AP Lang MCQ Answers (45)

1. The passage is most likely excerpted from which of the following?

(A) A Lakota folk tale that encourages youth to emulate an important elder

(B) A cultural analysis that reveals the mythology of Lakota warrior society

(C) A Lakota author's account of his ancestral culture's history and values

D) An attempt to reconcile the different values expressed in Lakota society

(E) An instructional guide that teaches readers the Lakota path to humility

(C) A Lakota author's account of his ancestral culture's history and values

2. Which of the following statements best summarizes the main claim about Crazy Horse's cultural legacy that is developed in the passage?

(A) He exemplifies the Lakota culture's devotion to truth.

(B) He embodies the virtue of humility in

Lakota society.

(C He symbolizes the fate of Lakota warriors

who fail at waktoglaka.

(D) He epitomizes the Lakota warrior who enhances his status by telling stories.

(E) He typifies the Lakota warrior who is overly concerned with appearances.

(B) He embodies the virtue of humility in

Lakota society.

3. According to the fourth paragraph, the battles of June 1876 established Crazy Horse's reputation for which of the following?

(A) Denunciation of his people's praise

(B) Commitment to telling only true war stories

(C) Generosity to his enemies as well as his friends

(D) Shyness about ceremonial displays

(E) Leadership skill on the battlefield

(E) Leadership skill on the battlefield

4. Which of the following best describes how the author represents "western American history, written by Euro-Americans" (paragraph 4, sentence 4) ?

(A) He rejects it as a false and biased account of the Lakota people.

(B) He acknowledges it while suggesting

Lakota stories offer a different perspective.

(C) He reveres it for its precise methodology and its adherence to objective truth.

(D) He denounces it as an attempt to excuse the ineptitude of Crook and Custer.

(B) He ignores it in order to present the Lakota people's more comprehensive account.

(B) He acknowledges it while suggesting

Lakota stories offer a different perspective.

5. In his description of the United States Army's plan "to capture and herd all the Lakota onto reservations once and for all" toward the end of the fourth paragraph, the author's tone conveys which of the following?

(A) Admiration for the scope of the Army's military ambitions

(B)Disapproval of the Army's dehumanizing treatment of the Lakota

(G Awe at the Army's sophisticated strategies

and superior weaponry

(D) Indignation at the Army's previous failures to follow through on the plan

(E) Pride in the Army's foresight and superior managerial skills

(B)Disapproval of the Army's dehumanizing treatment of the Lakota

6. In the last sentence of the fourth paragraph, the author's focus shifts from

(A) the turbulent nineteenth century to the peaceful present

(B) the Oglala Lakota to the other six Lakota

groups

(C) Crazy Horse to General Crook and

Lieutenant Colonel Custer

(D) Euro-American history to Lakota cultural

memory

(E) Crazy Horse's reputation among the

Lakota to his place in history books

(D) Euro-American history to Lakota cultural

memory

7. Sitting Bull's example in the fifth paragraph illustrates which feature of Lakota culfure?

(A) Lakota politicians were contemplative while Lakota warriors were men of action.

(B) Warrior societies offered a path of entry into political power structures.

(G) Athletic victories in the arena were as significant as military victories in battle.

(D) Different groups within the Lakota prioritized different methods of leadership.

(B) Age and experience are even more y desirable leadership qualities than bravery to the Lakota.

(B) Warrior societies offered a path of entry into political power structures.

8. In the sixth paragraph, the author uses the story of the name His Horse Stands in Sight to illustrate which of the following?

(A) Crazy Horse's combination of recklessness and calculating calm

(B) Mounted battle tactics that came to characterize Lakota warfare

XQ The importance of a Lakota warrior's skill

in horseback riding

(D) Crazy Horse's reputation among his people as a model of humility

(E) The storytelling style of a participant in the waktoglaka ceremony

(A) Crazy Horse's combination of recklessness and calculating calm

9. The passive constructions "he became known" (paragraph 6, sentence 2) and "he was known" (paragraph 7, sentence 2) suggest that the author holds which of the following beliefs about Crazy Horse?

(A) Crazy Horse did not know himself as well

as his tribesmen knew him.

(B) Stories by his contemporaries offer a credible record of Crazy Horse's life.

(C) Crazy Horse's habits and appearance are

thoroughly documented by historians.

(D) Common knowledge supports the author's firsthand observations of Crazy Horse.

(E) Crazy Horse's reputation and appearance are unknown to present-day readers.

(B) Stories by his contemporaries offer a credible record of Crazy Horse's life.

10. In describing Crazy Horse as "painfully shy" near the beginning of the seventh paragraph, the author offers which of the following?

(A) An analysis of Crazy Horse's refusal to tell his war stories

(B) A personal identification with Crazy

Horse's fear of public speaking

(C) An attribution of an emotional quality to explain Crazy Horse's humble demeanor

(D) A derogatory assessment of Crazy Horse's inept storytelling performance

(E)

A charge that Crazy Horse was less brave than legend suggests

(C) An attribution of an emotional quality to explain Crazy Horse's humble demeanor

11. Which of the following best explains the author's use of the qualifier "probably" in the first sentence of the seventh paragraph?

(A) The author has chosen not to consult historical records for an exact account.

(B) Like Crazy Horse, the author shows humility by not asserting his own truth.

(C) By acknowledging the probability of error, the author gains readers' sympathy.

(D) The author has credible evidence of only two public speeches by Crazy Horse.

(E) The author does not want to contradict his earlier claim that Crazy Horse was "shy.?

(D) The author has credible evidence of only two public speeches by Crazy Horse.

12. Which of the following is a logical conclusion that can be derived from the final two paragraphs of the passage?

(A) Crazy Horse displayed ferocity and courage in battle and modesty in dress and speech.

(B) Crazy Horse's shyness caused him to change his adult name

(C) Elaborately decorated war apparel is a

hindrance on the battlefield.

(D) Crazy Horse's lone eagle feather symbolized his habit of dismounting in battle.

(E) Crazy Horse rejected praise that didn't acknowledge the vital role of his war horse.

(A) Crazy Horse displayed ferocity and courage in battle and modesty in dress and speech.

13. Which of the following characteristics does the author anticipate may be true of some members of the audience?

(A) They are more familiar with

Euro-American accounts of Crazy Horse than with Lakota accounts.

(B) They have a detailed knowledge of the military campaigns of General George

Crook and Lieutenant Colonel George

Custer.

(C) They have an insufficient appreciation of humility as a virtue.

(D) They have a basic understanding of the combat tactics used by Lakota warriors.

(E) They are skeptical of the idea that the

qualities of a good leader vary from one culture to another.

(A) They are more familiar with Euro-American accounts of Crazy Horse than with Lakota accounts.

14. In the first sentence of the passage, the speaker engages the attention of the audience with which of the following types of statement?

(A) A solemn oath

(B) A traditional formula

(C) A cautionary recommendation

(D) A candid confession

(E) A skeptical apology

(C) A cautionary recommendation

15. In the context of the first paragraph, the speaker uses the word "temptation" in the first sentence to convey disapproval of the tendency to

(A) indulge in superficial pleasures

(B) play different roles for different people

C). dismiss the value of friendship

(D) avoid difficult challenges

(E) disengage from moral responsibility

(E) disengage from moral responsibility

16. In the first paragraph, the speaker introduces an

argument that criticizes

19

A)"emotions and beliefs" (sentence 1)

B)"all that is great and lofty" (sentence 4)

C)"noble effort" (sentence 4)

D) intellectual aloofness" (sentence 5)

E)"the stern strife of living" (sentence 6)

(D) «intellectual aloofness" (sentence 5)

the first paragraph, the speaker suggests that

"the man of lettered leisure" (sentence 1) has a

A) tendency to avoid conflict

(B)choice regarding his attitude toward

involvement

(C)fundamental altruism that influences his

actions

(D) desire to become better than he is

(E)valid reason to hold himself apart from others

(B)

choice regarding his attitude toward

involvement

18. The relationship between the first and second

paragraphs is best characterized as

A)a description of people followed by a

narrative of their actions

B) an introduction of a phenomenon followed

by an enumeration of its causes

(C)the presentation of an argument followed

by a rebuttal

(D) the consideration of pro and con within a

single course of action

(E) the juxtaposition of two contrasting

personality types

(E) the juxtaposition of two contrasting

personality types

19. Which of the following choices accurately

describes a strategic stylistic decision that the

speaker makes in the first two sentences of the

second paragraph ("It is not .

nor defeat") ?

(A) Negative words such as "not' and "nor'

highlight contradictions within opposing

viewpoints.

(BClauses beginning with "who" are used

repeatedly to emphasize engaging images

of the men under discussion.

(C) Punctuation marks are varied to highlight

the contradictory qualities of the "man

who is actually in the arena."

D) Words highlighting struggle such as

«sweat" and "strive" are used to

acknowledge that critics of the active life

make some valid points.

(E) Exaggerated terms such as "the best" and

"the worst" are used ironically to

undercut the observations of critics.

(B)

Clauses beginning with "who" are used

repeatedly to emphasize engaging images

of the men under discussion.

20. The primary purpose of sentences 4 and 5 of the

second paragraph ("Among . . . actually are")

in the speaker's line of reasoning is to

(A) argue for the importance of

self-government

B describe the conditions under which it is

possible to act

(C) identify the reasons why men choose the

cloistered life

(D) distinguish different types and degrees of

uselessness

(E) explain the motivation of the man of action

(D) distinguish different types and degrees of

uselessness

21. Hotspur represents an example of

(A) "the same sordid figure in the pages of

history" (paragraph 2, sentence 6)

(B) "a cynic, or fop, or voluptuary" (paragraph

2, sentence 6)

(C) "the being whose tepid soul knows nothing

of great and generous emotion"

(paragraph 2, sentence 7)

(D)"the men who quell the storm and ride the

thunder" (paragraph 2, sentence 7)

(E)"the young lord" (paragraph 2, sentence 9)

(D) "the men who quell the storm and ride the

thunder" (paragraph 2, sentence 7)

22. Which observation best counters the speaker's

argument about action in the passage?

(A)Action without discretion can incur

disastrous results.

(B)Change can only occur through direct

action.

(C)True action can only be achieved by

leaders of men.

(D) Individual action is more important than

collective action.

(E) Failure to act often instills a sense of

shame.

(A) Action without discretion can incur

disastrous results.

23. The passage as a whole claims that the learned

cynic's core failings are

(A) indecision and procrastination

6) poor health and bad manners

(C) vanity and rude language

(D)cowardice and inauthenticity

(E) indiscretion and ill-temper

(D) cowardice and inauthenticity

24. The speaker's tone in the passage is best

described as

(A) inquisitive

(B)critical

(C) pedantic

(D) apologetic

(E) egocentric

(B) Critical

25. The writer is considering changing the

beginning of sentence 1 (reproduced below) to

better introduce the topic and engage the

reader's attention.

The latest findings in social psychology suggest

that self-knowledge is a more complex

phenomenon than you might think.

Which of the following versions of the

underlined portion of sentence 1 best

accomplishes this goal?

(A) (As it is now)

(B) *Know yourself" is a well-known maxim,

but the latest findings in social

psychology suggest

(C)The latest findings in social psychology, a

field that reflects what people have

written about the human mind for

thousands of years, are now suggesting

(D)Many people would say that self-reflection

is an important habit, and the suggestion

from the latest findings in social

psychology is

(E) Social psychology is a constantly evolving

discipline, and its latest findings suggest

(B) *Know yourself" is a well-known maxim,

but the latest findings in social

psychology suggest

26. The writer wants to avoid revealing any potential

biases in sentence 5 (reproduced below).

Sun and Vazire conspired on an experiment to

study the latter category.

Which of the following versions of the

underlined portion of sentence 5 best

accomplishes this goal?

(A) (as it is now)

(B) dreamed up

(C) fabricated

(D) threw together

(E) designed

(E) Designed

27. The writer wants to add a sentence after

sentence 7 to expand on the narrative in the

second paragraph and provide additional context

for the third paragraph. Which of the following

choices best accomplishes this goal?

(A)These self-ratings were then compared to

the assessments of researchers who

listened to the subjects' audio recordings.

(B) The study required over nine years of work

by the researchers.

(C) It took the researchers a long time to

transcribe data from the audio recordings

of the subjects.

(D) Vazire and Sun's test subjects were mostly

students at Washington University in St.

Louis, Missouri.

(E) Vazire was Sun's graduate advisor at the

time of the study, although they

copublished the results.

(A) These self-ratings were then compared to

the assessments of researchers who

listened to the subjects' audio recordings.

28. The writer is considering deleting the underlined

portion of sentence 10 (reproduced below) from

the sentence.

Participants often reported feeling more

neurotic- anxious or worried- than the

observers believed.

Should the writer delete the underlined text?

(A) Yes, because it distracts from the focus of

the paragraph by introducing irrelevant

details.

(B) Yes, because it reveals the writer's biases

and may therefore affect the audience's

acceptance of the overall argument.

(C) Yes, because it introduces a shift in tone

that is not consistent with the language

used in the rest of the passage.

(D)No, because it offers information that may

be helpful to the audience in

understanding a potentially unfamiliar

term.

(E) No, because it supports an emotional

appeal the writer is making in an attempt

to persuade the audience to accept the

paragraph's claims.

(D) No, because it offers information that may

be helpful to the audience in

understanding a potentially unfamiliar

term.

29. The writer wants to add the following sentence

to the third paragraph.

Sun observed that this is understandable, since

subjective feelings of unease are not necessarily

apparent to others.

Which of the following is the most logical place

to insert this sentence in the paragraph?

VAn Before sentence 8

(B) Before sentence 9

(C) Before sentence 10

(D) Before sentence 11

(E) Before sentence 12

(D) Before sentence 11

30. The writer wants to add a new sentence at the

end of the third paragraph (sentences 8-12) to

show how the information in the paragraph

serves as evidence for the passage's primary

claim. Which of the following choices best

accomplishes this goal?

A)According to Sun and Vazire, these results

suggest that "there might be some biases

that prevent people from recognizing their

own agreeable behaviors or disagreeable

behaviors."

(B) In some instances participants thought they

were being rude when observers thought

they were not, while in other cases the

reverse was true.

(C) Additionally, Sun and Vazire reported some

discrepancies between self-reporting and

observer evaluations for neuroticism, a

measure of how much worry the subject

was feeling.

(D) Sun and Vazire hypothesized that some

respondents who overestimated the

rudeness of their behavior may have been

particularly agreeable people who held

themselves to over

(A) According to Sun and Vazire, these results

suggest that "there might be some biases

that prevent people from recognizing their

own agreeable behaviors or disagreeable

behaviors."

31.

The writer is considering adding the following sentence after sentence 13. Due to ethical considerations, Sun and Vazire did not release the audio files they collected, but they did make some transcripts available.

Should the writer make this addition after sentence 13 ?

(E) No, because it detracts from the discussion of the implications of the study's findings and thus interrupts the flow of the passage's conclusion.

32.

The writer wants to change sentence 14 (reproduced below) to qualify the passage's conclusion and express it in less absolute terms. These facts make it obvious that everyone should behave accordingly.

Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?

(C)

If the researchers' conclusions are correct, careful attention to your behavior is an important tool for ensuring smooth interactions with others.

33. Which of the following sentences, if placed before sentence 1, would best introduce the topic to the audience and help set up the main argument of the passage?

(B) According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans are not getting enough sleep.

34.

The writer is considering changing the underlined portion of sentence 1 (reproduced below) so that it conveys the information in the sentence in the most precise way. In fact, the CDC considers lack of sleep a public health infection.

Which version of the underlined portion of sentence 1 best accomplishes this goal?

(D) epidemic

35.

The writer is considering adding the following sentence after sentence 6. Based on movement tracking, the devices can estimate how long someone is asleep and how often the person wakes up during the night.

Should the writer add this sentence?

(A) Yes, because it provides commentary that helps explain why the details presented in sentence 6 are important to the point the writer is making in the paragraph.

36.

The writer wants to add a sentence before sentence 8 (reproduced below) to introduce the main idea of the third paragraph. The data these devices provide are not as accurate as the data that come from a sleep lab.

Which of the following sentences best accomplishes this goal?

(E) Granted, fitness trackers are not perfect tools.

37. The writer is considering deleting sentence 13 (reproduced below). The potential benefits of monitoring sleep patterns using a fitness tracker, however, outweigh the negatives. Should the writer keep or delete this sentence?

(C) Keep it, because it offers a contrasting position that helps rebut the counterargument presented in the third paragraph.

38. Which of the following changes to the underlined portion of sentence 16 (reproduced below) most effectively expresses the relationship between ideas in the sentence?

The measurements are not exact, and there is a strong benefit in that people who track their sleep are apt to be more mindful of sleep in general.

(D) Even if the measurements are not exact,

39.

The writer wants to change this passage so that it will be appropriate for doctors and other scientists rather than a general audience. In order to make the passage appropriate for the intended audience, which sentence is most necessary for the writer to delete?

Sentence 18

40.

The writer wants to illustrate the point made in sentence 2 (reproduced below) by adding historical evidence to the end of the sentence, adjusting the punctuation as needed.

These fictional scenarios have sometimes become reality. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

(B) the works of H. G. Wells, for instance, depicted voyages to the Moon and to the bottom of the ocean long before these achievements were realized

41.

The writer is considering deleting the phrase "which many critics consider the first science fiction novel," in sentence 5 (reproduced below). In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), which many critics consider the first science fiction novel, the scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a new form of human life, only to find his creation hideous and regret his actions.

Which of the following factors is most important for the writer to consider when deciding whether to keep or delete the phrase?

(E) Whether the audience is likely to regard Frankenstein as a science fiction novel

42. Which version of the underlined portion of sentence 7 (reproduced below) creates the most logical transition from the previous sentence? Instead, it reflects the concerns of Shelley and her contemporaries about the consequences of unchecked technological development in the Industrial Revolution, such as pollution and the loss of traditional ways of life.

(A) (As it is now)

43. The writer wants to ensure that sentence 9 (reproduced below) develops the parallel discussions of Frankenstein and Altered Carbon in the second and third paragraphs and logically connects the other sentences in the third paragraph. Uploaded consciousness also facilitates interstellar travel in the novel.

Which version of sentence 9 best accomplishes this goal?

(D) The author does not attempt to provide a detailed scientific account of how such a transformation could happen.

44.

The writer is considering adding the following sentence immediately before sentence 11. Those who believe that science fiction predicts the future are simply wrongheaded.

Should the writer make this addition?

(D) No, because it creates an inappropriate shift in tone at the beginning of the passage's final paragraph.

45. The writer wants to add a sentence after sentence 11 to conclude the passage with a quotation that effectively restates and reinforces the overall argument. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

(C) As University of Glasgow lecturer Gavin Miller argues, "Science fiction does not invite us to be prophets, but anthropologists making sense of a complex and troubling foreign culture—which we may eventually come to recognize as our own."