Skill Categories, Skills, and My Scores: - c
orrect answer Skill Category 1: Explain the function of character.
Skill 1.A: Identify and describe what specific textual details reveal about a character, that character's
perspective, and that character's motives (3/3).
Skill 1.B: Explain the function of a character changing or remaining unchanged (2/3).
Skill Category 2: Explain the function of setting.
Skill 2.A: Identify and describe specific textual details that convey or reveal a setting (3/3).
Skill Category 3: Explain the function of plot and structure.
Skill 3.E: Explain the function of a significant event or related set of significant events in a plot (3/3).
Skill 3.F: Explain the function of a conflict in a text (2/3).
Skill Category 7: Develop textually substantiated arguments about interpretation of literature and that
may establish a line of reasoning.
Skill 7.B: Develop a thesis statement that conveys a defensible claim about an interpretation of literature
and that may establish a line of reasoning (3/3).
Passage 1: Sredni Vashtar - correct answer Questions 1 - 6
Skill 1.A: 1/1
Skill 3.F: 1/1
Skill 2.A: 1/1
Skill 1.B: 1/1
Skill 3.E: 1/1
Skill 7.B: 1/1
Sredni Vashtar
Question 1: In the third sentence of the first paragraph, the narrator's description of Mrs. De Ropp as
"those three-fifths of the world that are necessary and disagreeable and real" suggests that . . . - correct
answer B. Mrs. De Ropp is a strict person who fails to appreciate Conradin's creative
spirit
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, Reasoning: The description of Mrs. De Ropp as "necessary and disagreeable and real" suggests that she
is a strict person who would not appreciate someone like Conradin, who thrives on his creative spirit.
Sredni Vashtar
Question 2: The second paragraph ("Mrs. De Ropp . . . entrance") suggests that Conradin is able to cope
with his situation primarily by . . . - correct answer C. retreating to the security of an
interior world
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Reasoning: Conradin's retreat into his imagination, in "the disused tool-shed of respectable
proportions," is the primary way that he copes with his situation.
Sredni Vashtar
Question 3: In the third sentence of the final paragraph, the "disused tool-shed" functions primarily as a
setting in which Conradin . . . - correct answer E. discovers meaningful solitude
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Reasoning: Conradin does seem to discover meaningful solitude in the tool-shed. The narrator indicates
that "within its walls Conradin found a haven."
Sredni Vashtar
Question 4: Which of the following effects does the "large polecat-ferret" mentioned toward the end of
the final paragraph have on the development of Conradin's character? - correct answer
D. It fulfills Conradin's imaginative ideal because he is able to transform it into "a god and a religion"
(paragraph 3).
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Reasoning: The polecat-ferret provides an appealing outlet for Conradin's imaginative sensibility.
Sredni Vashtar
Question 5: Toward the end of the final paragraph, Conradin's "exchange" of "a long-secreted hoard of
small silver" with the butcher-boy is significant because it . . . - correct answer B.
develops the idea that Conradin finds joy in acts that would be displeasing to Mrs. De Ropp
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Reasoning: The "exchange" reinforces the pleasure that Conradin takes in acts that would displease Mrs.
De Ropp, such as purchasing "a large polecat-ferret" for his secret hideaway.