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Ex 8: Supporting Evidence
Passage 1. Consider the passage below, adapted from Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour.” Louise Mallard, a woman
with heart troubles, has just learned that the newspaper reported that her husband had died in accident. After receiving
the news, she locks herself in her room to reflect.
Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a
heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as
gently as possible the news of her husband's death. It
was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken
5 sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.
Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her.
It was he who had been in the newspaper office when
intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with
Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He
10 had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by
a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any
less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad
message.
She did not hear the story as many women have
15 heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its
significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild
abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of
grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone.
She would have no one follow her.
20 There stood, facing the open window, a
comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank,
pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her
body and seemed to reach into her soul. She sat with
her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair,
25 quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her
throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to
sleep continues to sob in its dreams.
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose
lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength.
30 But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze
was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of
blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather
indicated a suspension of intelligent thought. There was
something coming to her and she was waiting for it,
35 fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too
subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out
of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the
scents, the color that filled the air.
She was beginning to recognize this thing that
40 was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to
beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white
slender hands would have been. When she abandoned
herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly
parted lips. She said it over and over under the breath:
45 "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look
of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They
stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the
coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her
45 body. She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a
monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted
perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as
trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she
saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that
50 had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray
and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long
procession of years to come that would belong to her
absolutely. And she opened and spread 35 her arms out
to them in welcome. There would be no one to live for
55 during those coming years; she would live for herself.
There would be no powerful will bending hers in that
blind persistence with which men and women believe
they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow
60 creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the
act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief
moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she
had not. What did it matter! What could love, the
65 unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession
of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the
strongest impulse of her being! "Free! Body and soul
free!" she kept whispering. Her fancy was running riot
along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer
70 days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She
breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only
yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might
be long.
Someone was opening the front door with a
75 latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little
travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and
umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident,
and did not even know there had been one. He stood
amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick
80 motion to screen him from the view of his wife. When the
doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of
the joy that kills.
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1. The author characterizes Louise’s initial reaction
to learning of her husband’s “death” as
A. predictable.
B. emotionless.
C. insincere.
D. atypical.
2. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 1-3 (“Knowing…death”)
B. Lines 14-16 (“She…significance”)
C. Lines 21-23 (“Into…soul”)
D. Line 35-36 (“What was…to name”)
3. As she privately reflected on her husband’s
supposed death, Louise primarily felt
A. afraid.
B. liberated.
C. trapped.
D. depressed.
4. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 28-30 (“She…strength”)
B. Line 63-64 (“And yet…not”)
C. Lines 67-68 (“Free!...whispering”)
D. Lines 80-82 (“When the … kills”)
5. The author implies that Josephine started by
revealing news of Louise’s husband’s death in hints
because she
A. suspected that the telegram her husband received
was mistaken.
B. shared a close friendship with her brother-in-law.
C. was concerned about her sister’s ability to handle
the news given her health condition.
D. felt disgusted by her sister’s desire for personal
freedom.
6. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 1-3 (“Knowing…death”)
B. Lines 14-16 (“She…significance”)
C. Lines 21-23 (“Into…soul”)
D. Line 35-36 (“What was…to name”)
7. It can be inferred that before the news of her
husband’s supposed death, Louise had hoped her life
would not be long because
A. her husband did not love her.
B. she felt her marriage limited her freedom.
C. her physical ailments kept her bedridden.
D. she believed she was a burden to her caregivers.
8. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 43-45 (“Her pulses …. body”)
B. Line 45-46 (“She did …held her”)
C. Lines 56-60 (“There would …a fellow-creature”)
D. Lines 78-80 (“He stood ... wife”)
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Passage 2. The following passage is adapted from the National Institute of Health’s article, “Researchers investigate how
a Developing Brain is Assembled”
Although scientists have identified a number of
important proteins that determine how neurons
navigate during brain formation, it’s largely unknown
how all of these proteins interact in a living organism.
5 Model animals, despite their differences from humans,
have already revealed much about human physiology
because they are much simpler and easier to
understand. In this case, researchers chose
Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), because it has only
10 302 neurons, 222 of which form while the worm is still
an embryo. While some of these neurons go to the
worm nerve ring (brain) they also spread along the
ventral nerve cord, which is broadly analogous to the
spinal cord in humans. The worm even has its own
15 versions of many of the same proteins used to direct
brain formation in more complex organisms such as
flies, mice, or humans.
“Understanding why and how neurons form and
the path they take to reach their final destination could
20 one day give us valuable information about how
proteins and other molecular factors interact during
neuronal development,” said Hari Shroff, Ph.D., head of
the NIBIB research team. “We don’t yet understand
neurodevelopment even in the context of the humble
25 worm, but we’re using it as a simple model of how these
factors work together to drive the development of the
worm brain and neuronal structure. We’re hoping that
by doing so, some of the lessons will translate all the
way up to humans.”
1. The passage implies that the scientists mentioned are
studying worms rather than humans because
A. the brains of humans are more complex.
B. it is much too expensive to study humans.
C. human safety would be endangered by the procedures
employed.
D. worms are more fundamentally interesting creatures
to biologists.
2. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 1-4 (“Although…organism”)
B. Lines 5-8 (“Model...understand”)
C. Lines 8-11 (“In this…embryo”)
D. Lines 18-22 (“Understanding…development”)
3. The scientists involved in the study described operated
under the assumption that
A. organisms developed spinal cords before they
developed ventral cords.
B. the nervous systems of worms and humans are
physiologically identical.
C. studying worms can shed insight into human brain
development.
D. none of the proteins that interact during neuronal
development have been
discovered.
4. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 1-4 (“Although…organism”)
B. Lines 11-14 (“While…humans”)
C. Lines 23-27 (“We… structure”)
D. Line 27-29 (“We…humans”)
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Passage 3: The passage below is from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR’s) first inaugural address.
In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face
our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only
material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic
levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen;
5 government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment
of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the
currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial
enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for
their produce; the savings of many years in thousands
10 of families are gone. More important, a host of
unemployed citizens face the grim problem of
existence, and an equally great number toil with little
return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark
realities of the moment. Yet our distress comes from no
15 failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of
locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers
conquered because they believed and were not afraid,
we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers
her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty
20 is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in
the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the
rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed,
through their own stubbornness and their own
incompetence, have admitted their failure, and
25 abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money
changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion,
rejected by the hearts and minds of men.
1. According to the excerpt, the main challenges
facing America at the time of the speech included
A. violent social unrest.
B. financial woes.
C. rampant disease.
D. agricultural failures.
2. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Line 1-2 (“In such a spirit ….. common difficulties”)
B. Line 5-6 (“government …..curtailment of income”)
C. Lines 15-16 (“We ….. plague of locusts”)
D. Lines 18-19 (“Nature …have multiplied it”)
3. It can be inferred that Roosevelt believed that the
forefathers
A. experienced much peace and prosperity.
B. confronted more serious dangers than those
faced by his audience.
C. weren’t respected by the general population.
D. possessed a debilitating fear of their enemies.
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Passage 4: The excerpt below is adapted from The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde.
Even those who had heard the most evil things
against him-- and from time to time strange rumors
about his mode of life crept through London and
became the chatter of the clubs-- could not believe
5 anything to his dishonor when they saw him. Men who
talked vulgarly became silent when Dorian Gray entered
the room. There was something in the purity of his face
that rebuked them. His mere presence seemed to recall
to them the memory of the innocence that they had
10 tarnished. They wondered how one so charming and
graceful as he was could have escaped the stain of an
age that was at once sordid and sensual.
He himself, on returning home from one of
those mysterious and prolonged absences that gave rise
15 to such strange conjecture among those who were his
friends, or thought that they were so, would creep up-
stairs to the locked room, open the door with the key
that never left him, and stand, with a mirror, in front of
the portrait that Basil Hallward had painted of him,
20 looking now at the evil and aging face on the canvas,
and now at the fair young face that laughed back at him
from the polished glass. The very sharpness of the
contrast used to quicken his sense of pleasure. He grew
more and more enamored of his own beauty, more and
25 more interested in the corruption of his own soul. He
would examine with minute care, and often with a
monstrous and terrible delight, the hideous lines that
seared the wrinkling forehead or crawled around the
heavy sensual mouth, wondering sometimes which
30 were the more horrible, the signs of sin or the signs of
age. He would place his white hands beside the coarse
bloated hands of the picture, and smile. He mocked the
misshapen body and the failing limbs.
1. The passage indicated that Dorian Gray’s
presence caused those around him to feel
A. smug.
B. self-conscious.
C. optimistic.
D. comforted.
2. According to the excerpt, Dorian Gray’s face
A. terrifies all those who encounter him.
B. captivates only those who are elderly.
C. erases people’s memories of their youth.
D. quiets people who speak offensively.
3. It can be inferred that the men discussed in the
passage who encountered Dorian Gray
A. had traumatic childhood experiences.
B. caused Dorian Gray to act vulgarly.
C. behaved in a way that was reflective of a larger
cultural trend.
D. treated Dorian Gray with cruel indifference.
4. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 4-5 (“could not believe ….. saw him”)
B. Lines 5-7 (“Men who … the room”)
C. Lines 7-8 (“There was something …. rebuked
them”)
D. Lines 10-12 (“They wondered…. sensual”)
5. The description of Dorian Gray in the second
paragraph indicates that Dorian is
A. gracious. kind lich thiep
B. vain. tu phu
C. oblivious. ignorant
D. ethical. moral dao duc
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Passage 5: The excerpt below is from the National Institute of Health’s blog, “What Makes Our Brain Human? The Search
for Answers” by Francis Collins.
Humans’ most unique traits, such as speaking
and abstract thinking, are rooted in the outer layer of
our brains called the cerebral cortex. This convoluted
sheet of grey matter is found in all mammals, but it is
5 much larger and far more complex in Homo sapiens than
in any other species. The cortex comprises nearly 80
percent of our brain mass, with some 16 billion neurons
packed into more than 50 distinct, meticulously
organized regions.
10 In an effort to explore the evolution of the
human cortex, many researchers have looked to
changes in the portion of the genome that codes for
proteins. But a new paper, published in the journal
Science [1], shows that protein-coding DNA provides
15 only part of the answer. The new findings reveal that an
even more critica l component may be changes in the
DNA sequences that regulate the activity of these
genes.
In the study, a team led by Steven Reilly and
20 James Noonan at Yale University, New Haven, CT,
compared the development of the cortex in human,
rhesus macaque, and mouse. Instead of focusing on
protein-coding DNA, the researchers set their sights on
tracking the activity of regulatory elements in the
25 genome. Specifically, they looked at two key types of
regulatory elements: promoters, which are DNA signals
that generally lie just upstream of protein-coding genes;
and enhancers, which are DNA regions that can be
located some distance away, but modulate a gene’s
30 output, rather like the dimmer function on a light switch.
Assessing activity of promoters and enhancers
can be done by looking at specific chemical
modifications of the proteins, called histones, that the
DNA is wrapped around. Using two of these socalled
35 “epigenetic marks” that are correlated with regulatory
activity, the researchers identified 22,139 promoters
and 52,317 enhancers that were active in human
embryonic brain tissue between 7 to 12 weeks after
conception—the time period during which distinctly
40 human aspects of the cortex begin to appear. When this
map was compared to similar maps from rhesus and
mouse, nearly 12,000 regulatory elements stood out as
being more active in humans than in the other mammals,
suggesting they may be involved in the evolutionary
45 changes that allowed the human cortex to develop
substantially more complexity than those of other
species.
1. According to the passage, the differences
between the traits of humans and animals are rooted
in which of the following?
A. The amount of protein coding DNA in their genes.
B. The intricacy of an anatomical structure.
C. The absence of epigenetic material in animals.
D. The size of protective brain tissue.
2. The findings of the new study suggest that
studying protein coding DNA in order to learn about
the evolution of the cortex is
A. unreasonable.
B. futile. useless
C. limiting.
D. impractical.
3. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 10-13 (“In...proteins”)
B. Lines 15-18 (“The new…genes”)
C. Lines 19-22 (“In the…mouse”)
D. Lines 31-34 (“Assessing…around”)
4. Two new species of mammals that are discovered
are species A and species B. The cortex of species B
is more complex than the cortex of species A. The
researchers conducting the study in this passage
would most likely infer that one major reason for
such a difference is
A. more active promoters in species A.
B. more active enhancers in species B.
C. more active protein encoding DNA in species A.
D. more noncoding DNA in species B.
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Passage 6: The following is an excerpt from “Civil Disobedience,” an essay by Henry David Thoreau. He wrote this essay in
response to the injustices he witnessed in America.
But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike
those who call themselves no government men, I ask
for, not at once no government, but at once a better
government. Let every man make known what kind of
5 government would command his respect, and that will
be one step toward obtaining it. After all, the practical
reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the
people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period
continue, to rule, is not because they are most likely to
10 be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the
minority, but because they are physically the strongest.
But a government in which the majority rule in all cases
cannot be based on justice, even as far as men
understand it. Can there not be a government in which
15 majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but
conscience? — in which majorities decide nly those
tinh thiet thuc questions to which the rule of expediency is applicable?
Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least
degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has
20 every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be
men first, and subjects afterward. The mass of men
serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines,
with their bodies. They are the standing army, and the
militia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus,* etc. In most
25 cases there is no free exercise whatever of the
judgment or of the moral sense; but they put
themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones;
and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will
serve the purpose as well. Such command no more
30 respect than men of straw or a lump of dirt.
*comitatus: group empowered to uphold the law of the
sheriff.
1. According to Thoreau, luong tam
A. ruling by conscience is inconsistent with a fair
form of government.
B. it is imperative that politicians run the
government like machines.
C. majority rule is often unsuited to deal with
matters of morality.
D. free exercise of moral judgment is common in
democratic societies.
2. Thoreau implies that
A. the government serves no practical function and
should be immediately overthrown.
B. unconditional obedience to the government
reduces one’s humanity.
C. minorities typically fight to change the status quo
against strong but benevolent majorities.
D. the standards for being a good citizen are
consistent with ethical principles.
3. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 21-23 (“The mass of men …their bodies”)
B. Line 2-4 (“I ask for… a better government”)
C. Lines 9-11 (“is not because …. the strongest”)
D. Lines 14-16 (“Can there …. but conscience?”)
4. It can be reasonably inferred that the term
“machines” was intended to
A. marvel at the brute strength of soldiers.
B. condemn people who follow the orders of the
government uncritically.
C. suggest that most people are not loyal to the
states they serve.
D. identify ways in which the incentives of
individuals are constantly evolving.
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Passage 7: The following excerpt is from the short story “A Hunger Artist,” by Franz Kafka. The hunger artist makes a living
by fasting (not eating) for many days in public.
Besides casual onlookers there were also relays
of permanent watchers selected by the public, usually
butchers, strangely enough, and it was their task to
watch the hunger artist day and night, three of them at
5 a time, in case he should have some secret recourse to
nourishment. This was nothing but a formality,
instituted to reassure the masses, for the initiates knew
well enough that during his fast the artist would never
in any circumstances, not even under forcible
10 compulsion, swallow the smallest morsel of food; the
honor of his profession forbade it. Not every watcher,
of course, was capable of understanding this, there
were often groups of night watchers who were very lax
in carrying out their duties and deliberately huddled
15 together in a retired corner to play cards with great
absorption, obviously intending to give the hunger artist
the chance of a little refreshment, which they supposed
he could draw from some private hoard.
Nothing annoyed the artist more than such
20 watchers; they made him miserable; they made his fast
seem unendurable; sometimes he mastered his
feebleness sufficiently to sing during their watch for as
long as he could keep going, to show them how unjust
their suspicions were. But that was of little use; they
25 only wondered at his cleverness in being able to fill his
mouth even while singing. Much more to his taste were
the watchers who sat up close to the bars, who were
not content with the dim night lighting of the hall but
focused him in the full glare of the electric pocket torch
30 given them by the impresario.
The harsh light did not trouble him at all, in any
case he could never sleep properly, and he could always
drowse a little, even when the hall was thronged with
noisy onlookers. He was quite happy at the prospect of
35 spending a sleepless night with such watchers; he was
ready to exchange jokes with them, to tell them stories
out of his nomadic life, anything at all to keep them
awake and demonstrate to them that he had no eatables
in his cage and that he was fasting as not one of them
40 could fast.
1. How did the hunger artist primarily feel when the
watchers doubted his ability to fast?
A. Resigned
B. Fascinated
C. Irritated choc tuc
D. Apathetic tho o
2. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 26-30 (“Much more ……. them by the
impresario”)
B. Lines 21-24 (“he mastered …. suspicions were”)
C. Lines 32-34 (“he could ….onlookers”)
D. Lines 34-40 (“He was quite happy … could fast”)
3. It can be inferred that one reason the watchers
huddled in a corner to play cards was that they
A. wanted to give the hunger artist a chance to eat
undetected.
B. desired to expose the hunger artist as a fraud.
C. had nothing else to do to pass the time.
D. grew bored with the hunger artist’s stories.
4. The author indicates that the hunger artist liked
spending “sleepless nights” with the watchers
because he
A. enjoyed listening to their stories.
B. wanted to prove that he was not a fraud.
C. suffered from sleeplessness as a result of his
hunger.
D. appreciated the companionship to overcome his
sense of loneliness.
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Passage 8: The excerpt below is adapted from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Charlotte Bronte.
My father, as you know, was a sort of gentleman
farmer in —shire; and I, by his express desire, succeeded
him in the same quiet occupation, not very willingly, for
ambition urged me to higher aims, and self-conceit
5 assured me that, in disregarding its voice, I was burying
my talent in the earth, and hiding my light under a
bushel. My mother had done her utmost to persuade me
that I was capable of great achievements; but my father,
who thought ambition was the surest road to ruin, and
10 change but another word for destruction, would listen
to no scheme for bettering either my own condition, or
that of my fellow mortals. He assured me it was all
rubbish, and exhorted me, with his dying breath, to
continue in the good old way, to follow his steps, and
15 those of his father before him, and let my highest
ambition be to walk honestly through the world, looking
neither to the right hand nor to the left, and to transmit
the paternal acres to my children in, at least, as
flourishing a condition as he left them to me.
20 ‘Well!—an honest and industrious farmer is one
of the most useful members of society; and if I devote
my talents to the cultivation of my farm, and the
improvement of agriculture in general, I shall thereby
benefit, not only my own immediate connections and
25 dependents, but, in some degree, mankind at large:—
hence I shall not have lived in vain.’ With such
an ui reflections as these I was endeavoring to console
myself, as I plodded home from the fields, one cold,
damp, cloudy evening towards the close of October. But
30 the gleam of a bright red fire through the parlor window
had more effect in cheering my spirits, and rebuking my
thankless repinings, than all the sage reflections and
good resolutions I had forced my mind to frame;—for I
was young then, remember—only four-and-twenty—
35 and had not acquired half the rule over my own spirit
that I now possess—trifling as that may be. However,
that haven of bliss must not be entered till I had
exchanged my muddy boots for a clean pair of shoes,
and my rough surtout for a respectable coat, and made
40 myself generally presentable before decent society; for
my mother, with all her kindness, was vastly particular
on certain points.
1. Why does the narrator indicate that he became a
farmer?
A. He felt connected to the simplicity of pastoral life.
B. He wanted to please a family member.
C. He was not talented enough to pursue his other
interests.
D. He was responsible for caring for his mother after
his father’s death.
2. The narrator’s primary concern about his
profession was that
A. it was preventing him from realizing his potential.
B. his ambition would destroy his moral compass.
C. his work was taking a physical toll on his body and
sullying his wardrobe.
D. snobbish elitists would ridicule his life choices.
3. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 1-7 (“My father…a bushel”)
B. Lines 7-12 (“My mother…mortals”)
C. Lines 15-19 (“let my…me”)
D. Lines 36-40 (“However…society”)
4. It can be inferred that the narrator found the
“reflections” he told himself in an attempt to console
himself to be
de chiu
A. soothing.
B. ineffective. useless, vain
C. encouraging. khich le
D. wise.
thong thai
5. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Line 26 (“Hence…vain”)
B. Lines 26-29 (“With…October”)
C. Lines 29-33 (“But…frame”)
D. Lines 36-40 (“However…society”)
6. It can be inferred that the narrator had to change
his shoes because
A. he had a sophisticated fashion sense.
B. he fell in the mud while absentmindedly
daydreaming.
C. his clothes were dirty from a day at work.
D. his mother resented his career choices.
7. The author’s mother is characterized as
A. encouraging.
B. cruel.
C. lax. khong nghiem
D. bashful. rut re
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Passage 9: The excerpt below is adapted from the National Institute of Health’s article, “Scientists Plug into a Learning a
Brain”.
Learning is easier when it only requires nerve
cells to rearrange existing patterns of activity than when
the nerve cells have to generate new patterns, a study
of monkeys has found. The scientists explored the
5 brain’s capacity to learn through recordings of electrical
activity of brain cell networks. The study was partly
funded by the National Institutes of Health. “We looked
into the brain and may have seen why it’s so hard to
think outside the box,” said Aaron Batista, Ph.D., an
10 assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a
senior author of the study published in Nature, with
Byron Yu, Ph.D., assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh.
The human brain contains nearly 86 billion
15 neurons, which communicate through intricate
networks of connections. Understanding how they
work together during learning can be challenging. Dr.
Batista and his colleagues combined two innovative
technologies, brain computer interfaces and machine
20 learning, to study patterns of activity among neurons in
monkey brains as the animals learned to use their
thoughts to move a computer cursor.
At first, the scientists noticed that the ensemble
of neurons recorded in each animal had a small set of
25 natural, or favored, firing patterns that were used to
move the cursor, which they called the “intrinsic
manifold.” After determining the intrinsic manifold, the
team reprogrammed the map between neural activity
and cursor movement. For instance, if a firing pattern
30 originally caused the cursor to move to the top of the
screen, then the interface would move the cursor to the
bottom. The team then observed whether the animals
could learn to generate the appropriate neural activity
patterns to compensate for the changes.
35 The scientists discovered that the monkeys
easily relearned how to move the cursor if they could
use patterns within the intrinsic manifold in new ways.
In contrast, learning was more difficult when the
interface required patterns of neural activity that were
40 outside of the intrinsic manifold.
1. According to the article, monkeys learn more
easily when learning requires the use of
A. a greater number of neurons.
B. familiar neural patterns in new ways.
C. unfamiliar neural patterns in familiar ways.
D. multiple organ systems.
2. It can be inferred that “thinking outside the box”
is “so hard” because it requires
A. nerve cells to rearrange existing patterns.
B. nerve cells to generate new patterns.
C. relatively straightforward communication
between nerve cells.
D. a delicate interaction between nerve cells and
hormones.
3. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 1-4 (“Learning is easier when …. found”)
B. Lines 4-6 (“The scientists…cell networks”)
C. Lines 14-16 (“The human brain…connections”)
D. Lines 16-17 (“Understanding…challenging”)
4. It is reasonable to infer that the scientists
conducted this study in order to better understand
the A. technical manner by which cursors work.
B. number of neural connections that exist in the
brain.
C. physical characteristics of monkeys.
D. neural mechanisms associated with learning.
5. What assumption underlies the research?
A. Studying how monkeys learn can provide insights
into how humans learn.
B. Monkeys and humans learn in exactly the same
way.
C. Playing video games is the best way to develop
one’s brain.
D. Monkeys in controlled research settings are less
likely to acquire new skills than those in nature.
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Passage 10: The article below is adapted from the National Endowment of the Humanities’ article, “How the Grimm
Brothers Saved The Fairy Tale” by Jack Zipes.
Two hundred years ago, two young German
librarians by the names of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
published a collection of tales that would become one
of the most influential works of folklore in Germany,
5 Europe, and eventually the world. Between 1812 and
1857, seven editions of their tales appeared, each one
different from the last, until the final, best-known
version barely resembled the first. Given that the first
edition has recently been honored in bicentenary
10 celebrations throughout the world, it is perhaps a good
time to reexamine what we think we know about the
original tales of the Brothers Grimm. What compelled
the Grimms to concentrate on old German epics, tales,
and literature was a belief that the most natural and
15 pure forms of culture—those which held the
community together—were linguistic and based in
history.
According to them, modern literature, even
though it might be remarkably rich, was artificial and
20 thus could not express the genuine essence of Volk
culture that emanated naturally from experience and
bound the people together. Therefore, all their efforts
went toward uncovering stories from the past.
In their preface, the Grimms explained their
25 interest in the culture of the common people, and their
intention in recording their tales: “It was perhaps
just the right time to record these tales since those
people who should be preserving them are becoming
more and more scarce. . .
30 Wherever the tales still exist, they continue to
live in such a way that nobody ponders whether they
are good or bad, poetic or crude. People know them and
love them because they have simply absorbed them in
a habitual way. And they take pleasure in them without
35 having any reason. This is exactly why the custom of
storytelling is so marvelous.” In short, the Grimms’ first
collection was shaped as an archaeological excavation
and as a book for adults and for scholars. Their tales
were not to be classified as children’s stories, not even
40 today.
All of the tales in the first edition bear the
marks of their diverse storytellers who believed in the
magic, superstitions, and miraculous transformations of
the tales. It may be difficult for us to understand why
45 this is the case, but for the storytellers and writers of
these tales, the stories contained truths about the
living conditions of their times. The tales in the first
edition were collected not from peasants, as is
commonly believed, but mainly from literate people
whom the Grimms came to know quite well. Evidence
shows that these people often obtained their tales from
45 illiterate or anonymous informants. Even if they did not
know their informants, the Grimms came to trust almost
everyone who contributed to their collection. It is this
mutual trust that marks the tales as something special
and endows them with a certain humanity, what
50 Germans call Menschlichkeit, and it is this mutual trust
among folklorists in the nineteenth century that marks
it as the golden age of folk and fairy tales. The tales in
the first edition set a certain standard that collectors
began to follow and still follow even today. Though
55 brusque and raw, the Grimms’ tales of the first edition
still resonate with us today because they indicate how
we can transform ourselves and our conditions to live in
a better world. As philologists, collectors, translators,
researchers, editors, and mediators, the Grimms worked
60 in the hope that their tales would benefit us in
unimaginable ways, and, indeed, it is this hope that can
still be felt when we read and listen to their tales.
1. According to the passage, the Grimms favored “old
German epics, tales, and
literature” because they saw modern literature as less
A. rich.
B. complex.
C. authentic.
D. Imaginative.
2. It is reasonable to conclude that prior to the Grimms
recording their tales,
A. interest in folk tales had been steadily on the rise.
B. folk tales were transmitted largely by oral tradition.
C. these tales were recorded in ancient languages that
were becoming obsolete.
D. most people familiar with the tales agreed on their
poetic symbolism.
3. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 8-12 (“Given that…Brothers Grimm”)
B. Lines 18-22 (“According to them…people together”)
C. Lines 26-34 (“It was perhaps…habitual way”)
D. Lines 58-62 (“As philologists… their tales)
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4. The phrase “not even today” (line 22) suggests that
A. modern fairytales are frequently perceived as
appropriate for children.
B. the Grimms’ tales have lost popularity in recent years.
C. illiteracy among members of Volk culture has been
virtually eliminated.
D. fairy tales have undergone few revisions over the
past two centuries.
5. It is implied that one of the originals functions of
fairytales was to
A. record evidence of supposed instances of magical
encounters.
B. glorify the personal achievements of the storytellers.
C. help people cope with harsh social realities.
D. mitigate tensions between members of different
socioeconomic classes.
6. It can be inferred that the “standards” that exist today
A. should not be applied to other academic disciplines.
B. emphasize the need for storytellers to establish a
rapport with informants.
C. lack literary value in a modern interpretive context.
D. require writers to tell stories through crude and raw
language.
7. In context, the last sentence suggests that the stories
have primarily benefitted readers by
A. establishing improved relations between peasant and
urban populations.
B. conveying timeless values that elicit meaningful
emotional responses.
C. informing readers about the struggles of Germanic
peoples.
D. providing scholars with inspiration to compose their
own empowering stories.
8. The passage as a whole most strongly suggests that
the tales in the Grimms’ first edition were
A. semi-autobiographical pieces highlighting the
childhood experiences of the authors.
B. written in a simplistic style that downplayed harsh
living conditions.
C. changed only slightly in subsequent editions.
D. adapted from stories that had been passed on for
generations.
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Passage 11: The excerpt below is from “The Cask of the Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe. The narrator, Montresor, lures
Fortunato to his wine cellar in order to kill him.
THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne
as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I
vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of
my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance
5 to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a
point definitely, settled -but the very definitiveness with
which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must
not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is
ko duoc den bu unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It
10 is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make
himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong. It
must be understood that neither by word nor deed had
I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I
continued, as was my in to smile in his face, and he did
15 not perceive that my to smile now was at the thought
of his immolation.*
He had a weak point—this Fortunato—although
in other regards he was a man to be respected and even
bac thay, am hieu feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in
20 wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. For the
most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time
and opportunity—to practice imposture upon the British
and Austrian millionaires. In painting and gemmary,
Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack—but in the
25 matter of old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did
not differ from him materially: I was skillful in the Italian
vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could. It
was about dusk, one evening during the supreme
madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my
30 friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he
had been drinking much. The man wore motley. He had
on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was
surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so
pleased to see him, that I thought I should never have
35 done wringing his hand.
I said to him—"My dear Fortunato, you are
luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking today!
But I have received a pipe of what passes for
Amontillado** and I have my doubts."
40 "How?" said he. "Amontillado? A pipe?
Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!"
"I have my doubts," I replied; "and I was silly
enough to pay the full Amontillado price without 25
consulting you in the matter. You were not to be found,
45 and I was fearful of losing a bargain." As you are
engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If anyone has a
critical turn, it is he. He will tell me—"Luchesi cannot tell
Amontillado from Sherry," said Fortunato. "And yet
some fools will have it that his taste is a match for
50 your own," I said.
"Come, let us go. To your vaults."
"My friend, no; I will not impose upon your
good nature. I perceive you have an engagement.
Luchesi—"
55 "I have no engagement;—come."
*immolation: to kill a person or animal as a sacrifice.
**Amontillado: a type of wine.
1. Montresor wants revenge on Fortunato because
Fortunato
A. threatened to kill the narrator.
B. offended the narrator.
C. injured a loved one of the narrator.
D. annoyed the narrator.
2. It can be inferred that Montresor did not give
Fortunato cause to “doubt his good will” primarily
because he
A. did not want his plan to be discovered.
B. enjoyed playing games with Fortunato.
C. still had fond feelings for Fortunato.
D. contemplated showing Fortunato leniency.
3. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 1-3 (“The thousand…revenge”)
B. Lines 3-5 (“You, who so well…threat”)
C. Lines 5-7 (“At length…risk”)
D. Lines 9-11 (“It is equally…the wrong”)
4. Montresor’s approach to seeking revenge can
best be described as
A. impulsive. hap tap
B. calculated.
C. impersonal.
D. hesitant.
5. It can be inferred that Fortunato viewed
Montresor as
A. a loyal friend.
B. a nonviolent adversary.
C. an exacting critic.
D. a fraudulent amateur.

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6. Montresor mentions painting and gemmary in
order to indicate that Fortunato
A. resembled his peers in many ways.
B. was unusually knowledgeable about these fields.
C. had a deep appreciation for the arts.
D. was hostile to matters of culinary refinement.
7. With regards to wine, Fortunato’s knowledge is
A. minimal.
B. moderate.
C. genuine.
D. developing.
8. In his conversation with Fortunato, Montresor
addresses him with
A. flattery, but not genuine affection.
B. mild aggression, but not outright hostility.
C. scornful ridicule, but not abusive harassment.
D. paranoia, but not complete fear.
9. What reason does the Montresor give Fortunato
for not showing Fortunato the wine before he
purchased it?
A. He had already conferred with Luchesi.
B. He was unable to locate Fortunato in a timely
manner.
C. He had previously lost out on a bargain for sherry.
D. He believed Fortunato had a prior engagement.
10. Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A. Lines 17-19 (“He had a weak…feared”)
B. Lines 36-39 (“My dear…doubts”)
C. Lines 42-44 (“and I was…matter”)
D. Line 44-45 (“You…bargain”)
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Passage 12: The excerpt below is from Lucretia Mott’s speech, Discourse on Women.
Why should not woman seek to be a reformer?
If she is to fear to exercise her reason, and her noblest
powers, lest she should be thought to “attempt to act
the man,” and not “acknowledge his supremacy;” if she
5 is to be satisfied with the narrow sphere assigned her by
man, nor aspire to a higher, lest she should transcend
the bounds of female delicacy; truly it is a mournful
prospect for woman. So far from her “ambition leading
her to attempt to act the man,” she needs all the
10 encouragement she can receive, by the removal of
obstacles from her path, in order that she may become
a “true woman.” As it is desirable that man should act a
manly and generous part, not “mannish,” so let woman
be urged to exercise a dignified and womanly bearing,
15 not womanish.
Let her cultivate all the graces and proper
accomplishments of her sex, but let not these
degenerate into a kind of effeminacy, in which she is
satisfied to be the mere plaything or toy of society,
20 content with her outward adorning, and with the tone
of flattery and fulsome adulation too often addressed to
her. It is our duty to develop these natural powers, by
suitable exercise, so that they may be strengthened “by
reason of use.” In the ruder state of society, woman is
25 made to bear heavy burdens, while her “lord and
master” walks idly by her side. In the civilization to
which we have attained, if cultivated and refined
woman would bring all her powers into use, she might
engage in pursuits which she now shrinks from as
30 beneath her proper vocation. The energies of men need
not then be wholly devoted to the counting house* and
common business of life, in order that women in
fashionable society, may be supported in their daily
promenades and nightly visits to the theatre and ball
35 room.
The time is coming when educated females will
not be satisfied with the present objects of their low
ambition. A new generation of women is now upon the
stage, improving the increased opportunities furnished
40 for the acquirement of knowledge. Public education is
coming to be regarded the right of the children of a
republic. The hill of science is not so difficult of ascent
as formerly represented by poets and painters; but by
fact and demonstration smoothed down, so as to be
45 accessible to the assumed weak capacity of woman. She
is rising in the scale of being through this, as well as
other means, and finding heightened pleasure and profit
on the right hand and on the left. The study of
Physiology, now introduced into our common schools,
50 is engaging her attention, impressing the necessity
of the observance of the laws of health. The
intellectual Lyceum and instructive lecture room are
becoming, to many, more attractive than the theatre
and the ball room.
*counting house: office of a business operation.
1. It can reasonably be inferred that the term
“mannish” and the phrase “ambition to act the man”
were used by people who generally intended to
A. celebrate the accomplishments of women.
B. criticize women with strong ambitions.
C. characterize men who conformed to gender
stereotypes.
D. condemn people who supported women’s voting
rights.
2. It can reasonably be inferred that Mott believes a
“true woman” should
A. ignore her obligations in the domestic sphere.
B. receive an education and pursue a career in a
meaningful field.
C. confine her responsibilities outside the home to
voting in elections.
D. radically transform the nature of the professions
in which she participates.
3. At the time this speech was given, which of the
following does Mott acknowledge is a relatively
recent development?
A. Public education for all children is gaining societal
approval.
B. Women can attend theaters and ballrooms on a
nightly basis.
C. Men are considered “lord and master” in many
segments of society.
D. Women can vote and hold office.
4 If women take on new roles in society, Mott
speculates that men will be
A. less burdened by their professional
responsibilities.
B. primarily responsible for child-rearing.
C. more interested in pursuing unconventional
careers themselves.
D. forced to attend cultural and artistic events alone.
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Passage 13: The passage below is adapted from My Antonia, by Willa Cather.
I DO NOT REMEMBER our arrival at my
grandfather's farm sometime before daybreak, after a
drive of nearly twenty miles with heavy work-horses.
When I awoke, it was afternoon. I was lying in a little
5 room, scarcely larger than the bed that held me, and the
window-shade at my head was flapping softly in a warm
wind. A tall woman, with wrinkled brown skin and black
hair, stood looking down at me; I knew that she must be
my grandmother. She had been crying, I could see, but
10 when I opened my eyes she smiled, peered at me
anxiously, and sat down on the foot of my bed. 'Had a
good sleep, Jimmy?' she asked briskly. Then in a very
different tone she said, as if to herself, 'My, how you do
look like your father!' I remembered that my father had
15 been her little boy; she must often have come to wake
him like this when he overslept. 'Here are your clean
clothes,' she went on, stroking my coverlid with her
brown hand as she talked. 'But first you come down to
the kitchen with me, and have a nice warm bath behind
20 the stove. Bring your things; there's nobody about.'
She was a spare, tall woman, a little stooped, and
she was apt to carry her head thrust forward in an
attitude of attention, as if she were looking at
something, or listening to something, far away. As I grew
25 older, I came to believe that it was only because she was
so often thinking of things that were far away. She was
quick-footed and energetic in all her movements. Her
voice was high and rather shrill, and she often spoke
with an anxious inflection, for she was exceedingly
30 desirous that everything should go with due order and
decorum. Her laugh, too, was high, and perhaps a little
strident, but there was a lively intelligence in it. She was
then fifty-five years old, a strong woman, of unusual
endurance.
35 While my grandmother was busy about supper,
I settled myself on the wooden bench behind the stove
and got acquainted with the cat-- he caught not only
rats and mice, but gophers, I was told. My grandfather
said little. When he first came in he kissed me and spoke
40 kindly to me, but he was not demonstrative. I felt at
once his deliberateness and personal dignity, and was a
little in awe of him. The thing one immediately noticed
about him was his beautiful, crinkly, snow-white beard.
I once heard a missionary say it was like the beard of an
45 Arabian sheik. His bald crown only made it more
impressive. Grandfather's eyes were not at all like those
of an old man; they were bright blue, and had a fresh,
frosty sparkle. His teeth were white and regular--so
sound that he had never been to a dentist in his life. He
50 had a delicate skin, easily roughened by sun and wind.
When he was a young man his hair and beard were red; his
eyebrows were still coppery.
1. The narrator believes that his grandmother carries
herself with “her hard thrust forward” because
A. she was looking in the distance.
B. her mind was on matters not immediately at hand.
C. her energetic nature caused her to persevere through
difficult times.
D. she was not concerned about issues that did not directly
affect her.
2 Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer
to the previous question?
A. Lines 18-20 (“But…nobody about”)
B. Lines 21-24 (“She…far away”)
C. Lines 24-26 (“As I grew …away”)
D. Lines 26-31 (She…decorum”)
3. It can be inferred that the narrator
A. did not have a close relationship with his grandparents
prior to his arrival to their farm.
B. was not aware that his grandmother privately grieved
until he was much older.
C. believed his grandparents were too distraught to treat
him with genuine affection.
D. frequently overslept before he moved in with his
grandparents.
4. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer
to the previous question?
A. Lines 7-9 (“A tall…grandmother)
B. Lines 9-12 (“She…briskly”)
C. Lines 14-16 (“I remembered…overslept”)
D. Lines 21-24 (“She…away”)
5. The passage indicates that the grandfather treated the
narrator with
A. exaggerated friendliness. B. thoughtful courteousness.
C. amused curiosity. D. complete emotional detachment.
6. The narrator regards his grandfather with
A. mild intrigue. moi dan B. deep reverence. su ton kinh
diu nhe
C. objective detachment. D. tempered approval.
su tho o khach quan
7 Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer
to the previous question?
A. Lines 40-42 (“I felt…of him”)
B. Line 44-45 (“I once…Arabian sheik”)
C. Lines 49-50 (“He had…wind”)
D. Line 51-52 (“When he…coppery”)
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Passage 14: The passage below is adapted from Barbara Jordan’s keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National
Convention. A Texas native, Jordan was the first African-American woman to represent the Deep South in Congress.
It was one hundred and forty-four years ago that
members of the Democratic Party first met in
convention to select a Presidential candidate. A lot of
years passed since 1832, and during that time it would
5 have been most unusual for any national political party
to ask a Barbara Jordan to deliver a keynote address.
But tonight, here I am. And I feel that notwithstanding
the past that my presence here is one additional bit of
evidence that the American Dream need not forever be
10 deferred.
Now that I have this grand distinction, what in the
world am I supposed to say? I could list the problems
which cause people to feel cynical, angry, frustrated:
problems which include lack of integrity in government;
15 the feeling that the individual no longer counts; feeling
that the grand American experiment is failing or has
failed. I could recite these problems, and then I could
sit down and offer no solutions. But I don't choose to do
that either. The citizens of America expect more.
20 We are a people in search of a national community.
We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of
the present, unemployment, inflation, but we are
attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of
America. We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose,
25 to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal.
And now we must look to the future. Let us heed the
voice of the people and recognize their common sense.
If we do not, we not only blaspheme our political
heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind all
30 Americans. Many fear the future. Many are distrustful
of their leaders, and believe that their voices are never
heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private interests.
But this is the great danger America faces — that we will
cease to be one nation and become instead a collection
35 of interest groups: city against suburb, region against
region, individual against individual; each seeking to
satisfy private wants. If that happens, who then will speak
for America? Who then will speak for the common good?
This is the question which must be answered in 1976:
40 Are we to be one people bound together by common
spirit, sharing in a common endeavor; or will we become
a divided nation? For all of its uncertainty, we cannot
flee the future. We must address and master the future
together. It can be done if we restore the belief that we
45 share a sense of national community, that we share a
common national endeavor.
There is no executive order; there is no law that
can require the American people to form a national
community. This we must do as individuals, and if we
50 do it as individuals, there is no President of the United
States who can veto that decision.
As a first step, we must restore our belief in
ourselves. We are a generous people, so why can't we
be generous with each other?
55 And now, what are those of us who are elected public
officials supposed to do? We call ourselves “public
servants” but I'll tell you this: We as public servants
must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is
hypocritical for the public official to admonish and
60 exhort the people to uphold the common good if we are
derelict in upholding the common good. More is
required of public officials than slogans and handshakes
and press releases.
If we promise as public officials, we must deliver.
65 If we as public officials propose, we must produce.
If we say to the American people, “It is time for you to
be sacrificial” — sacrifice. And again, if we make
mistakes, we must be willing to admit them. What we
have to do is strike a balance between the idea that
70 government should do everything and the idea that
government ought to do nothing.
Let there be no illusions about the difficulty of
forming this kind of a national community. It's tough,
difficult, not easy. But a spirit of harmony will survive
75 in America only if each of us remembers, when self-
interest and bitterness seem to prevail, that we share a
common destiny.
We cannot improve on the system of government
handed down to us by the founders of the Republic.
80 There is no way to improve upon that. But what we can
do is to find new ways to implement that system and
realize our destiny.
1. The author most strongly suggests which of the following
about the “common endeavor” (line 41)
A) it represents an impossible ideal.
B) It has the potential to be destroyed by uncertainty.
C) It cannot be realized through legislation.
D) It represents a merger of individual and corporate interests.
2. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to
the previous question?
A) Lines 33-35 (“But...groups”)
B) Lines 42-43 (‘For...future”)
C) Lines 47-49 (“There is...community”)
D) Lines 56-58 (““We...nation”)
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Passage 15: The following passage is adapted from Willer Cather, My Antonia, originally published in 1918. The narrator
recounts his life on the Nebraska plains as a boy.
On the afternoon of that Sunday I took my first
long ride on my pony, under Otto's direction. After
that Dude and I went twice a week to the post-office,
six miles east of us, and I saved the men a good
5 deal of time by riding on errands to our neighbors.
When we had to borrow anything, I was always the
messenger.
All the years that have passed have not dimmed my
memory of that first glorious autumn. The new country
10 lay open before me: there were no fences in those days,
and I could choose my own way over the grass uplands,
trusting the pony to get me home again. Sometimes I
followed the sunflower-bordered roads.
I used to love to drift along the pale-yellow cornfields,
15 looking for the damp spots one sometimes found at their
edges, where the smartweed soon turned a rich copper
color and the narrow brown leaves hung curled like
cocoons about the swollen joints of the stem. Sometimes
I went south to visit our German neighbors and to
20 admire their catalpa grove, or to see the big elm tree
that grew up out of a deep crack in the earth and had a
hawk's nest in its branches. Trees were so rare in that
country, and they had to make such a hard fight to grow,
that we used to feel anxious about them, and visit them
25 as if they were persons. It must have been the scarcity of
detail in that tawny landscape that made detail so
precious.
Sometimes I rode north to the big prairie-dog town to
watch the brown earth-owls fly home in the late afternoon
30 and go down to their nests underground with the dogs.
Antonia Shimerda liked to go with me, and we used to
wonder a great deal about these birds of subterranean
habit. We had to be on our guard there, for rattlesnakes
were always lurking about. They came to pick up an easy
35 living among the dogs and owls, which were quite
defenseless against them; took possession of their
comfortable houses and ate the eggs and puppies. We
felt sorry for the owls. It was always mournful to see
them come flying home at sunset and disappear under
40 the earth.
But, after all, we felt, winged things who would live
like that must be rather degraded creatures. The dog-town
was a long way from any pond or creek. Otto Fuchs said
he had seen populous dog-towns in the desert where
45 there was no surface water for fifty miles; he insisted that
some of the holes must go down to water—nearly two
hundred feet, hereabouts. Antonia said she didn't believe
it; that the dogs probably lapped up the dew in the
early morning, like the rabbits.
Antonia had opinions about everything, and she
50 was soon able to make them known. Almost every day
she came running across the prairie to have her
reading lesson with me. Mrs. Shimerda grumbled, but
realized it was important that one member of the
family should learn English. When the lesson was over,
55 we used to go up to the watermelon patch behind the
garden. I split the melons with an old corn-knife, and
we lifted out the hearts and ate them with the juice
trickling through our fingers. The white melons we did
60 not touch, but we watched them with curiosity. They
were to be picked later, when the hard frosts had set
in, and put away for winter use. After weeks on the
ocean, the Shimerdas were famished for fruit. The two
girls would wander for miles along the edge of the
65 cornfields, hunting for ground-cherries.
Antonia loved to help grandmother in the kitchen
and to learn about cooking and housekeeping. She
would stand beside her, watching her every
movement. We were willing to believe that Mrs.
70 Shimerda was a good housewife in her own country,
but she managed poorly under new conditions. I
remember how horrified we were al the sour, ashy-
grey bread she gave her family to eat. She mixed her
dough, we discovered, in an old tin peck-measure that
75 had been used about the barn. When she took the
paste out to bake it, she left smears of dough sticking
to the sides of the measure, put the measure on the
shelf behind the stove, and let this residue ferment.
The next time she made bread, she scraped this sour
80 stuff down into the fresh dough to serve as yeast.
1. It is most reasonable to infer that access to the the
land during the narrator’s boyhood was
A) reserved for a small group of settlers.
B) Jess restricted than it became later on.
C) sometimes prohibited by the narrator’s neighbors.
D) controlled by Antonia Shimerda’s family.
2. Which lines best support the answer to the previous
question?
A) Lines 9-12 (“The new...again”)
B) Lines 18-22 (“Sometimes...branches”)
C) Lines 33-34 (“We...about”)
D) Lines 62-65 (‘‘After...cherries”)
100