English (B) Cumulative Exam Questions
Solved Correctly.
Read the excerpt from President Lincoln's 1865 inaugural address, in which he speaks about the Civil
War.
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.
Which statement best summarizes the central idea in this excerpt? - Answer The Civil War occurred
because people in the South wanted to protect and spread the practice of slavery.
Read the excerpt from Frederick Douglass's July 4, 1852, speech on the hypocrisy of American slavery.
Douglass was an abolitionist and a formerly enslaved person.
Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the
nation seems equally hideous and revolting. America is false to the past, false to the present, and
solemnly binds herself to be false to the future.
How do the words hideous, revolting, and false most affect the tone and meaning of this passage? -
Answer They show the speaker's disgust over slavery.
Read the excerpt from a speech on the benefits of eating organic versus conventionally grown foods.
I want my food to be real food. I don't want my only option of nourishment to be chemicals disguised as
food. Chemicals that could one day poison my body and lead me down a path of obesity and disease.
And I want organic options to be affordably priced so everyone can afford to eat healthy. I believe that
these are attainable goals if more people see the value in organic food.
,Which words from the passage have negative connotations that support the author's point? Select three
options. - Answer "chemicals"
"disease"
"obesity"
Read the excerpt from President Ronald Reagan's speech on the night before the 1980 presidential
election.
I believe we can embark on a new age of reform in this country and an era of national renewal. An era
that will reorder the relationship between citizen and government, that will make government again
responsive to people, that will revitalize the values of family, work, and neighborhood and that will
restore our private and independent social institutions.
The tone of this speech could best be described as expressing a feeling of - Answer hope
Read the excerpt from President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden,
meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge—and more.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends.
United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do—
for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
Which statement best summarizes the central idea in this excerpt? - Answer We will do whatever it
takes to preserve our freedom, but will get more done working together.
Which statement best defines the term rhetoric? - Answer Rhetoric is the art of effective, persuasive
speaking or writing.
,The term pathos is best defined as - Answer an appeal to emotions.
Read the excerpt from "Ain't I a Woman?" a speech given by Sojourner Truth, a formerly enslaved
person, in 1851.
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't
a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a
woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these
women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to
do it, the men better let them.
The tone of this speech most expresses a feeling of - Answer frustration.
Read the excerpt from Prime Minister Winston Churchill's "Their Finest Hour" speech, delivered to the
United Kingdom's House of Commons in 1940.
During the first four years of the last war the Allies experienced nothing but disaster and
disappointment. That was our constant fear: one blow after another, terrible losses, frightful dangers.
Everything miscarried. And yet at the end of those four years the morale of the Allies was higher than
that of the Germans, who had moved from one aggressive triumph to another, and who stood
everywhere triumphant invaders of the lands into which they had broken.
The rhetorical technique used in this excerpt is - Answer shift
Read the excerpt from "Ain't I a Woman?" by Sojourner Truth.
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to
have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me
any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and
gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as
much as a man—when I could get it—and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne
, thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none
but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
Which rhetorical techniques does the speaker use in this excerpt? Select three options. - Answer ethos
pathos
parallelism
Read the excerpt from activist Cesar Chavez's 1984 address to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco.
All my life, I have been driven by one dream, one goal, one vision: To overthrow a farm labor system in
this nation which treats farm workers as if they were not important human beings.
Farm workers are not agricultural implements—they are not beasts of burden to be used and
discarded. . . .
. . . My motivation comes from my personal life—from watching what my mother and father went
through when I was growing up—from what we experienced as migrant farm workers in California.
That dream, that vision, grew from my own experience with racism—with hope—with the desire to be
treated fairly and to see my people treated as human beings and not as chattel.
It grew from anger and rage—emotions I felt 40 years ago when people of my color were denied the
right to see a movie or eat at a restaurant in many parts of Californ - Answer My singular objective has
been to change farming practices so workers are respected.
This dream for change came from my own experiences of racism and mistreatment.
Which claims are supported by relevant evidence? Select two options. - Answer Drinking coffee is good
for you. Two recent studies have shown that coffee drinkers live longer.
Students should use e-books. Many suffer from back trouble from carrying so many books in their
backpacks.
Read Gunther's evaluation of an argument.
