501 Critical Reading Questions

(Sean Pound) #1

  1. c. The passage is primarily concerned with describing beliefs
    found among Florida fishermen. The passage does not, how-
    ever, catalog (give a complete account of) their beliefs, in that it
    only gives some examples. Although the author does close the
    passage with a suggestion traditional beliefs may have some real
    world benefits, the majority of the passage is not occupied with
    this idea.

  2. b.The primary purpose of the passage is to educate readers about
    the importance of good parenting in developing moral charac-
    ter in children. Choices a, d, and eare too narrow. Choice cis
    not supported by the passage.

  3. d.The author is using sentencein the sense of a conclusion reached
    by a judge in a criminal trial. She is asserting that to conclude
    that an eight-month-old baby is already destined for success or
    failure is a harsh judgment on such a small child. Note that
    choice e, is incorrect because punishment is the result of a sen-
    tence, and does not make sense in this context.

  4. c. The author opens the paragraph with the assertion that love is
    the cornerstone(foundation) of good parenting. The monkey
    study, which indicates that the need for love supercedes the
    need for food, is used to support that assertion.

  5. a. The passage clearly defines coldparents as withholding love
    (lines 32–33). Aloofmeans reserved or removed in feeling.
    Restrictiveparenting is defined in the passage as setting limits
    (lines 33–34). A disciplinarianis one who enforces order.

  6. e.Lines 44 and 54–55 link the ability to defer gratification with
    self-discipline and self-control. Hence, children who are unable
    to defer gratification are unlikely to succeed because they lack
    self-discipline.

  7. e.The subject of this paragraph is parents balancing their needs
    with those of their child. Teaching a child to sleep through the
    night is an example of parents balancing their needs (for a full
    night’s sleep) with the needs of their baby (to be picked up in
    the middle of the night).

  8. c. The passage clearly states that many parents will come to good par-
    enting techniques instinctually(lines 65–66), which indicates that
    instincts are a good guide for parents. Also, line 24 states that
    loving an infant comes naturally to most parents—something
    that comes naturallyis instinctual. None of the other choices is
    supported by the passage.

  9. b.The passage clearly states that potlatchis a gift-giving ceremony.
    The author explains that potlatchis a generic word for the cere-

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