As the works of dozens of women writers have been rescued from what E.

Question

As the works of dozens of women writers have been rescued from what E. P. Thompson calls “the enormous condescension of posterity,” and considered in relation to each other, the lost continent of the female tradition has risen like Atlantis from the sea of English literature. It is now becoming clear that, contrary to Mill’s theory, women have had a literature of their own all along. The woman novelist, according to Vineta Colby, was “really neither single nor anomalous,” but she was also more than a “register and spokesman for her age.” She was part of a tradition that had its origins before her age, and has carried on through our own.

Many literary historians have begun to reinterpret and revise the study of women writers. Ellen Moers sees women’s literature as an international movement, “apart from, but hardly subordinate to the mainstream: an undercurrent, rapid and powerful. This ‘movement’ began in the late eighteenth century, was multinational, and produced some of the greatest literary works of two centuries, as well as most of the lucrative pot-boilers.” Patricia Meyer Spacks, in The
Female Imagination, finds that “for readily discernible historical reasons women have characteristically concerned themselves with matters more or less peripheral to male concerns, or at least slightly skewed from them. The differences between traditional female preoccupations and roles and male ones make a difference in female writing.” Many other critics are beginning to agree that when we look at women writers collectively we can see an imaginative continuum, the recurrence of certain patterns, themes, problems, and images from generation to generation.    1 
 1. In the second paragraph of the passage the author’s attitude toward the literary historians cited can best be described as one of

A. irony
B. ambivalence
C. disparagement
D. receptiveness
E. awe

2 
 For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.
 
 2. The passage supplies information for answering which of the following questions?

A. Does the author believe the female literary tradition to be richer in depth than its masculine counterpart?
B. Which literary historian maintains that the female literary tradition transcends national boundaries?
C. Does Moers share Mill’s concern over the ephemeral nature of female literary renown?
D. What patterns, themes, images, and problems recur sufficiently in the work of women writers to belong to the female imaginative continuum?
E. Did Mill acknowledge the existence of a separate female literary tradition?

3  
 3. In the first paragraph, the author fails to make use of the technique of

A. extended metaphor
B. numeration and classification
C. classical allusion
D. direct quotation
E. comparison and contrast

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. In the second paragraph of the passage the author’s attitude toward the literary historians cited can best be described as one of

Explanation

The author opens the paragraph by stating that many literary critics have begun reinterpreting the study of women’s literature. She then goes on to cite individual comments that support her assertion. Clearly, she is receptive or open to the ideas of these writers, for they and she share a common sense of the need to reinterpret their common field.

Choices A  and  B  are incorrect. The author cites the literary critics straightforwardly, presenting their statements as evidence supporting her thesis.

Choice C  is incorrect. The author does not disparage or belittle these critics. By quoting them respectfully she implicitly acknowledges their competence.

Choice E  is incorrect. The author quotes the critics as acknowledged experts in the field. However, she does not look on these critics with awe (an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear). 
 
  Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. The passage supplies information for answering which of the following questions?

Explanation

Question B  is answerable on the basis of the passage. According to  lines 19–20, Ellen Moers “sees women’s literature as an international movement,”  in other words, as a movement that transcends national boundaries.

Likewise,  Option E  is answerable on the basis of the passage. According to  lines 9–10,  Mill disbelieved in the idea that women  “have had a literature of their own all along.”  
 
  Answer: B,E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

3. In the first paragraph, the author fails to make use of the technique of

The writer neither lists (enumerates) nor sorts (classifies) anything in the opening paragraph.

Choice A  is incorrect. The writer likens the female tradition to a lost continent and develops the metaphor by describing the continent  “rising . . . from the sea of English literature.”

Choice C  is incorrect. The author refers or alludes to the classical legend of Atlantis.

Choice D  is incorrect. The author quotes Colby and Thompson.

Choice E  is incorrect. The author contrasts the revised view of women’s literature with Mill’s view.

Answer: B

As the works of dozens of women writers have been rescued from what E.

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