GED Literature and the Arts, Reading Practice Questions

F ollow the directions carefully as you complete these practice exercises. Then check your answers carefully. Detailed answers and explanations are provided at the end of this chapter.  Directions Read each passage carefully and answer the multiple-choice questions that follow. Choose the one best answer to each question. Be sure to answer every question; you will not be penalized for incorrect answers. Do not spend too much time on any one question so you can be sure to complete the questions in the allotted time. Record your answers on the answer sheet provided on the following page. Make sure you mark the answer in the circle that corresponds to the question. Note: On the GED, you are not permitted to write in the test booklet. Make any notes on a separate piece of paper. CHAPTER GED Literature and the Arts, Reading Practice Questions NOW IT’S time to put all that you have learned and reviewed into practice. In the following section, you will find 15 passages and 65 multiple-choice questions like those you will find on the Language Arts, Reading GED. 39 347 – LEARNINGEXPRESS ANSWER SHEET – 349  Answer Sheet 1. abcde 2. abcde 3. abcde 4. abcde 5. abcde 6. abcde 7. abcde 8. abcde 9. abcde 10. abcde 11. abcde 12. abcde 13. abcde 14. abcde 15. abcde 16. abcde 17. abcde 18. abcde 19. abcde 20. abcde 21. abcde 22. abcde 23. abcde 24. abcde 25. abcde 26. abcde 27. abcde 28. abcde 29. abcde 30. abcde 31. abcde 32. abcde 33. abcde 34. abcde 35. abcde 36. abcde 37. abcde 38. abcde 39. abcde 40. abcde 41. abcde 42. abcde 43. abcde 44. abcde 45. abcde 46. abcde 47. abcde 48. abcde 49. abcde 50. abcde 51. abcde 52. abcde 53. abcde 54. abcde 55. abcde 56. abcde 57. abcde 58. abcde 59. abcde 60. abcde 61. abcde 62. abcde 63. abcde 64. abcde 65. abcde Questions 1 through 5 refer to the following excerpt. What Has Happened to Gregor? As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his dome- like brown belly divided into stiff arched seg- ments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes. What has happened to me? he thought. It was no dream. His room, a regular human bedroom, only rather too small, lay quiet between the four familiar walls. Above the table on which a col- lection of cloth samples was unpacked and spread out—Samsa was a commercial traveler— hung the picture which he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and put into a pretty gilt frame. It showed a lady, with a fur cap on and a fur stole, sitting upright and holding out to the spectator a huge fur muff into which the whole of her forearm had vanished! He slid down again into his former position. This getting up early, he thought, makes one quite stupid. A man needs his sleep. Other com- mercials live like harem women. For instance, when I come back to the hotel of a morning to write up the orders I’ve got, these others are only sitting down to breakfast. Let me just try that with my chief; I’d be sacked on the spot. Anyhow, that might be quite a good thing for me, who can tell? If I didn’t have to hold my hand because of my parents I’d have given notice long ago, I’d have gone to the chief and told him exactly what I think of him. That would knock him endways from his desk! It’s a queer way of doing, too, this sitting on high at a desk and talking down to employees, especially when they have to come quite near because the chief is hard of hearing. Well, there’s still hope; once I’ve saved enough money to pay back my parents’ debts to him—that should take another five or six years—I’ll do it without fail. I’ll cut myself completely loose then. For the moment, though, I’d better get up, since my train goes at five. —Franz Kafka, from The Metamorphosis (1912) 1. When Gregor Samsa wakes up, he realizes that he a. has been having a nightmare. b. is late for work. c. has turned into a giant bug. d. dislikes his job. e. needs to make a change in his life. 2. Which of the following best describes Gregor’s job? a. magician b. traveling clothing salesman c. advertisement copywriter d. clothing designer e. magazine editor 3. Why must Gregor keep his current job for sev- eral more years? a. His parents owe his boss money. b. Gregor is an apprentice and must complete his program. c. Gregor wants to take over the chief’s job. d. His parents own the company he works for. e. He needs to earn enough money to buy a big- ger house for his family. 4. Based on the passage, which is the most logical conclusion to draw about Gregor’s personality? a. Gregor is lazy and stupid. b. Gregor is a very successful salesman. c. Gregor resents being told what to do by peo- ple in authority. d. Gregor is hardworking and reliable. e. Gregor is very close to his family. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 351 (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (25) (30) (35) (40) (45) (46) 5. In lines 47–48, Gregor tells himself, “I’d better get up, since my train goes at five.” This suggests that a. Gregor has woken up as a bug before and is used to it. b. the other characters in the story are also bugs. c. Gregor is still dreaming. d. Gregor is going to be late. e. Gregor does not yet realize how serious his condition is. Questions 6 through 10 refer to the following poem. What Did the Speaker Learn from Alfonso? Alfonso I am not the first poet born to my family. We have painters and singers, actors and carpenters. I inherited my trade from my zio, Alfonso. Zio maybe was the tallest man in the village, he certainly was the widest. He lost his voice to cigarettes before I was born, but still he roared with his hands, his eyes, with his brow, and his deafening smile. He worked the sea with my nonno fishing in silence among the grottoes so my father could learn to write and read and not speak like the guaglione, filled with curses and empty pockets. He would watch me write with wonder, I could hear him on the couch, he looked at the lines over my shoulder, tried to teach himself to read late in the soft Adriatic darkness. Wine-stained pages gave him away. But I learned to write from Zio— He didn’t need words, still he taught me the language of silence, the way the sun can describe a shadow, a gesture can paint a moment, a scent could fill an entire village with words and color and sound, a perfect little grape tomato can be the most beautiful thing in the world, seen through the right eyes. —Marco A. Annunziata (2002) Reprinted by permission of the author. 6. In line 5, the speaker says, “I inherited my trade from my zio, Alfonso.” What trade did the speaker inherit? a. painting b. fishing c. writing poetry d. singing e. carpentry 7. What is the relationship between the speaker and Alfonso? a. Alfonso is his uncle. b. Alfonso is his father. c. Alfonso is his best friend. d. Alfonso is his brother. e. Alfonso is a neighbor. 8. Which of the following statements about Alfonso is true? a. He was a poet. b. He could not speak. c. He could speak many languages. d. He was a farmer. e. He was also a painter. 9. In lines 11–13, the speaker says that Alfonso “roared / with his hands, his eyes, / with his brow, and his deafening smile.” These lines sug- gest that Alfonso a. was a very loud person. b. was always angry. c. was like a lion. d. was always yelling. e. was very expressive with his body. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 352 (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (25) (30) (33) (35) (40) 10. Which of the following best sums up what the speaker has learned from Alfonso? a. how to appreciate the beauty of the world b. how to listen to others c. how to appreciate his family d. how to understand himself e. how to read poetry Questions 11 through 14 refer to the following excerpt. How Are Robots Different from Humans? [Helena is talking to Domain, the general man- ager of Rossum’s Universal Robots factory.] DOMAIN: Well, any one who’s looked into anatomy will have seen at once that man is too complicated, and that a good engineer could make him more simply. So young Rossum began to overhaul anatomy and tried to see what could be left out or simplified. In short— but this isn’t boring you, Miss Glory? HELENA: No; on the contrary, it’s awfully interesting. DOMAIN: So young Rossum said to himself: A man is something that, for instance, feels happy, plays the fiddle, likes going for walks, and, in fact, wants to do a whole lot of things that are really unnecessary. HELENA: Oh! DOMAIN: Wait a bit. That are unnecessary when he’s wanted, let us say, to weave or to count. Do you play the fiddle? HELENA: No. DOMAIN: That’s a pity. But a working machine must not want to play the fiddle, must not feel happy, must not do a whole lot of other things. A petrol motor must not have tassels or orna- ments, Miss Glory. And to manufacture artificial workers is the same thing as to manufacture motors. The process must be of the simplest, and the product of the best from a practical point of view. What sort of worker do you think is the best from a practical point of view? HELENA: The best? Perhaps the one who is most honest and hard-working. DOMAIN: No, the cheapest. The one whose needs are the smallest. Young Rossum invented a worker with the minimum amount of require- ments. He had to simplify him. He rejected everything that did not contribute directly to the progress of work. In this way he rejected everything that made man more expensive. In fact, he rejected man and made the Robot. My dear Miss Glory, the Robots are not people. Mechanically they are more perfect than we are, they have an enormously developed intelligence, but they have no soul. Have you ever seen what a Robot looks like inside? HELENA: Good gracious, no! DOMAIN: Very neat, very simple. Really a beau- tiful piece of work. Not much in it, but every- thing in flawless order. The product of an engineer is technically at a higher pitch of per- fection than a product of nature. HELENA: Man is supposed to be the product of nature. DOMAIN: So much the worse. —Karel ˇ Capek, from R.U.R. (1923, translated by P. Selver) 11. According to the passage, why are robots better workers than humans? a. Robots have a very simple anatomy. b. Robots are more intelligent. c. Robots are more honest and hard-working. d. Robots do not have a soul. e. Robots want things that are unnecessary. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 353 (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (25) (30) (35) (40) (45) (50) (55) (60) (65) 12. Rossum created robots because a. humans are complicated and inefficient. b. humans are not honest enough. c. robots are always happy. d. he wanted to see if he could. e. there weren’t enough people to do the work. 13. Which of the following best expresses Rossum’s view of nature? a. Nature is beautiful. b. It is dangerous to try to improve upon nature. c. Nature is imperfect and unnecessarily complicated. d. Mother Nature is the greatest engineer of all. e. Machines are also a part of nature. 14. Based on the passage, Rossum is most likely a. a robot. b. a part-time inventor. c. a retired doctor. d. a foreman in the factory. e. a very intelligent engineer. Questions 15 through 17 refer to the following excerpt. What’s Wrong with Commercial Television? Kids who watch much commercial television ought to develop into whizzes at the dialect; you have to keep so much in your mind at once because a series of artificially short attention spans has been created. But this in itself means that the experience of watching the commercial channels is a more informal one, curiously more ‘homely’ than watching BBC [British Broadcast- ing Corporation]. This is because the commercial breaks are constant reminders that the medium itself is artificial, isn’t, in fact, “real,” even if the gesticu- lating heads, unlike the giants of the movie screen, are life-size. There is a kind of built-in alienation effect. Everything you see is false, as Tristan Tzara gnomically opined. And the young lady in the St. Bruno tobacco ads who currently concludes her spiel by stating categorically: “And if you believe that, you’ll believe anything,” is saying no more than the truth. The long-term effect of habitually watching commercial televi- sion is probably an erosion of trust in the televi- sion medium itself. Since joy is the message of all commercials, it is as well they breed skepticism. Every story has a happy ending, gratification is guaranteed by the conventions of the commercial form, which contributes no end to the pervasive unreality of it all. Indeed, it is the chronic bliss of everybody in the commercials that creates their final divorce from effective life as we know it. Grumpy mum, frowning dad, are soon all smiles again after the ingestion of some pill or potion; minimal concessions are made to mild frustra- tion (as they are, occasionally, to lust), but none at all to despair or consummation. In fact, if the form is reminiscent of the limerick and the presentation of the music-hall, the overall mood—in its absolute and unruffled deco- rum—is that of the uplift fables in the Sunday school picture books of my childhood. —Angela Carter, from Shaking a Leg (1997) 15. According to the author, what is the main differ- ence between commercial channels and public television stations like the BBC? a. Commercial television is very artificial. b. Public television is more informal and uplifting. c. Commercial television teaches viewers not to believe what they see on TV. d. Commercial television is more like the movies than public television. e. Commercial television portrays people in a more realistic manner. 16. Which of the following would the author most likely recommend? a. Don’t watch any television at all; read instead. b. Watch only the BBC. c. Watch only commercial television. d. Watch what you like, but don’t believe what commercials claim. e. Watch what you like, but don’t watch more than an hour a day. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 354 (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (22) (25) (30) (35) (40) 17. According to the author, what is the main thing that makes commercials unrealistic? a. Everyone in commercials always ends up happy. b. The background music is distracting. c. Commercials are so short. d. The people in commercials are always sick. e. The claims commercials make are unrealistic. Questions 18 through 22 refer to the following excerpt. What Happened When He Came to America? My parents lost friends, lost family ties and pat- terns of mutual assistance, lost rituals and habits and favorite foods, lost any link to an ongoing social milieu, lost a good part of the sense they had of themselves. We lost a house, several towns, various landscapes. We lost documents and pictures and heirlooms, as well as most of our breakable belongings, smashed in the nine packing cases that we took with us to America. We lost connection to a thing larger than our- selves, and as a family failed to make any signifi- cant new connection in exchange, so that we were left aground on a sandbar barely big enough for our feet. I lost friends and relatives and stories and familiar comforts and a sense of continuity between home and outside and any sense that I was normal. I lost half a language through want of use and eventually, in my late teens, even lost French as the language of my internal monologue. And I lost a whole network of routes through life that I had just barely glimpsed. Hastening on toward some idea of a future, I only half-realized these losses, and when I did realize I didn’t disapprove, and sometimes I actively colluded. At some point, though, I was bound to notice that there was a gulf inside me, with a blanketed form on the other side that hadn’t been uncovered in decades. My project of self-invention had been successful, so much so that I had become a sort of hydroponic veg- etable, growing soil-free. But I had been formed in another world; everything in me that was essential was owed to immersion in that place, and that time, that I had so effectively renounced. [ ] Like it or not, each of us is made, less by blood or genes than by a process that is largely accidental, the impact of things seen and heard and smelled and tasted and endured in those few years before our clay hardens. Offhand remarks, things glimpsed in passing, jokes and commonplaces, shop displays and climate and flickering light and textures of walls are all con- sumed by us and become part of our fiber, just as much as the more obvious effects of upbring- ing and socialization and intimacy and learning. Every human being is an archeological site. —Luc Sante, from The Factory of Facts (1998) 18. The author came to America when he was a. an infant. b. a toddler. c. in his early teens. d. in his late teens. e. a young adult. 19. In the first paragraph, the writer lists more than a dozen things that he and his family lost when they immigrated to America. He does this in order to a. convince others not to immigrate. b. show how careless his family was when packing. c. show how much he missed his homeland. d. show how many intangible and important things were left behind. e. prove that you are never too old to change. 20. According to the author, our personalities are formed mostly by a. our genes. b. our education. c. our environment. d. our parents and caregivers. e. our peers. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 355 (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (25) (30) (35) (40) (45) 21. When the author came to America, he a. embraced American culture. b. rejected his roots. c. made sure to keep his heritage alive. d. became withdrawn. e. became very possessive about things he owned. 22. In the last sentence of the excerpt, the author writes that “Every human being is an archeologi- cal site.” What does he mean by this? a. The environment that formed us is a perma- nent, if buried, part of us. b. We must dig deep within ourselves to discover our past. c. We all have a piece of our past that we would prefer to keep buried. d. Only archaeologists understand the impact of our environment. e. The past is always with us, no matter where we go. Questions 23 through 25 refer to the following passage. What Is the Work-Study Program? Overview of the Work-Study Program The Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program is a student employment program subsidized by the federal government and designed to help stu- dents finance their post-secondary education. The program provides funds to colleges, univer- sities, and affiliated organizations which then provide employment to work-study students. Students receive their work-study financial awards in the form of paychecks from their work-study positions. Applying for Work-Study Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply. Work-Study grants are awarded based upon demonstrated financial need. To apply, students must complete the Free Applica- tion for Federal Student Aid. This application must be submitted each year Work-Study employment is desired. What Are the Advantages of Work-Study? A work-study job is essentially just like any other job—you go to work, do your job, and get paid. But Work-Study positions have several dis- tinct advantages over “regular” jobs: ■ Students can work in an environment suited to their skills, preferences, and possible career goals. ■ Employers are committed to the students’ educa- tion and will help students work around their class schedules. ■ Work-study wages are not counted towards the next year’s student contribution for financial aid. What Types of Work-Study Jobs Are Available? The work-study positions at Madison Commu- nity College are as diverse as the functions of the college. Work-study students are employed as clerical assistants, data entry clerks, computer technicians, laboratory monitors, research assis- tants, language tutors, and more. In addition, Madison Community College has long-standing relationships with a number of employers and agencies that provide services for the community and have been approved to participate in the Federal Work-Study Program, including the Madison County Children’s Museum, the Madison County Library, Children First Day Care, and Right Start Tutoring Agency. Students may be employed as museum guides, library aides, child caregivers, research assis- tants, tutors, and more. 23. Who is eligible for the Work-Study Program? a. first-year students only b. undergraduate students only c. graduate students only d. undergraduate and graduate students e. unemployed students only 24. According to the passage, what is one way Work- Study employers are different from “regular” employers? a. Work-Study employers offer higher wages. b. Students work less hours with Work-Study employers. c. Work-Study employers offer more flexible scheduling for students. d. Work-Study employers offer a wide range of positions. e. Students earn academic credit for positions with Work-Study employers. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 356 (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (23) (25) (30) (35) (40) (45) (50) [...]... hands toward the (5) sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep War is kind Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment (10) Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die The unexplained glory flies above them Great is the battle-god, great, and his (15) kingdom— 360 – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 42 The speaker addresses three people in the. .. 371 – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 40 c The tone of the poem, especially of the line “war is kind,” is sarcastic; the poem shows how war is cruel in taking the lives of the soldiers The sarcasm is particularly clear in lines 25–26: “Point for them the virtue of slaughter / Make plain to them the excellence of killing.” Choice a is incorrect; there is no celebration in the. .. holy in the mem(10) ory and experience of my people We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins We are part of the earth and it is part of us The perfumed flowers are our sisters The (15) bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers The rocky crests, the juices in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man, all belong to the same... for the land “Every part of the earth is sacred to my people,” he states (lines 6–7), for example, and The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth” (lines 44–45) They clearly do not think they own the land (choice a); the author asks in lines 2–4, “how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The idea is strange to us If we do not own the freshness of the air ” Their reverence for the. .. (1) 30 According to the author, what sort of relationship do his people have with the land? a They own it and do whatever they want with it b They respect it and do not understand how anyone can own it c They are indifferent and can live anywhere d They live there only because they have to and would be glad to sell it e They believe it is haunted and full of spirits and ghosts 31 The intended audience... incorrect He does not address the Native Americans nor suggest that they fight, so choice b is incorrect He does not state any reasons not to buy the land, and he praises the land rather than pointing out any flaws, so choice c is incorrect There is no evidence of the power he has over his people, so choice e is also incorrect 370 – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 33 b For Chief... into the (1) 365 – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 65 so choice c is incorrect The previous quote rules out his parents owning the company (choice d), and there is no evidence that he needs the money to buy a bigger house (choice e) The passage does mention that his room is small, but the only reason given for Gregor keeping his job is to pay off those debts Based on the excerpt,... (choice e) 368 – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 20 c The author states, “Like it or not, each of us is made, less by blood or genes than by a process that is largely accidental, the impact of things seen and heard and smelled and tasted and endured ” The entire third paragraph lists things in our environment that contribute to who we are The first sentence in the paragraph... Native and new e Chief Seattle himself 32 What is the author’s main goal in this essay? a to convince the American government not to buy the land b to convince Native Americans to fight the new Americans c to persuade Americans that the land is not worth buying d to convince the new Americans that the land is sacred e to show how much power he has over his people 358 – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING. .. of the air ” Their reverence for the land contradicts choices c and d There is no evidence that they believe the land is haunted (choice e) 31 c The author is addressing all new Americans— the people to whom he would be selling the land There is a clear distinction between the “you” of the new Americans and the “we” of the Native Americans, so choices b, d, and e are incorrect Choice a is incorrect . wear hats in the office. – GED LITERATURE AND THE ARTS, READING PRACTICE QUESTIONS – 363 55. An employee who violates the dress code for the third time. our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water,