This space contains
reference text beginning next to Question 13.
To answer Questions 13-18, please read the
following passage from Chapter 1 of Haruki Murakami’s After Dark.
Choose the best responses to the prompts next to the passage. There is
one and only one correct answer to each prompt.
Chapter 1, page 3
“Through the eyes of a high-flying night bird, we take in the scene from
midair. In our broad sweep, the city looks like a single gigantic
creature—or more like a single collective entity created by many
intertwining organisms. Countless arteries stretch to the ends of its
elusive body, circulating a continuous supply of fresh blood cells,
sending out new data and collecting the old, sending out new consumables
and collecting the old, sending out new contradictions and collecting
the old. To the rhythm of its pulsing, all parts of the body flicker and
flare up and squirm. Midnight is approaching, and while the peak of
activity has passed, the basal metabolism that maintains life continues
undiminished, producing the basso continuo of the city's moan, a
monotonous sound that neither rises nor falls but is pregnant with
foreboding.”
To answer Questions 19-24, please read the
following passage from Chapter 1 of Haruki Murakami’s After Dark.
Choose the best responses to the prompts next to the passage. There is
one and only one correct answer to each prompt.
Chapter 1, Pages 21-22
"So the three brothers found three boulders on the shore just as the god
had said they would. And they started pushing them along as the god told
them to. Now these were huge, heavy boulders, so rolling them was hard,
and
pushing them up an incline took an enormous effort. The youngest brother
quit first. He said, 'Brothers, this place is good enough for me. It's
close to the shore, and I can catch fish. It has everything I need to go
on living. I don't mind if I can't see that much of the world from
here.' His two elder brothers pressed on, but when they were midway up
the mountain, the second brother quit. He said, 'Brother, this place is
good enough for me. There is plenty of fruit here. It has everything I
need to go on living. I don't mind if I can't see that much of the world
from here.' The eldest brother continued walking up the mountain. The
trail grew increasingly narrow and steep, but he did not quit. He had
great powers of perseverance, and he wanted to see as much of the world
as he possibly could, so he kept rolling the boulder with all his might.
He went on for months, hardly eating or drinking, until he had rolled
the boulder to the very peak of the high mountain. There he stopped and
surveyed the world. Now he could see more of the world than anyone. This
was the place he would live—where no grass grew, where no birds flew.
For water, he could only lick the ice and frost. For food, he could only
gnaw on moss. But he had no regrets, because now he could look out over
the whole world. And so, even today, his great, round boulder is perched
on the peak of that mountain on an island in Hawaii. That's how the
story goes."
To answer Questions 25-27, please read the
following passage from enotes.com regarding the motifs and themes of
Haruki Murakami’s After Dark. Choose the best responses to the
prompts that follow. There is one and only one correct answer to each
prompt.
“Darkness, however, also represents the subconscious. The subconscious
is the realm of dreams, which usually occur at night in the darkness.
The model of dreams is found in the character of Eri, who sleeps her
life away. In her sleep, she moves from the real to the unreal as her
body passes from her bedroom through the walls of her television into a
different realm. She wakes up on the other side, unaware of where she
is. All she knows is that she is not where she should be. She is not
where she was when she fell asleep. None of the windows or doors will
open. So she goes back to sleep, hoping that all her problems will be
solved the next time she wakes up. Eri wakes in her dreams and sleeps in
her wake-reality, a mix-up for which no one can find a solution.”
"After Dark - Themes" eNotes Publishing Ed. Scott Locklear.
eNotes.com, Inc. eNotes.com 30 Dec, 2016 <http://www.enotes.com/topics/after-dark-murakami/themes#themes-themes>
For Questions 1-12, please mark the letter of the correct definition of the given vocabulary word.
indecision
(n.) ominousness
(n.) uncertainty
(adj.) intelligent
(adj.) indistinct
vague
(adj.) indistinct
(adj.) intelligent
(n.) ominousness
(n.) uncertainty
destiny
(adj.) connected
(n.) determination
(n.) fate
(adj.) harmless
perseverance
(adj.) connected
(n.) fate
(adj.) harmless
(n.) determination
semaphore
(n.) a signal
(n.) used goods
(n.) motivation
(adv.) carefully
intellectual
(n.) ominousness
(n.) uncertainty
(adj.) intelligent
(adj.) indistinct
industriousness
(adv.) carefully
(n.) motivation
(n.) used goods
(n.) a signal
meticulously
(n.) a signal
(n.) used goods
(n.) motivation
(adv.) carefully
innocuous
(adj.) harmless
(n.) fate
(n.) determination
(adj.) connected
foreboding
(adj.) indistinct
(adj.) intelligent
(n.) uncertainty
(n.) ominousness
consumables
(adv.) carefully
(n.) motivation
(n.) used goods
(n.) a signal
intertwining
(n.) determination
(adj.) connected
(n.) fate
(adj.) harmless
(RL6) What is the author’s primary focus of the following line of text? “Through the eyes of a high-flying night bird, we take in the scene from midair.”
setting the time
setting the place
setting the perspective
setting the mood
(RL4) What sort of figurative language does Murakami employ in the following lines? “...the city looks like a single gigantic creature—or more like a single collective entity created by many intertwining organisms.”
metaphor
simile
personification
hyperbole
(RL4) What’s used to transfer and communicate information back in forth in this figurative “creature”?
“arteries”
“elusive”
“supply”
“contradictions”
(RL1) What can be inferred to be the “it” in the following line? “To the rhythm of its pulsing, all parts of the body flicker and flare up and squirm.”
the drumbeat of the band
the sound of the party
the heat of the fire
the heart of the city
(RL6) How does Murakami’s use of narrative point of view impact the reader’s take on the scene?
First person is used to give readers insight into what a bird might feel.
Second person is utilized to bring readers into the scene with a bird’s-eye view.
Third person limited is employed to describe the scene from a detached overhead perspective.
Third person omniscient is relied upon to describe what every person below is thinking.
(RL4) Based on the phrase “pregnant with foreboding,” what sort of tone does Murakami imply in the passage?
wary expectation
hopeful weariness
excited awareness
bored distractedness
(RL4) What is the best metaphorical interpretation for the boulders that the brother must push?
the amount of money that each will one day earn
the passion that each will have for his occupation
the weight of conscience that each will have to reconcile
the trials and tribulations of life that each will face
(RL1) Which of the following questions is NOT answered by this passage?
Which of the brothers pushes his boulder the farthest?
What can each of the brothers see from where he ends up?
What can each brother use for sustenance at his destination?
Which of the brothers made the best choice?
(RL5) Based on the structure of this passage, which brother takes the longest to push his boulder?
the first (youngest) brother
the second brother
the third (eldest) brother
There’s no way of knowing for sure based on this passage.
(RL4) Based on the underlined lines, what is the best definition of perseverance as it is used here?
determination
uncertainty
ominousness
used goods
(RL3) What did the third brother desire and gain to a greater degree than his two younger brothers?
exhaustion
wealth
perspective
nourishment
(RL2) What could be a good moral to the story?
Living at the top of a mountain can be worse than it looks.
If you really want something, you have to be willing to pay the price.
Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age.
Obstacles in life are heaviest for those with experience.
(RL2) Which of the following would provide the best objective summary of the central idea of this paragraph?
Dreams are thematically interchangeable with both the dark and the subconscious.
Sleeping one’s life away is made possible by watching too much television.
The doors and windows to the mind are only opened full through the act of sleep in darkness.
It’s a serious mix-up to believe in dreams as reality and reality as a place where “no one can find a solution.”
(RL5) Which sentence best represents the author’s primary claim in this passage?
“Eri wakes in her dreams and sleeps in her wake-reality, a mix-up for which no one can find a solution.”
“She wakes up on the other side, unaware of where she is.”
“The model of dreams is found in the character of Eri, who sleeps her life away.”
“Darkness, however, also represents the subconscious.”
(RL6) What’s the author’s purpose in this particular passage?
discuss how dreams work when people are asleep in Murakami’s novel
relate the necessity of darkness as a theme for readers to understand their subconscious minds
illustrate how the motif of darkness relates to thematic content in After Dark
identify where the character of Eri think she is in her dream state in the Japanese work
Pick the best pronouns to fill in the blanks based on the underlined antecedents. Both of them use _____native language, Portuguese, to describe how no one gives ______ full attention.
his/her; his/her
our; their
my; their
their; his/her
Which sentence is written correctly?
"Anyone that were unable to attend the concert will half to makeup their points later." said Mr. Stevens.
“Anyone who was unable to attend the concert will have to make up his/her points later,” said Mr. Stevens.
"Anyone that was unable to attend the concert will half to makeup their points later." said Mr. Stevens.
"Anyone that was unable to attend the concert will have to make up their points later," said Mr. Stevens.