Question

1. when you use verbal irony, you say one thing, but you actually mean the opposite. it can take the form of sarcasm, overstatement or understatement. irony is also when the opposite of what you expect actually happens.

which of the following is an example of verbal irony?
a. her step is as light as a feather. b. \you are beautiful like a summer day,\ she told the winner of the baby beauty pageant.
c. talking to him is about as interesting as reading a dictionary. d. her voice is as sweet as honey

1. when you make a pun, youre exploiting or playing with the multiple meanings of words.

which of the following is an example of a pun?
a. i could hear the frogs croaking and ribbeting in the swamp. b. i read a book about gravity. it was pretty heavy
c. pop! i heard the tire burst and then the slow hiss as air released. d. love is like a warm blanket on a cold day.

Explanation:

• Question 10:
• Option A: “Her step is as light as a feather” is a simile, comparing the lightness of her step to a feather.
• Option B: “You are beautiful like a summer day” said to a baby beauty - pageant winner is a compliment and not ironic.
• Option C: “Talking to him is about as interesting as reading a dictionary” implies that talking to him is not interesting (since reading a dictionary is often seen as dull), which is an example of verbal irony as it says one thing (comparing to reading a dictionary which is presented as if it were a positive or neutral comparison in terms of interest) but means the opposite (that it is un - interesting).
• Option D: “Her voice is as sweet as honey” is a simile.
• Question 11:
• Option A: “croaking and ribbeting” are onomatopoeic words for frog sounds, not a pun.
• Option B: “gravity” has a double - meaning. In the context of the book, it can refer to the scientific concept of gravity, but “it was pretty heavy” plays on the double - meaning of “heavy” (both in the sense of the weight of the book and the seriousness/tediousness of the content related to gravity). This is a pun.
• Option C: “Pop” and “hiss” are onomatopoeic words for the sounds of a tire bursting, not a pun.
• Option D: “Love is like a warm blanket on a cold day” is a simile.

Answer:

1. C. Talking to him is about as interesting as reading a dictionary
2. B. I read a book about gravity. It was pretty heavy