Chiasmus, zeugma, metonymy and other named devices

Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Asking good questions and finding answers kept feeding each other all year. Luz is revising this plain sentence into a chiasmus without changing its meaning. Which revision does it?

   • Our questions led us to answers, and our answers led us to new questions.
   • Our answers ended our questions, and our questions ended our answers.
   • Our questions led us to answers, and our answers led us to more discoveries.
   • We asked, we answered, we asked again, throughout the year.

2. Read this first

   Use this

   An invented principal wants a closing line that listeners will repeat on the way home. Version A: “We built this school, and this school built us.” Version B: “This school, which we built together, has helped every one of us grow.”

3. 2.

   Tala must recommend one version for the principal's purpose. Which choice and reason are right?

   • Version A, because its chiasmus packs the idea into a short reversal that is easy to repeat.
   • Version A, because it uses more of the same words, which makes it longer and more formal in tone.
   • Version A, because its anaphora repeats the opening word of each half.
   • Version B, because its which-clause explains exactly who built the school.
4. 3.

   “The heat wave took the garden's color, the dog's energy, our patience.” Jun finds two devices in this sentence. Which pair of labels fits it?

   • Asyndeton alone: the list of three objects runs on with no “and.”
   • Zeugma and anaphora: “took” serves three objects, and each clause begins alike.
   • Metonymy and polysyndeton: “color” stands for flowers, and the conjunctions repeat in each phrase.
   • Zeugma and asyndeton: “took” serves three objects in shifting senses, with no “and.”
5. 4.

   The hikers caught the early bus. They also caught a glimpse of a moose. Pia is combining these sentences into one zeugma without changing their meaning. Which revision does it?

   • The bus, the trail, the moose: what a morning for the hikers.
   • The hikers caught the early bus and a glimpse of a moose.
   • The hikers missed the early bus and a glimpse of a moose.
   • The hikers caught the early bus and caught the late bus home.

6. Use this

   An invented writer wants a sentence that makes a school morning feel hurried. Version A: “We woke, dressed, ate, ran.” Version B: “We woke and dressed and ate and ran.”

7. 5.

   Bo must recommend one version for the writer's purpose. Which choice and reason are right?

   • Version B, because repeating “and” piles up the chores so the morning feels long.
   • Version A, because dropping “and” speeds the list, so the morning feels hurried.
   • Version A, because it uses fewer letters, which suits a newspaper's small columns.
   • Version A, because its zeugma makes one verb serve each of the actions.
8. 6.

   “Should we fear what we do not understand, or understand what we fear?” Milo finds two devices in this sentence. Which pair of labels fits it?

   • Rhetorical question alone: the speaker asks without expecting an answer.
   • Chiasmus and rhetorical question: “fear … understand” crosses to “understand … fear,” asked to make listeners think.
   • Chiasmus and apostrophe: the words cross, and the speaker addresses fear directly.
   • Antithesis and irony: fear and understanding are opposites, and the speaker means the reverse.

9. Use this

   An invented speaker wants a warm farewell to an old bridge that is being replaced. Version A: “Old bridge, you carried us over the river for ninety years.” Version B: “For ninety years, the town crossed the river on these planks.”

10. 7.

    Kira must recommend one version for the speaker's purpose. Which choice and reason are right?

    • Version A, because its chiasmus turns the bridge and the town around.
    • Version A, because it gives the bridge's age, ninety years.
    • Version A, because speaking to the bridge directly makes the farewell feel personal.
    • Version B, because “these planks” makes listeners picture the bridge's wood.
11. 8.

    “The town sent hammers and saws and willing hands to rebuild the pier.” Ren finds two devices in this sentence. Which pair of labels fits it?

    • Metonymy and asyndeton: “hammers” stands for builders, and the conjunctions are left out.
    • Synecdoche and anaphora: “willing hands” stands for workers, and the clauses begin alike.
    • Synecdoche and polysyndeton: “willing hands” stands for workers, and “and” repeats between items.
    • Polysyndeton alone: the repeated “and” is the sentence's one device.
12. 9.

    This park gives children, neighbors and trees room to run, meet and grow. Esme is revising this plain sentence into anaphora without changing its meaning. Which revision does it?

    • Here children have room to run, here neighbors have room to meet, here trees have room to grow.
    • Here children have room to run, neighbors room to meet, and trees here have room to grow.
    • Run, meet, grow: that is what this park is for.
    • Here children have room to run, here neighbors have room to meet, here cars have room to park.

13. Use this

    An invented critic wants a witty line about a pianist who charmed a crowd. Version A: “The pianist played the sonata and the audience.” Version B: “The pianist played the sonata, and the audience loved it.”

14. 10.

    Noah must recommend one version for the critic's purpose. Which choice and reason are right?

    • Version A, because “played” serves two objects in two senses, which gives the line its wit.
    • Version A, because its metonymy lets “the audience” stand for the critics.
    • Version B, because its plain report tells readers exactly how the audience felt in a few short words.
    • Version A, because it is shorter than Version B by a few words.