Form 71A (December 2012) The 2012 |2013 In response to your recent request for Test Information Release materials, this booklet contains the test questions and conversion tables used in determining your ACT scores. Enclosed with this booklet is a report listing your answers to the ACT multiple-choice tests and the answer key. If you wish to order a photocopy of your answer document—including, if you took the Writing Test, a copy of your written essay—please use the order form on the inside back cover of this booklet. We hope that you will find this information helpful. (©2012 by ACT, Io. A gh ° NOTE: This teat mateal eto confident property of AC, ne, P.0.00x 109 ‘ahd may not bo coed, opoduced, sl, of chemise tsstered FOWACITY, Asz245-0168 ‘tout hap exprae writen pormison of ACT,Tee eee eee ENGLISH TEST 45 Minutes—75 Questions DIRECTIONS: In tho five passages that follow, certain words and phrases are underlined and numbered. In the right-hand column, you will find alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the ‘one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded ‘most consistently with the style end tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is best, choose “NO CHANGE." in some cases, you will find in the right-hand column a question about the underlined part. You are to choose the best answer to the question. ‘You will also find questions about a section of the pas- ‘sage, ot about the passage as a whole, These questions do not refer to an underlined portion of the passage, but rather are identified by a number or numbers in a box. For each question, choose the alternative you consider best and fill in'the corresponding oval on your answer document. Read each passage through once before you begin to answer the questions that accompany it. For ‘many of the questions, you must read several sentenoes beyond the question to determine the answer. Be sure that you have read far enough ahead each time you choose an alternative, PASSAGE! Bartering for Entertainment uw During the Great Depression, Robert Porterfield, a young actor from southwestern Virginia, was among the series of actors in New York City who were unemployed, Porterfield was also familiar with the plight of farmers ‘back home and many farmers had livestock and produce in abundance but couldn't find buyers because money was scarce. [A] Porterficld reasoned that if he opened a theater in Virginia that accepted food for tickets, so his actors could eat regularly, At the same time, farmers would be able to enjoy quality entertainment they normally couldn't afford, (8) He convinced twenty-two of his colteagues to nove from New Yook to Virginio patcipat in th experiment in bartering. sor 1 5. Which choice most strongly emphasizes that unem- ployment was widespread ainong actors in New York cin? A, NO CHANGE, B. numbered C. countless D. cast of, F, NO CHANGE G. home. Many HL home, many J. home many ‘A. NO CHANGE B. while then D. than K, NO CHANGE G. Inspite of this, H. For instance, J. Thatis, A. NO CHANGE ‘Virginia. In order to Virginiz, To D. Virginia; to OF GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.1@2@eB@eBe8e ee BI (¢] Barter Theater opened in June 1933 in a vacant church in Abingdon, Virginia, The price of admission toa Barter production was "40 cents or the equivalent in produce.” Tickets for the first performance sold out, along with four out of five patrons paying for their tickets with vegetables, livestock, or dairy products. [0] BI fe Porterfield also convinced play ights to take food in lieu of theie usual cash royalties. For example, renowned writers such’ as Tennessee Williams, Rachel Crothers, and Clare Boothe Luce received payment in Virginia hams. George Bertiard Shaw, a vegetar accepted his royalties in spinach. By the end of their first season, Porterfield’s actors had managed to earn a profit of only $4.35. The actors will, however, have two barrels of jelly and a collective weight gain of three hundred pounds to show for their efforts. [> porn FE, NO CHANGE G. as well as H with i so 1 A. NO CHANGB B. Porterfield’s actor's C. Porterfields actor's D. Porterfields actors 8. NO CHANGE G. actors did, TE. actors do, J. actors, 9. If the writer were to delete the preceding sentence, the paragraph would primarily lose: ‘A. tho siggestion that Porterfield had stopped allow- {ng farmers to pay for their tickets using livestock. B. an illustration that implies the Bavter Theater experiment was success C. the suggestion that Portectiold paid some play- weights wit jelly instead of ham. D. alist of the types of food the actors received 8 AY H, Arctan| J. Arceor| 27. Avati traveled the 2-mile trail from her house to Big {Lake on her bicyete. Sho then traveled 3 times around the Big Lake Loop and returned home by the 2-mile trail, At tie end of her bicycle ride, the trip odometer showed that she had traveled 22 miles. Which of the following equations, when soived, gives the distance ‘Avati traveled once sround Big Lake Loop, d miles? 28, In the standard (x,y) eooidinate plane, what is the slope of the line with equation 3x-+ 5y=6 ? = po wl aes ale ole ai A DO YOUR FIGURING HERE. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.2 29, What is the solution to the equation below? 34) -2Gr~ 3) = Sx~3) +6 5 AL 2 Hae hoe 1 CG crag 3 meat n 2 gE z 30. If 0 AC B. ABS BC ©. AC>BC D. AC>AB4+BC E. BC>AC 48, One of the following functions is graphed in the standard (x,y) coordinate plane below, Which function isit? y RB y= |y-1]-2 G. y= [x41] -2 7 frei] 42 fi-2) ir-2] 41 K, yx [rea] -1 seri8 26 2 , DO YOUR FIGURING HERE. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE,2.2.77. 7. 7. 7 7 OD 49, One of the following is an equation of the ellipse shown in the standard (x,y) coordinate plane below. Which one? (Note: The coordinate unit on the x-axis is the same Tength as the coordinate unit on the y-axis.) y A. P= 16 Be (x~ 8)? +(y- 4's 16 ~ +3 c, eet rat 6 conn ns 50, A regular pyramid with a square base is shown in the figure below. The slant height is V3 units and the Tength of the base edge is 2 units. What is the total length, in units, of all 8 edges of the pyramid? Ro 4v7 G. 4vi+8 H. 8 4 Lo K. 16 2 51, The solution of the system of equations below is the sot of all (x,y) such that 2x — 3y = 6, What is the value ofk? lex o2Iy= st xh ky= 2k A -9 B =I Ces D6 9 ote 52, The solution set for the equation 1 contains E, 2imaginary numbers. G, 2 postive teal numbers. HL. I negative and 1 positive real number, J, I negative real number only. K. L real number, which is 0. porn ar DO YOUR FIGURING HERE. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.2 Use the following information to answer questions 53-55. In the figure below, a large citcle with conter O has # diameter AB that is 40 mm long. Point C lies on the large circle such that the measure of ZABC is 60°. A diameter of the small circle is AO. c > : 53, What imeters, of the small circle? A. 10% B. 20n C. Aon D. 100% E. 400% the area, ini square ‘What is the length, in millimeters, of are AP 2 E20 G. 20% HL. 40 J, 400 K. 80 54, 55, The figure is placed in the standard (x3) coordinate plane so that A has coordinates (~20,0) and B has Coordinates (20,0). What isthe x-coordinate of C? A. -15 B. -10 co Dd. 10 E15 56. In the figure shown below, C, M, and N lie on the circle ‘whose center is O, and ZMON is a right angle. What is the sum of the measures of CMO and ZCNO ? F, 90° Dy G. ors 7 HE. 60 1 45° e K. 225° DO YOUR FIGURING HERE. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.' 2 2 87. The length of the shorter side of rectangle ABCD is 4 inches less than the length, L, of the longer side. The Jength of the longer side of rectangle WXYZ, which is similar to ABCD, is 101 inches. In terms of Z, what the length of the shorter side of WXYZ ? AL L=40 Bre 6 C. WoL 4 D. lors 6 E. 102-40 58. For any integer n > 0, the tviangular number 7, is the umber of dots in a tciangular array with 1 points on teach side, The figure below shows the first 4 triangular numbers, What is the value of Tey ? ° eo bee =3 G6 E189 G92 H, 2,016 J, 2,048 K. 2/080 59, For what integer f ate both solutions of the equation Pbk 4 17 =0 po A. -18 B16 Goa D. 16 BE 18 60. ta AXY7, the meus of 2 90% te mesure a 22 is ©, XY>12 vn, and tn @= 4, What isthe ares of AXYZ, in square units? DO YOUR FIGURING HERE. END OF TEST 2 STOP! DO NOT TURN THE PAGE UNTIL TOLD To Do So. R162 G. 324 He 2V65 Se 6V 38S K. 12V385 DO NOT RETURN TO THE PREVIOUS TEST.3 Sees 3 READING TEST 35 Minutes—40 Questions DIRECTIONS: There are four passages in this test. Each passage Is followed by several questions. After reading a passage, choose the best answer to each question and fill In the corresponding oval on your answer document. You may refer to the passages as often as necessary. Passage | PROSE FICTION: This passage Is adapted from the noval The ‘Mozart Season by Virginia Euwver Wolf (01901 by Virginia Euwor Welt). {he violin fs played. “Mozart,” said Mr, Kaplan, violin teacher were overlapping each other, ict play-offs, T was at my lesson, loo! Mozart concerto, Things haven’t had tin like that take you by surprise. 35 ‘The introduction is forty-one measures long. This time, instead of playing just the last two measures of it on the piano, Mr. Kaplan played the whole thing. He wears half-glasses, and he has a balding head with some blondish-gray hair on the back, and a mostly gray funny way. 1 8 concerto. Mozart only wrote five of -pum-pa-pun part that comes movement cadenza, : 40 short beard, and he’s alte bit simped over when he Tra ln a itn bow the part of th bow, ronaty “Sat the pan. Hs ens sek out fa 2 Tove the why he looks. Tie introduction to zue fest movement fe art th ochesta wou play, ost ses care ce acer ae Ennounces what the solo yiolin wil play-when ‘Now that yi Warmed up, let sit Mi 48 begins. That way you get to listen to it twice. Tt was a gorgeous June morning and in my mind 1 While he was doing it, I practiced the G-string heard another woke: “Now tet ‘you're warmed up, let's shift without making any noise, sliding my hand up and demolish those Vikings.” My Softball coach and my down the fingerboard. hen ane tis cones With my softball coach, it was stairsteps and laps _%0 them for the violin, The year before, Mr. Kaplan had let and endless batting practice. With Mr. Kaplan it was me choose, a bay learn, the third one or this one, sight repettons of very fast Bemajor'seaes and five Md Ted taken them both home and span my bow the 10 minutes of octaves. Two weeks after being the shortstop way you spin a tennis racquet. If it landed with the hair ‘on the team that had lost in the second round of the dis. toward me, I’d learn the third, in G; and if it landed ofthe dis gs withthe htt aveay from me. Td Tern ths one. Wien Mr. Kaplan and any parents found out Tad teaied my Bow With Such Astonishing Disrespect, chey not very In the summer I get fo have morning lessons tsvice alncmed about it, aw ve sts I work best in the mornings. 18 weak and {Hove work out ine mornings Pavecsicy iaaae eet nana ; o> jnFebaty we'dinude tape off send og contest a eG ai Fd worried and fretted and trembled, but werd gotten ae, REHM mule om he stand and got ready. With’ Te pe made, Aft thar Td sve of seaeenae Mg, Kaplan you don’ whine or mater. Te dosent bo Softball season practically stopped being a violinist. 20 teachers saje 1 goesn, He doesn't have to say it very ; try ine yor tl apn ng SCX ght? Kea, hows ving fw plying te eo together fr seven years and he was going fo know the duction, got (0 the Intnl goio op ofthe ecomtSeps tart ay ent bette he on en as ealy aon cn practicing the Mona. At that spo thers «fst ‘EBD and goes on up rom thee 25 shift from fist Ginger to fourth finger'on the © stcng, fa facet wt it, You can't let a shi I got through the first movement all right, and I hare oa ty cei eenere tree made some genuine messes of the beautiful double- 7 Hope non een of the secon eae ae ene oblestops are two notes at onc, on separate strings cadenzas.” A cadenza isthe pet where the violin plays And Twas sue the last-movement cadenza Was making ‘9 alone; its harder than the vost of the piece, and it gets it Abundanfly Clear to Mt. Kaptan that 1 hadn't ever the audience al exeted when you d@ iia a concer, S20 for lok tne, But the end was fine, The Blip ‘There are three cadenzas in this concerto, ane in each movement. ight.” te-de-bip-bip-bip came out very, very soft and nice. Mr, Kaplan leaned back, smiling and saying « kind of “ah.” Then he turned sideways on the bench. “Isn't this a beautifel song, Allegra?” GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.3 ieee 3 20 85 ea "Yep." It is. Mc. Kaplan calls overtures arid ‘symphonies and concertos “songs” sometimes. I waited for him to say the rest. He Ieaned forward and flipped the pages. “Hmmm, ‘Pm concerned about the articulation in spots, and some of the dynamics aren't at all what they should be and... Hmmm,” Then he turned sideways on the bench again, straddling it, “Are you willing to play this con- certo a thousand timed by September?” I laughed. That would be more times than 'd brush my teeth by then, He watched me thinking. He started to smile, then he got up and walked across the studio, away from me. Then he tumed around. “Your tape Was accepted,” he said. “For the Bloch Competi- tion. ‘The finals are on Labor Day.” . Based on the passage, which of the following hap- pened to Allegra first chronologically? AA Sho stared the current year's summer music 1B. Her sofiball team lost inthe play-offs. She selected the Mozart concerto she would study. 1D, -Het tape was sent off to the contest. Which of the following statements about the relation ship between Ms. Kaplan and,Allegra is best supported by the passage? F._ He has high expectations of her, and she generally tries to do her best. G, He pushes her until she can't take any more criticism, H, He encourages her to do hor best, but she worries about his open disapproval of her other interests. J: He tries to motivate her to work hard, but she Teams that people can motivate only themselves. ‘Tho passage suggests that concetning her current activ- ities, Allegea feels: |A, delighted to be finished with softball, knowing that she won't ever have to play it again. rosigned to the end of softball season but eager for it to start again the next year. accepting of the end of the softball season and ready to enjoy music for the summer, exhausted by the demands that both softball and music have made on her e c D. . Allegra states that Mr, Kaplan will know she hasn't "practiced the concerto if: ‘orrik rR G. the dynamics in her playing are unacceptable. she has trouble playing the first movement's cadenza fast enough. B. her tape doesn't sound good enough. J. she isn't ready for the shift on the second page. 3t 5. In the context of the passage, Allegea’s statement in 10, lines 42-45 indicates fier: ‘A. boredom with heating Mozart over and over, B. oxasperation with Mr. Kaplan for taking so much time with the inteoduction. C. interest in figuring ont how to memorize the concerto. D. knowledge of one aspect of Mozart's method of constructing must According to the passage, while Allegra practices the shift, Mr. Kaplan plays: the cadenza thatthe orchests would normally play. G. 4 Mozact piece written specifically. for the piano. Hi, the fail introduetion that the orchestra would nor- mally play. J two measures of the introduction on the piano. ‘The author capitalizes the words in line $7 most likely to signify that: A. Allegra especially loved her violin bow. B. these are Allegra’s own words, not her teacher's €. these ar the adults words, de Alegre interprets them, D, Allegra spoke these words very loudly. ‘Me. Kaplan asks Allegra if she is willing ‘concerto a thousand times by September" rst ikely because he is R._joking, given that ho thinks she already knows the concerto well enough, gauging her interest in the work it will ake to play the concerto significantly better. already tired of hearing her practice this concerto. afraid that sports will Keep her from practicing the violin after Sepiember to “play this (ines 86-87) G H i Allogra mentions all of the following phy teristics of Mr. Kaplan EXCEPT that he: A. has a long geay beard, Bh, wears half-glasses. C._slumps slightly when he sits D._ has ears that stick out Ta the passage, Allegra indicates that she practiced a ticky part in the concerto without making. any. sound by: EF. moving her hand to various positions on the fingerboard. sliding the bow lightly across the violin strings. thinking through her part note by note in her head. silently pretending to play the introduction on the piano. G. i au GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.Passage I SOCIAL SCIENCE: This pascago !s adapted from the article Tho lie Foxe" by Aasla Conover (08001 by Sneowan Magazin) Champagne-blond in the falling light, seven tiny animals engage in what looks like a game of touch foo! ball, Their big-eared parents, five-pound San Joaquin kit foxes, mark the playground’s boundaries with an 6 occasional sharp woof. I could be anywhere in the 8.5-million-aere San Joaquin Valley @ century of 80 ago. Reality intervenes. I am standing in a nondescript field, and that dark “cliff” in the background is an 40 insurance company. I am in Bakersfield, California, in carly April. This family of 9, along with 200 or so fellow San Joaguin kit foxes, shares this (own with some 250,000 humans. Biologist Brian Cypher, who studies this unigue urban subtribe for the San Joaquin 1 Valley Bndangered Species Recovery Program, notes that the human popalation is growing by 3,000 to 5,000 annually. Although Cypher’s tribe is safe for the moment, in order to ensure its long-term survival, he seeks the 20 secret to its success. His data is being matched by the research of Katherine Ralls, a scientist with the Smith- sonian’s Conservation and Research Center, on a wilder Kit fox population living just west of here, in the Carrizo Plain National Montiment. The combined infor- 26 mation will reveal much about genetics, behavior, distribution and population size that can be applied to the little carnivores conservation. One of several sub- species of kit fox, and the only one that is listed feder- ally as endangered, the San Joaquin kit fox is 20 considered an unbrelia species for this part of Califor. nia: if it survives, then other threatened and endangered ‘animals and plants that share its habitat will too. Scientists estimate that the range-wide population __ of the San Joaguin kit fox prior to 1930 was 8,000 10 45 12,000; in 1975, about 7,000, The current population unknown. Three “core” and several satellite popula tions exist in California, but they are widely separated. “The San ouquin kit fox came to such dive straits— less than 5 percent of its original habitat remains—as a 40 result of tho usual suspects: agriculture, development, il exploration and, more so in earlier days, “varmint ‘eontrot” poisoning and trapping. In Bakersfield, says Cypher, the attitude toward the kit foxes is mixed. "Some are afraid of them. Some. 45 no doubt would like fo shoot them, Some regard them as ‘their’ Kit foxes, and if they see us trapping to put on fear tags and change [radio collar] batteries, they want us to stop.” Novwsin @ bow to the tiny fox's rare status, the city 50 keeps a map of the known dens that may harbor ki foxes, says Cypher. In the early 1980s, however, the city's first conservation plan did not even mention the nora 65 0 6 a % Te 2 3 ttle foxes despite their 1967 federal endangered list= ig. “Negotiations took more than seven years until the Metropolitan Bakersfield Habitat Conservation Pian ‘was approved in 1994,” says Cypher. Officially, no one paid much attention to urban kit foxes in Bakersfield until 1985, when Cal State biology professor Ted Murphy approached the Bakersfield city ‘council about 440 acres of riverhed and floodplain that hhe hoped could be set aside t0 create a siparian studies fea, in part as a way fo protect the kit foxes that lived there, Murphy later used nine radio-collared kit foxes to document the peril that vehicles, expanding develop- ‘ment, predators such as domestic dogs and even rodent poisons continued to pose for kit foxes in the city. Now Cypher’s study has investigated 220 dens in town, “Eighty-four percent were dug in dirt, 12 percent structures created by human activity, and 4 percent in open fields that have 80 far escaped development,” he says. Humans are everywhere. But the litte foxes have two speeds, fast and faster, and sometimes they can avoid trouble with urban predators by squeezing into ‘openings no larger than four inches across. ‘The little foxes dig make-do dens under storage areas, and in school yards, storm-water drainage sumps, concrete rubble piles and pipes. “Their urban life is a bonus,” says Cypher. “Storm-water storage sumps are proving to be good habitat, and every time a now housing division comes along, builders have to put in a new sump—so unknow- ingly, developers are actually creating kit fox habitat.” For the most part, in the "real” world kit-foxes escape thoir predators and the high temperatures of their desert environment by spending the day under ground in a den, In Bakersfield, they follow suit. Kit foxes move every couple of weeks to a new den ‘Moving to different dens may be one reason why they have persisted—the constantly changing abodes pro- vide new places to hide, ‘The main purpose of the passage is to: A. porsuade Bakersfield residents to support Cypher’s protection of San Joaquin kit foxes B. Inform readers about San Joaquin kit foxes and hhuman influence on theie habitat and populations. €. express the author's enjoyment of the sight of San Toaguin kit foxes playing and digging dens. -y D. explain why the San Joaquin Kit foxes) are endangered. ‘According to the passage, the main focus of Cypher's research On San Joaquin kit foxes is: F, determining the reason they became endangered. G. conducting genetic research to help them survive in an urban habitat. H. keeping them on the endangered species list. 4H dlscovering the methods of ndaptation they use for survival GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.13, ‘The statement “Reality intervenes” (line 8) is intended. to signal « shift in the. discussion of San Joaq foxes from: . A, their netural instinets to reeent behavior changes. B. the physical characteristics of the young to those of adults. C. the author's hopes for their future fo current con- servation projects. D, the author's vision of their previous habitats to their current living conditions. 44, According to the passage, which of the following ‘events happens first chronologically? F._ The San Joaquin kit foxes ace placed on the federal endangered species list. G. The Metropolitan Bakersfield Habitat Conserva- tion Plan is approved. H, Bakersfield creates a map of the dens where San Joaquin kit foxes may live. J. Murphy approaches the Bakersfield city counéil ith a research proposal 15, ‘The first paragraph describes the San Joaquin kit fox. parents relating to their offspring by: A. ignoring them while they play. B. demonstrating how to play games. C. signaling the limits of their play area. 1D. barking to warn them of approaching predators, 16, ‘The passage indicates that the term umbrella species (ine 30) refers to species: K. that may be threatened by the dry climate in Bakersfield, G. whose survival means that other at-risk species in the habitat will also survive. HL that are nique to California’s microclimates. J. whose best chance for survival is to inhabit con- gested urban areas. 17. If the sixth paragraph (lines 43-48) were deleted, the passage would primarily lose information about the Bakersfield community's: AL procedures for registering concerns about Cypher’s research techniques. B. reactions to the San Joaquin kit foxes and to Cypher’s research on them. atlempls to help Cypher with his research, responses (0 Cyplier when he asks to trap the Sen Joaquin kit foxes on city-owned land. 18. ‘The passage does NOT mention Murphy determining, that the San Joaquin kit fox was threatened by: domestic dogs. Ge air pottation vehicles, TE dent poisons 19, According to the passage, Cypher’s investigation of San Joaquin kit fox dens in Bakersfield revealed that the vast majority of the dens had been: AL dug in diet 1B. built in human-made structures. C. relocated from the city to open fields. D. unaffected by human activity 20. As it is used in line 83, the phrase she “real” world ‘most nearly refers to: E. the residential developments that are inevitably expanding into animal habitats. G. the current living conditions for animals in urban environments. H, an artificial environment used for research on animal behavior. J. a natural habitat for animals that is unchanged by human activity. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.| Passage III HUMANITIES: This passage fs adapted from tho article “Por. teal of the Ais ean Inynigeant: Ha Jin's Quinlessentally Chinese-American Novel" by Ruth Franklin (62007 by Wash Inglon Post Noweweek Intoractive Co. LLC). It is a literary truism that writers ought to write their native language. Ezra Pound, Paul Celan, Thomas ‘Matin, Istae Bashevis Singer, Czeslaw Milosz: They all ‘spent much of their lives far from theit homelands, but 5 their work is inconceivable in any language other than its original. With few exceptions, writers who break this mold are met with incredulity. Creativity, so the mythology goes, can spring only from an original source. 10 ‘The work of He Jin, who has lived in the United States for more thau 20-years and now teaches creative writing at Boston University, has been grected with similar wonderment. With the publication of A Free Life, his fitth novel (there have also been three books of 45 poetry and two of short stories), he is still fielding the perennial question: Why does he choose to write in English? A Free Life—tin’s most personal novel, though not exactly autobiographical—confronts the taboo hed on. 20 This meandering yet deeply ffeting nova sat once a version of the classic saga of an immigrant family adjusting (o life in the United States and a highly tunconventional portrait of the artist as an immigrant, family man, and all-around ordinary guy, While Jin has 26 always been polite to his interviewers, it seems quite clear that Nan Wa, the poet who is the protagonist of A Free Life, speaks for his creator in response fo a maga~ zine editor who asks, “Can you imagine your work becoming part of our ianguage?” Nan bristles: “I have 90 no answer to that xenophobic question, which ignores the fact that the vitality of English has parily resulted from. its ability to assimilate all kinds of alien energies.” In a relaxed narrative, A Free Life follows Nan 86 over the course of a double journey: his quest to pro- Vide his family with financial stability while simultane usly realizing his dream of becoming a poet, He starts off working odd jobs, but soon he and his wife, Pingping, have.seved up enough money to buy a Chic 40 nese restaurant and @ house of their own, BY all tho ~penchmarks of the American dream, they are suecess- ful, But Nan worries that the banality of his daily exis- tence is stifling him as a writer. “Do you have to live 8 Titeray life to produce literary work?” he asks poet 4 friend, By closely tracking every step of Nan's creative senesis,Jin’s novel offers an alvernative vision of imag- native growth inspired precisely by the most mundane circumstances Ha Jin has said that he sces himself as a Chinese- 60 American writer: “I need the hyphen.” A Free Life is the quintessential Chinese-American book, in which the dilemma of how to exist simultaneously in two worlds—on both sides of that hyphen—animates every | 3 oes 3 page, Like the famously four-toned Chinese dislect of 6 Mandarin, the novel takes place in multiple registers. First there is the dominant narrative voice, at times fluid and evocative, but also idiosyncratic and clunky: Though it is disguised as « conventional third-person huarratoy; this is Nan’ literary voice struggling fo find «60 its way in English. Sometimes he overdoes the literary effects, as when he describes « Chinese restaurant a8 “glazed entirely with mirror, on which some sea crea- tures were blazoned.” And sometimes he overshoots in scarch of the right word or drops in a jatring colloguial- 5 ism, This isthe yosk of a man who speaks English as if hee lead learned it from the dietionary—and indeed, we ‘often glimpse Nan studying his dietionary during fulls on the job. Nan’ literary voice contrasts dramatically with his 70 heavily accented speech, a device that works to empha- size the gap between Nan’s fluent thoughts-and his speech: Though he will come close to mastering Eng- lish in his head, he will never sound fully competent to others. 75 Somewhat less convincing is Jin’s other major stylistic choice. While his other works have been rigor- ously structured, A Free Life is loose and baggy, with episodes that lead down dead ends and digressions that amount to little. The Wus’ life is full of dramatic 80 events, but they are presented in a tone of almost con ‘eal understatement. This artlessness feels intentional, an approximation of how a talented but unschooled writer like Nan might tell his own story. It is a testimony to Jin's abilities that the novel ‘85 manages to be engrossing despite its total disregard for harralive tension, The chaim of A Free Life comes from its cheerful subversiveness, its gentle upending of the tnost persistent myths abou! the creation of art. 21. According to the passage, which of the following does Jin have in common with the writers listed in lines 237 ‘A. He has written a number of novels in English. B, The majority of his novels are set in his homeland, CC. His writing has often been met with incredulity. D. He has spent many years away from his homeland. 22. According to the passage’s author, Nan’s response to a magazine editor's question mainly represents: F.Nan’s quest (o provide his family with economic security, : G. Jin’s own frequent, angry outbursts during inter- ‘Views with magazine editors. Hi, Jin’s own feelings about his work and its relation- ship to the English language. J. Nan’s distrust of the magazine editors who publish his poems. 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