Function of Significant Events: Poetry Practice Test

Read the poem below and answer the question that follows.

Title: “The Last Slice”

At the party,

the pizza box sits open

like a dare.

One slice remains,

greasy, curling at the tip.

People hover,

pretending not to want it.

Music thumps

through the floorboards.

I laugh at jokes

I don’t hear.

Then **I take the last slice

and hold it up,

offering it to the room.**

No one moves.

I eat it.

For once, I don’t apologize.

What is the primary function of I take the last slice... offering it to the room?

Read the poem below and answer the question that follows.

Title: “The Check”

At the diner,

we split pancakes

and pretend it’s casual.

Your laugh is practiced,

mine too eager.

When the check comes,

it lands between us

like a small verdict.

You reach for it.

I reach too.

Our fingers touch,

then retreat.

Then **I slide my card forward

and feel my hand shake,

as if paying is a kind of asking.**

Outside, the sun is too bright

for subtlety.

What is the primary function of I slide my card forward... as if paying is a kind of asking?