DREAM Practice Cold Read Test

#1 PART A

Read these lines from “Grad Who Beat the Odds Asks, Why Not the Others?”.
"That's the first time in the classroom a professor actually brought up the concept of what the American dream was," Reyes says. "You can come from the bottom, and with hard work and dedication, you'll get a nice house, a nice car and enough money for your kids to go to school."But for Reyes, the message rang hollow.

What best explains the meaning of the phrase the message rang hollow?

• Reyes felt that anyone who was not already in the middle class did not belong there.
• Reyes did not buy into the idea of the American Dream becoming a reality for those below the middle class.
• Reyes believed in living a middle class lifestyle, complete with a nice car and enough money.
• Reyes felt like even those living below the poverty line were still living the American Dream.

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#1 PART B
What quotation from “Grad Who Beat the Odds” best supports the answer to Part A?

• “Why did he make it out of the South Bronx, when so many of the kids he grew up with didn’t?”
• “And quite frankly, [I’m] lucky to not fall into the wrong place at the wrong time.”
• “That’s the first time in the classroom a professor actually brought up the concept of what the American Dream was.”
  “That’s the first time in the classroom a professor actually brought up the concept of what the American Dream was.”
• “Where’s their shot at a college education? Where’s their American dream?”

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Read these lines from “Grad Who Beat the Odds Asks, Why Not the Others?”.
"Some people would look at a story like Juan Carlos’ and say he’s proof the system works,” Cullen says. “Other people look at the story of a Juan Carlos and say he’s the exception – and therefore evidence that there’s a problem."
What effect does the author create in the above quote?

• Sanchez uses the paradoxical quote from Cullen to illustrate two different ways of thinking.
• The author chooses to highlight that Juan Carlos is an anomaly and proof of a less than ideal society.
• The quote is used to affirm Sanchez’s message through a quote from a historian, Jim Cullen.
• Sanchez uses Cullen’s quote to persuade the reader that Carlos’ life is evidence of the American Dream.

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#3 PART A
Read “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike. Then answer the question.

In stanza 1, what is the significance of Berth’s Garage’s location?

• Berth’s Garage is slightly outside of town, symbolizing that Flick has been ostracized from his community.
• Berth’s Garage is outside of the route of the trolley, signifying that those associated with the garage have been cut off from society.
• Berth’s Garage’s location symbolizes the setting of Flick Webb’s life, at the end of the street, facing West, like the setting sun.
• Berth’s Garage’s location symbolizes a crossroads between two decisions as it is on a corner lot.

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#3 PART B

Read “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike. Then answer the question.

Which quotation from “Ex-Basketball Player” best supports the answer for Part A?

• “Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off”
• “Is on the corner facing west”
• “Before it has a chance to go two blocks”
• “Pearl Avenue runs past the high-school lot”

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#4 PART A

What is the impact of the language Updike uses in Stanza 2 of “Ex-Basketball Player”?

• The imagery Updike uses personifies the last pump, emphasizing Flick’s preference for basketball over other sports.
• The imagery Updike uses personifies the pumps into a group of athletes, giving the nostalgic impression of Flick’s former glory on the basketball court.
• The description of Flick’s height in contrast to the pumps reiterates the central idea that he does not belong at Berth’s.
• The description of the letters on the pumps creates a sense of time and place as the reader can infer the type of gasoline sold at Berth’s.

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#4 PART B

Which quotation from “Ex-Basketball Player” best supports the answer for Part A?

• “Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps—”
• “Five on a side, the old bubble-head style, “
• “One’s nostrils are two S’s, and his eyes / An E and O.”
• “A head at all—more of a football type.”

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How does the topic of the American Dream relate to both “Grad Who Beat the Odds” and “Ex-basketball Player”?

• “Grad Who Beat the Odds” defines the American Dream as someone who attends college and “Ex-Basketball Player” defines the American Dream as someone who is or once was a sports hero.
• “Grad Who Beat the Odds” demonstrates the small chance that poor, inner-city kids have at the American Dream while “Ex-Basketball Player” demonstrates that those who excel in athletics have the best chance at making it out.
• “Grad Who Beat the Odds” is about someone who made it out of a tough neighborhood and is living the American Dream of attending college while “Ex-Basketball Player” focuses on a character with a failed American Dream who peaked in high school.
• “Grad Who Beat the Odds” is about how only one man out of his group of friends finished both high school and college while “Ex-Basketball Player” is about an athlete who finished high school but did not attend college or learn a trade.

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#6 PART A

Which theme emerges from both “Grad Who Beat the Odds” and “Ex-Basketball Player”?

• One’s past does not matter as much as one’s effort and dedication in the present.
• Glory and fame are short-lived and fade with time.
• Hard work and perseverance will always bring you success in life.
• It makes no difference where one comes from.

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#6 PART B
Select one sentence that best supports the answer to Part A.

• “His hands were like wild birds” (Ex-Basketball Player”)
• “He never learned a trade, he just sells gas” (“Ex-Basketball Player”)
• “It makes no difference to the lug wrench, though” (“Ex-Basketball Player”)
• “He got high, ran with a tough crowd, rarely attended class and was written off as “a lost cause.” (“Grad Who Beat the Odds”)

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