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Satirical Texts Quiz

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Satirical Texts Quiz

Read the original satirical text below, then answer each question. Satire uses humour and techniques such as irony, exaggeration and parody to expose or criticise something. Use evidence from the text in your answers.

The Great Screen-Time Solution

At 8.00 am, the town council announced a brilliant plan to reduce screen time: it launched an app. The app sends a cheerful notification every five minutes reminding users to put their phones down. To celebrate, the council posted 47 photos of the launch online. Councillor Click said, “Our research shows people spend far too long looking at screens. That’s why we’ve made an app you can check all day.” The council’s report was a masterpiece of simplicity: 312 pages, with the key finding hidden on page 311. It concluded that people might spend less time on their phones if they had something more interesting to do. The council has now formed a committee to investigate that idea. The committee will meet online next month. Its members are expected to keep their cameras on.

1.What problem is the council trying to address, and what solution does it introduce?

2.Choose the best description of the text’s main target of criticism.

People who enjoy taking photos
Plans that claim to solve a problem while repeating or worsening it
All technology, which is always harmful
People who attend council meetings

3.“Our research shows people spend far too long looking at screens. That’s why we’ve made an app you can check all day.” What is ironic about this statement?

4.Which detail most clearly uses exaggeration to make the council’s report seem unhelpfully complicated?

The report has 312 pages and hides its key finding on page 311
The council announces a plan at 8.00 am
The committee meets online
The app sends cheerful notifications

5.True or false: The humour suggests the council’s plan is sensible and likely to reduce screen time.

TrueFalse

6.Find one detail that suggests the council cares about appearing busy or successful. Explain what it implies.

7.The phrase “a masterpiece of simplicity” is best understood as:

A sincere compliment about a clear, short report
Sarcasm, because the report is extremely long and hides its main finding
A comparison between the report and a painting
A factual description of the report’s pages

8.How does the final sentence add to the satire? Use a detail from the text.

9.Match each technique to the example from the text.

Irony
Exaggeration
Sarcasm

A 312-page report puts its key finding on page 311
The council uses an app to tackle excessive screen use
Calling the report “a masterpiece of simplicity”

10.In one or two sentences, explain the likely purpose of this satire. Support your answer with one example.

11.Write a short satirical statement about a service that claims to save people time but creates more work. Then name the technique you used and explain how it criticises the service.