Name: Date:

“A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett

FIRST READ: Comprehension
Identify the choice that best answers the question.
1.The name Sylvia comes from sylva, the Latin word for “forest.” Which of the following statements best
explains why Sylvia’s name is appropriate for her character in “A White Heron”?
a) She has always lived in a rural area.
b) She loves the woods and its creatures.
c) She often plays alone in the nearby woods.
d) She performs chores on her grandmother’s farm.
2.In “A White Heron,” what does the young man intend to do with the white heron if he finds it?
a) kill it and preserve it for study
b) tag it and then release it
c) display it at a local zoo
d) sell it to a collector
3.In “A White Heron,” for what main reasons does Sylvia consider helping the young man find the heron?
Choose two options.
a) She enjoys helping people solve their problems.
b) She is charmed by his attention and wants to please him.
c) She believes that all visitors should be welcomed and assisted.
d) She and her grandmother can use the money he offers for finding the bird.
e) She is worried about the bird and wants to find it before the young man does.
4.In “A White Heron,” what is Sylvia’s main reason for climbing the pine-tree?
a) to get a view of the sea
b) to escape the young man
c) to find the white heron’s nest
d) to show off her outdoor skills
5.After an internal struggle, what does Sylvia ultimately decide to do at the end of “The White Heron”?
a) to give up climbing trees and behave in a more ladylike fashion
b) to keep secret the location of the white heron’s nest
c) to help the young man in any way she can
d) to leave the farm and travel to the city
FIRST READ: Concept Vocabulary
Identify the choice that best answers the question.
6. If Abigail is dilatory in doing her homework, what must be true?
a) She generally does a careful job with it.
b) She is inclined to delay turning it in.
c) She usually has no trouble doing it.
d) She almost never does it.
7. Which of the following actions best shows hospitality?
a) inviting new neighbors to dinner
b) asking for help with an important decision
c) singing a happy song at the top of one’s lungs
d) going with a nervous friend to a dental appointment
8. What does a place of squalor most clearly need?
a) publicity
b) residents
c) a window
d) a cleaning
CLOSE READ: Analyze the Text
Identify the choice that best answers the question.
9.The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
Part A Which word best describes the character of Sylvia in “A White Heron”?
a) impatient
b) confident
c) resentful
d) shy
Part B Which excerpt from “A White Heron” best supports the answer to Part A?
a) So, Sylvia had to hunt for her until she found her, and call Co’! Co’! with never an
answering Moo, until her childish patience was quite spent.
b) The good woman suspected that Sylvia loitered occasionally on her own account; there
never was such a child for straying about out-of-doors since the world was made!
c) “‘Afraid of folks,’” old Mrs. Tilley said to herself.… “‘Afraid of folks,’ they said! I guess
she won’t be troubled no great with ’em up to the old place!”
d) “Now step round and set a plate for the gentleman, Sylvy!” And Sylvia promptly stepped.
She was glad to have something to do, and she was hungry herself.
10.The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
Part A Which phrase best describes Sylvia’s climb of the pine-tree, as depicted in “A White Heron”?
a) difficult and dangerous
b) effortless and exciting
c) foolish and pointless
d) slow and boring
Part B Which quotation from the story best supports the answer to Part A?
a) Half a mile from home, at the farther edge of the woods, where the land was highest, a great
pine-tree stood, the last of its generation.
b) Sylvia felt her way easily. She had often climbed there, and knew that higher still one of the
oak’s upper branches chafed against the pine trunk, just where its lowest boughs were set close
together.
c) The way was harder than she thought; she must reach far and hold fast, the sharp dry twigs
caught and held her and scratched her like angry talons, the pitch made her thick little fingers
clumsy and stiff as she went round and round the tree’s great stem, higher and higher upward.
d) The sparrows and robins in the woods below were beginning to wake and twitter to the dawn,
yet it seemed much lighter there aloft in the pine-tree, and the child knew she must hurry if her
project were to be of any use.
11.The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
Part A In “A White Heron,” how does Sylvia feel about the final decision she makes?
a) proud and defiant
b) somewhat regretful
c) completely horrified
d) confident and blameless
Part B Which quotation from “A White Heron” best supports the answer to Part A?
a) Wondering over and over again what the stranger would say to her, and what he would think
when she told him how to find his way straight to the heron’s nest.
b) The grandmother and the sportsman stand in the door together and question her, and the
splendid moment has come to speak of the dead hemlock tree by the green marsh.
c) The murmur of the pine’s green branches is in her ears, she remembers how the white heron
came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and
Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away.
d) Dear loyalty, that suffered a sharp pang as the guest went away disappointed later in the day,
that could have served and followed him and loved him as a dog love!
CLOSE READ: Analyze Craft and Structure
Identify the choice that best answers the question.
12.Which of these themes does the author develop most clearly in “A White Heron”? Choose two options.
a) Nature is indifferent to human suffering.
b) Nature should be respected and honored.
c) Those who flatter others often deceive themselves.
d) Social and financial concerns often test our loyalties.
e) The rules of society are frequently shallow and petty.
f) Urban life provides richer experiences than rural life does.
13.From their descriptions in “A White Heron,” which of these symbolic meanings best applies to both the
white heron and the pine-tree?
a) something or someone harsh and cruel
b) something special in the natural world
c) something or someone old and wise
d) something very hard to spot
14.In the following sentence from “A White Heron,” what concept does the author’s imagery help develop
most clearly?
Yes, there was the sea with the dawning sun making a golden dazzle over it, and toward that glorious east
flew two hawks with slow-moving pinions.
a) Nature is spectacular.
b) Hawks can be dangerous.
c) Exploration is often rewarding.
d) No one knows what the future brings.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Word Study
Identify the choice that best answers the question.
 Latin noun hospes—a word having the diametric meanings "a guest or visitor”
15.The word hostel comes from the Latin root word hospes. Use this information to choose the correct
definition of hostel.
a) angry and unfriendly
b) to make move more quickly
c) looking positively toward the future
d) inexpensive place for travelers to stay
16.The word hospitable is formed from the Latin root word hospes and the suffix -able, meaning “capable
of” or “tending to.” Use this information to choose the correct definition of hospitable.
a) medical staff in a hospital
b) overnight lodging for travelers
c) welcoming to visitors and guests
d) taking good care of medical patients