WorksheetsPre-Assessment Unit 4
Total questions: 12
Worksheet time: 27mins
Read this excerpt from paragraph 1.
It would have been extremely odd, even upon this showing, had one of [a woman] suddenly written the plays of Shakespeare, I concluded, and I thought of that old gentleman, who is dead now, but was a bishop, I think, who
declared that it was impossible for any woman, past, present, or to come, to have the genius of Shakespeare.
Woolf’s diction can overall be described as —
thoughtful yet friendly, which disproves the claim that women are uneducated
formal yet comic, which adds evidence that women can be funny when uneducated
humorous yet foreboding, which clarifies her points about the bigotry women face
playful yet articulate, which strengthens claims that women can be as accomplished as men
Read the excerpt from paragraph 2.
Shakespeare himself went, very probably—his mother was an heiress—to the grammar school, where he may have learnt Latin—Ovid, Virgil and Horace—and the elements of grammar and logic. He was, it is well known, a wild boy who poached rabbits, perhaps shot a deer, and had, rather sooner than he should have done, to marry a woman in the neighbourhood, who bore him a child rather quicker than was right. That escapade sent him to seek his fortune in London.
Based on the ideas and evidence Woolf presents, which best describes her intended audience for this piece, which was originally meant to be a speech?
Speakers of English and educated Western men and women
Feminist or activist mothers who work but do not earn much money
Ordinary British working men and their wives and children
Uneducated people who desire educations for themselves and others
Read this excerpt from paragraph 2.
Let me imagine, since facts are so hard to come by, what would have happened had Shakespeare had a wonderfully gifted sister, called Judith, let us say.
Seeing it in context, which best describes Woolf’s implicit intention in this sentence?
Her intention is to point out that facts are easily proven when known, which makes both arguments absurd.
Her intention is to use her imagination to make a brilliant point, which is similar to how Shakespeare wrote his plays.
Her intention is to suggest that she herself is a kind of Judith, which means educating women is already a successful idea.
Her intention is to mock the assumption of the bishop about women, which he made without any reference to historical facts.
Read this excerpt from paragraph 3.
For genius like Shakespeare’s is not born among labouring, uneducated, servile people. It was not born in England among the Saxons and the Britons. It is not born to–day among the working classes.
To help prove her argument, Woolf describes what kind of background a person like Shakespeare would have needed to write such brilliant plays. What best describes this logical fallacy?
Existential fallacy: an argument that uses universal ideas to come to a specific conclusion
Appeal to probability: an argument that takes for granted what is likely but not provably true
Straw man fallacy: an argument that seeks to disprove a point that was never made
Ad hominem fallacy: an argument that addresses an individual rather than the issue at hand
... That, more or less, is how the story would run, I think, if a woman in Shakespeare’s day had had Shakespeare’s genius. But for my part, I agree with the deceased bishop, if such he was—it is unthinkable that any woman in Shakespeare’s day should have had Shakespeare’s genius. For genius like Shakespeare’s is not born among labouring, uneducated, servile people. It was not born in England among the Saxons and the Britons. It is not born today among the working classes. How, then, could it have been born among women whose work began, according to Professor Trevelyan, almost before they were out of the nursery, who were forced to it by their parents and held to it by all the power of law and custom? Yet genius of a sort must have existed among women as it must have existed among the working classes . . .
Which of the following best describes why Woolf’s conclusion in paragraph 3 is so effective?
She showed the bishop and the professor to be wrong in their arguments, and yet demonstrated that she did not need them to know she was right.
She showed the bigotry behind the privilege of people like the professor and the bishop, and yet did not need that evidence to bolster her own agenda.
She showed an ability to accept the arguments of both the bishop and the professor as true, and yet proved them both wrong on the basis of their assumptions.
She showed the bishop to be shortsighted and the professor to be uninformed, and yet with even less information she convinced with power than they did.
What effect does Woolf’s concession to the bishop’s argument, that no woman could have written Shakespeare’s plays, have on her overall claim?
The concession forms the basis of her argument for equality of the sexes.
The concession disproves the central point of the bishop regarding equality.
The concession allows her argument to take on a separate topic more effectively.
The concession provides evidence for the idea that female writers are important.
Based on evidence from the text, which best describes the implications of the central claim that Woolf is making?
When the siblings of geniuses are offered the same opportunities, they can produce work that is equally brilliant, revolutionary, and historic.
When all people have access to a first–class education, most people will begin to produce ideas that are stunning, original, and brilliant.
When ordinary women and children are given the same education as great playwrights, it becomes likely that they will produce work that is high quality, ingenious, and important.
When women and people of all kinds have access to opportunities and good educations, society in general sees more ingenuity, success, and progress.
Which is the best summary of Woolf’s argument?
Women were very uneducated during the Elizabethan age. Shakespeare had a very good education by comparison. His plays were uniquely brilliant. Women have always been as imaginative as men.
Women did not write poetry in the Elizabethan age, not because they lacked the desire or the imagination, but because they were denied the same education and opportunities granted to men. Things could have been very different under different social circumstances.
Women once had to struggle very hard for basic respect. This disallowed time for writing and leisure. Shakespeare had an education and plenty of time to write.
Women used to live in oppressive conditions. We’ve seen their conditions improve slowly over the years. Had conditions been better, we may already have had a female Shakespeare.
(1) “The Big Blowup” broke out in late August 1910.
Choose the BEST way to revise sentence 1.
The largest wildfire in U.S. history was “the Big Blowup,” which broke out in late August 1910.
“The Big Blowup” was the largest wildfire in U.S. history. It broke out in late August 1910.
“The Big Blowup,” the largest wildfire in U.S. history, broke out in late August 1910.
The largest wildfire in U.S. history, “the Big Blowup” broke out in late August 1910.
(2) This wildfire destroyed a huge area of forest in the northwestern United States.
Which is the BEST way to revise sentence 2?
This wildfire destroyed three million acres of forest in eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana.
This wildfire destroyed an area of forest about the size of Connecticut in the northwestern United States.
This wildfire destroyed millions of acres of forest across three states in the northwestern United States.
This wildfire destroyed parts of many national forests located in eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana.
(18) Gifford Pinchot was the first chief of the Forest Service founded five years before the Great Fire of 1910.
Choose the BEST way to revise sentence 18.
Gifford Pinchot, the pioneer conservationist, was the first chief of the Forest Service founded five years before the Great Fire of 1910.
Gifford Pinchot was the pioneer conservationist who was the first chief of the Forest Service founded five years before the Great Fire of 1910.
Gifford Pinchot was a pioneer conservationist. He was the first chief of the Forest Service founded five years before the Great Fire of 1910.
The pioneer conservationist, Gifford Pinchot, was the first chief of the Forest Service founded five years before the Great Fire of 1910.
(23) They said that fire had a role in forest health.
Which is the BEST way to revise sentence 23?
They like other foresters believed the fire had a role in forest health.
They said to the other foresters that fire had a role in good forest health.
They thought that forest fires had a big role to play in the health of the forests.
They argued that fire had a decisive role in maintaining lasting forest health.
