The Refusal

For centuries no political change has been brought about by the citizens themselves. In the capital great rulers have superseded each other—indeed, even dynasties have been deposed or annihilated, and new ones have started; in the past century even the capital itself was destroyed, a new one was founded far away from it, later on this too was destroyed and the old one rebuilt, yet none of this had any influence on our little town.

What is most closely the meaning of superseded as it is used in the passage below (paragraph 3)?

• gave large sums of money to

• questioned

• defeated in battle

• taken the place of; succeeded

Tags

E2.2B

Yet while he lives among us without laying too much stress on his official position, he is something quite different from the ordinary citizen. When a delegation comes to him with a request, he stands there like the wall of the world. Behind him is nothingness, one imagines hearing voices whispering in the background, but this is probably a delusion; after all, he represents the end of all things, at least for us. At these receptions he really was worth seeing.

Which of these inferences is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 5)?

• The townspeople are resentful of the capital’s control over them.

• The tax-collector’s family lives a privileged life.

• The tax-collector lives an ordinary life and blends in with the people of the small town.

• The tax-collector wields immense power in the town and causes fear among villagers.

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E2.4F

Which of these statements best describes how the setting establishes conflict and advances the plot of the story?

• The geographic distance between the capital and the town emphasizes the oppression of a government that is out of touch with its people.

• The small size of the town helps highlight a close-knit community of villagers who rely on each other in times of need.

• The hot climate contributes to an unsettling, uncomfortable mood, and causes the soldiers to feel irritable.

• The vivid description of the tax-collector’s elaborate home reveals how wealthy and uncaring he is.

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E2.4G

E2.6D

In all important matters, however, the citizens can always count on a refusal. And now the strange fact is that without this refusal one simply cannot get along, yet at the same time these official occasions designed to receive the refusal are by no means a formality. Time after time one goes there full of expectation and in all seriousness and then one returns, if not exactly strengthened or happy, nevertheless not disappointed or tired. About these things I do not have to ask the opinion of anyone else, I feel them in myself, as everyone does; nor do I have any great desire to find out how these things are connected.

Which of these inferences is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 7)?

• The townspeople don’t mind the refusal because there’s nothing they really want.

• The people of the town have come to expect—and even rely on—the refusal.

• The townspeople blindly follow the orders of the government without questioning.

• The narrator prefers to mind his own business and not pay attention to the ceremony or the refusal.

Tags

E2.4F

A soldier, for example, enters a shop, buys some trifling object, and stays there leaning against the counter; he listens to the conversations, probably does not understand them, and yet gives the impression of understanding; he himself does not say a word, just stares blankly at the speaker, then back at the listeners, all the while keeping his hand on the hilt of the long knife in his belt. This is revolting, one loses the desire to talk, the customers start leaving the shop, and only when it is quite empty does the soldier also leave. Thus wherever the soldiers appear, our lively people grow silent. That's what happened this time, too. As on all solemn occasions the colonel stood upright, holding in front of him two poles of bamboo in his outstretched hands. This is an ancient custom implying more or less that he supports the law, and the law supports him.

Which of these inferences about the soldiers is best supported by the passage below (paragraph 5)?

• The soldiers act as spies who bring back incriminating information to the capital.

• The presence of soldiers in the small town intimidates its inhabitants.

• The soldiers exercise violence on the citizens of the town.

• The soldiers enjoy a calm, welcoming relationship with the villagers.

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E2.4F

Which of these sentences from the text most strongly supports the following statement?

The presence of soldiers in the small town intimidates its inhabitants.

• “A soldier, for example, enters a shop, buys some trifling object, and stays there leaning against the counter…”

• “... all while keeping his hand on the hilt of the long knife in his belt.”

• “This is revolting, one loses the desire to talk, the customers start leaving the shop…”

• “... and only when it is quite empty does the soldier also leave…”

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E2.5C

Which of these inferences about the refusal is best supported by the passage below (paragraphs 7-8)?

In all important matters, however, the citizens can always count on a refusal. And now the strange fact is that without this refusal one simply cannot get along, yet at the same time these official occasions designed to receive the refusal are by no means a formality. Time after time one goes there full of expectation and in all seriousness and then one returns, if not exactly strengthened or happy, nevertheless not disappointed or tired. About these things I do not have to ask the opinion of anyone else, I feel them in myself, as everyone does; nor do I have any great desire to find out how these things are connected.

As a matter of fact, there is, so far as my observations go, a certain age group that is not content—these are the young people roughly between seventeen and twenty. Quite young fellows, in fact, who are utterly incapable of foreseeing the consequences of even the least significant, far less a revolutionary, idea. And it is among just them that discontent creeps in.

Answer choices for the above question

• The citizens who attend the ceremony hope for a refusal, and are happy when it occurs.

• The narrator does not seem to care one way or the other about the refusal.

• The tax-collector is an older, stoic man with a strong allegiance to the distant capital.

• Young people, who don’t fully understand the risk of opposing the capital, are upset about the refusal.

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E2.4F

Which of these passages best supports the following statement?

Young people, who don’t fully understand the risk of opposing the capital, are upset about the refusal.

• “... yet at the same time these official occasions designed to receive the refusal are by no means a formality.”

• “... and in all seriousness and then one returns, if not exactly strengthened or happy, nevertheless not disappointed or tired.”

• “About these things I do not have to ask the opinion of anyone else, I feel them in myself, as everyone does; nor do I have any great desire to find out how these things are connected.”

• “Quite young fellows, in fact, who are utterly incapable of foreseeing the consequences of even the least significant, far less a revolutionary, idea.”

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E2.5C

Order these events chronologically as they take place in the story.

• A crowd feels relieved and disperses.

• The colonel rejects a petition from the people of the town.

• The narrator describes the location of the town and its relationship with the capital.

• The townspeople gather for a ceremony.

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E2.5D

Match each vocabulary word to its correct synonym:

• exceptional

• overtly

• explicitly

• barren

• rigid

• stiff

• desolate

• special

• petition

• request

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E2.2B