   
2. 
   In order to make the character more repugnant.
   
3. 
   In order to make the character memorable.
   
4. 
   In order to give the character some action.
   

24. 
    Which of the following stage directions reflects a character's apathy for the situation?
    

1. 
   [slowly]
   
2. 
   [leans reflectively against wall]
   
3. 
   [begins to doodle on a piece of paper]
   
4. 
   [loudly]
   

25. 
    What universal theme is best expressed in this excerpt?
    

1. 
   Hazards of passing judgement
   
2. 
   Faith versus doubt
   
3. 
   Love and sacrifice
   
4. 
   Evils of racism
   

1 A

2 C

3 A

4 C

5 C

6 C

7 D

8 A

9 B

10 A

11 C

12 B

13 A

14 B

15 A

16 B

17 D

18 B

19 C

20 C

21 C

22 D

23 B

24 C

25 A

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All My Babies Are Gone Now Answer Key

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