Unit 1 Progress Check MCQ - Charles Stepp - AP LIT

In context, the discussion of "owehzhee" in the second paragraph suggests that the narrator A - sees an attractive appearance as the best way to resist authority B - believes that Shamengwa is vain because he practices "owehzhee" C - dislikes and disapproves of men being preoccupied with their looks D - understands and sympathizes with Shamengwa's attentiveness to his appearance E - shares Shamengwa's focus on keeping a youthful appearance

understands and sympathizes with Shamengwa's attentiveness to his appearance

Which of the following best characterizes the passage as a whole? A - A retelling of the events leading to a character's downfall B - A description of an event that illuminates a longstanding cultural tradition C - A discussion of a character that provides insights into a particular community D - A collection of discrete incidents that illustrate a historic event E - A presentation of an individual who conforms to social expectations

A discussion of a character that provides insights into a particular community

Which of the following best describes the structure of the passage? A - The discussion of a singular event reveals the workings of a community. B - The description of a trip leads to a broad generalization about travel. C - A number of distinct incidents combine to form a coherent whole. D - A sequential account of an activity sheds light on an individual's character. E - A conflict between two characters leads to a revelation about friendship.

A sequential account of an activity sheds light on an individual's character.

The events recounted in the third through eighth paragraphs ("Without . . . 'I guess'") establish which of the following about Nathan? A - His keen observational powers B - His feelings of discomfort C - His resentment of Sofia D - His sudden interest in exploration E - His fascination with architecture

His feelings of discomfort

Which word best represents the way the narrator describes the setting as related in the seventh paragraph? A - Peaceful B - Quiet C - Distracting D - Gaudy E - Monstrous

Peaceful

The narrator speaks from the point of view of A - a member of a close-knit family whose knowledge is limited by his experiences B - an outsider who provides a fresh perspective on familial relationships C - a lover of nature whose passion constrains the insights he can offer D - a disinterested bystander who faithfully reports on a family's interactions E - an external presence who provides reliable insight into characters' thoughts

a member of a close-knit family whose knowledge is limited by his experiences

Which of the following best describes the structure of the passage? A - The presentation of a family conflict leads to an insight about the distant past. B - The recollection of youthful memories leads to wondering about the location of an old friend. C - The recounting of a unique family incident leads to a surprising revelation about a character. D - The conflict between differing viewpoints leads to a claim about the unknowability of the past. E - The discussion of an unusual family activity leads to a claim about human connection.

The recollection of youthful memories leads to wondering about the location of an old friend.

In context, the term "marched" in the third sentence of the third paragraph suggests which of the following about Sofia? A - She has a rebellious nature. B - She is in a hurry to arrive at her destination. C - She knows exactly where she is going. D - She is attempting to outdistance Nathan. E - She feels confident in her environment.

She feels confident in her environment.

Toward the end of the first paragraph, the references to what goes on "in one of the upstairs rooms" and to Jim Crenfew's "explosive laugh" suggest which of the following about the narrator? A - He wishes to alter the past. B - The past is very vivid to him. C - He cannot tell reality from unreality. D - He is interested in what will happen upstairs. E - Jim Crenfew was once his best friend.

The past is very vivid to him.

Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers. This passage is excerpted from Caroline Gordon's short story "Tom Rivers," published in 1933. The narrator is reminiscing with some of his cousins. We talk about cousins like these for a while, but we go on finally to people we knew more intimately, people whose characters have left us, even after all these years, something to wonder about. We speculate on how and when Robert Allard began taking morphine, and what induced Maggie McLean to turn Jim Crenfew down for a nincompoop1 like Edward Brewer. Somebody has seen the notice of Maggie's death in a New Orleans paper. We think of it, but we cannot take it in. We see her as she was when she first came to Merry Point to visit, a frail, high-spirited girl, who made us all indignant with her outrageous treatment of Jim Crenfew. We talk on like that until we have called to mind almost all the people who ever came here in the old days. We hold them in our minds until they seem to live again. I look up through the branches of the sugar tree to where a light burns dimly in one of the upstairs rooms. Girls might be dressing there for a party. At any moment, I may hear the rumblin

The yard of an old family homestead

In the first three sentences of the second paragraph ("At such . . . connection"), the narrator suggests which of the following about himself and his cousins? A - They don't want to disrupt a particular mood. B - They have a tendency to talk about themselves. C - They do not always listen when others speak. D - They each believe their own version of the past is the only correct one. E - They cannot believe that friends from the past are still with them.

They don't want to disrupt a particular mood.

In the third paragraph ("There . . . tree"), the narrator's descriptions of light falling through branches and shadows moving across the field primarily serve to A - suggest that natural cycles can explain the mysteries of life B - emphasize a difference between the regularity of nature and the unpredictability of humans C - establish a context in which Tom Rivers' actions will make sense in retrospect D - imply that something about Tom Rivers' personality would be out of place in nature E - suggest that the family's property may hold a clue to Tom Rivers' disappearance

emphasize a difference between the regularity of nature and the unpredictability of humans

The second half of the third paragraph ("When . . . played it") primarily serves to A - highlight the community's unique qualities B - explain the impact of a character's performing style C - acknowledge the narrator's limited ability to describe the music D - mourn many of the reservation residents' loss of self-knowledge E - celebrate music's ability to help listeners relive happy memories

explain the impact of a character's performing style

Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers. This passage is excerpted from Louise Erdrich's short story "Shamengwa," published in 2002. At the edge of our reservation settlement there lived an old man whose arm was twisted up winglike along his side, and who was for that reason named for a butterfly—Shamengwa. Other than his arm, he was an extremely well-made person. Anyone could see that he had been handsome, and he still cut a graceful figure, slim and of medium height. His head was covered with a startling thick mane of white hair, which he was proud of. Every few weeks, he had it carefully trimmed and styled by his daughter, Geraldine, who traveled in from the bush just to do it. Shamengwa was a man of refinement, who prepared himself carefully to meet life every day. In the Ojibwa language that is spoken on our reservation, owehzhee is the way men get themselves up—pluck stray hairs, brush each tooth, make a precise part in their hair, and, these days, press a sharp crease down the front of their blue jeans—in order to show that, although the government has tried in every way possible to destroy their manhood, they are undefeatable. Owehzhee. We still look g

a member of a community with insight into its people and their experiences

The references in the first and third paragraphs to the "mini Monticello," the "bloated Tudor cottage," the "Spanish-style mansion," and the "Moorish castle" suggest that the passage is set in A - a thinly settled area B - a country that is foreign to the characters C - a crowded urban environment D - a pretentious suburban neighborhood E - a town characterized by architectural originality

a pretentious suburban neighborhood

In the fourth paragraph, Shamengwa's decision to place his awards "on a triangular scrap of shelf high in one corner of his house" suggests that he A - attaches little importance to external recognition B - wishes to prevent the awards from being damaged C - wants his neighbors to know of his accomplishments D - does not want to be reminded about the competitions E - does not want his grandchild to play with the awards without permission

attaches little importance to external recognition

In the fourth paragraph, the narrator presents himself as A - confronting a figure from the distant past B - possessing a photographic memory C - unable to admit that a friend has disappeared D - perplexed by an event that occurred long ago E - angered by the permanence of nature and the impermanence of humanity

perplexed by an event that occurred long ago

Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers. This passage is excerpted from a short story published in 2015. Sofia and Nathan have agreed to meet and explore a stream together. When they met at the culvert the next day, Sofia was dressed in black again. Her fingernails were also painted black. She led him south, down a gently curving street of assertive mansions, her black boots gliding over the sidewalk with steps that felt like flowing water to Nathan. Sofia was carrying a new map covered with topographical lines, and she studied it as they turned west and passed a buffet of overdone tributes to assorted architectural styles: a mini Monticello here, a bloated Tudor cottage* there. "This street follows the old streambed," Sofia said. "The city buried it, like, a hundred years ago. But the water's still flowing down there. In a big drainpipe." A block later they reached another fence, and stood above another culvert from which the stream emerged, moving slower, wide and shallower, flowing into a tangle of branches and bushes. Without a word Sofia climbed the fence and landed with a splash in about an inch of water. "Technically, I'm pretty sure this is trespassing

providing the reader access to only one character's thoughts