What’s more frustrating is when I have to read English in a book with strange accents I’ve never heard before. A lot of books have different kinds of writing for the dialogue… you know, when people talk. Like different dialects. They can be so confusing. Here’s a GED practice question that shows what I mean. The passage is from “Pollyanna,” by Eleanor Hodgeman Porter.

“For the land’s sake, Miss Pollyanna, what a scare you did give me,” panted Nancy, hurrying up to the big rock, down which Pollyanna had just regretfully slid.

“Scare? Oh, I’m so sorry; but you mustn’t, really, ever get scared about me, Nancy. Father and the Ladies’ Aid used to do it, too, till they found I always came back all right.”

“But I didn’t even know you’d went,” cried Nancy, tucking the little girl’s hand under her arm and hurrying her down the hill. “I didn’t see you go, and nobody didn’t. I guess you flew right up through the roof; I do, I do.”

Pollyanna skipped gleefully.

“I did, ‘most—only I flew down instead of up. I came down the tree.”

Nancy stopped short.

“You did—what?”

“Came down the tree, outside my window.”

“My stars and stockings!” gasped Nancy, hurrying on again. “I’d like ter know what yer aunt would say ter that!”

What does this passage reveal about Pollyanna’s personality?

1) She is gloomy and pessimistic.

2) She is adventurous and carefree.

3) She is easily scared.

4) She is a mischievous troublemaker.

5) She is studious and strict.

When I first look at this passage, I immediately feel so confused. What does “For the land’s sake” mean? And what does she mean by, “Ladies’ Aid?” There are so many things they say here that I just don’t get. But I’ve figured out that you can’t get discouraged if you don’t understand everything in a passage. There are still a lot of things that I can understand, especially after I read the question.

It asks about Pollyanna’s personality. So, I look for things that answer the question, and don’t worry too much about what I don’t understand! Let’s see. In the second sentence, Pollyanna tells Nancy that “you mustn’t, really, ever get scared about me.” And later on she is skipping gleefully. Does that sound gloomy? I don’t think so. Gloomy is the opposite of gleefull!Even if I’m not sure what “gleeful” means, she’s skipping, and just doesn’t seem gloomy at all. Later it says that she just “came down the tree.” This scares Nancy! But it doesn’t scare Pollyanna, so I know #3 isn’t right. I don’t think studious and strict people would climb trees or run off without telling anyone, so #5 doesn’t sound right.

I think that #4 could be the answer. Troublemakers don’t always follow the rules (just look, it has the word “trouble” in it), and it doesn’t sound like Pollyanna is following them either. This is the one you might guess. But what does “mischievous” mean? Have you heard the word “mischief?” It’s more trouble. It’s kind of being mean and making problems. I think that Pollyanna might be causing trouble for Nancy, but she isn’t doing it to be harmful or mean. She even apologizes to Nancy when she realizes that she had scared her!

So, I think the best answer is #2. That one says “adventurous and carefree.” Pollyanna sure seems to like adventure… doing new things… and she doesn’t seem to worry, that makes her “carefree.” It’s a better answer, because Pollyanna doesn’t seem to want to cause trouble, particularly. She just seems to want to go out and have fun.

See, you can figure out the main idea of a reading, even if you can’t understand every word. Sometimes it’s important to look words up. But you don’t want to get bogged down with looking up every word! Especially if it seems likeit’s not part of the main point . Or like with the “Ladies’ Aid.” I don’t know exactly what that is, but I can guess that it is someone who most likely looked after Pollyanna, and that’s good enough for the time being. Unless, of course, the question asks specifically, “Who is the Ladies’ Aid?” Then we have some more thinking to do!

Good luck studying for the GED.

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at  http://www.passGED.com

Carlo writes:

Hi Maria. I got a question. On the GED Test I had a couple of questions that I didn’t understand. Could you help me with these questions. I will type the poem and questions. Thanks.

Okay! Let’s go through the GED reading questions. Here’s the poem Carlo is asking about:

What Are the Fish At The Aquarium?

At the Aquarium

SERENE the silver fishes glide,
Stern-lipped, and pale, and wonder-eyed!
As through the aged deeps of ocean,
They glide with wan and wavy motion.
They have no pathway where they go,
They flow like water to and fro,
They watch with never-winking eyes,
They watch with staring, cold surprise,
The level people in the air,
The people peering, peering there:
Who wander also to and fro,
And know not why or where they go,
Yet have a wonder in their eyes,
Sometimes a pale and cold surprise.

Max Eastman. At The Aquarium, 1883: MODERN AMERICAN POETRY Louis Untermeyer, ed. 1919

That’s the poem. The important part, of course, is the questions… There are two questions to answer, and here’s the first one:

What feelings does the speaker attribute to the fish by calling them “wonder-eyed” (line 2)?

(1) fear of the crowds
(2) sadness at the plight
(3) interest in their surroundings
(4) anxiety about their fact service
(5) happiness with each other’s company

This one is a vocabulary question. What does “wonder-eyed” mean? It’s important to look at the context of the poem… it’s overall meaning. If you know what “wonder” is…. a feeling of amazement, kind of, like that things are WONDERful… then that will help eliminate some answers at least… “fear” isn’t wonderful, or “sadness,” or “anxiety.” That leaves two answers… “interest” or “happiness.”

So, what’s the poem say about the fishes? What’s the context? It’s at an aquarium. Can you kind of picture what an aquarium looks like? Like, the Monterey Bay Aquarium… that’s a big one. There are different ones, especially by the coast, and you go there to look at all the sea creatures, kind of like  a zoo, for fishes, sharks, octopuses… If you’ve seen one on TV or can connect it to your life, then you can picture the fish in your mind, and that can help. Well, what I’m getting out of this poem is that it’s got two parts. The first part is about the fishes swimming in the aquarium. They swim around, and they watch the people. The second part is about the people… how they look to the fishes, watching them. So, which feeling seems to fit most with what the poem’s about? Interest in their surroundings (what’s going on around them), or happiness with each other’s company? Since the poem talks about the fish watching people, but doesn’t really talk about what the fishes think about each other, I’ll have to say (3) interest in their surroundings. The fish are interested in the people that walk around outside the tank.

Here’s the next question:

Why do people appear “level… in the air” (line 9) to the fish?

(1) lying down on the beach
(2) waving frantically at the fish
(3) walking away from the water
(4) swimming around the ocean
(5) standing outside the fish tanks

Here’s where it helps to try to picture what’s happening. Say you’re a fish. You’re in, like, a big tank, looking out at the people. What do they look like? They’re not lying down on the beach, or swimming around the ocean. They might wave or walk away, but that doesn’t seem to go with what the poem’s saying. “Level” seems to mean that they’re not really moving. Think about what it says the people are doing: “peering, peering.” That means, they’re looking at the fish. So, if they’re looking at the fish, they must be standing outside the fish tanks. I’d go with (5) standing outside the fish tanks. It just makes the most sense!

I know the language of a poem can make it seem kind of difficult. Trying to picture it really helps, for me! Good luck on your GED, and let me know if you have any other GED questions.

For more information about the GED and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

I found books at the Online Books Page, Classic Reader and also Google Books (if you search for “full view”). It’s easy to find  a book to read, any time. I like to read mysteries, because they’re sort of like puzzles, to think about what the solution is. I started reading this one I found on Classic Reader, called Where There’s a Will. So, I thought I’d make a GED reading practice question from it… Here it is!

He sauntered over and dropped a quarter into the slot-machine by the door, but the thing was frozen up and refused to work. I’ve seen the time when Mr. Sam would have kicked it, but he merely looked at it and then at me.

“Turned virtuous, like everthing else around the place. Not that I don’t approve of virtue, Minnie, but I haven’t got used to putting my foot on the brass rail of the bar and ordering a nut sundae…”

When Mr. Sam says “ordering a nut sundae,” it’s a metaphor for:

1) going crazy

2) being virtuous

3) gambling

4) being sinful

What do you think? Can you answer the question?

Going into a bar and ordering an ice-cream sundae isn’t literal language, it’s not talking about really ordering  a sundae. It’s what’s called figurative language. It’s talking about something else. That’s what it means to be a “metaphor.” So, what’s it really talking about? What does it mean?

You need to read the passage to understand what he’s saying. He tries to use a slot machine, and it doesn’t work. He says it’s being virtuous… that’s because the slot-machine is “refusing” to gamble. That’s what’s called personification… he’s talking about the slot machine like it’s a person. So there’s lots of figurative language in this quote!

He says he doesn’t disapprove of virtue but he’s not used to going into a bar and ordering a sundae. The part about the sundae is the metaphor. So, what answer can replace the part about the sundae, and still make sense?

He doesn’t disapprove of virtue but he’s not used to going crazy? That doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t disapprove of virtue but he’s not used to being virtuous? That’s more like it. It makes sense! What about the next one? He doesn’t disapprove of virtue but he’s not used to gambling? That’s not very logical! What about, he doesn’t disapprove of virtue but he’s not used to being sinful? That doesn’t make sense, either, not as much as answer 2. Answer 2 is right… ordering a sundae is virtuous (instead of ordering liquor, at a bar). So, that’s the metaphor.

Good reading! And good GED studying!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

Celebrate Banned Books Week

Banned Books Online

Controversial and Banned Books

Okay, now here’s the practice question… from William Faulkner’s book As I Lay Dying, which was banned in 1986 by the Graves County, Kentucky school board:

Jewel and I come up from the field, following the path in single file. Although I am fifteen feet ahead of him, anyone watching us from the cottonhouse can see Jewel’s frayed and broken straw hat a full head above my own.

The path runs straight as a plumb-line, worn smooth by feet and baked brick-hard by July, between the green rows of laidby cotton, to the cottonhouse in the center of the field, where it turns and circles the cottonhouse at four soft right angles and goes on across the field again, worn so by feet in fading precision.

The cottonhouse is of rough logs, from between which the chinking has long fallen. Square, with a broken roof set at a single pitch, it leans in empty and shimmering dilapidation in the sunlight, a single broad window in two opposite walls giving onto the approaches of the path. When we reach it I turn and follow the path which circles the house. Jewel, fifteen feet behind me, looking straight ahead, steps in a single stride through the window. Still staring straight ahead, his pale eyes like wood set into his wooden face, he crosses the floor in four strides with the rigid gravity of a cigar store Indian dressed in patched overalls and endued with life from the hips down, and steps in a single stride through the opposite window and into the path again just as I come around the corner. In single file and five feet apart and Jewel now in front, we go on up the path toward the foot of the bluff.

When the writer says Jewel has “the rigid gravity of a cigar store Indian,” he means:

1) Jewel is part Native American.

2) Jewel is not moving at all.

3) Jewel seems tense and stiff.

4) Jewel is smokng a cigar.

5) Jewel is excitable but hiding his feelngs.

So, what did you think? Do you find the answer? This is what’s called a metaphor. The author is comparing Jewel to a wooden Indian that stands outside a cigar store. Now, there aren’t any cigar stores with wooden Indians outside them anymore, anyway not a lot of them, so who knows anything about that? But you can probably tell that it’s a metaphor, he’s not really saying Jewel is an Indian or anything about Jewel smoking a cigar. It’s also not saying Jewel is not moving at all, because Jewel is walking. So that leaves answers 3 and 5. Answer 5 says Jewel is excitable… but there’s not anything in the passage to hint at that. It would be reading too much into it. The answer is 3… Jewel is stiff, like a wood statue of an Indian. Do you think you could think that one through?

Good luck on your GED!

So, here’s an example practice question about tone:

Fragment of a poem by Sappho:

Raise up the roof-tree—
a wedding song!
High up, carpenters—
a wedding song!
The bridegroom is coming,
the equal of Ares,
much bigger than a big man.

Which word best describes this poem’s tone?

1)  straightforward

2)  celebratory

3)  frustrated

4)  exhausted

5)  nagging

So, since the tone is the mood of the whole thing, you need to look at the whole idea… The poem is about a wedding, and it repeats “a wedding song!” twice. It praises the groom for being a big man. It tells the carpenters to raise the roof, but it’s not nagging. It’s doesn’t seem exhausted or frustrated. It’s celebratory! It’s a poem for a wedding, a celebration.

The other answer choice it gives is “straightforward.” You’ll sometimes see words like “straightforward” or “informational” to describe tone. Usually, these words mean that the writing is like an encyclopedia. It doesn’t have emotion. It just gives the facts. Well, that doesn’t apply here! The best answer is 2, celebratory.

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

A GED reading synthesis question has two parts to read. First, there’s the main reading, like this one, from The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck:

They arose in the dark no more to hear the sleepy birds’ first chittering, and the morning wind around the house while they waited for the first light to go out to the dear acres. These things were lost, and crops were reckoned in dollars, and land was valued by principal plus interest, and crops were bought and sold before they were planted. Then crop failure, drought, and flood were no longer little deaths within life, but simple losses of money. And all their love was thinned with money, and all their fierceness dribbled away in interest until they were no longer farmers at all, buy little shopkeepers of crops, little manufacturers who must sell before they can make, Then those farmers who were not good shopkeepers lost their land to good shopkeepers. No matter how clever, how loving a man might be with earth and growing things, he could not survive if he were not also a good shopkeeper. And as time went on, the business men had the farms, and the farms grew larger, but there were fewer of them.

Now farming became industry, and the owners followed Rome, although they did not know it. They imported slaves, although they did not call them slaves: Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, Filipinos. They live on rice and beans, the business men said. They don’t need much. They couldn’t know what to do with good wages. Why, look how they live. Why, look what they eat. And if they get funny–deport them.

And all the time the farms grew larger and the owners fewer. And there were pitifully few farmers on the land any more. And the imported serfs were beaten and frightened and starved until some went home again, and some grew fierce and were killed or driven from the country. And farms grew larger and the owners fewer.

Then, the synthesis question gives you another piece of information, like this:

John Steinbeck made ends meet by working as a farm laborer while he was studying at Stanford University.

And then, there’s a question that asks you to use information from both:

John Steinbeck’s experience working on farms probably:

A)  Made him an expert in California history

B)  Contributed to his writing about gourmet foods

C)  Contributed to his writing about farm workers

D)  Led to him owning a farm

E)  Led to him writing about husbandry

Basically, you have to see how the two things relate to each other. In the passage, Steinbeck talks about how farms have changed over time and how the big, modern farms treat the farm workers badly. Then, you learn that Steinbeck worked on a farm while he was going to college. It seems likely that his experiences on a farm made him want to write about what farm workers were going through… remember, it’s got to relate both the new information and the information from the reading together. So, answer C is the best.

Keep a lookout for synthesis questions on the GED, and you’ll know how to do them!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

From The Pearl, by John Steinbeck.

Kino awakened in the near dark. The stars still shone and the day had drawn only a pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east. The roosters had been crowing for some time, and the early pigs were already beginning their ceaseless turning of twigs and bits of wood to see whether anything to eat had been overlooked.

Where does Kino live?

A)  In a city

B)  On a farm

C)  In a small town

D)  On a boat

E)  In the forest

The text doesn’t really say where he lives, but it gives some clues. So you have to use the clues to infer where he lives. He wakes up, and he hears roosters crowing and pigs looking around for food. So, where would there be roosters and pigs? If you look at it that way, the answer’s easy… B, on a farm. See, sometimes the questions are simple, if you look at them pretty straightforward.

Good GED studying!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

Helmer. When did my squirrel come home?

Nora. Just now. (Puts the bag of macaroons into her pocket and wipes her mouth.) Come in here, Torvald, and see what I have bought.

Helmer. Don’t disturb me. (A little later, he opens the door and looks into the room, pen in hand.) Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?

Nora. Yes but, Torvald, this year we can really let ourselves go a little. This is the first Christmas that we have not needed to economise.

Helmer. Still, you know, we can’t spend money recklessly.

Nora. Yes, Torvald, we may be a wee bit more reckless now, mayn’t we? Just a tiny wee bit! You are going to have a big salary and earn lots and lots of money.

Helmer. Yes, after the New Year; but then it will be a whole quarter before the salary is due.

Nora. Pooh! we can borrow till then.

Helmer. Nora! (Goes up to her and takes her playfully by the ear.) The same little featherhead! Suppose, now, that I borrowed fifty pounds to-day, and you spent it all in the Christmas week, and then on New Year’s Eve a slate fell on my head and killed me, and–

Nora (putting her hands over his mouth). Oh! don’t say such horrid things.

Helmer. Still, suppose that happened,–what then?

Nora. If that were to happen, I don’t suppose I should care whether I owed money or not.

So, how do you know what the characters are like? On the GED, they might give you words to describe the characters. You need to look at the characters’ actions and see which words describe them best. Think of the characters like friends of yours. If they acted like they do in the play, what would you think of them? You might say, “Torvald, he’s a pain in the you-know-what.” Or, “Nora, she’s a flake.”

So, can you look at the choices on this GED-type question to see which one seems most like Nora?

Which of the following words best describes Nora?
A) emotional

B) hysterical

C) uncaring

D) greedy

What’s Nora like? That’s the idea. If you were a friend of Nora’s, sitting around gossiping about her, what would you say?  “Oh, Nora, she’s so —??” what? Greedy? Not really. I mean, she spends money, but she’s not really what I’d call greedy. That’s kind of a trick question. She’s not grasping after a lot of money, she just sorta likes to spend, you know. She’s more having fun than being greedy.

“Nora’s always so–”… uncaring? That’s definitely wrong. She gets real upset at the idea that Torvald might die, even though it’s just all made up. That’s not really uncaring.

“Nora’s always so–” … hysterical? No… at first she’s happy, then upset, but she’s not hysterical… I mean, she’s not screaming and crying or anything. Hysterical means like, super emotional, even crazy. If you didn’t know the word, you could just skip it to see if other answers maybe made sense.

“Nora’s always so–” … emotional? Well, that makes more sense. She’s not too practical, or concerned with budgeting. She’s more concerned with being happy, and upset by the idea of something happening to Torvald. She focuses on her emotions. I’d say the answer is A, emotional. Do you see why?

So that’s another good skill for the GED reading… figuring out what characters are like.
Good GED studying!

 For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com, or call 1-888-880-2164.

Here’s an example… Here’s a part of a play called “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen. It’s got two characters in it, Nora and Helmer, and Nora’s just come home.

Helmer. When did my squirrel come home?

Nora. Just now. (Puts the bag of macaroons into her pocket and wipes her mouth.) Come in here, Torvald, and see what I have bought.

Helmer. Don’t disturb me. (A little later, he opens the door and looks into the room, pen in hand.) Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?

Nora. Yes but, Torvald, this year we can really let ourselves go a little. This is the first Christmas that we have not needed to economise.

Helmer. Still, you know, we can’t spend money recklessly.

Nora. Yes, Torvald, we may be a wee bit more reckless now, mayn’t we? Just a tiny wee bit! You are going to have a big salary and earn lots and lots of money.

Helmer. Yes, after the New Year; but then it will be a whole quarter before the salary is due.

Nora. Pooh! we can borrow till then.

Helmer. Nora! (Goes up to her and takes her playfully by the ear.) The same little featherhead! Suppose, now, that I borrowed fifty pounds to-day, and you spent it all in the Christmas week, and then on New Year’s Eve a slate fell on my head and killed me, and–

Nora (putting her hands over his mouth). Oh! don’t say such horrid things.

Helmer. Still, suppose that happened,–what then?

Nora. If that were to happen, I don’t suppose I should care whether I owed money or not.

So… what if you had to make a prediction about something Nora might do? Or Helmer? How do you know? The key is looking at what they’ve done in the part of the play they show you. So, you have to figure out which answer choice is most similar to… most like… what the character does in the play.

Want to try? Here’s a practice question:

If Nora burned the dinner for the third time that week, Helmer would most likely:

A) Say nothing about it and pretend it’s okay

B) Yell at Nora angrily

C) Scold Nora couched in loving terms

D) Laugh it off because it’s not important

So, what would Helmer do? How can you tell? Well, the first thing is to look for the situation in the reading that’s closest to the one in the question. In the question, Nora burns dinner for the third time, so she makes a mistake or does something that’s a problem. What kind of mistake or problem does Nora cause in the reading?

It seems to me like the closest thing is that she spends a lot of money. Helmer doesn’t seem too happy about that.

So, if I changed the question and said, “If Nora spent too much money, Helmer would most likely:” … then, what would the answer be?

You know the answer to that, it’s in the reading, right? He doesn’t just say nothing, and he doesn’t yell at her. He doesn’t laugh it off and say it’s not important. He scolds her by saying things like, “The same little featherhead!” and calling her “my little spendthrift.” Sort of mean but nice at the same time, if you know what I mean. I guess you could call it “loving,” sort of! Anyway, “scold Nora couched in loving terms” is closest to what he actually does do.

So, since that’s what you know about how he reacts… isn’t that the most likely way he’d react to a similar situation in the future? Like if Nora burned the dinner?

That’s the way the GED questions work, anyway! The answer is C. And that’s a good one to know on the GED test.

Good studying!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

The man flung a look back along the way he had come. The Yukon lay a mile wide and hidden under three feet of ice. On top of this ice were as many feet of snow. It was all pure white, rolling in gentle undulations where the ice-jams of the freeze-up had formed. North and south, as far as his eye could see, it was unbroken white, save for a dark hairline that curved and twisted from around the spruce-covered island to the south, and that curved and twisted away into the north, where it disappeared behind another spruce-covered island. This dark hairline was the trail—the main trail—that led south five hundred miles to the Chilcoot Pass, Dyea, and salt water; and that led north seventy miles to Dawson, and still on to the north a thousand miles to Nulato, and finally to St. Michael on Bering Sea, a thousand miles and a half thousand more.

The writer describes layers of ice and snow covering the ground, and large distances to other areas. This emphasizes:

A) That the man is alone with himself and nature.

B) That the man is cold and lonely.

C) That the man has no feelings or emotions.

D) That the man is used to being in a cold climate.

Do you get the answer? Think about the passage, and why the writer might write it like that. Do you see that it doesn’t say a lot about the man. He looks back, and then the writer tells what the man sees. It doesn’t say how the man thinks or what he feels. That’s why I wouldn’t say “C” or “B.” The writer doesn’t really tell you what the man’s emotions are like. So you don’t know if he’s lonely or not. But that doesn’t mean he has no emotions… you just don’t know yet. See, the writer chooses to show you some things… like all the white snow and distance around the man… but he doesn’t show you other things… like what the man is thinking.

So, there’s two other answers… “D” says the man is used to being in a cold climate… well, the man doesn’t really react or anything. But the passage doesn’t really say anything about the man… just that he’s there and looking around. Is he used to the cold climate? I’m not sure.

That leaves “A.” The man is alone… well, the passage describes everything that’s around, snow and a path. Seems very much alone to me! There’s just him… and nature… That’s exactly what answer A says. So, that’s my answer. See, it’s just taking it step by step and thinking about what the writer is actually saying.

Good luck with your GED studying!

For more information on the GED test or GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.