A Modern Comedy Quiz

The primary purpose of the passage is to

• describe the atmosphere of the cemetery

• advance a view about the United States

• discuss the nature of Soames’s relationships

• reveal aspects of Soames’s character

• offer speculations about Soames’s motivations

Answer explanation

The character Soames is make observation based on how he sees the statue while making commentary about the setting.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

In the first paragraph (lines 1-7), the cemetery is presented as

• oppressive

• fecund

• austere

• sublime

• idyllic

Answer explanation

The diction used in these lines show a positive attitude towards the cemetery and shows that the protagonist is at peace.

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CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

Which of the following responses is part of the “marked effect” (line 14) in the second paragraph that the statue has on Soames?

• He is overcome with grief.

• He feels alone in the world.

• He accepts his failures.

• He meditates on mortality.

• He reconsiders his ambitions.

Answer explanation

The protagonist tone toward the cemetery shows his satisfaction within the dark setting. Which reveal he is okay with his mortality or at least likes to reflect on it.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

In the context of the passage as a whole, the description of Soames as feeling “thoroughly at home” (line 15) in front of the statue is

• ironic, since Soames has been traveling for a long time and looks forward to returning home

• paradoxical, since Soames feels somewhat disoriented when he looks at the statue

• surprising, since Soames typically does not find art affecting

• exaggerated, since Soames quickly loses interest in the statue

• apt, since Soames possesses a scholarly interest in funerary sculpture

Answer explanation

It ironic that he feels at peace in a cemetery.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Lines 18-23 (“Yesterday . . . sensations”) describe a change from

• begrudging admiration to fervent approbation

• careful consideration to impulsive action

• public commendation to private aversion

• aesthetic rumination to logical evaluation

• intellectual appreciation to affective reaction

Answer explanation

A is a good answer, but the best answer is E because of the vocabulary it uses is more accurate to the theme of the passage in which the character is having a psychology break through of his travels. Also he doesn't begrudging appreciate the statue in the beginning. He understands its artistic value.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

According to the passage, which statement about the statue is true?

Responses

• Its technical excellence initially prevented Soames from recognizing its power.

• Its location leads Soames to see it as more somber than it might otherwise appear.

• Its effect on Soames diminishes the longer he views it.

• Its meaning to Soames varies with his angle of perspective.

• Its significance to Soames depends largely on his mood.

Answer explanation

With this one you have to think as to how the character feels about the statue. B is how we see Soames views the statue. While D, empathizes more deeply how Soames feels about the statue and that feeling is complex.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

In lines 30-33 (“From . . . remarkable”), the narrator suggests that the woman appears to have

• been overwhelmed by suffering

• found comfort in her memories

• learned to suppress her grief

• grown weary of her life

• reached a point of acquiescence

Answer explanation

Since it referring to the women face in the statue and how its gone beyond grief it shows that the women has fully accepted her death.

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CCSS.RL.1.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Lines 33-35 (“He remembered . . . last”) describe death as though it were

• a revelation

• a metamorphosis

• a reprieve

• a surrender

• an embarrassment

Answer explanation

The character is making a connection between his father and the women in the statute and how they accepted their death at last.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

The narrator mentions the oak leaves in lines 36-37 to emphasize that Soames is

• aloof

• fascinated

• obdurate

• callous

• stoic

Answer explanation

The leaf is shown as a detail that demonstrates how fascinated the protagonist is with the statue.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Taken together, the two paragraphs in lines 40-46 most directly present

• a contrast between idealism and pragmatism

• a comparison of the universal with the particular

• a juxtaposition of the profound and the mundane

• an analogy linking personal reflection with public debate

• an incongruity between private morality and the common good

Answer explanation

If there is an intentional alignment of two ideas next to each other than it is usually juxtaposition to make a point.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2