AP Language and Composition

14. In the first passage, the speaker engages the attention of the audience with which of the following types of statement?

• A) A solemn oath

• B) A traditional formula

• C) A cautionary recommendation

• D) A candid confession

• E) A skeptical apology

15. In the context of the first paragraph, the speaker uses the word "temptation" in the first sentence to convey the disapproval of the tendency to

• A) indulge in superficial pleasures

• B) play different roles for different people

• C) dismiss the value of friendship

• D) avoid difficult challenges

• E) disengage from moral responsibility

16. In the first paragraph, the speaker introduces an argument that criticizes

• A) "emotions and beliefs" (sentence 1)

• B) "all that is great and lofty" (sentence 4)

• C) "noble effort" (sentence 4)

• D) "intellectual aloofness" (sentence 5)

• E) "the stern strife of living" (sentence 6)

17. In the first paragraph, the speaker suggests that "the man of lettered leisure" (sentence 1) has a

• A) tendency to avoid conflict

• B) choice regarding his attitude toward involvement

• C) fundamental altruism that influences his actions

• D) desire to become better than he is

• E) valid reason to hold himself apart from others

18. The relationship between the first and second paragraphs is best characterized as

• A) a description of people followed by a narrative of their actions

• B) an introduction of a phenomenon followed by an enumeration of its causes

• C) the presentation of an argument followed by a rebuttal

• D) the consideration of pro and con within a single course of action

• E) the juxtaposition of two contrasting personality types

19. Which of the following choices accurately describes a strategic stylistic decision that the speaker makes in the first two sentences of the second paragraph ("it is not ... nor defeat") ?

• A) Negative words such as “not” and “nor”

  highlight contradictions within opposing

  viewpoints.

• B) Clauses beginning with “who” are used

  repeatedly to emphasize engaging images

  of the men under discussion.

• C) Punctuation marks are varied to highlight

  the contradictory qualities of the “man

  who is actually in the arena.”

• D) Words highlighting struggle such as

  “sweat” and “strive” are used to

  acknowledge that critics of the active life

  make some valid points.

• E) Exaggerated terms such as “the best” and

  “the worst” are used ironically to

  undercut the observations of critics.

20. The primary purpose of sentences 4 and 5 of the

second paragraph (“Among . . . actually are”)

in the speaker’s line of reasoning is to

• A) argue for the importance of

  self-government

• B) describe the conditions under which it is

  possible to act

• C) identify the reasons why men choose the

  cloistered life

• D) distinguish different types and degrees of

  uselessness

• E) explain the motivation of the man of action

21. Hotspur represents an example of

• A) "the same sordid figure in the pages of history" (paragraph 2, sentence 6)

• B) "a cynic, or fop, or voluptuary" (paragraph 2, sentence 6)

• C) "the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of great and generous emotion" (paragraph 2, sentence 7)

• D) "the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder" (paragraph 2, sentence 7)

• E) "the young lord" (paragraph 2, sentence 9)

22. Which observation best counters the speaker’s

argument about action in the passage?

• A) Action without discretion can incur

  disastrous results.

• B) Change can only occur through direct

  action.

• C) True action can only be achieved by

  leaders of men.

• D) Individual action is more important than

  collective action.

• E) Failure to act often instills a sense of

  shame.

23. The passage as a whole claims that the learned cynic's core failings are

• A) indecision and procrastination

• B) poor health and bad manners

• C) vanity and rude language

• D) cowardice and inauthenticity

• E) indiscretion and ill-temper