This space contains
reference material beginning next to Question 13.
For Questions 13-18,
please read the following passage from Chapter 4 of Haruki Murakami’s
After Dark. Choose the best responses to the prompts next to each
passage. There is one and only one correct answer to each prompt.
Chapter 4, pages 63-64
“The camera angle is now fixed. It views the Man with No Face straight
on, from just below center. In his brown suit, he stays perfectly
motionless, looking from his side of the picture tube, through the
glass, into this side. He is on the other side, looking straight into
this room where we are. Of course his eyes are hidden behind the
mysterious glossy mask, but we can vividly feel the existence—the
weight—of his line of vision. With unwavering determination, he stares
at something ahead of him. Judging from the angle of his face, he could
well be staring towards Eri Asai's bed. We trace this hypothetical line
of vision with great care. Yes, there can be no doubt about it. What the
man in the mask is staring at with his invisible eyes is the sleeping
form of Eri. It finally dawns on us: this is what he has been doing all
along. He is able to see through to this side. The television screen is
functioning as a window on this room.”
For Questions 19-24,
please read the following passage from Chapter 6 of Haruki Murakami’s
After Dark. Choose the best responses to the prompts next to each
passage. There is one and only one correct answer to each prompt.
Chapter 6, Page 58
“The Skylark. Big neon sign. Bright seating area visible through the
window. Equally bright laughter from the youthful group of men and
women—college students, likely —seated at a large table. This place is
far livelier than the Denny's. The deepest darkness of the night-time
streets is unable to penetrate here.
Mari is washing her hands in the Skylark restroom. She is no longer
wearing her hat—or her glasses. From a ceiling speaker at low volume an
old hit song by the Pet Shop Boys is playing: "Jealousy." Mari's big
shoulder bag sits by the sink. She washes her hands with great care,
using liquid soap from the dispenser. She appears to be washing off a
sticky substance that clings to the spaces between her fingers. Every
now and then she looks up at her face in the mirror. She turns off the
water, examines all ten fingers under the light, and rubs them dry with
a paper towel. She then leans close to the mirror and stares at the
reflection of her face as if she expects something to happen. She
doesn't want to miss the slightest change. But nothing happens. She
rests her hands on the sink, closes her eyes, begins counting, and then
opens her eyes again. Again she examines her face in detail, but still
there is no sign of change.”
For Questions 25-27,
please read the following passage
from enotes.com regarding the setting 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.
“After Dark is set in the entertainment district of Tokyo, a
place of all-night diners, cafes, bars, and (according to this novel) at
least one so-called love motel—a place where people can rent a room by
the hour to have sex.
The story starts a few minutes before midnight and ends as the sun is
rising, right before 7:00 AM. It is the darkness of this setting that
gives the story its intrigue, as it is often insinuated that this is the
time that gangs lurk in the shadows, when women are not safe on the
street, and when a social psychopath can get away with a brutal beating.
Although these same things could be said about normal daylight, the dark
setting provides menacing shadows that add more tension.
In these late hours, order is thrown out the window as respectable
people sleep and the others roam the street and mothers and fathers and
policemen look the other way. It is also a time of relative silence and
solitude, when young people can talk in a park without anyone hearing
them. And of course, it is a time when people dream, a special topic for
Murakami to explore.”
"After Dark - Setting" eNotes Publishing Ed. Scott Locklear.
eNotes.com, Inc. eNotes.com 1 Jan, 2017 <http://www.enotes.com/topics/after-dark-murakami/in-depth#in-depth-setting>
For Questions 1-12, please mark the letter of the correct definition of the given vocabulary word.
pasty
(adj.) leisurely
(adj.) mysterious
(adj.) pale
(adj.) sad
respectable
(adj.) abstract
(adj.) assumed
(adj.) clear
(adj.) decent
translucent
(adj.) abstract
(adj.) assumed
(adj.) clear
(adj.) decent
inscrutable
(adj.) leisurely
(adj.) mysterious
(adj.) pale
(adj.) sad
hypothetical
(adj.) abstract
(adj.) assumed
(adj.) clear
(adj.) decent
languorous
(adj.) leisurely
(adj.) mysterious
(adj.) pale
(adj.) sad
permeability
(adj.) visually blurred
(adv.) unnoticeably
(n.) porousness
(n.) shine
luster
(adj.) visually blurred
(adv.) unnoticeably
(n.) porousness
(n.) shine
unobtrusively
(adj.) visually blurred
(adv.) unnoticeably
(n.) porousness
(n.) shine
astigmatic
(adj.) visually blurred
(adv.) unnoticeably
(n.) porousness
(n.) shine
somber
(adj.) leisurely
(adj.) mysterious
(adj.) pale
(adj.) sad
conceptual
(adj.) clear
(adj.) abstract
(adj.) assumed
(adj.) decent
(RL4) What would be the best synonym for “hypothetical” as it’s used in this passage?
assumed
exact
obvious
untrue
(RL5) What is the definitive answer to the mystery that the author has been building in this passage?
“With unwavering determination, he stares at something ahead of him.”
“What the man in the mask is staring at with his invisible eyes is the sleeping form of Eri.”
“Judging from the angle of his face, he could well be staring towards Eri Asai's bed.”
“He is on the other side, looking straight into this room where we are.”
(RL6) Whose point of view is being utilized in the scene?
Eri
the Man with No Face
the television
us
(RL1) What’s the best evidence for the observation that the man can see through the television?
“It finally dawns on us: this is what he has been doing all along.”
“The television screen is functioning as a window on this room.”
“Yes, there can be no doubt about it.”
“We trace this hypothetical line of vision with great care.”
(RL4) What makes the following lines figurative? “Of course his eyes are hidden behind the mysterious glossy mask, but we can vividly feel the existence—the weight—of his line of vision.”
his “hidden” eyes
the “mysterious” mask
the “weight” of his vision
his “line” of vision
(RL3) What’s the implied motivation of the Man with No Face?
He wants to watch Eri.
He wants to make us uneasy.
He wants to avoid watching television.
He wants to go to sleep.
(RL2) What motif dominates this particular setting and lends itself to the central idea of the text?
sign
hat
light
soap
(RL2) Which of the following is the best theme that can be derived from the described setting?
Signs help people to see where they’re going as well as where they’ve been.
A hat can indicate one’s occupation as well as his/her disposition.
Light heightens and encourages awareness and perception.
Soap washes away all of life’s dirt.
(RL3) What can we infer is Mari’s purpose from her actions in the restroom?
She wants to discover some sort of deep insight about herself.
She wants to get her hands completely clean before she gets some food.
She wants to see if her makeup looks okay after the night’s craziness.
She wants to try counting with her eyes closed as a way of seeing the Man with No Face.
(RL4) What are the dual meanings of the word “bright” in the following lines? “Bright seating area visible through the window. Equally bright laughter from the youthful group of men and women—college students, likely —seated at a large table. “
comfortable & smart
illuminated & happy
colorful & sarcastic
somber & crazy
(RL1) What can we infer is the symbolic meaning of the following line of text? “The deepest darkness of the night-time streets is unable to penetrate here.”
Cars eat up pavement like restaurant patrons eat up entrees.
Streets require street lights to prevent accidents.
The night is dark, and people who are eating need light.
Dark represents hidden danger while light represents apparent safety.
(RL3) What does the mirror represent to Mari in this passage?
a surface for cleaning
a window to her sister’s room
a way to check makeup
a tool for self-examination
(RI2) Which of the following would provide the best objective summary of the central idea of this paragraph?
After Dark sheds light on natural processes because it’s set in natural light.
The author’s motifs of light and respectability are highlighted in the settings of the work.
Murakami’s novel is centered on locales that embody the dark recesses of society.
The narrative involves the entertainment district of Tokyo, a happy, amusement park of fun.
(RL1) Which of the following is the best inference that a reader could draw from this passage?
Every type of person in Japanese society is shown in the settings of the narrative.
Characters who are honest and trustworthy dominate the settings in Murakami’s work.
The settings of the book are safe and pleasant for all who live inhabit them.
Those who capitalize on hidden, covert activities thrive in the settings of the novel.
(RI3) How are the various settings of After Dark connected by the author?
All of the settings are tightly ruled by human laws and rules.
Every setting is respectable and subject to intense scrutiny.
The settings are all either artificially fake or darkly menacing.
Brightness illuminates all that is obvious in each of the settings.
Pick the best possessive pronouns to fill in the blanks. Although I’d like to tell this story to ______ I wish now, I don’t remember ______ told it first.
whomever; who
whoever; who
who; whom
whose; whomever
Which sentence is written correctly?
For whom has Carmen already demonstrated her athletic ability good and who has yet to see its skills?
For whom has Carmen all ready demonstrated her athletic ability good and whom has yet to see its skills?
For who has Carmen all ready demonstrated her athletic ability good, and whom has yet to see its skills.
For whom has Carmen already demonstrated her athletic ability well, and who has yet to see her skills?