Be sure to choose each answer carefully. You get only one try to answer each question correctly!
This space contains reference text beginning next to
Question 24.
To
answer Questions 24-26, please read the following excerpt
"How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” from "Snow" by Julia Álvarez.
Our first year in New York we rented a small apartment with a Catholic
school nearby, taught by the Sisters of Charity, hefty women in long
black gowns and bonnets that made them look peculiar, like dolls in
mourning. I liked them a lot, especially my grandmotherly fourth grade
teacher, Sister Zoe. I had a lovely name, she said, and she had me teach
the whole class how to pronounce it. Yo-lan-da. As the only immigrant in
my class, I was put in a special seat in the first row by the window,
apart from the other children so that Sister Zoe could tutor me without
disturbing them. Slowly, she enunciated the new words I was to repeat:
laundromat, cornflakes, subway, snow.
Soon I picked up enough English to understand holocaust was in the air.
Sister Zoe explained to a wide eyed classroom what was happening in
Cuba. Russian missiles were being assembled, trained supposedly on New
York City. President Kennedy, looking worried too, was on the television
at home, explaining we might have to go to war against the Communists.
At school, we had air raid drills: an ominous bell would go off and we'd
file into the hall, fall to the floor, cover our heads with our coats,
and imagine our hair falling out, the bones in our arms going soft. At
home, Mami and my sisters and I said a rosary for world peace. I heard
new vocabulary: nuclear bomb, radioactive fallout, bomb shelter. Sister
Zoe explained how it would happen. She drew a picture of a mushroom on
the blackboard and dotted a flurry of chalk marks for the dusty fallout
that would kill us all.
The months grew cold, November, December. It was dark when I got up in
the morning, frosty when I followed my breath to school. One morning as
I sat at my desk daydreaming out the window, I saw dots in the air like
the ones Sister Zoe had drawn random at first, then lots and lots. I
shrieked, “Bomb! Bomb!” Sister Zoe jerked around, her full black skirt
ballooning as she hurried to my side. A few girls began to cry.
But then Sister Zoe's shocked look faded. “Why, Yolanda dear, that's
snow!” She laughed. “Snow.”
“Snow,” I repeated. I looked out the window warily. All my life I had
heard about the white crystals that fell out of American skies in the
winter. From my desk I watched the fine powder dust the sidewalk and
parked cars below. Each flake was different, Sister Zoe had said, like a
person, irreplaceable and beautiful.
For Questions 1-12, please mark the letter of the correct definition of the given vocabulary word.
sadist
pain lover
supremacy
laziness
slavery
unremittingly
slavery
remorseful
without stopping
to grow
detractor
rotten
agreeable
courage
critic
amenable
rotten
agreeable
courage
critic
lethargy
incompatible
pain lover
supremacy
laziness
contrite
slavery
without stopping
to grow
remorseful
servitude
slavery
without stopping
to grow
remorseful
putrid
rotten
agreeable
courage
critic
germinate
slavery
without stopping
to grow
remorseful
incongruous
incompatible
pain lover
supremacy
laziness
mettle
rotten
agreeable
courage
critic
ascendancy
incompatible
pain lover
supremacy
laziness
Which of the words in the folowing sentences should not be followed by a comma? First I was taking a walk second I have no weapons third I am not violent.
First
walk
second
third
Which of the words in the folowing sentences should be followed by a semicolon? First I was taking a walk second I have no weapons third I am not violent.
First & walk
walk & second
walk & weapons
third & weapons
What could you infer about Pi’s early life from his habit of stockpiling food as an adult?
He always ate too much.
He was frequently wasteful.
He went through a period of starvation.
He was curious about different religions.
Why does Mr. Kumar go to the zoo, and what sort of literary device describes his behavior?
to “be king for a day”; metaphor
to “take the pulse of the universe”; personification
to “boil in the sun”; hyperbole
to “act as a starved glutton”; oxymoron
What’s “known in the trade” as the most dangerous animal, and what does Pi’s father feel is really the most dangerous?
Man; any “harmless” animal
a tiger; an elephant
a mirror; a guinea pig
a swan; a brother
According to Pi, it’s key for a zookeeper to _______ and key for an animal trainer to ________.
eliminate freedom; provide freedom
make enemies; make friends
love; hate
establish comfort; establish dominance
Which of the following isn’t something that Pi believes Hindus, Christians, and Muslims share?
a capacity for love
a vision of unity
a hate of differences
a devotion to life
_______, from last week, is a synonym for lethargy, while ______is synonymous with unremittingly.
Acuity; subjectively
Indolence; incessantly
Repose; culinary
Modulation; ludicrously
Which sentence is written correctly?
The game between the three girls is close neither of the 3 however are giving up hope of winning.
The game among the three girls is close; none of the three, however, is giving up hope of winning.
The game among the three girls is close, none of the three, however, is giving up hope of winning.
The game among the three girls is close. None of the three; however, is giving up hope of winning.
What point is Pi’s father trying to make when he makes Pi and his brother watch the goat being killed?
Pi’s father is trying to make the point that nearly every animal, especially the tiger--Mahisha--that kills the goat, is dangerous and should be feared by Pi and his brother, Ravi.
Pi's father is trying to teach Pi and Ravi that death is a part of life.
Pi’s father is trying to make the point that animals with soft fur are not dangerous.
Pi's father is trying to teach Pi and Ravi that they should work hard to become strong like tigers.
What would Pi claim is the most dangerous creature on our planet? What sort of evidence would he use to back up this assertion? Would he indicate that the dominance of this creature is or isn’t a problem? Would you agree or disagree with his beliefs and why?
The narrating character Pi would probably endorse the idea that humans are the most dangerous creatures on the planet. As evidence, he would be likely to point out all of the ways in which humans are the greatest threat to every other species on our planet as well to our own species. He points out in the novel that not only is the bloodthirstiness of humans significantly greater than that of any other creature, but that our capacity for cruelty has no equal. Human possess both an “excessive predatoriness” (p. 36) and an unwavering mean streak, according to Pi. The latter is exemplified by his exhaustive list of cruel acts performed by humans against zoo animals. Animals, he points out, only kill when absolutely forced to do so, while humans often kill as a first recourse or even for sport. This sort of dominance is a problem to Pi beacuse he seems to see the act of harming or killing a living creature as an extreme violation against the laws of nature. (Pi is, after all, a vegetarian and an animal lover.) I’d agree that with him that the needless and excessive killing of other living organisms on our planet by humans is, at the very least, unwise with regard to what we know about species interdependence. We could be harming our own longevity not only with our “predatoriness” towards other humans but with our cross-species killing as well. Clearly, Pi has a point with regard to respecting and cherishing all forms of life as a way of respecting ourselves.
The narrating character Pi would probably endorse the idea that tigers are the most dangerous creatures on the planet. As evidence, he would be likely to point out all of the ways in which tigers are the greatest threat to every other species in their ecosystem. He points out in the novel that not only is the bloodthirstiness of tigers significantly greater than that of any other creature, but that their capacity for torturing their prey has no equal. Tigers possess both an “excessive predatoriness” (p. 36) and an unwavering mean streak, according to Pi. The latter is exemplified by his exhaustive list of cruel acts performed by tigers against other zoo animals. Tigers, he points out, kill whenever they get the chance, while other animals kill only when they are hungry. This sort of dominance is a problem to Pi beacuse he seems to see the act of harming or killing a living creature as an extreme violation against weaker forms of life. (Pi is, after all, a vegetarian and an animal lover.) I’d agree with him that the needless and excessive killing of other living organisms on our planet by tigers is, at the very least, unwise with regard to what we know about species interdependence. Tigers could destroy their own longevity with their “predatoriness” towards other animals. Clearly, Pi has a point with regard to tigers' respecting and cherishing all forms of life.
The excerpt from "Snow" contains the following sentence: "Our first year in New York we rented a small apartment with a Catholic school nearby, taught by the Sisters of Charity, hefty women in long black gowns and bonnets that made them look peculiar, like dolls in mourning." The simile "like dolls in mourning" most likely implies that, to the narrator, the appearance of the Sisters of Charity is
motherly.
unfriendly.
absurd.
frightening.
Which choice best describes the impact of paragraph 2 in the story “Snow”?
It illustrates unique aspects of American culture that help Yolanda better relate to her classmates and teachers later in the story.
It builds upon the topics of Yolanda’s education and the challenges of learning English introduced in the beginning of the story.
It provides characterization for Yolanda and foreshadows the abrupt and unfamiliar change in weather later in the story.
It describes Yolanda's experience of America's political atmosphere to build tension and set up the resolution of the story.
The excerpt from "Snow" contains the following sentence: "Each flake was different, Sister Zoe had said, like a person, irreplaceable and beautiful." Which statement below best describes the point of view expressed by Sister Zoe?