9th Grade ELA – Pre-test Assessment 1

1. Question

Part B

Besides the sentence that contains the phrase recipient of confidences mentioned in Part A, select the other sentence in paragraph 1 that helps the reader understand the meaning of the phrase.

A. “I do not have anything very radical to say, or anything that will strike most of you with a great flash of enlightenment.”
B. “In some ways I would have liked to talk to you at an earlier date—but I couldn’t talk to you as a Director.”
C. “As you know, some of us have been asked to be technical advisors to the Secretary of War, and through him to the President.”
D. “I want anyone who feels like it to ask me a question and if I can’t answer it, as will often be the case, I will just have to say so.”

2. Question

Part A

In paragraph 1 of Robert Oppenheimer’s speech, what does the phrase recipient of confidences mean?

A. The speaker has won numerous awards.
B. The speaker feels sure of his own abilities.
C. People have told the speaker their secrets.
D. People have given the speaker their support.

3. Question

Part A

In paragraph 1, how does Oppenheimer structure the opening of his speech to advance his argument?

A. He praises the accomplishments of the members of the audience in order to deflect their potential dismissal of the subject of the speech.
B. He positions himself as a colleague of the members of the audience in order to increase a feeling of fellowship and community.
C. He criticizes some unpopular authority figures in order to gain the sympathy of the members of the audience.
D. He sets forth his credentials as an expert on the subject of his speech in order to gain the respect of the members of the audience.

4. Question

Part B

Which statement from paragraph 1 emphasizes the answer to Part A?

A. “I am grateful to the Executive committee. . . .”
B. “. . . it is not possible to speak in detail about what Mr. A thinks and Mr. B doesn’t think. . . .”
C. “. . . which involve us as a group of scientists. . .”
D. “. . . I will just have to say so. . . .”

5. Question

Part A

How does Oppenheimer develop his claim in paragraph 7 that “It is not good to be a scientist, and it is not possible, unless you think that it is of the highest value to share your knowledge, to share it with anyone who is interested”?

A. He offers a thorough analysis of why the claim has been useful in the development of scientific knowledge.
B. He provides limited scientific data to show that the belief expressed in the claim has been accepted by most scientists.
C. He gives several examples from history to demonstrate that many different cultures have believed the claim to be true.
D. He builds upon the belief expressed in the claim without providing specific evidence to support it.

6. Question

Part B

Which quotation provides the best evidence for the answer to Part A?

A. “Some of that talk has been on a rather low plane, limited really to saying that it is difficult or inconvenient to work in a world where you are not free to do what you want.” (paragraph 7)
B. “And, therefore, I think that this resistance which we feel and see all around us to anything which is an attempt to treat science of the future as though it were rather a dangerous thing, a thing that must be watched and managed, is resisted not because of its inconvenience—I think we are in a position where we must be willing to take any inconvenience—but resisted because it is based on a philosophy incompatible with that by which we live, and have learned to live in the past.” (paragraph 7)
C. “I am sure that there is truth in it, because there has never in the past been a new field opened up where the real fruits of it have not been invisible at the beginning.” (paragraph 8)
D. “And that may help us—that, and the fact that we have lived with it—to be of some use in understanding these problems.” (paragraph 9)