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Diagnostic PreTest Answers

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Read the excerpt from Roosevelt’s State of the Union address and the poster below it.Fortunately, there are only a few Americans who place appetite above patriotism. The overwhelming majority realize that the food we send abroad is for essential military purposes, for our own and Allied fighting forces, and for necessary help in areas that we occupy.

Question illustration
T
The poster focuses on the effort of sending food abroad, but the speech does not.
T
The speech focuses on both making contributions at home and sending food abroad, but the poster does not.
T
The poster directly reminds civilians how they can contribute to the war effort, but the speech does not.
T
The speech directly reminds civilians how they can contribute to the war effort, but the poster does not.
2
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In “Ambush,” which line signals the beginning of the narrative within the frame story?

A
When she was nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had ever killed anyone.
B
“You keep writing these war stories,” she said, “so I guess you must’ve killed somebody.”
C
It was a difficult moment, but I did what seemed right, which was to say, “Of course not,” and then to take her onto my lap and hold her for a while.
D
He was a short, slender young man of about twenty.
3

Read the excerpt from part 1 of Zeitoun.He looked in the backyard. There was the canoe. It called to him, floating and ready. It was a rare opportunity, he thought, to be able to glide over the roads. . . .Leaving the yard was difficult. A tree across the street had been ripped from its roots and lay across the road, branches spread over his driveway. He paddled around them and looked back to the house. No great damage to the exterior. Some shingles missing from the roof. The windows broken. A gutter that would need remounting. Nothing too bad, three days’ work.What conclusion can readers draw about this character vs. nature conflict?

A
Nature exerts power and control over Zeitoun.
B
Nature offers protection to Zeitoun’s family.
C
Zeitoun believes he can manage nature’s strength.
D
Zeitoun feels overwhelmed by nature’s power.
4

Read the excerpt from The Fellowship of the Ring.Then the weather clouded over. That was on Wednesday the eve of the Party. Anxiety was intense. Then Thursday, September the 22nd, actually dawned. The sun got up, the clouds vanished, flags were unfurled and the fun began.Bilbo Baggins called it a party, but it was really a variety of entertainments rolled into one. Practically everybody living near was invited. A very few were overlooked by accident, but as they turned up all the same, that did not matter.

A
The weather is cloudy on the day of the party.
B
The community anxiously awaits the gathering.
C
Only a few neighbors are invited to the party.
D
Only Bilbo is concerned with the weather.
5

Read the excerpt from "Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell.Silly words and expressions have often disappeared, not through any evolutionary process but owing to the conscious action of a minority. Two recent examples were explore every avenue and leave no stone unturned, which were killed by the jeers of a few journalists.

A
examples
B
quotations
C
hypotheticals
D
statistics
6

Read the excerpt from Thoughts and Sentiments.After coming to England, and seeing others write and read, I had a strong desire to learn, and getting what assistance I could, I applied myself to learn reading and writing, which soon became my recreation, pleasure, and delight; and when my master perceived that I could write some, he sent me to a proper school for that purpose to learn. Since, I have endeavoured to improve my mind in reading, and have sought to get all the intelligence I could, in my situation of life, towards the state of my brethren and countrymen in complexion, and of the miserable situation of those who are barbarously sold into captivity, and unlawfully held in slavery.Read the excerpt from Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African.The first part of my life was rather unlucky, as I was placed in a family who judged ignorance the best and only security for obedience.—A little reading and writing I got by unwearied application.—The latter part of my life has been—thro' God's blessing, truly fortunate, having spent it in the service of one of the best families in the kingdom.—My chief pleasure has been books.

A
Both men use their past experiences to show readers that they persevered and became accomplished readers and writers.
B
Both men use their personal histories to show readers the horrors and misery of being enslaved.
C
Both men share their past experiences to show readers that they are much smarter than the average person.
D
Both men share their personal stories to show readers that they are still having a very difficult time adjusting to European customs.
7

Which pair of sentences from “Ambush” best reflects that a flashback, or a shift in time, has occurred?

A
She knew about the war; she knew I’d been a soldier. “You keep writing these war stories,” she said, “so I guess you must’ve killed somebody.”
B
Even now, I haven’t finished sorting it out. Sometime I forgive myself, other times I don’t.
C
When she was, nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had ever killed anyone.I reached out and found three grenades and lined them up in front of me; the pins had already been straightened for quick throwing.
D
I did not hate the young man; I did not see him as the enemy; I did not ponder issues of morality or politics or military duty. I crouched and kept my head low.
8

Read the lines from "84" by Rabindranath Tagore.Let none go back home, brothers, this morning, let none go to work.Let us take the blue sky by storm and plunder space as we run.Laughter floats in the air like foam on the flood.Brothers, let us squander our morning in futile songs.

A
creates a detached effect, since the reader is not addressed directly.
B
causes the reader to feel alienated if he or she does not have any brothers.
C
helps define the speaker’s voice in relation to his “brothers,” or community.
D
allows the reader to visualize all of the poet’s family and friends.
9

Read the excerpt from the introduction to Wheels of Change .When I was a kid, I took great pleasure in jumping on my bike and riding to the corner candy store about half a mile away. Although I had no knowledge of the part the bicycle had played as a vehicle of change for turn-of-the-20th-century women, I was acutely aware that it allowed this 1960s girl a unique measure of independence. On my bike, I could break free of the bonds that held me in my neighborhood to go buy Necco Wafers and candy necklaces and Atomic FireBalls. If I felt particularly adventurous, I could even ride a bit farther for a fresh ice-cream cone at Applegate Farm.

A
The author describes the long-term effects of having a bicycle as a child.
B
The author describes the long-term effects of women riding bicycles at the turn of the twentieth century.
C
The author describes the short-term effects of having a bicycle as a child.
D
The author describes the short-term effects of women riding bicycles at the turn of the twentieth century.
10

In this passage, the author's viewpoint is that the situation causes people to act in ways that are unfeeling and disrespectful toward those who have died. What evidence supports this viewpoint? Select two options.

A
“The living were glad. They would have more room.”
B
“Volunteers began the task.”
C
“They touched those who had remained on the ground.”
D
“Here’s one! Take him!”
E
“Then, two ‘gravediggers’ grabbed him by the head and feet and threw him from the wagon, like a sack of flour.”
11

Read the excerpt from The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England.So much grain is produced in 1592 that Francis Bacon proudly declares that England can now afford to feed other nations as well as her own people. It is an unfortunate remark, for it is very soon followed by a great dearth. The harvest of 1594 is poor, that of 1595 is worse, and the following year worse still: wheat hits 170 percent of its normal price, oats reach a level of 191 percent, and rye has to be imported from Denmark. Other bad years—when the price of grain is 20 percent or more above the rolling average—are 1573, 1586, and 1600. The year 1590 is almost as bad, made worse by the high cost of livestock. Prices for animal products hit new heights and never really diminish.

A
. . . Francis Bacon proudly declares that England can now afford to feed other nations as well as her own people.
B
Other bad years—when the price of grain is 20 percent or more above the rolling average—are 1573, 1586, and 1600.
C
The year 1590 is almost as bad, made worse by the high cost of livestock.
D
Prices for animal products hit new heights and never really diminish.
12

Read this passage from My Antonia.One result of this family solidarity was that the foreign farmers in our county were the first to become prosperous. After the fathers were out of debt, the daughters married the sons of neighbours–usually of like nationality–and the girls who once worked in Black Hawk kitchens are to-day managing big farms and fine families of their own; their children are better off than the children of the town women they used to serve.

A
The children of immigrants became wealthier than those of town women because immigrant families helped each other.
B
It is good for neighbors to get married because then they can have bigger farms.
C
People shouldn’t get married if their fathers have debts because then they will be poor after they are married.
D
Farming is a better way to make money than having a store.
13

Read the passage from My Antonia by Willa Cather?Those girls had grown up in the first bitter-hard times, and had got little schooling themselves. But the younger brothers and sisters, for whom they made such sacrifices and who have had "advantages,” never seem to me, when I meet them now, half as interesting or as well educated. The older girls, who helped to break up the wild sod, learned so much from life, from poverty, from their mothers and grandmothers; they had all, like Antonia, been early awakened and made observant by coming at a tender age from an old country to a new.

A
It is better for girls to be farmers than teachers.
B
Experience can be a more effective teacher than formal education.
C
It isn’t a good idea to make sacrifices for your family.
D
People who have advantages aren’t very interesting.
14

Review the excerpt from The Code Book. Cryptanalysts realize that their real goal is to find a way of cracking the RSA cipher, the cornerstone of modern encryption . . . Use the meaning of the underlined words above to understand the sentence.David’s family was puzzled by the short and cryptic note he left on the table.

A
clear
B
plain
C
believable
D
mysterious
15

Read the excerpt from "Morte d'Arthur” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.So saying, from the pavement he hath rose,Slowly, with pain, reclining on his arm,And looking wistfully with wide blue eyesAs in a picture.

A
Sir Bedivere by the water
B
a picture of a man
C
the sword on the ground
D
an injured King Arthur
16

Jefferson begins the introduction to the Declaration of Independence by stating his major premise and giving examples, and then explains

A
the relationship between the colonies and Britain.
B
the unalienable rights of certain groups of people.
C
that governments should always represent their people.
D
that the colonies will go to war against Britain.
17

Read the paragraph.North Run High School hosts a wide variety of clubs. Some clubs are academic, such as the debate club, foreign-language clubs, and the chess team. Other clubs are service-oriented, such as the Key Club. The most popular club at North Run is the Future Business Leaders of America, which boasts 165 members.

A
to persuade readers to join a high school club
B
to persuade readers that the business club is the best
C
to inform readers about North Run’s club offerings
D
to entertain readers with a story about club activities
18

Read the excerpts from "The Royal House of Thebes" and "The Story of a Warrior Queen.""We are women," she told her sister. "We must obey. We have no strength to defy the State." "Choose your own part," Antigone said. "I go to bury the brother I love." "You are not strong enough," Ismene cried. "Why, then when my strength fails," Antigone answered, "I will give up." She left her sister; Ismene dared not follow her. —"The Royal House of Thebes" Again and again the Romans were defeated, till it almost seemed as if the Britons really would succeed in driving them out of the country. Boadicea herself led the soldiers, encouraging them with her brave words. "It is better to die with honor than to live in slavery," she said. "I am a woman, but I would rather die than yield. Will you follow me, men?" and of course the men followed her gladly. —"The Story of a Warrior Queen"

A
The first passage shows Antigone as a warrior, and the second passage shows Boadicea as a tragic heroine.
B
The first passage shows Antigone as a tragic heroine, and the second passage shows Boadicea as a sage.
C
The first passage shows Antigone as a rebel, and the second passage shows Boadicea as a warrior.
D
The first passage shows Antigone as a villain, and the second passage shows Boadicea as a sage.
19

Read the excerpt from The Odyssey.The wind that carried west from Iliumbrought me to Ismarus, on the far shore,a strongpoint on the coast of Cicones.I stormed that place and killed the men who fought.Plunder we took, and we enslaved the women,to make division, equal shares to all—but on the spot I told them: 'Back, and quickly! ‘Out to sea again!' My men were mutinous,fools, on stores of wine. Sheep after sheep theybutchered by the surf, and shambling cattle,feasting,—while fugitives went inland, runningto call to arms the main force of Cicones.This was an army, trained to fight on horsebackor, where the ground required, on foot. They camewith dawn over that terrain like the leavesand blades of spring. So doom appeared to us,dark word of Zeus for us, our evil days. My men stood up and made a fight of it—60backed on the ships, with lances kept in play,from bright morning through the blaze of noonso holding our beach, although so far outnumbered;

A
The forces sent by Cicones to fight Odysseus and his men arrived during the early morning hours.
B
Odysseus and his men fought the forces of Cicones better on the ships than on land.
C
The forces sent by Cicones to stop the plundering of Odysseus and his men were skilled and powerful.
D
Odysseus views the army sent by Cicones as punishment from the Greek god Zeus.
20

Read the excerpt from Roosevelt’s State of the Union address and the poster below it.As spokesmen for the United States Government, you and I take off our hats to those responsible for our American production—to the owners, managers, and supervisors, to the draftsmen and the engineers, and to the workers—men and women—in factories and arsenals and shipyards and mines and mills and forests—and railroads and on highways.

Question illustration
r
repetition and parallelism to convey this connection.
d
diction and images to convey this connection.
r
repetition and colors to convey this connection.
p
parallelism and images to convey this connection.

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