Q: Robert Burns, the son of a hard-working and intelligent farmer, was the oldest of seven children. Although always hard pressed financially, their father encouraged his sons with their education. As a result, Burns not only read the Scottish poetry of Ramsay and the collections by Hailes and Herd, but also the works of Pope, Locke, and Shakespeare. 

By 1781, Burns had tried his hand at several agricultural jobs without success. Although he had begun writing, and his poems were spread widely in manuscript , none were published until 1786, when Burns published Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), which was an immediate success. Later Burns brought out a second edition of his poems at Edinburgh in 1787, and for two winters he was socially active in the Scottish city. In 1788 he retired to a farm at Ellis land. By 1791 Burns had failed as a farmer, and he moved to Dumfries, where he held a position as a tax collector. He died of illness at 37. 

Burns's art is at its best in songs such as My Heart's in the Highlands. Some of his songs, such as Auld Lang Syne and Comin' thro' the Rye, are among the most familiar and best-loved songs in the English language. But his talent was not limited to songs; two descriptive pieces, Tam o' Shanter and The Jolly Beggars, are among his masterpieces. 

Burns had a fine sense of humor, which was reflected in his satirical , descriptive, and playful poems. His great popularity with the Scots lay in his ability to describe the life of his fellow rural Scots. His use of dialect brought an energetic, much-needed freshness into English poetry.

Answer the following questions:
1. What did Burns fail at?
2. Is he still alive?
3. What age did he make it to?
4. What caused his demise?
5. Did he have any siblings?
6. How many?
7. Where was he birthed?
8. Was he funny?
9. How so?
10. Did he write any well known tunes?
11. Can you give an example?
12. Any other?
13. What else did he write?
14. What was his net worth at death?
15. Did he ever work for the government?
16. Doing what?
17. Where?
A: 1. several agricultural jobs
2. no
3. 37.
4. illness
5. yes
6. Six
7. unknown
8. yes
9. it was reflected in his satirical , descriptive, and playful poems.
10. yes
11. Auld Lang Syne
12. Comin' thro' the Rye,
13. Tam o' Shanter and The Jolly Beggars
14. unknown
15. yes
16. he held a position as a tax collector.
17. Edinburgh

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Jim rode his bike quickly. It was Friday and he wanted to get to the lake. The path to the lake was long and winding. It was wetter on Tuesday. Jim had to wash his boot. His boot had once been frozen. It was frozen because he left it outside on Sunday. He had to leave his boot outside for a long time. The lake was facing the tree. Jim had to go home. He wanted food very badly. Jim went home. He got inside and looked up at the ceiling. He walked to the refrigerator. Jim took the yogurt out of the refrigerator. Some milk was on the table and he grabbed a cup so he could pour himself some of the milk. Jim also had a candy bar. Jim sat down and rested. He was tired from the long bike ride. He finished his yogurt and began planning his next trip to the lake. It would not be long before he returned. He and his boots were ready for more fun outdoors Monday.

1. What did Jim take out of the refrigerator first?
2. What sort of beverage did he pour to go with it?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. yogurt
2. Milk

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Chapter 14 

THROUGH THE VALLEY 

Sampson looked strangely at the great bloody blot on my breast and his look made me conscious of a dark hurrying of my mind. Morton came stamping up the steps with blunt queries, with anxious mien. When he saw the front of me he halted, threw wide his arms. 

"There come the girls!" suddenly exclaimed Sampson. "Morton, help me drag Wright inside. They mustn't see him." 

I was facing down the porch toward the court and corrals. Miss Sampson and Sally had come in sight, were swiftly approaching, evidently alarmed. Steele, no doubt, had remained out at the camp. I was watching them, wondering what they would do and say presently, and then Sampson and Johnson came to carry me indoors. They laid me on the couch in the parlor where the girls used to be so often. 

"Russ, you're pretty hard hit," said Sampson, bending over me, with his hands at my breast. The room was bright with sunshine, yet the light seemed to be fading. 

"Reckon I am," I replied. 

"I'm sorry. If only you could have told me sooner! Wright, damn him! Always I've split over him!" 

"But the last time, Sampson." 

"Yes, and I came near driving you to kill me, too. Russ, you talked me out of it. For Diane's sake! She'll be in here in a minute. This'll be harder than facing a gun." 

"Hard now. But it'll--turn out--O.K." 

"Russ, will you do me a favor?" he asked, and he seemed shamefaced. 

1. Who had remained at the camp?
2. Who carried the narrator indoors?
3. Where did they put him down?
4. In which room?
5. Who was hit hard?
6. Where was the bloody spot?
7. Who looked strangely at it?
8. And who was coming up the steps?
9. What did Sampson shout out?
10. What were the names of the women who were approaching?
11. Did they seem calm?
12. How did they seem?
13. Was the parlor room dark?
14. What was happening to the light?
15. Who was going to be there in a minute?
16. What number chapter is this?
17. What is its title?
18. What was Russ' last name?
19. What did Sampson's look make the narrator conscious of?
20. What did Morton come stamping up the steps with?

Numbered answers:

A:
1. Steele
2. Sampson and Johnson
3. On the couch
4. In the parlor
5. Russ
6. On his breast
7. Sampson
8. Morton
9. "There come the girls!"
10. Miss Sampson and Sally
11. No
12. Alarmed
13. No
14. Seemed to be fading.
15. Diane
16. 14
17. THROUGH THE VALLEY
18. Wright
19. a dark hurrying of my mind.
20. blunt queries,