1) In classical mythology, Hercules is the son of a god and has amazing strength. It took a Herculean effort, but Jackson moved the giant branch out of the road. a) very strong b) very dangerous 2) In Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a girl follows a rabbit down a rabbit hole. She suddenly finds herself having adventures in an unusual world. Darnell's curiosity about the mysterious events led him down the rabbit hole. a) In search of happiness and praise b) on a strange and surprising journey 3) In Greek mythology, ambrosia is the name for the food of the gods. The ice cream at Louanne's Ice Cream Parlor is ambrosia! a) something very delicious b) something very popular 4) In the fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," a shepherd boy repeatedly tricks people in his village by falsely claiming that a wolf is coming to eat his flock. When a wolf actually comes and the boy cries for help, nobody believes him or comes to his aid. Danielle warned her youngest son not to cry wolf while wrestling with his older brother. a) to raise false alarm b) to play roughly 5) The comic book superhero Spider-Man possesses a spidey sense that warns him of impending trouble. Duncan picked up his pace on the trail as his spidey sense began to tingle. a) a sense of danger coming b) a strong feeling of anxiety 6) In one of Aesop's fables, four animals go on a hunt assuming that they will split their prize equally, but the lion, the most powerful animal, takes more than the other members of the group. My sister takes the lion's share of the space in our closet.  a) The best spot b) the largest portion 7) Joseph Heller coined the term "catch-22" in his 1961 novel of the same name. In the novel, if an army pilot wants to avoid dangerous missions, he must be deemed mentally unfit; however, his desire to stay safe proves his sanity, so he can never be excused from a mission. Heller called this sort of predicament or dilemma a catch-22. Bill described the situation he was facing with his boss as a catch-22. a) Dangerous situation b) a no-win situation 8) In the Bible, the Garden of Eden is a paradise where the first man and woman lived. The national park is truly a Garden of Eden. a) A place where few people live b) A place with great beauty and peace 9) In Greek mythology, Achilles's mother dips him in a river that protects his body wherever it touches. His heel does not get wet, so it is the one part of his body left unprotected. During the Trojan War, an arrow hits Achilles in the heel and kills him. Red velvet cupcakes were Vicky's Achilles's heel when she was trying to eat more healthily. a) a sole weakness b) a reward for meeting a goal 10) In the Bible, Job complains to God about his hardships, saying that both strangers and those he loves have turned against him. He says, "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth." Scholars have long debated the exact meaning of the phrase, but many claim that Job is saying that he narrowly escaped death. Darren got off the mountain by the skin of his teeth. a) just barely b) skillfully

Allusion sources and context: Figurative Language

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