Cumulative Exam Answers

Read the sentence.The works of Charles Dickens a famous British writer include David Copperfield and Oliver Twist.Which is the best revision of this sentence?

Which accurately describes a contrast between Wiesel’s All Rivers Run to the Sea and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel, Maus?

Read the paragraph.Competitive sports are valuable activities for young people today. They emphasize the importance of being part of a team and working toward a common goal. Competitive sports give today's youth an advantage as athletes tend to be more confident in themselves and their abilities. Participation in competitive sports is strongly recommended for our students.Which strategy does the author use in her choice of language to convey her message?

Read the excerpt from Black Boy.From the white landowners above him there had not been handed to him a chance to learn the meaning of loyalty, of sentiment, of tradition. Joy was as unknown to him as was despair. As a creature of the earth, he endured, hearty, whole, seemingly indestructible, with no regrets and no hope. He asked easy, drawling questions about me, his other son, his wife, and he laughed, amused, when I informed him of their destinies. I forgave him, and pitied him as my eyes looked past him to the unpainted wooden shack.Based on this excerpt, which best describes how being a sharecropper impacts Wright’s father?

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics.In the real world, Feldman learned to settle for less than 95 percent. He came to consider a company “honest” if its payment rate was above 90 percent. He considered a rate between 80 and 90 percent “annoying but tolerable.” If a company habitually paid below 80 percent, Feldman might post a hectoring note, like this one:The cost of bagels has gone up dramatically since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, the number of bagels that disappear without being paid for has also gone up. Don’t let that continue. I don’t imagine that you would teach your children to cheat, so why do it yourselves? The excerpt serves as which type of support for the authors’ argument?

Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.HALE. “Why—where is he?” says I, not knowing what to say. She just pointed upstairs—like that (himself pointing to the room above).What does the word “pointing” mean in this stage direction?

Read the following writing prompt.Examine a Department of Education advertising campaign that promotes universal literacy. Analyze the campaign to discover the target audience and the advertising techniques used. Then evaluate the effectiveness of these advertising techniques. Write a formal paragraph in which you explain how the advertising campaign promotes literacy to its audience and how effective it is in doing so. Review the prompt for hints about the audience. Who will read the response paragraph?

Read the excerpt from "Harrison Bergeron."The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. Vonnegut uses satire in this excerpt by

Read the passage from “Child of the Americas.”I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness, a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft.How does the imagery create a visual of the speaker’s use of English?

Read the passage.Langston Hughes was extremely versatile. He wrote poetry, published essays, and even authored a commissioned history of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).In this context, what is the meaning of “versatile”?

According to "Introduction to Cultural Rebellion: Mid-Twentieth-Century Voices," which aspect of modern society was a target of protest by postwar authors in a variety of genres?

Which excerpt from part one of Trifles most develops the motives of the County Attorney?

Read the excerpt from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”In other cases, the censoring has been direct and brutal. On February 28, 1981 the morning newspaper carried a story about the burning of my novel, Bless Me, Ultima. The book was banned from high school classes in Bloomfield, New Mexico, and a school board member was quoted as saying: “We took the books out and personally saw that they were burned.”Which type of rhetoric most shows how powerful people use censorship to silence the powerless?

Read the excerpt from Frederick Douglass’s speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.Which of the following best describes Douglass’s word choice in this excerpt?

Which excerpt from Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique contains underlined keywords that reflect mainstream society’s view of a woman’s role in the 1950s and ’60s?

Which excerpt from "Harrison Bergeron" best illustrates irony?

Which excerpt from part one of Trifles contains a stage direction that contributes to the character development of Mrs. Hale?

Read the following excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”That’s the gory moment when your body snaps into two segments, breaking apart at your midsection. Upon falling further, the difference in gravity continues to grow, and each of your two body segments snaps into two segments. Shortly thereafter, those segments each snap into two segments of their own, and so forth, and so forth, bifurcating your body into an ever-increasing number of parts: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc.Read the following excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc.”The music is loud yet so confidentialI cannot help feeling even morelike the center of the universethan usual as I walk along to a rapidlittle version of “The Way You Look Tonight,”What do these two excerpts reveal about the difference in ideas presented by Tyson and Collins?

Read the excerpt from "Harrison Bergeron." “I think I’d make a good Handicapper General.”“Good as anybody else,” said George.“Who knows better’n I do what normal is?” said Hazel.“Right,” said George. He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal son who was now in jail, about Harrison, but a twenty-one-gun salute in his head stopped that.How does the dialogue between George and Hazel develop Kurt Vonnegut’s message that advanced technology dehumanizes individuals?

Read the excerpt from part two of Trifles.COUNTY ATTORNEY. Oh, I guess they’re not very dangerous things the ladies have picked up. (Moves a few things about, disturbing the quilt pieces which cover the box. Steps back.) No, Mrs. Peters doesn’t need supervising. For that matter, a sheriff’s wife is married to the law. Ever think of it that way, Mrs. Peters?Which of the following most accurately describes this excerpt?

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics.The bagel data also reflect how much personal mood seems to affect honesty. Weather, for instance, is a major factor. Unseasonably pleasant weather inspires people to pay at a higher rate. Unseasonably cold weather, meanwhile, makes people cheat prolifically; so do heavy rain and wind. Worst are the holidays. The week of Christmas produces a 2 percent drop in payment rates—again, a 15 percent increase in theft, an effect on the same magnitude, in reverse, as that of 9/11. Thanksgiving is nearly as bad; the week of Valentine’s Day is also lousy, as is the week straddling April 15. There are, however, a few good holidays: the weeks that include the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. The difference in the two sets of holidays? The low-cheating holidays represent little more than an extra day off from work. The high-cheating holidays are fraught with miscellaneous anxieties and the high expectations of loved ones.Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this paragraph?

Choose the correct version of the sentence.

Read the paragraph.The question of whether or not to allow cell phones in school is an important one. Cell phones are a monumental distraction to young people whose attention should be focused on learning. However, they do serve a purpose in that phones allow students to communicate with their parents. Plus, cell phones are great for taking pictures with friends. In all, cell phone use at school must be carefully regulated. Which best explains the inconsistency in writing used in this paragraph?

Use the following definitions to answer the question.emanate:1. (verb) to come from, originateeminent:1. (adjective) of high standing, well-knownimmanent:1. (adjective) within something, innateimminent:1. (adjective) about to occur, pendingRead the sentence.The fire burning out of control put the neighborhood in __________ danger.Which word best completes the sentence?

Which sentence is written correctly?