Adapted from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1876)Within two minutes, or even less, he had forgotten all his troubles. Not because his troubles were one whit less heavy and bitter to him than a man's are to a man, but because a new and powerful interest bore them down and drove them out of his mind for the time – just as men's misfortunes are forgotten in the excitement of new enterprises. This new interest was a valued novelty in whistling, which he had just acquired, and he was suffering to practice it undisturbed. It consisted in a peculiar bird-like turn, a sort of liquid warble, produced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth at short intervals in the midst of the music – the reader probably remembers how to do it, if he has ever been a boy. Diligence and attention soon gave him the knack of it, and he strode down the street with his mouth full of harmony and his soul full of gratitude. He felt much as an astronomer feels who has discovered a new planet – no doubt, as far as strong, deep, unalloyed pleasure is concerned, the advantage was with the boy, not the astronomer. The summer evenings were long. It was not dark, yet. Presently Tom checked his whistle. A stranger was before him – a boy a shade larger than himself. A newcomer of any age or either sex was an impressive curiosity in the poor little shabby village of St. Petersburg. This boy was well-dressed, too – well-dressed on a weekday. This was simply astounding. His cap was a dainty thing, his close-buttoned blue cloth roundabout was new and natty, and so were his pantaloons. He had shoes on – and it was only Friday. He even wore a necktie, a bright bit of ribbon. He had a citified air about him that ate into Tom's vitals. The more Tom stared at the splendid marvel, the higher he turned up his nose at his finery and the shabbier and shabbier his own outfit seemed to him to grow. Neither boy spoke. If one moved, the other moved – but only sidewise, in a circle; they kept face to face and eye to eye all the time.Based on the way in which it is used in the passage, what does the underlined word "natty" mean?
Answer(s): E
The passage uses the word "natty" to describe the new boy's clothing, along with other adjectives like "well-dressed," "dainty," "new," and "citified." We are also told that the new boy "even wore a necktie, a bright bit of ribbon," and his clothing is called "his finery." Based on this description, we can guess that "natty" means something like "fancy," and that is correct: "natty" means dapper or well-dressed.
Adapted from Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads by John A. Lomax (1910)The big ranches of the West are now being cut up into small farms. The nester has come, and come to stay. Gone is the buffalo and the free grass of the open plain – even the stinging lizard, the horned frog, the centipede, the prairie dog, the rattlesnake, are fast disappearing. Save in some of the secluded valleys of southern New Mexico, the old-time round-up is no more; the trails to Kansas and to Montana have become grass-grown or lost in fields of waving grain; the maverick steer, the regal longhorn, has been supplanted by his unpoetic but more beefy and profitable Polled Angus, Durham, and Hereford cousins from across the seas. The changing and romantic West of the early days lives mainly in story and in song. The last figure to vanish is the cowboy, the animating spirit of the vanishing era. He sits his horse easily as he rides through a wide valley, enclosed by mountains, clad in the hazy purple of coming night, – with his face turned steadily down the long, long road, "the road that the sun goes down." Dauntless, reckless, without the unearthly purity of Sir Galahad though as gentle to a woman as King Arthur, he is truly a knight of the twentieth century. A vagrant puff of wind shakes a corner of the crimson handkerchief knotted loosely at his throat; the thud of his pony's feet mingling with the jingle of his spurs is borne back; and as the careless, gracious, lovable figure disappears over the divide, the breeze brings to the ears, faint and far yet cheery still, the refrain of a cowboy song.As used in the passage, the underlined word “vagrant” most nearly means __________.
Answer(s): D
First off, we can eliminate “beggar” and “traveler” because they are nouns, and the context calls for an adjective. “Accidental” does not make sense for a puff of air, and it doesn’t seem relevant whether or not it’s "unpredictable." “Wandering” is the best answer; not only is it a standard definition of “vagrant,” but it also makes the most sense in the context of the sentence.
After sixteen years of immature decisions, Jeremiah finally decided to make decisions that would actually set him on a positive path for his future.Which of the following is implied by this sentence?
Answer(s): B
This sentence implies that although for some years Jeremiah made immature decisions, he changed his life's course and decided to make mature decisions. (This is almost directly implied by the notion of being "set on a positive path"); however, do not imply anything additional to that, as many of the other options do.
Three years ago, the lake was in far worse condition. This year, its water is finally potable, much to the surprise of the locals, who even until last year thought it would never improve.Which of the following statements is implied by the sentences above?
First of all, note that the word "potable" means "safe to drink." Thus, this year the water was safe to drink – much to the surpise of the locals. The implication is that even last year, the lake's water was not safe to drink; however, we cannot say anything else. Even if it was not safe to drink, it might have been host to a number of animals and plants. Likewise, we know nothing about whether or not it was filled with garbage or not.
When she was young, Suzanna watched her grandparents live in dire poverty and decided that she would take every step to avoid such living conditions. Only when she was near death and was reviewing her life, she realized how much she overlooked in her desire to better her station in life.Which of the following is implied by the sentences?
The passage implies that when Suzanna was able to look back over her whole life she could see that she had "missed out" on many aspects that were not directly related to making money and avoiding the poverty that she saw in her grandparents' lives. We cannot say exactly what she overlooked, as the passage does not indicate any specific details. Likewise, we cannot say that she was greedy or anything of the like. (Many people can be focused on avoiding poverty without being greedy). Thus, the best answer is, "Suzanna subordinated many things in her life to her desire to avoid poverty."
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