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Practice Test, Chs. 6-7
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Part I. Language



1The annual convention of the American Hair Loss Council met at the San Francisco Hyatt Regency Hotel recently. The word "toupee" is the traditional word for artificial hair pieces that cover bald spots; however, the Council decided to adopt a new term, "hair system," to avoid jokes about toupees. The term "hair system" is an example of
A)a sneer word.
B)a euphemism.
C)figurative language.
D)a phrase with a negative connotation.
E)doublespeak.


2In 1996 it was reported that former Agricultural Secretary Mike Espy had made 135 trips since taking office, and the independent prosecutor investigating his travels is focusing on whether Espy illegally accepted transportation, lodging, and sports tickets from such interests as Tyson Foods, the country's largest poultry producer. Espy denied violating any laws or ethics rules, but he then went on to say, "I may have been inattentive to the appearance of impropriety." This statement is an example of
A)clichés.
B)doublespeak.
C)sneer words.
D)politically-correct language.


3The Pentagon, which oversees the U.S. military, has defined a hammer as "a manually powered fastener-driving impact device." This definition is an example of
A)military jargon and doublespeak.
B)a cliché.
C)sneer words.
D)a figure of speech and politically-correct language.


4In 1997, the National Federation of the Blind demanded that Walt Disney Company stop production of a film starring Leslie Nielsen. The film revived the 1950's cartoon character, Mr. Magoo, whose bad eyesight caused him to stumble around and bump around into objects. Bowing to pressure from the federation (the corporation feared that it might offend blind people) Disney finally announced that the new Mr. Magoo would not be blind, but rather "visually limited." This change in focus is an example of
A)movie industry jargon.
B)political correctness.
C)doublespeak.
D)a cliché.


5American businesses now routinely refer to everything from software upgrades to a new way of filling out expense reports as "paradigm shifts." This phrase is an example of
A)politically-correct language.
B)business jargon.
C)a figure of speech.
D)a phrase with negative connotations.
Part II. Figurative Language
Analyze the figures of speech in these short passages by answering the questions that follow.



6At every pass up and down the length of the Cascades [a mountain range in Oregon], on every ridge where the pines stand up like the bristles of a toothbrush, is a border. . . . (Sallie Tisdale, "The Pacific Northwest")

Locate the figure of speech in the passage:

are compared to


7Is this figure of speech a metaphor, simile, or personification?


8Looking back upon millennia of history, it appears clear that no race or culture has a monopoly on wartime cruelty. The veneer of civilization seems to be exceedingly thin-one that can be easily stripped away, especially by the stresses of war. (Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanking)

Locate the figure of speech in the passage:

is compared to


9Is this figure of speech a metaphor, simile, or personification?


10Explain the meaning of the figure of speech in your own words.


11[The author is describing central Beirut, scene of some of the heaviest fighting in Lebanon between the Christians and the Muslims from 1975-1980. Central Beirut has still not been rebuilt.]

. . . I was fascinated by the hole in the middle of Beirut. The pulsing central district, once filled with sculpted Ottoman facades and palm-fringed squares, has become an Everest of rubble. This was a no-man-land and scene of some of the heaviest fighting. Bullet holes mark each surface like acne. (Geoffrey Barraclough, The London Observer)

When the writer compares the rubble in the central district to "Everest," what is this metaphor intended to emphasize?


12Now locate the other figure of speech:

are compared to


13Is this figure of speech a metaphor, simile, or personification?


14Explain the meaning of the figure of speech in your own words.


15. . . so few lies are solitary ones. It is easy, a wit observed, to tell a lie, but hard to tell only one. The first lie "must be thatched with another or it will rain through." More and more lies may come to be needed; the liar always has more mending to do. And the strains on him become greater each time--many have noted that it takes an excellent memory to keep one's untruths in good repair and disentangled. The sheer energy the liar has to devote to shoring them up is energy the honest man can dispose of freely. (Sissela Bok, Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life)

In this particular metaphor, the figure of speech is not stated; one must infer it.

What, specifically, does Bok compare a lie to?


16Explain the meaning of the figure of speech in your own words.
Part III. Passages for Analysis



17My friend and I, two women obviously engrossed in conversation, are sitting at a corner table in the crowded Oak Room of the Plaza [a hotel in New York City] at ten o'clock on a Tuesday night. A man materializes and interrupts us with the snappy opening line, "A good woman is hard to find."

We say nothing, hoping he will disappear back into his bottle. But he fancies himself as our genie and asks, "Are you visiting?" Still we say nothing. Finally my friend looks up and says, "We live here." She and I look at each other, the thread of our conversation snapped, our thoughts focused on how to get rid of this intruder. In a minute, if something isn't done, he will scrunch down next to me on the banquette and start offering to buy us drinks.

"Would you leave us alone, please," I say in a loud but reasonably polite voice. He looks slightly offended but goes on with his bright social patter. I become more explicit. "We don't want to talk to you, we didn't ask you over here, and we want to be alone. Go away." This time he directs his full attention to me--and he is mad. "All right, all right, excuse me." He pushes up the corners of his mouth in a Howdy Doody smile. "You ought to try smiling. You might even be pretty if you smiled once in a while."

At last the man leaves. He goes back to his buddy at the bar. I watch them out of the corner of my eye, and he gestures angrily at me for at least fifteen minutes. When he passes our table on the way out of the room, this well-dressed, obviously affluent man mutters, "Good-bye, bitch," under his breath.

Why is this man calling me names? Because I have asserted my right to sit at a table in a public place without being drawn into a sexual flirtation. Because he has been told, in no uncertain terms, that two attractive women prefer each other's company to his.

--Susan Jacoby, "Unfair Game," The New York Times

The main idea of this passage is that
A)women should have the right to sit in a public place without being "hit on" by unwanted intruders.
B)women should learn to be more assertive in getting rid of unwanted flirts.
C)meeting potential dates is difficult in large cities like New York.
D)meeting strangers without a proper introduction can be risky.


18At the end of paragraph 1, the author characterizes the intruder's opening line, "A good woman is hard to find," as "snappy." Her choice of this adjective to describe his line suggests a tone of
A)honesty and candor.
B)praise and admiration.
C)irony and sarcasm.
D)hostility and criticism.


19We can accurately infer that
A)the man was so drunk that he didn't know what he was doing.
B)the hotel has a policy of not allowing unaccompanied women to sit in the bar.
C)the women did not want to talk to the intruder because they were married.
D)the intruder insulted the writer because his advances had been rebuffed.


20When the man says "excuse me" before he leaves (paragraph 3), we are meant to hear in his voice a tone of
A)embarrassment.
B)sarcasm.
C)light-hearted wit.
D)modesty.
E)genuine apology.


21Throughout the passage, the author's attitude toward the intruder can best be described as
A)amused, pleasantly diverted.
B)resentful, angry.
C)slightly irritated and annoyed.
D)flirtatious, coy.
Part IV. Analyzing Tone



22[This passage is an excerpt from an article written by an astronomer, who is addressing his remarks to other scientists. The title of the article from which it comes is "The Principles of Good Writing."]

Write hurriedly, preferably when tired. Have no plans; write down items as they occur to you. The article will thus be spontaneous and poor. Hand in your manuscript the moment it is finished. Rereading a few days later might lead to revision--which seldom, if ever, makes the writing worse. If you submit your manuscript to colleagues (a bad practice), pay no attention to their criticisms or comments. Later resist any editorial suggestions. Be strong and infallible; don't let anyone break down your personality. The critic may be trying to help you or he may have an ulterior motive, but the chance of his causing improvement in your writing is so great that you must be on guard.

Consider the title of this paragraph, "The Principles of Good Writing." Based on that title and the writer's content, his tone can best be described as
A)hostile and arrogant.
B)sympathetic and compassionate.
C)humorously ironic.
D)sarcastic, bitter, and caustic.





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