ENGL 12 SEM 2
Which story is most likely a work of Postmodern literature?
A drama in which the characters wait for a bus they all know will never arrive
In a news story about the aftermath of a hurricane, which image would most likely convey the implicit message that viewers should be worried for their safety?
A group of looters ransacking a convenience store
Which story is MOST likely from the Romantic era?
A misunderstood girl discovers a society of pixies in the woods outside her country home.
Which story premise MOST clearly fits the Gothic genre?
A person commits a terrible crime, which he sees and relives every time he looks in a mirror.
In a literary analysis essay, what is one purpose that a body paragraph may fulfill?
Addressing a counterclaim
You are creating a website for a literary agency: a company that helps writers find publishers for their books. Which information on the website is best presented using bullet points?
All the agents that writers can send work to
Read this passage from a procedural document: Are you tired of your computer going blue on you in the middle of a meeting? Does your thermostat make your house feel like the Sahara Desert? Are your grandkids getting sick of bailing you out every time your TV is on the fritz? Then call Guardian Angel Electronics for all your maintenance needs. Which part of the passage most clearly indicates the intended audience?
Are your grandkids getting sick of bailing you out every time your TV is on the fritz?
Which argument is most likely to appeal to a hostile audience?
Because stockyards hurt the atmosphere, avoiding meat can actually help the environment.
Which stereotype was applied to doctors during the Gothic period?
Body snatchers
Read this excerpt from "The Lady's Dressing-Room" by Jonathan Swift: Five Hours, (and who can do it less in?)By haughty Celia spent in Dressing; The Goddess from her Chamber issues, Array'd in Lace, Brocades and Tissues. Which statement most clearly makes an inference about the poem?
By asking who can prepare in less than five hours, the speaker is actually drawing attention to how extreme that amount of time is.
Which statement most clearly evaluates a speaker's use of figurative language?
By comparing the economy to a ticking time bomb, the mayor reminded the audience just how serious the problem is.
In this conversation, which group discussion technique does Kam most clearly show? REGGIE: Since the dragon in John Gardner's Grendel represents Grendel's evil side, which character represents his good side? ANNA: Probably Unferth. Beowulf is too emotionless and inhuman to really seem like a symbol of morality. KAM: That doesn't seem right to me. I'm not sure the dragon represents part of Grendel at all. Instead, he may simply represent the universe itself, which in Grendel's mind is uncaring and absurd.
Challenging ideas
Read this passage: I respectfully object to your suggestion that we must abandon our colonies. To do so would throw the island peoples who live there into chaos. Just as parents must protect their children, so too must we defend the islanders from lawlessness. Which word most clearly indicates an imperialistic attitude?
Children
Which story best illustrates the idea that women often suffer unfair disadvantages at work?
Despite Clarissa's excellent performance and money-saving ideas, she doesn't get the promotion. As her boss, Mr. Green, puts it, she "needs to do something different with her hair."
Read this passage from Winston Churchill's "Their Finest Hour" speech: During the last few days we have successfully brought off the great majority of the troops we had on the line of communication in France; and seven-eighths of the troops we have sent to France since the beginning of the war — that is to say, about 350,000 out of 400,000 men — are safely back in this country. Which of Churchill's arguments in BEST supported by evidence in this passage?
Great Britain has the resources to defend itself from German attacks.
Which sentence BEST describes how Victor in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein develops over the course of the novel?
He becomes gradually more obsessive as the tragedy in his life increases
Which detail from Churchill's "Their Finest Hour" speech is most closely related to his main purpose?
His call for the British people to prepare for war
In this conversation, which group discussion technique does Dmitri most clearly use? MIRIAM: The style guide says that in a webzine like this, you should capitalize every word in an article's title. LOLA: I thought that in webzines you only capitalize the first word in a title. DMITRI: Are we sure that Datapitfalls.com actually counts as a "webzine"? MIRIAM: Actually, I don't know. Since this is our main source, we'd better find out.
Identifying missing information
Read this passage: After seeing the way the cowboys brawled and bloodied one another's noses over the slightest insult, I decided that announcing to them that I, a city slicker, was their new leader (because my father said so) might be met with some criticism. How does the understatement in this passage reveal the point of view?
It shows the author's amused detachment from the subject matter.
Read this passage from "Fireside Chat 19" by Franklin Delano Roosevelt: In 1931, ten years ago, Japan invaded Manchukuo — without warning. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia — without warning. In 1938, Hitler occupied Austria — without warning. In 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia — without warning. Later in '39, Hitler invaded Poland — without warning. In 1940, Hitler invaded Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg — without warning. Which statement BEST explains how the structure of the excerpt effective?
It uses repetition to demonstrate the pattern of the Axis attacks.
In this conversation, which group discussion technique does CJ most clearly show? TRISH: There are so many references in the book to people and situations I've never heard of that I can't tell if the book is just too dense or if I would understand it better if I had been around when the book was first published. CJ: I had the same problem. I don't feel like I'm in a good position to evaluate it. What we need to do is find reviews of the book that came out just after it was published. TRISH: Sounds good to me.
Making an objective
Which statement describes how the language of a text develops a theme?
The narrator's constant use of the word "girl" to describe his adult wife suggests the inequality between men and women at the forefront of the novel.
Which sentence most clearly addresses an author or narrator's point of view?
The narrator's use of understatement when describing the dinner party clearly showed her surprise.
Read this headline from a newspaper: Criminal in Kidnapping Case Grilled by Police Which rewrite of the headline is more neutral but keeps the same overall meaning?
Police Question Suspect in Kidnapping Case
Read this text from a pamphlet: Zap Pest Control can help with: -Mice -Termites -Roaches -Ants -Fleas -Bedbugs Which type of organization is the pamphlet most clearly using?
Problem-solution
Which statement describes a major difference between Roosevelt's ultimate purpose in his "Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation" and Stalin's ultimate purpose in his radio broadcast on July 3, 1941?
Roosevelt's purpose is to make it clear that Americans are in a state of war. Stalin's purpose is to rally the Soviets to defeat the Germans.
Read this text: The big numbers that you see at either end of an airport runway stand for the direction an airplane must face to land there. For example, the numbers "09" mean that an airplane landing at that end of the runway must be facing 090 degrees — in other words, east. The opposite end of the runway will say "27," or 270 degrees: west. If this runway runs parallel to another runway, one will say "27R," which means right, and the other will say "27L," which means left. Which heading or subheading would be most appropriate for this text?
Runways: What the Numbers Mean
Read this passage from A Visit to Europe by T. N. Mukharji: Of course, every nation in the world considers other nations as savages or at least much inferior to itself. It was so from the beginning and it will be so as long as human nature will retain its present character. We did not therefore wonder that the common people should take us for barbarians, awkward as we were in every respect. They have very strict notions of dress, manners and the general bearing of a man, any deviation from which is seriously noticed. Which two ideas related to colonialism and imperialism are most clearly expressed in this passage?
Seeing others as inferior; classifying people by group
Which sentence most clearly describes a theme?
The situation of love not being returned is introduced every time the two characters fail to express how they feel about each other.
Read this passage: After hearing about the ridiculous Pookie and Mitch movie during every commercial break for the past two months, I can't tell you how excited I was to finally go see this so-called "cinematic masterpiece" after my friends forced me to come along. Let's just say that it fulfilled all my expectations. Which sentence best describes the narrator's point of view in this excerpt?
She cares very little for Pookie and Mitch.
Read this passage: My fellow Americans, Proposition 11 will simply not work. Taking money away from education to pay for more law enforcement and bigger prisons is not the solution, not when superior education has been shown to keep Americans free from a life of crime in the first place Which statement most accurately assesses the speaker's use of rhetoric?
She uses logos to appeal to her listeners' common sense
Read this passage from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: But, in drawing the picture of my early days, I must not omit to record those events which led, by insensible steps, to my after tale of misery; for when I would account to myself for the birth of that passion, which afterwards ruled my destiny, I find it arose, like a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten sources; but, swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, swept me onwards to my fate. Which two themes are most clearly developed in this passage?
Small choices that lead to serious outcomes; innocence versus experience
Read this passage: I'm normally a kind and understanding person, but my wedding is my special day. Therefore, I'm going to say this just once: Don't buy me a gift that's not listed on my registry. And no, I don't care that the cheapest items on the registry are $500. You have time to save up, and it's a special occasion. You still want to be my friend, don't you? What implicit theme does this passage most clearly develop?
Some friends are worse than enemies.
Read this passage from Joseph Stalin's radio broadcast from July 3, 1941: Non-aggression pacts are pacts of peace between two States. It was such a pact that Germany proposed to us in 1939. Could the Soviet Government have declined such a proposal? I think that not a single peace-loving State could decline a peace treaty with a neighboring State even though the latter was headed by such fiends and cannibals as Hitler and Ribbentrop. Which statement makes a reasonable makes a reasonable inference about the passage?
Stalin's need to defend the nonaggression pact shows his wariness of critics.
Overall, how does the tone of Joseph Stalin's radio broadcast on July 3, 1941, differ from the tone of Winston Church's "Their Finest Hour" speech?
Stalin's tone is defensive and aggressive; Churchill's tone is grave and reasonable.
Read this passage: BOSS: Your report is full of typos, you spelled my name wrong, and it has nothing at all to do with what we've been working on these past few weeks. Everybody else in the company gives me excellent reports. Why can't you? EMPLOYEE: [pulls earbuds from his ears and turns the volume down on his MP3 player] I'm sorry, can you repeat all that? I wasn't paying attention .What is most likely the implied conflict in this play?
The employee doesn't respect his boss or his work.
Read this passage from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein: "I looked on the valley beneath; vast mists were rising from the rivers which ran through it, and curling in thick wreaths around the opposite mountains, whose summits were hid in the uniform clouds, while rain poured from the dark sky, and added to the melancholy impression I received from the objects around me. Alas! why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute; it only renders them more necessary beings." How does the setting in this passage most clearly help develop the character of Victor?
The spectacular scenery clears his head and makes him more reflective.
Read this passage from "Letter to George III, 1793" by Emperor Qian Long: Our dynasty's majestic virtue has penetrated unto every country under Heaven, and Kings of all nations have offered their costly tribute by land and sea. As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country's manufactures. What is the author's purpose in this passage?
To indicate the superiority of his country over George III's
Read this introduction paragraph from an essay: In a story, a "Mary Sue" is a character who is an idealized version of the author. A Mary Sue is good-looking, well liked, talented, and flawless. Mary Sues are also incredibly boring characters. Unfortunately, the Mary Sue has become the default hero in Hollywood films in recent years. This trend started in the 1990s and has been getting worse in all storytelling media: TV, movies, and novels. Which sentence is most likely the thesis statement?
Unfortunately, the Mary Sue has become the default hero in Hollywood films in recent years.
In this conversation, which discussion technique does Emilio MOST clearly show? MARK: It doesn't make any sense that Rhea abandons her family farm in chapter 20. In the whole novel, she has never shown any sign that she's the kind of person who gives up that easily. EMILIO: Actually, I think she is that sort of person. In chapter 13, she avoids working on the farm so she can go fishing instead. She may love her family, but she doesn't love anything about the farm itself.
Using evidence to support your conclusions