AnswersFL-1700370-Critical Thinking and Study Skills - FlexMaking Inferences to Determine Central Ideas: Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue"

Making Inferences to Determine Central Ideas: Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" — Cumulative exam Answers

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How does Michio Kaku develop the idea of an impending scientific revolution in “Choreographers of Matter, Life, and Intelligence”?

A
by praising the efficiency of modern-day Internet research
B
by providing quantitative proof of recent scientific progress
C
by comparing scientific knowledge to grains of sand on a beach
D
by providing the names and contributions of modern scientists
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Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”That’s the gory moment when your body snaps into two segments, breaking apart at your midsection. Upon falling further, the difference in gravity continues to grow, and each of your two body segments snaps into two segments. Shortly thereafter, those segments each snap into two segments of their own, and so forth, and so forth, bifurcating your body into an ever-increasing number of parts: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc. After you’ve been ripped into shreds of organic molecules, the molecules themselves begin to feel the continually growing tidal forces. Eventually, they too snap apart, creating a stream of their constituent atoms. And then, of course, the atoms themselves snap apart, leaving an unrecognizable parade of particles that, minutes earlier, had been you.Which statement best describes how the author conveys the message that humans are no match for the power of a black hole?

A
He explains scientific theories to the reader and provides the definitions for difficult terms and words.
B
He uses logic and reason to lay out each individual step of human combustion as it is absorbed by the tidal force.
C
He provides helpful comparisons of black holes with other cosmic phenomena that the reader may already know.
D
He personalizes the experience for the reader and uses vivid imagery to create a clear mental picture.
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Read the excerpt from "Mending Wall."We keep the wall between us as we go.To each the boulders that have fallen to each.And some are loaves and some so nearly ballsWe have to use a spell to make them balance:"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"We wear our fingers rough with handling them.Oh, just another kind of out-door game,One on a side. It comes to little more:There where it is we do not need the wall:He is all pine and I am apple orchard.What feature of this excerpt makes it blank verse?

A
It has a rhyming pattern.
B
It has iambic pentameter.
C
It does not use everyday language.
D
It is about nature.
4

Read the sentence from an argumentative essay about chemical waste. The chemical waste produced by factories is out of hand, and factory owners should get in trouble.Which revision offers the most improvement in word choice?

A
The chemical waste produced by factories is insane, and factory owners should be punished.
B
The chemical waste produced by factories is dangerous, and factory owners should be held accountable.
C
The chemical waste produced by factories is huge, and factory owners should get it under control.
D
The chemical waste produced by factories is manageable, and factory owners deserve blame.
5

Read the excerpt from Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.The silhouette of a moving cat wavered across the moonlight, and turning my head to watch it, I saw that I was not alone—fifty feet away a figure had emerged from the shadow of my neighbor’s mansion and was standing with his hands in his pockets regarding the silver pepper of the stars. Something in his leisurely movements and the secure position of his feet upon the lawn suggested that it was Mr. Gatsby himself, come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens. The appearance of Gatsby from the shadows suggests that

A
he prefers to go out at night.
B
he is very busy during daytime hours.
C
he prefers to be left alone.
D
he is a man of mystery and secrets.
6

Read the excerpt from “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”For me, reading has always been a path toward liberation and fulfillment. To learn to read is to start down the road of liberation, a road which should be accessible to everyone. No one has the right to keep you from reading, and yet that is what is happening in many areas in this country today. There are those who think they know best what we should read. These censors are at work in all areas of our daily lives.Which best describes how Anaya uses rhetorical appeal to convince readers that censors want to limit what people can read?

A
Anaya speaks about everyone’s right to read what they choose in order to appeal to the reader’s sense of fairness.
B
Anaya presents documented facts about censors’ motivations in order to appeal to the reader’s sense of logic.
C
Anaya discusses his lifelong love of reading in order to establish his expertise for the reader on the topic of censorship.
D
Anaya refrains from stating a direct opinion in order to allow the reader to form one based on evidence from many areas of the country.
7

Which lines from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" provide an example of stream of consciousness?

A
Time for you and time for me, And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions,
B
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid.
C
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap, And seeing that it was a soft October night, Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.
D
Streets that follow like a tedious argument Of insidious intent To lead you to an overwhelming question . . . Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
8

Read the excerpt from "Mending Wall."Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonderIf I could put a notion in his head:“Why do they make good neighbours? Isn’t itWhere there are cows? But here there are no cows.Before I built a wall I’d ask to knowWhat I was walling in or walling out,And to whom I was like to give offence.Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,That wants it down.” I could say “Elves” to him,But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d ratherHe said it for himself.What is the speaker’s mood in this excerpt?

A
unhappy
B
playful
C
childish
D
determined
9

Fill in the blank.I want ______ part in this group project because I want to do my own.

A
kno
B
know
C
now
D
no
10

Roosevelt’s Executive Order No. 9066 was based on

A
evidence that all Japanese Americans were plotting to fight the US within its borders.
B
past experiences of Japanese Americans causing civil unrest in the United States.
C
the assumption that Japanese Americans posed a threat to national security.
D
written reports that Japan was recruiting American citizens to spy for them.
11

Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."Those tests were constructed around items like fill-in-the-blank sentence completion, such as “Even though Tom was ______, Mary thought he was _____.” And the correct answer always seemed to be the most bland combinations of thoughts, for example, “Even though Tom was foolish, Mary thought he was ridiculous.” Well, according to my mother, there were very few limitations as to what Tom could have been and what Mary might have thought of him. So I never did well on tests like that. Which information from the excerpt best supports the inference that achievement tests ignore imagination as an element of language ability?

A
Tan’s mother would not be able to answer a question like the one described in the excerpt.
B
Tan’s mother could think of several ways to answer a question like the one described in the excerpt.
C
Tan’s mother did not allow her to take tests with questions like the one described in the excerpt.
D
Tan’s mother was disappointed that Tan did poorly on tests with questions like the one described in the excerpt.
12

T. S. Eliot begins "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" with a translated quotation from Dante’s Inferno.If I thought my reply were to someone who could ever return to the world, this flame would waver no more. But since, I’m told, nobody ever escapes from this pit, I’ll tell you without fear of ill fame.What is the best explanation for prefacing the poem with this quotation?

A
The narrator will tell the story in the poem because he wants to leave a record of the events in his life.
B
The narrator will tell the story in the poem because the reader is unable to tell anyone else.
C
The narrator will tell the story in the poem because he believes that his fate is set and he has nothing to lose.
D
The narrator will tell the story in the poem to everyone who will listen, but he is worried about his reputation.
13

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. How does King support this claim in the rest of his letter?

A
by providing examples of recent nonviolent sit-ins
B
by quoting Socrates and establishing historical precedent
C
by chronicling the history of violent tension throughout the South
D
by presenting a visual image of a world in which equality reigns
14

Which excerpt from part one of Trifles contains a stage direction that contributes to the character development of Mrs. Hale?

A
MRS. HALE (shaking her head). I’ve not seen much of her of late years. I’ve not been in this house—it’s more than a year.
B
MRS. HALE (looking about). It never seemed a very cheerful place.
C
MRS. HALE. I’d hate to have men coming into my kitchen, snooping around and criticizing. (She arranges the pans under sink which the Lawyer had shoved out of place.)
D
MRS. HALE (eyes fixed on a loaf of bread beside the breadbox, which is on a low shelf at the other side of the room. Moves slowly toward it.) She was going to put this in there.
15

Read the sentence.The fake, counterfeit money, which isn't valid, was discovered in the crime investigation.What is the best way to revise this sentence to eliminate wordiness?

A
The money is not valid because it was counterfeit and discovered in the crime investigation.
B
The counterfeit money was discovered in the crime investigation.
C
Discovered in the crime investigation, the counterfeit money was fake.
D
The sentence is correct as written.
16

Which excerpt from The Great Gatsby best indicates that Nick is not fully content with his life?

A
He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that.
B
Father agreed to finance me for a year, and after various delays I came East, permanently, I thought, in the spring of twenty-two.
C
Instead of being the warm center of the world, the Middle West now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe—so I decided to go East and learn the bond business.
D
I had a dog—at least I had him for a few days until he ran away—and an old Dodge and a Finnish woman, who made my bed and cooked breakfast and muttered Finnish wisdom to herself over the electric stove.
17

Read the quote from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds""Send us rain clouds, Grandfather." They laid the bundle in the back of the pickup and covered it with a heavy tarp before they started back to the pueblo.This quote is located early in the narrative. What does it reveal about Leon?

A
He is more worried about the rain than the death of his grandfather.
B
He is a devout follower of the Roman Catholic Church.
C
He is already planning on asking for holy water from Father Paul.
D
He greatly values the traditional beliefs of the Pueblo people.
18

Having a counterclaim in an argumentative essay allows the author of the essay to

A
provide background information on the topic.
B
support his or her claim with evidence.
C
state his or her opinion on the topic.
D
address any opposition to his or her claim.
19

Read the excerpt from Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban.The sunset flares behind a row of brownstones, linking them as if by a flaming ribbon. Lourdes massages her eyes and begins walking with legs that feel held by splints.“I’m glad to see you, Lourdes. Thank you for everything, hija, the hat, the cigars. You buried me like an Egyptian king, with all my valuables!” Jorge del Pino laughs.Lourdes perceives the faint scent of her father’s cigar . . .“Where are you, Papi?”The street is vacant, as if a force has absorbed all living things. Even the trees seem more shadow than substance.“Nearby,” her father says, serious now.The author uses magic realism by

A
revealing Jorge’s appreciation for his valued burial gifts.
B
describing the support for Lourdes’s unstable legs as she walks.
C
using words such as “flares,” “faint,” “vacant,” and “shadow.”
D
comparing the description of the setting sun with a flaming ribbon.
20

Read the excerpt from part two of Trifles.COUNTY ATTORNEY. Oh, I guess they’re not very dangerous things the ladies have picked up. (Moves a few things about, disturbing the quilt pieces which cover the box. Steps back.) No, Mrs. Peters doesn’t need supervising. For that matter, a sheriff’s wife is married to the law. Ever think of it that way, Mrs. Peters?Which of the following most accurately describes this excerpt?

A
It is verbal irony because the County Attorney means precisely the opposite of what he is actually saying.
B
It is dramatic irony because the audience knows that the County Attorney does not actually mean what he is saying.
C
It is situational irony because the County Attorney has actually issued a relevant warning to Mrs. Peters without realizing it.
D
It is not an example of any type of irony because the County Attorney is simply making a statement.

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