Show:
Figurative Language
Figurative Language Part Deux
Organizational Structures
Organizational Structures
Grammar
100
Mistah Kurtz—he dead. A penny for the Old Guy We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats' feet over broken glass In our dry cellar Between the desire And the spasm Between the potency And the existence Between the essence And the descent Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom For Thine is Life is For Thine is the This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper
repetition
100
Shot me out of the sky You're my kryptonite You keep making me weak Yeah, frozen and can't breathe
metaphor
100
Unlike the more sombre, autumnal palettes favored for winter, sequins suddenly look surprisingly polished--especially under the midday sun in the high-shine finish of Blake's convertible.
compare/contrast
100
"Many of today's kids are engaged in sedentary pursuits made possible by a level of technology unthinkable as recently as 25 to 30 years ago. Computer, video, and other virtual games, the ready availability of feature films and games on DVD, plus high-tech advancements in music-listening technology have come down into the range of affordability for parents and even for the kids themselves. These passive pursuits have produced a downside of reduced physical activity for the kids, often with the explicit or implicit consent of the parents.
cause/effect
100
Which of the following contains an error in capitalization? (a) While living in the North, I visited the eastern edge of my aunt's property. (b) Sally come here and talk to Mother, please. (c) My Father invited me to his new home in eastern West Virginia. (d) Sometimes I watch the sun rising over the eastern shore of my sister's Kentucky home.
C
200
Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate! O anything, of nothing first create! O heavy lightness! Serious vanity! Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh?”
oxymoron
200
K: If we play our cards right, we may be able to find out when those whales are being released. S: How will playing cards help?
idiom
200
The difficulty in loving your stepchildren is that they will never fully requite your love. The battle is already lost, their own mother will always come first in their affections. The only remedy is to accept this scenario for what it is, to love them as best you can, and to live in the perfectly imperfect family you have created.
Problem/solution
200
"It's a well hit ball, it's a long drive, it might be, it could be, it IS . . . a home run."
order of importance
200
Which of the following corrects an error in subject-verb agreement? (a) My mother and her sisters organizes this fashion show every year. (b) My mother and her sisters organize this fashion show every year. (c) The scissors was laid next to the stapler on my desk when I left. (d) Whenever he feels blue, he listen to Jay-Z music on his ipod.
B
300
There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colours gay. She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. And moving thro' a mirror clear That hangs before her all the year, Shadows of the world appear. There she sees the highway near Winding down to Camelot: There the river eddy whirls, And there the surly village-churls, And the red cloaks of market girls, Pass onward from Shalott. She left the web, she left the loom, She made three paces thro' the room, She saw the water-lily bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume, She look'd down to Camelot. Out flew the web and floated wide; The mirror crack'd from side to side; "The curse is come upon me," cried The Lady of Shalott.
foreshadowing
300
What is the effect of the change from THIS: I sat on the stoop, phone in hand, waiting for a call that never came. Finally, I decided I had better things to do. To THIS: Sam sat on the stoop, phone in hand, waiting for a call that never came. Finally, he decided he had better things to do.
More formal; less personal
300
Selecting unique wedding invitations is simple if you first pick a theme. Will your special day be classic? Casual? Chic? Once you know the general tone of the event, opt for the stationary and lettering style that correspond naturally and seamlessly to it. The last decision to make is the type of printing process you will use. Engraving is, of course, the most elegant option, but also the most expensive. Thermography creates a similar effect for a fraction of the cost. Some adventurous couples choose foil stamping, which creates a shiny texture. Lastly, and most importantly, make sure to select a calligrapher to address the envelopes by hand.
process
300
"This play is comparable to Uncle Tom's Cabin," says playwright Tony Kushner, the author of another groundbreaking play about AIDS, Angels in America. "It's one of the rare works of American art that had a direct political impact. And it's still relevant today for many, many reasons, including the silence still surrounding the world pandemic of AIDS."
compare/contrast
300
Combine these two sentences so that they are equally emphasized. (1) Katie loves to swim. (2) Katie also plays basketball.
Katie not only loves to swim, but also loves to play basketball.
400
April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten, And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
personification
400
Which is more persuasive? (a) Spring in the city: clash your prints, pop your colors! (b) Spring in the city: fashionistas clash their prints and pop their colors!
A
400
Early next morning I was lying in bed, when an old gentleman riding a bay horse arrived at the river. He was dressed in a faded chocolate gown flecked with roses and the end of his turban was wrapped round his face over an iron-grey beard. Across the saddle he carried a brown lamb. Behind him, on foot, came his son aged twelve, flapping along in a gown of geranium red and a white turban as big as himself, and holding a stick with which he directed the progress of a black ewe and her black lamb.
description
400
My most valuable possession is an old, slightly warped blond guitar--the first instrument I taught myself how to play. It's nothing fancy, just a Madeira folk guitar, all scuffed and scratched and finger-printed. At the top is a bramble of copper-wound strings, each one hooked through the eye of a silver tuning key. The strings are stretched down a long, slim neck, its frets tarnished, the wood worn by years of fingers pressing chords and picking notes. The body of the Madeira is shaped like an enormous yellow pear, one that was slightly damaged in shipping. The blond wood has been chipped and gouged to gray, particularly where the pick guard fell off years ago. No, it's not a beautiful instrument, but it still lets me make music, and for that I will always treasure it.
description
400
Combine these sentences so that sentence 2 is emphasized. (1) I would never seriously compare acting to going to war. (2) We do feel like we went to battle together.
Although I would never seriously compare acting to going to war, we do feel like we went to battle together.
500
A lovestruck romeo sings in the streets a serenade/ Laying everybody low with a love song that he made/ Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade / Says something like you and me babe how about it?
allusion
500
In the spring, I asked the daisies if his words were true, and the clever, clear-eyed daisies always knew. Now the fields are brown and barren, bitter autumn blows, and of all the stupid asters, not one knows. NOT looking for rhythm or rhyme or personification...sorry I'm not sorry.
symbolism
500
"Far to his left, in the northeast, beyond the valley and the terraced foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the two volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, rose clear and magnificent into the sunset. Nearer, perhaps ten miles distant, and on a lower level than the main valley, he made out the village of Tomalín, nestling behind the jungle, from which rose a thin blue scarf of illegal smoke, someone burning wood for carbon. Before him, on the other side of the American highway, spread fields and groves, through which meandered a river, and the Alcapancingo road."
spatial order
500
Through the ages, Pennsylvania has seen many interesting events. The state was founded in 1681 by William Penn. Later, Pennsylvania was the site of important Revolutionary War battles. After that, Pennsylvania was home to new factories during the Industrial Revolution. Today, Pennsylvania continues to make history.
chronological/sequential
500
Which of the following uses passive voice appropriately? (a) Mary's hair had been tortured beyond the point of recognition at the behest of her fanatical hairdresser. (b) Max is easily flustered by pretty women. (c) I would like to believe in her sincerity, but I have been fooled before. (d) The house was painted only last summer by a local boy, and it has already begun to show signs of age and weathering.
C