“The Train from Rhodesia” by Nadine Gordimer

Selection Test A

1. What can you conclude by reading between the lines in “The Train from Rhodesia”

that state that “A stir or preparedness rippled through” the adults and children

who left what they were doing to wait at the station?

A. The arrival of the train was an important event in people’s lives.

B. People were disappointed by the train because travelers never stayed.

C. The people disliked the train’s arrival because it meant they had to work.

D. The people generally ignored the arrival of the train.

2. What is the carving that interests the young woman in “The Train from Rhodesia”?

A. a lion

B. an elephant

C. a train

D. an eagle

3. In “The Train from Rhodesia,” the old man holds up his carving for the young

woman, “smiling, not from the heart, but at the customer.” What can you tell

about the old man by reading between the lines?

A. He is proud of his work.

B. He acts friendly only so he can make the sale.

C. He distrusts the young woman.

D. He likes the woman and wants to please her.

4. Why does the young woman not buy the carving in “The Train from Rhodesia”?

A. She thinks it is poorly made.

B. She thinks it is too expensive.

C. She does not have the money.

D. The old man is rude to her.

5. Who are the young man and woman in “The Train from Rhodesia”?

A. journalists

B. teachers

C. tourists

D. art collectors

6. What is the main conflict in “The Train from Rhodesia”?

A. overcoming differences in religion

B. traveling in another country

C. settling on a fair price

D. remaining true to one’s principles

7. How much does the young man finally pay for the carving in “The Train from

Rhodesia”?

A. what the old man asked

B. more than the first asking price

C. a little less than the first asking price

D. less than half the first asking price

8. Why does the old man sell the carving at a low cost in “The Train from

Rhodesia”?

A. He wants to please the young woman.

B. He needs the money.

C. He knows the man is buying it for his wife.

D. He is tired of bargaining.

9. After she has decided not to buy the carving in “The Train from Rhodesia,” the

young woman is struck by “the unreality of the last few weeks.” To what is she

referring?

A. She is not feeling well or thinking clearly.

B. The trip with her husband has been wonderful.

C. The figures she has collected do not look like real animals.

D. The poverty and culture of Africa seems unreal.

10. What is the theme of “The Train from Rhodesia”?

A. Train trips bring travelers in touch with the real Africa.

B. Only artists know the value of their work.

C. Long trips test the patience of every married couple.

D. A bargain that hurts someone else is no bargain.

11. What can you infer from the line that says the train “had cast the station like a

skin” in “The Train from Rhodesia”?

A. The train is once again behind schedule.

B. Trains are common in Africa.

C. The train is puffing clouds of smoke.

D. The train stops at places that are easily forgotten.

12. Which word best replaces segmented in this sentence: “The splaying duck’s foot

stood in the mud”?

A. sticky

B. spread-out

C. wet

D. funny

13. Which sentence contains a nominative absolute that has a noun or pronoun

that is modified by a participial phrase?

A. The wife sat behind the mesh of her veranda.

B. From a piece of string hung a tiny woven basket.

C. Passengers drew themselves in at the corridor windows.

D. He stood astonished, his hands hanging at his sides.

from Midsummer, XXII and from Omeros Chapter XXVIII, by Derek Walcott

Selection Test A

1. What is the historical context of the excerpt from Midsummer, in which there

are references to chains and whips?

A. slavery in the West Indies

B. a riot in London

C. apartheid in South Africa

D. New York City

2. What background information would help you understand references to Boer

cattle and apartheid in Midsummer?

A. history of Great Britain

B. background on the use of whips

C. background on Boer cattle

D. history of apartheid in South Africa

3. To whom is Walcott alluding to in Midsummer when he refers the character

called the Moor?

A. a black character in Shakespeare’s play Othello

B. a griot, who is telling the story

C. the poem’s speaker, who is a West Indian

D. the police chief who is handling a riot

4. Why does the speaker in Midsummer say he was in London to “add color to the

British theater”?

A. The other actors were white.

B. The other actors could not paint.

C. The other actors were not poets.

D. The other actors were rioters.

5. What is the speaker’s tone in Midsummer when he says, “But the blacks can’t

do Shakespeare”?

A. He is humorous and joking.

B. He is apologetic and sad.

C. He is bitter and sarcastic.

D. He is honest and realistic.

6. What story does the griot, or oral historian, tell in the excerpt from Omeros?

A. the story of how West Indians came to England in search of opportunity

B. the story of the lives Africans once had before they were slaves

C. the story of how Guinea gained its independence

D. the story of enslaved Africans who were brought to the West Indies

7. Why does the griot in Omeros say “remember us to the black waiter bringing the bill”?

A. A people who once had a strong identity have been reduced to waiting tables.

B. The griot once worked as a waiter and wants to be remembered to his friends.

C. People who were once enslaved are now successful in their new land.

D. The former slaves have been rewarded for their hard work with freedom.

8. Which word best describes the tone of the excerpt from Omeros?

A. satisfaction

B. relief

C. pleasure

D. sorrow

9. In Omeros, the speaker says the great “splendor” is the slaves’ survival. Why?

A. because they were given land

B. because they found new freedom

C. because they lived through hardship

D. because they received a great welcome

10. What does the speaker mean by these lines at the end of Omeros: “Now each

man was a nation / in himself, without mother, father, brother”?

A. Every African was proud of his or her country.

B. The enslaved Africans were entirely alone, without a family or country.

C. The African groups never joined together.

D. Everyone is alone in life and has only himself or herself to rely on.

11. Which word best replaces rancor in this sentence: “The griot must have felt

rancor, although he acted friendly”?

A. laughter

B. bitterness

C. changed

D. dimmed

12. Which sentence uses the word effect correctly to mean “result”?

A. The griot’s stories of slavery strongly effect his listeners.

B. One effect of the slave trade was to destroy a culture.

C. The lives of slaves still effect the stories of West Indians.

D. How did conditions on the slave ships effect the Africans?

from “We’ll Never Conquer Space” by Arthur C. Clarke

Selection Test A

1. Why does Clarke say in “We’ll Never Conquer Space” that humans have an

incorrect view of our ability to conquer space?

A. because space can be mapped and crossed by humans

B. because humans have accomplished many other advances

C. because space travel will one day be a reality

D. because light is part of the structure of space and time

2. What prediction about the future does Clarke make in “We’ll Never Conquer

Space”?

A. Technological breakthroughs will allow humans to conquer space.

B. Humans will lose interest in space travel when it takes more than a few years.

C. If humans travel in space, they will be isolated from people on Earth.

D. Limits in technology will make travel to even the closest stars impossible.

3. How might a reader challenge this statement from “We’ll Never Conquer Space”:

“It will never be possible to converse with anyone on another planet”?

A. A reader would know that Clarke can support his statement.

B. A reader would assume that Clarke is exaggerating.

C. A reader would agree, wishing this were not the case.

D. A reader would want to see proof of Clarke’s statement.

4. In which quotation is Clarke making an analogy, or a comparison, in “We’ll

Never Conquer Space”?

A. “Man will never conquer space.”

B. “Every technical device is always developed to its limit”

C. “Saturn or Jupiter [will play] the same role . . . [as] Africa or Asia today.”

D. “Space can be mapped and crossed and occupied”

5. Which analogy does Clarke make in “We’ll Never Conquer Space” to emphasize

his prediction?

A. It will not be possible to talk with people on other planets.

B. Voyages that last many years will be taken.

C. It is hard to imagine the number of planets that exist.

D. What we think of as news would actually be history.

6. Why does Clarke argue in “We’ll Never Conquer Space” that colonies established

around other stars would be independent of Earth?

A. They would be too distant in time and space for Earth to control them.

B. Aliens on other planets would quickly take over these colonies.

C. People who travel in space would be independent by nature and rebel.

D. Communications would not reach that far, so they would not receive orders.

7. What does Clarke mean when he says “the price of Space is Time” in “We’ll Never Conquer

Space”?

A. The technology for travel through space will be costly.

B. It will take much time to travel vast distances through space.

C. Spaceships, and the fuel to send them into space, are expensive.

D. People will have to be paid a great amount to travel into space.

8. Which statement shows the complexity of the universe as described by Clarke in “We’ll

Never Conquer Space”?

A. He says that the world will no longer shrink.

B. He says that the space between stars will always exist.

C. He says that radio and light waves travel at the same speed.

D. He says that the number of other suns in our galaxy is about 1011.

9. How might a reader challenge this statement from “We’ll Never Conquer Space”?

Every technical device is always developed to its limit . . . and the ultimate speed for

spaceships is the velocity of light. They will never reach that goal . . .

A. What evidence do you have that spaceships cannot go beyond the speed of

light?

B. Are scientists now working on ways to build spaceships that are as fast as

light?

C. What technical devices do we have right now that can go beyond the speed of

light?

D. How long will it take to develop fast spaceships, and will they take us to the

stars?

10. At the end of “We’ll Never Conquer Space,” why does Clarke say that no person

will ever return home from “beyond Vega”?

A. No one will live long enough to return from so far away.

B. People will be fascinated with the excitement of travel.

C. Spacecraft will never be reliable enough to travel so far.

D. By the time people reach Vega, they will have forgotten Earth.

11. Which word best replaces inevitable in this sentence: “It is inevitable that

humans will one day travel in space”?

A. silly

B. frightening

C. instant

D. unavoidable

12. What is the linking verb that connects the subject to the other words in this

sentence: “Most people are familiar with how scientists use notation to describe

large numbers”?

A. are

B. familiar

C. describe

D. use