Before We Were Free

Which of the following inferences is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 6)?

“What about . . . ?” Lucinda wrinkles her nose instead of saying their names.

• A. Lucinda doesn’t know the names of the SIM agents.

• B. Lucinda knows better than to say certain names aloud.

• C. Lucinda is playing a game with Chucha.

• D. Lucinda is allergic to Chucha’s uniform.

The following passage (paragraph 19) adds to the development of the narrative mainly by .

“Anita, por favor,” Mami pleads, collapsing in a hall chair. She leans forward and whispers in my ear, “Please, please, you must stop asking questions.”

• A. suggesting how dangerous it is to be speaking out loud

• B. showing the closeness of the family in the face of danger

• C. implying that one of the members of the family is going to betray the rest

• D. suggesting that Mami is angry at her daughter, Anita

What does the following passage most likely reveal about the SIM (paragraphs 17 and 18)?

Those black cars sit there for days and days—sometimes there’s only one, sometimes as many as three. Every morning, when Papi leaves for the office, one of the cars starts up its colicky motor and follows him down the hill. In the evening, when he comes home, it comes back with him. I don’t know when those SIM ever go to their own houses to eat their suppers and talk with their kids. “Are they really policemen?” I keep asking Mami. It doesn’t make any sense. If the SIM are policemen, secret or not, shouldn’t we trust them instead of being afraid of them? But all Mami will say is “Shhh!” Meanwhile, we can’t go to school because something might happen to us. “Like what?” I ask. Like what Chucha said about people disappearing? Is that what Mami worries will happen to us? “Didn’t Papi say we should carry on with normal life?”

• A. The SIM are secret police who are not allowed to have children.

• B. The SIM are not really policemen.

• C. The SIM are policemen who might make Papi and others in the family disappear.

• D. The SIM are following Papi to protect him and make sure he does not disappear.

The last paragraph of the excerpt mainly reveals that the narrator .

“For once in the last few weeks, it’s my turn to tell someone else in our house, “SHHHH!”

• A. finally understands the importance of being secretive

• B. knows the hidden microphone is in Lucinda’s bedroom

• C. is tired of being ignored and silenced continuously

• D. is jealous of her older sister, Lucinda

What does the following passage most likely reveal about Papi (paragraphs 25-29)?

One evening when the phone rings, I follow him into our living room. I hear him say something about some butterflies in a car accident. “Butterflies in a car accident?” I ask, puzzled. He seems startled that I’m in the room. “What are you doing here?” he snaps. I put my hands on my hips. “Honestly, Papi! I live here!” I can’t believe he’s asking me what I’m doing in our own living room! Of course, he immediately apologizes. “Sorry, amorcito, you startled me.” His eyes are moist, as if he’s holding back tears. “So what about those butterflies, Papi?” “They’re not real butterflies,” he explains softly. “It’s just . . . a nickname for some very special ladies who had an . . . accident last night.”

• A. Papi is communicating with the SIM behind his family’s back.

• B. Papi is importing illegal butterflies into the country.

• C. Papi personally knows the women who were in a suspicious accident the night before.

• D. Papi knows, after this phone call, that he is going to be killed in a similar “accident.”

Which line from the previous passage best supports the answer to Question 5?

• A. “One evening when the phone rings, I follow him into our living room. I hear him say something about some butterflies in a car accident.”

• B. “‘Butterflies in a car accident?’ I ask, puzzled.”

• C. “He seems startled that I’m in the room. ‘What are you doing here?’ he snaps.”

• D. “‘It’s just . . . a nickname for some very special ladies who had an . . . accident last night.’”

Which of the following inferences about Trujillo is best supported by the passage below (paragraphs 39-42)?

“Shhh!” Lucinda hushes me. For a moment she looks doubtful about continuing to explain things to a little sister who can’t keep her voice down. “It’s all about T-O-N-I,” she says, spelling out our uncle’s name in English. “A few months ago, he and his friends were involved in a plot to get rid of our dictator.” “You mean. . . .” I don’t even have to say our leader’s name. Lucinda nods solemnly and puts a finger to her lips. Now I’m really confused. I thought we liked El Jefe. His picture hangs in our front entryway with the saying below it: IN THIS HOUSE, TRUJILLO RULES. “But if he’s so bad, why does Mrs. Brown hang his picture in our classroom next to George Washington?”“We have to do that. Everyone has to. He’s a dictator.”

• A. Trujillo is probably waiting outside in one of the black Volkswagens.

• B. Some people privately oppose Trujillo, even if they support him publicly.

• C. Trujillo has many things in common with the first President of the United States.

• D. The SIM are listening through microphones in Trujillo’s picture.

Which line from the previous passage best supports the answer to Question 7?

• A. “For a moment she looks doubtful about continuing to explain things to a little sister who can’t keep her voice down.”

• B. “‘A few months ago, he and his friends were involved in a plot to get rid of our dictator.’”

• C. “‘You mean. . . .’ I don’t even have to say our leader’s name. Lucinda nods solemnly and puts a finger to her lips.”

• D. “‘We have to do that. Everyone has to. He’s a dictator.’”

Which meaning of cascade most closely matches its meaning in the following passage (paragraph 48)?

“And abandon Tío Toni?” Lucinda shakes her head vigorously. Her pretty auburn hair is up in this hairdo called a chignon, like Princess Grace wears in her magazine wedding pictures. It comes undone and cascades down her back. “What if he comes back? What if he needs our help?” Her voice has risen above her usual whispering.

• A. noun | a waterfall, typically that falls in stages down a steep slope

• B. noun | a process whereby something, typically information or knowledge, is successively passed on

• C. verb | to pour downward rapidly and in large quantities

• D. verb | to arrange in a series or sequence

What is the correst spelling of this household cleaning item

• vacuum

• vaccuum

• vacroom

• vakruum