AnswersEnglish 3The Poetry of Physics

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Read the excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc.” And if any of you are curious about where this aggregation, this whole battery-powered crew, is headed, let us just say that the real center of the universe, the only true point of view, is full of the hope that he, the hub of the cosmos with his hair blown sideways, will eventually make it all the way downtown. What message does Collins convey in this excerpt?

A
Music is a positive distraction to the routine of daily life.
B
High volume is much better than low volume.
C
Working downtown can be challenging.
D
Curious people believe the world revolves around music.
3
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Which excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc” best supports the idea that the speaker uses the music to isolate himself from others?

A
as if he were right beside me on this clear day in March, the pavement sparkling with sunlight,
B
In fact, I would say my delight at being suffused with phrases from his saxophone— some like honey, some like vinegar—
C
And I bow deeply to Thelonious Monk for figuring out a way to motorize—or whatever—his huge piano so he could be with us today.
D
The music is loud yet so confidential I cannot help feeling even more like the center of the universe
4

Which excerpt from “Man Listening to Disc” best supports the idea that when the speaker listens to music he is the center of his own world?

A
my delight at being suffused with phrases from his saxophone— some like honey, some like vinegar— is surpassed only by my gratitude
B
to the woman in the white sweater, the man in the tan raincoat and the heavy glasses, who mistake themselves for the center of the universe— all I can say is watch your step
C
because the five of us, instruments and all, are about to angle over to the south side of the street and then, in our own tightly knit way,
D
the only true point of view, is full of the hope that he, the hub of the cosmos with his hair blown sideways,
5

Which statement best explains how Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole” and Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc” present differing views about the universe?

A
Collins’s poem puts forth the idea that humans can become the center of the universe, while Tyson reveals that humans are insignificantly small and weak in comparison to a black hole.
B
Since Tyson is a scientist, he poses the idea that the universe can be understood through science, while Collins, a poet, argues that art or music holds the key to understanding the world.
C
Collins ponders the idea that a person can overcome all obstacles as long as there is music spilling from a headset, while Tyson establishes the idea that human beings are at the mercy of a violent universe.
D
Tyson’s essay reveals that humanity is powerless when it comes to the larger forces of the universe, while Collins’s poem argues that humanity is the center of the universe, and thus its master.
6

Which of the following ideas is discussed in both Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole” and in Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc”?

A
the universe as a source of inspiration
B
humanity’s place in relation to the larger universe
C
the complexity and beauty of the universe
D
what is present in the center of the universe
7

Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.” All parts of your body are moving toward the same spot—the black hole’s center. So while you’re getting ripped apart head to toe, you will also extrude through the fabric of space and time, like toothpaste squeezed through a tube. Read the excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc.” This is not bad— ambling along 44th Street with Sonny Rollins for company, his music flowing through the soft calipers of these earphones, Which of the following ideas is presented in both excerpts?

A
individuals finding and accepting their place in the world
B
one individual becoming the center of a vast universe
C
the human body is being moved along by an outside force
D
humanity as a small piece in a very large universe
8

Read the excerpt from “Death by Black Hole.” Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, published in 1916, provides the insight to understand the bizarre structure of space and time in a high-gravity environment. Later research by the American physicist John A. Wheeler, and others, helped to formulate a vocabulary as well as the mathematical tools to describe and predict what a black hole will do to its surroundings. Read the excerpt from “Man Listening to Disc.” And I bow deeply to Thelonious Monk for figuring out a way to motorize—or whatever—his huge piano so he could be with us today. These excerpts are similar because both texts

A
credit people who have inspired the authors.
B
reference musicians the narrators admire.
C
show a connection between math and music.
D
make predictions about the future of mankind.

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