MCQ Reading - Going Out for a Walk

The term “bitter lesson” in the second paragraph can best be read as a

• common boast

• warning to the audience

• humorous exaggeration

• defiant rejoinder

In context, “valetudinarians” in the final paragraph refers to persons who are

• acting like meddling servants

• taking brave but unnecessary chances

• noted for their intellectual accomplishments

• preoccupied with their health

In the passage’s first two sentences, the author

• anticipates support for his thesis

• expresses interest in contrary views

• sets forth his central claim

• appeals to common experience

The series of questions in the first paragraph is most likely intended to

• offer factual support for the author’s position

• present a broad range of perspectives

• reinforce a claim presented earlier

• appeal to the reader’s sense of curiosity

In the first paragraph (“He says . . . a wreck”), the author uses repetition and parallel sentence structure to

• create a sense of mounting tension and anxiety

• mimic the simple-minded monotony of the conversation

• suggest a jumble of competing thoughts and impressions

• portray the quick and bantering nature of the incident

How does the statement in the first paragraph ('I foresee . . . occurs') relate to the subsequent sentences in the first paragraph?

• It poses a theory that is refined later in the paragraph.

• It provides an explanation for some of the behavior described later in the paragraph.

• It introduces a shift in the narrator’s thinking that is explored in the rest of the paragraph.

• It makes a prediction that is then supported in the rest of the paragraph.

In the second paragraph, 'salves him and floats him in full sail' most nearly means

• causes him embarrassment

• restores him to his best

• exposes his shallowness

• soothes his hurt feelings

Which of the following rhetorical strategies does the author employ in the second paragraph ('He is saying . . . reading out the inscriptions')?

• He makes a potent allusion to demonstrate the breadth of his knowledge.

• He presents credible evidence to forestall any potential objections from the reader.

• He repeats the structure of an earlier conversation to underscore his main argument.

• He mounts a personal attack on the fellow-guest to discredit his actions.

In the third paragraph, the author presents the conversation between the brain and the soul in order to

• propose an important link between physical fitness and mental fitness

• account for the brain’s behavior described earlier in the passage

• introduce a difference between the two that will be refuted later

• explain why the body must obey the soul’s impulses

The sentence 'Such as it is, this essay was composed in the course of a walk' in the final paragraph best exemplifies the author’s

• use of concrete imagery

• advocacy for regular exercise

• use of self-deprecating irony

• reconciliation of opposing positions