AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION Test Booklet

MCQ Week 3

Read the following carefully before you choose your answers.

The following passage is excerpted from an essay published in 2016.

paragraph Par.
1 When I was younger, I used to have the same recurring daydream in gym class.

paragraph 2 If we were playing softball, I would dream I hit the ball and sprinted to home plate because I deserve to be
there, not because my classmates let me slide—like the puck that glided past the goalie and into the net. I won the game,
and everything faded away as a single tear rolled down my cheek—the way athletes cry after a championship win in the
movies.

paragraph 3 Me, midrun, a smile on my face, because I couldn’t believe I was quickly moving.

paragraph 4 I have a milder form of cerebral palsy.[1] I walk with a limp. I had given up on the idea of running after
surgeries on the right side of my body left me too afraid to relearn how to run.

paragraph 5 These reveries left me waiting for a “special talent,” which I assumed all disabled kids had, to make up for
their disability.

paragraph 6 I’m a terrible singer, so I figured I’d find a hidden gift in a sport we played in physical education class.

paragraph 7 I never did, and I yearn for representation of people of color with disabilities in sports. So until the work
that disabled black women do is recognized, I will continue to champion and celebrate the able-bodied black women.

paragraph 8 I cried when I learned that Misty Copeland would be American Ballet’s[2] first black female principal
dancer. My weeping was not because I had dreams of being a ballet dancer—although I would twirl from the kitchen table
to the fridge in my socks, convinced I could pirouette with the best of ballerinas.

paragraph 9 I was emotional because ballet, at its core, is both raw and feminine, two things that black women are often
not allowed to be.

paragraph 10 Then come gymnasts Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez. Not only did they help secure
a team gold medal, but Biles is the new Olympic all-around champion and is leaving Rio with five medals.

paragraph 11 At 24, I’m older than they are, but I feel a sense of pride when I see them swinging on uneven bars or
sticking dismounts on vaults.

paragraph 12 I hold my breath with them as they await their scores and cheer when I feel they received the ones they
deserved.

paragraph 13 The Olympics are the ultimate dream.

paragraph 14 Our bodies are in no way identical, and we are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

paragraph 15 Though I’ve been told that the way my smile spreads across my face during moments of triumph is similar
to Gabby’s and Simone’s happy grins.

paragraph 16 They all have dealt with criticism, from some people saying Gabby isn’t patriotic, to a dance instructor

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telling a 13-year-old Copeland she was too old to be a ballerina.

paragraph 17 I haven’t had the same amount of vitriol thrown at me, but I was told by a teacher in high school that I
would never make it as a successful journalist. I’ve had my writing abilities questioned and racist comments sent to me
frequently online. Like them, I feel I have persevered.

paragraph 18 For Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner’s Lenny Letter,[3] I wrote about one of my biggest triumphs so far,
putting my hair up into a ponytail, unassisted. This might not be a medaling event at the Olympics, but it made me feel as
proud and as wonderful as I imagine Misty, Laurie, Gabby and Simone feel with each of their completed goals.

paragraph 19 There is an expectation for black women in sports to be better than the best, show no emotion and
maintain a level of superhuman strength.

paragraph 20 When Copeland steps out on the stage next month at the Opera de Paris to star in “The Sleeping Beauty,” I
hope she reminds herself of all the work she’s put in to get there.

paragraph 21 Simply seeing all of these women succeed in their fields is something akin to witnessing a miracle that
isn’t really a miracle but rather a result of fate putting the world in the right order.

paragraph 22 Representation matters, and even as I live in a disabled body that was never lucky enough to be good at
any sport, when I see these women in commercials and on TV screens, I am reminded of all of the things I can achieve
with hard work and talent. These athletes prove that every black body is beautiful, even the ones that don’t look like
theirs.

© ESPN. Reprinted courtesy of [Link]

1 a condition that affects muscle control, body movement, balance, and posture
2 American Ballet Theatre’s
3 an online feminist newsletter

1. Which of the following best describes the author’s exigence in the passage?
(A) A cultural pressure for people with disabilities to strive for perfection
(B) A growing public interest in questions of diversity and representation
(C) A decline in the opportunities for disabled athletes that she finds troubling
(D) A spate of high-profile athletic achievements that she finds inspiring

2. The author most likely chose to begin her argument by describing the “recurring daydream” in the first three
paragraphs in order to
(A) briefly note that her experience with sports is mostly academic
(B) immediately direct attention to her mental world and perceptions
(C) vividly illustrate the benefits of diverse role models for children
(D) clearly demonstrate her reliability and truthfulness as a narrator

3. In context, the second sentence of the fourth paragraph (“I walk with a limp”) serves which of the following
functions?

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(A) It encourages the audience to identify with the author.

(B) It introduces the exigence that inspired the author to write the passage.
(C) It qualifies a statement by limiting its applicability.
(D) It elaborates on a term to avoid a potential misunderstanding.

4. In the fifth paragraph, the author’s use of quotation marks primarily serves to
(A) distinguish the author’s words from the words of another writer
(B) signal some uncertainty about the accuracy of a recollection
(C) convey a sense of skepticism about an idea that is described
(D) identify a technical term that is defined later in the passage

5. In the eleventh through seventeenth paragraphs, the author advances her argument primarily by presenting
(A) a series of comparisons between herself and the athletes she admires
(B) a profile of the traits that characterize high-performing athletes
(C) a discussion of the emotional consequences of the obstacles she faced
(D) a definition of perseverance based on her personal experiences

6. In context, the author’s references to her “breath” and her “smile” serve to
(A) imply that the apparent dissimilarities between disabled and able-bodied athletes are illusory
(B) depict the emotional damage from a lifetime spent yearning to see herself represented in sports
(C) admit that she felt more joy over the gymnasts’ achievements than she had over the ballerina’s
(D) illustrate how her sense of solidarity with the gymnasts is unconstrained by physical differences

7. In the context of the passage as a whole, the fourteenth and fifteenth paragraphs do which of the following?
(A) Amplify the significance of a comparison by making, then qualifying, an absolute claim
(B) Enhance the author’s credibility by reiterating her own ideas in the voice of an outside observer
(C) Encourage readers to relate to the author’s experiences by helping them visualize her facial expressions
Preempt a likely objection by demonstrating the author’s lack of resentment for those who are more athletic
(D)
than she is

8. In context, the first sentence of the eighteenth paragraph (“For Lena...unassisted”) serves primarily to
(A) verify the accuracy of the author’s self-perception by closely considering a relevant example
(B) equate the author’s opportunities as a writer with the opportunities available to athletes with disabilities
connect the author’s insights about her professional life to her broader experiences as a person with cerebral
(C)
palsy
(D) cite evidence to definitively disprove critics’ assertions about the author’s limitations as a writer

9. In discussing an expectation in the nineteenth paragraph, the author uses the phrases “better than the best” and
“superhuman strength” primarily to convey

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(A) indignation at prejudices underlying claims that the expectation cannot be met
(B) lighthearted mockery of those who set the expectation
(C) belief that the expectation reflects unrealistic demands
(D) suspicion that the challenges posed by the expectation have been exaggerated

10. In the twenty-first paragraph, the author’s use of the phrase “that isn’t really a miracle” advances her overarching
purpose primarily by
(A) minimizing the differences between her abilities and those of the athletes she celebrates
(B) emphasizing that elite black women athletes achieve success through talent and hard work
(C) demonstrating that the expectations placed on black women athletes are impossible to meet
(D) implying that there are actually thousands of women with achievements as impressive as Copeland’s

11. Throughout the passage, the author presents evidence to support which of the following overarching claims?
Even when members of marginalized groups are extraordinarily gifted, they rarely receive the recognition
(A)
they deserve.
While representation is important, role models can be highly valuable to people who are not identical to
(B)
them.
(C) Hard work and perseverance are more important for success in life than raw talent and ability are.
The lack of prominent people with disabilities in popular culture is preventing children with disabilities from
(D)
pursuing their goals.

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MCQ Week 3

(The following passage is a letter from the then vice president George H. W. Bush to the Presidential Search
Committee of Gallaudet University.)

March 1, 1988

Mr. Philip Bravin

Presidential Search Committee

Gallaudet University

7th and Florida Avenue, NE

Washington, DC 20002

Dear Mr. Bravin:

It is my understanding that Gallaudet University*A federally chartered private university for students
who are deaf and hard of hearing is in the process of selecting a new President. I also understand that
you have identified six finalists who are highly qualified for the position, three of whom are deaf.

I have a deep interest in disability civil rights. Over the past few years I have worked with many national
and local organizations run by and for disabled people, including the National Council on Independent
Living, the National Council on the Handicapped, Capitol People First of Sacramento and the
Association on Handicapped Student Service Programs in Post-Secondary Education. I have also had
many conversations with disabled leaders, including deaf persons, throughout the United States. And my
office has served as the focal point for the development of the Administration’s disability policy.

From this experience, I have become aware of the two basic principles underlying the disability rights
movement; the right of disabled people to control their own lives and the right to integration and
involvement in society.

Gallaudet University has a critical role to play in advancing these principles. It is held in the highest
regard by deaf people throughout the United States and the world. It provides an excellent education and
a meaningful future for thousands of deaf persons. More importantly, Gallaudet University is a symbol of
leadership and opportunity, not only for deaf people, but for all of us.

In the last two decades our society has undergone a quiet revolution. The Congress, the Courts and the
Administration have strongly supported the right of people with disabilities to hold positions of trust and
leadership. Our government has enacted numerous laws to ensure that disabled people are ensured
equality of opportunity.

Accordingly, as an entity funded by the Federal government, Gallaudet has a responsibility to set an
example and thus to appoint a President who is not only highly qualified, but who is also deaf. I hope that
the Trustees will keep Gallaudet’s critical leadership position in mind when they make their decision.

Sincerely,

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George Bush

12. Which of the following best describes the organization of the second paragraph?
(A) The author defends a controversial claim; then he presents examples that strengthen the claim.
(B) The author summarizes his position regarding a cause; then he describes how he arrived at his position.
(C) The author makes an assertion; then he lists strategically selected evidence in support of his assertion.
(D) The author outlines his approach to a problem; then he offers a more complete explanation of his approach.

13. Which of the following best characterizes the author’s mode of persuasion in the second paragraph?
(A) He asserts his own credibility and authority on an issue.
(B) He appeals to the audience’s emotions regarding a controversy.
(C) He presents himself as a neutral party in a disagreement.
(D) He attempts to influence his audience’s beliefs about a subject.

14. In the fourth paragraph, the author calls Gallaudet University “a symbol of leadership and opportunity” in order to
(A) praise the institution’s former president
(B) compare Gallaudet favorably to other institutions
(C) suggest that his audience’s values have evolved
(D) appeal to his audience’s pride in the institution

15. Which of the following best summarizes the author’s thesis?

(A) The Administration’s disability policy has been underappreciated.
(B) Gallaudet University should appoint a person who is deaf as its next president.
(C) Gallaudet’s leadership misunderstands the goals of the disability rights movement.
(D) Congress and the Courts can do more to protect the rights of people with disabilities.

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MCQ Week 3

Read the following carefully before you choose your answers.

This passage is excerpted from an essay published by a science fiction writer in the late twentieth century.

paragraph Par.
1 Take classes and go to writers’ workshops. Writing is communication. You need other people to let you know whether
you’re communicating what you think you are and whether you’re doing it in ways that are not only accessible and
entertaining, but as compelling as you can make them. In other words, you need to know that you’re telling a good story.
You want to be the writer who keeps readers up late at night, not the one who drives them off to watch television.
Workshops and classes are rented readers—rented audiences—for your work. Learn from the comments, questions, and
suggestions of both the teacher and the class. These relative strangers are more likely to tell you the truth about your work
than are your friends and family who may not want to hurt or offend you. One tiresome truth they might tell you, for
instance, is that you need to take a grammar class. If they say this, listen. Take the class. Vocabulary and grammar are
your primary tools. They’re most effectively used, even most effectively abused, by people who understand them. No
computer program, no friend or employee can take the place of a sound knowledge of your tools.

paragraph 2 Write. Write every day. Write whether you feel like writing or not. Choose a time of day. Perhaps you can
get up an hour earlier, stay up an hour later, give up an hour of recreation, or even give up your lunch hour. If you can’t
think of anything in your chosen genre, keep a journal. You should be keeping one anyway. Journal writing helps you to
be more observant of your world, and a journal is a good place to store story ideas for later projects.

paragraph 3 Revise your writing until it’s as good as you can make it. All the reading, the writing, and the classes should
help you do this. Check your writing, your research (never neglect your research), and the physical appearance of your
manuscript. Let nothing substandard slip through. If you notice something that needs fixing, fix it, no excuses. There will
be plenty that’s wrong that you won’t catch. Don’t make the mistake of ignoring flaws that are obvious to you. The
moment you find yourself saying, “This doesn’t matter. It’s good enough.” Stop. Go back. Fix the flaw. Make a habit of
doing your best.

paragraph 4 Submit your work for publication. First research the markets that interest you. Seek out and study the books
or magazines of publishers to whom you want to sell. Then submit your work. If the idea of doing this scares you, fine.
Go ahead and be afraid. But send your work out anyway. If it’s rejected, send it out again, and again. Rejections are
painful, but inevitable. They’re every writer’s rite of passage. Don’t give up on a piece of work that you can’t sell. You
may be able to sell it later to new publications or to new editors of old publications. At worst, you should be able to learn
from your rejected work. You may even be able to use all or part of it in a new work. One way or another, writers can use,
or at least learn from, everything.

paragraph 5 Here are some potential impediments for you to forget about:

paragraph 6 First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.
Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.

paragraph 7 Forget talent. If you have it, fine. Use it. If you don’t have it, it doesn’t matter. As habit is more dependable
than inspiration, continued learning is more dependable than talent. Never let pride or laziness prevent you from learning,
improving your work, changing its direction when necessary. Persistence is essential to any writer—the persistence to
finish your work, to keep writing in spite of rejection, to keep reading, studying, submitting work for sale. But
stubbornness, the refusal to change unproductive behavior or to revise unsalable work can be lethal to your writing hopes.

paragraph 8 Finally, don’t worry about imagination. You have all the imagination you need, and all the reading, journal
writing, and learning you will be doing will stimulate it. Play with your ideas. Have fun with them. Don’t worry about
being silly or outrageous or wrong. So much of writing is fun. It’s first letting your interests and your imagination take

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you anywhere at all. Once you’re able to do that, you’ll have more ideas than you can use.

paragraphOctavia E. Butler, “Furor Scribendi” from BloodChild and Other Stories. Copyright ©1996, 2005 by Octavia E. Butler. Reprinted with the
permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of Seven Stories Press, [Link].

16. Which of the following best describes the author’s purpose in the passage?
(A) To encourage the audience to derive confidence from their talents
(B) To reveal the disheartening realities of pursuing a career in literature
(C) To convince aspiring writers of the importance of hard work
(D) To challenge a misconception about the value of studying grammar

17. Which of the following statements best represents the thesis of the passage?
(A) Effective writing relies on grammar and vocabulary, not fancy technology.
(B) The most compelling stories come from observation, not inspiration.
(C) True writers understand that writing is a form of play, not work.
(D) The key to success as a writer is consistent effort, not inherent ability.

18. In the first paragraph, the author supports her claim that writers should “go to writers’ workshops” by
(A) noting that workshops provide opportunities to write for diverse media, including television
(B) explaining how workshops can help writers learn unpleasant but valuable lessons
(C) highlighting the value of workshops for writers at different stages in their careers
(D) dispelling the misperception that workshops may stifle writers’ creativity

19. In the first paragraph, the author uses the phrase “rented readers” in order to
(A) define writers’ workshops in terms of their value to aspiring writers
(B) express sympathy for writers who have no one to read their work for free
(C) contrast the academic goals of classes with the commercial aims of workshops
(D) highlight the financial sacrifices that writers must make in order to succeed

20. In the fifth sentence of the second paragraph (“Perhaps...lunch hour”), the author strategically arranges clauses in a
way that
(A) signals a gap between the sentence’s literal meaning and the author’s intended meaning
(B) establishes a hierarchy from the most to least effective times of day to practice writing
(C) suggests a distinction between reasonable and unreasonable sacrifices for the sake of art
(D) underlines the variety of opportunities for those who are dedicated to improving their craft

21. In the last sentence of the second paragraph (“Journal writing...projects”), the author connects two independent
clauses with the conjunction “and” primarily to

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(A) establish a connection between keeping a journal and writing every day
(B) indicate that journaling is just as important as careful revision for aspiring writers
(C) explain why keeping a journal usually helps writers come up with new story ideas
(D) emphasize that keeping a journal has multiple benefits for writers

22. Based on her discussion of the publication process in the fourth paragraph ("Submit your work...you can't sell") , the
author most likely believes which of the following about her audience?
(A) They aim to support themselves fully by selling their writing.
(B) They have limited familiarity with publication and need a variety of advice.
(C) They probably overestimate the value of inspiration for writers.
(D) They already have some experience with submitting work to publishers.

23. The author’s shift in tone between the fourth and fifth paragraphs marks a transition between
(A) offering practical advice and advocating broader principles
(B) exemplifying simplicity and demonstrating complexity
(C) identifying problems and proposing solutions
(D) presenting absolute claims and qualifying those claims

24. The author’s decision to repeat the word “forget” in the sixth and seventh paragraphs primarily serves to
(A) underscore the author’s disapproval of those who neglect to improve their writing
(B) indicate the order in which the author believes certain steps should be taken
(C) suggest a parallel between two distinct ideas that the author challenges
(D) convey the author’s ambivalence about the advice she received early in her career

25. The seventh paragraph as a whole implicitly challenges which of the following ideas?
(A) Talent is a valuable asset for aspiring writers.
(B) Successful writers must be very talented.
(C) People should take pride in their talents.
(D) Talent is meaningless without persistence.

26. In the seventh sentence of the seventh paragraph, the author uses a dash primarily to
(A) separate a secondary idea from the main thrust of her argument
(B) distinguish her own claim from a claim she aims to refute
(C) contrast her definition of a term with the term’s ordinary meaning
(D) elaborate on a general claim by providing specific examples

27. The author’s contrast between “persistence” and “stubbornness” advances her argument in which of the following
ways?

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(A) It helps explain why habit is more valuable than persistence.

(B) It challenges the stereotype that talented writers are often stubborn.
(C) It concedes that persistence can have negative consequences.
(D) It underscores the need for writers to continually improve their craft.

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(The following passage is excerpted from a twentieth-century novelist’s account of her development as a writer.)

I spent my teens and much of my twenties collecting printed rejections.* Early on, my mother lost $61.20—a reading fee
charged by a so-called agent to look at one of my unpublished stories. No one had told us that agents weren’t supposed to
get any money up front, weren’t supposed to be paid until they sold your work. Then they were to take ten percent of
whatever the work earned. Ignorance is expensive. That $61.20 was more money back then than my mother paid for a
month’s rent.

I badgered friends and acquaintances into reading my work, and they seemed to like it. Teachers read it and said kindly,
unhelpful things. But there were no creative writing classes at my high school, and no useful criticism. At college (in
California at that time, junior college was almost free), I took classes taught by an elderly woman who wrote children’s
stories. She was polite about the science fiction and fantasy that I kept handing in, but she finally asked in exasperation,
“Can’t you write anything normal?”

A schoolwide contest was held. All submissions had to be made anonymously. My short story won first prize. I was an
eighteen-year-old freshman, and I won in spite of competition from older, more experienced people. Beautiful. The
$15.00 prize was the first money my writing earned me.

After college I did office work for a while, then factory and warehouse work. My size and strength were advantages in
factories and warehouses. And no one expected me to smile and pretend I was having a good time.

I got up at two or three in the morning and wrote. Then I went to work. I hated it, and I have no gift for suffering in
silence. I muttered and complained and quit jobs and found new ones and collected more rejection slips. One day in
disgust I threw them all away. Why keep such useless, painful things?

There seems to be an unwritten rule, hurtful and at odds with the realities of American culture. It says you aren’t supposed
to wonder whether as a Black person, a Black woman, you really might be inferior—not quite bright enough, not quite
quick enough, not quite good enough to do the things you want to do. Though of course you do wonder. You’re supposed
to know you’re as good as anyone. And if you don’t know, you aren’t supposed to admit it. If anyone near you admits it,
you’re supposed to reassure them quickly so they’ll shut up. That sort of talk is embarrassing. Act tough and confident
and don’t talk about your doubts. If you never deal with them, you may never get rid of them, but no matter. Fake
everyone out. Even yourself.

I couldn’t fake myself out. I didn’t talk much about my doubts. I wasn’t fishing for hasty reassurances. But I did a lot of
thinking—the same things over and over.

Who was I anyway? Why should anyone pay attention to what I had to say? Did I have anything to say? I was writing
science fiction and fantasy, for God’s sake. At that time nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men. As
much as I loved science fiction and fantasy, what was I doing?

Well, whatever it was, I couldn’t stop. Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you’re afraid and full
of doubts. Positive obsession is dangerous. It’s about not being able to stop at all.

I was twenty-three when, finally, I sold my first two short stories. I sold both to writer-editors who were teaching at
Clarion, a science-fiction writers’ workshop that I was attending. One story was eventually published. The other wasn’t. I
didn’t sell another word for five years. Then, finally, I sold my first novel. Thank God no one told me selling would take
so long—not that I would have believed it. I’ve sold eight novels since then. Last Christmas, I paid off the mortgage on
my mother’s house.

Octavia E. Butler, excerpt (Sections 10-13) from “Positive Obsession” from BloodChild and Other Stories. Copyright © 1996, 2005 by Octavia E.
Butler. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Seven Stories Press, [Link].

* responses from publishers rejecting stories the author had submitted for publication

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28. In the fifth paragraph, the author mentions that she “got up at two or three in the morning and wrote” primarily to
(A) demonstrate the intensity of her devotion to writing
(B) emphasize that punctuality is necessary for writers
(C) break her silence about a painful period in her life
(D) show how financial insecurity can limit a writer’s career

29. Which of the following best characterizes the author’s purpose in the passage?
(A) To describe how a potentially harmful tendency helped her to succeed as a writer
(B) To explain why beginning writers need to receive more honest criticism
(C) To correct the misperception that writing science fiction rarely proves lucrative
(D) To express appreciation for her mother’s support throughout her writing career

30. In the ninth paragraph, the author makes which of the following claims about the early years of her writing career?
(A) She continued writing because encouragement outweighed doubts about her ability.
(B) As she continued writing, her doubts about her ability steadily diminished.
(C) She continued writing despite lacking confidence in her ability.
(D) As she continued writing, she became increasingly skilled at managing her obsession.

31. The last sentence of the first paragraph (“That . . . month’s rent”) primarily serves to
(A) justify an action by invoking an ethical principle
(B) clarify a point by defining an ambiguous term
(C) show how anecdotal evidence supports a claim
(D) demonstrate that a common practice has harmful effects

32. In the passage, the author describes her inability to “fake [herself] out” as the cause of which of the following?
(A) Her uncertainty about her prospects as a writer
(B) Her dissatisfaction with her teachers
(C) Her determination to continue writing
(D) Her acknowledgment of science fiction’s flaws

33. The author uses a series of questions in the eighth paragraph primarily to express her
doubts, which support the claim that “There seems to be an unwritten rule, hurtful and at odds with the
(A)
realities of American culture” (paragraph 6)
self-confidence, which is based in the idea that Black women are “supposed to know [they are] as good as
(B)
anyone” (paragraph 6)
(C) shame, which develops because “That sort of talk is embarrassing” (paragraph 6)
(D) fear, which is grounded in her knowledge that “Positive obsession is dangerous” (paragraph 9)

34. In the final paragraph, the author mentions paying off her mother’s mortgage primarily to

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(A) emphasize how little her mother’s life has changed since she paid the fee described in the first paragraph
(B) show that her mother was justified in paying the fee described in the first paragraph
illustrate the dramatic change in the author’s circumstances since the payment of the fee described in the first
(C)
paragraph
reveal that her mother’s financial situation has deteriorated since she paid the fee described in the first
(D)
paragraph

Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.

(This passage is from the preface to a work published early in the nineteenth century.)

The prevailing taste of the public for anecdote has been censured and ridiculed by critics, who aspire to the character of
superior wisdom: but if we consider it in a proper point of view, this taste is an incontestible proof of the good sense and
profoundly philosophic temper of the present times. Of the numbers who study, or at least who read history, how few
derive any advantage from their labors! The heroes of history are so decked out by the fine fancy of the professed
historian; they talk in such measured prose, and act from such sublime or such diabolical motives, that few have sufficient
taste, wickedness or heroism, to sympathize in their fate. Besides, there is much uncertainty even in the best authenticated
antient* or modern histories; and that love of truth, which in some minds is innate and immutable, necessarily leads to a
love of secret memoirs and private anecdotes. We cannot judge either of the feelings or of the characters of men with
perfect accuracy from their actions or their appearance in public; it is from their careless conversations, their half-finished
sentences, that we may hope with the greatest probability of success to discover their real characters. The life of a great or
of a little man written by himself, the familiar letters, the diary of any individual published by his friends, or by his
enemies after his decease, are esteemed important literary curiosities. We are surely justified in this eager desire to collect
the most minute facts relative to the domestic lives, not only of the great and the good, but even of the worthless and
insignificant, since it is only by a comparison of their actual happiness or misery in the privacy of domestic life, that we
can form a just estimate of the real reward of virtue, or the real punishment of vice. That the great are not as happy as they
seem, that the external circumstances of fortune and rank do not constitute felicity, is asserted by every moralist; the
historian can seldom, consistently with his dignity, pause to illustrate this truth, it is therefore to the biographer we must
have recourse. After we have beheld splendid characters playing their parts on the great theatre of the world, with all the
advantages of stage effect and decoration, we anxiously beg to be admitted behind the scenes, that we may take a nearer
view of the actors and actresses.

Some may perhaps imagine, that the value of biography depends upon the judgment and taste of the biographer; but on the
contrary it may be maintained, that the merits of a biographer are inversely as the extent of his intellectual powers and of
his literary talents. A plain unvarnished tale is preferable to the most highly ornamented narrative. Where we see that a
man has the power, we may naturally suspect that he has the will to deceive us, and those who are used to literary
manufacture know how much is often sacrificed to the rounding of a period or the pointing an antithesis.

* ancient

35. In the context of the entire passage, the word “anecdote” (first sentence) is best understood to mean

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(A) an unreliable secondhand account

(B) an official government document
(C) a narrative in the style of a morality play
(D) an informal story involving personal details

36. The author portrays the critics mentioned in the first sentence as people who are likely to
(A) identify with the public at large
(B) become the subjects of biography
(C) be profoundly philosophical
(D) prefer formal history

37. The author's strategy in the first two sentences is to

(A) flatter those who would criticize popular opinions
(B) moralize about the injustices present in society
(C) build a logical argument and support it with facts from history
(D) promote an impression of sympathy with public preferences

38. In the context of the passage, the reason that few who read history “derive any advantage from their labors” (second
sentence) is that
(A) the common reader is unable to appreciate what he or she reads
(B) the historian’s preoccupation with facts makes for dull reading
(C) the focus of history on the distant past is too remote for most readers
(D) the historian tends to present historical figures unrealistically

39. At the end of the third sentence, "their fate" refers to the fate of
(A) readers
(B) literary critics
(C) historical figures
(D) fictional characters

40. The author suggests that the preference of many readers for “secret memoirs and private anecdotes” (fourth
sentence) is
(A) a grudging response to heroic lives
(B) an unfortunate lapse in propriety
(C) a justifiable form of curiosity
(D) a natural result of a love of fiction

41. In context, the phrase “half-finished sentences” (fifth sentence) can best be described as

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(A) a reference to informal candor

(B) an apology for incomplete histories
(C) a symbol of the arrogance of great people
(D) an ironic statement about fastidiousness

42. In the context of the sentence in which it occurs, the phrase “consistently with his dignity” (near the end of
paragraph 1) points out
(A) the conflict between decorum and thoroughness for the historian
(B) the loss of esteem suffered by the historian
(C) the social gulf between historians and biographers
(D) the expertise that the historian brings to a work

43. The purpose of the sentence “A plain . . . narrative” (middle of paragraph 2) is to

(A) propose a self-contradictory opinion for consideration
(B) elaborate on a specific anecdote
(C) shift the thematic focus considerably
(D) develop a statement made in the previous sentence

44. The author uses the phrase “highly ornamented narrative” (middle of paragraph 2) to refer to the type of writing that
is
(A) preferred by most readers
(B) produced by biographers skilled at writing
(C) presented most realistically
(D) rejected by historians

45. In the final sentence, the author presents “the rounding of a period” and “the pointing an antithesis” as examples of
(A) techniques ignored by most historians
(B) flourishes that can obscure truth
(C) inaccuracies that can slip into biographies
(D) techniques that appeal to most readers

46. Taken as a whole, the passage is best described as

(A) an indignant response to a personal affront
(B) a documented presentation of facts
(C) a casual reaction to a problem
(D) an argument employing illustrative comparisons

47. Of the following contrasts, which pertains most directly to the theme of the passage?

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(A) “sublime” (third sentence) and “diabolical” (third sentence) motives

(B) “antient” (fourth sentence) and “modern” (fourth sentence) histories
(C) “their appearance in public” (fifth sentence) and “their real characters” (fifth sentence)
(D) “virtue” (seventh sentence) and “vice” (seventh sentence)

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