SAT Reading Practice Test Questions-Literature based-Set 3

Questions 7-19 are based on the following passage.

The following passage is from a novel set at the imaginary Jocelyn College in 1950.

When Henry Mulcahy, a middle-aged instructor of literature at Jocelyn College, Jocelyn, Pennsylvania, unfolded the president’s letter and became aware of its contents, he gave a sudden sharp cry of impatience and Line 5 irritation, as if such interruptions could positively be brooked no longer. This was the last straw. How was he expected to take care of forty students if other demands on his attention were continually being put in the way? On the surface of his mind, this vagrant grievance kept playing. Line 10 Meanwhile, he had grown pale and his hands were trembling with anger and a strange sort of exultation. “Your appointment will not be continued beyond the current academic year. … ” He sprang to his feet and mimed the sentence aloud, triumphantly, in inverted commas, bringing the Line 15 whole force of his personality to bear on this specimen or exhibit of the incredible. He had guessed long ago that Hoar meant to dismiss him, but he was amazed, really amazed (he repeated the word to himself) that the man should have given himself Line 20 away by an action as overt as this one. As an intellectual, he felt stunned not so much by the moral insensitiveness of the president’s move as by the transparency of it. You do not fire a person who has challenged you openly at faculty meetings, who has fought, despite you and your cabal, for a Line 25 program of salary increases and a lightening of the teaching load, who has not feared to point to waste and mismanagement concealed by those in high places, who dared to call only last week (yes, fantastic as it seemed, this was the background of the case) for an investigation of the Buildings Line 30 and Grounds Department and begged the dietitian to unscramble, if she would be so good, for her colleagues, the history of the twenty thousand eggs …. A condolatory smile, capping this enumeration, materialized on his lips; the letter was so inconsonant with the simplest precepts Line 35 of strategy that it elicited a kind of pity, mingled with contempt and dry amusement. Still, the triteness of the attempt, the tedium of it, tried forbearance to the limit; at a progressive college, surely, one had the right to expect something better than what Line 40 one was used to at Dudley or Wilkins State, and the very element of repetition gave the whole affair an unwarranted and unreal character, as of some tawdry farce seriously reenacted. He had been in the academic harness long enough, he should have thought (and the files in the college office Line 45 could testify), to anticipate anything, yet some unseen tendril of trust, he now remarked with a short harsh laugh, must have spiraled out from his heart and clung to the president’s person, or simply to the idea of decency, for him now to feel this new betrayal so keenly. Line 50 For the truth was, as Mulcahy had to acknowledge, pacing up and down his small office, that in spite of all the evidence he had been given of the president’s unremitting hatred, he found himself hurt by the letter-wounded, to be honest, not only in his self-esteem but in some tenderer place, in Line 55 that sense of contract between people that transcends personal animosities and factional differences. that holds the individual distinct from the deed and maintains even in the fieriest opposition the dream of final agreement and concord. He had not known, in short, that the president disliked him Line 60 so flatly. It was the usual mistake of a complex intelligence in assessing a simple intelligence, of an imagination that is capable of seeing and feeling on many levels at once, as opposed to an administrative mentality that feels operationally, through acts. Like most people of literary sensibility, he had Line 65 been unprepared, when it came down to it, for the obvious: a blunt, naked wielding of power. And the fact that he had thought himself prepared, he bitterly reflected, was precisely a measure of the abyss between the Maynard Hoars of this world and the Mulcahys. Line 70 The anomalies of the situation afforded him a gleam of pleasure-to a person of superior intellect, the idea that he or she has been weak or a fool in comparison with an inferior adversary is fraught with moral comedy and sardonic philosophic applications. He sat down at his desk, popped a Line 75 peppermint into his mouth, and began to laugh softly at the ironies of his biography: Henry Mulcahy, called Hen by his friends, forty-one years old, the only Ph.D. in the literature department, contributor to such prestigious magazines as the Nation and the Kenyon Review, Rhodes Line 80 scholar, Guggenheim fellow, father of four, fifteen years teaching experience, yet having the salary and rank of only instructor-an “unfortunate” personality in the lexicon of department heads, but in the opinion of a number of his colleagues the cleverest man at Jocelyn and the victim, Line 85 here as elsewhere, of that ferocious envy of mediocrity for excellence that is the ruling passion of all systems of jobholders.

7. The passage is narrated from the point of view of

1. Henry Mulcahy
2. an observer who does not know Mulcahy initially but who learns about him during the course of the passage
3. an observer who has only partial knowledge of Mulcahy
4. an observer who knows all about Mulcahy and his thoughts
5. an administrator at Jocelyn College

8. The mention of the “transparency” (line 22) of President Hoar’s move implies that Mulcahy views the president’s decision as a

1. vindictive and unwise action
2. timid and hesitant rebuke
3. necessary enforcement of Jocelyn’s stated policies
4. step that was not motivated by any personal considerations
5. choice that was painful and difficult to make

9. The issues that Mulcahy has fought for at Jocelyn are listed (lines 22-32) in order to point out that they

1. elicited a sympathetic response from the college faculty
2. prove that Jocelyn is a poorly run college
3. are criticisms raised by President Hoar in his letter to Mulcahy
4. deal with theoretical issues that most people cannot understand
5. represent a wide range of topics, from the trivial to the serious

10. Mulcahy most likely regards the choice of the word “unscramble” (line 31) as

1. an imitation of the literal-minded diction of the dietitian
2. a euphemism for a harsher word
3. a witty and amusing play on words
4. an example of how administrators like President Hoar abuse language
5. a scholarly word that is in keeping with the mood of faculty meetings

11. In context, Mulcahy’s “condolatory smile” (lines 32-33) is most probably an expression of both

1. cynical skepticism and comical self-pity
2. sincere compassion and whimsical delight
3. profound surprise and delighted appreciation
4. bitter disappointment and sly criticism
5. condescending sympathy and amused scorn

12. Mulcahy apparently believes that he is being dismissed from Jocelyn College because he

1. is outspoken in his criticism of the way the college is run
2. has not continued to do research in his field
3. is not as dedicated to the students as the other faculty members are
4. made fun of the college president at a faculty meeting
5. is resented by other professors who are jealous of his academic achievements

13. In context, the term “progressive college” (line 38) suggests that the college is

1. successful and respected
2. liberal and experimental
3. eager to increase enrollment
4. steadily improving in quality
5. oriented toward the sciences

14. The passage suggests that Dudley and Wilkins State (line 40) are colleges that

1. are best known for their drama courses
2. are less progressive than Jocelyn
3. have better academic programs than Jocelyn
4. have been trying to imitate Jocelyn
5. are smaller than Jocelyn

15. In the context of the passage, one who “holds the individual distinct from the deed” (lines 56-57) can be expected to

1. forgive someone, even though that person has been malicious
2. praise someone, even when that person is wrong
3. promote someone, even though that person may not be qualified
4. disagree with someone’s actions without attacking that person’s character
5. understand someone’s motives without revealing that knowledge to the person’s enemies

16. In line 60, “flatly” most nearly means

1. evenly
2. tautly
3. shallowly
4. unemphatically
5. unequivocally

17. The phrase “ironies of his biography” (line 76) refers to Mulcahy’ s belief that

1. he has not received the recognition and rewards that he deserves
2. he has been more active later in his academic career than at its beginning
3. he is ridiculed by his friends despite his impressive academic achievements
4. his personal life is not as satisfying as his professional career
5. his personality is not suited to his scholarly pursuits

18. The passage suggests that Mulcahy’s main shortcoming is that

1. his devotion to literature takes precedence over his loyalty to college administrators
2. he allows himself to be intimidated by his peers
3. he is too idealistic and self-sacrificing in his dedication to teaching and research
4. because of his superior education and academic honors, he is arrogant to his students
5. despite his intelligence, he is naive about the politics of college administration

19. Mulcahy apparently attributes his difficulties at Jocelyn to the

1. extraordinary amount of time that he has to spend with his students
2. fact that he is too modest to tell others of his academic accomplishments
3. distaste he has for making himself appear competent at the expense of others
4. resentment of those whom he judges to be less intelligent than he is
5. length and nature of his academic experience, which has alerted him to the flaws of others