Name: Date:

“House Taken Over”

(with “The Fall of the House of
Usher”)
Julio Cortázar; Edgar Allan Poe

FIRST READ: Comprehension

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

1. Which of the following words best describes the mood, or overall feeling,
established in “House Taken Over”?
a. violent
b. creepy
c. depressed
d. lonely

2. At the beginning of “House Taken Over,” how do the narrator and his sister
Irene spend most of their days? Choose two options.
a. sleeping
b. knitting
c. shopping
d. cleaning
e. harvesting crops
f. visiting with friends

3. In “House Taken Over,” what do the narrator and his sister do when the back
section of the house is taken over?
a. They sell the house and move away.
b. They call the police and file a report.
c. They move into the other part of the house.
d. They open the gate and clear out the other rooms.

4. In “House Taken Over,” which of the following details most clearly suggest
that the narrator and his sister are nervous and afraid? Choose two options.
a. They intentionally stop thinking.
b. They occupy themselves by cleaning.
c. They prefer to spend time in their rooms.
d. They often cannot fall asleep and have trouble sleeping peacefully.
e. They collect French literature and reorder their father’s stamp collection.

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 GRADE 10 • UNIT 1 • SELECTION TEST

"HOUSE TAKEN OVER" (WITH "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER")

BY JULIO CORTÁZAR; EDGAR ALLAN POE

Name: Date:

FIRST READ: Concept Vocabulary

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

5. If a room can be accurately described as spacious, which of the following must

be true?
a. The room must be beautiful.
b. People must feel hot in the room.
c. Many people must be able to fit in the room.
d. The room must be filled with light.

6. In which of the following circumstances would a person’s voice most likely be

muffled?
a. if the person were singing in a concert
b. if the person were speaking calmly to a friend
c. if the person were wearing a scarf over his or her mouth
d. if the person were making an announcement over a loudspeaker

7. Which of the following things would most likely be described as obscure?

a. a rare book
b. a popular blog
c. a daily newspaper
d. a familiar magazine

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 GRADE 10 • UNIT 1 • SELECTION TEST

"HOUSE TAKEN OVER" (WITH "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER")

BY JULIO CORTÁZAR; EDGAR ALLAN POE

Name: Date:

CLOSE READ: Analyze the Text

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

8. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A What can you infer about the brother and sister’s economic status in
“House Taken Over”?
a. They have few possessions.
b. They rely on friends to support them.
c. They take in boarders to earn extra money.
d. They have enough money to live comfortably.

Part B Which of the following excerpts from “House Taken Over” best
supports the inference made in Part A?
a. It was pleasant to take lunch and commune with the great hollow, silent
house….
b. One day I found that the drawer at the bottom of the chiffonier, replete
with mothballs, was filled with shawls, white, green, lilac.
c. We didn’t have to earn our living, there was plenty coming in from the
farms each month, even piling up.
d. Only a corridor with its massive oak door separated that part from the
front wing, where there was a bath, the kitchen, our bedrooms and the
hall.

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 GRADE 10 • UNIT 1 • SELECTION TEST

"HOUSE TAKEN OVER" (WITH "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER")

BY JULIO CORTÁZAR; EDGAR ALLAN POE

Name: Date:

9. Read the following excerpt from “House Taken Over.”

I went down to the kitchen, heated the kettle, and when I got back with the tray of
mate, I told Irene: “I had to shut the door to the passage. They’ve taken over the
back part.”

After reading this excerpt how would you describe the narrator’s reaction after
the back section of the house is taken over?
a. He is noticeably angry.
b. He is surprisingly calm.
c. He is confused by the strange events.
d. He is distressed to lose half of their home.

10. Read the following quotation from near the end of “House Taken Over.”
We had what we had on. I remembered fifteen thousand pesos in the wardrobe in
my bedroom. Too late now.

What does this detail suggest about the force or creature that has invaded the
house of the narrator and his sister?
a. It is greedy and wants to steal everything it can find in their luxurious
home.
b. It is interested only in people who are rich or greedy.
c. It is powerful, so they distract its attention by leaving items behind.
d. It is terrifying enough to make them forget valued possessions.

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 GRADE 10 • UNIT 1 • SELECTION TEST

"HOUSE TAKEN OVER" (WITH "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER")

BY JULIO CORTÁZAR; EDGAR ALLAN POE

Name: Date:

11. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A Which option is the best statement of one of the main ideas in “House
Taken Over”?
a. Each time people avoid confronting their fear, they lose a little more of
themselves, until, finally, they have lost everything.
b. People who live in large homes lose track of how much space they have;
the space becomes meaningless, and soon they no longer need it at all.
c. Some people have many belongings and do not seem to care, but when
they lose everything, they realize how important those belongings were to
them.
d. People who do not build relationships with outsiders will regret this
decision, because eventually they will need the support of others, and it
will be too late.

Part B Which excerpt from the story best supports the answer to Part A?
a. We liked the house because … it kept the memories of great-grandparents,
our paternal grandfather, our parents and the whole of childhood.
b. Irene and I got used to staying in the house by ourselves, which was crazy,
eight people could have lived in that place and not have gotten in each
other’s way.
c. Irene never bothered anyone. Once the morning housework was finished,
she spent the rest of the day on the sofa in her bedroom, knitting.
d. “I had to shut the door to the passage. They’ve taken over the back
part.”… “In that case,” she said, picking up her needles again, “we’ll have
to live on this side.”

CLOSE READ: Analyze Craft and Structure

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

12. What happens in “House Taken Over” that demonstrates most clearly that it is
a story of magical realism?
a. The routine, ordinary lives of the characters contrast with the unreal and
frightening takeover of the house.
b. The lives of the characters are predictable and drawn in such detail that
readers vividly recognize the everyday world.
c. The supernatural setting, characters, and events are so unrealistic that
readers are never allowed to see a parallel to the real world.
d. The failure of the characters to respond realistically to events in their
house by resisting the intruders invokes suspicion and distrust.

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 GRADE 10 • UNIT 1 • SELECTION TEST

"HOUSE TAKEN OVER" (WITH "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER")

BY JULIO CORTÁZAR; EDGAR ALLAN POE

Name: Date:

13. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A What is the narrative tone of “House Taken Over” that contributes most
clearly to the magical realism of the story?
a. humorous even when describing sad events
b. matter-of-fact even when describing mysterious events
c. sentimental even when describing meaningless events
d. tense even when describing ordinary events

Part B Which excerpt from the story best supports the answer to Part A?
a. Irene turned down two suitors for no particular reason, and María Esther
went and died on me before we could manage to get engaged.
b. I hurled myself against the door before it was too late and shut it, leaned
on it with the weight of my body; luckily, the key was on our side;
moreover, I ran the great bolt into place, just to be safe.
c. The first few days were painful, since we’d both left so many things in the
part that had been taken over. My collection of French literature, for
example, was still in the library.
d. Whenever Irene talked in her sleep, I woke up immediately and stayed
awake. I never could get used to this voice from a statue or a parrot, a
voice that came out of the dreams, not from a throat.

14. What is realistic about “House Taken Over”?

a. The brother and sister cannot understand their home’s invasion.
b. The house resists the nameless intruders for as long as possible.
c. The outside forces are allowed to take over the house without any
opposition.
d. The brother and sister keep busy cleaning house and working on hobbies.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Word Study

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

15. Effort is a noun that means “exertion” or “something done by force or work.”
The suffix -less, meaning “without” or “lacking,” can be added to the word to
form a new word, effortless. Once the suffix is added, how does the meaning or
part of speech change?
a. It is still a noun but means “reduced exertion or work.”
b. It is now an adjective meaning “without exertion or work.”
c. It is now an adverb meaning “tirelessly or without growing weary.”
d. It is now a verb meaning “to put forth great effort” or “to do hard work.”

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 GRADE 10 • UNIT 1 • SELECTION TEST

"HOUSE TAKEN OVER" (WITH "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER")

BY JULIO CORTÁZAR; EDGAR ALLAN POE

Name: Date:

16. Appear is a verb meaning “to become visible.” The prefix dis- can be added to
the word to form a new word, disappear. Which answer choice best describes
how the word changes once the prefix is added?
a. It is still a verb but now means “vanish” or “go out of sight.”
b. It is now an adjective that means “vanish” or “go out of sight.”
c. It is now a noun that means “something that does not appear.”
d. It is still a verb but means “something that does not appear.”

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Conventions

Identify the choice that best answers the question.

17. Read this sentence.

The man’s thoughtful and pained expression conveyed an attitude of worry.

Which word functions as a preposition?

a. The
b. and
c. an
d. of

18. Read this sentence.

The mood at the party had not changed; then suddenly, the visitors were gone.

Which words make up a prepositional phrase?

a. at the party
b. had not changed
c. then suddenly
d. were gone

19. Read this sentence.

Walking purposefully up to the house in the evening, the woman then banged loudly
on the door.

Which answer choice both identifies a prepositional phrase in the sentence and
correctly identifies its function?
a. “on the door”; tells more about the action of banging
b. “in the evening”; tells more about the reason the woman walked
c. “up to the house”; tells more about the action of banging
d. “in the evening”; tells more about the house and those around it

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 GRADE 10 • UNIT 1 • SELECTION TEST

"HOUSE TAKEN OVER" (WITH "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER")

BY JULIO CORTÁZAR; EDGAR ALLAN POE

Name: Date:

20. Read this sentence.

She sat by the fire knitting scarves and humming a song.

Identify the word in the sentence that is the object of a preposition.

a. She
b. fire
c. scarves
d. song

Comparing Texts
Identify the choice that best answers the question.

21. How are the houses similar in “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “House
Taken Over”? Choose two options.
a. Both are very ordinary homes.
b. Both are located in urban areas.
c. Both have several residents who live there.
d. Both have long been in the owners’ families.
e. Both are large and reflect the wealth of the owners.

22. How do “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “House Taken Over” differ in
their approach to describing events, characters, and places?
a. “The Fall of the House of Usher” calmly depicts terrifying events, while
“House Taken Over” dramatically depicts terrifying events.
b. “The Fall of the House of Usher” portrays realistic characters, while
“House Taken Over” portrays characters who seem largely unreal.
c. “The Fall of the House of Usher” vividly depicts frightening events,
while “House Taken Over” calmly depicts a growing threat.
d. “The Fall of the House of Usher” describes an everyday environment,
while “House Taken Over” describes a dark, bleak environment.

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 GRADE 10 • UNIT 1 • SELECTION TEST

"HOUSE TAKEN OVER" (WITH "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER")

BY JULIO CORTÁZAR; EDGAR ALLAN POE

Name: Date:

23. How does the narrator’s response to the supernatural events in “The Fall of the
House of Usher” differ from the characters’ response in “House Taken Over”?
a. The narrator in “The Fall of the House of Usher” pretends nothing is
wrong; the characters in “House Taken Over” know what is happening
and why.
b. The narrator in “The Fall of the House of Usher” thinks there is a logical
explanation for what is happening; the characters in “House Taken Over”
do not know anything is wrong.
c. The narrator in “The Fall of the House of Usher” is aware of the
supernatural and seeks answers; the characters in “House Taken Over” do
not confront their terror but try to ignore it.
d. The narrator in “The Fall of the House of Usher” is unaware that
anything is wrong until the house collapses; the characters in “House
Taken Over” know something is wrong but do not think it is serious.

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