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- NEW SET
- A
- My destiny! Droll thing life is -- that mysterious arrangement of
- merciless logic for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is
- some knowledge of yourself -- that comes too late -- a crop of
- unextinguishable regrets.
- next
- 1
- 1. The narrator believes:
-
- A. Life is a joke to be enjoyed.
- B. The purpose of one's destiny cannot be determined by logic.
- C. Knowledge of oneself is ultimately satisfying.
- D. Faith in mercy from a higher power will be rewarded.
- E. One's life is controlled by uncaring forces.
- next
- e
- 0
- 2
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- 2
- (E) The narrator believes life's purpose is futile and therefore must
- be controlled by uncaring forces.
- next
- 2
- 2. The narrator's tone in this passage is primarily:
-
- A. bitter
- B. hopeful
- C. confused
- D. sanctimonious
- E. determined
- next
- a
- 0
- B
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- B
- (A) The narrator is bitter, believing that life is futile
- and self-knowledge yields only regrets.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- B
- I have wrestled with death. It is the most unexciting contest
- you can imagine. It takes place in an impalpable greyness, with nothing
- underfoot, with nothing around, without spectators, without clamour,
- without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great
- fear of defeat, in a sickly atmosphere of tepid scepticism, without much
- belief in your own right, and still less in that of your adversary.
- next
- 1
- 1. The narrator suggests that "wrestling with death":
-
- A. is the ultimate glory of human life
- B. is noticed and respected by one's companions
- C. involves dramatic events on the battlefield
- D. happens when one has a strong belief in oneself
- E. none of the above
- next
- e
- 0
- 2
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- 2
- (E) The narrator feels that "wrestling with death" is unexciting.
- next
- 2
- 2. The narrator develops and expresses his idea by using:
-
- A. simile
- B. extended metaphor
- C. logic
- D. exaggeration
- E. examples
- next
- b
- 0
- 3
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- 3
- (B) Comparing "wrestling with death" to an "unexciting contest" is
- an extended metaphor.
- next
- 3
- 3. The phrase "impalpable greyness" in this context implies:
-
- A. moral confusion
- B. a cloudy, foggy day
- C. dawn or twilight
- D. that the contest with death occurs in old age
- E. that one cannot understand death without dying
- next
- a
- 0
- C
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- C
- (A) "Impalpable greyness" is a metaphor for moral confusion.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- C
- If such is the form of ultimate wisdom, then life is a greater
- riddle than some of us think it to be. I was within a hair's breadth
- of the last opportunity for pronouncement, and I found with humiliation
- that probably I would have nothing to say. This is the reason why I
- affirm that Kurtz was a remarkable man. He had something to say.
- He said it.
- next
- 1
- 1. Judging from the passage, the speaker most likely:
-
- A. is devoutly religious
- B. no longer cares for philosophical questions
- C. feels satisfied with himself
- D. has undergone a profound moral crisis
- E. is in grave physical danger
- next
- d
- 0
- D
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- D
- (D) The speaker has undergone a profound moral crisis in a physical
- and mental confrontation with death.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- D
- Since I had peeped over the edge myself, I understand better the
- meaning of his stare, that could not see the flame of the candle, but
- was wide enough to penetrate all the hearts that beat in darkness.
- next
- 1
- 1. In this passage, the author uses vision as a symbol of:
-
- A. intelligence
- B. understanding destiny
- C. optimism
- D. religious faith
- E. giving up hope
- next
- b
- 0
- E
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- E
- (B) One who can see into "all the hearts that beat in the darkness" has
- insight and understanding.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- E
- He had summed up -- he had judged. `The horror!' He was a
- remarkable man. After all, this was the expression of some sort of
- belief; it had candour, it had conviction, it had a vibrating note
- of revolt in its whisper, it had the appalling face of a glimpsed
- truth -- the strange commingling of desire and hate.
- next
- 1
- 1. This passage, together with the preceding ones, implies that Kurtz:
-
- A. is calmly resigned to his fate
- B. has triumphed over the problem he faced
- C. hates the narrator
- D. is lying to the narrator
- E. has come to some knowledge of himself
- next
- e
- 0
- F
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- F
- (E) Kurtz had summed up his life with candour and conviction:
- "The horror!"
- end