Passage 1
Which of the following best describes the author’s tone in the first paragraph?
a. Scornful
b. Upset
c. Reminiscent
d. Critical
c. Reminiscent
Read the sentence:
In some cities, the library itself is becoming obsolete because people now conduct their research in labs and on the World Wide Web.
What does the word obsolete mean?
a. Isolated
b. Busy
c. Outdated
d. Hopeless
c. Outdated
Which sentence from the text best supports the conclusion that the narrator will grow up to be a graphic novel writer?
a. This book was like nothing I'd ever seen: a story told in frames and images, just like so many comics I'd read as a kid, but instead of the contrived plotlines and cartoonish heroes I'd since lost patience with…
b. "But how do I learn to do what you do?" I gestured helplessly at the stack of books. "How do I make something as good as this?"
c. He handed over my notebook on the tips of his fingers, as though he were handling something as fragile as glass, and gave me an astonishingly simple piece of advice that would be one of the most important of my career: "Take it seriously," he said, "and put in the time."
d. And that's exactly what I've done, every day since.
d. And that's exactly what I've done, every day since.
How does the character change because of his conversation with the artist?
a. He comes to appreciate comic books more
b. He realizes how much he loves art
c. He becomes motivated to achieve his dreams
d. He decides to study harder in school
c. He becomes motivated to achieve his dreams
Name the Logical Fallacy:
"I started not to feel well right after that snowball fight, so I must have gotten sick from the cold."
False Cause
Which of the following best summarizes a central idea of the text?
a. Libraries are no longer useful.
b. Libraries are losing their warmth.
c. Libraries work best when they are built near a school.
d. Libraries are evolving to meet the needs of modern users.
b. Libraries are losing their warmth.
The author’s purpose is most likely to…
a. State an opinion about the changes in the library
b. Persuade the audience to go to the library more often
c. Compare researching at home to researching in the library
d. Inform readers about how the library has changed over time
a. State an opinion an opinion about the changes in the library
Why is Rob so affected by the book the man wrote?
a. It uses pictures and words to tell a story.
b. It tells the story of an ordinary person through pictures.
c. It explains how to find success as an artist.
d. It is a new addition to the comic book store.
b. It tells the story of an ordinary person through pictures.
Which sentence best demonstrates that the author feels dissatisfied with his own artwork?
a. I was one of those high school kids who spent more time doodling in the margins of my algebra notebook than solving for x.
b. My own drawings, too—as much as I tried to force them to eloquence—remained little more than loud-mouthed cartoons, cavemen grunting and swinging clubs, devoid of language
c. But when I looked at many of those beloved comic books again, the stories seemed flat and empty, at least compared to the rich and startling worlds I had begun to encounter in so many novels.
d. I filled copious notebooks in this way, yet against every teacher's and mentor's advice, I never took an art class.
b. My own drawings, too—as much as I tried to force them to eloquence—remained little more than loud-mouthed cartoons, cavemen grunting and swinging clubs, devoid of language
Name the logical fallacy:
A book is controversial if and only if it contains controversial topics.
Circular Reasoning
On main idea from the passage is that libraries are losing their warmth. Which of the following statements from the passage supports that idea?
a. They just visit a cold machine that spews out the facts and the numbers...
b. The library was a quiet haven, with no cell phones, no computers, and no self–checkout stations.
c. It was created initially for public school use, and public libraries were built near public schools to make it convenient for students to visit.
d. Though faster, these systems seem cold and impersonal because library patrons no longer rely on the friendly assistance of a librarian.
d. Though faster, these systems seem cold and impersonal because library patrons no longer rely on the friendly assistance of a librarian.
Which detail should be included in a summary of the text?
a. Libraries have been around since 1850
b. There didn’t used to be check-out stations in libraries
c. The author used to love getting new books every week at the library
d. Many people now prefer to do research from home on a computer
d. Many people now prefer to do research from home on a computer
One feature the narrator loves about the book he found is that it shows ordinary heroes instead of superheroes. Which sentence from the text BEST supports this conclusion?
a. When I was between the ages of eight and thirteen, that shop window had exerted an almost supernatural force on me. The bright covers, bold titles, and the promise of vicarious adventure: every dollar I spent there bought a ticket to another reality.
b. But at some point, I lost interest, moved on to other things. I had not been inside in years.
c. The drawings, which seemed both spontaneous and precise, leant a kind of ecstatic grandeur to the hero's small story.
d. I can't say what it was that pulled me there again—luck or intuition, boredom or nostalgia—but in retrospect, it is clear that whatever force was at work, that day marked the beginning of my own metamorphosis.
c. The drawings, which seemed both spontaneous and precise, leant a kind of ecstatic grandeur to the hero's small story.
Why did the author most likely use inner dialogue to write the character’s thoughts?
a. To give reader insight into the character’s feelings about art
b. To show readers that he wasn’t a very good student
c. The author wanted to express different ways that students think
d. The author thought it would make the book more realistic
a. To give reader insight into the character’s feelings about art
Identify the claim:
In line with my obsession with health, I’m super interested in everything we can do to keep our brains healthy and nimble for many, many years to come. But I recently learned something terrifying: our brains actually shrink with age, and they shrink faster the less we use them. How we use our brains can have a big impact on whether they shrink slowly — or shrink quickly. If we want our brains to stay clear and crisp, we need to prioritize continuing to use them on challenging tasks every day of our lives, and avoid letting ourselves get mentally soft.
If we want our brains to stay clear and crisp, we need to prioritize continuing to use them on challenging tasks every day of our lives, and avoid letting ourselves get mentally soft.
Which of the following sentences BEST supports the inference that the author blames technology for the negative changes in the library?
a. Now these old-fashioned classification systems have been abandoned in most libraries for computerized search tools.
b. That same year, Dewey, along with Justin Winsor and William Frederick Poole, helped found the American Library Association in Philadelphia.
c. Why drive to a library and stand in line at a counter, if they can sit at home and point and click?
d. Sadly, funding for libraries seems to be the lowest priority in many city, county, and state budgets these days.
c. Why drive to a library and stand in line at a counter, if they can sit at home and point and click?
What is one strategy that the author uses to persuade the audience of his point?
a. He gives facts and statistics that demonstrate how library attendance has gone down.
b. He gives his own background in order to make himself seem like an expert.
c. He gives examples of changes that have taken place in the library which make it less warm.
d. He uses strong poetic language to convey his emotions.
c. He gives examples of changes that have taken place in the library which make it less warm.
How do paragraphs 4 and 5 contribute to the development of the plot?
a. by creating a sense of anticipation about a formative experience that is about to take place
b. by speeding up the events in the story in order to lead to a surprisingly dramatic conclusion
c. by introducing a new character who will become closely connected to the narrator in the future
d. by explaining the physical changes that contribute to the author’s new positive outlook
a. by creating a sense of anticipation about a formative experience that is about to take place
Which aspect of the narrator’s character is BEST developed in the first paragraph?
a. That he is not very smart
b. That he thinks differently from most people
c. That he likes to try new things
d. That his is very rebellious
b. That he thinks differently from most people
Name the tone:
"I am not mad," [the monster] cried energetically, "the sun and the heavens, who have viewed my operations, can bear witness of my truth. I am the assassin of those most innocent victims; they died by my machinations. A thousand times would I have shed my own blood, drop by drop, to have saved their lives; but I could not, my father, indeed I could not sacrifice the whole human race."
Sorry, regretful, sad, etc.
What is the most likely reason that the author included the paragraph about his memories of going to the library when he was young (paragraph 1)?
a. The author was attempting to paint a picture of the library in case his readers are unfamiliar with them.
b. The author needed to add something personal in order to make himself seem more credible.
c. The author wanted to emphasize that he had a really good childhood in order to show how libraries create happy memories.
d. The author was trying to get the reader to understand his emotional connection to the library in order to establish their importance.
d. The author was trying to get the reader to understand his emotional connection to the library in order to establish their importance.
Which of the following statements from the passage is an unsupported generalization?
a. Libraries in America today are changing, and not for the better.
b. Between 1850 and 1900, the public library institution was born.
c. In some cities, the library itself is becoming obsolete because people now conduct their research in labs and on the World Wide Web.
d. In 1876, Melville Dewey published the Dewey Decimal Classification system.
c. In some cities, the library itself is becoming obsolete because people now conduct their research in labs and on the World Wide Web.
Select TWO sentences from paragraphs 4–5 below that suggest the narrator's life is about to change.
a. I can't say what it was that pulled me there again—luck or intuition, boredom or nostalgia—but in retrospect, it is clear that whatever force was at work, that day marked the beginning of my own metamorphosis.
b. When I pushed through the familiar doors into the fluorescent-lit store, I saw that not much had changed: the same long rows of shelves along the walls, the same meticulously organized bins of comics down the center.
c. I made my accustomed rounds, my fingers searching the bins and my eyes searching the shelves for anything new, but before I made it very far, I noticed a small crowd gathered in a back corner.
d. They lingered near a table, where a pale, bespectacled man sat with a stack of books in front of him and a pen in his hand, signing the copies they thrust his way and making polite chitchat.
e. I sidled up to the table, slid a book off the stack, and moved to the periphery of the store.
f. Leaning against a bookshelf with the deliberate and painfully self-conscious detachment so often performed by adolescents, I perused the book's opening pages.
g. My willful indifference did not last long.
a and g
Why did the author most likely use inner dialogue to write the character’s thoughts?
a. To give reader insight into the character’s feelings about art
b. To show readers that he wasn’t a very good student
c. The author wanted to express different ways that students think
d. The author thought it would make the book more realistic
a. To give reader insight into the character’s feelings about art
Name and explain the structure used to create suspense in the following passage:
There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it had roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none. A clammy and intensely cold mist, it made its slow way through the air in ripples that visibly followed and overspread one another, as the waves of an unwholesome sea might do. It was dense enough to shut out everything from the light of the coach-lamps but these its own workings, and a few yards of road; and the reek of the labouring horses steamed into it, as if they had made it all.
Setting, Tone, Word Choice