TEXAS HIGHSCHOOL EXIT EXAM SIMULATED TEST ALL 8 SUBJECTS COVERED 2 FULL LENGTH SIMULATED TEST

Multiple-Choice Questions on Passage 1 Slipping Beauty This question tests basic understanding—vocabulary. The sentence (the first sentence of the paragraph) gives you enough information to choose the correct answer. The word prominent can mean well known (A) or distinguished (D) (as in “she is a prominent person in city government”), but in this sentence, the meaning of the word is projecting (C). That meaning is clear because the sentence says that the man’s paunch (stomach) is out of place because he seems other- wise emaciated (extremely thin). The paunch, therefore, must contrast with the thinness, suggesting it is large, or project- ing from his otherwise thin body. The correct answer is C. This question covers analysis and evaluation—inference. The man delivering the seltzer bottles drives a “flat, open wagon behind a huge, drooping horse,” while the rest of the world uses “trucks and automobiles.” To answer this ques- tion, you need to move beyond what the passage says and determine what is likely to be true, based on the information given, but isn’t directly stated. In this case, it’s logical to assume that a man who uses a horse-pulled wagon in the midst of cars and trucks is apparently not interested in modern, mechanical devices. Choice F is incorrect because the man is emaciated and wears a battered cap, which doesn’t in any way suggest he makes a good living. Nor does he seem par- ticularly well organized, since he seems to make his deliveries at random times. The fact that he rings the bell after mid- night suggests that he is not sensitive to the feelings of others (H). The correct answer is J. This question covers literary elements—characters. The attitudes of characters can be shown by their actions or their words or, in some cases, by the words of the author. In this passage, we know of Mr. Yavner’s attitudes through what he says. All of the answer choices are direct quotations from him. Choices C and D reflect his attitude toward teaching children in general, so neither is the best answer to a question concerning his attitude toward his daughter. Choice A is his comment about his older daughter, Yettie. Only choice B concerns what he thinks about his younger daughter, Jennie. The correct answer is B. This question tests basic understanding—supporting details. The details of these paragraphs lead to answer G. The narrator has been “aroused after midnight” after having difficulty getting to sleep in the first place, so he is tired, and not fully himself. In addition, the temperature and the season are mentioned as making the author “forget the things that experience has taught” him. It’s clear from this detail also that this is not a new experience for the narrator (F), and there are no details that suggest Mr. Yavner regrets anything (J). Choice H might at first be a tempting answer, because you might think that once the narrator has opened the door, what follows is unavoidable. But you should be careful not to choose an answer for which there is no evidence in the passage. There is nothing in the passage to suggest, for example, that the narrator couldn’t have simply refused to answer the door or shut it as soon as he saw Mr. Yavner. The correct answer is G. This question covers literary techniques—literary terms—irony. For this exam, you are expected to know the mean- ing of literary terms such as irony. You won’t be asked to define them, but you must know their meanings in order to answer the questions concerning them. The term irony describes a situation in which an outcome is the opposite of what would reasonably be expected. For Mr. Yavner, the idea that his younger daughter, Jennie (who Mr. Yavner thinks is lazy and irresponsible and not much of a marriage catch), is married, while his older daughter, Yettie (who Mr. Yavner thinks is responsible and industrious and wonderful with housekeeping chores), remains single and without a suitor is an ironic situation. The correct answer is B. This question covers literary techniques—point of view. The point of view of this passage is called “first person”; that is, the story is told in an “I” form by a character in the story (the man who answers the door, the narrator, whose name we never are told). In this point of view, the reader can know the thoughts of only the “I” character, so everything is colored by that character’s perceptions. The only way the reader knows what Mr. Yavner might think is through his dialogue (what he says) (H). For this question, you need to be careful not to confuse the author with the character who tells the story. They are not the same (so F is incorrect). The correct answer is H. This question tests basic understanding—main idea. Some questions may ask you about the main idea of an entire passage, but this one asks only about the main idea of a single paragraph. The paragraph is all in Mr. Yavner’s own words in which he explains what happened to him when he didn’t listen to his father’s advice. His main concern here is about how children should listen to their parents (D), not how the narrator should listen to him (A) or his specific diffi- culties with his younger daughter (C). He does mention cutting himself with a knife (B) (although how badly he cut himself we don’t know), but that isn’t the main point of the paragraph. The correct answer is D.