Last Modified 3/2012

English 12: Midterm

End-of-Course Assessment (ECA) Guide
The tests will consist of 45-60 multiple choice questions depending on length and difficulty
of reading passages and will consist of the following components:
I.
Reading Comprehension and Analysis (60%)
a. Literature (based on genres or authors taught throughout the semester)
b. Informational or Literary Non-fiction
II.
Writing Analysis (18%)
a. Editing/Revision
b. Proofreading
III.
Grammar (16%)
The following examples represent sample passages and questions for sections I-III above.
These passages are intended to give teachers and students examples of the format and
approximate length of the Reading Comprehension and Writing Analysis passages, as well as
sample questions that reflect the type of standards-based questions students will encounter
on the district ECAs.

Reading
Directions Read the following selection. Then answer the questions that follow.
In this excerpt from Antigone, Teiresias warns Creon that by denying Polyneices a proper
burial, the king faces a terrible fate. Creon initially dismisses the prophets words but later
realizes the possible consequences of his actions.
from Antigone
Sophocles
Teiresias. This is the way the blind man comes, princes, princes,
Lock step, two heads lit by the eyes of one.
Creon. What new thing have you to tell us, old Teiresias?
Teiresias. I have much to tell you: listen to the prophet, Creon.
5 Creon. I am not aware that I have ever failed to listen.
Teiresias. Then you have done wisely, King, and ruled well.
Creon. I admit my debt to you. But what have you to say?
Teiresias. This, Creon: you stand once more on the edge of fate.
Creon. What do you mean? Your words are a kind of dread.
10 Teiresias. Listen, Creon: I was sitting in my chair of augury, at the place
Where the birds gather about me. They were all a-chatter,
As is their habit, when suddenly I heard
A strange note in their jangling, a scream, a
15 Whirring fury; I knew that they were fighting,
Tearing each other, dying
In a whirlwind of wings clashing. And I was afraid.
I began the rites of burnt offering at the altar,
But Hephaestus failed me: instead of bright flame,
20 There was only the sputtering slime of the fat thigh-flesh
Melting: the entrails dissolved in grey smoke;
The bare bone burst from the welter. And no blaze!
This was a sign from heaven. My boy described it,
Seeing for me as I see for others.
25 I tell you, Creon, you yourself have brought
This new calamity upon us. Our hearths and altars
Are stained with the corruption of dogs and carrion birds
That glut themselves on the corpse of Oedipus son.
The gods are deaf when we pray to them; their fire

30 Recoils from our offering; their birds of omen

Have no cry of comfort, for they are gorged
With the thick blood of the dead.
O my son,
These are no trifles! Think: all men make mistakes,
35But a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong,
And repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.
Give in to the dead man, then: do not fight with a corpse
What glory is it to kill a man who is dead?
Think, I beg you:
40It is for your own good that I speak as I do.
You should be able to yield for your own good.
Creon. It seems that prophets have made me their especial province.
All my life long
I have been a kind of butt for the dull arrows
45Of doddering fortunetellers!
No, Teiresias:
If your birdsif the great eagles of the God himself
Should carry him stinking bit by bit to heaven,
I would not yield. I am not afraid of pollution:
50No man can defile the gods.
Do what you will;
Go into business, make money, speculate
In India gold or that synthetic gold from Sardis,
Get rich otherwise than by my consent to bury him.
55Teiresias, it is a sorry thing when a wise man
Sells his wisdom, lets out his words for hire!
Teiresias. Ah Creon! Is there no man left in the world
Creon. To do what? Come, lets have the aphorism!
Teiresias. No man who knows that wisdom outweighs any wealth?
60Creon. As surely as bribes are baser than any baseness.
Teiresias. You are sick, Creon! You are deathly sick!
Creon. As you say: it is not my place to challenge a prophet.
Teiresias. Yet you have said my prophecy is for sale.
Creon. The generation of prophets has always loved gold.
65Teiresias. The generation of kings has always loved brass.
Creon. You forget yourself! You are speaking to your king.
Teiresias. I know it. You are a king because of me.
Creon. You have a certain skill; but you have sold out.
Teiresias. King, you will drive me to words that
70Creon. Say them, say them!
Only remember: I will not pay you for them.
Teiresias. No, you will find them too costly.
Creon. No doubt. Speak:
Whatever you say, you will not change my will.
75Teiresias. Then take this, and take it to heart!
The time is not far off when you shall pay back
Corpse for corpse, flesh of your own flesh.
You have thrust the child of this world into living night;
You have kept from the gods below the child that is theirs:
80The one in a grave before her death, the other,
Dead, denied the grave. This is your crime:
And the Furies and the dark gods of hell
Are swift with terrible punishment for you.
Do you want to buy me now, Creon?

85Not many days,

And your house will be full of men and women weeping,
And curses will be hurled at you from far
Cities grieving for sons unburied, left to rot before the walls of Thebes.
These are my arrows, Creon: they are all for you.
90(to boy) But come, child: lead me home.
Let him waste his fine anger upon younger men.
Maybe he will learn at last
To control a wiser tongue in a better head.
(Exit Teiresias.)
95 Choragus. The old man has gone, King, but his words
Remain to plague us. I am old, too,
But I cannot remember that he was ever false.
Creon. That is true. . . . It troubles me.
Oh it is hard to give in! but it is worse
100To risk everything for stubborn pride.
Choragus. Creon: take my advice.
Creon. What shall I do?
Choragus. Go quickly: free Antigone from her vault
And build a tomb for the body of Polyneices.
105 Creon. You would have me do this?
Choragus. Creon, yes!
And it must be done at once: God moves
Swiftly to cancel the folly of stubborn men.
Creon. It is hard to deny the heart! But I
110 Will do it: I will not fight with destiny.
Choragus. You must go yourself; you cannot leave it to others.
Creon. I will go.
Bring axes, servants:
Come with me to the tomb. I buried her; I
115 Will set her free.
Oh quickly!
My mind misgives
The laws of the gods are mighty, and a man must serve them
To the last day of his life!
(Exit Creon.)
Directions Answer the following questions about the excerpt from Antigone.
1. Who is the protagonist in this excerpt?
A. Teiresias
B. Choragus
C. Polyneices
D. Creon
2. In this excerpt, the italicized stage directions help you visualize the
A. costumes
B. action
C. lighting
D. dialogue
3. Based on the dialogue in lines 17, you can infer that Creon values advice from
A. princes
B. prophets
C. kings
D. boys
4. Clarify your understanding of lines 2536. Teiresias says that the gods are angry because Creon

A. left a stain on the hearth

B. forgot to feed the carrion birds
C. denied a burial for Oedipus son
D. refused to pray to the gods
5. Based on lines 3335, you can infer that Teiresias values
A. pride
B. atonement
C. trifles
D. hope
6. Who is Creon in conflict with in lines 5469?
A. Teiresias
B. Choragus
C. the boy
D. the king

7. Based on the dialogue between Creon and the Choragus in lines 94101, you can infer that Creon is
ruled by
A. fate
B. men
C. kings
D. love
8. Teiresias is best described as this excerpts
A. tragic hero
B. chorus
C. antagonist
D. god
Directions Read the following selections. Then answer the questions that follow.
from Why Write?
Paul Auster
I was eight years old. At that moment in my life, nothing was more important
to me than baseball. My team was the New York Giants, and I followed the doings
of those men in the black-and-orange caps with all the devotion of a true believer.
Even now, remembering that team which no longer exists, that played in a ballpark
which no longer exists, I can reel off the names of nearly every player on the
roster. Alvin Dark, Whitey Lockman, Don Mueller, Johnny Antonelli, Monte Irvin,
Hoyt Wilhelm. But none was greater, none more perfect nor more deserving of
worship than Willie Mays, the incandescent Say-Hey Kid.
That spring, I was taken to my first big-league game. Friends of my parents
10 had box seats at the Polo Grounds, and one April night a group of us went to
watch the Giants play the Milwaukee Braves. I dont know who won, I cant recall
a single detail of the game, but I do remember that after the game was over my
parents and their friends sat talking in their seats until all the other spectators had
left. It got so late that we had to walk across the diamond and leave by the centerfield
exit, which was the only one still open. As it happened, that exit was right
below the players locker rooms.
Just as we approached the wall, I caught sight of Willie Mays. There was no
question about who it was. It was Willie Mays, already out of uniform and
standing there in his street clothes not ten feet away from me. I managed to keep
20 my legs moving in his direction and then, mustering every ounce of my courage, I
forced some words out of my mouth. Mr. Mays, I said, could I please have
your autograph?

He had to have been all of twenty-four years old, but I couldnt bring myself
to pronounce his first name.
His response to my question was brusque but amiable. Sure, kid, sure, he
said. You got a pencil? He was so full of life, I remember, so full of youthful
energy, that he kept bouncing up and down as he spoke.
I didnt have a pencil, so I asked my father if I could borrow his. He
didnt have one either. Nor did my mother. Nor, as it turned out, did any of the
30 other grown-ups.
The great Willie Mays stood there watching in silence. When it became clear
that no one in the group had anything to write with, he turned to me and shrugged.
Sorry, kid, he said. Aint got no pencil, cant give no autograph. And then
he walked out of the ballpark into the night.
I didnt want to cry, but tears started falling down my cheeks, and there was
nothing I could do to stop them. Even worse, I cried all the way home in the car.
Yes, I was crushed with disappointment, but I was also revolted at myself for not
being able to control those tears. I wasnt a baby. I was eight years old, and big
kids werent supposed to cry over things like that. Not only did I not have Willie
40 Mayss autograph, I didnt have anything else either. Life had put me to the test,
and in all respects I had found myself wanting.
After that night, I started carrying a pencil with me wherever I went. It became
a habit of mine never to leave the house without making sure I had a pencil in my
pocket. Its not that I had any particular plans for that pencil, but I didnt want to
be unprepared. I had been caught empty-handed once, and I wasnt about to let it
happen again.
If nothing else, the years have taught me this: if theres a pencil in your
pocket, theres a good chance that one day youll feel tempted to start using it.
As I like to tell my children, thats how I became a writer.
From Why Write?, from The Red Notebook by Paul Auster. Copyright 2002 by Paul Auster.
Reprinted
by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
Mays Pays Homage to Jackie Robinson
George Vecsey
Willie Mays sat in the Mets clubhouse yesterday before their 4-2 victory
here over the Giants and pronounced himself blessed. Then he traced his
blessing back to one human being named Jack Roosevelt Robinson.
Without Jackie, I wouldnt have gotten out of Birmingham, said one of the
greatest baseball players ever.
In this 50th anniversary of Robinsons debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers,
everybody wants to pay tribute. The Mets are planning a celebration at their April
15 game against the Dodgers, complete with video highlights of Robinsons life.
Mays feels so strongly about his old opponent that he made a special trip to
10 the ball park yesterday to talk about Robinson. They played for baseballs two
greatest rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, but they had
something much more important in common.
They knew Jackie was hard-headed and they said, You give us two years
and well give all your friends a chance, Mays said. If he had gotten in a fight
within those two years, it would have been all over.
Maybe yes, maybe no, but it certainly seemed that way at the time. The hopes
of every young black athlete were riding on Jackie Robinson that April.
Dont forget Larry Doby, Mays cautioned. Larry came right after Jackie
in the American League. From what I hear, Jackie had Pee Wee Reese and Gil
20 Hodges and Ralph Branca, but Larry didnt have anybody.
It is a little unnerving to an old Brooklyn fan like me to hear Willie Mays

speaking with such reverence for the Dodgers, but Mays says that is exactly what
it was like in 1947.
We all rooted for the Dodgers, he said. From the day he signed, I knew I
had a chance to play major league ball. When I got married, my wife was a
Dodgers fan.
By the time Mays came up, four years after Robinson, the worst of the racial
slurs had vanished, at least from the dugouts. And I had Leo, Mays says softly,
referring to the fiery Leo Durocher, who had previously managed Robinson. Leo
30 took care of me. A lot of people took care of me.
For a while we couldnt stay in the same hotels. Wed get to Chicago, wed
get off on the South side, theyd get off on the North Side. But they gave us $40
in meal money instead of $20, and we could have a lot of fun with that. Mays
will always appreciate what Robinson went through.
Dont forget his wife, Rachel, Mays said. She was there when he came
home. He had somebody to relate to. The Dodgers picked him because he and his
wife were educated people.
He would have made the Hall of Fame anyway, but he was also a great
player. I remember that last day of the 1951 season. We won our game up in
40 Boston, and they needed to win to get into the playoff. Jackie caught a ball over
second base to save the game, and then he won it a few innings later.
The Giants won that three-game playoff on Bobby Thomsons homer, still a
sore point with fans of a certain age, but Mays said there was a softer side to the
rivalry.
Campy had a liquor store in Harlem, Mays said of the Dodgers catcher,
Roy Campanella. Junior Gilliam lived over in New Jersey. Joe Black used to
come up to Harlem. Don Newcombe came around, but he would still knock me
down every chance he got. Jackie lived in Connecticut. He didnt come around.
After the wraps came off, Robinson became the most fiery Dodger, even
50 the enforcer, who wiped out Davey Williams, the Giants second baseman,
damaging his back and shortening his career.
Jackie didnt start that, Mays said softly. Sal Maglie started that by
throwing at him. Jackie bunted down the first-base line and he even slowed down,
but Maglie wouldnt come over. Whitey Lockman picked up the ball and threw to
Williams who was covering first, and Jackie ran into Williams.
Right after that we had a meeting in the dugout. We agreed that the first
guy to get to second base would just keep going. Alvin Dark was the first guy. He
ran to third and he knocked the ball right out of Jackies hands. Jackie reached
down, picked up the ball, rubbed it, and threw it back to the pitcher.
60 Jackie knew there were times when you dont fight, you just play harder.
That was one thing I learned from him.
You know, we traded for Jackie after 1956, but he wouldnt play for the
Giants. I could understand that, but still I would have loved to play with him, just
to learn from him.
The great Giant knows one thing about the great Dodger: I couldnt have done
what he did.
Mays Pays Homage to Jackie Robinson by George Vecsey, The New York Times, April 7, 1997.
Copyright 1997, The New York Times Co.. Reprinted by permission.

Directions Answer the following questions about the excerpt from Why Write?
9. Which quotation from the excerpt is an example of imagery?
A. That spring, I was taken to my first big-league game.
B. There was no question about who it was.
C. I couldnt bring myself to pronounce his first name
D. he kept bouncing up and down as he spoke

10. Which detail is an example of foreshadowing?

A. I can reel off the names of nearly every player on the roster
B. that exit was right below the players locker rooms
C. His response to my question was brusque but amiable.
D. And then he walked out of the ballpark into the night.
11. Which quotation from the excerpt is an example of imagery?
A. At that moment in my life, nothing was more important to me than baseball.
B. But none was greater, none more perfect nor more deserving of worship
C. It was Willie Mays, already out of uniform and standing there in his street clothes
D. I was also revolted at myself for not being able to control those tears
12. The description in lines 35-41 creates a mood of
A. devastation
B. anxiety
C. bewilderment
D. confusion
13. Lines 37-38 demonstrate a conflict between the narrator and
A. himself
B. the Giants
C. society
D. nature
14. The narrator wants to stop crying because he
A. thinks that his parents friends will make fun of him
B. fears that his parents wont take him to the next game
C. believes that crying over small things is immature
D. worries that his parents will scold him later
15. Which detail supports the authors statement, Life had put me to the test, and in all respects I had
found myself wanting?
A. When it became clear that no one in the group had anything to write with, he turned to me and shrugged.
B. I didnt want to cry, but tears started falling down my cheeks, and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
C. Not only did I not have Willie Mayss autograph, I didnt have anything else either.
D. It became a habit of mine never to leave the house without making sure I had a pencil in my pocket.

16. What is the point of view of the narrator in the excerpt?

A. first person
B. second person
C. third-person limited
D. third-person omniscient
17. Based on the excerpt, you can predict that as a result of his encounter with Willie Mays, the narrator will
A. stop asking athletes for autographs
B. remain disappointed with himself
C. try to be ready for any situation
D. start following a different sport
Directions Answer the following questions about Mays Pays Homage to Jackie Robinson.
18. Which lines contain an example of flashback?
A. lines 23
B. lines 2133
C. lines 3133
D. lines 6566
19. Which detail supports the idea that Jackie Robinson was also a great player?
A. The Giants won the three-game playoff against the Dodgers.
B. Robinson won the game that got the Dodgers into the playoffs.
C. Robinson ran into Davey Williams in order to reach first base.

D. The Giants tried to trade another player for Robinson.

20. You can make the generalization that the baseball community views Jackie Robinson as
A. a vicious competitor
B. an important leader
C. a thoughtful coach
D. an unknown player
21. Which sentence best states the main idea of the article?
A. Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays had a longstanding rivalry.
B. The Mets are planning a celebration to honor Jackie Robinson.
C. Everyone wants to pay tribute to Jackie Robinson on his 50th anniversary.
D. Jackie Robinson made an invaluable contribution to the game of baseball.
22. Based on the article, which generalization can you make about the treatment of black players in the 1940s?
A. Black players faced prejudice and disdain.
B. White players protected black teammates.
C. Fans were quick to accept black players.
D. Coaches treated all players the same.
23. In the article, the authors purpose is to
A. inform
B. persuade
C. inspire
D. entertain
24. Based on the article, you can make the generalization that rivalry between players
A. did not continue off the field
B. led to exciting games
C. did not interest fans
D. encouraged trades among teams
25. The element of the article that most clearly reveals the authors purpose is the use of
A. colorful imagery
B. figurative language
C. direct quotations
D. first-person narration

Directions Answer the following questions about both selections.

26. By synthesizing the selections, you can draw the conclusion that both Mays and Robinson
A. played for the Dodgers
B. disliked their managers
C. came from the South
D. were skilled players
27. By synthesizing information from both selections, what can you conclude about the New York Giants?
A. Although they no longer exist, the Giants were once a great team.
B. Many of the best players in the game got their starts as Giants.
C. Unlike the Dodgers, the Giants had no rivalries with other teams.
D. Several black players refused to play for the Giants or the Dodgers.

Writing and Grammar

Directions Read the following cause-and-effect essay and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Most people think of movies as art. (2) Art forms like dance, music, and
literature go back thousands of years. (3) But because the movie camera was
invented roughly 100 years ago, the motion picture is in fact a recent art form. (4)
The movies we know and love today would not be possible without significant
advancements in technology.
(5) The story of motion picture history begins with photography. (6) A movie

is simply a long series of still photographs. (7) The objects in the photographs
appear to move when the images are projected in rapid succession. (8) This
phenomenon is known as persistence of vision. (9) Its the same principle as
a flip comic book. (10) Throughout the 1800s, inventors developed various
machines to create the illusion of moving pictures. (11) Workers at Thomas
Edisons laboratory developed a camera that could take pictures quickly, one after
the other, and a corresponding projector to play the filmstrips back.
(12) These early movies looked like a bunch of junk. (13) These films were
silent. (14) They were in black-and-white, often with bad resolution. (15) These
limitations would be addressed over the next forty years. (16) The addition of
sound to film was tricky. (17) Engineers had to synchronize sound and images
so that they would match each other when played back. (18) They printed the
soundtrack directly onto the film strip. (19) Then the image frames and the
soundtrack could be matched exactly. (20) The first sound film was The Jazz
Singer. (21) Hollywood changed dramatically. (22) Hollywood stopped hiring
actors whose voices didnt match their looks. (23) The talking picture completely
replaced the earlier silent films.
(24) Most talking pictures continued to be made in black-and-white. (25)
The well-known Technicolor process was available as early as the 1920s. (26)
Filmmakers disliked the expensive equipment and difficult production methods it
required. (27) Cheaper, more flexible methods later made color more attractive
to filmmakers. (28) Although color films, like sound films, became the new
standard, some directors even today use black-and-white to make an artistic point.
(29) Movement, color, and sound add up to the movies we recognize today.
(30) But the technology of film continues to move forward. (31) In the last ten
years, computers have increased distribution and improved special effects. (32)
Computer effects allow writers and directors to create visions that would cost
too much dough to film using real actors and sets. (33) With new high-quality
video cameras, directors can shoot and edit films more cheaply than ever. (34)
Technology is difficult to predict. (35) We can only guess what the future holds.
(36) Still, you can bet that movies will be easier to make and more fascinating
to watch.

28. You can see that the essay is well organized because the writer
A. provides examples of influential movies from every decade
B. includes quotations from experts who helped contribute to modern technology
C. analyzes a different movie in each body paragraph
D. describes technological advancements in the order in which they occurred

29. Which sentence identifies the essays main cause-and-effect relationship?

A. sentence 2
B. sentence 4
C. sentence 7
D. sentence 11
30. Which connection between cause and effect does the thesis statement describe?
A. The invention of the movie camera caused the development of sound on film.
B. Color film was invented through the efforts of Thomas Edison.
C. Developments in technology brought about modern movies.
D. Modern movies caused the phenomenon called persistence of vision.
31. What is the best way to combine sentences 2 and 3 to form a compound-complex sentence?
A. Change the period after years to a comma, and make But lowercase.
B. Delete the period after years, and make But lowercase.
C. Add a semicolon after years, and delete the word But.

D. Add a semicolon after years, and delete the word But.

32. Choose the best way to vary sentence lengths in the second paragraph.
A. Split sentence 5 into two sentences.
B. Combine sentences 7 and 8.
C. Split sentence 9 into two sentences.
D. Combine sentences 10 and 11.
33. In the second paragraph, the writer supports the cause-and-effect relationship with evidence of
A. movies that made use of early forms of technology
B. inventors who struggled with adding sound to film
C. technology that produced the effect of moving pictures
D. techniques that were used to produce color films
34. Choose the best way to rewrite sentence 12 with an appropriate tone.
A. You would have to be silly to see one of these movies.
B. To be sure, these early movies often looked like junk.
C. The quality of these movies can be summed up in a word: yuck.
D. These early movies were primitive by todays standards.
35. Choose the best way to add detail to sentence 13 using an adverb clause.
A. These films were silent, and microphones had not yet been invented.
B. Microphones had not yet been invented; therefore, these films were silent.
C. These films were silent; microphones had not yet been invented
D. Because microphones had not yet been invented, these films were silent.
36. Choose the best way to combine sentences 18 and 19 into one sentence with a compound predicate.
A. They printed the soundtrack directly on the filmstrip and they matched it exactly to the images.
B. Printing the soundtrack directly on the filmstrip, they matched it exactly to the images.
C. They printed the soundtrack directly on the filmstrip and matched it exactly to the images.
D. After they printed the soundtrack directly on the filmstrip, they matched it exactly to the images.
37. What is the best way to add detail to sentence 20 using a participial phrase?
A. The first sound film was The Jazz Singer, which was released in 1927.
B. The first sound film, The Jazz Singer, was released in 1927.
C. Released in 1927, the first sound film was The Jazz Singer.
D. The Jazz Singer, which was released in 1927, was the first sound film.
38. Choose the best way to vary the structures of sentences 21 and 22.
A. Hollywood changed dramatically. Actors whose voices didnt match their looks had trouble finding work.
B. In Hollywood there were changes. Hollywood stopped hiring actors whose voices didnt match their looks.
C. In Hollywood, there were dramatic changes. Hollywood actors whose voices didnt match their looks couldnt
find work.
D. There were changes in Hollywood. There were actors whose voices didnt match their looks, and they stopped
being hired.
39. Which detail would best support the authors main point in the fourth paragraph?
A. The lights Technicolor required could mean filming in 100-degree temperatures.
B. Soon consumers were using color film almost exclusively for snapshots.
C. Movie attendance reached an all-time high in the 1940s.
D. Alfred Hitchcock is a director often noted for his creative use of color.
40. Which transitional word or phrase belongs at the beginning of sentence 26?
A. For example
B. However
C. Therefore
D. In addition
41. Choose the best way to add detail to sentence 27 using a subordinate clause.
A. In the 1950s, the introduction of cheaper, more flexible methods made color more attractive to filmmakers.

B. Cheaper, more flexible methods made color more attractive to filmmakers; these methods were introduced in the
1950s.
C. Cheaper methods later made color more attractive to filmmakers, and these methods were also more flexible to
use.
D. Cheaper, more flexible methods, which were introduced in the 1950s, made color more attractive to filmmakers.
42. Choose the best way to combine sentences 29 and 30 using a subordinate clause.
A. Movement, color, and sound add up to the movies we recognize today, but the technology of film continues to
advance.
B. While movement, color, and sound add up to the movies we recognize today, the technology of film continues to
advance.
C. Movement, color, and sound add up to the movies we recognize today; however, the technology of film
continues to advance.
D. Adding up to the movies we recognize, film technologies like movement, color, and sound continue to advance.
43. Which sentence has a compound predicate?
A. sentence 25
B. sentence 26
C. sentence 31
D. sentence 34
44. Which word in sentence 32 is inappropriate, given the tone of the essay?
A. computer
B. too
C. dough
D. real
45. Choose the best way to combine sentences 34, 35, and 36 to form a compound-complex sentence.
A. We can only guess what the future holds; technology is hard to predict, but you can bet that movies will be easier
to make and more fascinating to watch.
B. Technology is difficult to predict, and although we can only guess what the future holds, you can bet that movies
will be easier to make and more fascinating to watch.
C. You can bet that movies will be easier to make and more fascinating to watch because technology is difficult to
predict and we can only guess what the future holds.
D. Technology, like the future, is difficult to predict, but you can bet that movies in the future will be easier to make
and more fascinating to watch.

Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
1. D
2. B
3. B
4. C
5. B
6. A
7. A
8. C
9. D
10. B
11. C

12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.

A
A
C
C
A
C
C
B
B
D
A
A
A
C
D
A

Writing and Grammar

28. D
29. B
30. C
31. A
32. B
33. C
34. D
35. D
36. C
37. C
38. A
39. A
40. B
41. D
42. B
43. C
44. C
45. B