Practice Test 1, Cracking the AP English Language & Composition Exam, 2020 Edition

Section I of this examination contains 45 multiple-choice questions. Fill in only the ovals for numbers 1 through 45 on your answer sheet.

Indicate all of your answers to the multiple-choice questions on the answer sheet. No credit will be given for anything written in this exam booklet, but you may use the booklet for notes or scratch work. After you have decided which of the suggested answers is best, completely fill in the corresponding oval on the answer sheet. Give only one answer to each question. If you change an answer, be sure that the previous mark is erased completely. Here is a sample question and answer.

Use your time effectively, working as quickly as you can without losing accuracy. Do not spend too much time on any one question. Go on to other questions and come back to the ones you have not answered if you have time. It is not expected that everyone will know the answers to all the multiple-choice questions.

Many candidates wonder whether or not to guess the answers to questions about which they are not certain. Multiple-choice scores are based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers, and no points are awarded for unanswered questions. Because points are not deducted for incorrect answers, you are encouraged to answer all multiple-choice questions. On any questions you do not know the answer to, you should eliminate as many choices as you can, and then select the best answer among the remaining choices.

Directions: This part consists of selections from prose works and questions on their content, form, and style. After reading each passage, choose the best answer to each question and completely fill in the corresponding oval on the answer sheet.

Note: Pay particular attention to the requirement of questions that contain the words NOT, LEAST, or EXCEPT.

Questions 1–13. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.

1. The purpose of the passage is most likely to

(A) describe the cultural landscape in Gulliver’s Travels

(B) draw a comparison between the fictional world Gulliver experienced and the similar imaginative elements of eighteenth-century London

(D) provide evidence that Swift’s satire is derived from the natural curiosity of European royalty

(E) discredit the notion that Gulliver’s Travels is a wholly original work

2. In the passage, the author’s overall attitude toward Gulliver’s Travels can best be described as

(A) cleverly subversive

(B) bitingly sarcastic

(D) halfheartedly engaged

(E) insistently dismissive

3. “Scriblerians” (line 16) refers to

(A) book craftsmen in London

(B) characters in Swift’s novels

(D) historians of popular entertainment

(E) a London-based circle of English authors

4. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that Jonathan Swift was

(A) a citizen of London

(B) a producer of public entertainments

(D) a painter as well as an author

(E) a traveling salesman

5. The stylistic feature most evident in the first two paragraphs (lines 1–20) is the use of

(A) repeated syntactical patterns

(B) shifts in tense and person

(D) a series of extended metaphors

(E) didactic analogies and asides

6. In describing miniature people and landscapes in the final paragraph, the author emphasizes their

(A) size

(B) obscurity

(D) commonness

(E) transience

7. In the fourth paragraph, the author includes long quotes primarily in order to

(A) refute the claims of his detractors that Gulliver’s Travels was purely imaginative

(B) document the connection between Gulliver’s Travels and popular entertainments

(D) highlight the inconsistencies within Gulliver’s Travels regarding miniature people and landscapes

(E) inform the reader of the sources for the study of miniature people and landscapes in Gulliver’s Travels

8. Which of the following best describes the relationship between the first section (lines 1–20) and the second section (lines 21–66) of the passage?

(A) The second section answers the series of questions raised in the first section.

(B) The second section challenges the prevailing picture detailed in in the first section.

(D) The second section expands on a technical definition introduced in the first section.

(E) The second section provides evidence for the claims introduced in the first section.

9. Footnote 1 in line 24 indicates that

(A) the article first appeared as an addendum to Gulliver’s Travels

(B) Gulliver’s Travels was first published in 1939

(C) the quotation “looked like the…Theater” was excerpted from Gulliver’s Travels, part of a 14-volume set of Swift’s works

(D) the quotation “looked like the…Theater” was originally written by Herbert Davis

(E) Gulliver’s Travels was reprinted in its entirety in 1939, and credited to Herbert Davis instead of Swift

10. Footnote 2 in line 36 indicates

(A) the quotation was taken from a professional journal

(B) the quotation refers to a 1710 exhibit in Amsterdam

(D) the quotation, describing a miniature exhibition of Amsterdam, first appeared in a book by John Ashton

(E) the quotation was originally published in a newspaper

11. The details in lines 46–52 suggest the scene is viewed by which of the following?

(A) An impartial anthropologist

(B) An intrigued visitor

(D) An argumentative architect

(E) A struggling writer

12. The speaker’s tone might best be described as

(A) emphatic and insistent

(B) scholarly and enthusiastic

(D) erudite and cynical

(E) intransigent yet competent

13. In the final paragraph (lines 37–66), the writer mentions “peepshows” and “moving pictures” primarily to

(A) illustrate the fascination that Scriblerians had with popular curiosities of the era

(B) explain how Swift copied the literary styles and themes of his time

(D) suggest that Gulliver’s travels was purely allegorical in its significance

(E) highlight the obstacles Gulliver encountered in his voyages to Lilliput

Questions 14–25. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.

14. In the initial paragraph, the author employs both

(A) apology and classification

(B) irony and exposition

(D) flattery and epithets

(E) induction and persuasion

15. In the initial paragraph, the author decries

(A) traditional feminine attributes

(B) traditional male attributes

(D) the importance of love

(E) the importance of sentiments

16. In the initial paragraph, the author suggests that

(A) men prefer strong women

(B) a man will never truly love a strong woman

(D) women need emotional and physical strength

(E) women need intellectual and physical strength

17. The author ties the second paragraph to the first by using the words

(A) “vessel” and “touchstone”

(B) “soften” and “inferior”

(D) “slavish” and “virtue”

(E) “soften” and “weak”

18. The word “vessel” (line 17) is a metaphor for

(A) sex

(B) woman

(D) phrase

(E) character

19. The author suggests that a woman’s worth may be best judged by

(A) comparing her with a praiseworthy man

(B) examining the elegance of her writing

(D) evaluating her physical beauty

(E) examining her manners

20. The author proposes to write in a manner that is both

(A) cogent and emotional

(B) polished and intellectual

(D) elegant and cerebral

(E) convincing and flowery

21. The words “pretty nothings” (line 38) are a reprise of

(A) “letters and conversation” (lines 36–37)

(B) “essays” and “novels” (line 36)

(D) “rounding periods” (line 30)

(E) “members of society” (line 34)

22. With the phrase “dropping glibly from the tongue” (line 39) the author begins

(A) a caricature of women

(B) a critique of turgid bombast

(D) an analysis of sentimental writing

(E) an extended metaphor

23. One can infer from the passage that to become strong human beings, rather than mere children, young women need

(A) an education different from that of young men

(B) more understanding husbands

(D) a good marriage

(E) the same education as that of young men

24. The tone of the final paragraph is

(A) sardonic

(B) lyrical

(D) frivolous

(E) reserved

25. Which of the following best describes the writer’s exigence in the passage?

(A) A low turnout rate among eligible voters in recent national elections

(B) The trend toward violence in feminist political movements

(D) Widening disparities in the socioeconomic circumstances of wealthy and poor women

(E) Public resentment of increasing political power granted to women

Throughout her life, “Dolly” chose to speak in her native Cornish, a language that dates back to at least the early Roman occupation of Great Britain. (2) When Dolly died in 1777, she gained fame as the last fluent, native speaker of the Cornish language, which would then remain extinct for over one hundred years.

(3) Born in 1692, Dolly was one of six children born to a poor fisherman and his wife in the charmingly-named village of Mousehole in Penzance. (4) Dolly never married and lived in a shabby hut in a drab corner of Mousehole, making her living as a travelling fishwife and sometime fortune-teller. (5) By the 1760s, when the Cornish people around her had largely traded their native language for English, Dolly became known for gabbing in Cornish with whomever she could find. (6) She was especially known for singing in her language of choice.

(7) There is some controversy as to whether Dolly was, in fact, the last native speaker of Cornish. (8) Modern historians now believe that there may have been half a dozen people in the vicinity of Mousehole, all of whom died before 1800, who continued to speak Cornish after Dolly’s death.

(9) What we know for sure is that Dolly Pentreath was not the last speaker of the Cornish language. (10) In 1904, Celtic linguist Henry Jenner published A Handbook of the Cornish Language.

(11) This sparked a massive revival in interest in the ancient language throughout the 20th Century. (12) Devotees taught classes, published educational materials, and coined new words. (13) It is estimated that around 600 people in Cornwall speak their ancestral tongue.

26. Which of the following sentences, if placed before sentence 1, would provide the most effective introduction to the topic of the paragraph and the passage as a whole?

(A) The eccentric Dolly Pentreath was born in 1692 in a small fishing village in Cornwall, England.

(B) According to legend, the dying words of Cornwall native Dorothy Pentreath were “My ny vynnav kewsel Sowsnek!” (“I don’t want to speak English!”).

(C) To their surprise, as part of a 1994 research project, graduate students at the University of Exeter discovered the last known speaker of the Cornish language, Dolly Pentreath.

(D) Ironically, when Dorothy Pentreath suffered brain injuries after a mining accident, she immediately started speaking English again.

(E) There are three languages which are nearly extinct in modern Britain: Breton, Manx, and Cornish.

27. The writer wants to add the following sentence to the second paragraph (sentences 3–6) to provide additional explanation.

She was not taught any English, since Cornish was the language of coastal Cornwall fish-traders in the 1690s.

Where would the sentence best be placed?

(A) Before sentence 3

(B) After sentence 3

(D) After sentence 5

(E) After sentence 6

28. In the third paragraph (sentences 7–8), the writer wants to expand on the controversy surrounding Dolly Pentreath. Which of the following claims would best achieve this purpose?

(A) Dolly Pentreath is not, in fact, the last speaker of Cornish, but rather its last fluent native speaker.

(B) In 1775, a fisherman in Mousehole named William Bodinar stated that he knew of five people who could speak Cornish.

(D) Some people in Great Britain wish to revive rare languages such as Manx and Cornish.

(E) In 1768, researcher Daines Barrington wrote of a man from Marazion named John Nancarrow who was a native speaker and survived into the 1790s.

29. In the third paragraph (sentences 7–8), the writer wants to provide further evidence to rebut the claim made by modern historians. Which of the following pieces of evidence would best achieve this purpose?

(A) A 2012 petition, signed by over 25,000 Cornish people, urging Parliament to adopt Cornish as the second official language of the United Kingdom

(B) An interview of a modern Cornish speaker who claims Dolly Pentreath as his ancestor

(D) A quote from an inscription on Dolly Pentreath’s gravestone declaring her to be the last speaker of ancient Cornish

(E) An exposé of incompetence among certain modern scholars of British languages

30. The writer wants to add more information to the fourth paragraph (sentences 9–10) to support the main argument of the paragraph. All of the following pieces of evidence help achieve this purpose EXCEPT which one?

(A) The name of a 19th century book written in Cornish

(B) Census records indicating how many Cornish speakers there were in Penzance in 1850

(D) A Cornish dictionary published in 1920

(E) Evidence suggesting a revival of interest in Cornish in Victorian England

31. Which one of the following true statements, if inserted after sentence 13, would provide the best evidence for the idea that the revival of Cornish was successful?

(A) By 2010, UNESCO had removed Cornish from its list of “extinct” languages.

(B) Many people in 1904 believed that the Cornish language was an important part of Cornish culture and heritage.

(D) Most modern residents of Cornwall continue to consider English their primary language.

(E) In 1929, Robert Morton Nance published his Unified Cornish system, based on available Middle Cornish sources.

32. The working title of this passage is “Dolly Pentreath: The Last Speaker of Cornish?”. The fourth and fifth paragraph (sentences 9–13) answer the question posed in the title of the passage in which of the following ways?

(A) It provides evidence that Dolly Pentreath was not historically considered the last native speaker of Cornish.

(B) It shows that, despite Dolly Pentreath’s legendary status in Cornwall, the Cornish language continues to be spoken today.

(D) It provides evidence to finally settle the question of whether Dolly Pentreath was a real historical figure.

(E) It does not answer the question posed in the title.

33. The writer wants to add a phrase at the beginning of sentence 13 (reproduced below), adjusting the capitalization as needed, to set up a continuation of the idea discussed earlier in the paragraph.

It is estimated that around 600 people in Cornwall speak their ancestral tongue.

Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?

(A) Furthermore,

(B) For example,

(D) By contrast,

(E) Today,

(1) Sherwood Anderson saw his first novel, Windy McPherson’s Son, published in 1916, but it was not until 1919 with the publication of his masterpiece Winesburg, Ohio that Anderson was pushed to the forefront of a new movement in American literature. (2) The latter book, something between a short-story collection and a novel, helped to inaugurate an age of a truly homespun American Modernism.

(3) As other writers began to supplant him in the popular imagination, Anderson continued his tireless literary experimentation until his death in 1941. (4) It takes only a few pages of Winesburg, Ohio, however, or many of his other short stories, articles, and novels to see that Anderson is still very much with us today and that much of what we understand about ourselves as Americans was made clear to us only by the pen of the advertising man from Ohio.

(5) Sherwood Anderson would be seen by a new generation of American writers as the first author to take a real step toward creating a type of literature that was in tune with something previously only associated with Europe. (6) Anderson was able to fuse his sense of the passing of the Industrial Age in America with a type of uniquely American expression that sought to replace previous literary conventions with more local expressions of fragmentation and alienation.

(7) With Winesburg, Ohio, Anderson inspired a younger group of writers, among whose ranks were Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner, to embrace their American experiences and to express them in ways separate from those being expressed by European writers or American expatriates, as American writers living abroad were known. (8) When Winesburg, Ohio finally appeared in 1919, its general reception was positive, but limited to those who were able to find copies of the book.

(9) In the 1920s, Anderson wrote some direct responses to the more explicit examples of literary Modernism in Europe. (10) In the 1930s, Anderson wrote Beyond Desire. (11) But Anderson’s most important contributions in the 1920s and 1930s are best felt indirectly through the works of the various writers he inspired. (12) Anderson was among the first to explore the troubled relationship between the city and the rural town, the direct style to which we so often apply the name, “American,” and the idea that deeply intellectual concerns can be relevant to everyday people as much as they can to academics. (13) Even today, Anderson’s initial treatment of these themes remains an important starting point for anyone interested in American culture.

34. The writer wants to add a sentence to create an effective transition from sentence 3 to sentence 4. Which of the following sentences, if added between sentences 3 and 4, would best achieve this purpose?

(A) In the contemporary popular imagination, Anderson’s influence often appears to be diminishing.

(B) In 1912, Anderson had had a nervous breakdown that led him to abandon his business and family and to become a writer.

(D) Even Anderson scholars often overlook the fact that Dark Laughter, a novel inspired by Anderson’s time in New Orleans, was his only bestseller.

(E) He died at the age of 64 during a cruise to South America.

35. After sentence 8, the writer wants to add a sentence to provide support for the main claim made in sentence 8. Which of the following sentences best accomplishes this goal?

(A) Anderson’s later books, such as Dark Laughter, would go on to sell many more copies.

(B) Despite the success of Winesburg, Ohio many critics still preferred the older European models of writing.

(D) Those who did secure a copy of Winesburg, Ohio felt that it inaugurated a new age in American literature.

(E) Winesburg, Ohio, which launched Anderson’s career, has been lauded as a masterwork of American literature.

36. For the sake of the logic and coherence of this essay, the second paragraph (sentences 3–4) should be placed:

(A) (where it is now)

(B) Before the first paragraph (sentences 1–2)

(D) After the fourth paragraph (sentences 7–8)

(E) After the fifth paragraph (sentences 9–13)

37. At the end of sentence 10 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide clear and effective support for the claim made in Sentence 4, adjusting punctuation as needed.

In the 1930s, Anderson wrote Beyond Desire.

Which of the following additions to the end of the sentence 10 best achieves this purpose?

(A) which addressed social questions that only social scientists and propagandists dared touch.

(B) which was heavily influenced by the literature of the Southern Populist movement.

(D) which was not as highly revered as Winesburg, Ohio.

(E) which is now considered to have been highly influential on later writers of the 20th century.

38. The writer wants to provide additional detail to clarify information that is crucial to the overall topic but may be unfamiliar to the average reader. Which of the following additions would best be most effective?

(A) A definition of literary Modernism in the first paragraph (sentences 1–2)

(B) More detail about Anderson’s advertising career in second paragraph (sentences 3–4)

(D) A list of the major works of Hemingway and Faulkner in the fourth paragraph (sentences 7–8)

(E) A detailed plot description of Beyond Desire in the fifth paragraph (sentences 9–13)

39. How does the writer’s purpose in the first paragraph (sentences 1–2) compare to the writer’s purpose in the fifth paragraph (sentences 9–13)?

(A) The first paragraph is expository, while the fifth paragraph is analytical.

(B) The first paragraph provides evidence for the conclusion drawn in the fifth paragraph.

(D) The first paragraph provides objective analysis, while the fifth paragraph provides subjective advice.

(E) The first paragraph raises questions, while the fifth paragraph makes assertions.

40. The writer is considering adding the following quote from literature scholar Daniel Mark Fogel:

“Instead of emphasizing plot and action, Anderson used a simple, precise, unsentimental style to reveal the frustration, loneliness, and longing in the lives of his characters. These characters are stunted by the narrowness of Midwestern small-town life and by their own limitations.”

Where would be the most effective place to add this quote?

(A) After sentence 2

(B) After sentence 4

(D) After sentence 8

(E) After sentence 9

41. All of the following sentences help to establish the writer’s main argument EXCEPT

(A) sentence 1

(B) sentence 2

(D) sentence 10

(E) sentence 11

Siena is an old, picturesque city located in the hills of Tuscany. (2) Many historical markers from as far back as medieval Italy still remain throughout the city. (3) Another remnant from Siena’s rich history that still plays a very prominent role today is the tradition of Il Palio.

(4) Il Palio di Siena is held twice a year: once in July and once in August. (5) A field of ten bareback horses races three laps, each with two dreaded right-angle turns, around a dangerously steep track circling the city’s central plaza, the Piazza del Campo. (6) Even though Il Palio lasts only about 90 seconds, its importance in Siena goes far beyond the race itself.

(7) Members are fiercely committed emotionally, socially, and financially to their own contrada. (8) They voluntarily tax themselves to support their own contrada and to invest in a good horse and jockey for the biannual race. (9) Jockey salaries for a single race often exceed 250,000 euros! (10) This is, however, a small price to pay to achieve victory at Il Palio. (11) Seeing the colors and arms of their contrada in the winner’s circle is the most glorious event—even more so than getting married—for many Sienese citizens. (12) Old men weep openly out of sheer joy, and elated adults and children parade throughout the city with their newly won silk banner, also called the palio.

(13) The brief race is a spectacular culmination of an entire way of life in Siena. (14) Every citizen belongs to one of seventeen city districts, collectively known as the Contrade. (15) Contrada is the term for a single district that has its own color and arms, such as the Aquila (the eagle) or Bruco (the caterpillar). (16) A contrada is the source of so much local patriotism that every important event, from baptisms to food festivals, is celebrated only within one’s own contrada and fellow members, who become more like family.

(17) After the actual race day, the Palio festivities continue for a minimum of two weeks. (18) Thousands of visitors from around the world travel to Siena during the summer, not only to witness the exciting race but also to attend the after-parties thrown by the locals. (19) While the Palio is not important to outsiders who do not live in Siena, the race and the festivities that follow are a spectacular experience.

42. The writer wants to add a phrase at the beginning of sentence 2 (reproduced below), adjusting the capitalization as needed, to set up a contrast within the paragraph.

Many historical markers from as far back as medieval Italy still remain throughout the city.

Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?

(A) In contrast to cities in nearby Greece,

(B) As examples of modernity,

(D) Even though its inhabitants live modern lives,

(E) Despite what many may assume,

43. Which of the following true statements, if inserted after sentence 2, would best connect the first part of the first paragraph with the last part while illustrating the main idea of this paragraph?

(A) Like most Italian cities, Siena is very serious about soccer, a modern sport codified in England in the 1800s.

(B) Cobblestone streets and Gothic architecture are blended with modern sidewalk cafes and trendy designer stores.

(D) Siena is a major cultural center that offers numerous examples of art and architecture by Renaissance masters.

(E) UNESCO has declared the historic centre of Siena a World Heritage Site.

44. For the sake of the logic and coherence of this essay, what would be the best placement for the third paragraph (sentence 7–12)?

(A) (where it is now)

(B) before the first paragraph (sentence 1–3)

(D) before the fifth paragraph (sentence 17–19)

(E) delete the third paragraph

45. In sentence 19 (reproduced below), which of the following versions of the underlined text best establishes the writer’s position on the main argument of the passage?

While the Palio is not important to outsiders who do not live in Siena, the race and the festivities that follow are a spectacular experience.

(A) (as it is now)

(B) It is no wonder:

(D) Despite outside efforts to stop the Il Palio,

(E) As I have witnessed myself on numerous occasions,

AP^® English Language and Composition Exam

Section II of this examination requires answers in essay form. To help you use your time well, the coordinator will announce the time at which each question should be completed. If you finish any question before time is announced, you may go on to the following question. If you finish the examination in less than the time allotted, you may go back and work on any essay question you want.

Each essay will be judged on its clarity and effectiveness in dealing with the requirements of the topic assigned and on the quality of the writing. After completing each question, you should check your essay for accuracy of punctuation, spelling, and diction; you are advised, however, not to attempt many longer corrections. Remember that quality is far more important than quantity.

Write your essays with a pen, preferably in black or dark blue ink. Be sure to write CLEARLY and LEGIBLY. Cross out any errors you make.

The questions for Section II are printed in the green insert. You are encouraged to use the green insert to make notes and to plan your essays, but be sure to write your answers in the pink booklet. Number each answer as the question is numbered in the examination. Do not skip lines. Begin each answer on a new page in the pink booklet.

It is suggested that you spend 15 minutes reading the question, analyzing and evaluating the sources, and 40 minutes writing your response.

Note: You may begin writing your response before the reading period is over.

Throughout much of history, humans have defined themselves as members of their tribe. With the growth of civilization in the Neolithic period, humans began to define themselves by their village or state. By the nineteenth century, humans were defining themselves by their nation. Today, in the twenty-first century, humans are being asked to define themselves as citizens of the world.

Carefully read the following seven sources, including the introductory information for each source. Then synthesize the information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that argues a clear position on the extent to which people are able to define themselves as global citizens.

Your argument should be the focus of your essay. Use the sources to develop your argument and explain the reasoning for it. Avoid merely summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. You may cite the sources as Source A, Source B, and so forth, or by using the descriptions in parentheses.

The following is excerpted from an article on a website that provides analysis and information on the Middle East.

Numbering over 22 million, the Kurds are one of the largest non-state nations in the world. Their homeland, Kurdistan, has been forcibly divided and lies mostly within the present-day borders of Turkey, Iraq and Iran, with smaller parts in Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The greatest number of Kurds today still live in Kurdistan, though a large Kurdish diaspora has developed in this century, especially in the main cities of Turkey and Iran and more recently in Europe as well. Between 10 and 12 million Kurds live in Turkey, where they comprise about 20 percent of the population. Between 5 and 6 million live in Iran, accounting for close to 10 percent of the population. Kurds in Iraq number more than 4 million, and comprise about 23 percent of the population.

In the modern era, the Kurdish nation, with its distinctive society and culture, has had to confront in all of the “host” states centralizing, ethnically-based nationalist regimes—Turkish, Arab and Persian—with little or no tolerance for expressions of national autonomy within their borders. While the modes and scale of oppression have varied in time and by place, the conditions of Kurds share some important features. First, the Kurdish areas overlap nation-state borders: They thus acquire significance for “national security” and are vulnerable to interference and manipulation by regional and international powers. Second, the Kurdish regions of these countries are usually the poorest, least developed areas, systematically marginalized by the centers of economic power. Third, the dynamics of assimilation, repression and Kurdish resistance in each country have affected the direction and outcome of the Kurdish struggles in the neighboring countries. A fourth shared feature is that these Kurdish societies are themselves internally complex, and fraught with differences of politics and ideology, social class, dialect and, still in a few places, clan.

In spite of a long history of struggle, Kurdish nationalism has not succeeded in achieving its goal of independence or even enduring autonomy. Do recent events require us to change this assessment? In 1992, a Regional Government of Iraqi Kurdistan was established, but it is economically besieged and functions very much at the sufferance of a Western military umbrella. In Turkey, a ten-year-old armed struggle has effectively defied the unrestrained efforts of the Turkish state to impose a military solution, but a political solution acceptable to the Kurds does not appear imminent. The Kurdish movement, in contrast to many other national liberation movements, has experienced a persistent contradiction between its traditional leadership and the relatively developed society it seeks to liberate. Only to the extent that this may be changing does the future hold some promise for Kurdish aspirations. Today, about half the population lives in urban centers, and feudal relations of production in rural areas have almost disappeared. Yet the politics and ideology of much of the leadership can hardly be distinguished from the worldview of landed notables of the past.

The following is a graphic depicting the value of the British pound sterling on June 24, 2016, the day that England voted to leave the European Union.

The following is excerpted from an article taking exception with The New York Times’ publication of an op-ed by Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-right political party Front National.

Since 17 people were murdered in the Paris terror attacks that started with a massacre of cartoonists, staff, and police at Charlie Hebdo magazine, The New York Times has not deemed fit to print even one caricature by the French satirical weekly, citing Muslim sensitivities.

But today the Times opened up her august op-ed pages to France’s extreme right Front National (FN) party president, Marine Le Pen, the chief Gallic spokesperson for Islamophobia and racism.

We must explain who Le Pen is here because the Times did not include even a phrase qualifying its op-ed contributor as a far right party boss, nor explaining her movement’s long history of Muslim-baiting, incitement to racial hatred, Holocaust denial, and generalized anti-foreigner bile stretching back to the grimmest days of World War II collaborationist Vichy France.

The deliberately divisive FN leader is less Pat Buchanan, the renegade Republican, as she is white supremacist David Duke, and it is highly doubtful the Times would give an op-ed to either, especially on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

The daughter of party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, an avowed Algerian war-torturer, she appropriated the legacy of Albert Camus and Georges Clemenceau, then purported to speak for “The French people,” “French values,” and the national value of “laicité,” secularism built upon the strict separation of church and state.

In 2010, to cite one notorious example among many, Le Pen compared Muslims praying in French streets (for lack of mosques) to an “occupying force” akin to the Nazis, though such outrages were airbrushed from her carefully-worded Times screed.

Her op-ed, littered with half-truths and lies, distorts the position of the French government, which strongly condemned the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the murder of police, and the attack on a Kosher market as terrorism, driven by Islamism, and as fundamentally anti-Semitic.

Of course Le Pen did not dare mention anti-Semitism, and she conveniently neglected to detail that her party promises to end all immigration, send migrants “home,” strip non-white French people arbitrarily of citizenship, close mosques and prayer halls, deport Roma peoples, close France’s borders and Europe’s free movement of peoples, leave the euro zone, and install the “national preference” for only “real” French i.e., white, nationals, thus forcing out millions of French people with dual nationality.

Le Pen is hoping to having a real shot at the French presidency in the 2017 elections, and her popularity is soaring, with more than one third of French agreeing with her views. Her success would mean a hijacking of French democracy as we know it.

The FN’s DNA is firmly fascist and Le Pen has never renounced the core of her father’s ideology; she has just presented a more acceptable face, refocused the hatred on Muslims, and calibrated her incoherent economic “platform” to sound like far-left anti-globalization populism.

But the leopard has not changed its spots. The FN remains what it always has been. It is a fascist-derived front party that capitalizes on hatred of the other, chiefly immigrants, and today, especially Muslims. Its platform espouses a monocultural white France, and its supporters are among France’s most virulently anti-Semitic voters.

Le Pen’s values are an insult to French values—the Front National abhors the legacy of the French revolution, and the universalist notion of French citizenship, as something that is not tied to race, but tied to republican French values of liberty, equality and fraternity.

The following are remarks given on Sri Lanka Day in 2016 from the Under Secretary of Management, Organization of American States, U.S. Department of State.

Thank you, Ambassador Kariyawasam, for that kind introduction, and the honor of your invitation. And I must say that I’m incredibly excited to visit your beautiful country later this month and see the progress already made on our new embassy complex.

68 years ago today, Sri Lanka found itself in good company when it joined the rather exclusive club of great nations that chose the fourth day of the month to declare independence from the United Kingdom.

Like Sri Lankans are doing today, in a few months Americans will mark our anniversary of independence, when we will also remember the heroes and patriots of years past, and reflect on how far we’ve come in our long quest for a more perfect union.

And like Sri Lankans of today, Americans are still striving to address some of the very challenging problems that have long bedeviled us. Problems like poverty, discrimination, and injustice.

But Sri Lankans and Americans both understand that these problems can only be solved through the use of the ballot box, the voice of a free press, the strength of a healthy civil society, and the actions of an empowered citizenry that is committed to democracy, human rights, and progress for all.

Yes, our nations share many interests in global affairs, and that makes us strong partners. We also have many of the same core values, and face many of the same hard problems. And that, I believe, makes us strong friends. For, in the words of the Roman poet Sallust, “to like and dislike the same things, that is indeed true friendship.”

We love to see our friends succeed, and the accomplishments of the Sri Lankan people and their government over the past year have made all of us rightly proud.

The following is excerpted from a blog of a nonprofit organization dedicated to economic policy.

Over the course of decades globalization is turning the world into an integrated economy instead of what it has been for most of its history, a series of relatively isolated economies. The more trading that takes place, the more wealth is created, and global trade across international frontiers has created more wealth than ever before in human history, and has helped lift more people out of mere subsistence than ever before.

To poorer countries, globalization brings the chance to sell their relatively low cost labour onto world markets. It brings the investment that creates jobs, and although those jobs pay less than their counterparts in rich economies, they represent a step up for people in recipient countries because they usually pay more than do the more traditional jobs available there.

To people in richer countries, globalization brings lower cost goods from abroad, which leaves them with spending power to spare and a higher standard of living. It also brings opportunities for productive investment in high growth industries in developing countries.

Those adversely affected by the global exchanges are the people in rich countries whose output is now undercut by the cheaper alternatives from abroad. They often need to find new jobs or to be retrained to do work that adds higher value. The extra wealth generated by globalization has brought an increase in service sector employment, which provides many of the new jobs needed.

Competition from abroad forces firms to become more efficient and to use resources more efficiently. Often they choose to go upmarket, seeking higher added value products that face less competition from relatively unskilled labour. Thus firms which once sold cheap textiles move into fashion and design, and find customers among the rising middle classes in developing countries.

The integration of the world economy has brought with it an interdependence. As countries co-operate in trade with each other, they get to know each other and grow into the habit of resolving disputes by negotiation and agreement instead of by armed conflict. The 19th century French economist Frederic Bastiat expressed this pithily: “Where goods do not cross frontiers, armies will.”

The following is excerpted from an article on a website devoted to matters of climate change.

Air pollution in China is blowing over the Pacific Ocean and settling on the west coast of America, causing at least one extra day of dangerous smog in Los Angeles every year.

This is a case of getting what you pay for, according to a new study led by researchers from Peking University in Beijing.

They have calculated that approximately one quarter of the sulphate pollutants that cross into the US are tied to products created within China but destined for American consumers.

“We’ve outsourced our manufacturing and much of our pollution, but some of it is blowing back across the Pacific to haunt us,” said co-author Steve Davis from the University of California Irvine.

“Given the complaints about how Chinese pollution is corrupting other countries’ air, this paper shows that there may be plenty of blame to go around.”

One of the drivers of the economic boom in China over the past ten years has been the demand for its exports. Between 2000 and 2007, the volume of Chinese exports grew by 390%.

At the same time, discontent over hazardous levels of air pollution in cities such as Beijing has been growing. Today, the governor of Hebei, the province surrounding Beijing, threatened to fire any officials who add new steel capacity, and thus increase the amount of coal being burnt.

The following map shows the various international facilities that support the operation and management of the International Space Station, launched in 1998.

The passage that follows is an excerpt from Emmeline Pankhurst’s “Freedom or Death” speech, delivered in Hartford, Connecticut, on November 13, 1913. Pankhurst was a British political activist and leader of the women’s suffrage movement in Britain who was widely criticized for her militancy. The following speech addresses her critics and defends the tactics of the suffragettes. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-developed essay, analyze the rhetorical strategies Pankhurst uses to convey her message.

In response to the issue of racial imbalance, a sociologist argued, “Neutrality in our society is supposed to be the great equalizer because we believe that, if we don’t favor any one group, things will work themselves out and become more equal. But the thing is this: neutrality has this effect only if there is no previous social or historical context. But that’s not how the real world is. There is, in fact, a social and historical context for every situation. So if I were being “neutral” and viewing everyone as being the same, ignoring personal contexts, I wouldn’t be promoting equality because I would be ignoring the differences that exist and allowing the inequalities to continue to exist, given that I wouldn’t do anything to help change them. Identifying problems and actively promoting solutions are necessary to effect useful change; being neutral is consenting to the status quo.”

In a well-written essay, develop your position on whether a “neutral” stand on race perpetuates racial imbalance today. Use appropriate evidence from your reading, experience, or observations to support your argument.

Practice Test 1

AP® English Language and Composition Exam

AP® English Language and Composition Exam

AP^® English Language and Composition Exam

AP^® English Language and Composition Exam