Need help with this passage question set.

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>For the past few hours, I’ve been toiling away at this impossible passage’s question set. If anyone can help, I will be forever grateful. Look at it this way - it’s great practice for you too! :)</p>

<p>“And, if I hold the true anatomy of myself, I am delineated and naturally framed to such a piece of virtue,–for I am of a constitution so general that it consorts and sympathizes with all things; I have no antipathy, or rather idiosyncrasy, in diet, humor, air, anything…I am no plant that will not prosper out of a garden. All places, all airs, make unto me one country; I am in England everywhere, and under any meridian. I have been shipwrecked, yet am not enemy with the sea or winds; I can study, play, or sleep, in a tempest. In brief I am averse from nothing: my conscience would give me the lie if I should say I absolutely detest or hate any essence, but the devil; or so at least abhor anything, but that we might come to composition. If there be any among those common objects of hatred I do contemn and laugh at, it is that great enemy of reason, virtue, and religion, the multitude; that numerous piece of monstrosity, which, taken asunder, seem men, and the reasonable creatures of God, but, confused together, make but one great beast, and a monstrosity more prodigious than Hydra. It is no breach of his good parts. Though the corruption of these times, and the bias of present practice, wheel another way, thus it was in the first and primitive commonwealths, and is yet in the integrity and cradle of well ordered polities: till corruption getteth ground, ruder desires laboring after that which wiser considerations contemn, everyone having a liberty to amass and heap up riches, and they a license or faculty to do or purchase anything.”</p>

<li><p>The speaker in this passage presents:
A. an objective self-portrait
B. a view of himself as modest and gregarious
C. a view of himself as one of the common herd
D. a view of himself as a biological creature
E. a view of himself as unique and different from the masses</p></li>
<li><p>By the expression “delineated and naturally framed” (line 1), the speaker means that he:
A. was created by God
B. inherited his personality from his ancestors
C. is a product of evolution
D. was designed and formed by nature
E. owes what he is to no one</p></li>
<li><p>When the speaker states “I am no plant” (line 4), he is using:
A. a simile
B. a paradox
C. a symbol
D. an analogy
E. a metaphor</p></li>
<li><p>In this passage, the speaker initially presents many of his virtues:
A. by bold and positive assertions
B. by the use of examples
C. with humility
D. by means of negative statements
E. with humor and self-deprecation</p></li>
<li><p>In this passage, the speaker sees himself as:
A. a lover of nature
B. an agnostic
C. a lover of man but not of men
D. a captain of the souls of men
E. a model to be emulated</p></li>
<li><p>The reader may conclude from this passage that the speaker is:
A. a person with low self-esteem
B. an egoist
C. a man of eminence
D. a man of great piety
E. a man who has suffered greatly</p></li>
<li><p>In this passage, the speaker claims that all of the following represent the kind of person he is NOT, EXCEPT:
A. one who can readily come to agreement on issues
B. one who fusses about the food served him
C. one who is ready to forgive those who tolerate evil
D. one who is at home nowhere
E. one who is dyspeptic and rancorous</p></li>
<li><p>In the speaker’s view, man is fundamentally:
A. savage and evil
B. proud, pompous, and egotistical
C. lacking in reason
D. gullible and superstitious
E. noble and virtuous</p></li>
<li><p>The speaker supports his contention that he is “averse from nothing” (line 8) by citing all of the following examples EXCEPT:
A. he is not a particularly fussy eater
B. he adapts to strange circumstances
C. he accepts the ravages of time and nature
D. he is calm even in the face of adversity
E. he is tolerant of foolish people</p></li>
<li><p>In this passage, the speaker reveals himself to be all of the following EXCEPT:
A. a deeply religious man
B. a leader of men
C. a critic of social evils
D. a scholarly man
E. a man who has traveled to many places</p></li>
<li><p>The allusion to Hydra (line 16) is introduced by the speaker to dramatize the tendencies in men of his time to engage in all of the following EXCEPT:
A. enterprises to acquire wealth
B. exploitation of the weak and poor
C. corruption of official
D. sexual freedom
E. attendance at church services</p></li>
<li><p>The speaker sees himself as being able to function and to maintain his peace in all of the following except:
A. law courts
B. storms at sea
C. public demonstrations
D. slums
E. crowded streets</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks all! :)</p>

2

<p>wait do you have the answers and will give them later?</p>

3

<p>I'll post the answers on the 4th so that everyone can have time to do them. I personally haven't looked at the answers yet, but I'd like to see the reasoning behind other people's answer choices since the book doesn't provide explanations.</p>

4

<p>the 4th? I can't wait that long... lol sorry</p>

5

<p>Fine, fine, I'll post them tomorrow, lol! Just post what you think is right and (would be helpful) why. :)</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

6

<p>holy (<em>expletive</em>), where did you find this?! Really hope something like this does not show up when i take the SAT's! </p>

<p>idk (majorly!) but...</p>

<ol>
<li>A (possibly B)</li>
<li>D</li>
<li>E (possibly C or D)</li>
<li>A (unsure)</li>
<li>C</li>
<li>D (possibly C)</li>
<li>A</li>
<li>E</li>
<li>E</li>
<li>B</li>
<li>E (?)</li>
<li>A (idk, just kinda seemed right)</li>
</ol>

<p>I'll tell ya why after i see the answers cuz i don't wanna lead you down a wrong path with my bad reasoning. this passage just went completely over my head when i read it.</p>

7

<p>I started to answer some of these questions, but let me say one thing. This passage seems unnecessarily difficult and uncharacteristic of actual College Board material. Sure, College Board may give you dense material to read through, but I think it's safe to say that this passage is ridiculous. To me, it seems like there is some overzealous tutor or editor out there ratcheting up the difficulty in order to prove that he's a smarty-pants or to induce paranoia. But that's just my opinion.</p>

<p>1 (C) a view of himself as one of the common herd</p>

<p>"I am of a constitution so general that it consorts and sympathizes with all things" "All places, all airs, make unto me one country; I am in England everywhere" No matter where he is, the author considers himself part of a larger 'something', whether it be "all things" or "England".</p>

<p>2 (B) I'll admit I cheated a little bit here. I went and looked up the passage on google. It actually starts off like this:
Now for that other virtue of charity without which faith is a mere notion and of no existence **I have ever endeavoured to the merciful disposition and humane inclination I borrowed from my parents* and written and laws of charity:* And, if I hold the true anatomy of myself, I am delineated and naturally framed to such a piece of virtue..."</p>

<p>Based on the additional information it seems like the author based his personality off of his parents, but I can't say for sure.</p>

<p>3 (E) a metaphor</p>

<p>"I am no plant that will not prosper out of a garden." = I am a plant that will prosper anywhere. The author compares himself to a plant. This is a metaphor.</p>

<p>4 (A) by bold and positive assertions</p>

<p>Use process of elimination.</p>

<p>B. by the use of examples - Although the author says "I have been shipwrecked yet am not enemy with the sea..." he does not literally mean that he has been shipwrecked. The rest of the passage doesn't give any examples as to why he is what he says he is.
C. with humility - The author makes plenty of absolute statements, none of which are self-critical. "I am averse from nothing" "I am no plant that will not prosper out of a garden." etc.
D. by means of negative statements - Again, the author describes himself with absolute, confident words.
E. with humor and self-deprecation - While these days it might be funny to hear someone speak like the author writes, there's nothing obviously or even subtly funny in the passage. The author is seriously a true-believer - of himself.</p>

8

<p>I've seen this mentioned on this board before, but stick to official College Board material. That's probably all you need. I think students who seek material that is more "difficult" (read: poorly edited and composed and purposely tricky) are going to do nothing more than psyche themselves out of a good score. Don't try to outsmart the SAT.</p>

<p>College Board material is generally quite clear and at a minimum publishes a consistent style of questions and answer choices. The passage and questions that the original poster submitted are off the mark.</p>

<p>As for the original poster's statement that, "For the past few hours, I've been toiling away at this impossible passage's question set", it should never take hours to go through a reading passage. It should take 7-10 minutes max per passage. I'd advise students not to waste time on this type of material.</p>

9

<p>Phew, I knew there was a reason why this was so impossible. I was freaking out, but now I'll just ask my tutor to provide easier, more accurate problem sets. I'll post the answers tonight if there's anyone else who wants to take a stab at it.</p>

10

<p>im working on two passages, this one and the next one (from THE PUPIL). Since you have the book, could you also post the answers from the next one, i really need help with it. thanks =)</p>

11

<p>John Shea, I explicitly stated not to consult any other sources for this assignment. Talk to me on Thursday.</p>

12

<p>can any of u all post some actual passages and the question sets that have appeared so we can get an idea what to look for?</p>

13

<p>Godfather's answers (in which he did not look up any words he didn't know):</p>

<ol>
<li>B</li>
<li>D</li>
<li>C</li>
<li>C</li>
<li>E</li>
<li>A</li>
<li>B</li>
<li>C (first answer I'm actually half-confident about, lol)</li>
<li>A</li>
<li>B</li>
<li>D</li>
<li>E</li>
</ol>

<p>It seems like whoever wrote this went out of their way to make it as roundabout as grammatically possible. In the one hand, it's kind of interesting. On the other hand, if I see anything resembling this on my SAT I'm going to slit my wrists :D</p>

<p>LMAO. Every single one of D-Yu and my answers differ excepting that for #10. Even if we were just guessing, chances are we should have at least had 2 or 3 in common, lol</p>

14

<p>Our #2's match as well. (not to mention some of my possibles match w/ your answers) I would not be inclined to the slit my wrists solution tho'. that's a little overkill. i would rather just whack my head repeatedly on the desk lol. :)</p>

15

<p>Head bang is good, but wrist cutting is damn irresistible. </p>

<p>Where are the answers???</p>

16

<p>Hey! You can't just leave this thread hanging! Where are the answers????????</p>