<p>Just past Delia in the press of bodies, a high schooler -- though from the look of her, high school is a vanished dream --- spins around, flashing, to catch the eye of anyone who'll look at her, a look of delivery that has waited lifetimes.</p>
<ol>
<li>the behavior of the "high schooler" mentioned in lines 41 - 42 expresses</li>
</ol>
<p>A. Unrestrained Aggression
B. Cheerful Perplexity
C. Exuberant Celebration
D. Serene Contentment
E. Patient Resignation</p>
<p>The crowd condenses. It's standing room only, flowing the length of the reflecting pool and down West Potomac park. The floor of this church is grass. The columns of this nave are budding trees. The vault above, an Easter sky. The deeper Delia wades in toward the speck of grand piano, the stick pin corsage of microphones where her idol will stand, the thicker this celebration. The press of massed desire lifts and deposits her, helpless, a hundred yards upstream, facing the Tidal Basin.</p>
<p>The images of flowing water in lines 62 - 70 primarily portray the crowd as </p>
<p>A. an indefinable feature of the landscape
B. A temporary, passing presence
C. A frightening intrusion into a city
D. A boundary between the present and the future
E. A relentless force of nature</p>
<p>Please post answer and reasoning.</p>
<p>Looking through QAS tests, are you now?</p>
<p>The answers are (C) and (E), respectively.</p>
<p>In #18, the high schooler is described as looking for attention and as being eager to get it—the choice that most closely fits is “exuberant celebration”—in context of the passage, this works very well since it is a racially integrated gathering. </p>
<p>In the second question, the crowd is described as a force of nature (mainly a river): phrases such as “flowing the length of the reflecting pool” and “lifts and deposits her…a hundred yards upstream” help portray the crowd as a river—so choice (E).</p>
<p>Ooohhh I kinda get the second question now, is it that the crowd is metaphorically described as a river and that Delia is moving through them so essentially she is being carried by them? But how come we assume that its incessant/relentless, doesn’t the crowd stop eventually? so how come the answer can’t be B?</p>
<p>For the first question, how come it can’t be A? reason I would pick this is because that she is looking for someone to meet eyes with so I would think that’s some sort of open aggression? Please elaborate on both answers please!!!</p>
<p>And yes, looking at the QAS before I take December :)</p>
<p>Aggression is a strong negative word—she’s not aggressive, she’s eager and excited to be out in the open and seen. In the context of the whole passage, which describes a really celebratory and great event, this high school girl is soaking it in and is really excited by it. It’s definitely “exuberant celebration.” Not saying this is the way I would have phrased it, but it’s by far the best answer.</p>
<p>You are being too exacting about the river question. The crowd is described as somewhat sentient and omnipotent (these are good SAT words!). The passage is describing the crowd as a river, and words such as “helpless” suggest that Delia is powerless against the force of the crowd. Thus, relentless is a fair way to describe the crowds power.</p>
<p>You ask why the answer can’t be (B). There are 2 reasons. (1) The passage never says it’s temporary—logically any crowd must be temporary, but the crowd’s transience isn’t what the passage is interested in. (2) Presence is too weak of a word. The crowd is more than just a presence: it is being described as a powerful force pushing Delia along. The best answer is clearly (E).</p>
<p>You have to try to read for the big picture and appreciate context! That’s the key to the CR section!</p>