From the floor above,
where she had come from, a noise of running water and padding footsteps came in
muffled spasm between the overwhelming attic snores; this was probably caused
by one of the German women moving around in the night, having awakened either
by habit or by the sound of Barbara’s packing and departure. A tinted glass
window about the stair she had just come down let in the moonlight, but the
next flight down to the front hall was in blackness by contrast to that dusky
amber windowlight above. Barbara lingered on this landing, between the
half-light and the pure dark, as if waiting for something. Along the corridor,
where the Mother Superior slept, nothing stirred. Barbara did not know why it
should. Almost disappointed, she moved to follow Freddy cautiously down the
very dark staircase.
Freddy
half-way, came to a curve in the stair and bumped the suitcase loudly into the
wall. Barbara halted on the third step and whispered down to him, ‘Are you all
right?’ He did not reply but she could hear him continue to pick his step by
muted step. She glanced behind and upward, and could not place her sense of
something unaccomplished in the silence. The front door was unlocked and Freddy
now held it open so that the moonlight flooded her last footsteps from the
sleeping convent. They had got away.
Immediately
on passing into the night air she realized that she had almost hoped to be
caught, it would have been a relief and a kind of triumph and justification.
For there had been a decided element of false assumption in her reception at
the convent the previous day, after they had inquired politely, and estimated
her type. Of course she was an English Catholic convert. She was indeed the
quiet type. But there was a lot more than met the eye, at least she hoped so.
She had thought, as the Mother Superior made her benign speech of welcome, and
the old novice-mistress hovered with an admiring smile, if only they knew.
1.) The
purpose of the vivid imagery in the first paragraph is to . . .
I.
Slow down the moment allowing suspense
II.
Allow the reader to feel in the moment
along with the characters
III.
Prove, by the silence, that the ladies
are indifferent to whether or not she leaves the convent
A. I
and III
B. I
only
C.
I
and II
D. I,
II and III
E. III
only
2.) The
simplicity of the sentence, “They had got away” serves to . . .
A. Remind
the readers that they were trying not to be seen
B. Show
the anticlimax
C.
Dramatize
their escape by a short and powerful last sentence
D. Add
in the fact without going into detail on a point that isn’t of real importance
E. Vary
the sentence structure to make sure that readers stay interested
3.) The
tone of the passage can best be described as . . .
A.
Suspenseful
and reflective
B. Sanguine
and philosophical
C. Elegaic
and dark
D. Nostalgic
and defiant
E. Contemplative
and regretful
4.) The
phrase “something unaccomplished in the silence” serves to . . .
A. Show
that Barbara feels she might not escape from the convent
B. Illustrate
Barbara’s need to be consistently in the spot light
C. Show
that the convent is not, in fact, completely silent
D.
Show
Barbara’s desire to prove a point by her rebellion to the ladies at the convent
E. Show
that the silence makes Barbara uncomfortable
5.)
The contrast of light and dark
illustrates all except . . .
A. Barbara’s
crossing over to the multidimensional person that has been buried inside
B. A
loss of hope that she will be discovered for who she truly is
C. The
beginning of her physical journey
D. Safety
vs. rebellion and adventure
E.
The
change in her fear as she makes her journey
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