1. Which one of the following most accurately describes the author’s attitude toward formalism as expressed in the passage?(A) scholarly neutrality
(B) grudging respect
(C) thoughtless disregard
(D) cautious ambivalence
(E) reasoned dismissal
2. Which one of the following persons displays an approach that most strongly suggests sympathy with the principles of reader-response theory?(A) a translator who translates a poem from Spanish to English word for word so that its original meaning is not distorted
(B) a music critic who insists that early music can be truly appreciated only when it is played on original instruments of the period
(C) a reviewer who finds in the works of a novelist certain unifying themes that reveal the novelist’s personal concerns and preoccupations
(D) a folk artist who uses conventional cultural symbols and motifs as a way of conveying commonly understood meanings
(E) a director who sets a play by Shakespeare in nineteenth-century Japan to give a new perspective on the work
3. With which one of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?(A) Any literary theory should be seen ultimately as limiting, since contradictory interpretations of texts are inevitable.
(B) A purpose of a literary theory is to broaden and enhance the understanding that can be gained from a work.
(C) A literary theory should provide valid and strictly objective methods for interpreting texts.
(D) The purpose of a literary theory is to make clear the intended meaning of the author of a work.
(E) Since no literary theory has a monopoly on meaning, a reader should avoid using theories to interpret literature.
4. The passage states that reader-response theory legitimizes which one of the following?(A) a wide range of perspectives on works of literature
(B) contemporary ideology as a basis for criticism
(C) encoding the meaning of a literary work in signs and symbols
(D) finding the meaning of a work in its text alone
(E) belief that an author’s intended meaning in a work is discoverable
5. Which one of the following most accurately describes the author’s purpose in referring to literature of the past as being “unfairly burdened” (line 51) in some cases?(A) to reinforce the notion that reader-based interpretations of texts invariably raise more questions than they can answer
(B) to confirm the longevity of interpretations similar to reader-based interpretations of texts
(C) to point out a fundamental flaw that the author believes makes reader-response theory untenable
(D) to concede a minor weakness in readerresponse theory that the author believes is outweighed by its benefits
(E) to suggest that reader-response theory can occasionally encourage fragmented views of a work
6. Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the author’s argument concerning reader-response theory?(A) Reader-response theory is reflected in interpretations that have been given throughout history and that bring additional insight to literary study.
(B) Reader-response theory legitimizes conflicting interpretations that collectively diminish the understanding of a work.
(C) Reader-response theory fails to provide a unified view of the meaning of a literary work.
(D) Reader-response theory claims that a text cannot have meaning without a reader.
(E) Reader-response theory recognizes meanings in a text that were never intended by the author.
7. The author’s reference to “various signs and symbols” (line 33) functions primarily to(A) stress the intricacy and complexity of good literature
(B) grant that a reader must be guided by the text to some degree
(C) imply that no theory alone can fully explain a work of literature
(D) illustrate how a literary work differs from a map
(E) show that an inflexible standard of interpretation provides constant accuracy
8. Which one of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the information in the passage?(A) Formalists believe that responsible critics who focus on the text alone will tend to find the same or similar meanings in a literary work.
(B) Critical approaches similar to those described by formalism had been used to interpret texts long before the theory was articulated as such.
(C) Formalists would not find any meaning in a text whose author did not intend it to have any one particular meaning.
(D) A literary work from the past can rarely be read properly using reader-response theory when the subtleties of the work’s socialhistorical context are not available.
(E) Formalism is much older and has more adherents than reader-response theory.