Practice Exam Answers

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Read the excerpt from act 3, scene 1, of Julius Caesar . ANTONY: Therefore I took your hands, but was indeed Swayed from the point by looking down on Caesar. Friends am I with you all, and love you all, Upon this hope: that you shall give me reasons Why and wherein Caesar was dangerous. What is the central idea of this excerpt?

A
Antony regrets not being included in the conspiracy and wishes he had played a part in Caesar’s murder.
B
Antony is pleased to shake hands with the conspirators.
C
Antony agrees with the conspirators that Caesar was dangerous.
D
Antony wants them to explain why they believed Caesar was dangerous.
26

Read the excerpt from act 5, scene 1, of Julius Caesar . MESSENGER: Prepare you, generals. The enemy comes on in gallant show. Their bloody sign of battle is hung out, And something to be done immediately. ANTONY: Octavius, lead your battle softly on, Upon the left hand of the even field. OCTAVIUS: Upon the right hand, I; keep thou the left. How does the use of the word gallant add to the meaning of the sentence?

A
It suggests the enemy is planning a stealthy surprise attack on the enemy.
B
It suggests that the enemy is well-decorated and showy in their confident approach.
C
It reveals that the enemy is distracted by the series of dark omens during their march to battle.
D
It shows that the enemy is in a weakened state and tired from the long trek.
27

Read the excerpt from "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. ” It might be contended, of course, that the attitude to the African in Heart of Darkness is not Conrad's but that of his fictional narrator, Marlow, and that far from endorsing it Conrad might indeed be holding it up to irony and criticism. Certainly, Conrad appears to go to considerable pains to set up layers of insulation between himself and the moral universe of his history. He has, for example, a narrator behind a narrator. The primary narrator is Marlow, but his account is given to us through the filter of a second, shadowy person. But if Conrad's intention is to draw a cordon sanitaire between himself and the moral and psychological malaise of his narrator, his care seems to me totally wasted because he neglects to hint, clearly and adequately, at an alternative frame of reference by which we may judge the actions and opinions of his characters. It would not have been beyond Conrad's power to make that provision if he had thought it necessary. Conrad seems to me to approve of Marlow, with only minor reservations—a fact reinforced by the similarities between their two careers. What is Achebe’s purpose in this passage?

A
to explain that, even though Conrad is trying to separate himself from his characters’ morals, he most likely approves of them
B
to explain that Conrad’s inclusion of multiple narrators confuses readers and leads them to misinterpret the text
C
to explain that Conrad disapproves of Marlow’s actions and beliefs, and hopes to show the dangers of Marlow’s way of thinking
D
to explain that Conrad provides an alternative frame of reference of the narrator’s perception, actions and beliefs

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Practice Exam Answers — English II