GED Language Arts (RLA) : Language in the Passage

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GED Language Arts (RLA)

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Literary Devices In The Passage

1 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

2 There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. 3 In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled forever. …

4 France, less favored on the whole as to matters spiritual than her sister of the shield and trident, rolled with exceeding smoothness downhill, making paper money and spending it. 5 Under the guidance of her Christian pastors, she entertained herself, besides, with such humane achievements as sentencing a youth to have his hands cut off, his tongue torn out with pincers, and his body burned alive, because he had not kneeled down in the rain to do honor to a dirty procession of monks which passed within his view, at a distance of some fifty or sixty yards. 6 It is likely enough that, rooted in the woods of France and Norway, there were growing trees, when that sufferer was put to death, already marked by the Woodman, Fate, to come down and be sawn into boards, to make a certain movable framework with a sack and a knife in it, terrible in history.

In Sentence 5, what literary technique can be seen in the phrase “such humane achievements”?

Possible Answers:

Metonymy

Sarcasm

Caricature

Iambic pentameter

Hyperbole

Correct answer:

Sarcasm

Explanation:

Here we have a clear example of sarcasm. The author describes the gruesome torture and killing of a young man for a minor offense, a punishment that is clearly the opposite of humane. Sarcasm is the use of words that are the opposite of what you really intend to say, usually for the purpose of mocking or satirizing something.

Passage adapted from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities (1859).

Example Question #11 : Literary Devices In The Passage

What dire offence from amorous causes springs, 

What mighty contests rise from trivial things, 

I sing — This verse to Caryl, Muse! is due: 

This, even Belinda may vouchsafe to view: 

Slight is the subject, but not so the praise,    (5)

If She inspire, and He approve my lays. 

 

… Sol thro’ white curtains shot a tim’rous ray,

And oped those eyes that must eclipse the day.

Now lapdogs give themselves the rousing shake,

And sleepless lovers just at twelve awake:(10)

Thrice rung the bell, the slipper knock’d the ground,

And the press’d watch return’d a silver sound.

Belinda still her downy pillow prest,

Her guardian Sylph prolong’d the balmy rest.

Which line contains an example of synesthesia?

Possible Answers:

Line 6

Line 8

Line 4

Line 10

Line 12

Correct answer:

Line 12

Explanation:

Synesthesia is the conflation of different sensory perceptions (e.g. a velvety sound, a warm color). The “silver sound” in line 12 is a prime example of this literary device.

Passage adapted from The Rape of the Lock (1712) by Alexander Pope.

Example Question #11 : Literary Devices In The Passage

What dire offence from amorous causes springs, 

What mighty contests rise from trivial things, 

I sing — This verse to Caryl, Muse! is due: 

This, even Belinda may vouchsafe to view: 

Slight is the subject, but not so the praise,    (5)

If She inspire, and He approve my lays. 

 

… Sol thro’ white curtains shot a tim’rous ray,

And oped those eyes that must eclipse the day.

Now lapdogs give themselves the rousing shake,

And sleepless lovers just at twelve awake:(10)

Thrice rung the bell, the slipper knock’d the ground,

And the press’d watch return’d a silver sound.

Belinda still her downy pillow prest,

Her guardian Sylph prolong’d the balmy rest.

What is the relationship between “mighty contests” and “trivial things” (line 2)?

Possible Answers:

Assonance

Anthropomorphism

Cacophony

Litotes

Juxtaposition

Correct answer:

Juxtaposition

Explanation:

Juxtaposition is the contrast of two unlike things. “Mighty contests” and “trivial things” are opposites, so it makes sense that they would be juxtaposed for poetic effect. Litotes is dramatic understatement, assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds, anthropomorphism is personification, and cacophony is noisy chaos. None of those choices fit line 2.

Passage adapted from The Rape of the Lock (1712) by Alexander Pope.

Example Question #51 : Language In The Passage

The youth kept from intercourse with his companions as much as circumstances would allow him. In the evening he wandered a few paces into the gloom. From this little distance the many fires, with the black forms of men passing to and fro before the crimson rays, made weird and satanic effects.

He lay down in the grass. The blades pressed tenderly against his cheek. The moon had been lighted and was hung in a treetop. The liquid stillness of the night enveloping him made him feel vast pity for himself. There was a caress in the soft winds; and the whole mood of the darkness, he thought, was one of sympathy for himself in his distress.

He wished, without reserve, that he was at home again making the endless rounds from the house to the barn, from the barn to the fields, from the fields to the barn, from the barn to the house. He remembered he had often cursed the brindle cow and her mates, and had sometimes flung milking stools. But, from his present point of view, there was a halo of happiness about each of their heads, and he would have sacrificed all the brass buttons7 on the continent to have been enabled to return to them. He told himself that he was not formed for a soldier. And he mused seriously upon the radical differences between himself and those men who were dodging implike around the fires.

(1895)

As used in the passage, "halo of happiness" refers to ________________.

Possible Answers:

the youth's companions

the youth's cows

angels in heaven

the stars

Correct answer:

the youth's cows

Explanation:

The previous sentence describes the "brindle cow and her mates", and the youth expresses a desire to "sacrifice all the brass buttons on the continent" to return to them.  In context, it is clear that he believes it is the cows who have the "halo of happiness."

Passage adapted from The Red Badge of Courage by Steven Crane (1895)

Example Question #321 : Ged Language Arts (Rla)

1 Call me Ishmael. 2 Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. 3 It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. 4 Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. 5 This is my substitute for pistol and ball. 6 With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. 7 There is nothing surprising in this. 8 If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

9 There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. 10 Right and left, the streets take you waterward. 11 Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land. 12 Look at the crowds of water-gazers there.

Of what stylistic technique is Sentence 1 an example?

Possible Answers:

Imperative voice

Past perfect tense

Indirect personification

Declarative norm

Interrogative voice

Correct answer:

Imperative voice

Explanation:

Sentence 1 is a command to the reader: “Call me Ishmael.” It is not a question (interrogative voice) or a simple descriptive statement (declarative voice); rather, it is the imperative voice.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851)

Example Question #331 : Ged Language Arts (Rla)

1 Call me Ishmael. 2 Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. 3 It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. 4 Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. 5 This is my substitute for pistol and ball. 6 With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. 7 There is nothing surprising in this. 8 If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

9 There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. 10 Right and left, the streets take you waterward. 11 Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land. 12 Look at the crowds of water-gazers there.

Sentence 4 contains an example of what literary device?

Possible Answers:

Parallelism

Ad hominem

Telegraphic sentence

Portmanteau

Cliché

Correct answer:

Parallelism

Explanation:

Sentence 4 contains several clauses that all begin with “whenever” and follow the same grammatical statement. This is parallelism, or the use of identical sentence structure for melodic or rhetorical effect. None of the other choices appear in this sentence.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851)

Example Question #151 : Passage Meaning And Inference

1 Call me Ishmael. 2 Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. 3 It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. 4 Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. 5 This is my substitute for pistol and ball. 6 With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. 7 There is nothing surprising in this. 8 If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

9 There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. 10 Right and left, the streets take you waterward. 11 Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land. 12 Look at the crowds of water-gazers there.

Which sentence contains an example of allusion?

Possible Answers:

Sentence 5

Sentence 6

None of these

Sentence 8

Sentence 7

Correct answer:

Sentence 6

Explanation:

In Sentence 6, the phrase “With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword,” refers to the famous Roman statesman Cato. None of the other passages are references to other works of literature or art, which is the definition of literary allusion.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851)

Example Question #331 : Ged Language Arts (Rla)

1 Call me Ishmael. 2 Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. 3 It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. 4 Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. 5 This is my substitute for pistol and ball. 6 With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. 7 There is nothing surprising in this. 8 If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

9 There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. 10 Right and left, the streets take you waterward. 11 Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land. 12 Look at the crowds of water-gazers there.

In Sentence 9, of what literary device is “belted round by wharves” an example?

Possible Answers:

Epithet

Symbolism

Onomatopoeia

Anthropomorphism

Consonance

Correct answer:

Anthropomorphism

Explanation:

Also known as "personification," "anthropomorphism" is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human or inanimate things. In this case, it’s the idea that an island could be wearing a “belt” of wharves.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851)

Example Question #11 : Literary Devices In The Passage

1 Call me Ishmael. 2 Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. 3 It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. 4 Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. 5 This is my substitute for pistol and ball. 6 With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. 7 There is nothing surprising in this. 8 If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

9 There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. 10 Right and left, the streets take you waterward. 11 Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land. 12 Look at the crowds of water-gazers there.

What other literary device can be seen in Sentence 9?

Possible Answers:

Symbolism

Litotes

Metaphor

Simile

Allegory

Correct answer:

Simile

Explanation:

Sentence 9 makes a comparison about the island using “as”: “belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs.” Similes are comparisons using “like” or “as” (metaphors are comparisons lacking these two words), and that is the device seen here.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851)

Example Question #331 : Ged Language Arts (Rla)

1 Call me Ishmael. 2 Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. 3 It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. 4 Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. 5 This is my substitute for pistol and ball. 6 With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. 7 There is nothing surprising in this. 8 If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

9 There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf. 10 Right and left, the streets take you waterward. 11 Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land. 12 Look at the crowds of water-gazers there.

The phrase “it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from… methodically knocking people’s hats off” is an example of what literary device?

Possible Answers:

Conceit

Dramatic irony

Alliteration

Foreshadowing

Hyperbole

Correct answer:

Hyperbole

Explanation:

"Hyperbole" is the use of dramatic exaggeration (e.g. “this suitcase weighs a ton”), often to make a comical observation. The narrator in question is probably not actually knocking the hats off the heads of strangers in the street; he’s merely using the phrase to describe his general misanthropy. Like the “pistol and ball” reference, then, this phrase is an example of hyperbole.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851)

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors