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Questions 1-10 of 10 | 9:30
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PROSE FICTION: The following passage
is adapted from a short story.
Emma stepped from the sticky heat of the longest
day of the year into the cool front hallway and
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breathed deeply. Her skin prickled with the sudden
chill of air conditioning and her eyes began
to adjust to the darkness. Nana always kept the
slatted shutters sealed tight against the blazing
sunlight, and Emma loved coming inside to the
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cool air of the foyer, filled with the scent
of Nana's Shalimar perfume.
"Nana, I'm here," she called. "Can I help
you set up?"
Nana's voice wafted out from the kitchen, along
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with the buttery aroma of spritz cookies coming
out of the oven. "In here, dear," she warbled.
"The card table is already set, but you can
pour the lemonade while the cookies cool."
Emma skipped through the den into the kitchen,
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trailing her fingertips along the exposed brick
walls. She could navigate Nana's house blind,
she thought, just by feeling her way along, where
the brick turned to polished tile, and the tile
to wooden paneling, and the paneling to gold
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brocaded wallpaper that Abba had put up himself,
long before Emma was born, when her mother was
"knee-high to a grasshopper," as Nana said.
Sometimes, when Emma slept over, she would creep
into the dark of Abba's office, late at night
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after Nana had gone to bed. She thought she could
still get a faint hint of his fragrant pipe smoke
if she pressed her nose right up against the
space above his desk, her knees squishing into
the leather blotter stained with ink from his
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fountain pen.
Nana had already set out four tall highball glasses,
and one squat tumbler just for Emma. Emma filled
each with five perfectly square ice cubes-she
loved the precise look of the cubes in the glasses-and
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poured the lemonade to an inch below the lip,
as Nana had taught her. Then, using the knife
that fit exactly in her small hands, she sliced
a lemon thinly, flicking out the seeds with the
tip of the blade, and slid each round onto the
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rim of the glass. Perfect.
"Here you go, Nana," Emma said, making sure
her shoulders were back and her spine aligned,
like a proper young woman.
The old woman looked over. Her smile made Emma
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glow. "Lovely, dear. Do you think you can carry
that tray into the card room all by yourself?"
Emma nodded and, with a deep breath, wrapped her
fingers around the lacquered handles of the tray.
She stepped slowly, carefully, through the hallway
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to the card room and set the tray on the sideboard.
She knew exactly how the afternoon would progress:
Tante Lolly would arrive first and take the seat
nearest the window, with the ficus plant looming
over her jet-black beehive. Emma's mother looked
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just like a younger version of Lolly, everyone
said-as though the wrong sister had given birth
to her. Then Sadie and Gladys would show up,
on time if Sadie had driven, late if Gladys had,
and bicker over who would sit to Nana's right.
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Sadie usually ended up in the seat on the right,
but if she started laying down the best tiles
as the game's rounds progressed, Gladys would
grumble that it was all rigged, which always
made Emma chuckle inside. Throughout it all,
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Nana would sit with her back, ramrod straight,
to the sideboard, the East Wind in the game,
and Emma would perch on the small stool at her
side, always ready to jump up to fetch more cookies
for the ladies to nibble on, or refill their
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glasses with fresh lemonade.
Her friends thought it was strange that she would
skip a chance to play Dance Dance Revolution
or bike down to the neighborhood pool, but Emma
cherished these summer afternoons with Nana.
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Not because she got to practice how to be a gracious
and elegant hostess, although Nana was so proud
of her for how ladylike and grown-up she was
becoming. No; Emma loved sitting in the dim light
of the chilly card room with the Mah-Jongg ladies,
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listening to them trade gossip, recipes, and
a lifetime of shared memories while they almost
unconsciously slapped down their tiles to build
walls and score points. Winning, in the long
run, was irrelevant. The Mah-Jongg ladies had
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known each other since they were Emma's age,
and had played every week since they were young
wives, many years ago. Emma breathed in their
chattered memories like oxygen, promising silently
never, ever to forget.
1.
According to the passage, one of the virtues of a well-behaved young girl is:
walking slowly.
breathing deeply.
maintaining excellent posture.
remembering the past.
Strategic Advice: A Detail question may ask you to locate a specific item in the passage.
Go back to the passage to find the relevant information. Lines 46-48 state that Emma ensured "her shoulders were back and her spine aligned, like a proper young woman." Put that into your own words to say that standing up straight is the virtue in question, C.
(A) Misused Detail; Emma walks slowly carrying the tray of drinks, but that is not a sign of good behavior.
(B) Distortion; Emma takes a deep breath to calm herself.
(D) Misused Detail; the Mah-Jongg ladies discuss their memories, but that has no relevance to a young girl's good behavior.
2.
The passage takes place during:
June.
October.
March.
January.
Strategic Advice: On Test Day, a Detail question may ask you to paraphrase a specific detail from the passage.
Go back to the passage to locate the information you need. The first sentence states that Emma entered her grandmother's house "from the sticky heat of the longest day of the year." You can make a strong prediction that the longest day of the year is at the beginning of summer, which matches A.
(B) Out of Scope; the longest day of the year would be in the summer, not the fall.
(C) Out of Scope; the longest day of the year would not be in early spring.
(D) Out of Scope; the longest day of the year would not be in the middle of winter.
3.
The narrator's description of the weekly Mah-Jongg gathering indicates that Emma finds it:
tediously repetitive and dull.
a stressful test of her skill.
a boring, old-fashioned game.
an inspiring and memorable ritual.
Strategic Advice: To answer a Writer's View question, keep the tone and primary purpose of the passage in mind. Put yourself in the author's shoes.
Consider the overall tone of the passage and the narrator's attitude. The narrator says that Emma enjoyed listening to the ladies "trade gossip, recipes, and a lifetime of shared memories" while they played a game that they had been playing weekly for years (last paragraph). Put that into your own words and say that the narrator is demonstrating Emma's appreciation for this tradition, D.
(A) Opposite; Emma enjoys the Mah-Jongg game.
(B ) Distortion; while she tries hard to behave according to etiquette, the passage doesn't indicate that Emma finds doing so to be stressful.
(C) Distortion; although the game is old-fashioned compared to the ones her friends play, Emma thinks the entire afternoon is interesting.
4.
Which of the ladies is Emma's great-aunt?
Sadie
Lolly
Gladys
None of the above.
Strategic Advice: A Detail question may ask you to identify one specific item in the passage.
The ladies are named in the eighth paragraph, so go there to locate the relevant information. The passage states that Emma's mother looked like Lolly, "as though the wrong sister had given birth to her," which indicates that Lolly is the one related to Emma. Since Nana is Emma's mother's mother, it makes sense to say that Lolly is Nana's sister, or Emma's great-aunt,B.
(A) Out of Scope; the passage does not say if Sadie is related to Emma.
(C) Out of Scope; the passage does not say if Gladys is related to Emma.
(D) Opposite; there is enough information to determine that Lolly is Emma's great-aunt.
5.
The passage compares Emma's learning about the lives of her elders to:
dancing.
breathing.
school.
friendship.
Strategic Advice: On Test Day, a Detail question may ask you to identify the parts of a simile or metaphor.
Go back to the passage to locate the comparison in question. The last sentence states that Emma "breathed in their chattered memories like oxygen." Make sure to put that into your own words and predict that hearing their memories of the past is as necessary to Emma as breathing, B.
(A) Misused Detail; Emma passes up a chance to play a dancing game to go to the Mah-Jongg gathering.
(C ) Out of Scope; Emma's schooling is not mentioned.
(D) Distortion; Emma admires the ladies' friendships.
6.
The fourth paragraph implies that Emma:
looks for comfort and security in dark, musty rooms.
relies more upon tactile than visual sensations for direction.
feels a strong connection to her grandparents and, through them, to her family's past.
may be losing her sight, and relishes the scents and textiles of her grandmother's house.
Strategic Advice: The answer to an Inference question will always be directly supported by the passage. Use elimination to help you rule out incorrect answer choices.
Put yourself in the narrator's shoes and go back to the paragraph cited for context. The fourth paragraph states that Emma knows her way around Nana's house by the feel of the walls, and visits her grandfather's office in order to remember him. The paragraph implies, then, that Emma loves being in her grandparents' house and thinking back to the past, C.
(A) Misused Detail; although she goes into the dark office, Emma is not looking for comfort there, but rather evoking her grandfather's memory.
(B) Distortion; Emma does like to feel the textures in the house, but does not use them any more than she uses sight.
(D) Distortion; Emma does relish the attributes of Nana's house, but she is not in actuality going blind.
7.
The passage suggests that Emma is unusual for her age because:
she works as a domestic aide instead of attending school.
most children would not want to stay inside with their elders on a summer day.
she stands with her shoulders back and spine aligned.
her hostessing skills are far more advanced than her chronological age would indicate.
Strategic Advice: An Inference question will ask you to identify what is almost, but not directly, stated in the passage.
Go back to the passage for context and read between the lines to find what is being implied. In the last paragraph, the passage says that Emma's friends "thought it was strange" that she would go to her grandmother's house instead of playing outside with them in good weather. Paraphrase that idea in your own words to say that Emma is unusual because she chooses to spend time with her elders instead of her friends, B.
(A) Out of Scope; Emma does not have a job as a domestic aide.
(C) Misused Detail; Emma does this to practice good posture, but that does not necessarily set her apart from her peers.
(D) Distortion; Emma is learning hostessing skills and etiquette, but the passage does not indicate she is more mature than she should be.
8.
As compared to her friends, Emma appears to be:
less outgoing and more introverted and withdrawn.
silently mocking the activities of people her own age.
seeking out her place in the world of hostessing.
more mature and understanding of the importance of tradition.
Strategic Advice: Generalization questions may ask you to summarize a character's attitude in your own words.
Consider the overall tone of the passage and think about the characterization of Emma. She chooses to stay inside and attend her grandmother's Mah-Jongg game instead of riding bikes or playing a video dance challenge, so you can say she is more grown-up and interested in her elders than her friends seem to be, D.
(A) Out of Scope; nothing in the passage indicates Emma is shy or uncomfortable being with people.
(B) Extreme/Out of Scope; Emma may not participate in her friends' activities, but she does not mock them.
(C) Distortion; Emma is learning to be a gracious hostess, but the passage doesn't support the idea that she intends to make that her vocation.
9.
The statement, "Winning, in the long run, was irrelevant" in the last paragraph conveys the sense that Emma believes the Mah-Jongg game is:
impossible for a young person to win.
rigged in Sadie's favor.
more about camaraderie than scoring points.
boring and incomprehensible.
Strategic Advice: To answer this kind of Inference question, consider the overall tone of the passage, in addition to the specific reference.
Re-read around the cited sentence for context. The sentence in question is in the final paragraph, in which the narrator discusses why Emma chooses to attend the Mah-Jongg game instead of playing with her own friends - she likes to absorb the ladies' memories and feel connected to her past. The game itself takes place almost "unconsciously" while the ladies talk. Therefore, the narrator is saying that the game is about friendship, not winning, C.
(A) Out of Scope; Emma does not play the game, so we do not know how easy it is to learn and win as a young player.
(B) Misused Detail; Gladys often says this is the case when she is losing.
(D) Out of Scope; Emma is fascinated by the game, not bored by it.
10.
Which of the following does Emma seem to find the most amusing?
The way Gladys implies that Sadie cheats at Mah-Jongg
The process by which Sadie is able to sit to Nana's right
Watching Nana take her seat with her back perfectly straight
Hearing how her mother is the spitting image of a young Lolly
Strategic Advice: The answer to an Inference question will be directly supported by information in the passage.
Use what is stated in the passage to help you form your prediction. The passage says that Emma would "chuckle inside" when Gladys accused Sadie of cheating (paragraph 7). Since chuckling is an indicator of amusement, you can safely predict that Gladys's accusations are what Emma finds funny, A.
(B) Misused Detail; the passage does not indicate that Emma finds this process amusing.
(C) Distortion; the passage says that Nana sits with a straight back, but nothing in the passage talks about Emma watching her take her seat.
(D) Misused Detail; Emma has heard how her mother resembles Lolly, but the passage does not support the idea that she is amused by the comparison.
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