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HERTFORD COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

English II

FALL 2013 BENCHMARK

English II Benchmark, Herford County High School, fall 2013

DIRECTIONS

This is a practice test for the English II Test that you will take in January. It consists of several reading passages, multiple choice questions, and extended written response questions.

You will record the multiple choice questions on the Scantron® sheet provided. You will write your response to the extended written response questions (#6, #12, # 18, # 19, #25, #26, & #32) on the lined paper provided as separate booklet with this test.

Please make sure to record your written responses next to the correct response number on the lined pages in the booklet. The questions will be repeated, along with the number of the question on the lined pages.

You may write on the test, underline, and use highlighters as needed. Make sure you do not get any highlighter on the Scantron® sheet, or it will not scan.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Good luck!!


THE GIFT OF THE MAGI by O. Henry

(1) One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

(2) There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

(3) While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly fit the beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout.

(4) In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."

(5) The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good.

(6) Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

(7) There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art.

(8) Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.

(9) Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window someday to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

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(10) So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

(11) On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street.

(12) Where she stopped the sign read: "Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the "Sofronie."

(13) "Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.

(14) "I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it."

(15) Down rippled the brown cascade.

(16) "Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.

(17) "Give it to me quick," said Della.

(18) Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present.

(19) She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain.

(20) When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends--a mammoth task. Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically.

(21) "If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?"

(22) At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.

(23) Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the

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door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit for saying little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty."

(24) The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.

(25) Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face. Della wriggled off the table and went for him.

(26) "Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice-- what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you."

(27) "You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.

(28) "Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?"

(29) Jim looked about the room curiously.

(30) "You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy.

(31) "You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered," she went on with sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?"

(32) Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.

(33) Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.

(34) "Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first."

(35) White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.

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(36) For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the

beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.

(37) But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim!"

(38) And then Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!"

(39) Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.

(40) "Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."

(41) Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.

(42) "Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on."

(43) The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

1. What is the overall effect of the simile in the sentence below from paragraph ten?

“So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.”

A. It describes how her hair is like the flow of money she will receive when she sells her hairB. It emphasizes the beauty of her hair and how much of a sacrifice she is making to cut it offC. It compares her hair to water to provide details of the speaker’s interest in natureD. It explains her personal appearance to the reader to show how beautiful she is

2. What assumptions can the reader make about Della and Jim’s relationship?A. They are happily married and live comfortably with few issuesB. They are simply doing their best to compromise emotionally for the sake of appearanceC. Their marriage is impacted by financial strains but both are committed to each otherD. They feel as if the end is near so they are buying gifts to make up for it

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3. What does Jim’s reaction in paragraph 41 to receiving the gift from Della reveal about his character?A. He is selfish and wishes he would have never given up his watch for Della’s giftB. He is happy to be married but wishes his wife wouldn’t be so carelessC. He is hardened by the financial pains and wants to give upD. He is level-headed and realizes that circumstances can cause things to happen in an ironic way

4. Based on paragraph 35, what does the author mean when he uses the word “lord”? “And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.”

A. religious leaderB. noblemanC. baronD. male presence

5. In the passage, what is the purpose of the sentences below from paragraph 43?

“And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest.”

A. to explain the theme that true sacrifice is the greatest of all giftsB. to relate the story to the Biblical example of the MagiC. to show the reader ways to give good gifts and avoid this same situation in their own livesD. to summarize the story for the reader upon the conclusion of the narrative

6. EXTENDED RESPONSE: Based on this passage, what can be inferred about Della’s

character? Use evidence to support at least TWO examples in your response.

WRITE YOUR RESPONSE ON THE LINED PAGES NEXT TO #6.

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Lincoln, Abraham. “Second Inaugural Address.” (1865)

Fellow-Countrymen:

At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended

address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed

fitting and proper.

Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth

on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies

of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly

depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and

encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an

impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered

from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, urgent agents were in the city

seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both

parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other

would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but

localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew

that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest

was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government

claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the

war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained.

Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should

cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the

same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange

that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other

men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That

of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. “Woe unto the world because of

offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.” If

we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must

needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that

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He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came,

shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God

always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may

speedily pass away.

Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years

of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another

drawn with the sword, as

was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and

righteous altogether.”

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right,

let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall

have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just

and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

Appendix B, pp. 123 – 124

7. What is the meaning of the word “deprecated” in the following statement? “Both parties

deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other

would accept war rather than let it perish.”

a) Wanted

b) Planned

c) Disapproved

d) Encouraged

8. According to the author, what were the initial reasons for going to war?

a) To obtain an easy triumph

b) One-eighth of the population were slaves

c) Slaves were a powerful interest to be cultivated

d) Government wanted to eliminate slavery

9. What is one possible reason why the author mentions passages from the bible?

a) He wants his audience to know he believes in God

b) He wants to call attention to the fact that both sides justify their actions with their belief

in God

c) He wants everyone to know they will be punished for their actions

d) He is justifying the continuation of the war with the bible

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10. What can be inferred from the statement below?

“The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully.”

a) Neither side got what they wanted from the war.

b) Only one side could win the war.

c) God does not always answer our prayers.

d) God is limited in what He can do for us.

11. Which group of words conveys the author’s attitude about this topic?

a) “It may seem strange that any man should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing

their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces…”

b) “The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the

public as to myself…”

c) “All dreaded it, all sought to avert it.”

d) “Yet, if God wills to continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred

and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with

the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, . . . so still it must be said “the

judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”

12. EXTENDED RESPONSE: What is the central idea of this passage? Use textual evidence to

support your position.


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Women's Rights Are Human Rights Famous Speech by Hillary ClintonBeijing, China: 5 September 1995

Mrs. Mongella, Under Secretary Kittani, distinguished delegates and guests:

(1) I would like to thank the Secretary General of the United Nations for inviting me to be part of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. This is truly a celebration - a celebration of the contributions women make in every aspect of life: in the home, on the job, in their commu-nities, as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, learners, workers, citizens and leaders. It is also a coming together, much the way women come together every day in every country. We come together in fields and in factories. In village markets and supermarkets. In living rooms and board rooms.

(2) Whether it is while playing with our children in the park, or washing clothes in a river, or taking a break at the office water cooler, we come together and talk about our aspirations and concerns. And time and again, our talk turns to our children and our families. However different we may be, there is far more that unites us than divides us. We share a common future. And we are here to find common ground so that we may help bring new dignity and respect to women and girls all over the world - and in so doing, bring new strength and stability to families as well.

(3) By gathering in Beijing, we are focusing world attention on issues that matter most in the lives of women and their families: access to education, health care, jobs and credit, the chance to enjoy basic legal and human rights and participate fully in the political life of their countries.

There are some who question the reason for this conference. Let them listen to the voices of women in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. There are some who wonder whether the lives of women and girls matter to economic and political progress around the globe.

(4) Let them look at the women gathered here and at Huairou - the homemakers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, policymakers, and women who run their own businesses.

It is conferences like this that compel governments and people everywhere to listen, look and face the world's most pressing problems.

Wasn't it after the women's conference in Nairobi ten years ago that the world focused for the first time on the crisis of domestic violence?

(5) Earlier today, I participated in a World Health Organization forum, where government officials, NGOs, and individual citizens are working on ways to address the health problems of women and girls.

Tomorrow, I will attend a gathering of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. There, the discussion will focus on local - and highly successful - programs that give hard-working women access to credit so they can improve their own lives and the lives of their families.

(6)What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance

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to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations will flourish.

That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on our planet has a stake in the discussion that takes place here.

(7) Over the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children and families. Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my own country and around the world.

I have met new mothers in Jojakarta, Indonesia, who come together regularly in their village to discuss nutrition, family planning, and baby care.

I have met working parents in Denmark who talk about the comfort they feel in knowing that their children can be cared for in creative, safe, and nurturing after-school centers.

I have met women in South Africa who helped lead the struggle to end apartheid and are now helping build a new democracy.

(8) I have met with the leading women of the Western Hemisphere who are working every day to promote literacy and better health care for the children of their countries.

I have met women in India and Bangladesh who are taking out small loans to buy milk cows, rickshaws, thread and other materials to create a livelihood for themselves and their families.

I have met doctors and nurses in Belarus and Ukraine who are trying to keep children alive in the aftermath of Chernobyl.

The great challenge of this Conference is to give voice to women everywhere whose experiences go unnoticed, whose words go unheard.

(9) Women comprise more than half the world's population. Women are 70% percent of the world's poor, and two-thirds of those who are not taught to read and write.

Women are the primary caretakers for most of the world's children and elderly. Yet much of the work we do is not valued - not by economists, not by historians, not by popular culture, not by government leaders.

At this very moment, as we sit here, women around the world are giving birth, raising children, cooking meals, washing clothes, cleaning houses, planting crops, working on assembly lines, running companies, and running countries.

(10) Women also are dying from diseases that should have been prevented or treated; they are watching their children succumb to malnutrition caused by poverty and economic deprivation; they are being denied the right to go to school by their own fathers and brothers; they are being forced into prostitution, and they are being barred from the bank lending office and banned from the ballot box. Those of us who have the opportunity to be here have the responsibility to speak for those who could not.

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(11) As an American, I want to speak up for women in my own country - women who are raising children on the minimum wage, women who can't afford health care or child care, women whose lives are threatened by violence, including violence in their own homes.

(12) I want to speak up for mothers who are fighting for good schools, safe neighborhoods, clean air and clean airwaves; for older women, some of them widows, who have raised their families and now find that their skills and life experiences are not valued in the workplace; for women who are working all night as nurses, hotel clerks, and fast food cooks so that they can be at home during the day with their kids; and for women everywhere who simply don't have time to do everything they are called upon to do each day.

(13) Speaking to you today, I speak for them, just as each of us speaks for women around the world who are denied the chance to go to school, or see a doctor, or own property, or have a say about the direction of their lives, simply because they are women. The truth is that most women around the world work both inside and outside the home, usually by necessity.

(14) We need to understand that there is no formula for how women should lead their lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential.

We also must recognize that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected.

(15) Our goals for this Conference, to strengthen families and societies by empowering women to take greater control over their own destinies, cannot be fully achieved unless all governments - here and around the world - accept their responsibility to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights.

(16) The international community has long acknowledged - and recently affirmed at Vienna - that both women and men are entitled to a range of protections and personal freedoms, from the right of personal security to the right to determine freely the number and spacing of the children they bear.

(17) No one should be forced to remain silent for fear of religious or political persecution, arrest, abuse or torture. Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated.

(18) Even in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict. Women and children make up a large majority of the world's refugees. When women are excluded from the political process, they become even more vulnerable to abuse.

I believe that, on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break our silence. It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights.

(19) These abuses have continued because, for too long, the history of women has been a history of silence. Even today, there are those who are trying to silence our words.

The voices of this conference and of the women at Huairou must be heard loud and clear: It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls. 11


(20) It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution.

It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small.

It is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war.

(21) It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes.

It is a violation of human rights when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation.

It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will.

(22) If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women's rights - and women's rights are human rights. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely - and the right to be heard.

Women must enjoy the right to participate fully in the social and political lives of their countries if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure.

It is indefensible that many women in nongovernmental organizations who wished to participate in this conference have not been able to attend - or have been prohibited from fully taking part.

(23) Let me be clear. Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly. It means respecting the views of those who may disagree with the views of their governments. It means not taking citizens away from their loved ones and jailing them, mistreating them, or denying them their freedom or dignity because of the peaceful expression of their ideas and opinions.

In my country, we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of women's suffrage. It took 150 years after the signing of our Declaration of Independence for women to win the right to vote.

(24) It took 72 years of organized struggle on the part of many courageous women and men. It was one of America's most divisive philosophical wars. But it was also a bloodless war. Suffrage was achieved without a shot being fired.

We have also been reminded, in V-1 Day observances last weekend, of the good that comes when men and women join together to combat the forces of tyranny and build a better world.

(25) We have seen peace prevail in most places for a half century. We have avoided another world war.

But we have not solved older, deeply-rooted problems that continue to diminish the potential of half the world's population.

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Now it is time to act on behalf of women everywhere. If we take bold steps to better the lives of women, we will be taking bold steps to better the lives of children and families too.

(26) Families rely on mothers and wives for emotional support and care; families rely on women for labor in the home; and increasingly, families rely on women for income needed to raise healthy children and care for other relatives.

(27) As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace around the world - as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and subjected to violence in and out of their homes - the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized.

Let this Conference be our - and the world's - call to action.

(28) And let us heed the call so that we can create a world in which every woman is treated with respect and dignity, every boy and girl is loved and cared for equally, and every family has the hope of a strong and stable future.

Thank you very much. God's blessings on you, your work and all who will benefit from it.

13. What is the purpose of beginning the selection with section one and then moving to section three?

A. Clinton feels like she needs to thank her hosts and then praise them for their behaviors.B. Clinton thanks individuals for being in attendance, praises them, and then moves to issues

that still need to be resolved.C. Clinton praises her audience so that she can say mean things and get away with it.D. Clinton starts with her big issues and then moves to issues she doesn’t really care about.

14. What is the effect of Clinton’s use of repetition in sections 20 and 21?A. Clinton wants the reader to see a list of violations.B. Clinton wants to use figurative language to create a list.C. Clinton’s use of figurative language allows the reader to know the seriousness of the issues at hand.D. Clinton’s use of figurative language allows the reader to know the casual nature of the issues of hand.

15. In section 27, which word could best substitute the word inequities? “As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace around the world - as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and subjected to violence in and out of their homes - the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized.” A. EqualityB. InjusticesC. PerceptionD. Justices

16. Based on the overall message of the speech, which sentence describes Clinton’s purpose? A. “Let this Conference be our - and the world's - call to action.”B. “And when families flourish, communities and nations will flourish.”C. “That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on our planet has a stake in the discussion that takes place here.”D. “In my country, we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of women's suffrage.”


1317. How does the speaker’s cultural background affect her perception of the treatment of women?

A. Clinton believes that the treatment of women is where it should be for our time period.B. Clinton believes that the celebration of the 75 Anniversary in her country shows that the fight

is over.C. Clinton believes that poor treatment of women is not a violation of human rights.D. Clinton believes that nations need to work together in order to give women the same human

rights as men.

18. EXTENDED RESPONSE: How does the author use language to advance her point of view? Use at least TWO examples from the text as evidence to support your answer.


Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter: A Romance.New York: Penguin, 2003. (1850) From Chapter 16

The road, after the two wayfarers had crossed from the Peninsula to the mainland, was no other than a

foot-path. It straggled onward into the mystery of the primeval forest. This hemmed it in so narrowly, and

stood so black and dense on either side, and disclosed such imperfect glimpses of the sky above, that, to

Hester’s mind, it imaged not amiss the moral wilderness in which she had so long been wandering. The

day was chill and sombre. Overhead was a gray expanse of cloud, slightly stirred, however, by a breeze;

so that a gleam of flickering sunshine might now and then be seen at its solitary play along the path. This

flitting cheerfulness was always at the further extremity of some long vista through the forest. The

sportive sunlight--feebly sportive, at best, in the predominant pensiveness of the day and scene--withdrew

itself as they came nigh, and left the spots where it had danced the drearier, because they had hoped to

find them bright.

“Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is

afraid of something on your bosom. Now, see! There it is, playing a good way off. Stand you here, and let

me run and catch it. I am but a child. It will not flee from me--for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”

“Nor ever will, my child, I hope,” said Hester.

“And why not, mother?” asked Pearl, stopping short, just at the beginning of her race. “Will not it come

of its own accord when I am a woman grown?”

“Run away, child,” answered her mother, “and catch the sunshine. It will soon be gone. “


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Pearl set forth at a great pace, and as Hester smiled to perceive, did actually catch the sunshine, and stood

laughing in the midst of it, all brightened by its splendor, and scintillating with the vivacity excited by

rapid motion. The light lingered about the lonely child, as if glad of such a playmate, until her mother had

drawn almost nigh enough to step into the magic circle too.

“It will go now,” said Pearl, shaking her head.

“See!” answered Hester, smiling; “now I can stretch out my hand and grasp some of it.”

As she attempted to do so, the sunshine vanished; or, to judge from the bright expression that was dancing

on Pearl’s features, her mother could have fancied that the child had absorbed it into herself, and would

give it forth again, with a gleam about her path, as they should plunge into some gloomier shade. There

was no other attribute that so much impressed her with a sense of new and untransmitted vigor in Pearl’s

nature, as this never failing vivacity of spirits: she had not the disease of sadness, which almost all

children, in these latter days, inherit, with the scrofula, from the troubles of their ancestors. Perhaps this,

too, was a disease, and but the reflex of the wild energy with which Hester had fought against her sorrows

before Pearl’s birth. It was certainly a doubtful charm, imparting a hard, metallic lustre to the child’s

character. She wanted--what some people want throughout life--a grief that should deeply touch her, and

thus humanize and make her capable of sympathy. But there was time enough yet for little Pearl.

“Come, my child!” said Hester, looking about her from the spot where Pearl had stood still in the

sunshine--”we will sit down a little way within the wood, and rest ourselves.” Appendix B, p. 145

19. EXTENDED RESPONSE Summary: Write a short paragraph summary of this text. WRITE YOUR RESPONSE ON THE LINED PAGES NEXT TO #19

20. How does the author’s use of setting help the reader to better understand the character of Hester?

a) The setting shows a stark contrast to Hester’s mood.

b) The changes in the weather mirror the changes in Hester’s mood.

c) The dark and gloomy quality of the setting mirror Hester’s feelings about her life.

d) The flitting sunlight reminds Hester of her own happiness.


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21. What is the effect of the use of personification in the statement, “The sportive sunlight – feebly sportive, at best, in the predominant pensiveness of the day and scene – withdrew itself as they came nigh . . .”

a) It shows how emotions are affected by the outdoors

b) It shows the depth of Hester’s estrangement from the world

c) It contrasts Pearl’s statement immediately following, “the sunshine does not love

you.”

d) It mirrors Pearl’s feelings about her mother.

22. What is the significance of Hester’s statement, “Nor ever will, I hope” to Pearl?a) Hester shows her love to her daughterb) Hester knows that Pearl is an innocent child.c) Hester realizes that she cannot protect her daughter when she grows up.d) Hester knows that Pearl must make her own decisions.

23. What can be inferred from the statement from Pearl to her mother, “It will go now”?a) Sunshine never stays still.b) It is a gloomy day, so the sun only comes out once in a while.c) The sunshine does not like to be near Hester.d) Hester does not like the sunshine.

24. Based on the author’s use of the word “humanize,” what can we infer about Hester’s beliefs?

a) In order to sympathize with others, one must experience personal sufferingb) One is not human unless one suffersc) Only bd) Both a and b

25. EXTENDED RESPONSE: What does the forest represent in this passage? Use evidence from the text to support your position.

WRITE YOUR RESPONSE ON THE LINED PAGES NEXT TO #25


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Reagan: “ Address to Students at Moscow State University.” The American Reader:

Words that Moved a Nation, 2nd Edition. Edited by Diane Ravitch. New York:

HarperCollins, 2000. (1988) From “Ronald Reagan: Speech at Moscow State University”

But progress is not foreordained. The key is freedom—freedom of thought, freedom of

information, freedom of communication. The renowned scientist, scholar, and founding father of

this university, Mikhail Lomonosov, knew that. “It is common knowledge,” he said, “that the

achievements of science are considerable and rapid, particularly once the yoke of slavery is cast

off and replaced by the freedom of philosophy.” […]

The explorers of the modern era are the entrepreneurs, men with vision, with the courage to take

risks and faith enough to brave the unknown. These entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are

responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States. They are the prime movers

of the technological revolution. In fact, one of the largest personal computer firms in the United

States was started by two college students, no older than you, in the garage behind their home.

Some people, even in my own country, look at the riot of experiment that is the free market and

see only waste. What of all the entrepreneurs that fail? Well, many do, particularly the successful

ones; often several times. And if you ask them the secret of their success, they’ll tell you it’s all

that they learned in their struggles along the way; yes, it’s what they learned from failing. Like

an athlete in competition or a scholar in pursuit of the truth, experience is the greatest teacher.

[…]

We Americans make no secret of our belief in freedom. In fact, it’s something of a national

pastime. Every 4 years the American people choose a new President, and 1988 is one of those

years. At one point there were 13 major candidates running in the two major parties, not to

mention all the others, including the Socialist and Libertarian candidates—all trying to get my

job.

About 1,000 local television stations, 8,500 radio stations, and 1,700 daily newspapers—each

one an independent, private enterprise, fiercely independent of the Government—report on the

candidates, grill them in interviews, and bring them together for debates. In the end, the people

vote; they decide who will be the next President.


17

But freedom doesn’t begin or end with elections. Go to any American town, to take just an

example, and you’ll see dozens of churches, representing many different beliefs—in many

places, synagogues and mosques—and you’ll see families of every conceivable nationality

worshiping together. Go into any schoolroom, and there you will see children being taught the

Declaration of Independence, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable

rights—among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—that no government can justly

deny; the guarantees in their Constitution for freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and

freedom of religion.

Go into any courtroom, and there will preside an independent judge, beholden to no government

power. There every defendant has the right to a trial by a jury of his peers, usually 12 men and

women—common citizens; they are the ones, the only ones, who weigh the evidence and decide

on guilt or innocence. In that court, the accused is innocent until proven guilty, and the word of a

policeman or any official has no greater legal standing than the word of the accused.

Go to any university campus, and there you’ll find an open, sometimes heated discussion of the

problems in American society and what can be done to correct them. Turn on the television, and

you’ll see the legislature conducting the business of government right there before the camera,

debating and voting on the legislation that will become the law of the land. March in any

demonstration, and there are many of them; the people’s right of assembly is guaranteed in the

Constitution and protected by the police. Go into any union hall, where the members know their

right to strike is protected by law.

But freedom is more even than this. Freedom is the right to question and change the established

way of doing things. It is the continuing revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding

that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions. It is the right to put forth n idea,

scoffed at by the experts, and watch it catch fire among the people. It is the right to dream—to

follow your dream or stick to your conscience, even if you’re the only one in a sea of doubters.

Freedom is the recognition that no single person, no single authority or government has a

monopoly on the truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious, that every one of us

put on this world has been put there for a reason and has something to offer. Appendix B, pp.

128 – 129


18

26. EXTENDED RESPONSE: Write a short paragraph summary of this text. WRITE YOUR RESPONSE ON THE LINED PAGES NEXT TO #26

27. What is the purpose of beginning the selection with the statement . . . “progress is not

foreordained” and then moving to a discussion on freedom?

a) To gain the audience’s attentionb) To cause the audience to think about progressc) To clarify the basis of progressd) To help the audience understand that progress without freedom is not guaranteed

28. What is the effect of the word “riot” used in paragraph two?

a. It implies a violent activityb. It stresses the complexity of the free marketc. It illustrates the uselessness of the free marketd. It illustrates the positive and negative aspects of the free market

29. What is the underlying conflict alluded to in this passage?a) Success and failureb) Business and mediac) Constitutional rights and freedomd) Servitude and freedom

30. How does the author develop his ideas about freedom?a) By moving from generalities to specific examplesb) By discussing areas where freedom is seen to philosophical assumptionsc) Both a and bd) Neither a nor b

31. Which statement summarizes the central idea of the selection?

a) “These entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the Unites States.”

b) “We Americans make no secret of our belief in freedom.”c) “ . . . no single person, no single authority or government has a monopoly on the

truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious . . . has been put there for a reason and has something to offer.”

d) “And if you ask them the secret of their success, they’ll tell you it’s all that they learned in their struggles along the way . . .”

32. EXTENDED RESPONSE: Based on the content of this speech, what assumptions can

you make about the audience? Give at least TWO examples, and use evidence (from the

text) to support your response.

WRITE YOUR RESPONSE ON THE LINED PAGES NEXT TO #32


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