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- NEW SET
- A
- "Shall we never, never get rid of the Past? It lies upon the
- Present like a giant's dead body! In fact, the case is just as if a
- young giant were compelled to waste all his strength in carrying about
- the corpse of the old giant, his grandfather, who died a long time ago,
- and only needs to be decently buried."
- next
- 1
- 1. The speaker uses a simile to suggest that:
-
- A. He misses a deceased relative.
- B. He reveres the great men of the past.
- C. He feels the past is a disagreeable burden.
- D. He wishes people could forget the past.
- E. Both C and D
- next
- e
- 0
- B
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- B
- (E) To the speaker, the past is like a dead weight which he would like
- to get rid of or forget.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- B
- "Just think a moment, and it will startle you to see what slaves
- we are to by-gone times, -- to Death, if we give the matter the right
- word!"
- next
- 1
- 1. The speaker equates:
-
- A. the past with slavery in America
- B. slavery with the death of many slaves
- C. death with unhappiness
- D. the past with death
- E. all of the above
- next
- d
- 0
- C
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- C
- (D) The speaker equates the past or "by-gone times" with death.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- C
- "A dead man, if he happen to have made a will, disposes of wealth
- no longer his own; or, if he die intestate, it is distributed in
- accordance with the notions of men much longer dead than he."
- next
- 1
- 1. Judging from the context, "intestate" probably means:
-
- A. with no money
- B. while residing in another state
- C. without a will
- D. suddenly
- E. unmarried
- next
- c
- 0
- D
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- D
- (C) If a person dies intestate or without a will, his property is
- distributed in accordance with laws made by "men much longer dead than he."
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- D
- "A dead man sits on all our judgement-seats; and living judges do
- but search out and repeat his decisions. We read in dead men's books!
- We laugh at dead men's jokes, and cry at dead men's pathos!"
- next
- 1
- 1. The "dead man" who sits in the judgment-seat is most likely:
-
- A. a representation of traditional law
- B. God
- C. the victim in a murder trial
- D. a cold, uncaring judge
- E. the speaker's father
- next
- a
- 0
- E
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- E
- (A) The "dead man" is legal precedent which influences the decisions
- of living judges.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- E
- "We are sick of dead men's diseases, physical and moral, and die
- of the same remedies with which dead doctors killed their patients!
- We worship the living Deity according to dead men's forms and creeds."
- next
- 1
- 1. The speaker believes:
-
- A. that God is dead
- B. that the people alive at his time are innocent
- C. that the present should be used for new medical research
- D. that traditional religious ceremonies should be observed
- E. none of the above
- next
- e
- 0
- F
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- F
- (E) is correct. The speaker believes that the past has no lessons for
- the present.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- F
- "Whatever we seek to do, of our own free motion, a dead man's icy
- hand obstructs us! Turn our eyes to what point we may, a dead man's
- white, immitigable face encounters them, and freezes our very heart!"
- next
- 1
- 1. In this and the preceding passages, the speaker uses the literary
- device of:
-
- A. apostrophy
- B. alliteration
- C. extended analogy
- D. contrast
- E. shock value
- next
- c
- 0
- G
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- G
- (C) Comparing the past to a dead man is an extended analogy. The speaker
- refers to the past as a dead man whose omnipresence interferes with the
- living.
- NEXT
- NEW SET
- G
- "And we must be dead ourselves before we can begin to have our
- proper influence on our own world, which will then be no longer our
- world, but the world of another generation, with which we shall have
- no shadow of a right to interfere."
- next
- 1
- 1. The speaker believes all of the following except:
-
- A. He cannot be properly effective during his lifetime.
- B. The past impedes his freedom.
- C. People should make careful plans for future generations.
- D. He has no right to interfere in the world of the future.
- E. His actions, too, will be a burden on future generations.
- next
- c
- 0
- 2
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- 2
- (C) The speaker does NOT believe we should make plans for future
- generations.
- next
- 2
- 2. The best title for these passages, taken as a whole, would be:
-
- A. On the Shoulders of Giants
- B. Past, Present, and Future
- C. The Terrible Burden of the Past
- D. Looking Ahead
- E. The Death of the Past
- next
- c
- 0
- H
- Correct.
- next
- wrong answer explanation
- H
- (C) All of the passages discuss the terrible burden the past imposes upon
- the present.
- END