TASC

TASC Reading Practice Quiz 3

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Read the following passage and answer the question: Cities across the world are essentially blends of smaller cultural environments that lead people to have vastly different experiences. Each city typically contains a broad spectrum of dining establishments along with various art institutions like museums and theatres. Yet with all these blends of dining, art and night lives, what is the one characteristic that can distinguish a city? History. The undeniably unique history of each city provides rich traditions and a bond between the local people that overshadows any other city’s mélange of dining and art institutions. In context, which word most closely defines mélange?

Correct! Wrong!

The author selects words such as “spectrum” and “various” to refer to the dining and art institutions. Clearly mélange must be some sort of variety offering. Only choice “assortment” matches this definition.

Read the following passage and answer the question: Cities across the world are essentially blends of smaller cultural environments that lead people to have vastly different experiences. Each city typically contains a broad spectrum of dining establishments along with various art institutions like museums and theatres. Yet with all these blends of dining, art and night lives, what is the one characteristic that can distinguish a city? History. The undeniably unique history of each city provides rich traditions and a bond between the local people that overshadows any other city’s mélange of dining and art institutions. Which of the following would the author believe is the most important city attraction or characteristic?

Correct! Wrong!

The author clearly believes true, genuine history to be the paramount characteristic. Choice "The exquisite French restaurant in the European district" and choice "The Museum of Natural History" (restaurant and museum) are exactly what the author said weren’t as important as history (choice "The Museum of Natural History" is tricky, but it is still just a museum—not natural history in its element). Choice "Wrigley Field" refers to sports, despite the fact that Wrigley Field has much history tied to it; choice E is irrelevant as government is not nearly as important to a city’s cultural wealth as a historical monument. Choice "Ruins from the Berlin Wall and the local community" is a historical object and symbol; furthermore, the author refers to the local people that add to the cultural vibrancy. Choice "Ruins from the Berlin Wall and the local community" is the best option.

Read the following passage and answer the question: Passage 1 Because it is filled with contradictions, performance is also filled with risk. This is the domain of stage fright. The actor is aware that appearing in front of an audience is a Line scary proposition. Maintaining the reality of the character is, 5 in itself, a fragile affair; it demands of the actor a series of complex transformations. The actor has the unique problem of hiding and showing at the same time. The actor’s conscious fear is not about making a mistake, but about allowing the audience to see something that it is not supposed to see: 10 namely, the performer’s fear, or stage fright. Passage 2 The term “stage fright” has largely dropped out of use, because we know now that dwelling on something this malevolent gives it power. If I tell you not to be afraid, you may dwell on your fear. If I say, do not think of 15 fast-food burgers under any circumstances, a line of them will parade through your mind. The key to most fears is substitution. On the simplest level, you replace the ogre with something less menacing to fill your consciousness. If you will imagine yourself to be a 20 host rather than an actor, and think more about the comfort of your listeners than their verdicts, everything will fall into place. What is the best way to describe the purposes of the two passages?

Correct! Wrong!

Choice ("Passage 1 analyzes a phenomenon; Passage 2 suggests a solution to a problem.") is correct. Passage 1 discusses stage fright by focusing on the vulnerability of the actor, explaining why “appearing in front of an audience is a scary proposition” (lines 3-4). So Passage 1 can be said to analyze a phenomenon. Passage 2 similarly addresses the experience of stage fright, but discusses ways of coping with it. So Passage 2 can be said to suggest a solution to a problem.

Read the following passage and answer the question: Passage 1 Because it is filled with contradictions, performance is also filled with risk. This is the domain of stage fright. The actor is aware that appearing in front of an audience is a Line scary proposition. Maintaining the reality of the character is, 5 in itself, a fragile affair; it demands of the actor a series of complex transformations. The actor has the unique problem of hiding and showing at the same time. The actor’s conscious fear is not about making a mistake, but about allowing the audience to see something that it is not supposed to see: 10 namely, the performer’s fear, or stage fright. Passage 2 The term “stage fright” has largely dropped out of use, because we know now that dwelling on something this malevolent gives it power. If I tell you not to be afraid, you may dwell on your fear. If I say, do not think of 15 fast-food burgers under any circumstances, a line of them will parade through your mind. The key to most fears is substitution. On the simplest level, you replace the ogre with something less menacing to fill your consciousness. If you will imagine yourself to be a 20 host rather than an actor, and think more about the comfort of your listeners than their verdicts, everything will fall into place. In the context of Passage 1, the phrase "Maintaining the reality of the character" (line 4) most directly refers to

Correct! Wrong!

Choice ("presenting to the audience only behavior relevant to the character") is correct. Passage 1 suggests that “maintaining the reality of the character” involves the “unique problem of hiding and showing at the same time” (lines 4-7). The text further suggests that the actor must not allow “the audience to see something it is not supposed to see: namely, the performer's fear, or stage fright” (lines 9-11). This suggests that the actor must hide things that do not relate to the character and, by extension, show the audience only behavior relevant to the character.

Read the following passage and answer the question: Passage 1 Because it is filled with contradictions, performance is also filled with risk. This is the domain of stage fright. The actor is aware that appearing in front of an audience is a Line scary proposition. Maintaining the reality of the character is, 5 in itself, a fragile affair; it demands of the actor a series of complex transformations. The actor has the unique problem of hiding and showing at the same time. The actor’s conscious fear is not about making a mistake, but about allowing the audience to see something that it is not supposed to see: 10 namely, the performer’s fear, or stage fright. Passage 2 The term “stage fright” has largely dropped out of use, because we know now that dwelling on something this malevolent gives it power. If I tell you not to be afraid, you may dwell on your fear. If I say, do not think of 15 fast-food burgers under any circumstances, a line of them will parade through your mind. The key to most fears is substitution. On the simplest level, you replace the ogre with something less menacing to fill your consciousness. If you will imagine yourself to be a 20 host rather than an actor, and think more about the comfort of your listeners than their verdicts, everything will fall into place. How do the passages view stage fright in relation to human behavior in general?

Correct! Wrong!

Choice ("Passage 1 emphasizes that situations unique to the theater cause stage fright, whereas Passage 2 views stage fright as similar in one way to most othe") is correct. Passage 1 specifically suggests that “performance” is the “domain of stage fright” (lines 1-2). Passage 1 emphasizes that situations unique to the theater contribute to stage fright. Passage 2 states that “the key to most fears is substitution” (lines 17-18), and shows how actors can use substitution to overcome stage fright. Passage 2 thus sees stage fright as “similar in one way to most other fears.”

Read the following passage and answer the question: Passage 1 Because it is filled with contradictions, performance is also filled with risk. This is the domain of stage fright. The actor is aware that appearing in front of an audience is a Line scary proposition. Maintaining the reality of the character is, 5 in itself, a fragile affair; it demands of the actor a series of complex transformations. The actor has the unique problem of hiding and showing at the same time. The actor’s conscious fear is not about making a mistake, but about allowing the audience to see something that it is not supposed to see: 10 namely, the performer’s fear, or stage fright. Passage 2 The term “stage fright” has largely dropped out of use, because we know now that dwelling on something this malevolent gives it power. If I tell you not to be afraid, you may dwell on your fear. If I say, do not think of 15 fast-food burgers under any circumstances, a line of them will parade through your mind. The key to most fears is substitution. On the simplest level, you replace the ogre with something less menacing to fill your consciousness. If you will imagine yourself to be a 20 host rather than an actor, and think more about the comfort of your listeners than their verdicts, everything will fall into place. Which of the following describes an actor coping with stage fright by following the advice of the author of Passage 2?

Correct! Wrong!

Choice ("A performer who thinks of the audience as friends") is correct. The author gives the following advice to actors: “If you will . . . think more about the comfort of your listeners than their verdicts, everything will fall into place” (lines 20-23). A performer who thinks of the audience as friends would be following this advice.

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