Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region VII
Division of Samar
Sta. Margarita I District
STA. MARGARITA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Sta. Margarita, Samar
21st CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD
Final Examination, First Semester
SY: 2022-2023
Name: Grade and Section: Strand: ________
TEST I. Multiple Choice
Instructions: Read each item carefully. Write the letter that corresponds to the
letter of your answer. Do not write anything in the questionnaire. NO ERASURES, NO
CHEATING.
1. Mind mapping is a tool used to visually organize information that helps us to analyze, synthesize,
recall and __________ new ideas.
a. draw c. evaluate
b. estimate d. generate
2. Which technique in making a movie is used to generate illusion of movement from many still
images?
a. animation c. video filming
b. designing d. photography
3. This is a short Filipino poem that consists of 4 lines with 7-7-7-7- syllabic verse.
a. awit c. tanaga
b. haiku d. haiku
4. Blog is the short term for __________.
a. net blog c. word blog
b. web blog d. internet blog
5. The following media forms are integrated in multimedia EXCEPT _________.
a. text c. computer
b. video d. animation
6. PowerPoint application is used to _________.
a. design animations
b. create slideshow presentations
c. process and store digital presentations
d. generate ideas from people thru mapping
7. Which wireless handheld device is used to make and receive calls and send text messages?
a. laptop c. desktop
b. cellphone d. camera
8. This electronic device is used for storing and processing data.
a. printer c. computer
b. android d. mobile phone
9. A tag cloud is also known as _________.
a. web cloud c. word cloud
b. text cloud d. digital cloud
10. Which software package is designed to create electronic presentations consisting of a series of
separate pages?
a. PowerPoint c. Microsoft Excel
b. Mobile text tula d. Digital photography
11. If a learner desires to create informational discussion on web about people’s travel, interests, and
experiences, he/she can create a _________.
a. blog c. tag cloud
essay d. mobile text tula
12. It is a brief, serious, amusing and interesting story.
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a. tale c. legend
b. fable d. anecdote
13. Which element refers to the time and location where the story happens?
a. Plot c. Conflict
b. Setting d. Characterization
14. The phrase, “Don’t judge the book by its cover,” is an example of
a. Mood c. Theme
b. Setting d. Conflict
15. What do you call the most important character in a story?
a. antagonize c. antagonist
b. protagonist d. instigator
16. Which plot structure creates tone, presents characters and other important details to introduce the
story?
a. Setting c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Climax
17. Which element of a short story is known as the vantage point used to narrate the story?
a. Setting c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Point of view
18. What do you call the character who contends with the main character in a short story?
a. investigator c. antagonist
b. protagonist d. Instigator
19. Which element of short story shows the author’s attitude or feelings?
a. Plot c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Tone
20. What do you call the events that happen in a short story?
a. Setting c. Plot
b. Theme d. Conflict
21. Which of the following is considered as the essence of fiction?
a. Setting c. Conflict
b. Theme d. Climax
22. What do you call the series of events when things start to happen in the story?
a. Rising Action c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Falling Action
23. Which element is always presented at the final part of the story?
a. Resolution c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Climax
24. Which element is considered as the high point in the story?
a. Setting c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Climax
25. Which element refers to the series of events and character actions that relate to the central conflict?
a. Setting c. Plot
b. Theme d. Conflict
26. Which is considered as the base or beginning of a story?
a. Setting c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Climax
27. What comes after the climax when things or events begin to work out?
a. Rising Action c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Falling Action
28. A statement of fact about Philippine regional literature is _______.
a. It mirrors the deeply ingrained Filipino values, culture and tradition even when keeping up
with the changing times.
b. It reflects the conservatism of indigenous folks who have maintained a backward expression
style.
c. It embraces only the written compilation of literary works in various styles and genres.
d. It depicts the influences of various colonizers that occupied the country for more than three
centuries.
29. Cherry Claire prefers reading contemporary literary works than to play outdoor games. What is the
meaning of the underlined word?
a. Traditional c. Modern
b. Bold d. Legendary
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30. An element in poetry that refers to the image or picture created in the minds of readers
that helps give light to the main idea is _______.
a. form c. rhythm
b. imagery d. sound pattern
31. What refers to the imaginative works of prose and poetry?
a. Art c. Divisions
b. Form d. Literature
32. What refers to the largest continent in the world and has a vast literary tradition in
terms of scope and length of existence?
a. Africa c. Europe
b. Australia d. Asia
33. Who is an Asian Nobel Prize winner in Literature whose famous novel “Red Sorghum”
tells of the story of a family in a rural area in Shandong Province of a turbulent time?
a. Abe Kobe c. Premchand
b. Li Po d. Mo Yan
34. The following are literary works of Japanese literature EXCEPT _________:
a. Noh c. Haiku
b. Kabuki d. Hangul
35. What is the finest era of Chinese literature that produced world-renowned authors?
a. Han Dynasty c. Tang Dynasty
b. Quin Dynasty d. Zhou Dynasty
36. Who was the only Indonesian poet recognized internationally and a National Hero of
India who wrote the collections of the poem “Nyangi Sunyi”?
a. Nguyen Du c. Chart Korbjitti
b. Raja Rao d. Tengku Amir Hamzah
37. The following authors belong to Central Asian literature EXCEPT ________:
a. Arundhati Roy c. Mukhtar Auez - uli
b. Chingiz Aytmatov d. Abdullah Qodiriy
38. Who was the first black African who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature and
wrote the famous play “A Dance of the Forests” for the Nigerian independence
celebrations?
a. Chinua Achebe c. Wole Soyinka
b. Kofi Awoonor d. Thomas Mofolo
39. All of the following statements are true about African literature EXCEPT:
a. It is the cradle of humankind.
b. Its psyche has awakened by colonization and slave trade
c. It has the largest literary traditions in terms of scope and length of existence.
d. Its literature is filled with the human spirit, desire for freedom, and contentment.
40. What is the major reason for the African contemporary writers for using their literary
works towards their government?
a. To express their gratitude
b. To persuade others to write
c. To enhance their talents in writing
d. To express their disagreement with the constant corruption
41. Who is the most famous Chinese poet?
a. Li Po c. Bai Juyi
b. Du Fu d. Mao Zeodong
42. What is the Korean’s distinctive writing system that gave birth to a new wave of Korean
literature?
a. Hangul c. Sanskrit
b. Haiku d. Arabic
43. What is considered as a clear cultural giant in South Asia?
a. Philippines c. Indonesia
b. India d. Thailand
44. What is an essential component and the foundation of culture in the Middle East?
a. Islam c. Judaism
b. Christianity d. Buddhism
45. What is the world-renowned short descriptive poem with 17 syllables of the Japanese
literature?
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a. Hangul c. Noh
b. Haiku d. Kabuki
TEST II. Reading Comprehension
Instructions: Read the story carefully and answer the questions that follow by encircling the letter
of the best answer.
SINIGANG
Marie Aubrey J. Villaceran
“So, what happened?”
She had finally decided to ask the question. I had been wondering how long my Tita Loleng could
contain her curiosity.
I continued to pick out tomatoes for the Sinigang we were to have for dinner. I wasn’t usually the
one who assisted my aunt with the cooking. She preferred my younger sister, Meg, for I knew far less in
this area—not having the aptitude, or the interest, I guess—for remembering recipes. That didn’t matter
today, though. This time, Tita Loleng wanted more than just an extra pair of hands in the kitchen.
“Nothing much,” I answered offhandedly. “We did what people usually do during funerals.” I
reminded myself to tread carefully with her. Though I did not really feel like talking, I could not tell her off for
she took offense rather easily.
I put the tomatoes in the small palanggana, careful not to bruise their delicate skin, and carried them
to the sink.
“Did you meet…her?” Tita Loleng asked.
There came to me a memory of sitting in one of the smaller narra sofas in the living room in
Bulacan. I faced a smooth white coffin whose corners bore goldplated figures of cherubs framed by
elaborate swirls resembling thick, curling vines. Two golden candelabras, each supporting three rows of
high-wattage electric candles, flanked the coffin and seared the white kalachuchi in the funeral wreaths,
causing the flowers to release more of their heady scent before they wilted prematurely. Through an open
doorway, I could see into the next room where a few unfamiliar faces held murmured conversations above
their coffee cups.
“Are you Liza?” A woman beside me suddenly asked.
I was surprised, for I had not heard anyone approaching. Most of the mourners preferred to stay out
on the veranda for fear that the heat from the lights might also cause them to wither.
I looked up slowly: long, slim feet with mauve-painted toenails that peeked through the opening of a
pair of scruffy-looking slippers; smooth legs unmarred by swollen veins or scars—so unlike the spider-
veined legs of my mom—encased in a black, pencil-cut skirt; a white blouse with its sleeves too long for the
wearer, causing the extra fabric to bunch around the cuffs; a slim neck whose skin sagged just a little bit;
and a pale face that seemed like it had not experienced sleep in days. The woman looked to me like she
was in her forties—the same age as my mother.
“Yes,” I had answered that woman—the same answer I now gave to Tita Loleng.
I gently spilled out all the tomatoes into the sink and turned on the tap. The water, like agua bendita,
cleansed each tomato of the grime from its origins. “What did she tell you?” Tita Loleng asked.
“Nothing much. She told me who she was.”
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“What did she look like?”
“She’s pretty, I guess.”
She was. She looked like she had Indian blood with her sharp nose and deep-set eyes thickly
bordered by long lashes. Just like Mom, she still maintained a slim figure though she already had children.
The woman, upon seeing my curious stare, had explained, “I am Sylvia.”
All my muscles tensed upon hearing her name. It took all my self-control to outwardly remain calm
and simply raise an eyebrow.
My reaction caused a range of emotion to cross the woman’s face before it finally crumbled and
gave way to tears. Suddenly, she grabbed my hand from where it had been resting on the arm of the sofa.
Her own hands were damp and sticky with sweat. She knelt in front of me—a sinner confessing before a
priest so he could wash away the dirt from her past.
But I was not a priest. I looked down at her and my face remained impassive.
When her weeping had subsided, she raised her head and looked at me. “Everyone makes
mistakes, Liza.” Her eyes begged for understanding.
It was a line straight out of a Filipino soap opera. I had a feeling that the whole situation was a
scene from a very bad melodrama I was watching.
I looked around to see if anyone had witnessed the spectacle unfolding in this living room, but it was
as if an invisible director had banned all but the actors from the set. Except for us, not a soul could be seen.
I wanted Sylvia to free my hand so I nodded and pretended to understand. Apparently convinced,
she let go and, to my shock, suddenly hugged me tight. My nose wrinkled as the pungent mix of heavy
perfume and sweat assailed me. I wanted to scream at her to let go but I did not move away. “Hmm, I think
they’re washed enough na.” Tita Loleng said.
Turning off the tap, I placed the tomatoes inside the basin once more. Then, as an afterthought, I told my
Tita, “I don’t think she is as pretty as Mom, though.”
Tita Loleng nodded understandingly. She gestured for me to place the basin on the table where she
already had the knives and chopping board ready.
“Where was your Dad when she was talking to you?”
“Oh, he was sleeping in one of the bedrooms. Mom did not want to wake him up because they told
her he had not slept for two nights straight.”
Tita Loleng snorted. “Haay, your mother talaga,” she said, shaking her head.
I had to smile at that before continuing. “When he saw me, Sylvia had already been called away to
entertain some of the visitors.”
“Was he surprised to see you?” Tita knew that I had not wanted to go to the funeral. Actually, she
was one of the few people who respected, and understood, my decision.
“No.” I sliced each of the tomatoes in quarters. The blade of the knife clacked fiercely against the
hard wood of the chopping board. “He requested Mom to make me go there.” We both knew that I could
never have refused my mother once she insisted that I attend. I had even gone out and gotten drunk with
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some friends the night before we were to leave just so I could have an excuse not to go, but my mom was
inflexible. She had ordered my two sisters to wake me up.
Tita Loleng gave me a sympathetic look. “No choice then, huh?” She was forever baffled at the way
my mother could be such a martyr when it came to my father and such a tyrant to her children.
Clack! Clack! The knife hacked violently against the board.
“Nope.”
When my Dad had come out of the room, I remembered sensing it immediately—the same way an
animal instinctively perceives when it is in danger. I had been looking at the face of my dead half-brother,
searching for any resemblance between us. Chemotherapy had sunk his cheeks and had made his hair fall
out, but even in this condition, I could see how handsome he must have been before his treatment. His
framed photograph atop the glass covering of the coffin confirmed this. Lem took after my father so much
that Dad could never even hope to deny that he was his son. I, on the other hand, had taken after my
mother.
I knew my father was staring at me but I refused look at him. He approached and stood next to me. I
remained silent.
“I am glad you came,” he said.
I gave him a non-committal nod, not even glancing his way.Tita Loleng interrupted my thoughts with
another one of her questions.
“Did you cry?”
I shook my head vehemently as I answered, “No.”
I took the sliced tomatoes, surprised to find not even a splinter of wood with them, as well as the
onions Tita Loleng had chopped and put them in a pot. “What next?” I asked her.
“The salt.” Then she went and added a heaping tablespoonful of salt to the pot.
“Is that all?”
“Uh-huh. Your Mom and I prefer it a bit saltier, but your Dad likes it this way.” Then she gestured
towards the pot, closing and opening her fist like a baby flexing its fingers.
I started crushing the onions, tomatoes, and salt together with my hand.
“He was an acolyte in church,” my father had said then, finally splintering the silence I had adamantly
maintained. “Father Mario said that we shouldn’t feel sad because Lem is assured of going to a better place
because he was such a good child.” Good, I thought, unlike me whom he always called “Sinverguenza”, the
shameless daughter.
I finally turned to him. There was only one question I needed to ask. “Why?”
He met my gaze. I waited but he would not—could not— answer me. He looked away.
My mask of indifference slipped. It felt like a giant hand was rubbing salt into me, squeezing and
mashing, unsatisfied until all of me had been crushed.
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“Stop it na, Liza!” Tita Loleng exclaimed. “Anymore of that mashing and you will be putting bits of
your own flesh and bone in there,” my aunt warned. She went to the refrigerator and took out plastic bags
containing vegetables. She placed them in the sink. “All of these will be needed for the sinigang,” she said.
“Prepare them while you’re softening the meat.” Then she took off her apron, “You go and finish off here. I
will just go to my room and stretch my back out a bit.” With a tender pat on my head, she walked out of the
kitchen.
I breathed a sigh of relief. The questions had stopped, for now.
I poured the hugas bigas into the mass of crushed onions and tomatoes and added the chunks of
beef into the concoction before covering the pot and placing it on the stove. I turned on the flame. The
sinigang needed to simmer for close to an hour to tenderize the meat.
In the meantime, I started preparing all the other ingredients that will be added to the pot later on.
Taking all the plastic bags, I unloaded their contents into the sink then washed and drained each vegetable
thoroughly before putting them beside my chopping board.
I reached for the bunch of kangkong and began breaking off choice sections to be included in the
stew. When I was a child, before Tita Loleng had chosen to stay with us, my mom used to do the cooking
and she would have Meg and I sit beside her while she readied the meals. I remembered that whenever it
came to any dish involving kangkong, I would always insist on preparing it because I loved the crisp
popping sound the vegetable made whenever I broke off a stem. It was on one such occasion, I was in
second year high school by then but still insistent on kangkong preparation, when Mom had divulged the
truth about the boy who kept calling Dad on the phone everyday at home. Meg had also been there,
breaking off string beans into two-inch sections. Neither of us had reacted much then, but between us, I
knew I was more affected by what Mom had said because right until then, I had always been Daddy’s girl.
When the kangkong was done, I threw away the tough, unwanted parts and reached for the
labanos. I used a peeler to strip away the skin—revealing the white, slightly grainy flesh—and then sliced
each root diagonally. Next came the sigarilyas, and finally, the string beans.
Once, I asked Tita Loleng how she knew what type of vegetable to put into sinigang and she said,
“Well, one never really knows which will taste good until one has tried it. I mean, some people cook
sinigang with guavas, some with kamias. It is a dish whose recipe would depend mostly on the taste of
those who will do the eating.”
I got a fork and went to the stove where the meat was simmering. I prodded the chunks to test
whether they were tender enough—and they were. After pouring in some more of the rice washing, I
cleared the table and waited for the stew to boil.
A few minutes later, the sound of rapidly popping bubbles declared that it was now time to add the
powdered tamarind mix. I poured in the whole packet and stirred. Then I took the vegetables and added
them, a fistful at a time, to the pot. As I did so, I remembered the flower petals each of my two sisters and I
had thrown, fistful by fistful, into the freshly dug grave as Lem’s casket was being lowered into it.
My dad was crying beside me and I recalled thinking, would he be the same if I was the one who
had died? I glanced up at him and was surprised to find that he was looking at me. His hand, heavy with
sadness, fell on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” he had told me.
I let the stew boil for a few more minutes before turning off the fire.
The sinigang would be served later during dinner. I pictured myself seated in my usual place beside
my father who is at the head of the table. He would tell Mom about his day and then he would ask each of
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us about our own. I would answer, not in the animated way I would have done when I was still young and
his pet, but politely and without any rancor.
Then, he would compliment me on the way I had cooked his favorite dish and I would give him a
smile that would never quite show, not even in my eyes.
46. Who is the writer of the short story “Sinigang”?
a. Marie Aubrey Villaceran c. Edith L. Tiempo
b. NVM Gonzales d. Manuel E. Arguilla
47. Where is the setting of the story?
a. farm c. cemetery
b. house d. garden
48. Who is the main character in the story?
a. Sylvia c. Lem
b. Liza d. Tita Loleng
49. What point of view was used by the author in telling the story?
a. Third Person c. First Person
b. Omniscient Third Person d. Limited Third Person
50. Whose favorite dish is the “Sinigang”?
a. Liza c. Liza’s mother
b. Tita Loleng d. Liza’s father
51. What type of conflict was shown in the story?
a. man versus man c. man versus himself
b. man versus nature d. man versus society
52. What element creates the tone and presents the characters and other important facts to introduce the
story?
a. Setting c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Climax
53. What element includes the locale and period in a story?
a. Setting c. Exposition
b. Theme d. Climax
54. Based on the text, what does the word “Sinverguenza” mean?
a. a person who is shameless c. a person who is calm
b. a person who is sinful d. a person who is reckless
55. What type of character contends with the main character?
a. opposition c. antagonist
b. protagonist d. instigator
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56. Which statements can be said about the image?
A Haiku by Basho
A snowy morning --by myself,
chewing on dried salmon.
a. It shows a solitary man. c. It shows a very cold morning.
b. It shows a very poor man. d. It shows a moment during summer time.
57. What does the persona likely feel about his situation?
A Poem by Du Fu
The river's blue, the bird a perfect white,
he mountain green with flowers about to blaze.
I've watched the spring pass away again,
When will I be able to return?
a. contentment c. fear
b. excitement d. weariness
For numbers 58-60, read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
Song VII
My song has put off her adornments.
She has no pride of dress and decoration.
Ornaments would mar our union;
they would come between thee and me;
their jingling would drown thy whispers.
My poet's vanity dies in shame before thy sight.
O master poet, I have sat down at thy feet.
Only let me make my life simple and straight,
like a flute of reed for thee to fill with music.
58. What tone does the phrase “O master poet” help create?
a. a casual, personal tone c. a formal, respectful tone
b. a dark, threatening tone d. a sad, regretful tone
59. The speaker of the poem believes that the addressee is superior to him or her. What lines from the
poem support this conclusion?
a. lines 1 and 2 c. lines 4 and 5
b. lines 3 and 4 d. lines 6 and 7
60. What might be an example of the “jingling” ornaments that the speaker refers to in lines 3-5?
a. a bell b. a diamond necklace c. a keychain d. rhyme
