2009 Academic Challenge
ENGLISH TEST - SECTIONAL
This Test Consists of 100 Questions.
English Test Production Team
Jo Helen Railsback, Tennessee State University (Retired) – Author/Team Leader
Clayton Reeve, Tennessee State University (Retired) – Author
Holly Westcott, Nashville State Community College – Reviewer
Mary Weaver, WYSE – Coordinator of Test Production
GENERAL DIRECTIONS
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*** TIME: 40 MINUTES ***
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© 2009 Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering
“WYSE”, “Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering” and the “WYSE Design” are service marks of and
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All rights reserved.
WYSE – Academic Challenge
English Test (Sectional) – 2009
For items 1-15, choose the standard spelling from the choices given.
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
crepuskular
crepusculer
crepuscular
creepuscular
cerepuscular
8.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
jinome
genome
genom
jenom
geenome
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
euphemistically
eufemistically
eufemisticaly
euphemysticaly
euphemistikally
9.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
ecstacy
ecstasy
ecstasie
extasy
extasie
3.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
effeminant
effeminat
epheminate
effeminate
efeminate
10.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
allotrope
allotrop
ellotrope
alotrope
allotroep
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
importunate
imporchunate
importunut
inportunat
inportunate
11.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
messomorf
mesamorph
mesomorph
messamorphe
mesomorf
5.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
hyperbolicale
hypobolical
hypobollical
highperbolical
hyperbolical
12.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
spandrill
spandrell
spendril
spendrel
spandrel
6.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
perabole
parabola
prabola
porabola
parabala
13.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
geogoplex
googolplex
googelplex
googolples
googlpleks
7.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
telemetry
telmetry
tellemetrie
tellematry
tilemetry
14.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Ptolomaick
Ptolemaic
Ptolemaick
Ptolomaic
Tolemaic
15.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
philippic
phillipic
phalippic
fillipic
fillipick
2009 Sectional
English – 2
Read the following passage below. Then respond to items 16-26, selecting the best
possible answer for each question.
from “George Washington, Man and Hero”
by James Fenimore Cooper
I have ever been an ardent, and were there not so much reason to support me, I
might say an enthusiastic admirer of Washington. His character, unlike that of the heroes of
other days, is most illustrious when seen at the nearest approach. Those who lived the
closest to his person, and who possessed the best opportunity of studying his moral
qualities, are touched with the deepest reverence for his virtues. The narrative of his private
deeds is the counterpart of the history of his public acts. They were alike founded on the
immutable principles of justice and truth. Men already regard him with the admiration with
which they gaze at a severe statue of antiquity. He stands, naked of meretricious ornament,
but grand in the majesty of reason.
Some, who know little of the history of the man, or of his nation, confound the images
of his renown, by blending his merit with deeds that it was the fortune of no one to perform in
America. This was not the country of Alexanders and Napoleons.
...
The sword of Washington did not leap from its scabbard with the eagerness of military
pride, or with the unbridled haste of one willing to make human life the sacrifice of an
unhallowed ambition. It was deliberately drawn at the call of his country, but with a
reluctance that came deep from the heart, and with a diffidence that acknowledged the
undisputed dominion of his God. He went forth to battle with the meekness of a mortal, the
humanity of a Christian, the devotedness of a patriot, and the resolution of a victor. As his
object was limited by a righteous moderation, so were his intentions to achieve it, bounded
only by success. In the air, the declarations, and the pledges of such a man, we are not to
look for dramatic effect, or promises that were made to be forgotten. He took the trust his
country offered, because it was the pleasure of that country he should do so; and when its
duties were excellently performed, he returned it to the hands from whence it had come, with
a simplicity which spoke louder than a thousand protestations.
...
The character of Washington was Doric, in all its proportions. Its beauty is the beauty
of harmony between purpose and means, and its grandeur is owing to its chaste simplicity.
Like the order of architecture to which I have ventured to ascribe a resemblance, it is not
liable to the details of criticism. You see it in its majesty of outline, in its durability, and in its
admirable adaptation to usefulness; but it rests on a foundation too firm, and it upholds a
superstructure too severe, to be familiarly dissected. His fame already resembles that which
centuries have produced for other men, while it owes no portion of its purity to the mist of
time. Truth, bold, clear, and radiant, is the basis of his renown; and truth will bear his name
to posterity in precisely the same simple and just attributes as it was known to those who
lived in his immediate presence.
16.
James Fenimore Cooper is most famous as the author of
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
“Self-Reliance.”
“Civil Disobedience.”
The Leatherstocking Tales.
Typee.
Two Years Before the Mast.
2009 Sectional
English – 3
17.
This passage is from a book composed of letters supposedly sent by Cooper to an
English friend. Such a book is said to be written in which of the following styles?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
18.
At various points George Washington is compared to statuary and architectural style
from which age?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
19.
self-confidence
pleasure for gaining recognition
pride
indifference
lack of self-confidence
In paragraph three, the shift in verb form embodied in “The sword of Washington did
not leap from its scabbard . . . [but] was deliberately drawn at the call of his country”
suggests Washington’s
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
22.
was not as great a military leader as Alexander the Great or Napoleon.
never fought wars of conquest.
never lost a war.
was a more democratic leader.
was beloved by his men.
In the third paragraph, Cooper writes that Washington accepted the call of his country
with “diffidence.” What is diffidence?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
21.
ancient
early Christian
medieval
renaissance
baroque
When Cooper says America “was not the country of Alexanders and Napoleons,” he
implies that Washington
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
20.
episodic
naturalistic
confessional
epistolary
allegorical
reluctance to accept the generalship.
eagerness to serve the nation.
eagerness to prove his military prowess.
reluctance to give up his civilian comforts.
reluctance to be drawn into what he feared would be a losing cause.
The shift in verb form in the preceding quotation is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
from the indicative to the subjunctive mood.
from the active to the passive voice.
from the objective to the subjective voice.
from the noumenal to the phenomenal mood.
from the catalectic to the imperative mood.
2009 Sectional
English – 4
23.
“He went forth to battle with the meekness of a mortal, the humanity of a Christian, the
devotedness of a patriot, and the resolution of a victor. The underlined passage is an
example of
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
24.
When Washington became general of the American army, he “took the trust his country
offered . . . ; and when its duties were excellently performed, he returned it to the hands
from whence it had come . . . .” This statement refers to the fact that Washington
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
25.
returned his pay as general.
returned the medals he had been awarded.
donated Mt. Vernon to the government as a national monument.
declined to continue to exercise authority after the war.
left all his military effects to the nation in his will.
Washington is twice (in the first and last paragraphs) associated with the adjective
severe. Which of the following synonyms of severe is closest to Cooper’s meaning?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
26.
synecdoche.
litotes.
zeugma.
paradox.
parallelism.
harsh
rigid
stern
simple
inspiring
A person today might object to a biographical fact about Washington that Cooper does
not mention:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
that he fathered two illegitimate children.
that he was secretly highly ambitious.
that he killed a man in a duel.
that he was a religious hypocrite.
that he owned slaves.
For items 27-37, choose the one option that can be used to revise the given
sentence[s] according to the accompanying directions.
27.
Fred washed and waxed the car. Then he detailed the interior. Combine these
sentences by using a coordinating conjunction.
a.
b.
c.
d.
After Fred washed and waxed the car, he detailed the interior.
Fred washed and waxed the car, and then he detailed the interior.
Fred washed and waxed the car; later he detailed the interior.
Fred detailed the interior of the car after he washed and waxed the exterior.
2009 Sectional
English – 5
28.
In 1950 Babe Ruth was chosen by sports reporters the greatest baseball player in the
first half of the twentieth century; it was not the first time he was named for such a
prestigious award by reporters. Change the complete sentence to the active voice.
a. In 1950 Babe Ruth was chosen by sports reporters the greatest baseball player in
the first half of the twentieth century; it was not the first time reporters had named
him for such a prestigious award.
b. In 1950 sports reporters chose Babe Ruth the greatest baseball player in the first
half of the twentieth century; it was not the first time he was named for such a
prestigious award.
c. In 1950 sports reporters chose Babe Ruth the greatest baseball player in the first
half of the twentieth century; it was not the first time reporters had named him for
such a prestigious award.
d. In 1950 sports reporters chose Babe Ruth the greatest baseball player in the first
half of the twentieth century, and it was not the first time he had been named for
such a prestigious award.
29.
Indiana is a good state, Wisconsin is a better state, Illinois is the best state. Revise this
sentence to eliminate the comma splice[s].
a.
b.
c.
d.
30.
Indiana is a good state, Wisconsin is a better state; Illinois is the best state.
Indiana is a good state; Wisconsin is a better state, Illinois is the best state.
Indiana is a good state; and Wisconsin is a better state, Illinois is the best state.
Indiana is a good state, and Wisconsin is a better state, but Illinois is the best state.
Wallace is the captain of the basketball team. He plays point guard. He is a terrific
passer. He is also a good outside shooter. However, he is a poor freethrow shooter.
Combine these sentences using an appositive.
a. Wallace, the point guard and captain of the basketball team, is a terrific passer and
good outside shooter, but he is a poor freethrow shooter.
b. Wallace is the point guard and captain of the basketball team; he is a terrific passer
and a good outside shooter, but he is a poor freethrow shooter.
c. Wallace is the point guard and captain of the basketball team, a terrific passer and
good outside shooter, but a poor freethrow shooter.
d. Wallace is a terrific passer and good outside shooter, but a poor freethrow shooter:
he is the point guard and captain of the basketball team.
31.
If one wishes to have a successful career, you need to acquire the appropriate
education, learn to cooperate with people, and they need to work hard. Revise the
sentence to eliminate the inconsistency in number and person.
a. If you wish to have a successful career, they need to acquire the appropriate
education, learn to cooperate with people, and work hard.
b. If one wishes to have a successful career, they need to acquire the appropriate
education, learn to cooperate with people, and work hard.
c. Anyone who wishes to have a successful career needs to acquire the appropriate
education, learn to cooperate with people, and work hard.
d. If you wish to have a successful career, one needs to acquire the appropriate
education, learn to cooperate with people, and work hard.
2009 Sectional
English – 6
32.
Opinion polls often provide important information to political campaigns. They enable
campaigns to focus on effective issues, use resources intelligently, and develop
counterarguments against their opponents. Combine these sentences using an
appropriate subordinating conjunction.
a. Because opinion polls often provide important information to political campaigns,
the campaigns can focus on effective issues, use resources intelligently, and
develop counter arguments against their opponents.
b. Political campaigns can focus on effective issues, use resources intelligently, and
develop counter arguments against their opponents by using important information
provided by opinion polls.
c. Providing important information to political campaigns, enabling them to focus on
effective issues, use resources intelligently, and develop counter arguments against
their opponents, is the value of opinion polling.
d. Opinion polls often provide important information to political campaigns: the polls
enable campaigns to focus on effective issues, use resources intelligently, and
develop counter arguments against their opponents.
33.
The English professor told her students to follow the guidelines in the MLA Style
Manual, and, if they have any questions, to ask her to explain. Select the sentence that
changes the statement to include a correctly written quotation.
a. The English professor told her students to ”follow the guidelines in the MLA Style
Manual, and, if they have any questions, to ask me to explain.”
b. The English professor told her students, “Follow the guidelines in the MLA Style
Manual, and, if they have any questions, to ask her to explain.”
c. The English professor told her students, “follow the guidelines in the MLA Style
Manual, and, if you have any questions, ask me to explain.”
d. The English professor told her students, “Follow the guidelines in the MLA Style
Manual, and, if you have any questions, ask me to explain.”
34.
Mario likes to sing. He finds that it gives him aesthetic pleasure and appeals to his
inner nature. Combine these sentences into a single sentence containing a gerund.
a. Mario likes to sing; he finds that it gives him aesthetic pleasure and appeals to his
inner nature.
b. Mario likes singing; he finds it gives him aesthetic pleasure and appeals to his inner
nature.
c. Mario likes to sing, because he finds it gives him aesthetic pleasure and appeals to
his inner nature.
d. To sing gives Mario aesthetic pleasure and appeals to his inner nature.
35.
The patient was referred to a dermatologist with a severe skin problem. Revise this
sentence to avoid the misplaced modifier.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The patient was referred to a dermatologist who had a severe skin problem.
The patient was referred with a severe skin problem to a dermatologist.
The patient with a severe skin problem was referred to a dermatologist.
The patient was, with a severe skin problem, referred to a dermatologist.
2009 Sectional
English – 7
36.
In the 1980s, the Soviet Union’s military was weakened by the country’s economic
shortcomings. Growing desire for self-rule swept Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union
lost much of its empire. Combine these sentences using an appropriate conjunctive
adverb.
a. In the 1980s, the Soviet Union’s military was weakened by the country’s economic
shortcomings, and a growing desire for self-rule swept Eastern Europe;
consequently, the Soviet Union lost much of its empire.
b. Because in the 1980s the Soviet Union’s military was weakened by the country’s
economic shortcomings and a growing desire for self-rule swept Eastern Europe,
the Soviet Union lost much of its empire.
c. The Soviet Union lost much of its empire due to its military being weakened by the
country’s economic shortcomings in the 1980s and a growing desire for self-rule
sweeping Eastern Europe.
d. In the 1980s the Soviet Union’s military was weakened by the country’s economic
shortcomings, a growing desire for self-rule swept Eastern Europe, and the Soviet
Union lost much of its empire.
37.
The Boy Scouts saw a strange creature. Who ran into the woods. Revise this passage
to remove the fragment, using a participial phrase.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The Boy Scouts saw a strange creature who ran into the woods.
The Boy Scouts saw a strange creature; the creature ran into the woods.
The Boy Scouts saw a strange creature that ran into the woods.
The Boy Scouts saw a strange creature running into the woods.
For items 38-60, select the best option from those provided to answer the question or
to replace, when necessary, the underlined portion to make a correct sentence.
38.
Participial phrases always function as
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
39.
Sensitive radar scanners can usually detect devices which are being used to avoid
speeding laws. The underlined portion of the sentence is a [an]
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
40.
adverbs.
adjectives.
nouns.
adverbs and adjectives.
conjunctions.
past participle.
prepositional phrase.
adverb clause.
infinitive phrase.
gerundive.
A finite verb
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
must have an auxiliary verb with it to serve as the main verb in a sentence.
can function both as a main verb in a sentence and a modifier.
can serve without an auxiliary as the main verb in a sentence.
never has an auxiliary verb with it in a sentence.
never has but one tense.
2009 Sectional
English – 8
41.
Which of the following sentences does not have a transitive verb anywhere in it?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
42.
My friend mistakenly thought Robert to be me.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
43.
expressed.
understood.
infinite.
finite.
evaded.
Another of the director’s speeches are being delivered to the group who must do the
work. The error in this sentence is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
46.
a participle
a noun acting as an adverb
a noun acting as an adjective
a pronoun
none of the above
Please pass the bread. The subject of this sentence is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
45.
Robert to be I.
I to be Robert.
Robert to be myself.
Robert and I to be the same.
no correction necessary
The library closed yesterday for the summer. What part of speech is “yesterday?”
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
44.
The storm blew away our oldest tree.
A kind woman gave the marathon runners big glasses of water.
A humorous reversal appears in a news story in which man bites dog.
The letter lay on the table almost lost in the debris.
I hated the part of the movie where the fight scene occurred.
verb tense.
pronoun.
verb agreement.
punctuation.
faulty diction.
Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
The poet Wordsworth was a great lover of nature.
The poet, Wordsworth, was a great lover of nature.
The poet , Wordsworth was a great lover of nature.
The poet Wordsworth, was a great lover of nature.
none of them
2009 Sectional
English – 9
47.
Mark and David’s offices. What does this phrase tell us about ownership?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
48.
This sentence contains a [an] __________. In my opinion, I believe that the moon is
made of green cheese.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
49.
blocked in 5 spaces and enclosed in double quotation marks.
blocked in 5 spaces and enclosed in single quotation marks.
blocked in 10 spaces and enclosed in single quotation marks.
blocked in 10 spaces and enclosed in double quotation marks.
blocked in 10 spaces with no quotation marks.
The word sic in an edited manuscript means that
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
52.
three
two
four
one
none
In a research paper using MLA style, a quotation of 15 lines should be
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
51.
typographical error
redundancy
adjective clause
contradiction
logical fallacy
The following sentence contains how many errors in capitalization? My father moved
South after the end of the war in 1945 when he became a College student and later got
a job as a Legal assistant.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
50.
Mark and David own an office together.
Mark and David each own an office, separately.
Mark and David both own either one or more offices, separately.
Mark and David own at least two offices together.
Ownership of the offices is ambiguous and cannot be determined.
something is missing at this point.
something is illegible at this point.
an error is contained in the original manuscript.
the editor wants to add a comment at the end.
the word it follows is archaic.
Which of the following words would not be italicized in an essay?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
fin de siecle
magna cum laude
raison d’etre
con mucho gusto
bourgeois
2009 Sectional
English – 10
53.
All of the following sentences, except one, contain nonstandard usages. Which does
not?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
54.
My teacher short-circuited my excuse for being absent when she played her trump
card: she had talked with my mother. The problem with diction in this sentence is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
55.
those who already agree with you.
those who partially agree with you.
those who have no opinion either way.
a and b
b and c
Humanities studies prefer the ______ system of documentation while the social
sciences prefer the _______ system.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
58.
is an expression used in speaking.
is never acceptable in writing.
may be used in informal writing.
a and c
a and b
In presenting an argument, it is best to aim your remarks at
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
57.
that it is too colloquial.
a mixed metaphor.
a logical inconsistency.
an inexact abstraction.
broad connotation.
A colloquialism
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
56.
I almost always get in the slow line at the grocery store.
This book is nowheres near as good as the one I read last week.
He may of known in advance that we were giving him a surprise party.
I graduated college in 2001.
I disremember what the score was in last night’s game.
CBE, APA
CBE, MLA
MLA, CMA
COS, CBE
MLA, APA
I wish I wouldn’t let his teasing get to me. This sentence contains a
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
colloquial idiom.
nonstandard phrase.
dialectal phrase.
formal use of a verb.
vulgarism.
2009 Sectional
English – 11
59.
Linguists consider slang words
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
60.
vivid but inexact.
colorful but short-lived.
imaginative but not very useful because they are limited to a small group.
all of the above
none of the above
Choose the correctly punctuated sentence below.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
On April 27, 2003, the class visited the USS Nevada a beautiful, old ship.
On April 27 2003 the class visited the USS Nevada, a beautiful old ship.
On April 27, 2003, the class visited the USS Nevada, a beautiful old ship.
On April 27, 2003, the class visited the USS Nevada: a beautiful old ship.
On April 27 2003 the class visited the USS Nevada, a beautiful old ship.
Read the following poem and respond to items 61-73.
To Autumn
by John Keats
I
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the morning sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel, to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimmed their clammy cells.
2
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook * *scythe
Spares the next swath and all its twinéd flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
2009 Sectional
English – 12
3
Where are the songs of Spring? Aye, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows,* bourne aloft
*willow trees
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;* *hillside
Hedge crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
61.
The poetic device used in line 3 is a
[an]
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
62.
66.
a globe.
the earth’s shape.
a large woman.
pregnancy.
a fat animal.
67.
30
32
In line 12 “thee oft amid thy store”
means
The second stanza uses the device
of personification to stand for
In lines 19-20, the gleaner is
a. a careless person.
b. someone who is looking for the
leavings.
c. one who is keeping an eye on
the workers.
d. a kind supervisor.
e. a daydreamer.
Line 11 means that Summer has
a. provided a short release for
prisoners.
b. filled the bees’ combs with
honey.
c. brought a great harvest of corn.
d. brought a good crop of juicy
apples.
e. been a rainy season.
28
a. the people who harvest the
crops.
b. the poets who write about them.
c. the season itself.
d. poetic inspiration.
e. the fruits of the season.
Line 7 contains a subtle reference to
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
64.
part of a roof made of straw.
a braided decoration over a door.
a carved wooden beam.
a metal support for grape vines.
a well house covered with vines.
26
a. a girl who is selling autumn
produce.
b. a farmer counting his harvest
money.
c. a clerk in a grocery.
d. the season of harvest.
e. winter.
oxymoron.
simile.
paradox.
euphemism.
none of the above.
“Thatch eaves” in line four are
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
63.
65.
24
68.
In line 26 the “stubble-plains” are
a. a forest.
b. a tract of land where trees have
been cut.
c. a field which has just been
plowed.
d. a vegetable garden.
e. a field from which produce has
been cut.
2009 Sectional
English – 13
69.
In lines 27-33 how many sound
images are there?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
71.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
three
four
five
six
seven
72.
70.
The mood of Stanza 2 is one of
Which theme do we not find in the
poem?
a. The songs of autumn are usually
overshadowed by those of
spring.
b. Nature provides each season
with its own music.
c. Autumn is not a gloomy prelude
to winter.
d. Autumn is often a symbol of the
approaching end of life.
e. Autumn has its beauties just as
spring does.
The poem does not contain
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
73.
vigorous work.
anticipation of rest.
fear of the approaching winter.
lazy enjoyment.
intoxicated revelry.
quatrains.
rhyme.
personification.
iambics.
meter.
The line which opens stanza 2 is a
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
request.
rhetorical question.
declamation.
prelude.
command.
Read the following passage and respond to items 74-85 that follow, selecting the best
option from those provided for each item in bold print.
Choosing a College
Our counselor at school told us to do this exercise so that we could start to think
about what college we want to go to next year. He said to sit down and then we should
start answering five questions. ( 74) What do I want to be when I graduate? What kind of
friends do I like? What are my favorite extra-curricular activities? Where would I like to live if
I had a choice? What kind of classroom do I like to be in?
I am going to take a stab at (75) doing this and think about each one even though I
don’t see the point of some of them.
No. 1. The profession I want to enter is a lawyer or a professional song-writer
(76). Maybe I could even be both, if I could write songs after work. I really love to play the
guitar and sing, and know a lot of song lyrics already. It shouldn’t be hard to think up some
more, I was (77) always good at rhyming words. It would be fun to sing at a night club or
even in the park where they have festivals (78) in the summer. I know I could do as well as
most of the people I have heard. I could probably help get through law school by playing at
night.
No. 2. I like friends who love to party and go to games and wrestling matches. Some
colleges have great games, and I definitely (79) want to go to one of those. I have a lot of
energy and could party a lot and still keep up my grades to get in a good law school.
No. 3. My favorite activity is definitely team sports. I have been on the football team
two years then on (80) the baseball team last year. I do karate and a little track in the
summer also. I am an outdoor person all the way.
No. 4. I want to live in a big city environment. There is so much more to do when you
have a city around you. Little towns are all boring. (81)
2009 Sectional
English – 14
No. 5. I like a relaxed classroom. My history teacher is a tiresome guy who wants us
to learn dates and facts and recite them. My favorite teacher is the science teacher who lets
us conduct all kinds of weird experiments and get up and walk around all the time. I’ll have
to go to an active type of college where the students are the center of the class, rather than
an old-style lecture, though I guess law studies won’t be that way. (82) I like to talk but
hate to write, so that probably would make me a good lawyer. (83)
After thinking over all these questions, (84) a lot of colleges can be eliminated
from my list, and I can start focusing on those that appeal to me. Maybe I won’t make up my
mind about a major too soon. I think I will try out several things. All in all, I think either
law, writing songs, to perform on stage in some way, or my own business are the jobs
I most would like to have. (85)
--from a student journal
74.
Which stylistic error do you see in
this sentence?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
78.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
wordiness
parallelism
shift in verb form
none of the above
all of the above
79.
75.
The “and” here connects two
80.
possession.
adjective form.
logic.
observation.
an adverb.
Use of the comma in such a
construction is known as
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
trite.
incomprehensible.
standard.
archaic.
poetic.
This sentence contains an error in
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
77.
incorrect case.
incorrect spelling.
broad reference.
incomplete reference.
vague phrase.
The phrase in bold is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
76.
The error with the pronoun here is
comma connection.
comma conjunction.
coordinating connection.
connecting mark.
comma splice.
The best correction for this phrase is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
81.
dependent clauses.
independent clauses.
two verbs.
two phrases.
clauses, one independent clause
and one dependent clause.
two years, and then on
two years and then on
two years; and then on
two years; then on
two years. Then on
This sentence contains a [an]
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
non sequitur.
inference.
argumentum ad hominem.
hasty generalization.
post hoc fallacy.
2009 Sectional
English – 15
82.
The words “I’ll” and “won’t” are
called________ and are not
acceptable in _________ writing.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
83.
contractions, formal
contractions, informal
concentrated words, formal
constricted words, informal
telescoped words, formal
84.
This phrase is called a
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
85.
misplaced modifier.
dangling phrase.
dangling clause.
dangling absolute.
misplaced clause.
The series here has a serious
problem with
The logical error here is a [an]
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
red herring.
hasty generalization.
non sequitur.
idee fixe.
post hoc.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
arrangement of sequence.
emphasis.
subordination.
coordination.
parallelism.
For items 86-100, select the definition below each term that most precisely and
accurately matches the meaning of the underlined word in the sentences or completes
the sentence.
89. The psychological process by which
aggressive impulses are displaced
86. The small group of travelers made a
into a more socially acceptable
hegira.
activity is called _______.
a. pilgrimage to a holy site
a. transference
b. flight from danger
b. suppression
c. sea voyage
c. repression
d. journey to the Middle East
d. sublimation
e. trip by train
e. introversion
87. The student’s answer to the question
was outré.
90. Hannah Arendt wrote a book about
the “banality of evil.”
a. conventional
b. correct
a. hideousness
c. incorrect
b. enormity
d. insightful
c. outrageousness
e. eccentric
d. commonplace quality
e. monstrosity
88. The musical composition was
introduced by a passage of ostinato.
91. Thomas Kuhn wrote that science
progresses through a series of shifts
in paradigm.
a. a phrase of persistent repetition
b. a phrase of marked dissonance
c. a phrase of crescendo
a. technologies
d. a phrase of diminuendo
b. illustrative models
e. a series of lush harmonies
c. religious constructs
d. political orientations
e. philosophical assumptions
2009 Sectional
English – 16
92.
Mary loved the picture of the
caryatid.
97.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a. a wild catlike animal with spots
b. a tall tree with fronds
c. a supporting column in the shape
of a woman
d. an ancient Mayan pyramid
e. a wingless bird also called a kiwi
98.
93.
The museum made an offer for the
ossuary.
a. a decorative Greek urn
b. a Roman weapon like an axe
c. a small statue of an African
goddess
d. a Sumerian manuscript in
cuneiform
e. a container for the bones of the
dead
94.
Larry said he wanted to devote his
life to orthography.
a. the study of spelling
b. the dental practice of aligning
teeth
c. the study of traditional religions
d. the treatment of mental
abnormalities
e. the study of internal medicine
95.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said he
should write the word “Whim” on his
lintel.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
96.
desktop
diary
computer monitor
doorframe
calendar
When I asked John how he made his
living, he said he was a factotum.
The student inferred the right answer
from the way the teacher worded the
question.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
99.
data processor
fact checker
all-around assistant
newspaper reporter
book editor
implied
deduced
remembered
forgot
missed
Hark! Do I hear a tintinabulation?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
raucous noise of a crowd
murmur of the sea
sound of bells
distant train whistle
muezzin’s call to worship
100. Edward O. Wilson is one of the great
pioneers in sociobiology.
a. the science of genetically
determined social behavior
b. the science of the influences of
society on biological structures
c. the study of the biological
characteristics of different
societies
d. the study of the ethics of
biological research
e. the study of the biological
characteristics of sociologists
Many countries wish to have
hegemony.
a. a record of effective diplomacy
b. athletic supremacy in
international competition
c. a record of sound environmental
policy
d. great wealth of natural resources
e. political dominance over their
neighbors
2009 Sectional