English 12B Unit 6: Future World (Modern Period, 1901-Present)

Read the excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ford stood up. "We're safe," he said. "Oh good," said Arthur. "We're in a small galley cabin," said Ford, "in one of the spaceships of the Vogon Constructor Fleet." "Ah," said Arthur, "this is obviously some strange usage of the word safe that I wasn't previously aware of." Which response most clearly explains Arthur's perspective about his situation on the Vogon ship?

Arthur feels that he is currently in danger, which he expresses with sarcasm.

What statements accurately identify a theme of "The Hammer of God"? (Select all that apply.)

As long as there are humans, there will be evil in the world. Advanced technology is not a cure-all for humankind's problems.

Read the excerpt from Brave New World. The nurses obeyed; but at the approach of the roses, at the mere sight of those gaily-coloured images of pussy and cock-a-doodle-doo and baa-baa black sheep, the infants shrank away in horror, the volume of their howling suddenly increased. "Observe," said the Director triumphantly, "observe." Books and loud noises, flowers and electric shocks—already in the infant mind these couples were compromisingly linked; and after two hundred repetitions of the same or a similar lesson would be wedded indissolubly. What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder. "They'll grow up with what the psychologists used to call an 'instinctive' hatred of books and flowers. Reflexes unalterably conditioned. They'll be safe from books and botany all their lives." The Director turned to his nurses. "Take them away again." Still yelling, the khaki babies were loaded on to their dumb-waiters and wheeled out, leaving behind them the smell of sour milk and a most welcome silence. ... Which response most accurately explains what the excerpt implies about the role of books in this society?

Books are seen as a source of danger by those in power, so much so that children must be trained to permanently hate them, possibly because books contain knowledge that could destabilize society.

Lesson 29

Carers Aren't Machines

Read the excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz heaved his unpleasant green body round the control bridge. He always felt vaguely irritable after demolishing populated planets. He wished that someone would come and tell him that it was all wrong so that he could shout at them and feel better. He flopped as heavily as he could on to his control seat in the hope that it would break and give him something to be genuinely angry about, but it only gave a complaining sort of creak. Which response most clearly explains Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz's perspective about harming others?

He would prefer to defend his harmful actions in a fit of rage, so that he would be protected from facing his own disturbed feelings.

Read the excerpt from High Fidelity. When Laura was here I had the records arranged alphabetically; before that I had them filed in chronological order, beginning with Robert Johnson, and ending with, I don't know, Wham!, or somebody African, or whatever else I was listening to when Laura and I met. Tonight, though, I fancy something different, so I try to remember the order I bought them in: that way I hope to write my own autobiography, without having to do anything like pick up a pen. I pull the records off the shelves, put them in piles all over the sitting room floor, look for Revolver, and go on from there; and when I've finished, I'm flushed with a sense of self, because this, after all, is who I am. I like being able to see how I got from Deep Purple to Howlin' Wolf in twenty-five moves; I am no longer pained by the memory of listening to "Sexual Healing" all the way through a period of enforced celibacy, or embarrassed by the reminder of forming a rock club at school, so that I and my fellow fifth-formers could get together and talk about Ziggy Stardust and Tommy. But what I really like is the feeling of security I get from my new filing system; I have made myself more complicated than I really am. I have a couple of thousand records, and you have to be me—or, at the very least, a doctor of Flemingology—to know how to find any of them. If I want to play, say, Blue by Joni Mitchell, I have to remember that I bought it for someone in the autumn of 1983, and thought better of giving it to her, for reasons I don't really want to go into. Well, you don't know any of that, so you're knackered, really, aren't you? You'd have to ask me to dig it out for you, and for some reason I find this enormously comforting. Which response most completely explains why the author describes so many of Rob's records in relation to his ex-girlfriends?

In the scene, the author shows that Rob's records are a substitute for mature relationships in his life.

Read the excerpt from High Fidelity. "You can if you want. I'm going back." I don't want to have a drink with someone called T-Bone, but I get the feeling that this is exactly what Barry would like to do. I get the feeling that having a drink with someone called T-Bone could be the high point of Barry's decade. "I don't want to muck your evening up. I just don't feel like staying." "Not even for half an hour?" "Not really." "Hold on a minute, then. I've got to take a piss." "Me too," Dick says. When they're gone, I get out quickly, and hail a black cab. It's brilliant, being depressed; you can behave as badly as you like. Which line from the excerpt most clearly demonstrates sarcasm?

It's brilliant, being depressed; you can behave as badly as you like.

Read the excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "Vogon Constructor Fleets. Here is what to do if you want to get a lift from a Vogon: forget it. They are one of the most unpleasant races in the Galaxy—not actually evil, but bad tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous. They wouldn't even lift a finger to save their own grandmothers from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without orders signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat and recycled as firelighters." Which response most completely explains the meaning of officious?

Officious means "meddlesome and annoyingly attentive," which is shown by the way the Vogons require precise paperwork even to save their grandmothers.

Lesson 26

The Beginning of Disaster

Which response most completely explains how the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy develops the character of Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz in the story?

The author blends a historical summary into the exposition of the story so that the reader will understand the entire evolutionary history of the Vogons' cruelty before meeting Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God," in which the crew must decide where Goliath should go after the initial failure to deflect Kali. What option effectively explains the significance of the structure of the excerpt?

The author chooses to use dialogue, short sentences, and the quick action of the voting in this section to move the plot action quickly forward.

Reread the opening of the first chapter of Brave New World. Which responses most clearly explain how the author uses setting to advance the plot of the story? (Select all that apply.)

The author describes familiar settings like nurseries and locker rooms in unfamiliar ways to create tension and to introduce the main characters. The author describes short, disturbing scenes in different locales to show how this society works and to introduce the story's conflict between government oppression and human nature.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." No one who survived hearing it could ever describe the sound of Kali's passage; none of the recordings were more than feeble echoes. The video coverage, of course, was superb, and would be watched in awe for generations to come. But nothing could ever compare with the fearsome reality. Two minutes after it had sliced into the atmosphere, Kali reentered space. Its closest approach to Earth had been 60 km. In that two minutes, it took 100,000 lives and did $1 trillion worth of damage. Which options accurately explain the purpose of the placement of these two paragraphs? (Select all that apply.)

The author describes the event emotionally in the first paragraph and then offers facts of the damage in the second paragraph to provide a full picture. In the first paragraph, the author admits that there is no way to reproduce the true reality of the destruction resulting from Kali. So, in the second paragraph, he relies on the facts to relay the horror.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." The sight was heartbreaking: The great propellant tanks were opening up like flowers in a time-lapse movie, spilling out the thousands of tons of reaction mass that might have saved the Earth. Wisps of vapor drifted across the face of the asteroid, veiling its cratered surface with an evanescent atmosphere. Which option accurately explains the meaning of the simile in this excerpt?

The comparison of the opening of the tanks to the opening of flowers emphasizes the delicate nature of the operation.

Read the sentence. At the department dinner, the visiting professor led a scintillating conversation regarding his theories, and the other faculty members became animated as they took part in the high-level discussion. Which response most clearly explains how a student could use context clues to determine the meaning of the word scintillating?

The context clues "became animated" and "high-level discussion" indicate that scintillating means "brilliant or stimulating."

What option correctly analyzes the symbolic meaning of the title "The Hammer of God"?

The hammer, representing the asteroid, symbolizes an instrument of destruction used by God to punish humankind.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." He would have been far less relaxed had he known of the ABSOLUTE PRIORITY message racing toward him by tight infrared beam from ASTROPOL headquarters in Geneva. It would not reach Goliath for another 30 minutes. And by then it would be much too late. Which options clearly explain the use of foreshadowing in the excerpt? (Select all that apply.)

The people on the ship will be shocked because they are unaware of what is coming from Geneva. Something terrible is going to happen because the message from Geneva will not reach the ship in time.

Read the paragraph. Ross looked around at the decrepit, messy garage. The air was hot and stuffy, with no ventilation. Through the dim light he could see a tangle of broken bicycles and jumbled, crushed packing boxes. The smell made him suddenly gag, and he predicted that within the clutter he would find the decomposing remnants of at least one mouse. He regretted accepting Mrs. Moore's offer of $50 to clean this squalid mess. The money did not seem worth the effort of dealing with this dump! Which response accurately explains how a student who did not know the word squalid could find its meaning?

The student could use the context clues "mess" and "dump" to infer that squalid means "dirty."

Which response most clearly explains the significance of the term "Our Ford" in the society portrayed in Brave New World?

There is no longer religion, but the leader has taken the name "Our Ford," which rhymes with "Our Lord."

Read the excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. One of the things Ford Prefect had always found hardest to understand about human beings was their habit of continually stating and repeating the obvious, as in It's a nice day, or You're very tall, or Oh dear you seem to have fallen down a thirty-foot well, are you alright? At first Ford had formed a theory to account for this strange behaviour. If human beings don't keep exercising their lips, he thought, their mouths probably seize up. After a few months' consideration and observation he abandoned this theory in favour of a new one. If they don't keep on exercising their lips, he thought, their brains start working. Which response most clearly explains why Ford Prefect's idea that if humans "don't keep on exercising their lips... their brains start working" is humorous?

The implication that humans tend to talk without expressing any valuable thoughts creates ironic humor.

Which response most clearly explains the significance of the terms Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon in the society portrayed in Brave New World?

These are the names of the castes of the social hierarchy, whose members all wear the same color.

Read the sentence. The evanescent quality of Cynthia's rash let us know that she no longer needed immediate medical attention. What is the accurate definition for evanescent as it is used in the sentence?

quickly disappearing

Read the excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. England no longer existed. He'd got that—somehow he'd got it. He tried again. America, he thought, has gone. He couldn't grasp it. He decided to start smaller again. New York has gone. No reaction. He'd never seriously believed it existed anyway. The dollar, he thought, had sunk for ever. Slight tremor there. Every Bogart movie has been wiped, he said to himself, and that gave him a nasty knock. McDonald's, he thought. There is no longer any such thing as a McDonald's hamburger. He passed out. When he came round a second later he found he was sobbing for his mother. Which answer most clearly explains why Arthur's way of grieving for Earth is an example of satire?

His reaction implies that humans connect more deeply to entertainment and fast food than to countries or other people.

Read the opening lines from Never Let Me Go. My name is Kathy H. I'm thirty-one years old, and I've been a carer now for over eleven years. That sounds long enough, I know, but actually they want me to go on for another eight months, until the end of this year. That'll make it almost exactly twelve years. Now I know my being a carer so long isn't necessarily because they think I'm fantastic at what I do. There are some really good carers who've been told to stop after just two or three years. And I can think of one carer at least who went on for all of fourteen years despite being a complete waste of space. So I'm not trying to boast. But then I do know for a fact they've been pleased with my work, and by and large, I have too. My donors have always tended to do much better than expected. Their recovery times have been impressive, and hardly any of them have been classified as "agitated," even before fourth donation. Okay, maybe I am boasting now. But it means a lot to me, being able to do my work well, especially that bit about my donors staying "calm." I've developed a kind of instinct around donors. I know when to hang around and comfort them, when to leave them to themselves; when to listen to everything they have to say, and when just to shrug and tell them to snap out of it. Which option most effectively explains how the tone of Kathy's description of herself helps to establish her character?

The factual, unemotional tone shows that Kathy is a logical, detail-oriented person.

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go. Anyway, once you came out to the pond, you'd find a tranquil atmosphere waiting, with ducks and bulrushes and pond-weed. It wasn't, though, a good place for a discreet conversation—not nearly as good as the lunch queue. For a start you could be clearly seen from the house. And the way the sound travelled across the water was hard to predict; if people wanted to eavesdrop, it was the easiest thing to walk down the outer path and crouch in the bushes on the other side of the pond. Which option provides the most accurate definition of the word discreet?

careful and confidential

Read the conversation between Barry and Rob from High Fidelity. "Since when did this shop become a fascist regime?" "Since you brought that terrible tape in." "All I'm trying to do is cheer us up. That's all. Very sorry. Go and put some old sad bastard music on, see if I care." "I don't want old sad bastard music on either. I just want something I can ignore." "Great. That's the fun thing about working in a record shop, isn't it? Playing things that you don't want to listen to. I thought this tape was going to be, you know, a talking point. I was going to ask you for your top five records to play on a wet Monday morning and all that, and you've gone and ruined it." "We'll do it next Monday." "What's the point of that?" And so on, and on, probably for the rest of my working life. Which response most clearly explains what the line "And so on, and on, probably for the rest of my working life" reveals about Rob's perspective?

Rob feels that he is trapped in an endless loop of superficial and trivial conversation and activity.

Which responses accurately explain why the author of High Fidelity introduces the setting of the record shop and the main characters of Rob and Barry by showing them arguing over the song "Walking on Sunshine"? (Select all that apply.)

The dialogue introduces Barry as a dramatic foil or contrast to Rob. The dialogue shows how immature Rob's companions are. The dialogue demonstrates how tense and unhappy Rob is.

Read paragraphs 35-47 in "The Hammer of God." Which option accurately supports the author's choice to structure Senator Ledstone's story as a flashback?

The use of flashback emphasizes the role that Senator Ledstone's funding of Spaceguard played in the current story; for example, he approved the "construction of two powerful orbiting tugs, Goliath and Titan, to be kept permanently patrolling on opposite sides of the sun."

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go. And what's more, now I think about it, I'd say what Miss Lucy said to us that afternoon led to a real shift in our attitudes. It was after that day, jokes about donations faded away, and we started to think properly about things. If anything, the donations went back to being a subject to be avoided, but not in the way it had been when we were younger. This time round it wasn't awkward or embarrassing any more; just sombre and serious. Which word from the excerpt most effectively indicates the meaning of somber (British spelling: sombre)?

serious

Textual evidence can be defined as __________. Which option most accurately completes the sentence?

specific information, found directly within a reading, used to provide background or support a claim

Read the sentence. By citing specific details to support an interpretation or position about a text, a person is using __________. What word accurately completes this sentence?

textual evidence

What options accurately explain the purpose for a subplot? (Select all that apply.)

to support the main plot to parallel the main plot

Which excerpts from the scene in the Hatchery in Brave New World provide the strongest evidence that the Director cares more about scientific progress than about human individuality? (Select all that apply.)

But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before. ... the original egg was in a fair way to becoming anything from eight to ninety- six embryos—a prodigious improvement, you will agree, on nature. Identical twins—but not in piddling twos and threes as in the old viviparous days, when an egg would sometimes accidentally divide. ...

Read the excerpt from Brave New World. "Dr. Wells says that a three months' Pregnancy Substitute now will make all the difference to my health for the next three or four years." "Well, I hope he's right," said Lenina. "But, Fanny, do you really mean to say that for the next three months you're not supposed to." "Oh no, dear. Only for a week or two, that's all. I shall spend the evening at the Club playing Musical Bridge. I suppose you're going out?" Lenina nodded. "Who with?" "Henry Foster." "Again?" Fanny's kind, rather moon-like face took on an incongruous expression of pained and disapproving astonishment. "Do you mean to tell me you're still going out with Henry Foster?" Which response most accurately explains what the excerpt implies about dating in this society?

Citizens date many different people, but forming emotional bonds is looked down on, which is indicated by Fanny's surprise that Lenina has been dating the same boy for a while.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." Now indeed Kali's orbit had been drastically changed; never again would it come near Earth. On its next return to the inner solar system, the swifter spacecraft of a later age would visit the crumpled wreckage of Goliath and bear reverently homeward the bodies of those who had saved the world. Until the next encounter. Which options accurately explain the implicit meaning of the excerpt? (Select all that apply.)

Even with progress and expanded space travel that will come in the future, asteroids will still be dangerous. Although the Earth is now safe from a collision with one asteroid, choosing to save worlds will continue to cost human lives.

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go. And if these incidents now seem full of significance and all of a piece, it's probably because I'm looking at them in the light of what came later—particularly what happened that day at the pavilion while we were sheltering from the downpour. Which option most effectively identifies the element of narrative structure used in the excerpt and explains its effect on the reader?

Foreshadowing creates a sense of suspense and mystery by anticipating future events in the plot.

Which excerpt from Brave New World provides the strongest evidence to support the idea that people of the same age live in large dormitories together?

From her dim crimson cellar Lenina Crowne shot up seventeen stories, turned to the right as she stepped out of the lift, walked down a long corridor and, opening the door marked GIRLS' DRESSING-ROOM, plunged into a deafening chaos of arms and bosoms and underclothing.

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go. Miss Lucy was the most sporting of the guardians at Hailsham, though you might not have guessed it from her appearance. She had a squat, almost bulldoggy figure, and her odd black hair, when it grew, grew upwards so it never covered her ears or chunky neck. Which words from the text most effectively help indicate the meaning of the word squat as it is used in the passage? (Select all that apply.)

almost bulldoggy figure chunky neck

Which lines from Never Let Me Go most clearly support the idea that the Hailsham students have been deprived of free will?

"You'll become adults, then before you're old, before you're even middle-aged, you'll start to donate your vital organs. That's what each of you was created to do. You're not like the actors you watch on your videos, you're not even like me. You were brought into this world for a purpose, and your futures, all of them, have been decided."

Which sentence uses the word inkling correctly?

Maria did not have the faintest inkling that we were throwing her a surprise party; she was so stunned she screamed.

Read the scenario. Max stared in horror at the living room. An entire roll of unwound toilet paper was draped across the couch and coffee table. A pillow with a hole in it sat on the floor, surrounded by wispy white feathers. And in the middle of all this mess sat Nemo, Max's year-old golden retriever, hanging his head in guilt. Max felt a surge of anger, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and said, "You sure can be a little messy sometimes, Nemo." Which answer most correctly describes Max's reaction to the mess Nemo made in the living room?

Max responded with understatement, by downplaying the destruction Nemo caused.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." Now indeed Kali's orbit had been drastically changed; never again would it come near Earth. On its next return to the inner solar system, the swifter spacecraft of a later age would visit the crumpled wreckage of Goliath and bear reverently homeward the bodies of those who had saved the world. Until the next encounter. What options accurately identify and explain the function of the narrative text element used in the excerpt? (Select all that apply.)

Foreshadowing creates more suspense about Kali's next visit to the solar system. Flash-forward shows what happened to the crew of the Goliath.

Read the excerpt from Brave New World. An almost naked Indian was very slowly climbing down the ladder from the first-floor terrace of a neighboring house—rung after rung, with the tremulous caution of extreme old age. His face was profoundly wrinkled and black, like a mask of obsidian. The toothless mouth had fallen in. At the corners of the lips, and on each side of the chin, a few long bristles gleamed almost white against the dark skin. The long unbraided hair hung down in grey wisps round his face. His body was bent and emaciated to the bone, almost fleshless. Very slowly he came down, pausing at each rung before he ventured another step. "What's the matter with him?" whispered Lenina. Her eyes were wide with horror and amazement. "He's old, that's all," Bernard answered as carelessly as he could. He too was startled; but he made an effort to seem unmoved. "Old?" she repeated. "But the Director's old; lots of people are old; they're not like that." "That's because we don't allow them to be like that. We preserve them from diseases. We keep their internal secretions artificially balanced at a youthful equilibrium. We don't permit their magnesium-calcium ratio to fall below what it was at thirty. We give them transfusion of young blood. We keep their metabolism permanently stimulated. So, of course, they don't look like that. Partly," he added, "because most of them die long before they reach this old creature's age. Youth almost unimpaired till sixty, and then, crack! the end." Which responses accurately explain what the excerpt implies about old age in this society? (Select all that apply.)

People are kept unnaturally young using medicine, but they die before the age of sixty either from the medicine or at the hands of society. This is implied when Bernard says, "crack! the end," which does not imply a peaceful, natural death. Appearing old is rare, as scientific discoveries mask aging. This is implied when Lenina says, "What's wrong with him?" when she observes how old the Indian is, which shows she is familiar only with people who appear young and healthy.

In Never Let Me Go, the Hailsham students have essentially been bred as genetic clones to help save the lives of others, and the students' humanity and individuality have been disregarded. Which excerpts from Never Let Me Go most effectively support the idea that these characters are still human beings with authentic feelings and emotions? (Select all that apply.)

"Funny thing is, this talk with her, it did help. Helped a lot. When you were saying earlier on, about how things seemed better for me now. Well, it's because of that. Because afterwards, thinking about what she'd said, I realised she was right, that it wasn't my fault. Okay, I hadn't handled it well. But deep down, it wasn't my fault. That's what made the difference. And whenever I felt rocky about it, I'd catch sight of her walking about, or I'd be in one of her lessons, and she wouldn't say anything about our talk, but I'd look at her, and she'd sometimes see me and give me a little nod. And that's all I needed." And why shouldn't they? Carers aren't machines. You try and do your best for every donor, but in the end, it wears you down. You don't have unlimited patience and energy. So when you get a chance to choose, of course, you choose your own kind. That's natural. There's no way I could have gone on for as long as I have if I'd stopped feeling for my donors every step of the way.

Which excerpts from Brave New World provide strong evidence to support the idea that people in this society have never experienced love? (Select all that apply.)

Our Ford—or Our Freud, as, for some inscrutable reason, he chose to call himself whenever he spoke of psychological matters—Our Freud had been the first to reveal the appalling dangers of family life. The world was full of fathers—was therefore full of misery; full of mothers—therefore of every kind of perversion from sadism to chastity; full of brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts—full of madness and suicide. Maniacally, the mother brooded over her children (her children), brooded over them like a cat over its kittens; but a cat that could talk, a cat that could say, "My baby, my baby," over and over again. "My baby, and oh, oh, at my breast, the little hands, the hunger, and that unspeakable agonizing pleasure! Till at last my baby sleeps, my baby sleeps with a bubble of white milk at the corner of his mouth. My little baby sleeps.""Yes," said Mustapha Mond, nodding his head, "you may well shudder."

Read the excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Meanwhile, the natural forces on the planet Vogsphere had been working overtime to make up for their earlier blunder. They brought forth scintillating jewelled scuttling crabs, which the Vogons ate, smashing their shells with iron mallets; tall aspiring trees with breathtaking slenderness and colour which the Vogons cut down and burned the crab meat with; elegant gazellelike creatures with silken coats and dewy eyes which the Vogons would catch and sit on. They were no use as transport because their backs would snap instantly, but the Vogons sat on them anyway. Which response most clearly explains the tone created by the descriptive language in this passage?

Vivid language like "smashing their shells" and "their backs would snap instantly" creates a satirical tone by providing wildly overstated images of the Vogons' brutality and careless destruction.

Read the excerpt from High Fidelity. The bad news: 1) Marie brings someone out to sing with her for her encore. A bloke. Someone who shares her microphone with her with an intimacy I don't like, and sings harmony on "Love Hurts," and looks at her while he's doing so in a way that suggests that he's ahead of me in the queue for the album shoot. Marie still looks like Susan Dey, and this guy—she introduces him as "T-Bone Taylor, the best-kept secret in Texas"—looks like a prettier version of Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates, if you can imagine such a creature. He's got long blond hair, and cheekbones, and he's well over nine feet tall, but he's got muscles too (he's wearing a denim waistcoat and no shirt) and a voice that makes that man who does the Guinness adverts sound soppy, a voice so deep that it seems to land with a thud on the stage and roll toward us like a cannonball. I know my sexual confidence is not high at the moment, and I know that women are not necessarily interested in long blond hair, cheekbones, and height; that sometimes they are looking for shortish dark hair, no cheekbones and width, but even so! Look at them! Susan Dey and Daryl Hall! Entwining the naked melody lines from "Love Hurts"! Mingling their saliva, almost! Just as well I wore my favorite shirt when she came into the shop the other day, otherwise I wouldn't have stood a chance. There is no other bad news. That's it. Which response most clearly explains the effect of Rob's use humor and sarcasm?

Saying, "Just as well I wore my favorite shirt when she came into the shop the other day, otherwise I wouldn't have stood a chance" conveys how utterly bleak and hopeless Rob feels.

Read the excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mindboggingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as the final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God. "The argument goes something like this: 'I refuse to prove that I exist,' says God, 'for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.' "'But,' says Man, 'The Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED.' "'Oh dear,' says God, 'I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly vanished in a puff of logic. "'Oh, that was easy,' says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing. "Most leading theologians claim that this argument is a load of dingo's kidneys, but that didn't stop Oolon Colluphid making a small fortune when he used it as the central theme of his bestselling book Well That About Wraps It Up For God. "Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation." Which responses clearly explain the author's decision to write about how the Babel fish destroyed some people's faith in God? (Select all that apply.)

The author uses satire to show that some people will choose to manipulate any evidence before them to support their previously held beliefs. The author uses irony to show that in some situations, logically proving a point doesn't necessarily lead to understanding the full truth.

Read the excerpt from High Fidelity. He talks a lot about music, but also a lot about books (Terry Pratchett and anything else which features monsters, planets, and so on), and films, and women. Pop, girls, etc., as the Liquorice Comfits said. But his conversation is simply enumeration: if he has seen a good film, he will not describe the plot, or how it made him feel, but where it ranks in his best-of-year list, his best-of-all-time list, his best-of-decade list—he thinks and talks in tens and fives, and as a consequence, Dick and I do too. And he makes us write lists as well, all the time: "OK, guys. Top five Dustin Hoffman films." Or guitar solos, or records made by blind musicians, or Gerry and Sylvia Anderson shows ("I don't believe you've got Captain Scarlet at number one, Dick. The guy was immortal! What's fun about that?"), or sweets that come in jars ("If either of you have got Rhubarb and Custard in the top five, I'm resigning now."). Which approaches would accurately help a student determine the meaning of enumeration? (Select all that apply.)

The student could notice the statement "he will not describe the plot, or how it made him feel, but where it ranks in his best-of-year list, his best-of-all-time list, his best-of-decade list" and infer that enumeration means making a list. The student could consider how enumeration appears to have the same root as number and numeral and infer that enumeration relates to using numbers.

Read the excerpts from "The Hammer of God." The first is part of the main narrative, and the second is part of a flashback about Chrislam. No wonder that, even now, most of humankind could still not believe that this modest asteroid was the instrument of doom. Or, as the Chrislamic Fundamentalists were calling it, "the Hammer of God." ... Inevitably, after the Prophet's death the movement split into rival factions, each upholding the True Faith. The most fanatical was a fundamentalist group calling itself "the Reborn," which claimed to be in direct contact with God (or at least Her Archangels) via the listening post they had established in the silent zone on the far side of the Moon, shielded from the radio racket of Earth by 3,000 km of solid rock. Which option accurately analyzes how the author uses these references to the religious group to affect the plot?

By mentioning the Chrislamic belief that the asteroid was the instrument of doom and by focusing on the fanatical factions in the flashback, the author creates the potential for conflict in the main story.

Which option most clearly shows how the Hailsham school setting has made Tommy feel like an outcast?

When she'd first asked him to come to her study after Art Appreciation, Tommy explained, he'd expected yet another lecture about how he should try harder—the sort of thing he'd had already from various guardians, including Miss Emily herself. But as they were walking from the house towards the Orangery—where the guardians had their living quarters—Tommy began to get an inkling this was something different. Then, once he was seated in Miss Lucy's easy chair—she'd remained standing by the window—she asked him to tell her the whole story, as he saw it, of what had been happening to him. So Tommy had begun going through it all. But before he was even half way she'd suddenly broken in and started to talk herself. She'd known a lot of students, she'd said, who'd for a long time found it very difficult to be creative: painting, drawing, poetry, none of it going right for years. Then one day they'd turned a corner and blossomed. It was quite possible Tommy was one of these.

Read the excerpt from Brave New World. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. But there were also husbands, wives, lovers. There were also monogamy and romance. "Though you probably don't know what those are," said Mustapha Mond. They shook their heads. Family, monogamy, romance. Everywhere exclusiveness, a narrow channelling of impulse and energy. "But every one belongs to every one else," he concluded, citing the hypnopædic proverb. The students nodded, emphatically agreeing with a statement which upwards of sixty-two thousand repetitions in the dark had made them accept, not merely as true, but as axiomatic, self-evident, utterly indisputable. ... Which response lists context clues that a student could use to most accurately infer the meaning of axiomatic?

"self-evident, utterly indisputable"

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go. I want to move on now to our last years at Hailsham. I'm talking about the period from when we were thirteen to when we left at sixteen. In my memory my life at Hailsham falls into two distinct chunks: this last era, and everything that came before. The earlier years—the ones I've just been telling you about—they tend to blur into each other as a kind of golden time, and when I think about them at all, even the not-so-great things, I can't help feeling a sort of glow. But those last years feel different. Which option most clearly explains the impact of Kathy's first-person narration on the text, as indicated by the excerpt?

xxx Readers see from Kathy's point of view, and so they can understand the thoughts and motivations of the people with whom she interacts.

Read the paragraph. Enjoying football is a favorite pastime of many Americans, especially in the fall. Some people enjoy getting out of their homes, meeting with friends, and playing flag football. Those who are more dedicated to the sport sometimes join official leagues, which can provide fans with a competitive and social hobby. Other football fans prefer to enjoy the sport from the comfort of their couches. Football is televised from September to February. Which response provides the strongest textual evidence for the inference that people who are not physically active often enjoy football?

Other football fans prefer to enjoy the sport from the comfort of their couches.

Select the responses that correctly identify central ideas from Brave New World. (Select all that apply.)

People become easier to control when they have no love in their lives, because they have less to lose. Oppressive governments often mislead their citizens to prevent free thought and expression. It is impossible to completely crush the curious and independent side of the human spirit.

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go, in which Tommy, speaking to Kathy, recalls a conversation he had with Miss Lucy. "I'm not sure. Maybe I got it all wrong, Kath, I don't know. Maybe she was meaning something else completely, something else to do with me not being creative. I don't really understand it." Tommy was looking at me as though he expected me to come up with an answer. I went on thinking for a few seconds, then said: "Tommy, think back carefully. You said she got angry ..." "Well, that's what it looked like. She was quiet, but she was shaking." "All right, whatever. Let's say she got angry. Was it when she got angry she started to say this other stuff? About how we weren't taught enough about donations and the rest of it?" "I suppose so ..." "Now, Tommy, think. Why did she bring it up? She's talking about you and you not creating. Then suddenly she starts up about this other stuff. What's the link? Why did she bring up donations? What's that got to do with you being creative?" "I don't know. There must have been some reason, I suppose. Maybe one thing reminded her of the other. Kath, you're getting really worked up about this yourself now." Which option most accurately explains how the excerpt demonstrates the role of creativity in the story?

The text emphasizes a connection between creativity and donations, providing a clue to the significance of art in a community of clones.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." And scattered here and there across that once dead landscape were the glowing fireflies that marked the first permanent settlements humankind had built beyond the home planet. Captain Singh could easily locate Clavius Base, Port Armstrong, Plato City. He could even see the necklace of faint lights along the Translunar Railroad, bringing its precious cargo of water from the ice mines at the South Pole. One of the themes of the story is this: In order to preserve our future, we must use science and technology to protect life. What options accurately analyze how the excerpt supports this theme? (Select all that apply.)

The words "the first permanent settlements humankind had built beyond the home planet" indicate that science and technology have played a significant role in making the settlements possible. The words "He could even see the necklace of faint lights along the Translunar Railroad, bringing its precious cargo of water from the ice mines at the South Pole" indicate that science and technology enable colonies to exist on the moon. The words "across that once dead landscape were the glowing fireflies" indicate that the landscape of the moon is being cultivated to become livable, which requires science and technology.

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go, in which Tommy tells Kathy about an encounter he had with their teacher, Miss Lucy. "Then she said: 'Look, there are all kinds of things you don't understand, Tommy, and I can't tell you about them. Things about Hailsham, about your place in the wider world, all kinds of things. But perhaps one day, you'll try and find out. They won't make it easy for you, but if you want to, really want to, you might find out.' She started shaking her head again after that, though not as bad as before, and she says: 'But why should you be any different? The students who leave here, they never find out much. Why should you be any different?' I didn't know what she was talking about, so I just said again: 'I'll be all right, Miss.' She was quiet for a time, then she suddenly stood up and kind of bent over me and hugged me. Not in a sexy way. More like they used to do when we were little. I just kept as still as possible. Then she stood back and said again she was sorry for what she'd told me before. And that it wasn't too late, I should start straight away, making up the lost time. I don't think I said anything, and she looked at me and I thought she'd hug me again. But instead she said: 'Just do it for my sake, Tommy.'" Which option most accurately explains what could be implied by the excerpt?

Tommy's conversation with Miss Lucy and her suddenly apologetic, affectionate behavior suggest that Miss Lucy is anticipating she might be leaving soon.

Lesson 27

Two Ways to Look at What's Funny

Which response correctly defines the term understatement?

Understatement is intentionally downplaying or minimizing an event or feeling, often with the intent of calling the reader's attention to it or creating humor.

Which excerpts from the story most effectively show how Tommy's interactions with Miss Lucy help to develop her as a nonconformist, somewhat rebellious character in Never Let Me Go? (Select all that apply.)

0.25 of 1 "If no one else will talk to you," she continued, "then I will. The problem, as I see it, is that you've been told and not told. You've been told, but none of you really understand, and I dare say, some people are quite happy to leave it that way. But I'm not. If you're going to have decent lives, then you've got to know and know properly. None of you will go to America, none of you will be film stars. And none of you will be working in supermarkets as I heard some of you planning the other day. Your lives are set out for you." xxx Miss Lucy was the only guardian present. She was leaning over the rail at the front, peering into the rain like she was trying to see right across the playing field. I was watching her as carefully as ever in those days, and even as I was laughing at Laura, I was stealing glances at Miss Lucy's back. I remember wondering if there wasn't something a bit odd about her posture, the way her head was bent down just a little too far so she looked like a crouching animal waiting to pounce. And the way she was leaning forward over the rail meant drops from the overhanging gutter were only just missing her—but she seemed to show no sign of caring.

Read the excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ford, with a lightning movement, clapped his hand to Arthur's ear, and he had the sudden sickening sensation of the fish slithering deep into his aural tract. Which response most accurately states how a student could determine the meaning of the word aural?

A student could infer that aural relates to hearing, because the fish goes into Arthur's ear.

Read the excerpt from Brave New World. The Director opened a door. They were in a large bare room, very bright and sunny; for the whole of the southern wall was a single window. Half a dozen nurses, trousered and jacketed in the regulation white viscose-linen uniform, their hair aseptically hidden under white caps, were engaged in setting out bowls of roses in a long row across the floor. Big bowls, packed tight with blossom. Thousands of petals, ripe-blown and silkily smooth, like the cheeks of innumerable little cherubs, but of cherubs, in that bright light, not exclusively pink and Aryan, but also luminously Chinese, also Mexican, also apoplectic with too much blowing of celestial trumpets, also pale as death, pale with the posthumous whiteness of marble. What is the effect of describing the flowers in this way?

Comparing the petals to the cheeks of babies who are deathly white, or angry from blowing trumpets, creates a chilling tone and implies that there will be something unnatural about the babies in this nursery.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." Ever since the demilitarization of Planet Earth (much accelerated by the famous slogan "Guns Are the Crutches of the Impotent"), such activities had been frowned upon, though not actively discouraged. Which context clues would be most helpful in figuring out the meaning of impotent as it is used in the excerpt? (Select all that apply.)

Ever since the demilitarization the Crutches of

Read the excerpts from Brave New World. The men came nearer and nearer; their dark eyes looked at her, but without giving any sign of recognition, any smallest sign that they had seen her or were aware of her existence. The writhing snake hung limp again with the rest. The men passed. "I don't like it," said Lenina. "I don't like it." ... But Lenina was not listening. She was watching the old man. Slowly, slowly he came down. His feet touched the ground. He turned. In their deep-sunken orbits his eyes were still extraordinarily bright. They looked at her for a long moment expressionlessly, without surprise, as though she had not been there at all. Then slowly, with bent back the old man hobbled past them and was gone. "But it's terrible," Lenina whispered. "It's awful. We ought not to have come here." Which answer most accurately explains the meaning of Lenina's responses to the Indians' manner toward her?

Lenina expresses discomfort when the Indians do not acknowledge her because she has never been faced with free, non-brainwashed humans before, and they are challenging her reality.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." Captain Singh knew what would happen next: He had run this sequence a dozen times. Toby would begin to cry, the monkey would disappear, he would comfort the child as he carried him back to the house ... But that had been twenty years ago and a quarter-billion kilometers away. The playback came to an end; sound, vision, the scent of unknown flowers and the gentle touch of the wind slowly faded. Suddenly, he was back in this cabin aboard the orbital tug Goliath, commanding the 100-person team of Operation ATLAS, the most critical mission in the history of space exploration. Which options clearly explain how the use of flashback in the excerpt helps characterize Captain Singh? (Select all that apply.)

The flashback provides a contrast between Captain Singh's present and past responsibilities. The flashback provides a sense of how Captain Singh's life has become more complicated. The flashback provides background on Captain Singh's past relationship with his son.

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go. Miss Lucy was the only guardian present. She was leaning over the rail at the front, peering into the rain like she was trying to see right across the playing field. I was watching her as carefully as ever in those days, and even as I was laughing at Laura, I was stealing glances at Miss Lucy's back. I remember wondering if there wasn't something a bit odd about her posture, the way her head was bent down just a little too far so she looked like a crouching animal waiting to pounce. And the way she was leaning forward over the rail meant drops from the overhanging gutter were only just missing her—but she seemed to show no sign of caring. I remember actually convincing myself there was nothing unusual in all this—that she was simply anxious for the rain to stop—and turning my attention back to what Laura was saying. Then a few minutes later, when I'd forgotten all about Miss Lucy and was laughing my head off at something, I suddenly realised things had gone quiet around us, and that Miss Lucy was speaking. Which option most effectively explains how the simile "like a crouching animal waiting to pounce" affects the tone of this part of the text?

The simile "like a crouching animal waiting to pounce" creates heightened suspense and tension, indicating that Miss Lucy is about to say or do something important.

Read the excerpt from Brave New World. The enormous room on the ground floor faced towards the north. Cold for all the summer beyond the panes, for all the tropical heat of the room itself, a harsh thin light glared through the windows, hungrily seeking some draped lay figure, some pallid shape of academic goose-flesh, but finding only the glass and nickel and bleakly shining porcelain of a laboratory. Wintriness responded to wintriness. The overalls of the workers were white, their hands gloved with a pale corpse-coloured rubber. The light was frozen, dead, a ghost. Only from the yellow barrels of the microscopes did it borrow a certain rich and living substance, lying along the polished tubes like butter, streak after luscious streak in long recession down the work tables. Which responses most accurately explain how a student who did not know the word pallid could infer its meaning? (Select all that apply.)

The student could note the similarity between the roots of pallid and pale. The student could use the context clues "academic goose-flesh," "pale corpse-coloured rubber," and "frozen, dead, a ghost" to infer a meaning of "white or washed-out."

Read the excerpt from Brave New World. Suddenly it was as though the whole air had come alive and were pulsing, pulsing with the indefatigable movement of blood. Up there, in Malpais, the drums were being beaten. Their feet fell in with the rhythm of that mysterious heart; they quickened their pace. Their path led them to the foot of the precipice. The sides of the great mesa ship towered over them, three hundred feet to the gunwale. Which responses accurately explain how a student could determine the meaning of the word indefatigable? (Select all that apply.)

The student could use the context clue "pulsing, pulsing," in which repetition implies unceasing action. The student could make a connection to the word fatigue and infer that indefatigable relates to energy levels. The student could note the prefix in-, which means "not."

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go, in which Kathy describes Hailsham to an ailing donor who wants to hear all about it. So over the next five or six days, I told him whatever he wanted to know, and he'd lie there, all hooked up, a gentle smile breaking through. He'd ask me about the big things and the little things. About our guardians, about how we each had our own collection chests under our beds, the football, the rounders, the little path that took you all round the outside of the main house, round all its nooks and crannies, the duck pond, the food, the view from the Art Room over the fields on a foggy morning. Sometimes he'd make me say things over and over; things I'd told him only the day before, he'd ask about like I'd never told him. "Did you have a sports pavilion?" "Which guardian was your special favourite?" At first I thought this was just the drugs, but then I realised his mind was clear enough. What he wanted was not just to hear about Hailsham, but to remember Hailsham, just like it had been his own childhood. Which options most effectively explain the ways in which the imagery in the excerpt contributes to the overall meaning of the text? (Select all that apply.)

The sweet, nostalgic images of Hailsham that Kathy provides for her donor reveal the spirit of kindness and generosity she shows for him at the end of his life. The beautiful, idealized images of Hailsham that Kathy recollects for her donor represent a deceptive illusion of a privileged school campus.

Read the excerpt from Never Let Me Go. I think that was all she said. When I was discussing it with Ruth a few years ago at the centre in Dover, she claimed Miss Lucy had told us a lot more; that she'd explained how before donations we'd all spend some time first as carers, about the usual sequence of the donations, the recovery centres and so on—but I'm pretty sure she didn't. Okay, she probably intended to when she began talking. But my guess is once she'd set off, once she'd seen the puzzled, uncomfortable faces in front of her, she realised the impossibility of completing what she'd started. It's hard to say clearly what sort of impact Miss Lucy's outburst at the pavilion made. Word got round fast enough, but the talk mostly focused on Miss Lucy herself rather than on what she'd been trying to tell us. Some students thought she'd lost her marbles for a moment; others that she'd been asked to say what she had by Miss Emily and the other guardians; there were even some who'd actually been there and who thought Miss Lucy had been telling us off for being too rowdy on the veranda. But as I say there was surprisingly little discussion about what she'd said. If it did come up, people tended to say: "Well so what? We already knew all that." Which options most clearly explain how this passage provides sufficient evidence that Kathy might be an unreliable narrator? (Select all that apply.)

Words like "I'm pretty sure" and "my guess is" reveal that Kathy is uncertain about how and why things happened. Kathy reports that other people have different memories of what happened, thereby creating doubt about the accuracy of all of Kathy's memories.

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." That was only the beginning of disaster: Now the real tragedy began. Nitric oxides rained from the air, turning the sea to acid. Clouds of soot from incinerated forests darkened the sky, hiding the sun for months. Worldwide, the temperature dropped precipitously, killing off most of the plants and animals that had survived the initial cataclysm. Which option is the accurate synonym for cataclysm as it is used in the excerpt?

devastation

If an author includes past events to explain a character's present actions, he or she is using ________. Which option most accurately depicts the device the author is using?

flashback

Which option provides an accurate definition of the term implicit meaning?

meaning that is understood without being clearly or directly stated

Which option accurately defines the word negligible?

minor and unimportant

Read the paragraph. Jennifer's grandfather blew out the flame on the big wax "60" candle sitting atop his birthday cake. Then he said, "The older I get, the more I dread the inexorable passage of time." His 8-year-old granddaughter looked at him quizzically and then turned to get a piece of birthday cake from her mother. What option accurately defines inexorable as it is used in the paragraph?

not able to be stopped

Read the excerpt from "The Hammer of God." And his grandfather had been one of the most notorious bootleggers of the 21st century. Before he was killed in a shoot-out with the Canadian Medicops during an ingenious attempt to smuggle a kiloton of tobacco up Niagara Falls, it was estimated that "Smokey" had been responsible for at least 20 million deaths. Ledstone was quite unrepentant about his grandfather, whose sensational demise had triggered the repeal of the late U.S.'s third, and most disastrous, attempt at Prohibition. Which option is an accurate synonym for demise as it is used in the excerpt?

passing

What options accurately explain common purposes of flash-forward in a story? (Select all that apply.)

to characterize the protagonist or antagonist to develop the theme(s) of the story to show a future event that might or will occur

Read the sentence. Allan asked Vera to proofread his draft, and he then watched in horror as she mercilessly excised the passive voice from his sentences with slashes of her bright red pen. Which response accurately defines the word excise?

to cut out, eliminate, or remove

Read the excerpt from Brave New World. "Queer," said Lenina. "Very queer." It was her ordinary word of condemnation. "I don't like it. And I don't like that man." She pointed to the Indian guide who had been appointed to take them up to the pueblo. Her feeling was evidently reciprocated; the very back of the man, as he walked along before them, was hostile, sullenly contemptuous. The word reciprocated comes from the Latin word reciprocare, meaning __________.

to move back and forth