Literary Texts

Read the following English translation of an excerpt from the short story 'The South' by the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges:

Juan Dahlmann was the secretary of a municipal library on Calle Córdoba, and he felt himself profoundly Argentine. His maternal grandfather had been Francisco Flores, of the Second Line Infantry Division, who had died on the frontier of Buenos Aires, run through by a spear of Indians from Catriel; in the discord of his two lineages, Juan Dahlmann (perhaps due to his Germanic blood) chose the lineage of his romantic ancestor, or of his romantic death. An old sword, a stone-colored photograph of a bearded man, the memory of certain guitar chords, the familiar repetition of verses from the epic poem Martín Fierro, the passing years, and a certain predisposition for nostalgia, all served to foster this voluntary conflict, which was resolved in favor of the Argentine plains.

He had managed to save the empty shell of a ranch in the South that had belonged to the Flores family. One of his constant illusions was the hope of staying there, under the shade of its ancient eucalyptus trees.

In February 1949, something happened to him. Blind to all else, he acquired a copy of Weil's edition of the Arabian Nights. Eager to examine this treasure, he did not wait for the elevator but ran up the stairs. In the darkness, something brushed his forehead: a bat? A bird? On the face of the woman who opened the door, he saw horror reflected, and the hand he ran over his brow came away red with blood. The edge of a recently painted window, which someone had left open, had sliced him open.

Based on this excerpt, which of the following best describes how the author's choice of a third-person limited point of view shapes the reader's understanding of Juan Dahlmann's character?

Read the following passage:

Lucas stepped into the grand library, the scent of old paper immediately bringing back the memory of his eighth birthday, when his father had sat with him in the corner alcove and read him a story about mythical beasts. Shaking off the nostalgia, Lucas walked toward the back shelves to select a volume on ancient history.

According to the chronological sequence of events in the passage, which of the following actions occurred first in Lucas's life?

Read the following English translation of an excerpt from a contemporary short story set in Antigua, Guatemala:

For three months, Sofía had sat on the wooden scaffolding of the Cathedral of San José, carefully scraping away layers of lime and dust. Underneath the whitewash of centuries, she sought the original sixteenth-century fresco of a winged angel. Her colleagues urged her to use modern chemical solvents to speed up the restoration, but Sofía insisted on using a small scalpel, working millimeter by millimeter. To her, each layer of plaster she removed was not just dirt, but the physical accumulation of earthquakes, volcanic ash, and political changes that the city had survived. When a corner of the angel’s blue robe finally emerged, it was not the brilliant, untouched paint her supervisors expected, but a surface weathered and cracked by time. Sofía smiled, realizing that the beauty of the mural did not lie in restoring it to a pristine state, but in preserving the scars of its survival.

Based on Sofía's experience during the restoration, which of the following best expresses the central theme of the passage?

Read the following English translation of a stanza from 'Song of the Pirate' by José de Espronceda:

'For my boat is my treasure,
for my god is freedom,
my law, strength and the wind,
my only homeland, the sea.'

How does the speaker's use of metaphors in this stanza function to characterize the pirate's lifestyle?

Read the following literary passage:

'The wind from the Cantabrian Sea carried the scent of rotting kelp and rusted iron, sweeping through the narrow, cobblestone alleys of the old port. Above, the lighthouse cast a rhythmic, pale beam that sliced through the gathering fog, illuminating for a brief second the shuttered windows of abandoned taverns. Clara pulled her woolen shawl tighter around her shoulders, listening to the hollow echo of her own footsteps against the damp stone. Every corner seemed to hold its breath, waiting for a storm that refused to break, leaving the town suspended in a damp, heavy silence.'

Which of the following best describes the atmosphere established in this passage?

Read the following passage from a translation of Tirso de Molina's seventeenth-century Spanish play *El burlador de Sevilla*:

'Fire, fire, I burn, my cabin is in flames! Help, neighbors, my house is burning down! My honor is lost, and my reputation is ruined. The guest I took in, the stranger who promised to be my husband, has left me deceived and dishonored. I, who was once the proudest woman on these shores, who laughed at all the fishermen and mocked their love, am now the one who is mocked. My pride has been humbled by a man who came from the sea only to destroy me. How could I believe his noble promises? How could I trust a courtier's word when I had sworn never to yield to love? Now my cottage burns, a symbol of the fire that consumes my soul. Oh, deceptive guest! Oh, cruel nobleman who stole my honor and left me to weep!'

Based on Tisbea's lament, how does the seventeenth-century Spanish code of honor (*honra*) influence her reaction to her deception?

Read the following English translation of a stanza from 'Canción de otoño en primavera' by Rubén Darío:

'Youth, divine treasure,
already you go, not to return!
When I want to weep, I do not weep,
and sometimes I weep without intending.'

Which literary device is demonstrated in the contrast between wanting to weep and the inability to do so in the last two lines?

Read the following excerpt from a short story:

Don Manuel looked out over the barren fields of his estate. For years, the villagers had told him that the soil was dead, but he refused to believe them. Every morning, he walked the perimeter, seeds in hand, convinced that with enough patience, the earth would eventually yield fruit. The villagers watched him from their windows, shaking their heads at what they considered a foolish waste of time.

Based on the excerpt, which of the following best describes Don Manuel's perspective regarding his land?

Read the following passage from a mid-twentieth-century Mexican literary excerpt:

"My father stood on the veranda, his shadow stretching long across the dry patio where the Tzeltal workers had gathered in silence. They did not raise their voices; they simply stood, holding their straw hats in their hands, their eyes fixed on the wooden planks of the floor. Manuel, who had worked the coffee groves since he was a boy, stepped forward and spoke of the new government inspectors from the capital. He mentioned a law—a word that sounded foreign and heavy in the afternoon heat—that required every ranch with more than a dozen families to build a schoolhouse. My father did not move. He puffed on his cigar, the smoke rising like a thin barrier between him and the men. 'A school?' he murmured, his voice cold. 'So you can learn to read the documents that tell you to take my land?' The men did not answer, but the silence between them was no longer one of obedience; it was the tense quiet of a wind before a storm, a realization that the old order, which had bound our family and their ancestors to this soil, was cracking under the weight of decrees written far away in Mexico City."

Which of the following historical processes in post-revolutionary Mexico is directly reflected in the tension between the landowner and the workers in this passage?

Read the following translated excerpt from the novella *...y no se lo tragó la tierra* (1971) by the Chicano author Tomás Rivera:

'Why? Why did we have to come here? The heat is suffocating, and the dust from the fields gets into our throats, making it hard to breathe. My father fell ill yesterday, his face pale and sweating under the blazing sun, but the boss said if he doesn't work, we don't get paid. We are trapped in this endless cycle of traveling from state to state, following the crops, living in chicken coops that they call housing. My mother prays every night to the saints, lighting small candles, asking for a miracle, but the sun just keeps burning us. I looked at my younger brother, his small hands already calloused from picking cotton, and felt a deep anger. Why must we suffer like this while others live in cool houses with clean water? Is this what God wants for us? I threw a stone at the ground and cursed the earth, waiting for it to swallow me, but nothing happened. The earth does not care about our pain.'

Based on this excerpt, which of the following best explains how the historical and cultural context of mid-twentieth-century migrant agricultural workers shapes the central conflict?

Read the following literary passage:

Diego stood in the center of the sun-drenched plaza of Villa de Leyva, holding the frayed telegram that had arrived that morning. The white stone buildings around him seemed to shimmer in the midday heat, unchanged since his departure twenty years ago. As he stared at the words announcing his uncle's passing, his mind raced back to the rainy afternoon of his twelfth birthday. On that day, in the shadow of the great cathedral behind him, his uncle had handed him a silver pocket watch, whispering that time was the only true inheritance. Diego shook himself back to the present, pocketed the telegram, and walked toward the cathedral doors, resolved to meet the notary who was waiting inside.

Based on the chronological sequence of events described in the passage, which of the following events occurred first?

Read the following passage:

Belén stood before the heavy wooden doors of the municipal archives. For decades, the townspeople of San Lorenzo had regarded the old building as a repository of useless paper, a dusty mausoleum for names long forgotten. Yet, to Belén, each ledger was a living testament to the community's resilience. When the mayor proposed demolishing the archives to build a modern plaza, the townspeople cheered, eager for progress. Belén, however, felt a profound sense of loss. She did not oppose modernization, but she believed that a town without a past was like a tree without roots. As she turned the key in the rusted lock, she resolved to find the document that would prove the historical significance of the building and change the town's collective mind.

Based on the passage, how does Belén’s perspective on the municipal archives differ from that of the townspeople?

Analyze this passage from Gabriel García Márquez's short story 'Tuesday Siesta' ('La siesta del martes'):

'The train emerged from the gallery of yellow banana plantations. Since it was almost two o'clock, the heat was suffocating. The girl, who was twelve, sat on the seat opposite her mother, her back to the window. The mother sat with her back to the engine. Both of them wore severe, poor mourning clothes. The mother looked out the window at the monotonous landscape. Her face had the copper-colored hue of the people of the coast, but she looked older than her years. Her eyelids were heavy, and she seemed weary, yet she maintained a quiet, unbreakable dignity. When the train began to slow down, she spoke to the girl: "Put on your shoes. Comb your hair." The girl got up and did as she was told. Then the mother added: "If you have to do anything, do it now. Later, even if you are dying of thirst, do not drink water anywhere. Above all, do not cry." The train stopped at a station where there was no one, only the glaring heat on the dusty platform. They got off, carrying a plastic bag with some food and a bouquet of flowers wrapped in newspaper. It was the hour of the siesta, and the town was asleep under the oppressive sun, silent and hostile to their presence.'

Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of the author's third-person objective narrative perspective in this passage?

Read the following English translation of the poem 'I Cultivate a White Rose' by the Cuban writer José Martí:

'I cultivate a white rose
In July as in January,
For the sincere friend
Who gives me his hand frankly.

And for the cruel one who tears out
The heart with which I live,
I cultivate neither nettles nor thorns;
I cultivate a white rose.'

Based on the speaker's use of the 'white rose' as a metaphor, which of the following best describes the speaker's attitude toward those who wrong him?

Read the following literary passage:

'Sofia stood before the withered fig tree in the center of the family orchard, its dry branches casting long shadows. Years ago, before her brother departed for the coast and the well dried up, they would spend their summer afternoons beneath its lush canopy, laughing as they ate the sweet fruit. Now, she held a single dried leaf in her palm, a fragile remnant of those vibrant seasons. Tomorrow, the developers would arrive to clear the land, but today she was determined to gather the last seeds of the old tree, carrying them to her new home in the valley.'

Based on the passage, which of the following represents the correct chronological sequence of events, from earliest to latest?

Read the following literary passage:

Julia leaned against the rusty railing of the Valparaíso harbor, watching the cargo ships dock under a gray sky. The metallic clang of the cranes immediately transported her back to the stormy night of her departure fifteen years prior. On that night, her father had handed her a heavy iron key, promising that the corresponding chest remained hidden in their old house on the hill. Tomorrow, she would climb those steep slopes to retrieve it, but for now, she could only watch the tide rise, wondering if the key still fit the lock.

Based on the passage, which of the following events occurred first chronologically?

Read the following passage about a tile restorer named Diego in Seville, Spain:

Diego spent his afternoons in the historic neighborhood of Santa Cruz in Seville, mixing cobalt blues and copper greens to repair the broken azulejos of the local plazas. To the passing tourists, his work was merely a quaint demonstration of a dying craft. To the elderly neighbors who sat on the iron benches, however, Diego was rebuilding the backdrop of their memories—the very walls where their parents had whispered secrets and their children had played. Lately, the city council had begun replacing the handmade ceramic tiles with mass-produced, weather-resistant polymer replicas that required no upkeep. Diego’s hands, calloused and stained with mineral pigments, refused to pick up the plastic composites. Even when his commission budget was halved, he continued to search for the specific local clays that gave the traditional tiles their warmth. For Diego, a wall was not simply a physical barrier or a structural necessity; it was a living manuscript of the neighborhood's collective soul, and to let it turn to plastic was to erase the texture of their shared past.

Which of the following best describes the central theme of the passage?

Read the following excerpt from the English translation of the play *The House of Bernarda Alba* (*La casa de Bernarda Alba*), written in 1936 by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca:

BERNARDA: Silence!
SERVANT: (Weeping) Bernarda!
BERNARDA: Less howling and more work. You should have made sure this place was clean for the mourners. Go! (The servant leaves). This is what it means to be a woman.
PONCIA: (Entering) The men are in the courtyard. They want to come in.
BERNARDA: Let them stay outside. I don't want them looking at me or entering my house. For the eight years this mourning lasts, not a breath of wind will enter this house from the street. We will pretend we have bricked up the doors and windows. That is how it was in my father’s house and my grandfather’s house. In the meantime, you can embroider your trousseaus. I have five daughters, and none of them will ever leave this place to marry. The men in this town are not of their class. Their father’s money is theirs, but their lives and bodies belong to this house.
PONCIA: But Bernarda, your daughters are growing up. They need—
BERNARDA: They need nothing but to obey. A daughter who does not obey her mother ceases to be a daughter and becomes an enemy. My watchfulness never sleeps, and my word is the law.

Which of the following best describes the author's purpose in Bernarda's monologue concerning the eight-year mourning period?

In the poem 'The Guitar' ('La guitarra') by the Spanish writer Federico García Lorca, the speaker describes the instrument's music:

'The weeping of the guitar begins. It is useless to quiet it. It is impossible to quiet it. It weeps monotonously as the water weeps, as the wind weeps over the snowfall. It is impossible to quiet it. It weeps for distant things.'

Which of the following best describes the primary function of the personification of the guitar in this passage?

Read the following English translation of an excerpt from a contemporary short story set in Oaxaca, Mexico:

Camila sat before the cooling kiln, her hands coated in the fine, gray dust of the valley clay. For fifty years, her fingers had shaped the red earth into water jugs, mimicking the curves her grandmother had taught her. Today, her grandson, Mateo, had brought a plastic bottle from the city, marveling at its weightlessness and durability. Camila held the synthetic container, feeling its smooth, sterile surface. It did not breathe like clay; it did not smell of the rain or the dry soil. Mateo suggested they purchase a mold to speed up production and make their pottery perfectly uniform, like the items sold in the capital. Camila smiled gently and handed the bottle back to him. She picked up a fresh lump of wet earth, feeling its cool dampness. She knew that every crease in her pots told the story of the earth they came from, and to standardize them would be to silence the ancestors who spoke through the clay.

Based on the passage, which of the following best expresses the central theme?