Question
Blackbeard’s Ghost
by Jed Alexander
This passage tells the story of a young boy who has become a sailor on a boat. He quickly discovers he has accidentally joined a pirate ship.
As you read, pay attention to who is telling the story.
On the day I accidentally became a pirate, I climbed up the gangway and made my way below decks. Once in the ship’s hold, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I saw that the crew had laid in food stores and supplies, but no cargo. This struck me odd for a trading ship, but I thought no more of it as I found my place among the barrels and sacks.
I had boarded the Freedom with no plan or guarantee of prospects. I had never been to sea before, and so the hardships of sea life were new to me. I suffered terribly from seasickness once we left the harbor behind and sailed south upon the vast ocean. I found an oilcloth blanket to wrap myself in, but it was small comfort. Worse still, I could hear the chatter of rats as they raided the stores, and I could only hope that they would find whatever they pilfered more appetizing than me.
As the fourth day dawned, though in dread of my reception, I was about to reveal myself when I heard vicious cries and hard footfalls above deck. Musket fire and cannon bursts shook the ship. I feared that the ship had met with marauders. But when I listened more closely, I heard not cries of panic from the crew, but foul oaths and wild laughter. I soon guessed that the Freedom was no merchant ship. The captain and his crew were pirates, and the hold carried no cargo because they intended to fill it with another ship’s bounty!
I pitied those who had suffered at the hands of so merciless an attack and stayed well concealed as the crew lowered their plunder into the hold. As the last of the pirates ascended to the deck to join the raucous celebration, I peered from my hiding place.
A burning lamp had been left hanging from a beam, and by its glow I saw crates scattered carelessly across the floorboards and sacks that smelled wonderfully of cinnamon and spices. In the midst of the plunder was a grand chest covered in Turkish carvings, its heavy lock pried open and hanging loose. Curious, I crept near and cautiously opened the lid a crack. Then, as I glimpsed what lay inside, I lifted it wide. The chest was filled with silver and diamonds, sea-blue sapphires, and rubies as big as robin’s eggs! Prismatic colors danced upon the walls as the gems reflected the light of the lantern swinging with the roll of the ship.
Above, I could hear the celebration songs of the pirates.
Ho, ho, up she rises
Ho, ho up she rises
Ho, ho up she rises,
E’rly in the morning.
As long as the crew sang their shanties, they would have no reason to venture into the hold, or so I believed. I was too dazzled by the treasure to notice the man creeping down the stairway.
Read the third paragraph. What does the paragraph reveal about the narrator’s perspective of the Freedom?
The narrator is omniscient and knows everything about the Freedom and is aware it is a pirate ship.
The narrator loves pirates and sneaks on the ship so they can join the crew of the Freedom.
The narrator has their suspicions all along that the Freedom is a pirate ship.
The narrator is unaware that the Freedom is a pirate ship until they hear certain sounds.
by Jed Alexander
This passage tells the story of a young boy who has become a sailor on a boat. He quickly discovers he has accidentally joined a pirate ship.
As you read, pay attention to who is telling the story.
On the day I accidentally became a pirate, I climbed up the gangway and made my way below decks. Once in the ship’s hold, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I saw that the crew had laid in food stores and supplies, but no cargo. This struck me odd for a trading ship, but I thought no more of it as I found my place among the barrels and sacks.
I had boarded the Freedom with no plan or guarantee of prospects. I had never been to sea before, and so the hardships of sea life were new to me. I suffered terribly from seasickness once we left the harbor behind and sailed south upon the vast ocean. I found an oilcloth blanket to wrap myself in, but it was small comfort. Worse still, I could hear the chatter of rats as they raided the stores, and I could only hope that they would find whatever they pilfered more appetizing than me.
As the fourth day dawned, though in dread of my reception, I was about to reveal myself when I heard vicious cries and hard footfalls above deck. Musket fire and cannon bursts shook the ship. I feared that the ship had met with marauders. But when I listened more closely, I heard not cries of panic from the crew, but foul oaths and wild laughter. I soon guessed that the Freedom was no merchant ship. The captain and his crew were pirates, and the hold carried no cargo because they intended to fill it with another ship’s bounty!
I pitied those who had suffered at the hands of so merciless an attack and stayed well concealed as the crew lowered their plunder into the hold. As the last of the pirates ascended to the deck to join the raucous celebration, I peered from my hiding place.
A burning lamp had been left hanging from a beam, and by its glow I saw crates scattered carelessly across the floorboards and sacks that smelled wonderfully of cinnamon and spices. In the midst of the plunder was a grand chest covered in Turkish carvings, its heavy lock pried open and hanging loose. Curious, I crept near and cautiously opened the lid a crack. Then, as I glimpsed what lay inside, I lifted it wide. The chest was filled with silver and diamonds, sea-blue sapphires, and rubies as big as robin’s eggs! Prismatic colors danced upon the walls as the gems reflected the light of the lantern swinging with the roll of the ship.
Above, I could hear the celebration songs of the pirates.
Ho, ho, up she rises
Ho, ho up she rises
Ho, ho up she rises,
E’rly in the morning.
As long as the crew sang their shanties, they would have no reason to venture into the hold, or so I believed. I was too dazzled by the treasure to notice the man creeping down the stairway.
Read the third paragraph. What does the paragraph reveal about the narrator’s perspective of the Freedom?
The narrator is omniscient and knows everything about the Freedom and is aware it is a pirate ship.
The narrator loves pirates and sneaks on the ship so they can join the crew of the Freedom.
The narrator has their suspicions all along that the Freedom is a pirate ship.
The narrator is unaware that the Freedom is a pirate ship until they hear certain sounds.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The correct answer is:
**The narrator is unaware that the Freedom is a pirate ship until they hear certain sounds.**
In the third paragraph, the narrator initially fears that the ship has met with marauders but then infers that the Freedom is a pirate ship based on the sounds of the crew and their behavior. This suggests that the narrator did not have prior knowledge of the ship's true nature before those events unfolded.
**The narrator is unaware that the Freedom is a pirate ship until they hear certain sounds.**
In the third paragraph, the narrator initially fears that the ship has met with marauders but then infers that the Freedom is a pirate ship based on the sounds of the crew and their behavior. This suggests that the narrator did not have prior knowledge of the ship's true nature before those events unfolded.