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AP English Language Practice Test 2

Directions: The multiple choice portion of the AP English Language exam

consists of passages from prose works along with questions about the
content, form, and style of these passages. After reading this passage,
choose the best answer to each question and click on the corresponding
letter of your choice. Then click on the right arrow when you are ready to
move on to the next question.

Questions 1–13. Read the following passage carefully before you

choose your answers.
(The following is an excerpt from a speech by Esther Brimmer.)
We believe that investing in the education of women and girls is not only the
“right thing to do; but it is the smart thing to do.” That is why we are
committed to working with the United Nations and the international
community in the lead up to 2015 to promote gender equality and the global
empowerment of women and the education-related Millennium
Development Goals. The United States is working with key international
partners, including the United Nations, and the UN specialized agencies,
such as UNESCO and UNICEF, to expand girls’ and women’s access to
education in all forms and at all levels. As we seek to empower women
through education, we must think of new ways to reach women and make
education and skills training relevant to their lives. Some progress has been
made with regard to enrollment in primary school for girls.

According to the 2010 Education For All Global Monitoring Report, the share
of out-of-school girls has declined from 58% to 54% and the gender gap is
narrowing in primary education in many countries. However we know that
one of the challenges is not only enrollment in basic education, but also
getting girls to stay in school and creating an environment where they can
successfully transfer from primary to secondary school and consider
post-secondary options.

We know that literacy is a critical first step for acquiring the skills needed to
participate fully in one’s society. Of the 759 million adults who lack basic
literacy skills around the world, two-thirds are women. UN organizations are
helping governments, teachers, funders, NGOs, and students build capacity
and address challenges to reaching these adults that lack basic literacy
skills. Since rejoining UNESCO, one of our top priorities has been promoting
literacy, with a particular focus on girls and women.

To that end, quality providers of informal/non-formal education have played

and will continue to play a key role in decreasing the global adult illiteracy
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rate. We know that informal education can be more flexible and help reach
adults who have long ago dropped out of the formal schools system or who
were systematically denied access to school.

As the largest government donor to UNICEF, the United States is supporting

efforts to support safe schools, quality education for each and every girl and
boy. For example, UNICEF’s Child-Friendly Schools model which has been
implemented in more than 50 countries, utilizes curricula that are specifically
inclusive and gender-sensitive. Where barriers to gender equity exist,
UNICEF works with governments to develop alternative education methods
that promote gender inclusiveness in education. In Afghanistan, UNICEF
has helped establish community-based schools in rural areas that allow for
the participation of girls. In 2008, the Government of Afghanistan ran 815 of
these community-based schools, with an enrolment of nearly 30,000
students.

Question 1
What is the rhetorical purpose Brimmer's first sentence in this passage?
A. She uses an analogy to set up the basic claim of her passage: it's both smart and right
to educate the world's women.
B. She appeals to the audience by using her authority as the undersecretary for
International Organizational Affairs.
C. She uses an appeal to authority to make her opinion more forceful.
D. She utilizes emotional and logical appeal with her inclusive choice of the word "we."
E. She relies purely on an emotionless, logical approach to appeal to the intellect of the
audience.

Question 2
Which statement best explains the importance of the use of statistics in this passage?
A. The statistics back up the claim that fewer women/ girls continue to be illiterate than
men/boys around the globe.
B. The statistical information in the passage sets up irrefutable proof that women and
girls deserve to be educated.
C. The statistical information in the passage sets up a strong logical appeal designed to
convince the audience to advocate for the education of women and girls.
D. The statistical information in the passage appeals to the emotions of the audience in
order to provoke a radical change in thinking.
E. The statistical information provides a limited grasp of the available data and is meant
to provide a broad overview of the logical argument for women's education.

Question 3
Which of the following is NOT a political assumption that can be inferred from this
passage?
A. Women and girls need formal education because informal education is ineffective.
B. It's important for us to think of new ways to reach women and girls and provide them
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with education.
C. Women and girls should be educated.
D. Women become empowered through education.
E. It makes sense to educate women and girls.

Question 4
What strategy in this speech might best appeal to a hostile or critical audience?
A. The explication of the international community's interest in promoting gender equality.
B. The claim that educating girls is a smart choice because it will benefit everyone.
C. The descriptions of how the United States is collaborating with UNESCO and UNICEF to
promote women's literacy.
D. The advocacy of "nontraditional" ways to educate women.
E. The statistics that back up the claim that fewer women and girls are remaining
illiterate.

Question 5
Which sentence best summarizes the importance of education beyond elementary school
as it is expressed in the passage?
A. Women's literacy has increased, but there are still not enough women in
post-secondary education.
B. Women and girls are catching up with boys and men in school attendance but lag
behind in secondary and post-secondary school.
C. Women's literacy is important but it must be made relevant to their lives and delivered
in non-traditional forms.
D. The gender gap is beyond the ability of elementary education at present to close.
E. While there have been gains in elementary education for women and girls, we need to
find more ways to encourage them to stay in school through secondary and beyond.

Question 6
The chief effect of the phrase "participate fully" in paragraph three is to
A. criticize the small-mindedness of those who oppose funding for literacy programs.
B. preface the statistics from UNICEF with a blanket thesis.
C. summarize the Education For All Global Monitoring Report.
D. emphasize the concept that illiterate adults are closed off from many aspects of daily
life.
E. repudiate the notion that people all over the world have the same access to education.

Question 7
The author most likely works for what body?
A. UNESCO
B. The United Nations
C. The United States government
D. The Government of Afghanistan
E. UNICEF
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Question 8
The passage mentions all of the following as difficulties women face EXCEPT
A. earning equal pay for equal work
B. maintaining consistent school enrollment
C. being denied enrollment at educational institutions
D. lack of opportunities due to rural environments
E. curriculum that does not promote gender inclusiveness

Question 9
The author mentions UNICEF's Child-Friendly Schools in order to
A. point out a program that is dated and no longer working
B. request more funding for a nascent initiative
C. lobby for more donations to fund a worthy cause
D. describe how the idea of gender inclusiveness can be implemented
E. praise the United States for its help promoting education for boys and girls

Question 10
Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for this passage?
A. A Journey Towards Literacy
B. The Gender Gap: An Ongoing Problem
C. UNESCO, UNICEF, and Promoting Literacy
D. Men v. Women: Gender in Education
E. How We Can Educate Women

Question 11
Which of the following best describes the tone of the passage?
A. Bombastic and idiomatic
B. Humanistic and reverent
C. Laudatory and sentimental
D. Factual and unemotional
E. Optimistic and provincial

Question 12
Which of the following can be inferred about UNESCO?
A. At some point in the past, the United States was not a part of it.
B. It is run by the same people who organize UNICEF.
C. It has gathered enough data to show that over 700 million adults lack literacy skills.
D. It only focuses on informal education as that is more effective.
E. It has implemented the Child-Friendly Schools to great success in more than 50
countries.

Question 13
Which of the following can be inferred about Afghanistan?
A. More women are educated there today than were in 2008.
B. Educated men in Afghanistan largely oppose the education of women.
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C. There are fewer post-secondary options for girls in Afghanistan than there are primary
school options.
D. At least some of its leaders support the education of women.
E. The women in the cities are better educated than those in the rural areas.

Answers and Explanations

Question 1 Explanation: The correct answer is (D). Brimmer employs an appeal to

emotion, with the phrase "right thing to do," and an appeal to logic and reason with the
phrase "smart thing to do." She also chooses the word "we" instead of "I" to make her
audience feel like they are working together in support of this issue. It works on and
emotional and intellectual level. Choice (A) cannot be the correct answer because, while
the claim is accurately stated, the first sentence of the passage is not an analogy.

Question 2 Explanation: The correct answer is (C). Providing statistical information is a

strategy to substantiate the claims in a speech or an essay. Answer choice (C) includes
both the statistical information that supports the claim that women's education has
progressed and the statistical information that shows a need for much more work on the
issue.

Question 3 Explanation: The correct answer is (A). While Brimmer claims that formal
education is important, she says that we also need to investigate and institute informal
ways to educate women who are not able to attend school: "We know that informal
education can be more flexible and help reach adults who have long ago dropped out of
the formal school system or who were systematically denied access to school."

Question 4 Explanation: The correct answer is (B). Someone who does not believe that
women should be educated would most likely not be influenced by statistics about
illiteracy, US collaborations with international organizations, or the advocacy of
"nontraditional" ways to educate women. To persuade a critical reader, show the issue in
a light that benefits a group he or she supports. By using logic to show the widespread
benefits of women's education to more groups than just women, the hostile reader might
begin to see advocacy of this issue as reasonable.

Question 5 Explanation: The correct answer is (E). Brimmer acknowledges the gains
that have been made in elementary education for women and girls, but stresses the need
to find alternative ways to encourage them to attend school through secondary and
possibly post-secondary education.

Question 6 Explanation: The correct answer is (D). The writer uses the word “fully” here
to imply that currently, illiterate adults are only participating in society in a limited
capacity. Therefore, the phrase serves to highlight how being literate could open up
opportunities for individuals who were previously unable to become educated.

Question 7 Explanation: The correct answer is (C). The author uses the word “we”
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throughout the passage, and says in the first paragraph, “we are committed to working
with the United Nations and the international community.” Therefore, we can infer she
does not work for the United Nations or an international body. She also mentions
UNESCO and UNICEF as “UN specialized agencies,” so it is not likely she works for either
of them. It is more likely she is an American government employee.

Question 8 Explanation: The correct answer is (A). Differences in pay between men and
women are not discussed directly in this passage. Though the focus of the passage is on
gender inequity, it exclusively focuses on the topic of education.

Question 9 Explanation: The correct answer is (D). The sentence before this detail is
mentioned introduces the idea of education “for each and every girl and boy.” The next
sentence goes on to introduce a successful example of this: UNICEF’s Child-Friendly
Schools. The writer mentions that these schools are unique in that they are “specifically
inclusive and gender-sensitive.”

Question 10 Explanation: The correct answer is (E). The topic of the passage is
education. While literacy and the gender gap are all ideas mentioned in the passage, the
correct title should encompass ALL of the paragraphs.

Question 11 Explanation: The correct answer is (B). The author is interested in the
welfare of people, so the tone could easily be described as “humanistic.” The author is
also extremely serious about empowering women through education, and takes a
“reverent,” somewhat serious tone towards the topic. There is no humor or levity.

Question 12 Explanation: The correct answer is (A). In the third paragraph, the writer
says the phrase, “Since rejoining UNESCO, one of our top priorities….” It can be inferred
the author is representing the United States in some capacity, so it is likely that at some
point in the past, the United States left UNESCO, only to rejoin at a later date.

Question 13 Explanation: The correct answer is (D). The last few sentences of the
passage describes how UNICEF established “community-based school” in rural areas, and
mentions that in 2008, Afghanistan’s government was running 815 of these schools. It
stands to reason therefore, that there was at least some support for the education of
women within the Afghanistan government. Since the latest statistics provided are from
2008 and 2010, we cannot make any inferences about what the state of Afghanistan’s
education system is today.
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