289. (E) Th e speaker conveys her anxiety by explaining that she was caught between a “succession of fl ights and drops,” “right and wrong” (1–2). She is full of doubts, yet also “certain” she “had made a mistake” (4). Th is “seesaw” (1) of emotion suggests she is full of anxiety over a decision she has made.
290. (A) Th e convenience refers to the “vehicle from the house” that would meet her (6). It is described as a “commodious fl y,” or a spacious carriage. Conveyance means a mode of transportation.
291. (C) Th e speaker describes how the “summer sweetness” of the June air was a “friendly welcome,” which dispelled her former feelings of anxiety and restored her mental and emo- tional strength.
292. (A) Polysyndeton—I—helps communicate the speaker’s excitement as she is so excited that she piles on details to her list with conjunctions (“open windows and fresh cur- tains and the pair of maids looking out” (13–14). Th e word “crunch” is onomatopoeic—
I—as it sounds like the action it describes. We can hear, through her language, what she hears. While there is an example of anaphora in these lines, there are no idioms—III. While there is imagery, there is no hyperbole—II.
293. (B) Th e fi rst paragraph implies that the speaker is not upper class herself because she explains that the descriptions of this grand home “had a greatness that made it a diff erent aff air from [her] own scant home” (17) and she says that the curtsy given her by the civil person at the door was as decent “as if [she] had been a mistress or a distinguished visitor” (18–19), suggesting that she is neither of those. Th e speaker cannot be male (C) because she uses the word “mistress” to refer to herself when describing how the civil person treated her. Th ere are no details to suggest that the speaker is precocious (knowledgeable beyond her years) (A), the overseer (D), or the proprietor (E).
294. (C) Th e “drop” echoes the drops mentioned in line 2 of the passage—the fl ights and drops that characterized the speaker’s emotional state as she set out on her journey. Th e drops referred to her hesitation, so in the second paragraph she explains that she did not have any more drops, or doubts, until the next day.
295. (C) What “remained” with the speaker in line 29 is the same thing that she says “astonished [her] too.” Th e subject, “this,” both astonished and remained with her, which adds to her sense of the “liberality” with which she was treated.
296. (A) “Th e only thing” (35–36) refers to why the speaker feels as if she would “shrink again” (36) or feel “uneasy” (41). Th is cause is explained to be Mrs. Grose’s “guard against showing” (39) how “glad” (38) she was to see her.
297. (D) Th e speaker explains that it is the “sense of liberality [generosity, munifi cence] with which [she] was treated” (29–30) that makes her so excited she cannot sleep. She goes on to list the things that she has been given: “Th e large, impressive room, one of the best in the house, the great state bed, as I almost felt it, the full, fi gured draperies, the long glasses . . .” (30–31).
298. (E) Th e style of the passage resembles the style of a memoir; the speaker recounts events that have happened to her in the past, events that have played an important role in shaping her. She does not describe events objectively; rather, she infuses the descriptions with her emotions and opinions. She also describes the events in terms of the eff ects they had on her mental and emotional states. (Th e passage is not excerpted from an actual memoir, however.)
Passage 5. Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt
299. (B) Babbitt “kept himself from the bewilderment of thinking” (1–2), suggesting that he performs his job without thought or eff ort, in a routine, perfunctory manner. He does the same thing “[e]very evening” (2), and since “the days were blank of face and silent” (3), we can assume that he goes through his routine without much enthusiasm.
301. (A) Th is sentence is set off in its own paragraph because it contains the essential point that will be reinforced in the next few paragraphs—Babbitt’s apathy toward creating his own experience outside of his monotonous routine. He is excited to be free for the evening, but “not quite sure what” (5) to do, which is reinforced later in the passage by his boredom over “having to take so much trouble to be riotous” (11), his vague (20) desire to look for entertainment that would “enable a fellow to forget his troubles” (28–29).
302. (B) Th e word “emancipated” suggests that the house has been set free. From the previous sentences, we can assume that the house is set free from the routine of work, wife and neighbors, bridge, the movies, and blank and silent days (1–3). In the previous sentence, Babbitt is described as “free to do . . .” (5), indicating that the “emancipation” is from prescribed routines.
303. (C) It is mentioned that the Babbitt household has a “maid” (18), indicating that Mrs. Babbitt has help keeping house. Th ere is no evidence to suggest she is a Bohemian (B). It is implied that she would not approve of Babbitt staying out late (D) (8–9). She is described as altruistic (A) (generous) in line 2. She is currently visiting family in the East (E) (4).
304. (C) Th e narrator adopts Babbitt’s point of view when describing Verona’s opinion. By repeating the word “opinion,” he is clearly mocking Verona’s fourth-hand knowledge of the topic she is discussing.
305. (E) Babbitt only “vaguely” wants something more diverting than comic strips to read (20), which suggests he is not tenacious (B), determined, or passionately eager about making the most of his evening. He appears to be more apathetic (lazy) about fi nding something to do.
306. (E) Babbitt and Verona clearly do not share the same interests. It is stated that Babbitt “liked none of the books” (25–26) that he fi nds in Verona’s room.
307. (D) Th is line is not written in quotation marks, nor is it prefaced with an indicator that it is one of Babbitt’s thoughts, yet the statement is written from Babbitt’s perspective, in Babbitt’s voice. Th e narrator’s voice and Babbitt’s voice have commingled, making the sentence an example of the technique of free indirect style, where the narrator adopts the voice and point of view of character(s) in his/her own narration.
308. (D) Th e statement “It would be an adventure story, maybe about counterfeiting— detectives sneaking up on the old house at night” (30–31) coincides with Babbitt’s “rest- less” (19) desire for some “diverting” (20)—II. “He kept himself from the bewilderment of thinking” by not looking for stories that make him think—I—which recalls lines 1–2; instead, he wants an author to help him “forget his troubles” (28–29)—III.
Passage 6. Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt
309. (D) Th e fi rst sentence is a loose sentence—I—in that the main idea is given in the fi rst clause and all subsequent words merely elaborate on the idea. It also contains the simile—II—“sturdy as cliff s.” Th e presence of conjunctions in the phrase “of steel and
310. (A) Th e tone of the fi rst paragraph is defi nitely wry (ironic, mocking). Th e speaker describes the towers of Zenith in almost holy words: they “aspire”; they are “austere” and “delicate as silver rods.” Yet the last sentence suggests a wry commentary on the holy empha- sis the city places on its offi ce buildings—these are not churches, only offi ce buildings.
311. (C) Th e second paragraph communicates a sense that the new offi ce buildings are ejecting the older architecture from the city center. Th e buildings of older generations are described as “hulky,” “stingy,” “sooted,” like “mud,” compared to the newer architecture that is “clean” and “shining.” Th e last sentence, however, suggests that the new may not necessarily be better than the old, because they merely “seemed” to be for “laughter and tranquility” but are not necessarily so.
312. (D) Th e thoughts set off by em dashes contribute to the passage’s wry tone. Th ere is a distance between what the city and its designers or inhabitants think and what the speaker thinks. Th e city dwellers call their city “Zenith,” implying that they think it is superior to all other cities, the apogee of modern advanced societies. Th e speaker, however, is skeptical, as indicated by the thoughts set off by em dashes—the city only seems to be for laughter and tranquility and giants, but might not actually be.
313. (A) Th e name “Zenith” reveals more to us about what the city dwellers think of their city (it is the zenith—pinnacle—of all modern cities) than what the speaker (E) does (the speaker did not name the city).
314. (C) Th e passage is written in third person point of view. Th e speaker tells the story in third person by narrating what characters do, say, and think. He is not writing from the point of view of one character (A, D) or multiple characters (E).
315. (B) Th e “twenty lines of polished steel” refer to the New York Flyer, the name of the train being described in this paragraph. Th e train of polished steel “booms” past, creating the illusion of twenty lines of steel.
316. (E) All the people mentioned in the passage are referred to as groups (clusters) of people, not individuals. Th ere are “people in evening clothes,” “the telegraph operators,” “the scrubwomen,” and the “cues of men.” Most of them are employed, but the people in evening clothes are returning from a rehearsal, which is not necessarily a job (B). Most of the workers are not described as happy (C), and the people in evening clothes are not described as fatigued (weary or tired) (A); they also appear to be of a diff erent class than the workers (D).
317. (D) Th e tone and descriptions of the setting of Zenith, with its austere and power- ful architecture and industry in contrast to the weary working people who inhabit it (see question 316), could be used to question whether this town of advanced modern objects is actually superior to the towns of “older generations” if all the people are tired and powerless in comparison to their man-made physical environment.
weary, tired, and unhappy in their jobs). Th e passage is questioning whether the progress in industry has really led to progress in the quality of life for the citizens of Zenith.