Read and answer the given questions " Seeing Through" Jeffrey brushed quickly past an elderly woman waiting on the platform ahead of him to get onto the subway. He wanted to be sure to get a seat to read his New Economics Journal. As the train screeched out of the station, he lifted his head from the business news and stared at the man directly across from him. A fierce wave – a tsunami – of antipathy came over him. Jeffrey knew this man, knew him all too well. They had become bitter enemies. Their eyes locked. As the train reached full speed, the cacophony of speeding wheels against the winding rails and of the wildly vibrating subway car filled Jeffrey’s ears. To this frenetic beat, Jeffrey listed in his head all the reasons that this man, whose eyes he gravely stared into, whose image seemed to appear nearly everywhere he went, had become anathema to him. He had climbed the upper echelons of the Wall Street firm using an imperious manner with his subordinates: issuing directives; ordaining idiosyncratic decrees; generally making certain everyone knew he was the boss. Despite his impoverished upbringing, he had become ostentatious. Flush with cash from the lucrative deals he made on Wall Street, he had purchased a yacht and a home in Versailles. He used neither. But, oh, how he liked to say he had them. Meanwhile—Jeffrey knew—this man’s father was on the verge of being evicted from his decrepit tenement apartment in the South Bronx. What bothered Jeffrey most about this man was that he never even attempted to make amends for his evil ways. Could this man change? Jeffrey did not know. But maybe, just maybe, he could try. The train screeched to Jeffrey’s stop at Battery Park. He gave the man one last hard look. “See you around,” he mumbled to himself. And he knew he would— the wrinkled brow, that part of graying hair, those cold metallic eyes in a subway window reflection—were his own. It would take years of hard work and self-contemplation, but Jeffrey would once again encounter this man on the train, and marvel at what a kinder person he had become. *
Option 1
1. Which best describes Jeffrey's attitude in this passage? *
anxious
studied
unfortunate
self-aware
self-pitying
2. A fierce wave – a tsunami – of antipathy came over him. Given the imagery in this sentence, which word would be the best substitute for came? *
. angled
drizzled
rained
washed
trampled
3. As used in paragraph 2, which word is the best antonym for antipathy? *
. ambivalence
. desperation
admiration
. infatuation
. happiness
4. Using the story as a guide, it can be inferred that *
. Jeffrey has few friends
. Jeffrey likes to be the boss
Jeffrey has had a difficult life
Jeffrey is capable of change
Jeffrey rides the subway frequently
5. "As the train reached full speed, the cacophony of speeding wheels against the winding rails and of the wildly vibrating train filled Jeffrey’s ears." Which literary technique is used in the above sentence (from paragraph 4)? *
metaphor, a direct comparison between two things which does not use like or as
analogy, an extended comparison showing the similarities between two things
. imagery, characterized by appealing to a sense or combination of senses
irony, characterized by a contrast or incongruity between what is stated and what is meant
personification, characterized by something being described as if it had human qualities
6. Which of the following best describes the main conflict in this passage? *
. man versus man
. man versus man
man versus himself
man versus society
man versus machine
man versus nature
7. As used in paragraph 4, anathema is best defined as a(n): *
curse
vision
. embarrassment
antagonist
problem
8. used in paragraph 5, to have an imperious manner means to be: *
ignorant
stoic
simpering
unaffected
domineering
9. As used in paragraph 6, which is the best synonym for ostentatious? *
assiduous
extravagant
modest
miserly
refined
10. What is made clear by the end of story? I. The man that Jeffery dislikes is himself. II. Jeffery was eventually able to become a better person. III. Jeffery’s father lives in the South Bronx. *
. I only
. II only
. I and II
. II and III
I, II, and III
