“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
~ Genesis 28:15
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
~ Micah 6:8
The late Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Cat’s Cradle creates a new religion, Bokononism. The bible of Bokononism is the “Books of Bokonon,” written by Bokonon — a British Episcopalian black from the Carribean island of San Lorenzo whose real name was Lionel Boyd Johnson — as a way to distract the people of the island from their unhappy lives.
What is important to Bokononists? Not God; just one thing: man. Bokononism is a strange, post-modern subjective faith that combines nihilistic, and cynical observations about life and God’s will. The supreme act of worship is an intimate act consisting of prolonged physical contact between the naked soles of the feet of two persons, supposed to result in peace and joy between the two communicants. Hmmmm.
I know a lot of Bokononists these days. Post-modern, post-Christian Bokononist American leadership are asking us to suspend belief. Pastor Clinton C. Gardner, in his book Beyond Belief: Discovering Christianity’s New Paradigm says, “Raised on Christian fundamentalism, he felt liberated by the grand picture of evolution and the empirical science of the Enlightenment.”1 Okay, Brother Clinton! Imagine, there are people who believe that God really loved us enough that He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins! How uncool! And, get this, some of those remnant fundamentalist Christians — who have not yet bowed down and worshiped at the altar of Bokononism — actually believe that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, the only life. How old-fashioned can you get!
The last line of Cat’s Cradle includes a warning that I offer here: Pow Tee Weet. At one time song birds were lowered into coal mines to ascertain if methane gas was of dangerous high density. Everything was fine as along as the miners heard “Pow Tee Weet.” However, quite literally, if the bird stopped singing, everyone was in trouble.
I wonder how much longer the old song bird will sing.
Pastor Gardner quotes Edward O. Wilson’s Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. Wilson’s grand conclusion is that “all tangible phenomena, from the birth of stars to the workings of social institutions, are based on material processes that are ultimately reducible, however long and tortuous the sequences, to the laws of physics.” He envisions the unification of the natural sciences with the social sciences and humanities. As he puts it, “The human condition is the most important frontier of the natural sciences,” and “the material world exposed by the natural sciences is the most important frontier of the social sciences and humanities. The consilience argument can be distilled as follows: the two frontiers are the same.”2
The bird is being lowered into the mines. . . .
Can you imagine how much fun it must be to sit through a sermon with Brother Clinton? Wow — consilience — nice word. What biblical text would he use? Existentialism and nascent naturalism can be pretty cold bedfellows. Won’t find it in the lectionary. Ain’t gonna mend many broken hearts either!
Seriously, though, these peckerwoods are arguing quite eloquently that (1) my fundamentalism is not only irrelevant, it is uncool and rude (what a low blow!); (2) my belief that that the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God is, well, old fashioned (true); and (3) finally, my belief in a creation that took seven 24-hour days is likewise dumb.
What can I say? I believe all these things and more. The God I serve is amazing, far more amazing than the God of Brothers Clinton and Edward.
Pow tee weet.
Eyewitness Account
Most of the ACT prompts will invite you to share an eyewitness account of an actual event of your life. An eyewitness account is an essay that attempts to recreate an event as it actually happened. Using powerful imagery and precise language, the eyewitness account recreates an event in precise language. The reader vicariously experiences the described event. Record an eyewitness account using the following guidelines.
What happened?___________________________________________
Who participated?__________________________________________
When did it happen?________________________________________
Where did it happen?________________________________________
Why did it happen?_________________________________________
How did it happen?__________________________________________
What is the significance of the event?____________________________
Geometric Word Problems
In order to solve geometric word problems, you will need to have memorized some geometric formulas for at least the basic shapes (circles, squares, right triangles, etc.). Or you can refer to them on the ACT — they are provided — but that takes time. You will usually need to figure out from the word problem which formula to use, and many times you will need more than one formula for one exercise.
A water tank in the shape of a right circular cylinder is thirty feet long and eight feet in diameter. How much material was used in its construction?
A piece of wire 42 cm long is bent into the shape of a rectangle whose width is twice its length. Find the dimensions of the rectangle.3
The Count of Monte Cristo4
Alexandre Dumas
Like so many of Dumas’s novels, Count of Monte Cristo is set at the end of the Napoleonic era, which the French regard as one of the most exciting and tumultuous eras of modern times. It is a story of Edmond Dantès, a charismatic young seaman falsely accused of treason. The story of his cruel imprisonment, miraculous escape, and carefully engineered revenge keeps the reader spellbound.
Suggested Vocabulary Words
- Now, in spite of the mobility of his countenance, the command of which, like a finished actor, he had carefully studied before the glass, it was by no means easy for him to assume an air of judicial severity. Except the recollection of the line of politics his father had adopted, and which might interfere, unless he acted with the greatest prudence, with his own career, Gerard de Villefort was as happy as a man could be. (chapter 7)
- “Then,” answered the elder prisoner, “the will of God be done!” and as the old man slowly pronounced those words, an air of profound resignation spread itself over his careworn countenance. Dantès gazed on the man who could thus philosophically resign hopes so long and ardently nourished with an astonishment mingled with admiration. (chapter 16)
- He had a very clear idea of the men with whom his lot had been cast. . . . It spared him interpreters, persons always troublesome and frequently indiscreet, gave him great facilities of communication, either with the vessels he met at sea, with the small boats sailing along the coast, or with the people without name, country, or occupation, who are always seen on the quays of seaports, and who live by hidden and mysterious means which we must suppose to be a direct gift of providence, as they have no visible means of support. It is fair to assume that Dantès was on board a smuggler. (chapter 22)
- It would be difficult to describe the state of stupor in which Villefort left the Palais. Every pulse beat with feverish excitement, every nerve was strained, every vein swollen, and every part of his body seemed to suffer distinctly from the rest, thus multiplying his agony a thousand-fold. He made his way along the corridors through force of habit; he threw aside his magisterial robe, not out of deference to etiquette, but because it was an unbearable burden, a veritable garb of Nessus, insatiate in torture. Having staggered as far as the Rue Dauphine, he perceived his carriage, awoke his sleeping coachman by opening the door himself, threw himself on the cushions, and pointed towards the Faubourg Saint-Honoré; the carriage drove on. The weight of his fallen fortunes seemed suddenly to crush him; he could not foresee the consequences; he could not contemplate the future with the indifference of the hardened criminal who merely faces a contingency already familiar. God was still in his heart. “God,” he murmured, not knowing what he said — “God — God!” Behind the event that had overwhelmed him he saw the hand of God. The carriage rolled rapidly onward. Villefort, while turning restlessly on the cushions, felt something press against him. He put out his hand to remove the object; it was a fan which Madame de Villefort had left in the carriage; this fan awakened a recollection which darted through his mind like lightning. He thought of his wife. (chapter 111)
Insight
English Test Strategies
First, thankfully, spelling, vocabulary, and verbatim recall of rules of grammar aren’t tested. In fact, the test consists of five prose passages, each one accompanied by multiple-choice test questions. Different passage types — history, science, literature, music — are included to provide variety.
Some questions refer to underlined portions of the passage and offer several alternatives to the underlined portion. You must decide which choice is most appropriate in the context of the passage. Do not read the questions before you read the passage. Memorize the “type” questions that you will encounter before you take the exam. Then, during your active reading experience (mark it up!) you should naturally identify possible questions.
Some questions ask about an underlined portion, a section of the passage, or the passage as a whole. You must decide which choice best answers the question posed.
Many questions include “No change” to the underlined portion or the passage as one of the choices. That is rarely the right answer, however, so be careful before you choose it.
Infer from Text
Monday, May 17, 1915
One of my cooks has a revolver, and early this morning she was unloading it when it went off and hit me on the arm; fortunately it was not serious. The shot went through her box, then a thick pocket book, and thence into a tea caddy, where it remained. It was really very terrifying. A Russian and French Military Attaché came in this afternoon.
We have ten hospital tents and each one holds ten patients, and as they are all full more tents have to be put up. At 9 o’clock this evening a very bad case of typhus arrived in an ox cart — a poor soldier who was just on leave. His old mother and father came with him; they were to sleep under the cart, and as the ground was inches thick with mud, we got them bundles of straw; we also gave them hot coffee and bread. One sees some sad sights.
I went again to the market; it is very picturesque. Some of the gipsy women are very handsome and their costumes charming. Most of the materials for their dresses and aprons are homespun. The different shades of reds, blues, yellow and green are lovely, they all tone so well. We are just on 200 at the camp now, but the numbers never worry me. We bought cheese and great rolls of sausages in the market. My store tent is almost under water. I have had to put down bricks and planks and have a trench dug through the centre. We are told we shall have it wet for three weeks. The rain comes down in torrents, much heavier than in England. The patients are all looking so much better and much fatter. I have bought two large copper boilers for soup; one cost 123 dinas and the other 77 dinas, but I should think they would last for ever. I have had a brick wall set round them and a flue at the back and a grate underneath. We only cook with wood; it is really very excellent as it retains the heat so long, and really I like it better than coal. But at first the smoke made us all cry until I got the stoves properly set.
Thursday, July 29, 1915
This has been a dull day. The doctor would not allow me to go out as my temperature is inclined to go up and I have a bad pulse. The Austrians are splendid men, and it seems so terrible to see these nice refined men doing all kinds of dirty work; it makes me think of our poor English prisoners in Germany.5 (Monica Stanley, My Diary in Serbia)
Which facts are stated or can be inferred in the diary entries?
- This was the author’s first visit to Serbia.
- The author despised Austria and German prisoners.
- IThe author was a stalwart, uncomplaining woman.
- I, II, and III
- I
- II
- III
- I and III
- II and III
- None
The author is sympathetic to enemy prisoners because:
- She recognizes that her own countrymen are prisoners and she hopes that they are treated well.
- She needs them to help her.
- Secretly she is supportive of the enemy’s cause.
- She is homesick.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”6
— Aristotle
Organizing Data
The Ozone Layer
What is the best way to ascertain if the ozone layer is decreasing:
- Take satelite pictures of the ozone layer and compare similar pictures from 50 years ago.
- Measure the air temperature in Greenland and Antarctica over a ten-year spread of time.
- Check the temperature of the Arctic Ocean over a ten-year spread of time.
- Measure the size of glaciers in Greenland and the ice cap in Antarctica in a ten-year spread of time.
- I
- II
- III
- IV
- All
- None
- I and III
- II and IV
The Eradication of Smallpox
In 1967, when the World Health Organization started international eradication efforts, smallpox, was estimated to have afflicted up to 15 million people annually, of whom some two million died, with millions more left disfigured and sometimes blind. By 1980 smallpox was eradicated.
If smallpox were not eradicated, there would have been 350 million new victims in the past 20 years — roughly the combined population of the USA and Mexico — and an estimated 40 million deaths — a figure equal to the entire population of Spain or South Africa.7
How many victims would have died between 1980 and 1995?
- 40 million
- 35 million
- 30 million
- 1.75 million
Rules of Capitalization
Rule 1: Capitalize a proper noun. Example: the Empire State Building
Rule 2: Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials when used with or before their names. Do not capitalize the title if it is used instead of the name. Example: The president addressed the nation. President Smith addressed the nation.
Rule 3: Capitalize the first word of all sentences, including quoted sentences.
Examples: He said, “Make a right choice.” The man made a right choice.
Rule 4: Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to specific regions. Example: We have had three relatives visit from the South. Go south three blocks and then turn left.
Rule 5: Always capitalize the first and last words of titles of publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles, including the short verb forms Is, Are, and Be. Exception: Do not capitalize little words within titles such as a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or, nor, or prepositions, regardless of their length. Example: A Tale of Two Cities
Rule 6: Do not capitalize names of seasons. Example: I love spring rain and fall colors.
Correct the following sentences:
- The President recently finished reading the bible.
- Our Company is called For Such A Time As This.
- “Open the door now!” exclaimed the soldier!
- I visited the washington monument.
- The north defeated the south in the american civil war.
“Grace is represented as the Church’s inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing.”8
— Bonhoeffer
Go to Answers Sheet