CR Question

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Can you guys explain to me as to why the answer is so? Thanks!</p>

<p>Info before this paragraph: The narrator went into the room and played his toys there but then he saw a painting looking at him and he backed away, feeling uneasy.</p>

<p>I did not tell anyone what had happened, but I did not venture into the room again for more than a few seconds at a time, except when I was with grown-ups. Emboldened by their company, I learned to play a fearful but exciting game. I moved slowly here and there about the room, knowing that wherever I went, those eyes followed me. I pretended not to look, I talked with my elders, then swung around sharply. I was still being watched. The searching gaze was always the same so melancholy and accusing that I began to feel a sense of guilt, began to wonder what evil I could have committed. Guilt and fear mingled in my mind and I was certain that the stranger was treacherous, that his anger could be terrible when it was aroused. Sometimes greatly daring, I crept up the stairs and opened the door very quietly, very quickly, and peeped in. Every time I did so, his eyes were looking straight at me.</p>

<p>In line 60, "searching" most nearly means</p>

<p>d. forlorn
e. penetrating</p>

<p>The answer was E. However, I saw melancholy so I picked forlorn. On top of that, what does penetrating exactly mean in this context?</p>

<p>Info before paragraph: This woman named Caroline tried poetry but failed while her friend Marcella succeeded. Caroline accused her of trying to thwart her.</p>

<p>And then there was the matter of Evan Paviromo, the English-Italian editor of a literary journal whom Caroline had dated for seven years, waiting patiently for them to get married and have children. He broke it off one day without explanation. She dogged him. Why? Why was he ending it? She refused to let him go without some sort of answer. </p>

<p>In context, lines 45-50 ("And...answer") suggest that Caroline's response to Evan's action encompassed all of the following EXCEPT</p>

<p>a. shock
b. disbelief
c. confusion
d. persistence
e. retaliation</p>

<p>The answer is A. Where in the paragraph does it show disbelief (what I picked)?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>bump</p>

<p>10 char</p>

3

<p>I’ve done this, it’s def penetrating cuz the eyes are searching him, not forlorn. The painting was not wistful, but ‘scary’ almost </p>

<p>for Caroline, she NEVERNEVER retaliated. she never DID anything against her friend who made her fiance quit the marriage</p>

4

<p>What does penetrating exactly mean?</p>

5

<p>In the context of a ‘penetrating look’, penetrating means looking inside a person to perceive their innermost thoughts and feelings, to see what the person believes is hidden and secret, or if not secret, at least unknown.</p>

<p>Without having read the entire passage, I’d be inclined to agree with you. It seems that if Caroline was not shocked, she would not be disbelieving. If we are not shocked, we are most likely not surprised. If we are not surprised, then whatever has happened is likely to have been what we expected. We base our expectations upon our beliefs.</p>

6

<p>Another point that may help you on similar CR questions in the future: </p>

<p>This passage used three words to describe the gaze in a single sentence: ‘searching’, ‘melancholy’ and ‘accusing’. I would usually be bad writing for an author to use two words in a series like that that were redundant. You said you chose ‘forlorn’ because the sentence contained ‘melancholy’. The two are synonyms. They both mean ‘sad’. (True, there is a fine shade of difference, but it doesn’t really play a role in this writer’s purpose.) So, when you encounter such a series, you are looking for a word that ADDS information to the idea, not one that repeats information already given.</p>

7

<p>Primarily, “penetrating” means “sharp” (like a noise that sends a chill down your spine). In this case, though, “penetrating” means “sharp in perception.” The eyes perceive her critically and intensely. It means “acute”; an acute observer is one with a great sense of perception. So the answer choice “penetrating” is just right.</p>

<p>“melancholy” doesn’t mean “depressing” in this case; it means “causing depression” or “saddening.” The eyes are saddening, accusing, and penetrating. The keen, highly perceptive (penetrating) eyes seem to accuse her of something and make her feel guilty and depressed (they were melancholy). “forlorn” chiefly means something like “sad and lonely,” not “causing sadness” or anything like that–so it doesn’t work.</p>

<p>Get in the habit of looking up words you don’t know in the dictionary when you’re reading or studying for the test. It really helps you learn.

I’m confused about this one. Sounds like she is pretty shocked to me. I would’ve put E, retaliation, because although she “dogged” (followed) him persistently, asking for answers, she did not retaliate in that she did not necessarily harm him intently for revenge (which is the implication of “retaliation,” at least in the context of its primary definition).

The question is asking what the lines suggest. The fact that she wants answers from him suggests that she is trying to reject the belief of the break-up. Eventually it’ll settle in, over time, and she’ll get over it, but at that moment she is trying to get some “proof” to make her believe, so to speak.</p>

<p>Like I said before I’m not sure how those lines do not suggest that she was shocked, i.e., surprised (Who would break up with their girlfriend after 7 years of dating with no explanation?)</p>

<p>What book are these questions from?</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Are you sure the answer’s A? Choice E seems much more likely to be correct.</p>

9

<p>It was a QAS and I mistyped. It was E. :\ Sorry!</p>