“Wind,” William Least Heat-Moon- AP Multiple-Choice

The author develops the passage primarily through

• accumulation of detail

• pro-and-con argument

• thesis followed by qualification

• assertion supported by evidence

• analysis of the ideas of others

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.6

CCSS.RI.8.6

The author is best described as

• a curious individual who seeks out diverse information from a variety of sources

• a serious scientist who is determined to learn more about the causes of these storms

• an excited eyewitness who is too distracted to fear for personal safety

• a confused novice who is unable to decide which claims are accurate

• an ironic interpreter who comments on the failures and follies of others

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Compared with the of the rest of the passage, the diction of lines 1-8 (“Climatologists . . . survived”) is...

• informal and straightforward

• technical and specialized

• subjective and impressionistic

• speculative and uncertain

• understated and euphemistic

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.10

CCSS.RI.6.10

CCSS.RI.7.10

CCSS.RI.8.10

CCSS.RI.9-10.10

The statement “although . . . survived” (lines 7-8) is an admission that...

• details about technical equipment are of interest only to specialists

• some tornadoes are so powerful that scientists cannot quantify them precisely

• scientists have abandoned the effort to measure the wind speed of tornadoes

• predicting the path a tornado will take is extremely difficult

• precise measurement of wind speed will aid climatologists in categorizing tornadoes

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

Which of the following is true of the comparisons in lines 11-14 (“they say . . . Philadelphia”)?

• They emphasize the unpredictable nature of tornadoes.

• They exaggerate the danger of tornadoes in order to make people cautious of them.

• They use technical terminology in order to ensure accuracy of description.

• They draw on familiar information to particularize an aspect of tornadoes.

• They clarify the distinctions between the language of climatologists and that of

  weathercasters.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

The first sentence of the passage (lines 1-14) employs all of the following to convey the power

and variety of tornadoes EXCEPT

• abstract generalization

• the jargon of climatologists

• metaphor

• parallel construction

• varying degrees of formality

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

The passage implies that unlike hurricanes, tornadoes are not given human names because

• there are too many of them

• their destruction is not as great as that of hurricanes

• they last too short a time

• they move too erratically to be plotted

• they can appear in any area of the world

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

When the passage moves from the first paragraph to the second, it also moves from

• overview to illustration

• analysis to argumentation

• narration of the past to analysis of the past

• assertion to definition

• objective presentation to ad hominem argument

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

The phrase “as bald as if a cyclonic wind had taken his scalp” (lines 18-19) does all of the

following EXCEPT

• describe the grandfather with an image related to the cyclone

• suggest a lighter tone for the paragraph

• particularize the first of several sources of information mentioned in the paragraph

• suggest the power of the tornado

• express concern about the condition of the grandfather

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

In context, the image of being up under Old Nell’s skirt (lines 23-24) is meant to suggest

• safety

• confusion

• domesticity

• familiarity

• imprisonment

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4