Read the Following Passage Carefully Before You Choose

Practice Section: Literary and Language Analysis

Directions: Read the following passage carefully before you choose

your answers.

Up on the corner lived a drunk of legend, a true phenomenon,

who could surely have qualified as the king of all the world’s winos.

He was neither poetic like the others nor ambitious like the singer

(to whom we’ll presently come) but his drinking bouts were truly

awe-inspiring and he was not without his sensitivity. In the throes

of his passion he would shout to the whole wide world one concise

command, “Shut up!’’ Which was disconcerting enough to all who

heard (except, perhaps, the singer), but such were the labyrinthine

acoustics of courtyards and areaways that he seemed to

direct his command at me. The writer’s block which this produced

is indescribable. On one heroic occasion he yelled his obsessive

command without one interruption longer than necessary to take

another drink (and with no appreciable loss of volume, penetration

or authority) for three long summer days and nights, and

shortly afterwards he died. Just how many lines of agitated prose

he cost me I’ll never know, but in all that chaos of sound I sympathized

with his obsession, for I, too, hungered and thirsted for

quiet. Nor did he inspire me to a painful identification, and for

that I was thankful. Identification, after all, involves feelings of

guilt and responsibility, and, since I could hardly hear my own

typewriter keys, I felt in no way accountable for his condition. We

were simply fellow victims of the madding crowd. May he rest in

peace.

No, these more involved feelings were aroused by a more intimate

source of noise, one that got beneath the skin and worked

into the very structure of one’s consciousness—like the “fate’’

motif in Beethoven’s Fifth or the knocking-at-the-gates scene in

Macbeth. For at the top of our pyramid of noise there was a singer

who lived directly above us; you might say we had a singer on our

ceiling.

Now, I had learned from the jazz musicians I had known as a

boy in Oklahoma City something of the discipline and devotion to

his art required of the artist. Hence I knew something of what the

singer faced. These jazzmen, many of them now world-famous,

lived for and with music intensely. Their driving motivation was

neither money nor fame, but the will to achieve the most eloquent

expression of idea-emotions through the technical mastery of

their instruments (which, incidentally, some of them wore as a

priest wears the cross) and the give and take, the subtle rhythmical

shaping and blending of idea, tone, and imagination demanded

of group improvisation. The delicate balance struck between

strong individual personality and the group during those

early jam sessions was a marvel of social organization. I had

learned too that the end of all this discipline and technical mastery

was the desire to express an affirmative way of life through

its musical tradition and that this tradition insisted that each

artist achieve his creativity within its frame. He must learn the

best of the past, and add to his personal vision. Life could be harsh,

loud, and wrong if it wished, but they lived it fully, and when they

expressed their attitude toward the world it was with a fluid style

that reduced the chaos of living to form.

The objectives of these jazzmen were not at all those of the

singer on our ceiling, but, though a purist committed to the mastery

of the bel canto style, German lieder, modern French art

songs, and a few American slave songs sung as if bel canto, she

was intensely devoted to her art. From morning to night she

vocalized, regardless of the condition of her voice, the weather,

or my screaming nerves. There were times when her notes, sifting

through her floor and my ceiling, bouncing down the walls and

ricocheting off the building in the rear, whistled like tenpenny

nails, buzzed like a saw, wheezed like the asthma of Hercules,

trumpeted like an enraged African elephant—and the squeaky

pedal of her piano rested plumb center above my typing chair.

After a year of non-cooperation from the neighbor on my left I

became desperate enough to cool down the hot blast of his phonograph

by calling the cops, but the singer presented a serious

ethical problem: Could I, an aspiring artist, complain against the

hard work and devotion to craft of another aspiring artist?

1. The speaker in the passage can best be described as a person who

(A) is committed to developing his skills as a writer

(B) is actually more interested in being a musician than in being a writer

(D) is motivated very differently from the jazz musicians that he describes

(E) aspires to greatness but knows that he will never achieve it

2. In context, the word “intimate’’ (lines 24-25) is best interpreted to mean

(A) suggestive and lyrical

(B) tender and friendly

(D) sensual and charming

(E) strongly private

3. The speaker’s attitude toward the jazz musicians is best described as one of

(A) idolatrous devotion

(B) profound admiration

(D) partial enthusiasm

(E) reasoned objectivity

4. In the sentence beginning “There were times’’ (lines 58-63), the speaker employs all of the following EXCEPT

(A) concrete diction

(B) parallel syntax (sentence structure)

(D) understatement

(E) words that approximate sounds in real life

Practice Section: Rhetorical Analysis

Persuasive Appeals – ethos, logos, pathos

Rhetorical Techniques – expert opinion, allusion, facts & statistics, personal experience, rhetorical question, parallel structure, repetition, figurative language

Directions: As you read the article, highlight and label examples of persuasive appeals and rhetorical techniques.

The case against the Montgomery curfew

By Alan Xie, The Washington Post (July23, 2011)

How strongly have Montgomery residents objected to the curfew being pushed by county officials and police?

Within a week of the proposal, an anti-curfew Facebook campaign that I helped organize with three other teenagers had attracted the support of more than 5,000 residents, parents and public officials. That’s an achievement that would make an established organizer green with envy.

We object to the basic idea of a curfew on several levels and believe that regardless of the language proposed, a curfew will ultimately cause irreparable damage to police-community relations. Ironically, though we are portrayed as a group of frustrated teenagers, we seem to have a far more comprehensive understanding of the likely impact of this curfew than do many of its supporters.

First of all, the curfew lacks an exemption regarding “a place of public entertainment, such as a movie, play or sporting event” — language that neighboring Prince George’s County, cited as an inspiration for the plan, has in its law. We also have raised concerns about the loss of revenue for many local businesses. One obvious example: Much of the revenue earned by local businesses and restaurants from late-night moviegoers during last week’s “Harry Potter” premiere would have been lost under a curfew. Obviously, by preventing teens from attending such events without parental supervision, a curfew discourages their patronage.

Much more problematic is the fact that curfews fail to address the causes of juvenile delinquency. Most juvenile crimes occur in the late afternoon, and studies tracked by the National Youth Rights Association suggest that no statistically significant correlation exists between increased curfew enforcement and decreased juvenile crime…Just one day after the curfew was proposed, County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger reported a 4.6 percent decrease in crime during the first quarter of 2011, including a 3.6 percent decrease in Part II Crimes, a category that includes juvenile offenses.

Finally, there is the basic issue of fairness. It is disconcerting that Montgomery County feels the need to criminalize an entire demographic based on the actions of a minority of that demographic. On top of that, a curfew raises inevitable concerns about age and racial profiling. Chief Manger has said that “we are fortunate to live in a community where the residents trust the police department.” Yet isn’t it likely that this law would only foster deep distrust in teenagers toward the police and government?

The writer is the student member of the Montgomery County Board of Education.

1. What is the dominant persuasive appeal in this article?

2. Describe the author’s most effective use of a rhetorical technique.

Vocabulary Chapters 1-8 (chapter 6 omitted)

In the space provided, write the letter of the choice that is closest in meaning to the boldfaced word.

____ 1. acclaim a) great approval b) sadness c) disagreement d) false name

____ 2. antagonist a) relative b) opponent c) boss d) friend

____ 3. elicit a) approve b) draw forth c) praise d) disprove

____ 4. allusion a) short story b) indirect reference c) improvement d) physical weakness

____ 5. adjacent a) under b) above c) next to d) within

____ 6. absolve a) reject b) approve c) clear from guilt d) make guilty

____ 7. methodical a) careless b) systematic c) immoral d) religious

____ 8. zeal a) enthusiastic devotion b) injustice c) laziness d) hatred

____ 9. dilemma a) picture b) difficult choice c) error d) tendency

____ 10. arbitrary a) unreasonable b) believable c) demanding d) wordy

____ 11. obsolete a) out-of-date b) not sold c) difficult to believe d) current

____ 12. euphemism a) substitute for offensive term b) title c) false appearance d) degree

____ 13. terminate a) stop b) begin c) approach d) continue

____ 14. amiable a) good-natured b) stingy c) proud d) rude

____ 15. eccentric a) common b) active c) odd d) calm

____ 16. succinct a) brief and clear b) not fair c) impressed d) prepared

____ 17. curt a) talkative b) rudely brief c) friendly d) ignorant

____ 18. assail a) travel b) confuse c) defend d) attack

____ 19. banal a) secret b) commonplace c) true d) humid

____ 20. infirmity a) physical weakness b) small city c) relationship d) hospital

____ 21. wary a) tired b) unfriendly c) cautious d) kind

____ 22. exploit a) throw away b) sell overseas c) take advantage of d) save

____ 23. inequity a) bigger portion b) boring job c) small party d) injustice

____ 24. revitalize a) get an idea b) feel weak c) renew strength d) break in on

____ 25. deterrent a) prevention b) memory c) blame d) ending

____ 26. amoral a) generous b) without principles c) honest d) poor

____ 27. implication a) statement b) rule c) something hinted at d) word

____ 28. subsequent a) before b) above c) following d) beneath

____ 29. epitome a) horrible sight b) large hole c) tallest point d) perfect example

____ 30. sabotage a) deliberately damage b) follow c) hide from d) aid

____ 31. infringe a) intrude b) impress c) add to d) encourage

____ 32. malign a) praise b) depend on c) boast d) speak evil of

____ 33. innovation a) test b) exercise c) something new d) application

____ 34. taint a) dishonor b) boast c) annoy d) surprise

____ 35. engross a) destroy b) hold the attention of c) disgust d) impress

____ 36. demoralize a) lecture b) encourage c) set a bad example for d) lower the spirits of

____ 37. subjective a) impressive b) based on personal feelings c) distantly related d) cruel

____ 38. retort a) reply b) approve c) argue d) question

____ 39. animosity a) shyness b) ill will c) approval d) fear

____ 40. syndrome a) something required b) thought c) attitude d) group of symptoms

____ 41. irate a) proud b) very friendly c) silly d) very angry

____ 42. tangible a) touchable b) orderly c) hidden d) more than normal

____ 43. appease a) tell the truth b) approve c) attack d) make calm

____ 44. altruistic a) lying b) unselfish c) proud d) honest

____ 45. encounter a) total b) attack c) departure d) meeting

____ 46. escalate a) include b) lessen c) intensify d) remove

____ 47. mercenary a) calm b) mean c) greedy d) clean

____ 48. adamant a) stubborn b) flexible c) weak d) realistic

____ 49. sparse a) gentle b) threatening c) plentiful d) spread thinly

____ 50. inclination a) favor b) increase c) lack d) tendency

____ 51. fluctuate a) stand still b) vary irregularly c) float d) sink

____ 52. rehabilitate a) restore to normal life b) relax c) plan in meetings d) interpret

____ 53. flagrant a) gentle b) hidden c) slight d) outrageous

____ 54. calamity a) disaster b) storm c) conference d) breeze

____ 55. persevere a) treat harshly b) mark c) continue d) delay

____ 56. comprehensive a) accidental b) including much c) delicate d) small

____ 57. venture a) turn aside b) urge c) risk d) misrepresent

____ 58. ponder a) think deeply about b) allow c) reduce d) flatten

____ 59. turmoil a) workplace b) quiet setting c) fire d) uproar

____ 60. conventional a) large b) at a conference c) outstanding d) ordinary

____ 61. enhance a) reject b) get c) improve d) free

____ 62. mobile a) firm in opinion b) able to move c) stationary d) restricted

____ 63. orient a) determine the location of b) lose c) represent d) consist of

____ 64. attribute a) admiration b) program c) disease d) quality

____ 65. enigma a) rash b) puzzle c) tool d) cleanser

____ 66. discern a) see clearly b) devise c) rule out d) consider

____ 67. dispatch a) recall b) remove c) send d) plant

____ 68. exemplify a) construct b) represent c) plan d) test

____ 69. nocturnal a) supposed b) not logical c) complex d) active at night

____ 70. attest a) bear witness b) examine c) tear up d) dislike