English Final Assesment

Lines 6-9 ("And yet . . . stream") suggest which of the following about nature and humanity?

Nature lacks any intention of comforting humanity.

The poem's final two lines do which of the following?

Present a simile that resolves a contradiction described in the preceding lines

The difference between "we will be sisters!" (line 38) and "Come, my sister" (line 48) indicates that

a desire has been fulfilled

In the fourth sentence of the first paragraph ("Hitherto . . . untold"), the narrator presents which of the following contrasts regarding Mrs. Bloomfield's qualities?

What the narrator observes of those qualities versus what the narrator is willing to assume

The fifth sentence of the first paragraph ("Kindness . . . of it") indicates that the narrator has recently

become receptive to the appearance of affection

In lines 30-31 ("my husband . . . hot baths"), the primary effect of using a list is to

emphasize the speaker's detachment from her daily life

In line 14 ("and learn . . . lines"), the speaker uses a simile to

evoke a sense of deep passion and commitment

The fourth stanza (lines 37-51) makes particular use of

direct address

The first sentence of the passage and the words spoken by Chanu in the second paragraph ("I've spent . . . around") indicate that he

has had priorities other than pleasure for much of his life

The first sentence of the passage suggests that the narrator's view of Mrs. Bloomfield

has recently changed

The interaction between Chanu and his daughters in the sixth paragraph ("He turned . . . window") serves to

illustrate a contrast between Chanu's two daughters

Toward the end of the second sentence of the passage ("and express . . . authority"), the manner in which Mrs. Bloomfield conveys her opinion of the children's mother is best described as

indirect

Chanu's attempt to converse with the conductor in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth paragraphs ("Can you tell . . . from a local") indicates his

insistence upon making decisions systematically

In the context of the final stanza, the change from "drifting" (line 47) to "bursting" (line 50) suggests a change in the

intensity of the speaker's distress

The parenthetical statement in the fourth sentence of the first paragraph ("of which . . . perfections") makes use of

irony

The first stanza (lines 1-5) reveals the speaker's wish that the

light of the sunset would remain longer

In line 38, "faltered" most directly suggests that the evening seemed to

lose its forward momentum

In its characterization of Chanu, the passage conveys the

orderliness underlying his enthusiasm

The overall tone of the poem is best described as

purposeful and heartfelt

In the first and the second paragraphs respectively, Chanu's mood shifts from

purposeful to reflective

The claim that "we are two virgins" (line 49) is meant figuratively to emphasize the speaker's pursuit of

restoration and renewal

The questions in the first eight lines of the poem primarily serve to

set up an assertion about the nature of the poet's love

The speaker's primary motivation in addressing Nana is to

share in Nana's vitality

The images of "I too have the sore toe you tend with cotton" (line 19) and "our blue fingers" (line 45) serve primarily to

signify a bond between the speaker and Nana

The image presented in line 11 ("So all . . . new") most significantly implies the speaker's

skill in presenting the same thoughts in numerous poems

In line 6, the phrase "middle age" describes the

speaker's age in the poem

Line 11 ("I have kept up") is in reference to both

the "miles" (line 8) walked and the "letters" (line 12) read

The poem as a whole presents a contrast between

time and timelessness

The passage as a whole is best described as which of the following?

A character sketch conveyed through anecdote

Unlike the rest of the paragraph, the last sentence of the first paragraph ("No wonder . . . departure") does which of the following?

Expresses uncomplicated emotions

Which of the following best paraphrases the meaning of line 16, "not knowing I would be your last home"?

The speaker now provides a figurative home for Nana's memories.

"Their" and "they" (line 8) refer to which of the following?

"every word" (line 7)

In line 8, "He" refers to

"sun" (line 1)

Which of the following best describes the structure of the poem?

It begins with an evening in the present, examines the significance of a memory, and returns to a somewhat later moment the same evening.

Line 10 ("And you . . . argument") identifies which of the following about the speaker?

The abiding theme of his personal and literary focus

Which of the following best characterizes the development of the poem as a whole?

The speaker acknowledges a weakness in his writing, only to turn this weakness into a means of affirming his devotion to his beloved.

Nazneen's gesture at the end of the fifth paragraph ("She brushed . . . shoulder") is one of

affection

Throughout the passage, the narrator views Mrs. Bloomfield primarily with

ambivalence

The speaker's claim in lines 50-51 ("our lives once more perfected / and unused") suggests that the speaker and Nana have achieved

an escape from their later selves

The final stanza (lines 46-50) is characterized by

a growing resurgence of a powerful emotion

The speaker begins the poem by stating "I come back to your youth, my Nana" (line 1), but the primary transformation sought overall is

a recapturing of a sense of life's possibilities

In context, the question in line 5 ("Why write . . . ever the same") conveys the speaker's

apparent self-reproach for using poetic diction he has used before

In lines 5-8 ("Why write . . . proceed?"), the speaker most clearly implies that his poems

are easily recognizable as his because of their literary features

By "luckily, or unluckily," the narrator implies in the first sentence of the second paragraph that the comments she overheard have made her

disillusioned but alerted

The description in the middle of the first paragraph ("Chanu bought . . . head") implies that Chanu

does not normally wear such items

Shahana's complaints in the third paragraph ("You'll stink . . . with you") primarily suggest that she

feels embarrassed by her family's ways

In line 12, the speaker compares the expression of romantic love to

financial transactions

The image of drifting in lines 26-30 ("There . . . adrift") conveys the

impression of a pause in time

During the exchange between Chanu and the conductor in the fourteenth and fifteenth paragraphs ("Where've you . . . thirty years"), Chanu most likely assumes that the conductor

incorrectly assumes he is a visiting tourist

In the fifth paragraph, the sentence "She had neglected them, these feet" indicates that Nazneen's attitude toward her husband is marked by all of the following EXCEPT

indifference and contempt

All of the following shifts are introduced in the first four stanzas (lines 1-20) EXCEPT

sickness to health

Toward the end of the first paragraph, the quotation marks around the phrase "entertainment factor" imply that

the measurement is largely personal and idiosyncratic

The shift between the first and second paragraphs concerns

the narrator's opinion of Mrs. Bloomfield

In the final sentence of the passage, the narrator hopes that Mrs. Bloomfield is "rather weak than wicked" because the narrator wants to

think of Mrs. Bloomfield's behavior as unconscious rather than deliberate

Lines 41-45 ("So all . . . were naught") indicate that the revelation strikes those who experience it as

transcending feelings, thoughts, and categories