2011 First Semester Exam study guide

2011 First Semester Exam

Multiple Choice

Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Comprehension

The questions below refer to the selections "from On Nonviolent Resistance"; "from Letter from Birmingham City Jail."

____ 1. King justifies breaking some laws but upholding other laws when he —
a.
argues that the laws made by whites do not apply to blacks
b.
maintains that the existing laws are unjust because they are not applied equally
c.
argues that an unjust law does not have to be upheld
d.
claims that only laws made by the majority are valid

____ 2. According to King, an unjust law is a law that —
a.
is applied unfairly
c.
cannot be enforced
b.
harms some people
d.
does not agree with moral law

____ 3. King develops his arguments primarily though —
a.
comparison and contrast
c.
advantages and disadvantages
b.
time order
d.
telling a personal story

____ 4. What paradox does King use to conclude his essay?
a.
Advocating the overthrow of the government strengthens the government.
b.
Respectfully breaking an unjust law expresses the highest regard for law.
c.
Anarchy is a healthy way to maintain a democracy.
d.
Laws that are not written down are not laws.

Comprehension
The questions below refer to the selection "from Resistance to Civil Government."
____ 5. What view of government does Thoreau express in the opening paragraph?
a.
Government should govern as little as possible.
b.
All government should be abolished.
c.
People need government to protect them from foreign invasions.
d.
The best government is a democracy.

____ 6. What is Thoreau’s opinion of the Mexican war that was being fought when he wrote this essay?
a.
The war is necessary to repel invasion.
b.
The war will help America assert its world superiority.
c.
The Mexicans will welcome American education and freedoms.
d.
A few people caused the war by using the government as their tool.

____ 7. In the second paragraph, to what does Thoreau compare the government?
a.
India rubber
c.
A smoking gun
b.
A wooden gun
d.
A big machine

____ 8. In Thoreau’s view, the practical reason the majority rules in a democracy is that the —
a.
system satisfies most people
b.
majority opinion is always the right opinion
c.
majority has more physical power on its side
d.
majority opinion is more likely to be correct than the minority system

____ 9. What does Thoreau ask for instead of no government?
a.
An end to all taxes
c.
A better government at once
b.
Increased trade and commerce
d.
New elected officials

____ 10. Thoreau thinks that if people want a better government, they should —
a.
withhold all tax payments until government improves
b.
go to jail to protest poor government
c.
speak out about the kind of government they want
d.
write to their elected officials

____ 11. Thoreau’s main hope for the democracy of his time was that it would —
a.
disappear as people stopped voting
b.
progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy
c.
abolish poll taxes
d.
be one step along the route to a more perfect state

____ 12. Thoreau suggests that slavery could be abolished in America by —
a.
slaves rebelling against their masters all throughout the country
b.
one man refusing to support slavery and going to jail for it
c.
a group of honest men stepping in and abolishing slavery
d.
a compromise reached between the government and slaveholders

____ 13. After Thoreau is jailed, he —
a.
loses all respect for the government and pities it
b.
is appalled that he is punished
c.
is angry about losing his freedom
d.
worries that he will lose his voting privileges

____ 14. Thoreau’s primary purpose in this essay is to persuade people to —
a.
call for an immediate end to the government
b.
rebel against an unjust war
c.
follow their individual conscience
d.
devote themselves to eliminating all wars

Literary Focus: Paradox
The questions below refer to the selection "from Resistance to Civil Government."
____ 15. What is a paradox?
a.
A statement that appears self-contradictory but reveals a truth
b.
The repetition of initial consonant sounds in several words in a sentence
c.
A reference to a well-known place, event, person, work of art, or other work of literature
d.
A brief story that gets the reader’s interest and sheds light on the writer’s main idea and theme

____ 16. Which of the following statements describes a paradoxical situation in the selection?
a.
"For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be . . ."
b.
"I felt as if I alone of all my townsmen had paid my tax."
c.
"It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West."
d.
"I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward."

____ 17. What does Thoreau mean by the following paradox: "That government is best which governs not at all"?
a.
All government must be immediately abolished.
b.
All government is inherently bad for the people being governed.
c.
Effective governments allow people to rule themselves.
d.
Government can never really control people; all power is an illusion.

____ 18. Thoreau uses paradoxes because he believes that —
a.
contradictory statements never reveal the truth
b.
life is complex, so complicated statements should be used to reveal the truth about it
c.
the truth can always be revealed by using descriptive details
d.
truth can be revealed by examining contradictions

Comprehension
The questions below refer to the selection "from Self-Reliance."
____ 19. What is the point of the comparison Emerson makes between the kernel of corn and human effort?
a.
You must work hard to grow corn just as you must work hard to achieve your potential.
b.
People cannot survive without food, so we must all work very hard.
c.
As corn grows slowly, so it takes a long time for people to realize their potential.
d.
A kernel of corn is small and hard to see. In a similar way, our potential is often hidden and hard to see.

____ 20. According to Emerson, how do we feel after we have worked hard for a goal?
a.
Angry and cheated
c.
Annoyed and tired
b.
Relieved and happy
d.
Despairing and gloomy

____ 21. What truth must we all accept?
a.
We all need friends.
b.
We must stay childlike to appreciate the world.
c.
We must accept the place that providence has found for us.
d.
It is acceptable to be a coward.

____ 22. What is Emerson’s opinion of society?
a.
Society helps people achieve their potential.
b.
We must accept society’s rules.
c.
Society is all that stands between us and the forces of chaos.
d.
Society conspires to deny people their freedom.

____ 23. Emerson states that the most sacred part of a person is —
a.
the work that they accomplish
c.
the shadow that they cast on the world
b.
their courage to be a nonconformist
d.
the integrity of their individual mind

____ 24. What does Emerson call "the hobgoblin of little minds"?
a.
Consistency
c.
Cowardice
b.
Society
d.
Conspiracy

____ 25. According to Emerson, what makes someone a fully realized person?
a.
Fitting in with others
c.
Following their own conscience
b.
Achieving their potential
d.
Staying pure and wise in spirit

____ 26. Emerson says we are "ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents." Which of the following items best describes what he means by "that divine idea"?
a.
An image of the world
b.
God
c.
Each person’s unique character, as conceived by God
d.
A wonderful and exciting plan of action

____ 27. The tone of Emerson’s essay is best described as —
a.
neutral
c.
despairing
b.
uplifting
d.
gloomy

____ 28. Which of the following statements best states one of Emerson’s philosophies?
a.
Turnabout is fair play.
c.
Misery loves company.
b.
Keep your head in the clouds.
d.
Be true to yourself.

Literary Focus: Figures of Speech
The questions below refer to the selection "from Self-Reliance."
____ 29. Figures of speech are —
a.
the beat, or set pattern of syllables, in a literary work
b.
a pattern of internal rhyme
c.
different ways that people speak to each other
d.
not intended to be taken literally

____ 30. Emerson uses the following metaphor: ". . . no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till." Which of the following best describes what that "plot of ground" represents?
a.
The land a person has been given
b.
A person’s food
c.
A person’s individual duties
d.
The circumstances an individual is born into

Reading Skills: Understanding Figures of Speech
The questions below refer to the selection "from Self-Reliance."
____ 31. "Trust thyself: Every heart vibrates to that iron string."
a.
If you trust yourself, you will come up against a steel wall.
b.
Trust yourself, and you will be strong.
c.
If you trust yourself, you will be broken as easily as a string.
d.
Trust yourself, and you will become a musician.

____ 32. "Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again. . . ."
a.
It is difficult to speak eloquently and correctly.
b.
Telling the truth is dangerous, so don’t do it.
c.
Say what’s on your mind in the strongest way you can.
d.
Say what you want regardless of whether you have thought about it.

____ 33. Romanticism celebrated all of the following except —
a.
the future growth of industry
c.
imagination over science
b.
feeling over reason
d.
nature over civilization

____ 34. A group of Romantics called the Transcendentalists believed that —
a.
America was destined to conquer the world
b.
everything in the physical world is a reflection of the Divine Soul
c.
true art could only be created by Americans on American soil
d.
art was the best way to bring about social change

____ 35. The movement that furthered American education, self-improvement, and cultural development was called —
a.
rationalism
c.
Romanticism
b.
the Fireside Poetic movement
d.
the lyceum movement

____ 36. Which of the following is an opinion held by the American Romantic writers?
a.
Cities are centers of corruption and ugliness.
b.
European literature has no traditions worth considering.
c.
Westward expansion is dangerous.
d.
Ordinary readers do not appreciate Romantic ideals.

____ 37. American Romantic writers rejected rationalism because they believed that —
a.
logical thought is not possible
b.
scientific thinking hadn’t been fully developed
c.
the rationalist tradition had not produced any worthwhile writers
d.
intuition and imagination yield greater truths

____ 38. The writings of James Fenimore Cooper explored —
a.
the subconscious
b.
frontier communities and Native Americans
c.
the danger and evil of urban America
d.
intuition

____ 39. Cooper’s best-known character, Natty Bumppo, represents —
a.
a worldly, sophisticated hero
c.
the American Romantic hero
b.
the American rationalist hero
d.
a person uncomfortable in nature

____ 40. The American Romantic poets —
a.
used typically English themes and forms
b.
created a uniquely "American" voice
c.
emphasized sophisticated real-life figures
d.
valued logic over emotion

____ 41. As literary models, American Romantic poets used —
a.
ideas drawn from the novels of the American Romantics
b.
poetic traditions established by European Romantics
c.
the rhythms and rhymes of folk songs
d.
experimental forms created by younger poets

____ 42. The Dark Romantics explored —
a.
the reasons for the decay of European society and growth of American society
b.
the civilization of the Goths
c.
the psychological effects of sin and guilt as well as the conflict between good and evil
d.
lessons to be drawn from traditional religions

Comprehension
The questions below refer to the selection "The Devil and Tom Walker."
____ 43. What is the story’s setting?
a.
A Midwestern frontier pine forest, circa 1608
b.
The New Orleans, Louisiana, riverfront, circa 1680
c.
A forest near Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1727
d.
A pond deep in the Maine forest, circa 1850

____ 44. Tom Walker might best be described as —
a.
having been beaten down by bad luck
c.
crafty but very lazy
b.
basically kind but misunderstood
d.
stingy and cruel but courageous

____ 45. Tom Walker’s wife is best described as —
a.
very generous and much loved by her neighbors
b.
kind toward her husband, but cruel to others
c.
yearning for companionship
d.
fierce shrew, always nagging and yelling

____ 46. In this story the woods are used to symbolize —
a.
evil
c.
isolation
b.
goodness
d.
greed

____ 47. Which of the following phrases is an example of Irving’s use of humor?
a.
"Tom consoled himself for the loss of his property, with the loss of his wife, for he was a man of fortitude."
b.
"He knows how to play his cards when pretty sure of his game."
c.
"He insisted that the money found through his means should be employed in his service."
d.
" ‘You shall extort bonds, foreclose mortgages, drive the merchants to bankruptcy—.’ "

____ 48. What does Irving use to symbolize hypocrisy and hidden evil?
a.
The devil’s deal with Tom
b.
Mrs. Walker’s heart and liver, wrapped in the checked apron
c.
The flourishing trees that are rotten to the core
d.
The Walkers’ silver teapots and spoons

____ 49. What enabled you to predict that the figure that appears to Tom in the forest is the devil?
a.
He appears when Tom kicks the skull.
c.
He has a hoarse, growling voice.
b.
He has large red eyes.
d.
Tom is instantly frightened.

____ 50. Tom’s wife decides to go into the forest because she —
a.
wants to escape from Tom’s unkindness
b.
decides to make her own deal with the devil
c.
gets lost on her way to the market
d.
wants to pick some herbs and wild mushrooms for their meager meal

____ 51. How does Tom die?
a.
The people he has cheated rise up against him.
b.
He falls off his horse and gets trampled.
c.
The devil is tricked by his own words.
d.
He is killed by Native Americans.

____ 52. What happens to Tom Walker’s money at the end of the story?
a.
It is given to the townspeople.
c.
It goes to Mrs. Walker.
b.
The townspeople seize it.
d.
It turns into cinders and ashes.

Literary Focus: Mood
The questions below refer to the selection "The Devil and Tom Walker."
____ 53. What feeling about the setting does Irving want to arouse?
a.
fear
c.
anger
b.
optimism
d.
hope

____ 54. Which item best contributes to the story’s mood?
a.
"The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks . . . which made it dark at noonday. . ."
b.
". . . stepping from tuft to tuft of rushes and roots . . ."
c.
"At length he arrived at a firm piece of ground, which ran like a peninsula into the deep bosom of the swamp."
d.
"Nothing remained of the old Indian fort but a few embankments, gradually sinking to the level of the surrounding earth."

____ 55. "The Devil and Tom Walker" is based on the archetype of a person who —
a.
is unhappy in marriage
c.
sells his soul to the devil
b.
lives in New England
d.
hunts for treasure

Reading Skills: Making Predictions
The question below refers to the selection "The Devil and Tom Walker."
____ 56. Like Tom Walker, no doubt you weren’t surprised by the appearance of the devil. You were prepared because you knew that Tom —
a.
had read or heard about other people meeting with the devil
b.
had met the devil before
c.
is the kind of man who is not surprised by anything
d.
took the shortcut in order to meet the devil

Comprehension
The questions below refer to the selection "The Raven."
____ 57. At first, the speaker thinks the noise he hears is —
a.
his enemy stalking him
c.
someone at the door
b.
the wind blowing the door open
d.
his friends playing tricks on him

____ 58. When the narrator opens the door and looks out, he half expects to find —
a.
a Greek god come to life in the form of a bird
b.
a group of angels
c.
the woman he had loved, who has died
d.
the image of his own death

____ 59. Why does the poet have the Raven perch on the bust of the Greek goddess Pallas?
a.
Ravens were sacred to the Greeks.
b.
This association suggests that the Raven is wise.
c.
The speaker associates Pallas with his dead love, Lenore.
d.
The poet is suggesting that this poem takes place in ancient Greece.

____ 60. At first encounter, the speaker’s reaction to the Raven is —
a.
revulsion
c.
anger
b.
fear
d.
amusement

____ 61. When the Raven says, "Nevermore," the speaker takes this response to be —
a.
the bird’s name
c.
a message from Lenore
b.
a prophecy
d.
the words of an evil spirit

____ 62. The narrator guesses that the Raven says, "Nevermore," because —
a.
it had been listening to the narrator mourning for Lenore
b.
its former master was an unhappy person
c.
Lenore had originally kept it as a pet
d.
the narrator’s enemy had taught it this word to torture the narrator

____ 63. Near the end of the poem, the narrator asks the Raven two questions to which the bird answers, "Nevermore." These questions concern —
a.
the success of the speaker’s literary works
b.
Lenore’s love for the speaker
c.
what will happen after death
d.
the bird’s purpose in visiting the speaker

____ 64. Readers can infer from the poem’s conclusion that the speaker will —
a.
be reunited with Lenore
b.
die soon
c.
never escape his despair
d.
make his sorrow the subject of a great poem

____ 65. The speaker can best be described as a —
a.
lonely, elderly man longing for visitors
b.
magician conjuring up evil spirits
c.
poet seeking inspiration for a new work
d.
melancholy person trying to forget a great tragedy

____ 66. What is the poem’s mood?
a.
Reassuring
c.
Soothing
b.
Romantic
d.
Despairing

Literary Focus: Sound Effects
The questions below refer to the selection "The Raven."
____ 67. In which quotation below are the underlined words an example of sound effects created by alliteration?
a.
"What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore / Meant in croaking ‘Nevermore.’"
b.
"Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! / Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!"
c.
"Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning, / Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before."
d.
"On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore— / Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"

____ 68. Which word in the following passage is an example of onomatopoeia?
"This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, ‘Lenore!’" / Merely this and nothing more."
a.
murmured
c.
merely
b.
echo
d.
Lenore

____ 69. Which of the following lines does not have internal rhyme?
a.
"Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling . . ."
b.
"Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken . . ."
c.
"And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor."
d.
"Till I scarcely more than muttered ‘Other friends have flown before— . . .’"

____ 70. What does the word croaking suggest in the following lines:
"What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore / Meant in croaking ‘Nevermore’"?
a.
eating
c.
dying
b.
flying
d.
repeating

2011 First Semester Exam
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ANS: C OBJ: 11.2.2.5 (assertion / claim)
2. ANS: D OBJ: 11.2.2.5 (assertion / claim)
3. ANS: A
OBJ: 11.2.1.14 (analyzing persuasion / arguments), 11.2.1.2 (comparing and contrasting)
4. ANS: B OBJ: 11.1.9.25 (paradox), 11.2.1.14 (analyzing persuasion / arguments)
5. ANS: A OBJ: 11.2.1.9 (identifying the main idea)
6. ANS: D OBJ: 11.2.2.5 (assertion / claim)
7. ANS: B OBJ: 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension)
8. ANS: C OBJ: 11.2.2.5 (assertion / claim)
9. ANS: C OBJ: 11.2.2.5 (assertion / claim)
10. ANS: C OBJ: 11.2.2.5 (assertion / claim)
11. ANS: D OBJ: 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension)
12. ANS: B OBJ: 11.2.2.5 (assertion / claim)
13. ANS: A OBJ: 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension)
14. ANS: C OBJ: 11.2.1.18 (determining the writer's purpose)
15. ANS: A OBJ: 11.1.9.25 (paradox)
16. ANS: B OBJ: 11.1.9.25 (paradox)
17. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.9.28 (pun)
18. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.9.25 (paradox), 11.2.1.18 (determining the writer's purpose)
19. ANS: A OBJ: 11.2.1.9 (identifying the main idea)
20. ANS: B OBJ: 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension)
21. ANS: C OBJ: 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension)
22. ANS: D OBJ: 11.2.1.8 (making inferences)
23. ANS: D OBJ: 11.2.1.8 (making inferences)
24. ANS: A OBJ: 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension)
25. ANS: C OBJ: 11.2.1.8 (making inferences)
26. ANS: C OBJ: 11.2.1.8 (making inferences)
27. ANS: B OBJ: 11.1.9.39 (tone)
28. ANS: D
OBJ: 11.1.10.2 (Analyze the philosophical ideas presented in literary works.), 11.1.14 (Understand the characteristics typical of an author's work¸ and demonstrate knowledge of individual works by an author.)
29. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.9.13 (figurative language / figures of speech)
30. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.9.13 (figurative language / figures of speech), 11.1.9.22 (metaphor)
31. ANS: B OBJ: 11.1.9.13 (figurative language / figures of speech), 11.2.1.13 (paraphrasing)
32. ANS: C
OBJ: 11.1.9.13 (figurative language / figures of speech), 11.1.9.27 (personification), 11.2.1.13 (paraphrasing)
33. ANS: A
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension)
34. ANS: B
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension), 11.1.6 (Evaluate genres and styles particular to a literary tradition.)
35. ANS: D
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension)
36. ANS: A
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension), 11.1.6 (Evaluate genres and styles particular to a literary tradition.)
37. ANS: D
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension), 11.1.6 (Evaluate genres and styles particular to a literary tradition.)
38. ANS: B
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension), 11.1.14 (Understand the characteristics typical of an author's work¸ and demonstrate knowledge of individual works by an author.)
39. ANS: C
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension), 11.1.14 (Understand the characteristics typical of an author's work¸ and demonstrate knowledge of individual works by an author.)
40. ANS: A
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension), 11.1.6 (Evaluate genres and styles particular to a literary tradition.)
41. ANS: B
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension), 11.1.6 (Evaluate genres and styles particular to a literary tradition.)
42. ANS: C
OBJ: 11.1.10.1 (Evaluate the philosophical¸ political¸ religious¸ ethical¸ and social influences of a historical period.), 11.2.1.10 (monitoring your reading / comprehension), 11.1.6 (Evaluate genres and styles particular to a literary tradition.)
43. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.2 (setting and mood / atmosphere)
44. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.3.1 (characterization)
45. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.3.1 (characterization)
46. ANS: A OBJ: 11.1.9.37 (symbolism)
47. ANS: A OBJ: 11.1.9.36 (style)
48. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.9.37 (symbolism)
49. ANS: B OBJ: 11.2.1.15 (making predictions)
50. ANS: B OBJ: 11.1.3.2 (character interactions)
51. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot)
52. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot)
53. ANS: A OBJ: 11.1.2 (setting and mood / atmosphere)
54. ANS: A OBJ: 11.1.2 (setting and mood / atmosphere)
55. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.9.5 (archetype)
56. ANS: A OBJ: 11.2.1.15 (making predictions)
57. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot)
58. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot)
59. ANS: B OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot)
60. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.3.1 (characterization)
61. ANS: A OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot)
62. ANS: B OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot)
63. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot)
64. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.1 (plot), 11.2.1.8 (making inferences)
65. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.3.1 (characterization)
66. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.2 (setting and mood / atmosphere)
67. ANS: A OBJ: 11.1.9.34 (sound devices)
68. ANS: A OBJ: 11.1.9.34 (sound devices)
69. ANS: C OBJ: 11.1.9.31 (rhyme)
70. ANS: D OBJ: 11.1.9.34 (sound devices)