Practice Test Answers

Read this excerpt from The Dark Game . Another thing that changed very little in the years between the wars was the means of obtaining military intelligence. Although the use of photography and the telegraph brought some technological advances, the craft of spying on the enemy's army still relied on fieldwork. In the rest of the text, how does the author develop this central idea that spying during the Civil War still involved mostly fieldwork?

Read this paragraph from The Dark Game . It may seem surprising that no Confederate sympathizers took action against Van Lew, given her strong and public views on secession and slavery. Surely there were suspicions, especially among her upper-crust neighbors, but the matter never went beyond those suspicions. Historians have suggested that the secessionists were victims of their own cultural bias, believing that no aristocratic person, and certainly not a lady, would ever consider taking part in anything as impolite as spying. A true lady managed her servants, prepared parties and gatherings, and blindly supported her husband. Such attitudes worked in Van Lew's favor, diverting suspicion from her. What central idea is implied in this paragraph?

Read the excerpt from Part 2 of "The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell. Dusk came, then darkness, and still he pressed on. The ground grew softer under his moccasins; the vegetation grew ranker, denser; insects bit him savagely. Then, as he stepped forward, his foot sank into the ooze. He tried to wrench it back, but the muck sucked viciously at his foot as if it were a giant leech. With a violent effort, he tore his feet loose. He knew where he was now.

Read this excerpt from Part 2 of "The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell. "Nerve, nerve, nerve!" he panted, as he dashed along. A blue gap showed between the trees dead ahead. Ever nearer drew the hounds. Rainsford forced himself on toward that gap. He reached it. It was the shore of the sea. Across a cove he could see the gloomy gray stone of the chateau. Twenty feet below him the sea rumbled and hissed. Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then he leaped far out into the sea. . . . Now read the second excerpt. A man, who had been hiding in the curtains of the bed, was standing there. "Rainsford!" screamed the general. "How in God's name did you get here?" "Swam," said Rainsford. "I found it quicker than walking through the jungle." The general sucked in his breath and smiled. "I congratulate you," he said. "You have won the game." Rainsford did not smile. "I am still a beast at bay," he said, in a low, hoarse voice. "Get ready, General Zaroff." The general made one of his deepest bows. "I see," he said. "Splendid! One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford." . . . He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided. Readers must revise their predictions about Rainsford after reading the second excerpt because initially it would seem that he plunges to his death, but he actually

Read the excerpt from "The Most Dangerous Game." "Dear me," said the general, quite unruffled, "again that unpleasant word. But I think I can show you that your scruples are quite ill founded." "Yes?" "Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of the earth—sailors from tramp ships—lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels—a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them." What does Zaroff say to show that he places little value on human life?

Read the excerpt from "The Most Dangerous Game." "You'll have a cocktail, Mr. Rainsford," he suggested. The cocktail was surpassingly good; and, Rainsford noted, the table appointments were of the finest—the linen, the crystal, the silver, the china. They were eating borsch, the rich, red soup with whipped cream so dear to Russian palates. Half apologetically General Zaroff said, "We do our best to preserve the amenities of civilization here. Please forgive any lapses. We are well off the beaten track, you know. Do you think the champagne has suffered from its long ocean trip?" The details of this excerpt show that Zaroff wants to appear

Read the passage. The town council of Hopewell has proposed that the vacant lot at the end of Elm Street be converted into a parking lot. While this unused land may seem like a suitable location, the nearby residents have many objections. For example, the youth in nearby neighborhoods enjoy using the lot for recreation. Many pet owners appreciate the undeveloped land because it allows dogs a place to run. Adding cars and pavement to this cherished natural area would be a grave error. The town council should observe the lot and all its uses before taking action. Which phrase best reveals the author’s viewpoint?

Read the sentence. Alma plans to visit London and Paris, where her parents went on their first trip together as a married couple . What best describes the underlined part of the sentence, and why?

Which can readers use to find the meaning of an unfamiliar word? Choose three correct answers.

Read the excerpt from The Dark Game . As Montgomery and de Grey slowly made their way through the message, they noticed more and more oddities. For example, 97556 appeared near the end of the message; the 90000 family indicated important names that were not used very often in messages. We can imagine their shock when they realized that 97556 stood for Zimmermann . That single name fired the men with excitement as they began working on the message from the beginning. Which statement best explains how the evidence of this excerpt leads to the inference that the men had intercepted a very important message?

Read a student’s reaction to a nonfiction article. Summary: I read an article by Alfred Jenson about oil spills. Jenson has crossed the Arctic Ocean many times on vessels designed for exploration and research. He believes oil spills can be prevented with stricter international regulations governing oil transport. Controlling Idea: The controlling idea of Jenson’s article is that many oil spills have occurred in recent years in the Arctic Ocean. What must the student add to make this controlling idea complete?

Read the excerpt from The Code Book . More than a hundred million e-mails are sent around the world each day, and they are all vulnerable to interception. Digital technology has aided communication, but it has also given rise to the possibility of those communications being monitored. According to Zimmermann, cryptographers have a duty to encourage the use of encryption and thereby protect the privacy of the individual: A future government could inherit a technology infrastructure that's optimized for surveillance, where they can watch the movements of their political opposition, every financial transaction, every communication, every bit of e-mail, every phone call. Everything could be filtered and scanned and automatically recognized by voice recognition technology and transcribed. It's time for cryptography to step out of the shadows of spies and the military, and step into the sunshine and be embraced by the rest of us. In the excerpt, the purpose of the statistic "more than a hundred million e-mails” is to show that

Read the excerpt from The Code Book . The difference between ordinary and digital mail can be illustrated by imagining that Alice wants to send out invitations to her birthday party, and that Eve, who has not been invited, wants to know the time and place of the party. If Alice uses the traditional method of posting letters, then it is very difficult for Eve to intercept one of the invitations. . . . In comparison, Eve's task is made considerably easier if Alice sends her invitations by e-mail. How does the author support the claim that ordinary and digital mail are very different?