Reading literrature 8 pps

61. d. It is ironic that in a place where there are so many ways to describe one food (indicating that this food is a central part of the culture), Thomas is hungry. The passage does not men- tion the language of the reservation, so choice a is incorrect. The sentence does not show any measure of how hungry Thomas is, so choice b is incorrect. The sentence does not describe fry bread or make it sound in any way appealing, so choice c is also incorrect. The passage tells us that it was Thomas’s hunger, not the number of ways to say fry bread, that provided his inspira- tion, so choice e is incorrect. 62. c. The author tells us that the new house was in “the best neighborhood in town,” and the neigh- borhood’s “prestige outweighed its deadliness” (lines 5–8). There is no indication that their old house was falling apart (choice a) or that they needed more room (choice b). The neighbor- hood is clearly not great for children (“it was not a pleasant place to live [especially for chil- dren]”), so choice d is incorrect. The author tells us that business was going well for his father— so well, in fact, that he could pay for the house in cash—but that does not mean the house was affordable (choice e). In fact, if it was in the most prestigious neighborhood, it was probably expensive. 63. a. The author tells us that his father was “always a man of habit”—so much so that he forgot he’d moved and went to his old house, into his old room, and lay down for a nap, not even noticing that the furniture was different. This suggests that he has a difficult time accepting and adjust- ing to change. There is no evidence that he is a calculating man (choice b). He may be unhappy with his life (choice c), which could be why he chose not to notice things around him, but there is little to support this in the passage, while there is much to support choice a. We do not know if he was proud of the house (choice d). We do know that he was a man of habit, but we do not know if any of those habits were bad (choice e). 64. d. That his father would not realize that someone else was living in the house—that he would not notice, for example, different furniture arranged in a different way—suggests that his father did not pay any attention to things around him and just went through the motions of his life by habit. Being habitual is different from being stubborn, so choice a is incorrect. The author is writing about his father and seems to know him quite well, so choice b is incorrect. We do not know if the author’s father was inattentive to his needs (choice c), though if he did not pay atten- tion to things around him, he likely did not pay much attention to his children. Still, there is not enough evidence in this passage to draw this conclusion. His father may have been very attached to the old house (choice e), but the incident doesn’t just show attachment; it shows a lack of awareness of the world around him. 65. b. The bulk of this excerpt is the story that the author finds “pathetic,” so the most logical con- clusion regarding his feelings for his father is that he lived a sad life. We know that his busi- ness was going well, but the author does not dis- cuss his father’s methods or approach to business, so choice a is incorrect. Choice c is likewise incorrect; there is no discussion of his father’s handling of financial affairs. Choice d is incorrect because there is no evidence that his father was ever cruel. His father may have been impressive and strong (choice e), but the domi- nant theme is his habitual nature and the sad fact that he did not notice things changing around him. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS– 375  Glossary of Terms: Language Arts, Reading alliteration the repetition of sounds, especially at the beginning of words antagonist the person, force, or idea working against the protagonist antihero a character who is pathetic rather than tragic, who does not take responsibility for his or her destructive actions aside in drama, when a character speaks directly to the audience or another character concerning the action on stage, but only the audience or character addressed in the aside is meant to hear autobiography the true account of a person’s life written by that person ballad a poem that tells a story, usually rhyming abcb blank verse poetry in which the structure is con- trolled only by a metrical scheme (also called metered verse) characters people created by an author to carry the action, language, and ideas of a story or play climax the turning point or high point of action and tension in the plot closet drama a play that is meant only to be read, not performed comedy humorous literature that has a happy ending commentary literature written to explain or illumi- nate other works of literature or art complication the series of events that “complicate” the plot and build up to the climax conflict a struggle or clash between two people, forces, or ideas connotation implied or suggested meaning context the words and sentences surrounding a word or phrase that help determine the meaning of that word or phrase couplet a pair of rhyming lines in poetry denotation exact or dictionary meaning denouement the resolution or conclusion of the action dialect language that differs from the standard lan- guage in grammar, pronunciation, and idioms (natu- ral speech versus standard English); language used by a specific group within a culture dialogue the verbal exchange between two or more people; conversation diction the particular choice and use of words drama literature that is meant to be performed dramatic irony when a character’s speech or actions have an unintended meaning known to the audience but not to the character elegy a poem that laments the loss of someone or something exact rhyme the repetition of exactly identical stressed sounds at the end of words exposition in plot, the conveyance of background information necessary to understand the complica- tion of the plot eye rhyme words that look like they should rhyme because of spelling, but because of pronunciation, they do not falling action the events that take place immediately after the climax in which “loose ends” of the plot are tied up feet in poetry, a group of stressed and unstressed syllables fiction prose literature about people, places, and events invented by the author figurative language comparisons not meant to be taken literally but used for artistic effect, including similes, metaphors, and personification flashback when an earlier event or scene is inserted into the chronology of the plot free verse poetry that is free from any restrictions of meter and rhyme functional texts literature that is valued mainly for the information it conveys, not for its beauty of form, emotional impact, or message about human experience genre category or kind; in literature, the different kinds or categories of texts haiku a short, imagistic poem of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, respectively half-rhyme the repetition of the final consonant at the end of words hyperbole extreme exaggeration not meant to be taken literally, but done for effect iambic pentameter a metrical pattern in poetry in which each line has ten syllables (five feet) and the stress falls on every second syllable imagery the representation of sensory experiences through language inference a conclusion based upon reason, fact, or evidence – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS– 376 irony see dramatic irony, situational irony,or verbal irony literature any written or published text literary texts literature valued for its beauty of form, emotional impact, and message(s) about the human experience main idea the overall fact, feeling, or thought a writer wants to convey about his or her subject melodrama a play that starts off tragic but has a happy ending memoir an autobiographical text that focuses on a limited number of events and explores their impact metaphor a type of figurative language that com- pares two things by saying they are equal meter the number and stress of syllables in a line of poetry monologue in drama, a play or part of a play performed by one character speaking directly to the audience narrator in fiction, the character or person who tells the story nonfiction prose literature about real people, places, and events ode a poem that celebrates a person, place, or thing omniscient narrator a third-person narrator who knows and reveals the thoughts and feelings of the characters onomatopoeia when the sound of a word echoes its meaning paragraph a group of sentences about the same idea personification figurative language that endows nonhuman or nonanimal objects with human characteristics plot the ordering of events in a story poetry literature written in verse point of view the perspective from which something is told or written prose literature that is not written in verse or dra- matic form protagonist the “hero” or main character of a story, the one who faces the central conflict pun a play on the meaning of a word quatrain in poetry, a stanza of four lines readability techniques strategies writers use to make information easier to process, including the use of headings and lists rhyme the repetition of an identical or similar stressed sound(s) at the end of words rhythm the overall sound or “musical” effect of the pattern of words and sentences sarcasm sharp, biting language intended to ridicule its subject satire a form of writing that exposes and ridicules its subject with the hope of bringing about change setting the time and place in which a story unfolds simile a type of figurative language that compares two things using like or as situational irony the tone that results when there is incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually occurs soliloquy in drama, a speech made by a character who reveals his or her thoughts to the audience as if he or she is alone and thinking aloud sonnet a poem composed of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with a specific rhyme scheme speaker in poetry, the voice or narrator of the poem stage directions in drama, the instructions pro- vided by the playwright that explain how the action should be staged, including directions for props, cos- tumes, lighting, tone, and character movements stanza a group of lines in a poem, a poetic paragraph structure the manner in which a work of literature is organized; its order of arrangement and divisions style the manner in which a text is written, composed of word choice, sentence structure, and level of for- mality and detail subgenre a category within a larger category suspense the state of anxiety caused by an unde- cided or unresolved situation symbol a person, place, or object invested with spe- cial meaning to represent something else theme the overall meaning or idea of a literary work thesis the main idea of a nonfiction text thesis statement the sentence(s) that express an author’s thesis tone the mood or attitude conveyed by writing or voice topic sentence the sentence in a paragraph that expresses the main idea of that paragraph tragedy a play that presents a character’s fall due to a tragic flaw tragic hero the character in a tragedy who falls from greatness and accepts responsibility for that fall tragic flaw the characteristic of a hero in a tragedy that causes his or her downfall – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS– 377 tragicomedy a tragic play that includes comic scenes understatement a statement that is deliberately restrained verbal irony when the intended meaning of a word or phrase is the opposite of its expressed meaning voice in nonfiction, the sound of the author speaking directly to the reader – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS– 378 379 PART VI The GED Mathematics Exam T his section covers the material you need to know to prepare for the GED Math- ematics Exam. You will learn how the test is structured so you will know what to expect on test day.You will also review and practice the fundamental math- ematics skills you need to do well on the exam. Before you begin Chapter 40, take a few minutes to do the pretest that follows. The questions and problems are the same type you will find on the GED. When you are fin- ished, check the answer key carefully to assess your results. Your pretest score will help you determine how much preparation you need and in which areas you need the most care- ful review and practice.  Pretest: GED Mathematics Directions: Read each of the questions below carefully and determine the best answer. To practice the timing of the GED exam, please allow 18 minutes for this pretest. Record your answers on the answer sheet provided here and the answer grids for questions 9 and 10. Note: On the GED, you are not permitted to write in the test booklet. Make any notes or calculations on a sep- arate piece of paper. 1. On five successive days, a motorcyclist listed his mileage as follows: 135, 162, 98, 117, 216. If his motorcycle averages 14 miles for each gallon of gas used, how many gallons of gas did he use during these five days? a. 42 b. 52 c. 115 d. 147 e. 153 2. Bugsy has a piece of wood 9 feet 8 inches long. He wishes to cut it into 4 equal lengths. How far from the edge should he make the first cut? a. 2.5 ft. b. 2 ft 5 in. c. 2.9 ft. d. 29 ft. e. 116 in. Question 3 is based on the following figure. 3. What is the perimeter of the figure? a. 8a + 5b b. 9a + 7b c. 7a + 5b d. 6a + 6b e. 8a + 6b 4. Jossie has $5 more than Siobhan, and Siobhan has $3 less than Michael. If Michael has $30, how much money does Jossie have? a. $30 b. $27 c. $32 d. $36 e. Not enough information is given. 3a + b 3a + 2b 2a + b a + 3b – THE GED MATHEMATICS EXAM– 380 1. abcde 2. abcde 3. abcde 4. abcde 5. abcde 6. abcde 7. abcde 8. abcde ANSWER SHEET . notice things changing around him. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS– 375  Glossary of Terms: Language Arts, Reading alliteration the repetition of sounds, especially at the beginning. sound of the author speaking directly to the reader – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS– 3 78 379 PART VI The GED Mathematics Exam T his section covers the material you need. is based on the following figure. 3. What is the perimeter of the figure? a. 8a + 5b b. 9a + 7b c. 7a + 5b d. 6a + 6b e. 8a + 6b 4. Jossie has $5 more than Siobhan, and Siobhan has $3 less than Michael.