Unit E Amplify Test Practice

Which statement BEST describes the central idea of paragraphs 19–27?

Meanwhile, there were other indications that the Games were not going to follow Hitler’s script. On the opening day, Jesse Owens set a world record of 10.2 seconds in a trial heat of the 100-meter dash. Although the record was later disallowed because of a favoring wind, it was obvious from that moment on that this was going to be Jesse Owens’ Olympics, not Hitler’s. It is interesting—and refreshing—to note that the German crowds anticipated this verdict by abandoning Nazi orthodoxy and cheering Owens.

The next day, Monday, Aug. 3, dawned with gray skies and intermittent rain. Despite the adverse weather conditions, Owens captivated the crowd with a dazzling performance in the 100-meter dash final. Competing against his fellow Black American, future Congressman Ralph Metcalfe, and four other sprinters, Owens “ripped out of his starting holes,” an eyewitness said, “as though slung by a giant catapult,” and led from the first stride. Metcalfe, the last sprinter to leave the line, managed by superhuman effort to pass all runners except Owens, who won by a yard and tied the world record of 10.3 seconds.

Because of the dominant role of Owens and other Black Americans, the following day was dubbed “Black Tuesday.” Owens opened this day by winning his morning 200-meter heat in 21.1 seconds, a world record for that distance around a turn. Fresh from this triumph, he strolled over to the pit for the qualifying rounds of the broad jump. Since he held the world record, qualification was considered a mere formality. But it didn’t happen that way. Owens, still wearing his jersey warm-up suit, ran down the runway and continued through the pit, making no attempt to jump. Although he was obviously testing conditions, a red flag went up, signaling a foul. On his second try he faulted, allegedly overstepping the mark. The atmosphere now turned tense. For the greatest broad jumper in the world was only one jump away from disqualification at a distance that was child’s play for him. But to the immense relief of U.S. officials, he easily qualified on his third and last jump.

After the luncheon break, Owens continued his one-man Olympics by winning another 200-meter heat in 21.1 seconds. He then returned to the pit for the finals of the broad jump. To his surprise, an unheralded German named Lutz Long matched him jump for jump. Everything stopped in the stadium as the two men limbered up for the final three jumps. On the first jump of the finals, Owens sailed through the air and broke the Olympic record; Long, inspired perhaps by the presence of Hitler and the frenzied chants of the crowd, vaulted and came down at the same distance. A deep hush fell over the stadium as Owens lined up for his next to last jump. Without a moment’s hesitation, he thundered down the runway and leaped 26 feet, 39/64 of an inch, the first 26-foot jump in Olympic history. On his next and last jump, he cleared 26 feet, 5 21/64 inches, establishing a new Olympic record and breaking the old one for the second time that afternoon.

There occurred a postscript to this event that throws additional light on Hitler’s dilemma. At the end of the broad jump competition, Long, the German challenger, threw his arm around Owens’ shoulder, and the two men—one blond and German, the other Black and American—“affectionately walked along the track, arm in arm,” directly under Hitler’s box, as the crowd roared its approval.

On Wednesday, another cold, gray and rainy day, Owens surpassed his previous efforts, easily defeating Matthew (Mack) Robinson, brother of [future baseball great] Jackie Robinson, by more than three yards in the 200-meter finals. Arthur Daley, who was witness to the event, said in a dispatch to the New York Times that Owens’ running on this day was “a thing of beauty, a joy to behold.” It was, he added, “one of the most amazing achievements in the ancient art of foot racing. No one in history had broken even 21 seconds flat for the distance around a turn and here was this human bullet ripping off 0:20:7, his eleventh record of one description or another in 14 appearances….”

Shortly before Owens received his third gold medal, Hitler left the stadium. Reich officials said he left because of the inclement weather; others said a Black man from America had driven “the apostle of Nordic supremacy into sudden retreat….” On the final day of track-and-field competition, Owens added a fourth gold medal and a 12th record as the lead-off man of the 400-meter relay team. By that time, “America’s Black auxiliaries,” as the Nazis derisively called the Black athletes, had won six of the 12 American gold medals.

Owens returned to America and a hero’s ticker-tape parade. He was a hero, but he was a Black hero, and the market for Black heroes was limited. To make ends meet, Hitler’s nemesis was forced to race cars, dogs and horses. Years later, he said, “I came back to my native country and I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door, I couldn’t live where I wanted….I wasn’t invited up to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the president, either.” The hero of Berlin did not receive the official thanks of his country until 1976, when president Gerald Ford awarded him the Medal of Freedom. By that time he was a successful public relations executive and the international symbol of the Olympic movement. Toward the end of his life, he told a reporter that the four gold medals of Berlin had kept him alive “over the years,” adding: “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard.”

Hitlers lived and died, regimes rose and fell, but Owens’ triumph lived on. When, on March 31, 1980, he died, the golden moment became a living memorial, giving imperishable testimony on the limits of tyranny and the swiftness and grace of the human spirit.

• Jesse Owens was by far the best athlete at the 1936 Olympics.

• Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe helped the United States Olympic team dominate the games.

• Owens's history-making performance disproved the myth of Aryan supremacy.

• 
  Jesse Owens is an underappreciated athlete.

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What were Owens's athletic accomplishments in the 1936 Olympics? Select all that apply (Multiple answers)

• Tied the 100-meter dash world record 

• Won the 200-meter dash

• Set the Olympic broad jump record three times

• Awarded the Medal of Freedom

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What is the BEST option for replacing "dazzling" in this sentence? "Owens captivated the crowd with a dazzling performance" (20).

• Sparkling

• Solid

• Thrilling

• Confusing

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Read this sentence from paragraph 20:

Competing against his fellow Black American, future Congressman Ralph Metcalfe, and four other sprinters, Owens "ripped out of his starting holes," an eyewitness said, "as though slung by a giant catapult," and led from the first stride.

Which choice BEST describes what role this sentence plays in the passage?

• It provides evidence that multiple athletes on the American Olympic team performed well.

• It creates suspense by making readers wonder whether Owens will be successful.

• It provides a firsthand account of how Owens's speed seemed superhuman.

• It develops the idea that Black Americans faced harsh discrimination in the 1936 Olympics.

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Which of the following BEST describes how Owens's performance affected the crowd in Germany?

• The German crowd was divided in their reactions to Owens. 

• The German crowd was united in support of Owens.

• 
  The German crowd was excited but hostile toward Owens.

• The German crowd began to leave after Owens received a medal.

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Which of the following is an inference you can make from paragraph 26?

Owens returned to America and a hero’s ticker-tape parade. He was a hero, but he was a Black hero, and the market for Black heroes was limited. To make ends meet, Hitler’s nemesis was forced to race cars, dogs and horses. Years later, he said, “I came back to my native country and I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door, I couldn’t live where I wanted….I wasn’t invited up to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the president, either.” The hero of Berlin did not receive the official thanks of his country until 1976, when president Gerald Ford awarded him the Medal of Freedom. By that time he was a successful public relations executive and the international symbol of the Olympic movement. Toward the end of his life, he told a reporter that the four gold medals of Berlin had kept him alive “over the years,” adding: “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard.”

• Jesse Owens wasn't considered a hero in the United States.

• Jesse Owens's celebrity helped him find employment after the Olympics.

• Jesse Owens faced discrimination when he returned to the United States.

• Jesse Owens never accomplished anything after the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

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What did Owens mean when he said, "Time has stood still for me" (26)?

• Owens would always feel strength and pride because of the 1936 Olympics.

• Owens wanted everyone to remember what he accomplished at the 1936 Olympics.

• Owens's whole life was better because the Olympics made him a celebrity.

• Owens missed his days as the world's fastest man.

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Read this sentence from paragraph 9:

“Compared to the camps, high school was a piece of cake.”

Which of the following BEST expresses what Irene is saying about her experience with American high school?

• 
  Her new classes were less challenging than her education in Europe.

• 
   American schools provided better meals than her old school had.

• Going to school in the United States felt easy compared to her time in the camps.

• 
  She didn’t like school but it was still better than her time in the camps.

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Reread paragraph 14. Which of the following triggered strong memories of the Holocaust for Irene?

I very rarely spoke about the past. It was buried under my job, family, and activities, but sometimes I experienced a shiver. Like when I walked Jubilee, our yellow lab, along the Huron River, and a train passed: the whistle, the steel wheels passing from rail to rail. I froze until the beast rounded the corner while poor Jubilee pulled on the leash to keep going. Or the time I was served turnip soup at a friend’s house and couldn’t lift the spoon to my lips. Or when my kids left food on their plate and I saved it as leftovers, even when it was the smallest of crusts. When something about the Holocaust came up on TV or in the news, I quickly changed the topic.

• The river

• Passing trains

• Her dog

• Food

• The news

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Irene felt that she experienced a "turning point" when she participated on the Anne Frank panel because it 

• Helped her remember her childhood experiences.

• Prompted her to read Anne Frank's diary.

• Made her feel included.

• Made her rethink her choice to stay silent.

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