All GED Language Arts (RLA) Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #131 : Conclusions About 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?
Line 4
Line 10
Line 12
Line 6
Line 8
Line 12
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 #132 : Conclusions About 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)?
Anthropomorphism
Juxtaposition
Cacophony
Assonance
Litotes
Juxtaposition
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 #151 : Passage Meaning And Inference
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 ________________.
the youth's cows
the stars
the youth's companions
angels in heaven
the youth's cows
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 #131 : Conclusions About 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.
Of what stylistic technique is Sentence 1 an example?
Imperative voice
Declarative norm
Interrogative voice
Indirect personification
Past perfect tense
Imperative voice
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 #132 : Conclusions About 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.
Sentence 4 contains an example of what literary device?
Ad hominem
Parallelism
Portmanteau
Cliché
Telegraphic sentence
Parallelism
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 #133 : Conclusions About 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.
Which sentence contains an example of allusion?
Sentence 7
None of these
Sentence 8
Sentence 6
Sentence 5
Sentence 6
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 #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.
In Sentence 9, of what literary device is “belted round by wharves” an example?
Anthropomorphism
Epithet
Consonance
Symbolism
Onomatopoeia
Anthropomorphism
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 #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.
What other literary device can be seen in Sentence 9?
Simile
Allegory
Metaphor
Litotes
Symbolism
Simile
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 #13 : 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.
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?
Foreshadowing
Alliteration
Dramatic irony
Conceit
Hyperbole
Hyperbole
"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)
Example Question #61 : Language 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.
Sentence 12 is an example of what literary technique?
Telegraphic sentence
Imperative voice
Pleonasm
Stream of consciousness
Pathetic fallacy
Imperative voice
Like in Sentence 1, Sentence 12 commands the reader to undertake an action. In this case, the action is simply to look at the crowds of people, but that doesn’t change the fact that a sentence containing a command is an example of imperative voice. None of these other techniques or devices appear in Sentence 12.
Passage adapted from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851)
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