Module I: Reading and Writing

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The “uncanny valley” is the name for a phenomenon that is prominent in science fiction films and that is often ______ for spectators: the surreal appearance of partially but not completely human-like figures, such as zombies and humanoid extraterrestrials, causes viewers to react with emotions ranging from nervous laughter to outright revulsion.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
1
Mark for Review
unsettling
confusing
liberating
enjoyable
The following text is from James Fenimore Cooper’s 1824 novel The Pilot
The cliffs threw their dark shadows wide on the waters, and the gloom of the evening had so far advanced as to conceal the discontent that brooded over the ordinarily open brow of Barnstable as he sprang from the rocks into the boat, and took his seat by the side of the silent pilot. “Shove off,” cried the lieutenant, in tones that his men knew must be obeyed.
As used in the text, what does the word “conceal” most nearly mean?
2
Mark for Review
Obscure
Secure
Resituate
Bury
The following text is from Angelina Weld Grimké’s 1916 text Rachel: A Play in Three Acts
RACHEL: It’s quite a climb up to our flat, don’t you think?
STRONG: Why, no! It didn’t strike me so. I’m not old enough yet to mind stairs.
As used in the text, what does the word “strike” most nearly mean?
3
Mark for Review
Impress
Assail
Spurn
Propel
Originating from the Kamakura period of 1192 to 1333 CE, the Japanese tea ceremony serves as a ______ the bustle of daily life; the traditional space of the ceremony, a detached wooden house known as a chashitsu, facilitates calm appreciation for the refreshments and serving wares central to Japanese practice.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
4
Mark for Review
symbol of
compromise with
retreat from
surrender to
The following text is from Sinclair Lewis’s 1917 novel The Job
Una, the initiate New Yorker, continued her study of city ways and city currents during her lunch-hours. She went down to Broad Street to see the curb market; marveled at the men with telephones in little coops behind opened windows; stared at the great newspaper offices on Park Row, the old City Hall, the mingling on lower Broadway of sky-challenging buildings with the history of the pre-Revolutionary days.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
5
Mark for Review
It situates a character in a scene that interests her mainly from a historical perspective.
It indicates the emotional distance between a character and the people around her.
It defines a character and her surroundings in anticipation of the descriptions that follow.
It emphasizes the sociable yet thoughtful personality of a single character.
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