AP Lang Argument: AP Practice Q's
(REFER TO Q1) Which statement best describes the significance of the Beckett quotation in Paragraph 5 (There is ... to express")?
Writing is inherently a paradoxical endeavor
The prevailing taste of the public for anecdote has been censured and ridiculed by critics, who aspire to the character of superior wisdom: but if we consider it in a proper point of view, this taste is an incontestible proof of the good sense and profoundly philosophic temper of the present times. Of the numbers who study, or at least who read history, how few derive any advantage from their labors! The heroes of history are so decked out by the fine fancy of the professed historian; they talk in such measured prose, and act from such sublime or such diabolical motives, that few have sufficient taste, wickedness or heroism, to sympathize in their fate. Besides, there is much uncertainty even in the best authenticated antient* or modern histories; and that love of truth, which in some minds is innate and immutable, necessarily leads to a love of secret memoirs and private anecdotes. We cannot judge either of the feelings or of the characters of men with perfect accuracy from their actions or their appearance in public; it is from their careless conversations, their half-finished sentences, that we may hope with the greatest probability of success to discover their real characters. The li
a justifiable form of curiosity
(REFER TO Q20) The speaker draws on contrasts between all of the following EXCEPT
maliciousness and compassion
(REFER TO Q27) Which of the following versions of sentence 3 (reproduced below) best previews the line of reasoning in the passage? Though so different, both species domesticated themselves by joining humans for their own benefit and providing benefits in return, thus ensuring their places beside humans.
(As it is now)
(REFER TO Q20) Which of the following best describes the speaker's professed attitude toward the reputation of Jack Ketch?
Admiration verging on envy
(REFER TO Q1) Which statement best describes a major turning point in the passage?
In Paragraph 5, the author's objective analysis of laziness gives way to subjective experience.
(REFER TO Q20) In the sentence "If . . . place" (sentence 8), the author does which of the following?
Raises an objection and then overrides it with an assertion.
(REFER TO Q1) Which statement provides the best rhetorical analysis of the first sentence (Paragraph 1)?
The author adopts an authoritative stance on the topic by beginning with "There is."
Four fish, then. Or rather four archetypes of fish flesh, which humanity is trying to master in one way or another, either through the management of a wild system, through the domestication and farming of individual species, or through the outright substitution of one species for another. This is not the first time humanity has glanced across the disorderly range of untamed nature and selected a handful of species to exploit and propagate. Out of all of the many mammals that roamed the earth before the last ice age, our forebears selected four— cows, pigs, sheep, and goats—to be their principal meats.1 Out of all the many birds that darkened the primeval skies, humans chose four—chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese—to be their poultry. But today, as we evaluate and parse fish in this next great selection and try to figure out which ones will be our principals, we find ourselves with a more complex set of decisions before us. Early man put very little thought into preserving his wild food. He was in the minority in nature, and the creatures he chose to domesticate for his table were a subset of a much greater, wilder whole. He had no idea of his destructive potential or of his abilities to
a marked contrast existed between the fates of fish and humans
(REFER TO Q20) The contrast drawn between the witty man and the fool (sentence 6) emphasizes the witty man's
appreciation and the fool's lack of comprehension
(REFER TO Q1) In Paragraph 1 ("Given ... chance"), the author's primary purpose is to
assert the power of the social contract
(REFER TO Q1) At the end of the fourth paragraph, the author acknowledges that people
can control their behavior
(REFER TO Q1) In Paragraph 1, the author uses the word "table" idiomatically to discuss
civic participation
(REFER TO Q1) The author's tone in the statement "Laziness just is" (Paragraph 3) can best be described as
pragmatic
(REFER TO Q1) Based on the author's views in the first paragraph the "truly lazy" would most likely respond to an actual examination question by
refusing to enter the examination room at all
(REFER TO Q1) The author's writing in Paragraph 1 ("At bottom ... chance") is characterized by the use of
series that broaden the scope of the discussion
(REFER TO Q1) Why does the author mention Bill Gates and Valentino in Paragraph 4 ("sharing a bucket ... Valentino")?
To assert that people do not have a definitive path in life
(REFER TO Q27) In sentence 14 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide descriptive details that appeal to the audience's emotions and experiences. The recent discovery at the site of a 5,500-year-old Chinese farming village of cultivated millet isotopes in the bones of both rodents (who ate the millet) and cats (who ate the rodents) proves that agriculture brought us more than just (food [underlined]). Which of the following versions of the underlined text best achieves this purpose?
food: it also brought us those graceful, warm, furry creatures who snooze contentedly in our homes and delight us with their playful antics
(REFER TO Q20) In the context of the passage, the author probably intends the reader to find the words of Jack Ketch's wife
humorous
(REFER TO Q27) In sentence 5 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide further evidence to refute the claim that the domestication of dogs occurred when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets. Although some argue that domestication took place when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets, far more likely is that some wolves began to follow human (hunters [underlined]). Which of the following versions of the underlined text best accomplishes this goal?
hunters, drawn by the smell of cooking meat and the chance to scavenge
How easy is it to call rogue and villain, and that wittily! But how hard to make a man appear a fool, a blockhead, or a knave without using any of those opprobrious terms! To spare the grossness of the names, and to do the thing yet more severely, is to draw a full face, and to make the nose and cheeks stand out, and yet not to employ any depth of shadowing. This is the mystery of that noble trade, which yet no master can teach to his apprentice; he may give the rules, but the scholar is never the nearer in his practice. Neither is it true that this fineness of raillery is offensive. A witty man is tickled while he is hurt in this manner, and a fool feels it not. The occasion of an offense may possibly be given, but he cannot take it. If it be granted that in effect this way does more mischief; that a man is secretly wounded, and though he be not sensible himself, yet the malicious world will find it out for him; yet there is still a vast difference betwixt the slovenly butchering of a man, and the fineness of a stroke that separates the head from the body, and leaves it standing in its place. A man may be capable, as Jack Ketch's1 wife said of his servant, of a plain piece of work, a ba
"fineness of raillery" (sentence 5)
(REFER TO Q20) The sentence "Neither . . . offensive" (sentence 5) does which of the following?
Answers a possible objection.
(REFER TO Q1) In the third paragraph, the author discusses Hippocrates' theory in order to
establish the long-standing belief that habits of mind are innate
(REFER TO Q1) In the second paragraph, the author primarily implies that laziness is a
factor contributing to failure but not the sole cause
(REFER TO Q1) The author assumes a self-important tone in Paragraph 5 ("As a solid ... big answer") to
mock himself, so as to build credibility with his audience
(REFER TO Q1) In the fifth paragraph, the author suggests that "the truest answer"
requires a level of philosophical awareness that defies human expression
Fetters and headsmen were the coarse instruments that tyranny formerly employed; but the civilization of our age has perfected despotism itself, though it seemed to have nothing to learn. Monarchs had, so to speak, materialized oppression; the democratic republics of the present day have rendered it as entirely an affair of the mind as the will which it is intended to coerce. Under the absolute sway of one man the body was attacked in order to subdue the soul; but the soul escaped the blows which were directed against it and rose proudly superior. Such is not the course adopted by tyranny in democratic republics; there the body is left free, and the soul is enslaved. The master no longer says: "You shall think as I do or you shall die"; but he says: "You are free to think differently from me and to retain your life, your property, and all that you possess; but you are henceforth a stranger among your people. You may retain your civil rights, but they will be useless to you, for you will never be chosen by your fellow citizens if you solicit their votes; and they will affect to scorn you if you ask for their esteem. You will remain among men, but you will be deprived of the rights of mank
were able to condemn the foolishness that they discovered within their societies
(1) For centuries, art scholars have studied the renowned works of Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance artist, pondering how he created three-dimensional figures with such depth on flat canvases. (2) If da Vinci did have exotropia, in which an eye turns outward, he would not have been the only artist in history with that condition. (3) Christopher Tyler, a visual neuroscientist at City University of London, noticed a pattern in da Vinci's portraits and in works depicting the great artist. (4) While few self-portraits of da Vinci exist, Tyler argues that many of da Vinci's portraits reflect his appearance. (5) As the great artist himself said, the soul "guides the painter's arm and makes him reproduce himself, since it appears to the soul that this is the best way to represent a human being." (6) To test his theory that da Vinci had exotropia, Tyler studied the eye alignments of the subjects of six pieces of art that purportedly depict the Renaissance artist himself, including da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and Salvator Mundi and Andrea del Verrocchio's sculpture David. (7) The results confirmed Tyler's suspicions: da Vinci likely had exotropia, with one eye turning out at -10.3 degrees. (8) Tyl
A new theory maintains that a visual condition called exotropia, in which an eye turns outward, enabled da Vinci to manipulate his own depth perception.
(1) While dogs are highly social and easily trained, with an innate desire to please, cats are . . . well, cats. (2) But both have succeeded at the process of domestication from their wild ancestors: they are the two most popular pets in the United States. (3) Though so different, both species domesticated themselves by joining humans for their own benefit and providing benefits in return, thus ensuring their places beside humans. (4) Dogs descended from wolves almost 41,000 years ago, when humans were hunter-gatherers. (5) Although some argue that domestication took place when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets, far more likely is that some wolves began to follow human hunters. (6) Skilled at hunting in groups, they eventually assisted humans on the hunt, and, as their territorial interests merged with those of humans, they provided them with protection and warning against intruders. (7) This combination of usefulness, mutual interest, and similar social structure created a canine-human bond that has endured for millennia. (8) Cats, whose ancestors are the wildcat Felis silvestris lybica, were domesticated much later, although earlier than once believed. (9) Archaeologists lon
As any pet owner knows, dogs and cats are very different.
There is something preemptive about laziness, something that smacks of a decision to refuse all offers even before they're put on the table. The lazy don't come to the table. And I think there is a philosophical component to this reluctance. At bottom, laziness is negation, turning one's back on what others neutrally, cheerfully, or resignedly go to meet. The truly lazy—the ones who cannot bring themselves to greet and meet, to scheme and struggle, to interact on a daily basis with others—are, in effect, refusing to affix their signatures to the social contract. Given that success hinges on understanding, using, and occasionally subverting the social contract, the lazy don't stand a chance. The secret to failure is far more elusive than the secret to success. Lagging behind when one could have advanced isn't just about laziness; it's about all the things that psychoanalysis takes a rather serious view of—the absence of love, coping with anger, rationalizing failure, the reluctance to supersede or replace one's father. Heavy stuff, and perhaps true, but the acknowledgment of which never put a dime in my pocket. Laziness just is. It's like being freckled or color blind. Indeed, when the
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