Praxis 5511
Question 1 of 5.
Extract:The following is an excerpt from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939), a novel depicting the plight of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In the passage, Tom Joad and his family have reached a government-sponsored tent camp where many migrant workers have settled. Tom is walking and surveying the camp in the early morning. The ground of the street had been swept and sprinkled. From the tents came the snores of sleeping people. The whole camp buzzed and snorted. Tom walked slowly. He neared Number Four Sanitary Unit and he looked at it curiously, an unpainted building, low and rough. Under a roof, but open at the sides, the rows of wash trays. He saw the Joad truck standing near by, and went quietly toward it. The tarpaulin was pitched and the camp was quiet. As he drew near a figure moved from the shadow of the truck and came toward him. Ma said softly, “That you, Tom?†“Yeah.†“Sh!†she said. “They’re all asleep. They was tar’d out.†“You ought to be asleep too,†Tom said.
Which of the following best describes the author’s purpose in the passage?
A. Describing a character’s feelings about a situation
B. Exploring a character’s relationship with another character
C. Describing a setting through a character’s perspective
D. Exploring a conflict through a character’s perspective
Explanation: Steinbeck uses Tom Joad’s observations to vividly depict the migrant camp’s early morning atmosphere—swept streets, snoring tents, and wash trays—immersing readers in the setting. The passage does not primarily focus on Tom’s emotions (A), as no strong feelings are expressed; nor on his relationship with Ma (B), as their brief exchange is secondary; nor on a conflict (D), as no significant tension is explored. The setting itself, seen through Tom’s eyes, is the central focus.
Question 2 of 5.
Which of the following types of pathogens cause influenza in humans?
A. Bacterium
B. Virus
C. Fungus
D. Protozoan
Explanation: Influenza is caused by influenza viruses (family Orthomyxoviridae). Bacteria, fungi, and protozoa can cause other types of infections, but the flu is specifically a viral disease.
Question 3 of 5.
Which of the following articles will best help students understand the literary context of Langston Hughes’s poetry?
A. Technological Modernization and its Influence on Literary Forms
B. The Transcendentalists: Philosophical Beliefs Inspire a Literary Movement
C. How Economic Migration Contributed to an Artistic Revival
D. The Lost Generation: New Methods of Waging War Lead to New Approaches to Art
Explanation: Langston Hughes was a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance—a flourishing of Black art and literature in northern cities driven largely by the Great Migration of African Americans out of the rural South. An article on how economic migration spurred an artistic revival directly illuminates the social and cultural forces that shaped Hughes’s work.
Question 4 of 5.
The period of intense intellectual and artistic endeavor known as the Renaissance began in Italy in the mid-fourteenth century and centered on the ____.
A. recovery of classical learning and Christian theology
B. rejection of transferring pollen between the flowers of a plant
C. return to a medieval worldview of the primacy of the Church and the veneration of images in worship
D. revival of learning in Latin and Greek as well as the spread of writing in the vernacular
Explanation: The Renaissance—literally “rebirthâ€â€”marked a renewed interest in the literature, philosophy, and languages of ancient Greece and Rome. Scholars studied Latin and Greek texts and began writing serious works in their native tongues, breaking from the exclusively Church-centered medieval tradition.
Question 5 of 5.
A circular playground has an area of 314 square feet. Which of the following is the best estimate of the radius, in feet, of the playground?
A. 10 feet
B. 25 feet
C. 50 feet
D. 100 feet
Explanation: The area of a circle is given by A = πr². Given A = 314 ft², we approximate π ≈ 3.14, so r² ≈ 314 ÷ 3.14 ≈ 100, and r ≈ √100 = 10 feet. Choices B, C, and D yield areas far larger than 314 ft² when computed (e.g., r = 25 gives A ≈ 1962.5 ft²).
Related Questions
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Which of the following is the most appropriate introductory sentence for the paragraph?
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