Q1

Single Answer

Question

What is referred to as the background of the text including biographical, linguistic, and sociocultural factors surrounding it?

Correct answer

atmosphere
context
setting
theme

Explanation

The context of a literary work includes the author’s life, language, society, and culture that may have influenced it.

Report errors
Q2
Single Answer

Question

What do the works of Mikael de Lara Co and Catherine Batac Walder have in common?

Correct answer

an eerie atmosphere
superstitious beliefs
Filipino cultural elements
highly urbanized areas as setting

Explanation

Co used kundiman and Walder used kambubulag legends, both of which are distinctly Filipino in origin.

Report errors
Q3
Single Answer

Question

How did Mikael de Lara Co use diction in “Kundiman”?

Correct answer

He used words that evoked Filipino sentimentality.

He used slang that situates the poem in the Luzon region.
He used allusions to old and forgotten Philippine folk tales.
He used culture to create a sophisticated tone for the poems.

Explanation
Co used Tagalog words that contribute to the sentimental mood of the poem.

Report errors
Q4
Single Answer

Question

In “The Kambubulag,” how does using the kambubulag symbol help in establishing the context of the story?

Correct answer

It allows readers to imagine themselves as a blind person.

It situates the story within the superstitious Tagalog culture.
It produces vivid imagery about killer moths native to Luzon.
It shows that the story will have a supernatural twist later on.

Explanation

The kambubulag is a cultural symbol that exists in the Tagalog culture. Passing on superstitions within a community is a part
of this culture.

Report errors
Q5
Single Answer

Question

A kundiman is a song of longing. Which of the following lines from “Kundiman” hints at what the persona is longing for?

Correct answer

coming together to vibrate / in the saddest of frequencies

I said hold in my own language / again and again, hawak, kapit
Your keys dangled by the sink. / Somewhere a chord is diminished
tahan na, uwi na. Then strained / to hear all the engines in this city

Explanation

The keys that dangled by the sink suggest that someone close to the persona has left with no intention of returning.

Report errors
Q6
Single Answer

Question

In the poem “Kundiman,” what is the significance of choosing the Tagalog term kundiman over an equivalent English term
like “serenade” or “ballad”?

Correct answer

The term is a cultural symbol.

The term is in the title for consistency.
The term makes a great pun at the end.
The term is an allusion to folk musicians.

Explanation

The English words “serenade” and “ballad” do not carry similar emotional and patriotic meanings the way kundiman does
within a Filipino context.

Report errors
Q7
Single Answer

Passage
Kundiman (An Excerpt)
By Mikael de Lara Co

When scientists pressed their ears

against the universe, they found it
whistling a single note in A minor.
I learned the word for hold
in another language. I left
the door open and wiped
the dust off the table. I drank.
Ships pointed cannons at each other
for the right to name a sea.

(Reproduced by permission of Mikael de Lara Co)

Question

What figure of speech is used in the last two lines of the excerpt?

Correct answer

allusion
irony
metaphor
personification

Hint

This is an indirect reference to a significant person, place, thing, or idea in history, culture, literature, politics, or in any field.

Explanation

The last two lines of the excerpt allude to the naming of the South China Sea as the West Philippine Sea.

Report errors
Q8
Single Answer

Passage
The Kambubulag (An Excerpt)
By Catherine Batac Walder
Delia was tempted to pull over, after she saw the mangoes on the fruit stand by the side of the road. Having worked abroad
a few years ago, Delia always longed for Philippine mangoes and bought some any chance she got. “The closest I came to
buying real Philippine mangoes were those sun-dried ones, packed in their country of destination,” she used to say. While
abroad she had a regular supply of dried mangoes, as if conjuring the Philippine sun through them.

(Reproduced by permission of Catherine Batac Walder)

Question

In what way does this passage highlight the sociocultural context of the text?

Correct answer

It is a common Filipino superstition to avoid stopping by the side of a road.

Living abroad and missing things from back home are a common Filipino experience.
The location of the country is close to the equator, an area that receives a lot of sunlight.
The Philippines is known around the world for its tropical fruits that are hard to find elsewhere.

Explanation

Going abroad in search of opportunities in exchange for the comforts of home is an experience that many Filipinos all over
the world share.

Report errors
Q9
Single Answer

Passage
The Kambubulag (An Excerpt)
By Catherine Batac Walder

The kambubulag is notoriously associated with a road north of the Philippine capital, home of a stream of vehicular
accidents since the previous decade, such that both names have become interchangeable in recent times: kambubulag or
Kambubulag Road. [. . .] Four roads intersect at that point. [. . .] This intersection is notorious for heavy traffic. The residents
claim that there is something − perhaps a ghost − at the crossroads that keeps people from seeing other oncoming vehicles.

(Reproduced by permission of Catherine Batac Walder)

Question

What characteristic of Filipino folk tales is demonstrated in the text?

Correct answer

The length of folk tales is usually short, so they can be easily passed on by word of mouth.
The element of the supernatural is used to explain why natural and supernatural phenomena occur.
The use of modern elements like technology hints at advanced pre-colonial societies.
The custom of giving a riddle or bugtong in the story makes it more engaging to the audience.

Explanation

It is possible that there is a logical explanation as to why so many accidents happen on the Kambubulag road − it is, after all,
a busy intersection. However, it is typically Filipino to look for supernatural explanations the way our ancestors used to
explain phenomena through their beliefs.

Report errors
Q10
Single Answer

Passage
Kundiman (An Excerpt)
By Mikael de Lara Co

I ate alone. I grew old. I grew older.

I said hold in my own language
again and again, hawak, kapit,
tahan na, uwi na. Then strained
to hear all the engines in this city
droning in A minor. A knife
scraped against marble. A stick
rattled towards stillness. A minor.
All the lullabies ever hummed
coming together to vibrate
in the saddest of frequencies.
Your keys dangled by the sink.
Somewhere a chord is diminished
to static. Kundiman means
the opposite of if ever.

(Reproduced by permission of Mikael de Lara Co)

Question

Why does the persona hear all the sounds of the world in A minor?

Correct answer

The persona is in a perpetual dream state, so he hears all the noises in the world as if he were sleeping.
The persona is in a violent state of mind and any sound of A minor serves only to aggravate him further.
The persona is in a state of melancholy and regards both harsh noises and beautiful music as equally sad.
The persona is in a romantic state and plays the kundiman in his head all the time, overpowering other sounds.

Explanation

For the persona, the sounds in the world including harsh noises (“all the engines in this city”) and beautiful music (“all the
lullabies ever hummed”) are all sad as he simply hears them in A minor (“coming together to vibrate / in the saddest of
frequencies”). He is unable to appreciate anything in his world −even pleasant things − because he is consumed by the
sorrow of his longin