English Midterm
Which of the following words best describes the mood, or overall feeling, established in "House Taken Over"? A. violent B. creepy C. depressed D. lonely
B
What happens in "House Taken Over" that demonstrates most clearly that it is a story of magical realism? A. The routine, ordinary lives of the characters contrast with the unreal and frightening takeover of the house. B. The lives of the characters are predictable and drawn in such detail that readers vividly recognize the everyday world. C. The supernatural setting, characters, and events are so unrealistic that readers are never allowed to see a parallel to the real world. D. The failure of the characters to respond realistically to events in their house by resisting the intruders invokes suspicion and distrust.
A
According to the author of "The Neglected Senses," why did students who were slightly sighted move more cautiously than those who were completely blind? A. Their vision was so poor they could not see the obstacles that stood in their way. B. They were more reluctant to accept the help of others in negotiating the hallways. C. They were trying to use what vision they had instead of utilizing their other senses. D. They did not acknowledge their blindness, so they did not benefit from the training offered to blind people.
C
In which of the following circumstances would a person's voice most likely be muffled? A. if the person were singing in a concert B. if the person were speaking calmly to a friend C. if the person were wearing a scarf over his or her mouth D. if the person were making an announcement over a loudspeaker
C
Read the following excerpt from "House Taken Over."I went down to the kitchen, heated the kettle, and when I got back with the tray of mate, I told Irene:"I had to shut the door to the passage. They've taken over the back part."After reading this excerpt how would you describe the narrator's reaction after the back section of the house is taken over? A. He is noticeably angry. B. He is surprisingly calm. C. He is confused by the strange events. D. He is distressed to lose half of their home.
D
What is realistic about "House Taken Over"? A. The brother and sister cannot understand their home's invasion. B. The house resists the nameless intruders for as long as possible. C. The outside forces are allowed to take over the house without any opposition. D. The brother and sister keep busy cleaning house and working on hobbies.
D
House Taken Over
Julio Cortazar
"The Neglected Senses" is literary nonfiction. How is it different from fiction? Choose two options. A. It explains topics. B. It includes dialogue. C. It tells real-life stories. D. It uses sensory details. E. It has figurative language.
A,C
Read the following excerpt from "House Taken Over."I went down to the kitchen, heated the kettle, and when I got back with the tray of mate, I told Irene:"I had to shut the door to the passage. They've taken over the back part."After reading this excerpt how would you describe the narrator's reaction after the back section of the house is taken over? A. He is noticeably angry. B. He is surprisingly calm. C. He is confused by the strange events. D. He is distressed to lose half of their home.
B
How are the houses similar in "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "House Taken Over"? Choose two options. A. Both are very ordinary homes. B. Both are located in urban areas. C. Both have several residents who live there. D. Both have long been in the owners' families. E. Both are large and reflect the wealth of the owners.
D,E
What is the meaning of traversed in the sentence below?We traversed the mountain, following the straying path to its peak. A. traveled across B. walked straight up C. moved north slowly D. passed on and across
A
What does the author of "The Neglected Senses" expect to learn by blindfolding herself for a walk through Lhasa? A. She expects to learn how the people of Lhasa react to the blind students. B. She expects to learn how the blind students navigate the city so confidently. C. She expects to learn what Yangchen and Choden did when they were not in school. D. She expects to learn why Yangchen and Choden seemed to enjoy walking through Lhasa.
B
Part A What can you infer about the brother and sister's economic status in "House Taken Over"? A. They have few possessions. B. They rely on friends to support them. C. They take in boarders to earn extra money. D. They have enough money to live comfortably. Part B Which of the following excerpts from "House Taken Over" best supports the inference made in Part A? A. It was pleasant to take lunch and commune with the great hollow, silent house .... B. One day I found that the drawer at the bottom of the chiffonier, replete with mothballs, was filled with shawls, white, green, lilac. C. We didn't have to earn our living, there was plenty coming in from the farms each month, even piling up. D. Only a corridor with its massive oak door separated that part from the front wing, where there was a bath, the kitchen, our bedrooms and the hall.
D,C
Which of the following things would most likely be described as obscure? A. a rare book B. a popular blog C. a daily newspaper D. a familiar magazine
A
Where is here?
Joyce Carol Oates
The Neglected Senses
Rosemary Mahoney
The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part AWhat is a reflective standpoint as it is used in "The Neglected Senses"? A. the author's use of the first-person point of view B. the author's use of dialogue throughout the selection C. the author's descriptions of the how the blind children speak, play, and behave D. the author's thoughts and feelings about her experience with Choden and Yangchen Part BWhich excerpt from the selection supports the answer to Part A? A. Unable to see that a two-hundred-pound man is sitting in the middle of a staircase, a pack of blind students will most likely fail to anticipate his anomalous presence and fall headlong over him as they attempt to skip down the stairs. B. "Tell me, girls, how do you feel? Does the ground feel steady to you?" "Yah," Yangchen said, "is always steady. No problem. And now we must turn left." "How do you know that?" "Because the sound of many televisions." C. Yangchen had a habit of humming as she walked. Each time she spoke, she had to interrupt her own humming, putting it on hold until there was silence between us again, whereupon she would resume the tune approximately where she had left off. D. I began to envy Choden's and Yangchen's skills a little. In their presence, I saw that I had been missing a great deal of what was happening in my daily life, and I realized that it was not the blind person's deficiency that was drawing me into this subject but the revelation of my own.
D,D
Appear is a verb meaning "to become visible." The prefix dis- can be added to the word to form a new word, disappear. Which answer choice best describes how the word changes once the prefix is added? A. It is still a verb but now means "vanish" or "go out of sight." B. It is now an adjective that means "vanish" or "go out of sight." C. It is now a noun that means "something that does not appear." D. It is still a verb but means "something that does not appear."
A
Why is the author of "The Neglected Senses" not aware at first of the televisions as she walks around Lhasa with Choden and Yangchen? A. She is distracted by her nervousness. B. She mistook them for distant crowd noises. C. Her hearing is not good enough to pick up the faint sound. D. The chatter of Choden and Yanchen drowned out the sound.
A
At the beginning of "House Taken Over," how do the narrator and his sister Irene spend most of their days? Choose two options. A. sleeping B. knitting C. shopping D. cleaning E. harvesting crops F. visiting with friends
B,D
How do "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "House Taken Over" differ in their approach to describing events, characters, and places? A. "The Fall of the House of Usher" calmly depicts terrifying events, while "House Taken Over" dramatically depicts terrifying events. B. "The Fall of the House of Usher" portrays realistic characters, while "House Taken Over" portrays characters who seem largely unreal. C. "The Fall of the House of Usher" vividly depicts frightening events, while "House Taken Over" calmly depicts a growing threat. D. "The Fall of the House of Usher" describes an everyday environment, while "House Taken Over" describes a dark, bleak environmen
C
What is the meaning of periphery in the sentence below?I heard the sound of a barking dog from the periphery of the park. A. center B. inner circle C. highest pitch D. outermost part
D
What is the most important reason that the author wrote "The Neglected Senses"? A. to show how blind people can learn to live more independently B. to help readers understand the life experience of two blind girls in Tibet C. to demonstrate the challenges that face many blind people, regardless of where they live D. to show readers how sighted people can miss out on things by ignoring their other senses.
D
What is the meaning of navigating in the sentence below?I was comfortable navigating the boat through choppy waters. A. moving up; going farther B. steering with both hands C. guiding on, through, or over something D. using eyesight to set a course or direction
C
In "House Taken Over," which of the following details most clearly suggest that the narrator and his sister are nervous and afraid?Choose two options. A. They intentionally stop thinking. B. They occupy themselves by cleaning. C. They prefer to spend time in their rooms. D. They often cannot fall asleep and have trouble sleeping peacefully. E. They collect French literature and reorder their father's stamp collection.
A,D
How does the narrator's response to the supernatural events in "The Fall of the House of Usher" differ from the characters' response in "House Taken Over"? A. The narrator in "The Fall of the House of Usher" pretends nothing is wrong; the characters in "House Taken Over" know what is happening and why. B. The narrator in "The Fall of the House of Usher" thinks there is a logical explanation for what is happening; the characters in "House Taken Over" do not know anything is wrong. C. The narrator in "The Fall of the House of Usher" is aware of the supernatural and seeks answers; the characters in "House Taken Over" do not confront their terror but try to ignore it. D. The narrator in "The Fall of the House of Usher" is unaware that anything is wrong until the house collapses; the characters in "House Taken Over" know something is wrong but do not think it is serious.
C
If a room can be accurately described as spacious, which of the following must be true? A. The room must be beautiful. B. People must feel hot in the room. C. Many people must be able to fit in the room. D. The room must be filled with light.
C
In "House Taken Over," what do the narrator and his sister do when the back section of the house is taken over? A. They sell the house and move away. B. They call the police and file a report. C. They move into the other part of the house. D. They open the gate and clear out the other rooms.
C
What does this passage from "The Neglected Senses" tell you about the blind children at Braille Without Borders?The students at BWB race around their school, sprinting down the hallways, turning cornerscrisply at five miles per hour, skirting tables and chairs, opening doors without groping for theknobs, reaching for objects on shelves with surprising precision. They kick soccer balls,rearrange furniture, zip their own zippers, throw things and catch things (yes, sometimes theymiss the catch and the things end up hitting them in the face), fill their own soup bowls, go forwalks downtown alone, make purchases without getting shortchanged. A. They are confident and self-assured. B. They are wild and undisciplined children. C. They are surprisingly careless and thoughtless. D. They are angry and dissatisfied with their lives.
A
Which of the following excerpts from "The Neglected Senses" best illustrates the typical first-person point of view used by memoir writers? A. I was surprised by the ease and harmony the blind students had with their physical realm and was eager enough to understand it that at Sabriye's suggestion I agreed to let myself be blindfolded and led through the streets of Lhasa by two blind teenage girls, Choden and Yangchen. B. Choden, a year younger than Yangchen, was pink-cheeked and ever smiling. She too wore a ponytail, plaid flannel shirt, denim jacket and pants, baseball cap, and hiking boots. C. Yangchen, the older of the two, interjected nervously, "Cane? Well, no. Maybe no cane. Choden must have her own cane. Otherwise she can lose her road." D. All the blind students spoke this way—We are watching you. Nice to see you. See you again. Please let me see that book. For them, the vocabulary of vision was metaphorical, a symbolic representation of human connection, interest, and concern.
A
Part AWhich option is the best statement of one of the main ideas in "House Taken Over"? A. Each time people avoid confronting their fear, they lose a little more of themselves, until, finally, they have lost everything. B. People who live in large homes lose track of how much space they have; the space becomes meaningless, and soon they no longer need it at all. C. Some people have many belongings and do not seem to care, but when they lose everything, they realize how important those belongings were to them. D. People who do not build relationships with outsiders will regret this decision, because eventually they will need the support of others, and it will be too late. Part BWhich excerpt from the story best supports the answer to Part A? A. We liked the house because ... it kept the memories of great-grandparents, our paternal grandfather, our parents and the whole of childhood. B. Irene and I got used to staying in the house by ourselves, which was crazy, eight people could have lived in that place and not have gotten in each other's way. C. Irene never bothered anyone. Once the morning housework was finished, she spent the rest of the day on the sofa in her bedroom, knitting. D. "I had to shut the door to the passage. They've taken over the back part."... "In that case," she said, picking up her needles again, "we'll have to live on this side."
A,D
The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part AWhy was the author of "The Neglected Senses" so surprised at how Choden and Yangchen found their way around Lhasa using sensory information as cues to where they were? A. She was accustomed to depending upon sight alone to find her way rather than by relying on other senses. B. She thought Choden and Yangchen would negotiate the city purely by relying upon their memories of the streets. C. She had always paid careful attention to senses other than sight and had found them inadequate for finding her way. D. She thought her own senses were sharper than those of Choden and Yangchen because she could visually check her surroundings to confirm their accuracy. Part B Which passage from the selection supports the answer to Part A? A. They know their realm so well that after a few days at the school, I began to forget that they were blind and would not have been entirely surprised to find a blind child successfully juggling three apples or using the banister as a balance beam. B. Until Yangchen mentioned it, I had not noticed the sound of many televisions. I had vaguely heard some background noise beyond us, an insignificant presence at the periphery of my attention, but distracted by my nervousness, I had not identified it. C. The girls coaxed me forward with their slender arms, never breaking their stride. I heard passing voices speaking Tibetan and Chinese, the sound of a small spluttering engine like that of a generator or an idling motorbike, the distant shrieks of children.... D. I had detected very little of what was taking place around me on this walk, perhaps because I was nervous and disoriented, but also because I was so used to navigating with my eyes that my other senses, relative to the senses of the blind girls, were atrophied.
A,D
Choden tells the author that she is blind because a cow kicked her mother in the stomach while she was pregnant with Choden. According to "The Neglected Senses," how does the author view this explanation? A. She thinks Choden's blindness is a result of an illness she contracted while still an infant. B. She thinks Choden believes the blindness is a result of karmic retribution, or something she did is a previous life. C. She thinks Choden's blindness was more likely the result of some accident after Choden was born. D. She thinks the kick damaged the visual network of the unborn child at a time when it was most vulnerable.
B
Effort is a noun that means "exertion" or "something done by force or work." The suffix -less, meaning "without" or "lacking," can be added to the word to form a new word, effortless. Once the suffix is added, how does the meaning or part of speech change? A. It is still a noun but means "reduced exertion or work." B. It is now an adjective meaning "without exertion or work." C. It is now an adverb meaning "tirelessly or without growing weary." D. It is now a verb meaning "to put forth great effort" or "to do hard work."
B
Part AWhat is the narrative tone of "House Taken Over" that contributes most clearly to the magical realism of the story? A. humorous even when describing sad events B. matter-of-fact even when describing mysterious events C. sentimental even when describing meaningless events D. tense even when describing ordinary events Part BWhich excerpt from the story best supports the answer to Part A? A. Irene turned down two suitors for no particular reason, and María Esther went and died on me before we could manage to get engaged. B. I hurled myself against the door before it was too late and shut it, leaned on it with the weight of my body; luckily, the key was on our side; moreover, I ran the great bolt into place, just to be safe. C. The first few days were painful, since we'd both left so many things in the part that had been taken over. My collection of French literature, for example, was still in the library. D. Whenever Irene talked in her sleep, I woke up immediately and stayed awake. I never could get used to this voice from a statue or a parrot, a voice that came out of the dreams, not from a throat.
B,C
Read this passage from "The Neglected Senses" that describes the author's experience after she has blindfolded herself and begun walking up the street with Choden and Yangchen. The girls positioned themselves on either side of me, hooked their arms through mine, and weheaded up the street. Immediately I had the sensation that the ground beneath my feet wastilting. Sound seemed to become louder, smells became stronger, and the breeze on my facefelt more forceful and distracting. I tripped on a raised lip of pavement, and the girls quicklytightened their grip on my elbows to keep me from falling. The dragging clicking of one of thecanes on the pavement sounded for all the world like the jittering ball in a spinning roulette wheel.What is the most accurate conclusion that can be drawn from this passage about the senses? A. All our senses are needed to confidently go about even ordinary daily activities. B. Because they cannot see, the blind need much assistance to do everyday tasks. C. When we cannot see, we immediately become more aware of our other senses. D. Even blindfolded, a sighted person cannot fully appreciate the experience of being blind.
C
