Critical Reading: Detail View

1)

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.Sue, who was passionate about politics, followed the presidential debates with ------- interest.

1)

(A) ardent

2)

(B) irate

3)

(C) luxuriant

4)

(D) placid

5)

(E) restrained

2)

Ever -------, the police chief did not like to ------- with the press about his investigations.

1)

(A) frigid . . bicker

2)

(B) frigid . . bicker

3)

(C) gregarious . . contact

4)

(D) reticent . . converse

5)

(E) quiet . . mute

3)

The wind toyed with the little girl's hat -------, blowing it first one way and then the other.

1)

(A) menacingly

2)

(B) capriciously

3)

(C) conspicuously

4)

(D) redundantly

5)

(E) eloquently

4)

He is a(n) ------- by choice, disdaining contact with others and holding himself ------- from his peers.

1)

(A) curmudgeon . . infallible

2)

(B) pariah . . aloof

3)

(C) enigma . . leery

4)

(D) braggart . . incremental

5)

(E) soporific . . invidious

5)

In lieu of his usual ------- remarks, Paul was uncharacteristically gracious and complimentary at the party.

1)

(A) indolent

2)

(B) fortuitous

3)

(C) flawless

4)

(D) pedantic

5)

(E) pejorative

6)

Ancient civilizations often tracked celestial movements very closely, keeping ------- records, and interpreted incidents like meteor showers as ------- of future events.

1)

(A) meticulous . . auguries

2)

(B) careful . . subjects

3)

(C) variable . . directories

4)

(D) profligate . . predications

5)

(E) insidious . . indicators

7)

Due to an exceptionally productive growing season, the farmer was faced with a ------- of crops.

1)

(A) paucity

2)

(B) surfeit

3)

(C) circulation

4)

(D) fortitude

5)

(E) dearth

8)

Volunteers at the animal shelter are often ------- by the ------- treatment that neglected pets have been subjected to by their previous owners.

1)

(A) surprised . . prudent

2)

(B) frustrated . . solicitous

3)

(C) incensed . . wanton

4)

(D) prescient . . moribund

5)

(E) penitent . . reckless

9)

Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon anyoccasion rings? Who can remove it from that bell which ispassing a piece of himself out of this world? No man isan island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of thecontinent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed awayby the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontorywere, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or ofthine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me becauseI am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to knowfor whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.The main idea of the passage is

1)

(A) death is inevitable

2)

(B) death connects people

3)

(C) death is easy to ignore

4)

(D) death affects people in different ways

5)

(E) death sounds dreadful and depressing

10)

Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon anyoccasion rings? Who can remove it from that bell which ispassing a piece of himself out of this world? No man isan island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of thecontinent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed awayby the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontorywere, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or ofthine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me becauseI am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to knowfor whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.In line 7, the word "manor" most nearly means

1)

(A) affectation

2)

(B) behavior

3)

(C) tendency

4)

(D) habitation

5)

(E) decorum

11)

It is here to be observed that after the funeralsbecame so many that people could not toll the bell, mourn orweep, or wear black for one another, as they did before; no,nor so much as make coffins for those that died; so after awhile the fury of the infection appeared to be so increasedthat, in short, they shut up no houses at all. . . . wholestreets seemed to be desolated, and not to be shut up only,but to be emptied of their inhabitants; doors were left wideopen, windows stood shattering with the wind in empty housesfor want of people to shut them. In a word, people beganto give up themselves to their fears, and to think that allregulations and methods were in vain, and that there wasnothing to be hoped for but an universal desolation.Which of the following statements about the ideas expressed in the passage are true?I. Adversity brought people together in the midst of their sufferingII. The consequences of the plague suggest that it was virulentIII. The extremity of their situation caused people to resign themselves to the difficulties they faced

1)

(A) I only

2)

(B) II Only

3)

(C) I and III only

4)

(D) II and III only

5)

(E) I, II and III

12)

It is here to be observed that after the funeralsbecame so many that people could not toll the bell, mourn orweep, or wear black for one another, as they did before; no,nor so much as make coffins for those that died; so after awhile the fury of the infection appeared to be so increasedthat, in short, they shut up no houses at all. . . . wholestreets seemed to be desolated, and not to be shut up only,but to be emptied of their inhabitants; doors were left wideopen, windows stood shattering with the wind in empty housesfor want of people to shut them. In a word, people beganto give up themselves to their fears, and to think that allregulations and methods were in vain, and that there wasnothing to be hoped for but an universal desolation.In line 10, the word "want" most nearly means

1)

(A) desire

2)

(B) hope

3)

(C) intention

4)

(D) excess

5)

(E) dearth