198 ❯ STEP 5. Build Your Test-Taking Confidence
- A. The answer is clearly supported in the
last sentence of paragraph 4. That which is
immediately practical and helpful in a very
tangible way is the more valuable. - D. Words, phrases used, and specific details
given in this passage support the adjective
“wistful” (paragraphs 3 and 4). She is obser-
vant throughout the passage as she provides
details of the child acquiring her stories. The
writer’s wistfulness is reiterated in the last
paragraph as she states her yearning for men to
share in the language of storytelling. - B. The only choice that presents two strategies
actually present in the text is B. The entire
passage employs exposition to support the
author’s purpose. Even the final paragraph,
which attempts to persuade, uses exposition to
strengthen the appeal to have men welcomed
into the language of storytelling. (If you are
not crystal clear about the terminology used in
the choices, this may be one of those questions
you choose to skip, because it can be time
consuming trying to determine the correct
choice.) - C. The abruptness of “Traditionally,”
provides no real connection with the previous
paragraph or the previous sentence. It is an
obvious break that grabs the reader’s attention
and leads him or her to Atwood’s point. - E. Throughout the passage, Atwood is taking
a close look at the beginnings of storytelling.
Although she does attempt to persuade us of
the need to encourage men to tell their stories,
this is not the primary purpose of the piece.
It is important to also notice that the title is a
clue to this answer.
The Family Passage- A. The entire passage is concerned with
the concept of family in general, not just
the Roman and pre-modern era family. The
choices other than A all concern these. - D. Through humor, exaggeration, common
allusions, and rhetorical questions, the author
invites the reader to join her family as a
prelude to a scholarly examination of the roots
of the word family.
23. C. The footnote identifies a case that some
readers may not be familiar with. No sources
are cited or referenced. The footnote is strictly
informative.
24. C. This is a vocabulary question that
demands you know and can identify each of
the terms. Knowing the definition of each can
only lead you to choose C.
25. E. Each piece of information provided in the
passage is given in terms of defining what a
family is. - B. The first paragraph establishes the
conversational tone with its lighthearted
references. But, the author’s use of footnotes,
direct quotations from experts, and historical
references all indicate a scholarly presentation. - B. If one closely reads the passage, the only
location cited that has a family unit consisting
of a mother, father, and children is Bologna in
the thirteenth century. - A. The word family does NOT have a
universal definition. Each culture and
time period defined it according to its own
circumstances. - A. This footnote contains NO specifics that
were gathered via observation and experience.
There is no data from census, and so forth. - D. Even though the reader can locate
instances of choices C and E in both para-
graphs, they are not responding to a probable
reader-generated question. The parentheticals
come immediately after a word or phrase that
could raise questions from a reader. - A. The comment separated only by commas
leaves the reader unclear as to whom the
personal communication refers: Dixon,
Treggiari, or the author. - E. Lines 24–25, 27–29, 43–44, and 56–57
support choices A, B, C, and D.
The Emerson Passage- A. If you go back to the next to last sentence
of paragraph 2, you will see the phrase “the
seer’s hour of vision.” Your knowledge of
synonyms will lead you to choose A.