Tone 2

Read this sentence that is written in an informal tone.

The principal is crazy if he thinks the students will tolerate such an insane proposal.

Revise to a more formal tone.

A) The principal fools himself if he thinks that students will agree with

the absurd proposal.

B) The principal is mistaken if he believes the students will accept the questionable proposal.

C) The principal is out of touch if he thinks that students will go along

with the ridiculous proposal.

Read this sentence that is written in an informal tone.

We really need to be responsible for the stuff we do.

Revise to a formal tone.

A) We should accept responsibility for our actions.

B) We’ve gotta bear responsibility for the things that we do.

C) We really need to take responsibility for the stuff we cause to happen.

Revise to the least critical and more objective tone.

People are irritating when they listen to their favorite kind of music but won’t listen to other types of music.

A) People can annoy others when they listen only to their favorite music but won’t listen to other types of music.

B) People are in danger of angering others when they insist on their favorite music despite other available music.

C) People who like a certain kind of music should be willing to recognize the value of other types of music as well.*

D) People can be considered narrow-minded when they refuse to consider other types of music besides their own favorite tunes.

I need to see you in my office the second this meeting is over!

A) gloomy

B*) urgent

C) bitter

If it’s not too much trouble, do you think maybe you could come into

my office after this meeting, if you don’t mind?

A) cheerful

B) hopeful

C*) insecure

A person should not speak that way in front of his supervisor if he

wishes to keep his job.

A*) threatening

B) humorous

C) sincere

You shouldn’t say things like that in front of the boss. You could jeopardize your job.

A) threatening

B) humorous

C*) sincere

Um, I was wondering if maybe I could borrow your pen, if you don’t mind. That is, if it isn’t too much trouble.

A) playful

B) hesitant

C) cheerful

D) angry

Give me that pen!

A) gloomy

B) disrespectful

C) demanding

D) sad

For Pete’s sake, get your own pen!

A) absent-minded

B) bold

C) annoyed

D) shy

May I borrow your pen, please?

A) respectful

B) timid

C) anxious

D) thoughtful

Remember, you need to be home by ten o’clock.

A) bossy

B) matter-of-fact

C) ironic

D) inspiring

You’d better be home by ten o’clock, or else!

A) threatening

B) sad

C) demanding

D) inspiring

I think the theme of this novel probably has something to do with revenge.

A) playful

B) uncertain

C) cheerful

Without a doubt, the theme of this novel is revenge.

A) gloomy

B) disrespectful

C) authoritative

Your essay? Oh, it was just fabulous. Really, I’ve never seen anything like it.

A) insincere

B) critical

C) disrespectful

This is one of the best essays I’ve ever seen. It’s clear, concise, and convincing.

A) complimentary

B) wistful

C) hopeful

(5.3)

Bill had stayed up all night preparing for this presentation. He had everything ready: charts, graphs, lists, statistics. This was the biggest meeting of his career. He was ready. He smiled as the cab pulled up to 505 Park Avenue, and he gave the taxi driver an extra large tip. He entered the building confidently and pushed #11 on the elevator. Suddenly, as the doors of the elevator closed, he realized that he had left his briefcase in the cab.

A) cheerful

B) ironic

C) critical

(4.8)

Shi had stayed up all night working on his research paper. Finally, by 6:00 A.M., he had everything ready: cover page, essay, Works Cited page, and illustrations. This was the best essay he’d ever written, and he couldn’t wait to present it to the class. He smiled as he showered and got ready for school. He smiled to everyone he passed on his way to the bus stop and smiled at the bus driver. He sat down in his usual seat and hummed to himself for a little while. Then he opened his bag. He wanted to admire his paper once more before his presentation. Of course, he’d left his paper on the kitchen table.

A) proud

B) ironic

C) sad

D) cheerful

8. “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country . . . ”—from Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

A) gloomy

B) mocking

C) nostalgic

D) hopeful

(3.5)

I had the biggest interview of my life scheduled for Tuesday morning

at 9:00. Monday night, I picked out my suit, ironed a shirt, and

polished my shoes. I double checked the bus map and schedule. I set my alarm early so I could catch the 7:45 bus, which would get me

there by 8:10, just in case. Then, during the night, a storm hit and

knocked out the electricity. My alarm didn’t go off and I woke up at

9:15. I can’t believe it!

A) sad

B) disrespectful

C) angry

(3.9)

First, you ought to know that I’m “only” fourteen. My mother points this out often. I can make my own decisions when I’m old enough to vote, she says. Second, I should tell you that she’s right—I’m not always responsible. I sometimes take the prize for grade-A dork. Take last weekend, for instance. I was staying at Dad’s, and I decided it was time I learned to drive. It was Sunday morning, 7 A.M., and I hadn’t slept well. I’d been up thinking about an argument, which I’ll tell you about in a minute. Well, nobody was up yet in the neighborhood, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to back the car out of the garage and drive around the block. But Dad has a clutch car. The R on the shift handle was up on the left side, right next to first gear. I guess you can guess the rest.

Dad’s always been understanding. He didn’t say, “Okay, little Miss Know-It-All, you can just spend the rest of the year paying this off,”which is what Mom would have said. Instead, Dad worried about what might have happened to me. To me. And that made me feel more guilty than anything. I think he’d be a better number-one caregiver, but I can’t say things like that to Mom. To her, I have to say, “But Mom,Dad’s place is closer to school. I could ride my bike.”

To which she replies, “Amy Lynn, you don’t own a bike. Remember? You left it in the yard, and it was stolen. And you haven’t got the patience to earn the money to replace it.”

The narrator’s tone is

A) emotional and familiar.

B) stuck up and superior.

C) angry and sad.

D) pleasant and charming.

(4.2)

You have the biggest interview of your life scheduled for tomorrow

morning at 9:00. You pick out your suit, iron a shirt, and polish your

shoes. You double check the bus map and schedule.You set your alarm early so you can catch the 7:45 bus, which will get you there by 8:10, just in case. Then, during the night, a storm hits and knocks out the electricity. Your alarm doesn’t go off, and you wake up...at 9:15.

A) humorous

B*) ironic

C) angry

(5.0)

The girls were playing in the pond, splashing each other and trying to catch fish with their hands. They were having fun, but kept looking over their shoulders at the looming forest. The long grass of the field kept moving and they sort of felt like they were being watched… About a half hour passed and still the girls kept checking the field for movements. It seemed like a pair of dark eyes was on them. They even considered going back inside, but that would mean homework time. So they continued splashing, but with caution now. Their eyes hardly left the field.

How would you describe the mood of this passage?

A) morose

B) malicious

C) ominous

D) happy

(5.0)

My parents could send me only to the first grade. Not because they didn’t want to but because we were so many at home and I was the only girl, in charge of grinding corn and cooking it and then taking tortillas to my brothers in the cornfields.

My brothers used to kill themselves chopping and hoeing. My father, too.

My mother and I would take care of the house. All together there were fourteen of us—I and my folks and eleven brothers—even after three children had died. They died of dehydration. I remember how my father held the last one by his feet so that blood would run to his head, but nothing happened. He died with his head caved in. All their heads sunk in after serious bouts of diarrhea; once diarrhea begins there’s no salvation. They all died before their first birthday.

Children die of dehydration only when they’re very little, since their bones are very soft, and if you’re not careful, they get diarrhea and

the forehead sinks in.

Children go to heaven. That’s what the priest used to say. And we never worried. We always believed that.

The narrator uses which point of view?

A) first-person

B) second-person

C) third-person

D) none of the above

The tone of this passage is best described as

A) informative.

B) ironic.

C) angry.

D) sad.

The tone of the last paragraph suggests that

A) the narrator doesn’t believe what the priests say anymore.

B) the narrator misses the children who died.

C) the narrator is very religious.

D) the narrator doesn’t believe in God.

(5.7)

Despite the many categories of the historian, there are only two ages of man. The first age, the age from the beginnings of recorded time to the present, is the age of the cave man. It is the age of war. It is today. The second age, still only a prospect, is the age of civilized man. The test of civilized man will be represented by his ability to use his inventiveness for his own good by substituting world law for world anarchy. That second age is still within the reach of the individual in our time. It is not a part-time job, however. It calls for total awareness, total commitment.

The author’s attitude toward the possibility of man’s reaching an age of civilization is one of

A) limited hope

B) complete despair

C) marked uncertainty

D) complacency

E) anger

(6.2)

Many power plants use fossil fuels, like coal and oil, to produce electricity. They formed more than millions of years ago from the remains of ancient plants and animals and can’t be replaced . . . unless we want to wait million of years more! So it’s crucial to use electricity wisely. You can help. Look for these and other places where electricity’s being wasted . . . then stop wasting it!

• Close the refrigerator door quickly.

• Let your hair dry naturally!

• Run a dishwasher or washing machine only when full.

• Turn off lights when not in use.

• Unplug TVs, DVD players, and other appliances that have clocks when not in use—they continue to draw energy to display time, even when switched off!

• Unplug phone chargers when not in use—they draw small amounts of energy all the time if you don’t!

What is the tone of the selection?

A) comical

B) serious

C) disrespectful

D) mysterious

(7.9)

Readers in the past seem to have been more patient than the readers of today. There were few diversions, and they had more time to read novels of a length that seems to us now inordinate. It may be that they were not irritated by the digressions and irrelevances that interrupted the narration. But some of the novels that suffer from these defects are among the greatest that have ever been written. It is deplorable that on this account they should be less and less read.

The title below that best expresses the ideas of this passage is:

A) Defects of today’s novels

B) Novel reading then and now

C) The great novel

D) The impatient reader of novels

E) Decline in education

(8.0)

During the holidays, my mother's house glittered with decorations and hummed with preparations. We ate cookies and drank cider while we helped her wrap bright packages and trim the tree. We felt warm and excited, listening to Christmas carols and even singing along sometimes. We would tease each other about our terrible voices and then sing even louder.

How would you describe the tone (attitude) of this author?

A) cynical

B) obsequious

C) apathetic

D) content

(9.6)

Once upon a time I taught school in the hills of Tennessee, where the broad dark vale of the Mississippi begins to roll and crumple to greet the Alleghanies. I was a Fisk student then, and all Fisk men thought that Tennessee was theirs alone, and in vacation time they sallied forth in lusty bands to meet the county school-commissioners. Young and happy, I too went, and I shall not soon forget that summer, seventeen years ago.

The author’s attitude toward his school-hunting days is predominantly one of

(A) exasperation

(B) nostalgia

(C) bitterness

(D) self-reproach

(E) amusement

(9.6)

A fertilized female tarantula lays from 200 to 400 eggs at a time; thus it is possible for a single tarantula to produce several thousand young. She takes no care of them beyond weaving a cocoon of silk to enclose the eggs. After they hatch, the young walk away, find convenient places in which to dig their bur- rows and spend the rest of their lives in solitude. Tarantulas feed mostly on insects and millipedes. Once their appetite is appeased, they digest the food for several days before eating again. Their sight is poor, being limited to sensing a change in the intensity of light and to the perception of moving objects. They apparently have little or no sense of hearing, for a hungry tarantula will pay no attention to a loudly chirping cricket placed in its cage unless the insect happens to touch one of its legs.

The author’s attitude toward tarantulas would best be described as

(A) fearful

(B) sentimental

(C) approving

(D) objective

(E) incredulous

(10.4)

There will be dire consequences for residents if a shopping mall is built on the east side of town. First, the shopping mall will interfere with the tranquil and quiet atmosphere that we now enjoy. Second, the mall will attract a huge number of shoppers from a variety of surrounding areas, which will result in major traffic congestion for those of us who live here. But most importantly, to build the shopping mall,many of us will be asked to sell our homes and relocate, and this kind of displacement should be avoided at all costs.

The tone of this passage is

A) sad.

B) foreboding.

C) threatening.

(10.5)

Between 1993 and 1994 roughly three-quarters of the population saw their economic well being fluctuate by 5% or more. Conversely, from year to year less than a quarter of Americans had stable incomes. In the 1990s fewer people saw their income grow than in the 1980s, and more people saw their incomes decline. Although the state of the economy is a notable factor in determining if incomes rise or fall, changes in personal circumstances are just as important. People had a good chance of seeing their income rise if they began to work full- time, the number of workers or adults in their house increased, they married, or the number of children in the household decreased. Conversely, people could expect a decrease in their income if they ceased to be married or to work full-time.

The tone of this passage can best be described as

A) dry and neutral.

B) impassioned.

C) unintentionally witty.

D) theoretical.

E) inflammatory.

(10.6)

Recently, while browsing in an Oxford bookshop, a friend of mine picked up a copy of Finnegans Wake—James Joyce’s final book and read the first page. Between tears of laughter, he managed to indicate to me that he couldn’t understand a word of it. It is hard not to sympathise with the outsider’s attitude so amply demonstrated by my friend’s outburst of shock and wonder. To find one of our most famous authors writing gibberish is rather heartening. Yet we remain outsiders to the work. Finnegans Wake, you see, is emblematic of all that is right and wrong with modernism. It took a spectacularly long time to write and was finally published in 1939, seventeen years after its predecessor, Ulysses. That probably had something to do with the fact that over 40 different languages crept into its catalogue of portmanteau words (ersatz words consisting of two or more real words or word elements, like those of Lewis Carroll in his poem “Jabberwocky”). The resulting book is uniquely inventive and at the same time uniquely confusing. In that sense, it is the perfect example of a modernist text. It alienates its readers just as it tries to mimic how they think. The English modernist novel is a sociopath and a cad: dangerous and reprehensive but somehow roguishly likeable.

The author’s overall attitude toward Modernism can best be described as

A) ambivalent

B) reverential

C) cynical

D) indignant

E) jocular

(10.9)

The seemingly simple question of “what defines a sport?” has been the fodder for argument and conversation for years, among professional and armchair athletes alike. There seems to be no doubt that vigorous and highly competitive activities such as baseball, football, and soccer are truly “sports,” but when the subject of other activities such as darts, chess, and shuffleboard is broached we find our- selves at the heart of a controversy.

If say, billiards, is not a sport, then what exactly is it? Those who would dispute it to be a sport would respond that it is a simple leisure activity. They would go on to claim a true sport first and foremost requires some form of physical exertion. More to the point, if a player does not break a sweat, what he or she plays is not a sport. Beyond that, more important criteria would be the need for decent hand-eye coordination, and the ever-present possibility of sustaining injury. Billiards only fits one of those specifications (hand-eye coordination), so according to the doubters, it is not a real sport.

To help resolve this dispute, the first text to consult would have to be the dictionary. According to one dictionary, a sport is defined as “a diversion” or a “recreation.” Assuming one strictly adheres to the simple guidelines laid out in that definition, it would seem that almost any activity that provides enjoyment could be classified as a sport. And if, according to the dictionary, watching a sport on television is a sport itself, I guess that would make a couch potato an athlete. Play ball!

The author’s tone in this passage could be described as

A) serious.

B) light-hearted.

C) confrontational.

D) dark.

E) romantic.

(11)

How did the term “spam” come to mean unsolicited commercial e-mail? Flash back to 1937, when Hormel Foods creates a new canned spiced ham, SPAM. Then, in World War II, SPAM luncheon meat becomes a staple of soldiers’ diets (often GIs ate SPAM two or three times a day). Next, SPAM’s wartime omnipresence perhaps inspired the 1987 Monty Python skit in which a breakfast-seeking couple unsuccessfully tries to order a SPAM-free meal while a chorus of Vikings drowns them out, singing “Spam, spam, spam, spam . . . .” To computer users drowning in junk e-mail, the analogy was obvious. “Spam,” they said, “it’s spam.”

The tone of the passage can best be characterized as

(A) nostalgic

(B) sardonic

(C) detached

(D) chatty

(E) didactic

(11.3)

From: Jason Renaldi <jason.renaldi@theberwyngroup.com>

To: All Berwyn Corporation employees

Subject: Employee dress code and lunchtime policy

Beginning on Wednesday, January 17, our company dress code requiring all men and women to wear business suits will not apply on Wednesdays. All employees will be permitted to dress casually each Wednesday, at their option. Jeans will be considered appropriate attire, but T-shirts and/or shorts will be considered inappropriate. Women may wear open-toed shoes, but men may not. Management encourages you to enjoy the freedom of “casual Wednesdays” while still dressing in good taste.

Also beginning on January 17, you may take up to one-and-a-half hours for lunch, between 11:30 to 2:00. To make up the half-hour of work lost due to a longer lunch, you must either arrive up to 30 minutes earlier to start your Wednesday workday or leave 30 minutes later to end your workday. If you prefer a relatively late Wednesday lunch, management has arranged for the mobile food vendor Cuisine on Wheels to serve lunch in our parking lot from 12:45 to 1:45 every Wednesday— again, starting on January 17. For those of you leaving the premises for Wednesday lunch, as always we encourage you to carpool and to dine with your coworkers.

I’m confident that a more leisurely lunch and casual attire will leave us all that much more excited about whatever challenges lie ahead during the rest of the work week. As always, I welcome your continuing feedback on these and other working conditions.

Jason Renaldi

Human Resources Director

Berwyn Corporation

Which of the following best describes the tone of the e-mail?

A) complimentary

B) constructively critical

C) friendly

D) defensive

E) casual

(11.5)

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE ON TIME FOR WORK?

From: J. R. Smith, Personnel Manager, SnapRite Service Company

To: SnapRite Company employees

Subject: Time-card policies and procedures

In light of recent time-card punching practices of some SnapRite Company employees, management has instituted a new time-card punching procedure for all employees. This new procedure will take effect on March 1 for all non-salaried employees. The new procedure is as follows:

1. Each employee should arrive at the SnapRite premises no sooner than 15 minutes before and no later than 5 minutes before shift begins. Upon arrival, each employee should avoid loitering. Each employee should report to the floor manager’s office as soon as possible after arriving at the SnapRite premises.

2. Each employee must punch his or her time card no more than 5 minutes before shift begins and no later than 2 minutes after shift begins.

3. Each employee must punch his or her time card no more than 2 minutes before or 5 minutes after shift ends.

4. If an employee is discovered punching another employee’s time card, both employees may be subject to suspension.

5. If an employee punches in before the permitted punch-in time or punches out after the permitted punch-out time more than twice in a 30-day period or more than four times in a 90-day period, the employee may be subject to suspension.

6. An employee’s failure to punch a time card for a shift may result in a punitive reduction of wages for that shift.

7. Any time-card related behavior that management considers fraudulent or malicious may be grounds for termination of employment.

Which of the following best describes the tone of the memo?

A) matter-of-fact

B) emotionally charged

C) stern and intimidating

D) accusatory and suspicious

E) condescending

(12)

From “The Sonnet” by Professor Al Filreis, University of Pennsylvania (http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/sonnet.html):

Certain qualities common to the sonnet should be noted. Its definite restrictions make it a challenge to the artistry of the poet and call for all the technical skill at the poet’s command. The more or less set rhyme patterns occurring regularly within the short space of fourteen lines afford a pleasant effect on the ear of the reader, and can create truly musical effects. The rigidity of the form precludes too great economy or too great prodigality of words. Emphasis is placed on exactness and perfection of expression. The brevity of the form favors concentrated expression of ideas or passion.

The author’s attitude toward the sonnet form can best be described as

(A) amused toleration

(B) grudging admiration

(C) strong disapprobation

(D) effusive enthusiasm

(E) scholarly appreciation

(12.1)

For the purpose of enhancing the value of their own mission, it has been at times asserted by foreigners that the abundance of the chief was procured by the poverty of his followers. To any person at all familiar, either by experience or from trustworthy tradition, with the daily life of the Hawaiian people fifty years ago, nothing could be more incorrect than such an assumption. The chief whose retainers were in any poverty or want would have felt, not only their sufferings, but, further, his own disgrace. As was then customary with the Hawaiian chiefs, my father was surrounded by hundreds of his own people, all of whom looked to him, and never in vain, for sustenance. He lived in a large grass house surrounded by smaller ones, which were the homes of those the most closely connected with his service. There was food enough and to spare for everyone. And this was equally true of all his people, however distant from his personal care. For the chief always appointed some man of ability as his agent or overseer. This officer apportioned the lands to each Hawaiian, and on these allotments were raised the taro, the potatoes, the pigs, and the chickens which constituted the living of the family; even the forests, which furnished the material from which was made the tapa cloth, were apportioned to the women in like manner. It is true that no one of the common people could mortgage or sell his land, but the wisdom of this limitation is abundantly proved by the homeless condition of the Hawaiians at the present day. Rent, eviction of tenants, as understood in other lands, were unknown; but each retainer of any chief contributed in the productions of his holding to the support of the chief’s table.

The author’s tone in this passage is one of

A) belligerence regarding her parents

B) defensiveness of her culture

C) resentment toward Western culture

D) affection toward her adoptive parents

E) curiosity about traditional practices

(13.2)

The steady growth of the world’s population has clearly created a food production and distribution crisis. The time has come for government development agencies and agronomists to admit that all of their grandiose projects that are supposed to help feed the world’s poorest nations are not actually serving this purpose.

Their vast irrigation systems, power dams, new industrial establishments, and massive loans for “economic growth” and for food imports to poor nations serve mainly the interests of powerful agribusiness. All the loan dollars from our banks to fund these large-scale projects accomplish very little to feed a hungry world. Instead, they leave poor nations in perpetual, and ever-increasing, indebtedness—and their poorest citizens no better off. The multinational corporations who set up manufacturing facilities in Third World countries lure the poor from the land to the city slums, paying them subsistence wages. And what the facilities produce are consumer products that only affluent people, mainly people in developed nations, can afford.

It is past time for all of us to speak truth to power in order to end this system of dependence and poverty, by which the people of the poorest nations serve as wage slaves to the rich, or in refusing to do so, starve. First, we must turn to simpler approaches that help promote self-sufficiency and that embrace the environmentalists credo that smaller is better. Exporting simple agricultural technology, by way of services as well as implements, would be a good start.

But this step alone is not enough. Underdeveloped societies must also help themselves by implementing reforms that result in a fairer distribution of land and access to water. Ultimately, however, means must be found to make it contrary to anyone’s interest to keep others poor. Unfortunately, movement in this direction seems unlikely, unless and until the world’s wealthiest nations muster the political will to change things.

Which word best characterizes the overall tone of the text?

A) optimism

B) regret

C) urgency

D) apathy

E) despair

(13.4)

Some may argue that affirmative action had its place in the years following the Civil Rights Movement, but that it is no longer necessary. To assume that all students are now on a level playing field is naïve. Take for example the extra-curricular activities, AP classes, and internships that help certain applicants impress the admissions board: These are not available or economically feasible for many minority candidates. This is just one example of why affirmative action still has an important place on American campuses. When all things are equal, choosing the minority candidate not only gives minorities fair access to institutions of higher learning, but it ensures diversity on our campuses. Exposing all students to a broad spectrum of American society is a lesson that may be the one that best prepares them to participate in American society and succeed in the future.

The tone of this passage can best be described as

A) impassioned.

B) impartial.

C) reasonable.

D) sarcastic.

E) dispassionate.

(13.6)

The ancient Chinese believed that in the features of the natural landscape one could glimpse the mathematically precise order of the universe and all the beneficial and harmful forces that were harmoniously connected according to the principle of the Tao—the Way. This was not a question of metaphor; the topography did not represent good or evil; it really was good or evil. Under these circumstances, locating a building in the landscape became a decision of momentous proportions that could affect an individual and his family for generations to come. The result was feng-shui, which means “wind and water,” and which was a kind of cosmic surveying tool. Its coherent, scientific practice dates from the Sung dynasty (960–1126), but its roots are much older than that. It was first used to locate gravesites—the Chinese worshiped their ancestors, who, they believed, influenced the good fortune of their descendants. Eventually it began to be used to locate the homes of the living; and, indeed, the earliest book on feng-shui, published during the Han dynasty (202 B.C.–A.D. 220), was entitled The Canon of the Dwellings.

Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward feng-shui?

(A) Mild skepticism

(B) Surprise

(C) Awe and wonder

(D) Amused mockery

(E) Intellectual curiosity

(14.8)

It was 1934, and the nation was reeling from the Great Depression: unemployment stood at 24.9% and the Dow-Jones average was sputtering from a low of 50 to a high of 108. Since the ascent of Adolph Hitler to the position of Chancellor in Germany in January 1933, groups in America supporting his fascist ideology and Nazi vision had become more and more vocal, claiming fascism could be the answer to American woes. President Roosevelt was deeply concerned. It was already clear in Germany that the Nazis, after coming to power, were removing democratic safeguards there, abrogating certain international treaties, and making noise about needing more “living space,” which soon translated into capturing neighboring lands.

The mood of this passage is best described as

A) reassuring

B) fiery

C) eerie

D) foreboding *

E) blithe

(15.1)

Asbestos is generally made up of fiber bundles that can be broken up into long, thin fibers. We now know from various studies that when this friable substance is released into the air and inhaled into the lungs over a period of time, it can lead to a higher risk of lung cancer and a condition known as asbestosis. Asbestosis, a thickening and scarring of the lung tissue, usually occurs when a person is exposed to high asbestos levels over an extended period of time. Unfortunately, the symptoms do not usually appear until about twenty years after initial exposure, making it difficult to reverse or prevent. In addition, smoking while exposed to asbestos fibers could further increase the risk of developing lung cancer. When it comes to asbestos exposure in the home, school, and workplace, there is no safe level; any exposure is considered harmful and dangerous. Prior to the 1970s, asbestos use was ubiquitous—many commercial building and home insulation products contained asbestos. In the home in particular, there are many places where asbestos hazards might be present. Building materials that may contain asbestos include fireproofing material (sprayed on beams), insulation material (on pipes and oil and coal furnaces), acoustical or sound-proofing material (sprayed onto ceilings and walls), and miscellaneous materials such as asphalt, vinyl, and cement used to make products like roofing felts, shingles, siding, wallboard, and floor tiles.

The tone of this passage is best described as

A) cautionary

B) apathetic

C) informative

D) admonitory

E) idiosyncratic

(15.5)

Farmlands, wetlands, forests, and deserts that composed the American landscape in the early twentieth century have frequently been transformed during the past thirty years into mushrooming metropolitan areas as urbanization spreads across the country. Many metropolitan areas in the United States are growing at extraordinary rates. “Urban growth is a vital issue that requires our careful attention from local to global scales,” said Barbara Ryan, USGS Associate Director of Geography. “It is not until we begin to take a broad census of the land itself—tracking landscapes from a spatial perspective in a time scale of decades—that we can grasp the scale of the changes that have already occurred and predict the impact of changes to come.”

On average, between 1984 and 2004, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, Reno-Sparks, Sacramento, Seattle-Tacoma, and Tampa-St. Petersburg averaged 173 square miles of additional urban land over the two decades, with Houston, Orlando, and Atlanta as the top three regions by area. The growth leaders by percentage change were Las Vegas (193 percent), Orlando (157 percent), and Phoenix (103 percent).

The tone of this passage is best described as

A) restrained ardor

B) dour

C) neutral

D) fanatical

E) biased

(16.3)

Should a novelist be allowed to take liberties with the lives of historical figures? This question has engaged critics for centuries, with some supporting the cause of historical accuracy and others weighing in on the side of artistic freedom. There is, to my mind, a difference between Daniel Defoe’s use of the story of Alexander Selkirk, who endured four years as a castaway, to create his character Robinson Crusoe, and Doctorow’s wholesale appropriation of historical personages such as Booker T. Washington and Emma Goldman, whose fame or notoriety he capitalizes on as he makes them “interact” with his fictional characters.

The author’s attitude toward Doctorow’s “wholesale appropriation of historical personages” can best be characterized as one of

(A) grudging admiration

(B) anxious bewilderment

(C) objective neutrality

(D) fundamental disapproval

(E) unconditional acceptance

(9.1)

The songs are, for the most part, tedious mockeries of social convention performed by a lackluster band. Although the group has achieved a great following, , this is not one of their best albums. They have compromised their artistic integrity by using hackneyed rhyme and old rhythms in an effort to get the music to the public before their next concert tour. The only saving grace is "Rain," a song that explores the themes of guilt and redemption. There is a glimmer of the old genius here, but not enough to save the album.

What is the author's tone in this commentary?

A) hostile

B) flattering

C) sarcastic

D) enthusiastic

E) bored

“I shall throw you on a black ship and send you to the mainland,

To King Echetos, destroyer of all mortal men,

Who will cut off your nostrils with a sharp bronze sword;

He will tear off your genitals and give them to the dogs to eat raw.”

--Homer, The Odyssey

A) Threatening

B) Amused

C) Proud

D) Unsatisfied

“There were always children there, and I spent all my time with the children, only with the children. They were the children of the village where I lived, a whole gang of them who went to the local school. I was simply with them mostly, and I spent all my four years like that. I did not want anything else.”

--Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

How does the speaker feel about/toward the subject?

A) Amused

B) Reflective

C) Reverent

D) Remorseful

“They showered me this morning at the courthouse and last night at the jail. And I swear I believe they'd of washed my ears for me on the taxi over if they coulda found the facilities. Hoo boy, seems like every time they ship me someplace I gotta get scrubbed down before, after, and during the operation--and get back away from me with that thermometer, Sam.”

--Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

How does the speaker feel about/toward the subject?

A) disappointed

C) amused

B) condescending

D) annoyed

“Afterwards we will be as one animal of the forest and be so close that neither one can tell that one of us is one and not the other. Can you not feel my heart be your heart?”

--Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

How does the speaker feel about/toward the subject?

A) somber

B) intimate

C) urgent

D) factual

“But I felt after the novelty had worn off the Americans didn't really understand our music or our culture. Coming from a country where having central heating was considered posh and a refrigerator a luxury, Americans seemed to me to be strangely spoiled and 'old-fashioned.' They seemed to be lost in the forties and fifties. I expected to find Americans more forward and progressive but I was surprised to find many very set in their ways, just like their English counterparts.”

--Davies, Kink

How does the speaker feel about the subject?

A) hopeless

B) remorseful

C) disappointed

D) sardonic

“Henri the painter was not French and his name was not Henri. Henri had so steeped himself in stories of the Left Bank in Paris that he lived there although he had never been there. Feverishly he followed in periodicals the Dadaist movements and schisms, the strangely feminine jealousies and religiousness, the obscurantisms of the forming and breaking schools. Regularly he revolted against outworn techniques and materials.

One season he threw out perspective. Another year he abandoned red, even as the mother of purple.

Finally he gave up paint entirely. It was not known whether Henri was a good painter or not for he threw

himself so violently into movements that he had little time left for painting of any kind.”

--Steinbeck, Cannery Row

How does the author feel about the subject (character)?

Options:

A) reverent

B) apprehensive

C) regretful

D) amused