Exam: 700816rr – introduction to the short story, part 1
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Questions 1 to 20: Select the best answer to each question. Note that a question and its answers may be split across a page break, so be sure that you have seen the entire question and all the answers before choosing an answer.
1. The most basic purpose of reading is
A. education.
B. getting information.
C. providing entertainment.
D. acquiring insight.
2. Which one of the following genres presents the author’s personal ideas and feelings about a particular topic?
A. Short story
B. Poem
C. Novel
D. Essay
3. The connotative meaning of a word refers to
A. its dictionary definition.
B. the irony suggested by the word.
C. its meaning at a specific time in history.
D. what it suggests about something.
4. It’s most accurate to say that interpretative literature
A. contains or suggests universal truths.
B. is intended to meet the reader’s expectations.
C. refers to today’s hot topics.
D. weaves exciting action around a standard formula.
5. Which one of the following types of writing would most likely be fiction?
A. Informational literature
B. Novel
C. Essay
D. Autobiography
6. The label detective novel is an example of
A. a genre.
B. a character study.
C. informational reading.
D. a universal truth.
7. Interpretative literature is said to be interactive because
A. you can read most of these works on the Internet now.
B. the reader has to take part in discovering the meaning of the work.
C. the conflict shows the interaction between two elements of the story.
D. the story consists of a rising action and a falling action.
8. During what part of “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” does Bernice cut Marjorie’s braids?
A. Falling action
B. Rising action
C. Climax
D. Epiphany
9. Which one of the following items is an example of a symbol in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”?
A. Marjorie’s talk with her mother
B. Bernice’s haircut
C. Bernice’s car
D. The dinner-dance at the country club
10. In “A White Heron,” having made her choice between an attraction of the heart and her bond with nature, Sylvia
A. chooses human love over her loyalty to nature.
B. retains her loyalty to nature as her affection for the hunter grows.
C. retains her loyalty to nature and becomes more suspicious of human nature.
D. is able to experience a lasting inner calm.
11. What is Sarah Jewett suggesting when she writes about Sylvia’s increasing attraction to the hunter in “A White Heron”?
A. Sylvia cares more about people than animals.
B. Sylvia is experiencing falling in love.
C. Sylvia does one thing but believes the opposite.
D. Sylvia will do anything for money.
12. In fiction, use of conventions leads to
A. imagination.
B. escapism.
C. expectations.
D. entertainment.
13. Because Bernice changes during the course of “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” she’s said to be a _______ character.
A. static
B. dynamic
C. one-dimensional
D. symbolic
14. Suppose you’ve just read a romance novel that has stock characters and a happily-ever-after ending. What kind of literature were you probably reading?
A. Universal literature
B. Interpretive literature
C. Escapist literature
D. Informational literature
15. Which one of the following terms best describes the period of the 1920s?
A. Proper
B. Rebellious
C. Symbolic
D. Moral
16. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” we are very likely to
A. decide that Bernice will never escape her dependent nature.
B. see Marjorie’s personality as shallow.
C. think of both Marjorie and Bernice as painfully naïve.
D. realize that Marjorie is sensitive to Bernice’s feelings.
17. Which of the words printed in italics in the following sentences is most likely to convey a denotative meaning?
A. Do you know what the owl signifies?
B. The recipe calls for one pint of cream.
C. Deliver the goods soon, or else.
D. What time did he call?
18. The most significant conflict in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is between
A. Marjorie and men in general.
B. Bernice and Marjorie.
C. Bernice and herself.
D. Warren and Marjorie.
19. Great literature is educational because it
A. helps you draw on ideas you already have.
B. won’t challenge your beliefs.
C. teaches rather than entertains.
D. allows you to simply observe and analyze.
20. An author of a detective novel is most likely to use figurative language to
A. help the reader visualize a character.
B. suggest hidden meanings.
C. mislead the reader.
D. entertain the reader.
End of exam
