By Any Other Name

Based on the selection, what inference can you make about the relationship between India and Great Britain in the 1920s?

• A. India was dominated by British rule.

• B. India and Great Britain shared political power.

• C. India was a popular British travel destination.

• D. India and Great Britain had recently fought a war.

Read this quotation from paragraph 3. The headmistress had been in India, I suppose, fifteen years or so, but she still smiled her helpless inability to cope with Indian names. What does this quotation suggest about English people in India during the time period in which this memoir is set?

• A. English people struggled pronouncing the names of both Indian and British children.

• B. English people generally thought their culture and language were superior to India’s.

• C. The English kept transferring in teachers ever since the headmistress was first stationed there.

• D. The English tried to educate all the British and Indian children during their rule.

The primary purpose of paragraph 5 is —

We had been sent to that school because my father, among his responsibilities as an officer of the civil service, had a tour of duty to perform in the villages around that steamy little provincial town, where he had his headquarters at that time. He used to make his shorter inspection tours on horseback, and a week before, in the stale heat of a typically postmonsoon day, we had waved goodbye to him and a little procession—an assistant, a secretary, two bearers, and the man to look after the bedding rolls and luggage. They rode away through our large garden, still bright green from the rains, and we turned back into the twilight of the house and the sound of fans whispering in every room.

• A. to describe how the author’s family lived

• B. to describe the school that the children attended

• C. to describe the author’s relationship with her teachers

• D. to describe how the villagers adapted to the rainy season

8 The building was Indian in design, with wide verandas opening onto a central courtyard, but Indian verandas are usually whitewashed, with stone floors. These, in the tradition of British schools, were painted dark brown and had matting on the floors. It gave a feeling of extra intensity to the heat.

In paragraph 8, the author uses descriptive language to indicate that —

• A. the school looked the same as Indian schools

• B. the school reflected only British cultural traditions

• C. the school reflected both British and Indian culture

• D. the school looked out of place for British and Indian people

Which two choices best explain why the author likely describes Santha’s classmate in such detail in paragraph 9?

9 I suppose there were about a dozen Indian children in the school—which contained perhaps forty children in all—and four of them were in my class. They were all sitting at the back of the room, and I went to join them. I sat next to a small, solemn girl, who didn’t smile at me. She had long, glossy black braids and wore a cotton dress, but she still kept on her Indian jewelry—a gold chain around her neck, thin gold bracelets, and tiny ruby studs in her ears. Like most Indian children, she had a rim of black kohl around her eyes. The cotton dress should have looked strange, but all I could think of was that I should ask my mother if I couldn’t wear a dress to school, too, instead of my Indian clothes.

• A. To point out differences between Indian culture and English culture

• B. To provide an example of an Indian girl assimilating to English styles of dress

• C. To show commonalities between English children and Indian children

• D. To compare and contrast an Indian friendship with an English friendship

• E. To highlight differences between Indian schools and English schools

The reader can infer that the author’s main message is about —

• A. the importance of family in shaping who we are

• B. the importance of receiving a good education

• C. the difficulty of maintaining a sense of personal identity

• D. the difficulty of children everywhere in adjusting to school

Using context clues in paragraph 18, which phrase best defines siesta, a word that comes from Spanish?

18 I was very sleepy after lunch, because at home we always took a siesta. It was usually a pleasant time of day, with the bedroom darkened against the harsh afternoon sun, the drifting off into sleep with the sound of Mother’s voice reading a story in one’s mind, and, finally, the shrill, fussy voice of the ayah waking one for tea.

• A. A period of boredom

• B. An afternoon nap

• C. An introduction to activity

• D. A very brief interruption

Read this sentence about the selection. Premila asked Santha not to act so excited. How could this sentence be revised using the past perfect tense?

• A. Premila asks Santha not to act so excited.

• B. Premila will ask Santha not to act so excited.

• C. Premila had asked Santha not to act so excited.

• D. Premila would have asked Santha not to act so excited.

Which two quotations from the text indicate that it is a memoir?

• A. That first day at school is still, when I think of it, a remarkable one. (paragraph 7)

• B. These, in the tradition of British schools, were painted dark brown and had matting on the floors. (paragraph 8)

• C. The door opened sharply and Premila marched in. (paragraph 28)

• D. But it was nearing the hottest time of day, and the road was almost deserted. (paragraph 34)

• E. I understood it perfectly, and I remember it all very clearly. (paragraph 45)

21 When we played twos-and-threes that afternoon at school, in accordance with my training I let one of the small English boys catch me but was naturally rather puzzled when the other children did not return the courtesy. I ran about for what seemed like hours without ever catching anyone, until it was time for school to close. Much later I learned that my attitude was called “not being a good sport,” and I stopped allowing myself to be caught, but it was not for years that I really learned the spirit of the thing.

The details in paragraph 21 are significant because they explain —

• A. why the Indian children were treated so harshly

• B. how often children's games were played in British schools

• C. the differences in school rules that Santha was unfamiliar with

• D. the cultural differences that Santha did not understand