Verbal irony, puns and other figures

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Two Kinds of Praise (story)

   [1] On Monday, Ari unrolled a harbor mural that had taken three weeks of lunch breaks to finish, and the whole class gathered around the long table in a respectful semicircle. [2] Mr. Brandt, the art teacher, studied the careful waves, the tiny sailboats and the gulls painted in thin gray strokes, and then stepped back to take in the entire picture. [3] "Nice work," he said quietly, and he meant every brushstroke. [4] On Friday, Bo was carrying the mural toward the hallway display when a corner of the paper snagged the paint cart, and a quart of purple paint rolled across the harbor in a long, slow, shining wave. [5] Bo froze with the mural in both hands, staring at the wreckage as though the spill might somehow reverse itself. [6] Tala, standing at the end of the hall with a bag of brushes, let out a long breath through clenched teeth. [7] "Nice work," Tala said. [8] Bo laughed in spite of the disaster and answered that the harbor had finally gotten the sunset it deserved. [9] "I think it looks better with a storm," Bo added. [10] Ari, who had come running at the noise, stared at the purple tide and said nothing for a full ten seconds, which for Ari was a record. [11] Then Ari picked up a brush, dipped it into the spill and began to turn the spreading purple into a sky. [12] By the end of the afternoon, the harbor had a storm rolling in over the water, and the class agreed that it looked as though it had been planned all along.

2. 1.

   Jun reads "Nice work" in sentence [3] and again in sentence [7]. Which statement about the two lines is correct?

   • In both places it is sincere praise from someone who admires the mural.
   • In [3] it is sincere praise; in [7] it is verbal irony about the spill.
   • In [3] it is verbal irony about the mural; in [7] it is sincere praise from a friend.
   • In both places it is verbal irony, since each speaker says the opposite of what is meant.
3. 2.

   Kira compares sentence [4], paint rolling "in a long, slow, shining wave," with Bo's remark in sentence [8]. Which pair of figures is correct?

   • Simile: the paint is called a wave; verbal irony: the ruin is called a deserved sunset.
   • Metaphor: the paint is called a wave; simile: the ruin is called the sunset the harbor deserved.
   • Verbal irony: the paint is called a wave; metaphor: the ruin is called a deserved sunset.
   • Metaphor: the paint is called a wave; verbal irony: the ruin is called a deserved sunset.

4. The Morning Forecast (story)

   [1] Every weekday at seven, Mr. Alvarez, the host of the local radio forecast, opened the show with the same cheerful line: "It is a fine day to be alive." [2] On Tuesday the sun was out, the birds were singing and the pie shop on Main Street had a line out the door. [3] Esme was cycling to school with the radio clipped to the handlebars and grinned when the familiar line crackled through the static of the old speaker. [4] "It is a fine day to be alive," Mr. Alvarez said again, and for once the words matched the street. [5] On Thursday, however, a storm blew in off the lake, knocking over trash cans and filling the gutters with brown water that rushed toward the drains like a crowd leaving a stadium, and the sky turned the color of wet slate. [6] Esme pushed the bike uphill into the wind, soaked to the elbows and wondering whether the radio would survive. [7] The radio crackled again. [8] "It is a fine day to be alive," Mr. Alvarez announced, and then he added, "if you happen to be a duck." [9] Esme let out a short, wet laugh and decided that the host knew exactly which days the line was true and which days it was a joke. [10] At the school door, Ms. Delgado handed over a towel and said that the weather was just a bit damp. [11] Esme wrung out a sleeve, which produced a small waterfall, and replied that it was the most refreshing stroll of the year.

5. 3.

   Milo compares Mr. Alvarez's line in sentence [4] with the same line in sentence [8]. Which statement is correct?

   • In both places it is verbal irony about the weather.
   • In [4] it is sincere, matching the sunny street; in [8] it is verbal irony about the storm.
   • In [4] it is verbal irony about the sunny street; in [8] it is sincere.
   • In both places it is sincere, with no joke in the words.
6. 4.

   Noah compares the gutters in sentence [5], water rushing "like a crowd leaving a stadium," with Esme's reply in sentence [11]. Which pair of figures is correct?

   • Metaphor: the water is compared to a crowd; verbal irony: a soaking ride is called a refreshing stroll.
   • Verbal irony: the water is compared to a crowd; simile: a soaking ride is called a refreshing stroll.
   • Simile: the water is compared to a crowd; verbal irony: a soaking ride is called a refreshing stroll.
   • Simile: the water is compared to a crowd; pun: a soaking ride is called a refreshing stroll.
7. 5.

   Pia reads the whole story. What idea do Mr. Alvarez's repeated line and Esme's reply build together?

   • Esme is annoyed that the host is mocking listeners who are caught in the rain.
   • A cheerful saying can change meaning with the day and become a shared joke that helps people through a bad one.
   • The weather changes between Tuesday and Thursday, so a forecast is a list of facts.
   • People should stop trusting the radio, since the host says things that are not true.

8. The Yard Sale (story)

   [1] Zee and Kira spent Saturday morning arranging a yard sale on the front lawn, with a card table, a shoebox for money and a mountain of old toys, lamps, mismatched dishes and one very large, very ugly vase. [2] A man in a tweed cap, who had been circling the table for several minutes with both hands behind his back, picked up a chipped teapot and asked what it cost. [3] "For you," Kira said, "that is a steal." [4] The man smiled, paid two dollars and carried the teapot away as though it were a crown. [5] An hour later, a different shopper picked up a cracked clock with a missing hand and asked about the price. [6] "Ten dollars," Zee said. [7] The shopper looked at the clock, then at Zee, and slowly raised one eyebrow. [8] "That is a steal," Kira said again, in a very different voice, "and I mean that in the sense that it is highway robbery." [9] Zee winced, lowered the price to a single dollar and said that business was a bit slow. [10] By the end of the day, the table was empty and the shoebox was overflowing, and Zee admitted that the day had been a roaring success. [11] Kira counted the bills, grinned and said that the whole thing had gone as smoothly as a sandpaper slide. [12] They carried the empty table back into the garage and agreed, with some embarrassment, that next time they would check the prices before the customers did, and write them on every tag in thick marker.

9. 6.

   Ari compares Kira's "steal" line in sentence [3] with the same line in sentence [8]. Which statement is correct?

   • In [3] "steal" means a bargain, sincerely; in [8] it is verbal irony meaning an unfair price.
   • In both places "steal" means a bargain, sincerely.
   • In [3] "steal" is irony meaning an unfair price; in [8] it means a bargain, sincerely.
   • In both places "steal" is irony meaning an unfair price.
10. 7.

    Bo compares Zee's words in sentence [10], "a roaring success," with Kira's in sentence [11]. Which pair of figures is correct?

    • Verbal irony: a good day is called "a roaring success"; hyperbole: a bumpy day is "smooth as a sandpaper slide."
    • Hyperbole: a good day is called "a roaring success"; verbal irony: a bumpy day is "smooth as a sandpaper slide."
    • Understatement: a good day is called "a roaring success"; verbal irony: a bumpy day is "smooth as a sandpaper slide."
    • Hyperbole: a good day is called "a roaring success"; pun: a bumpy day is "smooth as a sandpaper slide."
11. 8.

    Ren reads the whole story. What idea do the uses of "steal" and Kira's closing joke build together?

    • One word can mean a gift or a charge depending on fairness, and the friends learn to see prices as buyers do.
    • The day was a disaster because the shoppers refused to pay the prices the friends were asking.
    • Kira cares about money more than anything else and enjoys cheating the shoppers who stop by.
    • A yard sale is a good way for friends to earn money by selling old things they no longer use.

12. The Last Lap (story)

    [1] The school relay team lined up for the final lap with ten seconds left on the clock and a one-point lead that felt as thin as paper. [2] Milo took the baton from Luz, found a steady stride and began to pull ahead along the back stretch while the crowd rose in the bleachers and the announcer's voice cracked with excitement. [3] "Great run!" Luz called from the infield. [4] Halfway through the long turn, Milo's shoelace snapped, and the shoe slid off the heel, bounced twice on the track and skidded into the grass. [5] The rival runner, who had been trailing all afternoon, pulled even, then pulled ahead. [6] "Great run!" Luz shouted again, grinning, as Milo hopped past with one shoe on and one shoe off. [7] Milo laughed and kept running while the crowd roared like a wave breaking against a seawall. [8] Milo crossed the line a half step behind, and the scoreboard flickered to show that the team had lost the entire meet by a single point. [9] Luz jogged over with the missing shoe and said that it looked as if the shoe had tried to cross the line first and had failed by a toe. [10] Milo took the shoe and laughed so hard that the laughter almost turned into tears. [11] "At least we know," Milo said, "who really won the race." [12] The two walked toward the bench together, and the rest of the team, one by one, joined them in a loose and noisy circle, talking about everything except the scoreboard.

13. 9.

    Esme compares Luz's "Great run!" in sentence [3] with the same words in sentence [6]. Which statement is correct?

    • In both places it is playful verbal irony, since each cheer is a joke at Milo's expense.
    • In [3] it is playful irony about a weak run; in [6] it is sincere praise.
    • In [3] it is sincere praise; in [6] it is playful verbal irony about a stumbling run.
    • In both places it is sincere praise for a strong run, even when a shoe is flying off.
14. 10.

    Tala reads the whole story. What idea do Luz's jokes in sentences [6] to [11] build together about losing?

    • Luz is mocking Milo to make the loss feel worse and to show that Luz is glad Milo failed.
    • Luz's jokes show that the team did not really care about winning the meet or about the score on the board at the end.
    • The relay was lost because a shoelace snapped, a shoe came off and the other runner passed Milo.
    • Jokes among friends can turn a loss into shared laughter, so friendship matters more than the score.