TOCFL Advanced Literary Excerpts 3

Question 1

In advanced Chinese literary excerpts, 諷刺 (fěng cì) is a frequently tested rhetorical device. An author employing 諷刺 in a TOCFL passage would most likely:

Accepted Answer

Use irony or mockery to criticize social customs or individuals indirectly

Answer

諷刺 means satire or irony — using indirect, often humorous or cutting language to expose and critique flaws.

Question 2

Ba Jin's novel 'Family' (家), the first volume of the Torrent Trilogy, primarily critiques:

Accepted Answer

The oppressive nature of the traditional Confucian extended family system

Answer

Ba Jin's 'Family' powerfully depicts how the rigid Confucian extended family system stifles individual freedom and destroys the lives of its younger members.

Question 3

When a TOCFL advanced passage uses the classical allusion 臥薪嘗膽 (wò xīn cháng dǎn), the author is most likely describing a character who:

Accepted Answer

Endures hardship with patient determination in order to achieve revenge or a goal

Answer

臥薪嘗膽 (sleeping on brushwood, tasting gall) refers to King Goujian of Yue who endured extreme privation to motivate himself to seek revenge — symbolizing patient endurance toward a goal.

Question 4

In classical Chinese prose, 排比 (pái bǐ) is a rhetorical technique that involves:

Accepted Answer

Using a series of structurally parallel phrases or clauses for emphasis

Answer

排比 is anaphora or parallelism — using three or more structurally similar clauses in succession to build rhythm and rhetorical force.

Question 5

A TOCFL reading passage describes a character using the idiom 班門弄斧 (bān mén nòng fǔ). In context, this most likely means the character is:

Accepted Answer

Displaying incompetence in front of someone far more skilled

Answer

班門弄斧 means 'wielding an axe at the gate of Lu Ban (master carpenter)' — showing off one's limited skills before an expert, implying presumptuous incompetence.

(TOCFL) Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language Reading Practice Test

(TOCFL) Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language Reading Practice Test

TOCFL Advanced Literary Excerpts 3