Tamanna Shahid 03/02/11

Period 4 AP English Literature HW

Sample Examination II (12/32 wrong)

2. My answer: (a) totally obscured by vegetation

Correct answer: (b) accidentally preserved by nature

Explanation: I eliminated choices, (c), (d), and (e). Out of the two remaining answers, I was leaning

towards (b). I understood that the site was preserved by nature, but I didn’t understand why it was

“accidental.” However, now that I look at the answer I chose, it wouldn’t make sense; if the site was

“totally” obscured by vegetation, it would be hard, if not impossible, to find it, much less suddenly

stumbling upon it. An accidental preservation would make sense; the site would be recognizable later

on since it was preserved, and the speaker does recognize it.

4. My answer: (a) the clothing of the deceased

Correct answer: (e) the location of the incident

Explanation: I didn’t read poem close enough after this question, so I didn’t find the speaker

mentioning articles of clothing such as a ripped hat and bloodied trousers. I assumed that location

would include everything (the overall setting), but location would refer to specific details about where

the site is. The location is not mentioned as much as the details, such as the clothing.

6. My answer: (e) trampled grass

Correct answer: (d) scorched coil

Explanation: I narrowed the answer choices to (d) and (e), but I didn’t know what the scorched coil

was referring to… a coil of what? However, upon closer reading, I found out that it referred to the

coil of rope. A coil of rope wouldn’t seem “unnatural” as it isn’t related to nature at all.

11. My answer: (b) II only

Correct answer: (e) I, II, and III

Explanation: I knew that II was one of the answers because the speaker’s “leap to the sky” was

definitely an attempt to escape, so I was left with choices (b), (c), and (e). I also accepted choice III,

but there wasn’t a choice that had only III. I didn’t understand how choice (I) was an interpretation

because I was confused by there being a “human holocaust.” Only the speaker was being tortured, so

how was it a holocaust? However, there is indeed a gruesome nature to the torture; and since others

seem to have suffered the same fate, it could be considered a holocaust.

12. My answer: (d) preservation to decay

Correct answer: (c) innocence to knowledge

Explanation: The answer would actually be (c), because the first time this phrase appears, the speaker

looks at the skull being illuminated by the “yellow surprise,” but doesn’t know what really happened

at the site. After the torture, the “yellow surprise” is knowledge because the speaker knows what

happened at the site, and the surprise refers to their own feelings of surprise, not the rays of the sun. It

wouldn’t be (d) because the rays do not refer to preservation, and the end does not show decay

because there already has been enough decay on the site.

13. My answer: (d) elevate the anonymous death to the level of martyrdom

Correct answer: (e) lend the scene greater historical credence

Explanation: I narrowed the choices down to (d) and (e), but I didn’t know what showed martyrdom

in the poem. For that reason, I chose (e), although I didn’t see what lent the scene greater historical

credence either. The martyrdom, however, is affected by the structure of the poem because it is

shown as the climax, whereas the structure doesn’t affect historical credence.

14. My answer: (c) I and II

Correct answer: (e) I, II, and III

Explanation: I was sure that I and II were possible interpretations, but I was reluctant to include III

because I didn’t understand how the site was a secret if the speaker was able to suddenly stumble

upon it (meaning someone else could have stumbled upon it also). However, there was still a

possibility that the site was well indeed, especially with nature “guarding” it, so III could be a

possible interpretation of the title.

15. My answer: (c) Lydgate’s inflated sense of self-importance

Correct answer: (b) Middlemarch’s traditionally conservative aspirations

Explanation: The answer wouldn’t be (c) because the rhetorical question doesn’t talk about Lydgate;

it talks about a surgeon, specifically a Middlemarch surgeon, indicating something about that broader

society as a whole rather than being focused on Lydgate. It wouldn’t be (a) because the quotation

marks around “discoverer” indicates the speaker is mocking these people, so it wouldn’t refer to

serious scientific inquiries.

16. My answer: (c) history

Correct answer: (d) astronomy

Explanation: I chose history because I was sure that Herschel was someone famous in history, but I

didn’t know if it was actually astronomy. However, later on, the speaker talks about Herschel’s

breaking “the barriers of the heavens,” hinting toward astronomy.

22. My answer: (e) it is normally accompanied by an insufferable vanity

Correct answer: (b) it is usually achieved in subtle and painstaking ways

Explanation: The answer wouldn’t be (e) because men and woman of genius are not always

accompanied with vanity. However, an astronomer and doctor both must overcome may obstacles to

gain their reputations, such as getting past society’s values, and they also must be subtle about it to

prevent conflicts that hinder their work.

27. My answer: (a) “alms for oblivion” (line 22)

Correct answer: (c) “entered tide” (line 15)

Explanation: I didn’t know what oblivion meant so I chose the answer I didn’t understand instead of

carefully looking at the other choices. Oblivion means total forgetfulness, and this would definitely

show the value of something having passed. The tide would not show this because the simile of the

tide only compared being caught up in the tide; the tide doesn’t compare to being forgotten.

29. My answer: (e) injury can deter progress

Correct answer: (a) past deeds can be forgotten

Explanation: I was focusing on similes such as the one about the gallant horse falling (which made

me consider the answer about injuries), but I didn’t read them close enough to notice that they were

comparing those experiences to past successes/other deeds being forgotten. For example, the simile

with the tide doesn’t have to do with injuries, but it does relate to past deeds being forgotten.