This space contains reference material beginning next
to Question 13.
To answer Questions 13-18, please read the following
passage from Chapter 14 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 14, pages 187-88
“A different clock in a different place. A round
electric clock hanging on the wall. The hands point to 4:31. This is
the kitchen of the Shirakawa house. Collar button open, tie
loosened, Shirakawa sits alone at the breakfast table, eating plain
yogurt with a spoon. He scoops it directly from the plastic
container to his mouth.
He is watching the small TV they keep in the
kitchen. The remote control sits next to the yogurt container. The
screen is showing pictures of the sea bottom. Weird deep sea
creatures. Ugly ones, beautiful ones. Predators, prey. Miniature
research submarine outfitted with high-tech equipment. Powerful
floodlights, precision arm. The programme is called Creatures of the
Deep. The sound is muted. His face expressionless, Shirakawa follows
the movements on the screen while conveying spoonfuls of yogurt to
his mouth. His mind, however, is thinking about other things. He is
considering aspects of the interrelationship of thought and action.
Is action merely the incidental product of thought, or is thought
the consequential product of action? His eyes follow the TV image,
but he is actually looking at something deep inside the
screen—something miles beyond the screen. He glances at the clock on
the wall. The hands point to 4:33. The second hand glides its way
round the dial. The world moves on continuously, without
interruption. Thought and action continue to operate in concert. At
least for now.” (Murakami, 187-88)
To answer Questions 18-23, please read the
following passage from Chapter 18 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 18, page 244
“And as for Eri, we can see no change in either
her pose or her expression. She seems totally unaware that her
little sister has crawled into bed and is sleeping beside her.
Eventually, Eri's small mouth does move slightly, as if in response
to something. A quick trembling of the lips that lasts but an
instant, perhaps a tenth of a second. Finely honed pure point of
view that we are, however, we cannot overlook this movement. Our
eyes take positive note of this momentary physical signal. The
trembling might well be a minuscule quickening of something to come.
Or it might be the barest hint of a minuscule quickening. Whatever
it is, something is trying to send a sign to this side through a
tiny opening in the consciousness. Such an impression comes to us
with certainty.
Unimpeded by other schemes, this hint of things to
come takes time to expand in the new morning light, and we attempt
to watch it unobtrusively, with deep concentration. The night has
begun to open up at last. There will be time until the next darkness
arrives.” (Murakami, 244)
To answer Questions 24-27, please read the following book review of
Haruki Murakami’s After Dark. Choose the best responses to
the prompts next to the review. There is one and only one correct
answer to each prompt.
“During her night in the city, Mari first meets
Tetsuya Takahashi, a young musician who claims to have met her
before when they were brought together on a double date with Mari's
sister and Takahashi's friend. Mari and Takahashi subtly flirt over
coffee until he heads off to late-night band practice, leaving her
alone in the restaurant again. But soon after his departure, a woman
named Kaoru comes in looking for Mari. Kaoru runs a "love hotel,"
where a Chinese prostitute has just been beaten and robbed but
speaks no Japanese. She calls Takahashi for help, and he tells her
he just left Mari who, coincidentally, speaks Chinese. With this,
Mari is drawn into the world of the hotel and the lives of the
people who work and stay there.
While Mari moves through the night, we follow her
and also return back to her house to watch Eri in her sleep. As the
story unfolds, we are left to unravel the connection between the
individual who beat the prostitute and Eri. Is he the man in the
bare room? By the end of this short novel, Mari is safely back home
and has plans to leave Japan to study in China --- but her sister is
still in a deep sleep. Mari is undeniably altered, learning about
herself and her city and finding a new love for the sister from whom
she has felt emotionally estranged for so long.”
To answer Questions 30-31, please read
"Waste Not, Want Not:
Food Waste and Hunger Exist Side by Side" by Jeanne Miller.
Choose the best responses to the prompts next to the passage. There
is one and only one correct answer to each prompt.
Waste Not, Want Not:
Food Waste and Hunger Exist Side by Side
by Jeanne Miller
Forty percent of the food that’s produced in this
country never makes it into the mouth of a human being. “That’s like
going to the grocery store and buying five bags of groceries, then
dropping two bags in the parking lot and not bothering to pick them
up,” says Dana Gunders, a scientist with the Natural Resources
Defense Council. In a recent year we discarded 34 million tons of
food while 17 million American households could not always be sure
where their next meal was coming from. How can this be? And what can
we do about it?
Starting at the Farm
Farm manager Nick Papadopoulos says, “I was standing in our walk-in
cooler one Sunday, and I saw boxes of unsold vegetables that had
come back from the farmers’ market. I realized that they were going
to go to the chickens and the compost. It was still premium, edible,
sellable food,” he says. “It made me want to bang my head on the
wall.”
Several months earlier Papadopoulos had taken a break from a career
as a business consultant to help manage his family’s farm in
Petaluma, California. He had repeatedly watched fresh, nutritious
vegetables going into the compost pile. That Sunday, thinking of all
the care and resources that had gone into growing and harvesting the
unsold produce, he decided he had to do something. The farm had a
Facebook page and a lot of fans. He put an alert on Facebook to tell
the farm’s crowd that he wanted to strike a deal. “Within 45 minutes
a woman texted and said she could pick up the vegetables.” She
bought the produce at a discount and shared it with her neighbors.
Papadopoulos says, “Twenty families were fed and we made some of our
money back. Afterwards there was a nice feeling of accomplishment on
everyone’s part.”
An App for That
It wasn’t long before he and a friend had created CropMobster, an
online alert system that uses social media to announce the
availability of food at risk of going to waste. Hundreds of farmers
and grocers have signed up for the service and thousands of people
have signed up for alerts. In the first year, about 1 million
servings of food were saved.
CropMobster now operates in several counties in northern California.
Recently it partnered with the city of Elk Grove, near Sacramento,
California, to launch the city’s own community exchange app. There,
students at Foulk Ranch School who had studied food waste got
involved. Among other projects, they harvested 400 pounds of kale
and squash from a farm and delivered it to a food bank. Led by
sixth-grade teacher Jim Bentley, students documented their
activities in short videos.
Environmental Costs
When food goes to waste, all the resources that went into producing
it also go to waste. The human labor, the fuel, the fertilizer, and
the water are all thrown away. Twenty-five percent of the fresh
water in the U.S. goes into food that never gets eaten. Gunders
notes, “When it comes to water usage, throwing away a hamburger is
like taking a 90-minute shower.”
We spend about 1 billion dollars per year just to dispose of excess
food. Some of it goes into compost piles, some of it goes into
animal feed, but most of it goes into landfills. There it decays and
gives off methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to
global warming. Gunders says, “No matter how organically or how
sustainably we grow our food, if we’re not eating it, it’s not a
good use of those resources.”
Tackling the Problem
CropMobster is just one of many new approaches to solving the
problem of food waste using technology. Sometimes stores will reject
a truckload of fruit or vegetables because of its appearance—apples
too small, carrots too crooked, tomatoes too ripe. An organization
called Food Cowboy has a website that allows truckers to post an
alert that a delivery has been refused. A charity on the trucker’s
route can respond, and Food Cowboy makes sure the food goes to
hungry people instead of to a landfill.
Another organization, Food Shift, is taking a different tack.
Currently charities depend mainly on volunteers to collect and
distribute food. Hoping to create jobs in food recovery and make it
sustainable, Food Shift partners with retail stores and other food
providers. For a fee, it agrees to take care of all the excess food
so the seller doesn’t have to. It has containers in the store that
it picks up regularly and takes to food charities. Chad Solari,
Director of Produce and Floral at Andronico’s Community Markets in
California, explains the program. “When our staff pulls things with
expired dates off the shelves, or switches out the day-old bread, or
runs through the produce rack and comes up with ripe bananas, it
will all go in one spot. We know where to put it, we know somebody’s
going to come and pick it up, we know where it’s going.”
More to Be Done
These successful efforts to pull food from the waste stream are
hopeful signs that things can change. Dana Gunders points out that,
in the long run, capturing the excess at the end of the food cycle
isn’t enough. “To me,” she says, “the ideal food system is one
that’s designed up front to feed everyone. In that system we’d be so
efficient at using everything that there wouldn’t be enough at the
end to be captured and redistributed.
For Questions 1-12, please mark the letter of the correct definition of the given vocabulary word.
intonation
(n.) modulation
(n.) stability
(v.) to frown
(v.) to weaken
incidental
(adj.) informative
(adj.) undelayed
(adj.) mysterious
(adj.) random
dilute
(n.) modulation
(n.) stability
(v.) to frown
(v.) to weaken
unimpeded
(adj.) informative
(adj.) undelayed
(adj.) mysterious
(adj.) random
grimace
(n.) modulation
(n.) stability
(v.) to frown
(v.) to weaken
enigmatic
(adj.) informative
(adj.) undelayed
(adj.) mysterious
(adj.) random
clarity
(n.) a model
(n.) a reference
(n.) clearness
(n.) doubleness
equilibrium
(n.) modulation
(n.) stability
(v.) to frown
(v.) to weaken
dualism
(n.) a model
(n.) a reference
(n.) clearness
(n.) doubleness
guarantor
(n.) a model
(n.) a reference
(n.) clearness
(n.) doubleness
precedent
(n.) a model
(n.) a reference
(n.) clearness
(n.) doubleness
declarative
(adj.) informative
(adj.) undelayed
(adj.) mysterious
(adj.) random
(RL9) Which of the following quotations from Mahatma Gandhi most closely resembles what Shirakawa is contemplating in this passage?
“To objectify all the senses, to flatten the consciousness, to put a temporary freeze on logic, to bring the advance of time to a halt if only momentarily--”
“Your beliefs become your thoughts.”
“Your actions become your habits.”
“Your thoughts become your actions.”
“Your habits become your values.”
(RL1) What can we infer is NOT moving and changing during this interlude in Shirakawa’s kitchen?
“To objectify all the senses, to flatten the consciousness, to put a temporary freeze on logic, to bring the advance of time to a halt if only momentarily--”
time
Shirakawa’s thoughts
the clock
Shirakawa’s expression
(RL2) How is the program playing on the TV related symbolically to the thematic import of the scene?
“...this is what he is trying to do: to fuse his being with the scene behind him, to make everything look like a neutral still life.”
The “weird deep sea creatures” are out of place just as Shirakawa is out of place in his home’s kitchen.
Hidden depths are being explored as Shirakawa is delving in the uncharted depths of his consciousness.
A “miniature research submarine” is “outfitted with high-tech equipment” resembling the kitchen clock.
Similar to Shirakawa’s arm scooping yogurt, a “precision arm” is scooping up treasure from the sea floor.
(RL4) What is the meaning of “consequential” in the following quote?
“Is action merely the incidental product of thought, or is thought the consequential product of action?”
resulting
accidental
random
mysterious
(RL3) What thematic statement best summarizes the conclusion that Shirakawa comes to at the end of the passage?
Actions and thoughts operate an interdependent, hand-in-hand fashion.
Thought and action are mutually exclusive and have nothing to do with one another.
Time passes like sand through an hourglass; these are the days of our lives.
Everyone thinks that the dependent time for independent action is now.
(RL6) Which of the following best sums up Murakami’s purpose in this particular passage?
He wants to examine the mystery of why deep thinkers like Shirakawa always gravitate towards the kitchen.
He wants to downplay the impact of television on daily lives as compared to the importance of clocks.
He wants to convey that Shirakawa is struggling with how his thoughts and actions are interrelated.
He wants to provide some comic relief in the novel by having Shirakawa contemplate some fresh yogurt.
(RL4) How could the words “miniscule” and “unobtrusively”--as they’re used in this passage--relate to one another?
A miniscule change can happen unobtrusively.
Miniscule problems can’t be unobtrusively ignored.
Without miniscule help, joy grows unobtrusively.
Miniscule clothes are always unobtrusively acceptable.
(RL5) What “hint of things to come” does Murakami leave readers yearning for at the end of the novel?
the inevitability of Eri’s death
the likelihood of Mari’s marriage to Takahashi
the possibility of Eri recovering consciousness
the eventual downfall of Shirakawa
(RL1) Which of the following is a sign that we can infer hints at “things to come”?
Eri’s pose
Eri’s expression
Eri’s trembling lips
Eri’s awareness
(RL3) What phrase best reflects how Mari has changed from the beginning to the end of the novel?
“And as for Eri, we can see no change…”
“...her little sister has crawled into bed and is sleeping beside her.”
“Finely honed pure point of view that we are, however…”
“The trembling might well be a minuscule quickening…”
(RL4) What symbolic motif is utilized to convey a positive author’s tone and reader’s mood at the novel’s end?
a bed where people sleep
lips used for kissing
miniscule changes in expression
the dawning of a new day
(RI1) What can we infer is the time period of the entire novel, and what quote supports this inference?
one night; “During her night in the city, Mari…”
one week; “...a young musician who claims to have met her before…”
one month; “...they were brought together on a double date…”
one year; “...with Mari’s sister and Takahashi’s friend.”
(RI3) How is Mari “drawn into the world of the hotel and the lives of the people who work and stay there”?
Mari flirts with Takahashi “over coffee until he heads off to a late-night band practice.”
“A Chinese prostitute has just been beaten and robbed but speaks no Japanese.”
Kaoru, who “runs a ‘love hotel,’” calls Takahashi, a former customer, for help.
After speaking to Takahashi, “Kaoru comes in looking for Mari.”
(RI4) What is the best translation of the following?
“Mari is undeniably altered...and...has felt emotionally estranged”
Mari is completely uplifted and has felt overly happy.
Mari is definitely changed and has felt deeply separated.
Mari is debatably stable and has felt physically aware.
Mari is questionably weary and had has felt joyously excited.
(RI2) What is the author’s central idea about what Mari will take from her journey through the night?
The man who beat the prostitute and Eri are definitely connected.
Mari knows more about herself, the city, and her love for her sister.
If Mari wants to live, she must escape to China.
The relationship between Mari and her sister will never be repaired.
Pick the best possessive nouns to fill in the blanks. ________ and my two older _________ efforts had succeeded, but ________ face was covered with dust.
Mama’s; brothers’; Kiyos’
Mama’s; brother’s; Kiyo’s
Mamas’; brothers’; Kiyo’s
Mama’s; brothers’; Kiyo’s
Which sentence is written correctly?
Pocahontas and her husband’s house in England is famous. She was buried near there.
Pocahontas and her husbands house in england are famous she were buried near theyre in england.
Pocahontas and her husbands house in England are famous she was buried near there in England.
Pocahontas and her husband's house in England are famous, she was buried near there.
Which statement best explains how the author introduces her main ideas in the first paragraph of “Waste Not, Want Not”?
She questions the validity of current research that exists regarding hunger in the United States.
She uses jarring imagery and statistics to illustrate the severity of a problem that exists in the United States.
She includes quotes from different people in order to demonstrate that Americans have conflicting opinions regarding food waste.
She explains how the management of food waste has changed over time in order to commend the Natural Resources Defense Council’s efforts.
Which sentence from “Waste Not, Want Not” provides an example of a tangible success in the effort to minimize food waste?
Several months earlier Papadopoulos had taken a break from a career as a business consultant to help manage his family’s farm in Petaluma, California.
He had repeatedly watched fresh, nutritious vegetables going into the compost pile.
That Sunday, thinking of all the care and resources that had gone into growing and harvesting the unsold produce, he decided he had to do something.
Papadopoulos says, “Twenty families were fed and we made some of our money back.