THE HOUSE OF MIRTH

Which of the following statements is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 8)?

She returned wearily to the thought of Percy Gryce, as a wayfarer picks up a heavy load and toils on after a brief rest. She was almost sure she had “landed” him: a few days’ work and she would win her reward. But the reward itself seemed unpalatable just then: she could get no zest from the thought of victory.

• A. Percy Gryce is of a much lower social caste than Lily.

• B. There is a price on Percy Gryce’s head, and Lily thinks she can find him and earn her reward.

• C. Lily thinks she can easily win Percy’s affection, but she isn’t in love with him.

• D. Lily is overconfident about her ability

What is most likely the author’s purpose in including the following passage (paragraph 8)?

Her ambitions had shrunk gradually in the desiccating air of failure. But why had she failed? Was it her own fault or that of destiny?

• A. To pose the questions that spark Lily’s recollections of her youth

• B. To suggest that Lily takes Percy Gryce for granted

• C. To suggest that Lily has destiny to blame for her shrinking ambitions

• D. To eulogize the life of Lily Bart

Which observation about the home Lily grew up in is best supported by the following passage (paragraph 10)?

A house in which no one ever dined at home unless there was “company”; a door-bell perpetually ringing; a hall-table showered with square envelopes which were opened in haste, and oblong envelopes which were allowed to gather dust in the depths of a bronze jar; a series of French and English maids giving warning amid a chaos of hurriedly-ransacked wardrobes and dress-closets; an equally changing dynasty of nurses and footmen; quarrels in the pantry, the kitchen and the drawing-room; precipitate trips to Europe, and returns with gorged trunks and days of interminable unpacking; semi-annual discussions as to where the summer should be spent, grey interludes of economy and brilliant reactions of expense—such was the setting of Lily Bart’s first memories.

• A. Lily’s parents seem to live well within their means.

• B. The maids, nurses, and footmen are too inexperienced to complete the duties they are assigned.

• C. More attention is paid to social events and material possessions than to family and responsibility.

• D. Lily’s parents take trips to Europe because clothes and various items are cheaper there.

What is most closely implied by the description of Mr. and Mrs. Bart in the passage below (paragraph 11)?

Ruling the turbulent element called home was the vigorous and determined figure of a mother still young enough to dance her ball-dresses to rags, while the hazy outline of a neutral-tinted father filled an intermediate space between the butler and the man who came to wind the clocks.

• A. Lily’s mother wants to teach her daughter how to be a dancer.

• B. They fulfill their roles as parents in appearances only.

• C. They want to be the best parents they can be, but money is a constant problem.

• D. Lily’s father had to work as a butler and a clock repairman to afford the family’s luxury.

Which of the following is most likely a lesson Lily learned from her mother?

• A. It is best to be courteous to people no matter their status in society.

• B. A woman must be diligent and clever to achieve success in business.

• C. It is easier to persevere through difficult times without a caring family.

• D. A woman attains wealth and status by using beauty to secure a marriage.

Which inference is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 15)?

Lily knew people who "lived like pigs," and their appearance and surroundings justified her mother’s repugnance to that form of existence. They were mostly cousins, who inhabited dingy houses with engravings from Cole’s Voyage of Life on the drawing-room walls, and slatternly parlour-maids who said "I’ll go and see" to visitors calling at an hour when all right-minded persons are conventionally if not actually out. The disgusting part of it was that many of these cousins were rich, so that Lily imbibed the idea that if people lived like pigs it was from choice, and through the lack of any proper standard of conduct. This gave her a sense of reflected superiority, and she did not need Mrs. Bart’s comments on the family frumps and misers to foster her naturally lively taste for splendour.

• A. Lily is much wealthier than all of her other cousins, most of whom are extremely poor.

• B. Engravings from Cole’s Voyage of Life were sought-after collectibles in the latter half of the 19th century.

• C. Lily judges people based less on wealth and more on whether they reflect well-bred social manners.

• D. All of the above

What is most closely the meaning of the word trace as it is used in the following passage (paragraph 7)?

“It is only because I am tired and have such odious things to think about,” she kept repeating; and it seemed an added injustice that petty cares should leave a trace on the beauty which was her only defence against them.

• A. noun | a mark or indication of something

• B. noun | a very small amount of something

• C. verb | to discover or find

• D. verb | to outline

Identify each vocabulary word with its corresponding synonym: wayfarer

• traveler

• struggles

• unpleasant

• enjoyment

• superficial

Identify each vocabulary word with its corresponding synonym: toils

• struggles

• unpleasant

• enjoyment

• superficial

• traveler

Identify each vocabulary word with its corresponding synonym: unpalatable

• unpleasant

• enjoyment

• superficial

• traveler

• struggles