Casey At The Bat Selection Test

Front 1

1. The message of “Casey at the Bat” may be that
a. baseball players shouldn’t let pitches go by.
b. baseball fans should trust the umpire.
c. people shouldn’t expect too much from their heroes.
d. a ball game isn’t worth getting excited about.

Back 1

c. people shouldn’t expect too much from their heroes.

Front 2

2. The second stanza of “Casey at the Bat” reads as follows:
A straggling few got up to go, leaving there the rest,/With that hope which springs
eternal within the human breast./For they thought: “If only Casey could get a
whack at that,”/They’d put even money now, with Casey at the bat.
Which of the following sentences summarizes the stanza quoted above?
a. A few people lingered in the stadium, waiting to place bets on whether or not
Casey could save the game during his next turn at bat.
b. Most of the crowd was hopeful and willing to bet that Mudville would have a
chance to win if Casey got a turn at bat.
c. Only a few people were willing to bet that Casey would get another chance at bat.
d. When Casey was at bat, the fans could only hope that he would be able to hit the
ball.

Back 2

b. Most of the crowd was hopeful and willing to bet that Mudville would have a
chance to win if Casey got a turn at bat.

Front 3

3. When he steps up to bat, Casey is _____.
a. angry
b. confident
c. nervous
d. scornful

Back 3

b. confident

Front 4

4. Which of the following is a clue to what will happen at the end of the poem?
a. Some fans start to leave the game.
b. The first two batters make outs.
c. The crowd grows angry at the umpire.
d. Casey glares at the pitcher defiantly.

Back 4

b. The first two batters make outs.

Front 5

5. The highest point of the poem occurs when
a. Flynn hits a single.
b. Casey steps up to bat.
c. Casey swings at the third pitch.
d. the umpire calls the third strike.

Back 5

c. Casey swings at the third pitch.

Front 6

6. Which of the following sums up the main conflict in “Casey at the Bat”?
a. A disagreement between Casey and the umpire
b. A game between Mudville and the opposing team
c. A struggle between the umpire and the crowd
d. A duel between Casey and the pitcher

Back 6

d. A duel between Casey and the pitcher

Front 7

7. Which of the following summarizes the ending of the poem?
a. Casey lets the first two pitches go by and he misses the third.
b. Casey lets all three pitches go by without swinging.
c. Casey misses the first two pitches and lets the third go by.
d. Casey swings at all three pitches and misses each time.

Back 7

a. Casey lets the first two pitches go by and he misses the third.

Front 8

8. Which word best describes the Mudville team?
a. Heroic
b. Inconsistent
c. Joyous
d. Reliable

Back 8

b. Inconsistent

Front 9

9. What does the umpire do in the poem?
a. He calls the first two strikes on Casey.
b. He calls all three strikes on Casey.
c. He intimidates Casey into striking out.
d. He favors the Mudville team’s opponents.

Back 9

a. He calls the first two strikes on Casey.

Front 10

10. Which of the following details would not be important to include in a summary of the
poem?
a. Flynn and Blake are both able to get on base.
b. The pitcher grinds the ball into his hip.
c. Mudville is down by two runs.
d. Casey strikes out.

Back 10

b. The pitcher grinds the ball into his hip.

Front 11

11. Choose the item that best describes the ending of the poem.
a. It is an anticlimax, because Casey does the unexpected—strikes out.
b. It is a climax, because Casey strikes out just as we expected.
c. It is a climax, because the high point happens suddenly.
d. It is an anticlimax, because the author delays telling what exactly happened until
the very end.

Back 11

a. It is an anticlimax, because Casey does the unexpected—strikes out.

Front 12

12. Which of the following situations is most similar to that in “Casey at the Bat”?
a. The tennis coach offers to play a match with you over the weekend and picks you
up early.
b. The world chess champion visits town and defeats twenty opponents at the same
time.
c. The star quarterback’s pass is intercepted and your school loses the game.
d. Your soccer team loses when your opponents score in the last seconds of the
game.

Back 12

c. The star quarterback’s pass is intercepted and your school loses the game.

Front 13

13. Which of the following details would be most important to include in a summary of
the poem?
a. Casey lets the first two pitches go by without swinging.
b. Casey doffs his hat to the crowd.
c. Casey pounds his bat on the plate.
d. Casey raises his hand when the crowd shouts “Kill the umpire!”

Back 13

a. Casey lets the first two pitches go by without swinging.

Front 14

14. Which of the following lines describes an anticlimax?
a. Defiance glanced in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip.
b. But there is no joy in Mudville:/Mighty Casey has struck out.
c. For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
d. No stranger in the crowd could doubt ‘twas Casey at the bat.

Back 14

b. But there is no joy in Mudville:/Mighty Casey has struck out.

Front 15

15. Which sentence uses a form of tumult correctly?
a. Casey stepped to the plate in tumultuous.
b. The wind blew tumultuous across the field.
c. The crowd gave Casey a tumultuous response.
d. The tumultuous welcomed Casey to the plate.

Back 15

c. The crowd gave Casey a tumultuous response.

Front 16

16. If your face took on a pallor, how would you most likely be feeling?
a. Afraid
b. Happy
c. Excited
d. Sleepy

Back 16

a. Afraid

Front 17

17. Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to tumult?
a. Commotion
b. Pile
c. Party
d. Calm

Back 17

d. Calm

Front 18

18. Choose the sentence in which the possessive noun is formed correctly.
a. The two team’s lineups were evenly matched.
b. Caseys’s third strike was unexpected.
c. Mudvilles’ team drew a big crowd.
d. The people’s disappointment was great.

Back 18

d. The people’s disappointment was great.

Front 19

19. Which word is most nearly the same in meaning as wreathed?
a. Short
b. Curved
c. Twisted
d. Straight

Back 19

c. Twisted

Front 20

20. Which item shows the correct formation of a noun’s singular possessive and plural
possessive forms?
a. child, child’s, childrens’
b. actress, actress’, actress’s
c. eyebrow, eyebrows’, eyebrows’s
d. author, author’s, authors’

Back 20

d. author, author’s, authors’