READING COMPREHENSION

REVIEWER

ENGLISH

I.
Lovelessness
Paolo Arciga

on days of rain and of thunder

i make some room on the bed
so i can prepare for companionship
once it's no longer just all in my head

on days of sun and of salt

i sit in the shade and look enviously
at those unafraid of the water
as if they were so different from me

take me to the moon and back, somebody please

i want to know how it feels

on days of work and of thanklessness

how nice it must be to hear,
"hello, how are you, what's wrong
would you like to talk it over a beer?"

it may be so that i'm just a fool

with my lofty fantasies
but it was never for lack of trying
that love has never come to me

1. Who is the author longing for?

a. A friend

b. An enemy

c. A lover
 d. A counsellor

2. What is the author trying to say in the fourth stanza?

a. He wants someone that will give him work

b. He wants someone to drink beer with

c. He wants someone to go the the moon with him

d. He wants someone that will ask how he’s doing

3. What does the word lofty, used in the fifth stanza, mean?

a. Countless

b. Aloof

c. Sad

d. Happy

II.

How Meme Culture Is Getting Teens into Marxism

During his final year of high school, Myles was voted "Comedian of the Year," an accolade he
received for being an admin on his school's Facebook meme page. Under his careful curation, inside
jokes and gossip ran rampant, earning him the title.
Now 18 and studying journalism, Myles is a part of the growing movement of teenagers worldwide
creating and sharing their own esoteric, leftist political memes on Facebook, Reddit, and Tumblr. "I
love the way memes can brilliantly explain a huge political issue in a simple way," says Myles.
"I mean obviously memes aren't the be-all and end-all of political engagement, but they can often
help explain and engage young people in a discourse that they get shut out of. I once saw this great
meme from Sassy Socialist Memes that epitomized a really thoughtful criticism of economic
rationalism.
"It was one of those 'funny because it's true' moments."
There is much dispute and criticism around the use of so-called dank memes in the political arena;
some feel they are overbearingly layered with irony, or prone to re-appropriating theory out of
context. On the flip side, as Myles points out, they make political theory digestible. Memes are also
undeniably accessible and democratic: memers make content on their own terms, and in doing so
seize "the means of production."
"A lot of people don't have time to write a whole article or make a whole stand-up special really
getting into the grit of political conversations," agrees Susie, 18, an English Literature student and
LGBTQ activist. "But most people have time to make a meme.”
"Also, a lot of political meme culture I follow incorporates stuff that I already know about, or
values I already have, so it's nice to have like an in-joke with a lot of people—which is where a lot
people find the fun in it."
"Like the political cartoon, which goes back two centuries to Punch magazine in the 1850s, political
memes are a way for people to look at politics but to look at it askance, a little bit off centre, and
that is pleasurable," writes Professor Marshall of Deakin University. "They offer a sense of personal
connection and a way to instantly show your interest in an issue from a slightly removed point of
view."
James*, 27, is an admin for Crunchy Continental Memes, a Leftist philosophy meme page. "If
there's a takeaway for young people or activists looking at our page, it's that that continental
philosophy isn't just academic abstraction," he says. "It can inform and reinforce leftist political
practice in a really vital way."
The whole thing does sometimes conflict with his worldview, though. "The problem with being an
admin is that you end up seeing other people less as individual comrades, and more as potential
engagements with your content, so the 'average' memer you see fades into an amorphous multitude
whose only function is to reward your toil with precious likes."
Susie (not an admin) isn't worried about that. "Tagging a mate in a meme helps ease into a chat, you
know?" she says over Facebook. "Memes are the opener now I guess lmao but that seems pretty
good to me.”

4. What does the word “esoteric”, used in the second paragraph, mean?

a. Understood by a few

b. Understood by many

c. Understood by no one

d. Understood by himself only

5. Which of the following is not true about how Myles, and James use memes in their pages

a. They use it to make political theories more easily understandable

b. They use it to engage young people in political discussions

c. They see how it becomes a fun way to discuss politics

d. They intend to make it elite and focus it on only a few groups people.
 6. What does “lmao”, used in the last paragraph, mean?

a. Leaving my anchovies out

b. Laughing my arse off

c. Letting my accounts on

d. Living my antics out

III.

Taken from “Bethroed” by Anton Chekov

1 It was ten o'clock in the evening and the full moon was shining over the garden. In the Shumins'
house an evening service celebrated at the request of the grandmother, Marfa Mihalovna, was just
over, and now Nadya -- she had gone into the garden for a minute -- could see the table being laid
for supper in the dining-room, and her grandmother bustling about in her gorgeous silk dress; Father
Andrey, a chief priest of the cathedral, was talking to Nadya's mother, Nina Ivanovna, and now in
the evening light through the window her mother for some reason looked very young; Andrey
Andreitch, Father Andrey's son, was standing by listening attentively.
It was still and cool in the garden, and dark peaceful shadows lay on the ground. There was a sound
of frogs croaking, far, far away beyond the town. There was a feeling of May, sweet May! One drew
deep breaths and longed to fancy that not here but far away under the sky, above the trees, far away
in the open country, in the fields and the woods, the life of spring was unfolding now, mysterious,
lovely, rich and holy beyond the understanding of weak, sinful man. And for some reason one
wanted to cry.
She, Nadya, was already twenty-three. Ever since she was sixteen she had been passionately
dreaming of marriage and at last she was engaged to Andrey Andreitch, the young man who was
standing on the other side of the window; she liked him, the wedding was already fixed for July 7,
and yet there was no joy in her heart, she was sleeping badly, her spirits drooped.... She could hear
from the open windows of the basement where the kitchen was the hurrying servants, the clatter of
knives, the banging of the swing door; there was a smell of roast turkey and pickled cherries, and
for some reason it seemed to her that it would be like that all her life, with no change, no end to it.
Some one came out of the house and stood on the steps; it was Aleksandr Timofeitch, or, as he was
always called, Sasha, who had come from Moscow ten days before and was staying with them.
Years ago a distant relation of the grandmother, a gentleman's widow called Marya Petrovna, a thin,
sickly little woman who had sunk into poverty, used to come to the house to ask for assistance. She
had a son Sasha. It used for some reason to be said that he had talent as an artist, and when his
mother died Nadya's grandmother had, for the salvation of her soul, sent him to the Komissarovsky
school in Moscow; two years later he went into the school of painting, spent nearly fifteen years
there, and only just managed to scrape through the leaving examination in the section of
architecture. He did not set up as an architect, however, but took a job at a lithographer's. He used to
come almost every year, usually very ill, to stay with Nadya's grandmother to rest and recover.
He was wearing now a frock-coat buttoned up, and shabby canvas trousers, crumpled into creases at
the bottom. And his shirt had not been ironed and he had somehow all over a look of not being
fresh. He was very thin, with big eyes, long thin fingers and a swarthy bearded face, and all the
same he was handsome. With the Shumins he was like one of the family, and in their house felt he
was at home. And the room in which he lived when he was there had for years been called Sasha's
room. Standing on the steps he saw Nadya, and went up to her.

7. At the start of the passage, a/an ________ had just finished.

a. Dinner

b. Party

c. Religious Service

d. Evening Tea

8. From the way the narrator describes Father Andrey’s son, Andrey Andreitch, it can be
inferred that _________.

a. Father Andrey is a sinful clergyman.

b. Father Andrey is from a different branch of Christianity that approves of marriage

within the clergy.

c. She is also the child of Father Andrey.

d. She desires Andrey Adreitch so much that she does not bother with his status as the
son of a priest.

9. Aleksandr is considered _________ by the family.

a. A nuisance

b. A distraction

c. As another member

d. A loyal servant

10. From what point of view is the story narrated?

a. First Person
 b. Second Person

c. Third Person Omniscient

d. Fly-on-the-wall

IV.

From ‘We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers’ by Alejandro Roces:

Just as I was getting in the mood to drink, Joe passed out. He lay on the floor flat as a starfish. He
was in a class all by himself. I knew that the soldiers had to be back in their barracks at a certain
time. So I decided to take Joe back. I tried to lift him. It was like lifting a carabao. I had to call four
of my neighbors to help me carry Joe. We slung him on top of my carabao. I took my bolo from the
house and strapped it on my waist. Then I proceeded to take him back. The whole barrio was
wondering what had happened to the big Amerikano.

11. Based on the content of the passage, what does the author mean with “it was like lifting a
carabao” ?

a. Joe has the same color as a carabao.

b. Joe weighs light.

c. Joe weighs heavy.

d. Joe looks like a carabao.

12. What is the reason why Joe passed out?

a. Joe is sick.

b. Joe had too much to drink.

c. Joe was so sleepy that he wasn’t able to control it anymore.

d. Joe was tired from work.

13. Who is the narrator?

a. A neighbor

b. A fellow American soldier

 c. A farmer

d. A merchant

14. What is the general tone of the narrator?

a. Whimsical

b. Optimistic

c. Angry

d. Advising

15. According to the passage, one can conclude that __.

a. Drinking is bad for the health.

b. Drinking makes one heavy.

c. Drinking tolerance varies.

d. Drinking creates companionship.

V.

A small seated figurine from the Vili people of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo was
instrumental in the lives of two of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. The carved figure in wood,
with its large upturned face, long torso, disproportionately short legs and tiny feet and hands, was
purchased in a curio shop in Paris by Henri Matisse in 1906. The French artist, who liked to fill his
studio with exotic trinkets and objets d’art, objects that would then appear in his paintings, paid a
pittance for it.Yet when he showed it to Pablo Picasso at the home of the art patron and avant-garde
writer Gertrude Stein, its impact on the young Spaniard was profound, just as it was, though to an
arguably lesser extent, on Matisse when the compact but powerful figure had fortuitously caught his
eye.

16. What is the main point of the passage?

a. Artists like to share things for their art.

b. Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse are great artists of the 20th century.

c. How a small figurine greatly influences and or change art.

 d. Art originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

e. Art is diverse.

17. What is the purpose of the passage?

a. explain

b. argue

c. advocate

d. persuade

18. The passage answers supplies information for answering which of the following questions?

a. What have influenced great artists like Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso in their art?

b. Who is the greatest artist of the 20th century?

c. Is 20th century the ‘Golden Age’ of art?

d. What role does a figurine played in the life and growth of artists like Henri Matisse
and Pablo Picasso?

19. TRUE OR FALSE: 20th century French artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse drew
inspiration from a sculpture of the Vili people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

a. True

b. False

c. Uncertain

20. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?

a. 20th century Art: Changes and Inspirations

b. Changes in Art: African Art to Western Art

c. Matisse and Picasso : Inspirations Behind their Art

d. African Figurine and its Contribution in the Art

 READING COMPREHENSION
ANSWER KEY

ENGLISH
1. C
2. D
3. B
4. A
5. D
6. B
7. C
8. B
9. C
10. C
11. C
12. B
13. C
14. A
15. C
16. C
17. A
18. A
19. B
20. C