PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Reading Comprehension 6 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage states: 'The river had carved the valley over millennia, patient and indifferent to the towns that rose and fell along its banks.' What literary device is primarily used here?
- Simile, by comparing the river to a sculptor
- Personification, by attributing patience and indifference to the river (Correct answer)
- Hyperbole, by exaggerating how long the river took to form the valley
- Alliteration, by repeating sounds across the sentence
Correct answer: Personification, by attributing patience and indifference to the river
Personification assigns human qualities—patience and indifference—to a non-human subject, the river. No direct comparison using 'like' or 'as' is made, ruling out simile, and the time reference is literal geology, not exaggeration.
Question 2: A character says, 'I have climbed every mountain worth climbing,' yet the story later reveals she has never left her hometown. This detail most likely serves to:
- Establish her as a reliable narrator the reader should trust
- Create irony by contrasting her claim with her actual experience (Correct answer)
- Foreshadow a future journey she will take abroad
- Show that mountains are a symbol of academic success
Correct answer: Create irony by contrasting her claim with her actual experience
When a character's stated claim is directly contradicted by known facts in the story, the effect is dramatic irony. The contrast between her boast and her limited travel invites the reader to question her reliability and self-perception.
Question 3: Which sentence from a passage would BEST serve as evidence that a character is experiencing internal conflict?
- She packed her suitcase methodically, folding each shirt with care.
- Outside, the streetlights flickered on as dusk settled over the city.
- Part of her longed to stay; another part whispered that leaving was survival. (Correct answer)
- Her brother called twice but she did not answer the phone.
Correct answer: Part of her longed to stay; another part whispered that leaving was survival.
Internal conflict is a struggle within a character's own mind or emotions. Option C explicitly shows two opposing desires competing inside the character. The other options describe external actions or setting without revealing inner turmoil.
Question 4: A passage describes a scientist who 'published findings no journal would touch, convinced the data would outlast the doubt.' What can the reader most reasonably infer about this scientist?
- She lacked confidence in her own research methodology
- She was unwilling to revise her conclusions despite new evidence
- She believed her work had long-term value even if it was currently rejected (Correct answer)
- She planned to abandon science in favor of a writing career
Correct answer: She believed her work had long-term value even if it was currently rejected
The phrase 'convinced the data would outlast the doubt' signals that she trusted the enduring merit of her findings despite present rejection. Nothing in the passage suggests she doubted herself or planned to change careers.
Question 5: A story's final paragraph returns to the same image described in its opening paragraph—a cracked window overlooking an empty street. This technique most likely functions to:
- Introduce a new conflict that remains unresolved
- Signal that the protagonist has physically returned home
- Create a circular structure that reinforces the story's central idea (Correct answer)
- Provide a factual description of the setting for clarity
Correct answer: Create a circular structure that reinforces the story's central idea
Returning to an opening image at a story's close is a hallmark of circular or frame structure. Rather than introducing new conflict or being merely descriptive, such repetition invites the reader to compare beginning and end, deepening the thematic meaning.
Question 6: In context, what does the word 'stoic' most nearly mean in the sentence: 'Despite losing the championship, Marcus remained stoic, thanking his teammates with a calm handshake'?
- Furious but restrained for the sake of politeness
- Showing little or no outward emotion in the face of difficulty (Correct answer)
- Deeply disappointed and unable to hide his feelings
- Indifferent to competition and unconcerned with outcomes
Correct answer: Showing little or no outward emotion in the face of difficulty
'Stoic' describes someone who endures hardship without displaying strong emotion. The context—a loss handled with calm composure—supports this meaning. 'Indifferent' implies not caring, whereas stoic implies caring but not showing it outwardly.
PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Reading Comprehension 6
A passage states: 'The river had carved the valley over millennia, patient and indifferent to the towns that rose and fell along its banks.' What literary device is primarily used here?