Mr. Rosentel's Website



PracticePassage 1: Back to Mango Street It has been ten years since Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street was first published. She began writing it in graduate school, the spring of 1977, in Iowa City. She was twenty-two years old. (2) She’s thirty-eight now and far from that time and place, the questions from readers remain: Are these stories true? Is she Esperanza? According to the author, when she began work on The House on Mango Street, she thought she was writing a memoir. By the time she finished it, though, the memoir was no longer a memoir, no longer autobiographical. (3) However, it had evolved into a collective story peopled with several lives from her present and past, placed in one fictional time and neighborhood—Mango Street.Passage 2: The Moral Naturalists Where does our sense of right and wrong come from? Moral naturalists, as a broad generalization, (4) believe that we have moral sentiments that have emerged from a long history of relationships. To learn about morality, you don’t rely upon (5) revelation, or metaphysics, you observe people as they live. By the time humans came around, evolution had forged a pretty firm foundation for a moral sense. Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia argues that this moral sense is like our sense of taste. We have natural receptors that help us pick up sweetness and saltiness. (6) First, we have natural receptors that help us recognize fairness and cruelty. Just as a few universal tastes can grow into many different cuisines, a few moral senses can grow into many different moral cultures. Paul Bloom of Yale noted that this moral sense can be observed early in life. Bloom and his colleagues conducted an experiment in which (7) he showed babies a scene featuring one figure struggling to (8) climb a hill; another figure trying to help it; and a third trying to hinder it (stop it). At as early as six months, the babies showed a preference for the helper over the hinderer. In some plays, (9) they’re is a second act. The hindering figure is either punished or rewarded. In this case, 8-month-olds preferred a character who was punishing the hinderer over ones being nice to it. This illustrates, Bloom says, that people have a rudimentary sense of justice from a very early age. This doesn’t make people naturally good. If you give a 3-year-old two pieces of candy and ask him if he wants to share one of them, he will almost certainly say no. It’s not until age 7 or 8 that even half the children are willing to share. But it does mean that social norms fall upon prepared ground. We come equipped to learn fairness and other virtues.Passage 3: Okefenokee Swamp Vast and primeval, unfathomable, unconquerable, bastion of cottonmouth, rattlesnake and leech, mother of vegetation, father of mosquito, soul of silt, the Okefenokee is the swamp archetypal, the swamp of legend. (11) They give birth to two rivers, the St. Mary’s and the Suwannee, fanning out over 430,000 leaf-choked acres, every last one as sodden as a sponge. Four hundred and thirty thousand acres of stinging, biting and boring insects, of maiden cane and gum and cypress, of palmetto, slash pine and peat, of muck, mud, slime, and ooze. (12) It is, to put it mildly, an unpleasant place. 30861001868805130013 The swamp is home to two hundred and twenty-five species of birds, forty-three of mammals, fifty-eight of reptiles, thirty-two of amphibians and thirty-four of fish—all variously equipped with beaks, talons, claws, teeth, stingers and fangs—not to mention the seething galaxies of gnats and deerflies and no-see-ums, the ticks, mites, hookworms and paramecia that exist to deepen the misery of life. There are alligators here, bears, puma, bobcats and bowfin, there are cooters and snappers, opossum, coon and gar. They feed on one another, in the sludge and muck and on the floating mats of peat they bury eggs, they scratch and stink and sniff at themselves, caterwauling and screeching through every minute of every day and night (14) until the light of the full moon finally brings peace.Passage 4: from Mary Oliver’s “Owls” When the great horned owl is in the trees, (15) it’s razor-tipped toes rasp the limb, causing flakes of bark to fall through the air and land on my shoulders while I look up at it and listen to the heavy, crisps, breathy snapping of its hooked beak. These magnificent birds embody pure, 1190625133350160016malevolent power. The screech owl I can imagine on my wrist, also the delicate saw-whet owl that flies like a big, soft moth.I can imagine sitting before that luminous wanderer, the snowy old, and learning, from the white glean of its feathers, something about the Arctic. (17) The great horned however I can’t imagine in any such proximity—if one of those touched me, it would be to the center of my life, and I must fall. They are the pure, wild hunters of our world. They are swift and merciless upon the (18) backs of rabbits, mice, voles, snakes, even skunks, even cats sitting in dusky yards thinking peaceful thoughts. I have found the headless bodies of rabbits and bluejays, and known it was the great horned old that did them in, taking the head only, for 2562225104140200020 reasons (19) to obscure to understand. I have walked with prudent caution down paths at twilight when the dogs were puppies. I know this bird. It has haunted my dreams.Passage 5: Igor Stravinsky’s “On Conducting” -7620098425210021 Conducting, like politics, rarely attracts original minds, so conducting is more about trying to become famous instead of developing (22) ones talents for more sincere reasons. A conductor may actually be lesswell-equipped for his work than his players, but no one except the players need know it, and the people who come to see the performance won’t even know 186690066040230023that the conductor is a fraud. In conductors, this egotistical, self-centered feeling is naturally high to begin with, and the disease grows like a tropical weed under the sun of an adoring public.? The results are that the conductor is (24) encouraged to create a purely egotistical false, and ridiculous authority, and that he gets to hold a position far beyond his real value in the musical community.? He soon becomes a "great" conductor, in fact, and as such is the worst obstacle to genuine music-making.? "Great" conductors, like "great" actors, (25) was unable to play anything but themselves; being unable to adapt themselves to the work, they change the work to themselves, to fit their "style.” The cult of the "great" conductor also (26) have tended to replace looking for listening.?? In other words, conductors end up distracting the audience; the audience members forgets to listen to the music because they focus on watching the (27) conductors’ ridiculous gesturing and dancing. If you are incapable of listening, the conductor will show you what to feel.? (28) Thus, the self-importantconductor will act out "his" version of some famous piece of classical music, wear an expression of noble suffering and ultimate triumph in the last movement, and otherwise insist on being the center of attention.? 2933700310515300030If you are unable to understand or appreciate (29) it, I suppose you can watch the conductor’s antics. .-1968516510Question 1 asks about the passage as a whole.00Question 1 asks about the passage as a whole. 1. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this passage? A. Cisneros is best known for her memoir, House on Mango Street.B. Cisneros’s first novel was clearly unpopular with readers. C. Cisneros drew inspiration from real life to create her first work of fiction. D. The heroine Esperanza was a product of Cisneros’s imagination. 2. A. NO CHANGEB. She’s thirty-eight now and far from that time and place; and the questions from readersC. She’s thirty-eight now and far from that time and place, but the questions from readers D. She’s thirty-eight now, and far from that time and place, the questions from readers3. A. NO CHANGEB. Moreover, C. On the contrary, D. As a result, 4. A. NO CHANGEB. has believed C. believes D. were believing 5. A. NO CHANGEB. revelation or metaphysics, you observe people as they live.C. revelation or metaphysics; you observe people as they live.D. revelation, metaphysics, you observe people as they live.6. A. NO CHANGEB. Similarly,C. On the other hand,D. Afterwards,7. A. NO CHANGEB. he has shownC. they have showed D. they showed8. A. NO CHANGE B. climb a hill: another figure trying to help it and a third trying to hinder C. climb a hill; another figure trying to help it, and a third trying to hinder D. climb a hill, another figure trying to help it, and a third trying to hinder9. A. NO CHANGEB. theirC. they are D. there-1968516510Question 10 asks about the passage as a whole.00Question 10 asks about the passage as a whole. 10. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this passage? A. Children do not learn to share until they are at least 7 or 8 years old.B. Moral naturalists believe that we are born with an idea of fairness.C. All humans follow their natural sense of right and wrong.D. Babies prefer helpful figures to those that try to impede someone else’s progress.11. A. NO CHANGEB. They had givenC. It gives D. It was giving12. Which of the descriptions of the swamp further emphasizes the central idea of the paragraph and essay?A: NO CHANGEB: It is a place that many tourists visit.C: Anything here festers, rots, decomposes, and deliquesces.D: Despite all of this, there is natural beauty.13. At this point, the writer is considering adding the following true statement:On the other hand, one will also bugs of a different sort, such as butterflies, fireflies, and ladybugs.Should the writer make this addition here?A: Yes, because it highlights the fact that the swamp is home to insects that are both pleasant and unpleasant.B: Yes, because it further catalogs the incredible diversity of life found in the swamp.C: No, because there is no evidence that such bugs would inhabit this swamp.D: No, because this sentence seems to undermine the overall tone that the author is trying to strike.14. Given that all of the choices are true, which one best develops the paragraph’s focus on the idea that the swamp is a dangerous, messy place?A: NO CHANGEB: until the hand of man finally comes to harvest its natural resources C: until the place reverberates and echoes like some hellish zoo.D: until the land is finally converted to productive farmland15. A. NO CHANGEB. they’reC. their D. its16. The author wishes to add a sentence here that illustrates the preceding statement. Which of the following would be best?A: NO CHANGEB: Its soft, brown feathers ruffle in the breeze.C: Its cold, yellow eyes seem to pierce my skin like daggers.D: It has feathers on its head that seem like miniature horns.17. A: NO CHANGEB: The great horned however, I can’t imagine in any such proximityC: The great horned, however I can’t imagine, in any such proximityD: The great horned, however, I can’t imagine in any such proximity18. A: NO CHANGEB: backs’ of rabbitsC: back’s of rabbitsD: backs of rabbits’19.A: NO CHANGEB: to obscure too understandC: two obscure to understandD: too obscure to understand20. At this point, the writer wishes to suggest that the owl is a voracious, relentless hunter. Which choice is the most relevant to the information provided in this paragraph?A: NO CHANGEB: If it could, it would eat the whole world.C: That is why I try to remember to keep my dogs indoors.D: I cherish seeing it in the woods beyond my yard.21. The writer wishes to insert a sentence here that best introduces the paragraph. Which one of the following would best do this?A: Many people are qualified to become conductors.B: Why does a conductor bow after the orchestra stops playing?C: The best conductors are not creative thinkers.D: Being a conductor is one of society’s most respected positions, and deservedly so.22. A: NO CHANGEB: one’s talentsC: one’s talents’D: ones talent’s23. The writer wishes to add a sentence here to transition into the next paragraph. Which one of the following best does this?A: The successful conductor can be an incomplete musician, but he must be a complete showman. B: It is a shame that people fail to adequately respect a conductor’s gifts.C: This importance helps conductors overcome a certain self-doubt.D: Only those who truly believe in themselves can achieve greatness as conductors.24. A: NO CHANGEB: encouraged to create, a purely egotistical, false and ridiculous authorityC: encouraged to create a purely egotistical, false, and ridiculous authorityD: encouraged to create a purely, egotistical, false, and ridiculous authority25. A: NO CHANGEB: wereC: isD: are26. A: NO CHANGEB: tendsC: tendingD: had been tending27. A: NO CHANGEB: conductors ridiculous gesturingC: conductor’s ridiculous’ gesturingD: conductor’s ridiculous gesturing28. A: NO CHANGEB: Nonetheless,C: In fact,D: Despite that,29. A: NO CHANGEB: the conductorC: the musicD: listening skills30. The writer wishes to add a sentence to conclude this essay. Which one of the following would best do this?A: His actions will truly revealthe value of the music anyway.B: After all, no one is better prepared to understand the music than the conductor.C: If all else fails, you can always stand to clap mindlessly after other audience-members do.D: The musicians, in the end, owe their performance to the conductor’s leadership. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download