Untangle a long sentence from an older text
Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
A Romance, Not a Novel (public-domain preface excerpt with background and word notes)
Background: [1] Nathaniel Hawthorne published The House of the Seven Gables in 1851, a year after The Scarlet Letter. [2] In the preface, he explains why he calls the book a Romance rather than a Novel. [3] The sentences are copied exactly from the preface, with the one cut marked.
From the preface to The House of the Seven Gables (1851): [4] When a writer calls his work a Romance, it need hardly be observed that he wishes to claim a certain latitude, both as to its fashion and material, which he would not have felt himself entitled to assume had he professed to be writing a Novel. [5] The latter form of composition is presumed to aim at a very minute fidelity, not merely to the possible, but to the probable and ordinary course of man's experience. [6] The former—while, as a work of art, it must rigidly subject itself to laws, and while it sins unpardonably so far as it may swerve aside from the truth of the human heart—has fairly a right to present that truth under circumstances, to a great extent, of the writer's own choosing or creation. [7] …In the present work, the author has proposed to himself—but with what success, fortunately, it is not for him to judge—to keep undeviatingly within his immunities. [8] The point of view in which this tale comes under the Romantic definition lies in the attempt to connect a bygone time with the very present that is flitting away from us.
Word notes: [9] Latitude means freedom, and fashion here means form or shape. [10] Professed means openly claimed, and fidelity means faithfulness. [11] The latter is the second of two things named, and the former is the first. [12] To sin unpardonably here means to fail beyond excuse, and to swerve aside is to stray. [13] Undeviatingly means without turning aside, and immunities here means freedoms granted to it. [14] Bygone means long past, and the cut leaves out the end of the first paragraph.
Ari is restating sentence 4 in plain words, keeping every part. Which restatement does that?
- Clearly, a writer who calls a book a Romance wants some freedom in its form and material that he would not feel entitled to take if he claimed to be writing a Novel.
- Clearly, a writer who calls a book a Romance wants freedom.
- Clearly, a writer who calls a book a Romance gives up freedom in form and material that he would take if he claimed to be writing a Novel, and so must follow stricter rules.
- Clearly, a writer who calls a book a Romance wants to set it in a bygone time, as the word notes explain.
Tala sees two readings of sentence 4: the which-clause could describe “a certain latitude” or “its fashion and material.” Which reading does the syntax allow, and why?
- “A certain latitude,” because “both as to its fashion and material” is an inserted phrase, and a writer assumes a freedom, not a material.
- “A certain latitude,” meaning the book's distance north of the equator.
- “Its fashion and material,” because the which-clause comes right after those nouns.
- “A certain latitude,” because a which-clause describes the first noun in its sentence.
Jun is restating sentence 7 in plain words, keeping every part. Which restatement does that?
- In this book the author has set out to keep faithful to the probable, as the word notes define fidelity.
- In this book the author has stayed within the freedoms a Romance allows.
- In this book the author has set out to break free of a Romance's freedoms, and he judges that he succeeded.
- In this book the author has set out to stay within the freedoms a Romance allows, though he says it is not for him to judge how well he succeeded.
Pia sees that sentence 7 breaks off for an aside in dashes. What does that aside do here?
- It is an inverted sentence, so the verb comes first and stresses the author's immunities.
- The aside interrupts the claim so the author can boast that he has completely succeeded in this book.
- It is a periodic sentence: each detail builds to the main clause at the very end.
- The aside interrupts the claim with modesty: the author declines to judge his own success.
Bo sees two readings of sentence 8: “that is flitting away from us” could describe “a bygone time” or “the very present.” Which reading does the syntax allow, and why?
- “The very present,” because the word “very” makes it the most important noun in the sentence.
- “The very present,” because the clause follows it and only the present is still slipping away.
- “The very present,” meaning a gift that is quickly slipping out of our hands.
- “A bygone time,” because the old days long past are surely the ones that have flitted away from us.
The Dictionary Maker's Lot (public-domain preface excerpt with background and word notes)
Background: [1] Samuel Johnson published A Dictionary of the English Language in London in 1755, after years of work. [2] In its preface he describes the task and his method. [3] The text keeps Johnson's spellings, such as energetick, and each cut is marked.
From the preface to A Dictionary of the English Language (1755): [4] It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of evil, than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure, without hope of praise; to be disgraced by miscarriage, or punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause, and diligence without reward. [5] …I have, notwithstanding this discouragement, attempted a dictionary of the English language, which, while it was employed in the cultivation of every species of literature, has itself been hitherto neglected; suffered to spread, under the direction of chance, into wild exuberance; resigned to the tyranny of time and fashion; and exposed to the corruptions of ignorance, and caprices of innovation. [6] When I took the first survey of my undertaking, I found our speech copious without order, and energetick without rules: wherever I turned my view, there was perplexity to be disentangled, and confusion to be regulated; choice was to be made out of boundless variety, without any established principle of selection; adulterations were to be detected, without a settled test of purity; and modes of expression to be rejected or received, without the suffrages of any writers of classical reputation or acknowledged authority.
Word notes: [7] Toil means hard work, and evil here means harm. [8] Censure is blame, and miscarriage here is failure. [9] Hitherto means until now. [10] Exuberance is overgrowth, and caprices are sudden whims. [11] Copious means plentiful, and energetick is an old spelling of energetic. [12] Adulterations are impure or mixed forms. [13] Suffrages are votes of approval. [14] The cut leaves out a paragraph on the writer of dictionaries.
Zee sees that sentence 4 is built from balanced pairs. What does that shape do here?
- It is an inverted sentence: the verbs come before their subjects to stress the workers.
- It is a periodic sentence that saves a happy ending for its very last words.
- Each pair sets a hardship against a missing reward, so the work's unfairness builds pair by pair.
- The balanced pairs show that such workers are fairly and fully rewarded for each of their hardships.
Kira sees two readings of sentence 5: the which-clause could describe “a dictionary” or “the English language.” Which reading does the syntax allow, and why?
- “The English language,” meaning the language had been given a paid job in literature.
- “The English language,” because Johnson had not yet written any other books.
- “The English language,” which was used in all kinds of writing yet never itself put in order.
- “A dictionary,” because Johnson's own dictionary had been neglected while he wrote other works.
Ren is restating sentence 5 in plain words, keeping every part. Which restatement does that?
- Despite this, I have tried to write a dictionary of English, a language used in every kind of writing but never itself put in order, so that it grew wild, bent to time and fashion, and was spoiled by ignorance and whims.
- Despite this, I have tried to write a dictionary of English, the first ever made, as the background says.
- Encouraged by this, I have written a dictionary of English, a language that has always been kept carefully in order.
- Despite this, I have tried to write a dictionary of English, a language used in every kind of writing.
Esme sees that after its colon, sentence 6 runs through a long series of matching clauses. What does that shape do here?
- Each matching clause adds a task done without a rule, so the disorder seems to pile up endlessly.
- It is a periodic sentence: the details build up and the main clause waits until the very end.
- The long series of matching clauses shows that Johnson's task was quick, simple and orderly from the start.
- A single short fragment at the end lands the point with a sudden snap.
Noah sees two readings of the end of sentence 6: “without the suffrages of any writers” could go with the adulterations or with the modes of expression. Which reading does the syntax allow, and why?
- “Modes of expression to be rejected or received,” because the phrase ends that clause, and writers' approval would decide which uses to accept.
- “Modes of expression to be rejected or received,” where suffrages means citizens' votes in elections.
- “Modes of expression to be rejected or received,” because each clause in the sentence ends with the word “authority,” as the clauses before it do.
- “Adulterations were to be detected,” because writers of reputation would spot impure forms.