Site MapHelpFeedbackFigures of Speech Exercise 1
Figures of Speech Exercise 1
(See related pages)

Directions:Most of the following items are quotes are from famous people. Identify whether each item represents a metaphor, metonymy, personification, or a simile. If a word or phrase in an item is italicized, tell which type of figurative language it represents.




1"Education is our passport to the future, and tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." —Malcolm X, civil rights activist and writer
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


2"Education is our passport to the future, and tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." —Malcolm X, civil rights activist and writer
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


3"The computer had become like the most miraculous sort of technological Swiss Army knife: each time you thought you knew what it could do, it turned out that it could do more, faster, and more accurately." —Anna Quindlen, author
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


4"Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest."
—Douglas Jerrold, playwright and humorist (1803-1857)
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


5"Modern English is the Wal-Mart of languages: convenient, huge, hard to avoid, superficially friendly, and devouring all rivals in its eagerness to expand." —Mark Abley, journalist (1955)
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


6"A good example is the best sermon." —Ben Franklin, Founding Father, statesman, author, inventor
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


7English is unrivaled as the most widely-spoken language in the world. It is the sole or joint language of more nations and territories than any other tongue.
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


8"Slang is 'a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work."
—Carl Sandburg, poet
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


9
"I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted, and behold, service was joy."
  —Rabindranath Tagore, philosopher, author, Nobel laureate (1861-1941)
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile


10"Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for it to kill your enemy." —Nelson Mandela, former South African president, who was previously imprisoned for 30 years for his anti-apartheid activities; after his release, he negotiated the end of apartheid, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
A)metaphor
B)metonymy
C)personification
D)simile





To learn more about the book this website supports, please visit its Information Center.
(c)2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Notice.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies.


Exercise Your College ReadingOnline Learning Center

Home > Bonus Chapter 1 > Figures of Speech Exercise 1