Literary Texts

Read the following excerpt from the English translation of the short story "The Red Stockings" ("Las medias rojas") by the Spanish writer Emilia Pardo Bazán:

"When Ildara returned, after gathering firewood from the landowner’s woods, she found her father, Uncle Clodio, busy peeling potatoes and throwing them into the clay pot. Ildara dropped her bundle, squatted down, and began to arrange the wood to light the fire. As she bent over, a corner of her skirt rose, and Uncle Clodio’s small, dull eyes caught a glimpse of something unusual: a bright red woolen stocking wrapping her ankle. His face darkened.

'Where did you get those?' he demanded.

'I bought them with the money from the eggs,' Ildara stammered, her heart racing.

Uncle Clodio stood up, his hand raised. He knew that the red stockings meant she had been preparing herself, styling herself, to join the thousands who left Galicia on the immigrant ships bound for America, leaving the old and the soil behind."

Based on this excerpt, how does the father's reaction to Ildara's purchase reflect the cultural and historical reality of late nineteenth-century rural Spain?

Read the following English translation of a literary passage set in a rural Latin American village:

In the dusty, sun-bleached town of Loma Seca, where rain was nothing more than a distant memory, Clara spent her afternoons watering a single rosebush in her courtyard. The townspeople often shook their heads as they walked past her gate, whispering about the waste of precious water. To them, Clara’s persistence was a foolish battle against the inevitable dryness of the desert. Yet, Clara remembered the vibrant gardens of her youth and refused to let the dust claim her small sanctuary. Every evening, when the cool breeze finally swept through the streets, the solitary red bloom stood as a testament to her quiet defiance. It was not merely a flower she was keeping alive, but the very memory of color in a world that had turned entirely gray.

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

Read the following excerpt from the English translation of the short story 'Two Words' ('Dos palabras') by the Chilean author Isabel Allende:

'She had been born into a family so poor that they did not even have names to give their children. She came into the world and grew up in the most inhospitable region, where some years the rains were so heavy they washed away everything in mud, and in others not a drop fell from the sky, the sun swelled until it filled the entire horizon, and the earth cracked open. Until she was twelve, Belisa had no other occupation or virtue than to survive the hunger and the exhaustion of the centuries. During a prolonged drought, she had to bury four younger brothers, and when she realized that her turn was next, she decided to set out across the desert toward the sea, in the hope of tricking death along the way. The land was eroded, split by deep cracks, strewn with rocks and scrub. Her skin was dry and her tongue like wood, but she did not stop, and she reached the first wells, where she found people.'

Based on this passage, which of the following best describes how the author uses narrative point of view to convey Belisa's situation?

Analyze the figurative language in the four translated excerpts from Spanish-language literature on the left. Pair each literary excerpt with the specific rhetorical device on the right that governs its central expressive effect.

Read the following translation of an excerpt from a short story set in Galicia:

"For sixty years, Doña Mercedes watched the tide return to the rocky shores of her village. To her grandson, Thiago, the ocean was a grid of coordinates and potential yields, a resource to be charted and conquered with modern sonars and steel-hulled trawlers. But to Mercedes, the water was a living ledger of the family's history, holding both the memory of her husband’s lost vessel and the quiet rhythms that had sustained the community for generations. When Thiago proudly displayed his new digital maps, pointing to the areas he planned to harvest next, Mercedes simply touched the worn wood of the windowsill and remarked that some depths are not meant to be measured. Thiago sighed, seeing only the obstinacy of old age in her quiet resistance."

Based on the passage, which of the following best describes Thiago's perspective regarding his grandmother's attitude toward the sea?

Read the following literary passage:

'Elena stood in the damp entryway of the coastal cottage, the scent of sea salt and dried eucalyptus immediately returning her to the summers of her youth. The rhythmic crash of the waves against the Galician cliffs was a sound she had not heard since her sudden departure a decade prior. That rainy morning ten years ago, her grandmother had pressed a silver locket into her palm and whispered a promise of protection. Now, looking at the dust-covered dining table, Elena noticed a sealed envelope addressed to her, dated just days before her grandmother's passing. She reached out to pick it up, but stopped mid-motion as the floorboards upstairs creaked, signaling she was not alone.'

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

For years, Father Anselmo walked the dusty streets of Villa Clara, his hands always extended to offer a blessing or a loaf of bread. To the villagers, he was a pillar of unshakeable faith, a saint who walked among them. Yet, when the heavy oak doors of the parish house closed at night, Anselmo would sit in the candlelight, staring at the blank pages of his journal. In the silence, the certainty he preached by day felt like a distant shore he could no longer see. He did not doubt the goodness of his work, but he doubted the presence of the hand guiding it. Still, when dawn broke and the first knock came at his door, he wiped his face, put on his habit, and went out to offer comfort, believing that his own doubt was a burden he must carry alone so that others might believe.

Based on the passage, which of the following best describes the contrast between Father Anselmo's public actions and his private feelings?

Read the following literary passage:

'For three decades, Don Celso watched the construction of the grand railway that was promised to connect his valley to the capital. Every afternoon, he sat on his porch, listening to the distant, rhythmic clanging of iron against stone, a sound that became the very heartbeat of the village. The politicians had spoken of infinite horizons, of mineral wealth flowing out, and of modernity flowing in. Yet, as the years dissolved, the tracks remained incomplete, terminating abruptly at the edge of the great ravine, a rusted iron claw reaching into empty air. The workers eventually departed, leaving behind skeleton cabins and mountains of gravel that the tropical rains slowly flattened back into the earth. The villagers, once animated by the fever of anticipation, returned to their ancestral crops, their conversations no longer touched by the word "tomorrow." Don Celso, now silver-haired, realized that the railway had indeed changed them, not by delivering them to a grander world, but by anchoring them more deeply in the static present. The half-built track stood not as a path to progress, but as a monument to the illusion of departure, proving that their isolation was not a geographical circumstance, but a destiny they had long accepted.'

Which of the following best expresses the central theme of this passage?

Read the following literary passage:

"In the narrow backroom of Don Mateo’s workshop, hundreds of antique pendulums swung in relentless, unsynchronized rhythms. Outside, a dense gray fog pressed heavily against the leaded windowpanes, blurring the cobblestones and swallowing the daylight into a perpetual twilight. The air inside smelled of cold brass, stagnant oil, and aging parchment. Each mechanical strike and hollow chime did not mark the lively passage of moments, but rather counted down an inescapable erosion of time. Don Mateo remained motionless over his workbench, his magnifying loupe reflecting only the dull gleam of motionless gears. The surrounding wall of ticking clocks felt less like a sanctuary of craftsmanship and more like an echo chamber of impending decay."

Which of the following best characterizes the atmosphere established in the passage?

Read the following literary passage:

'The cold of the high páramo did not merely seep through the cracks of the wooden shutters; it settled in the bones of the old house like an unwelcome guest that had no intention of leaving. Outside, the mist clung to the jagged peaks of the Andes, swallowing the stunted pajonal grass and turning the horizon into a uniform shroud of white. Inside, Clara watched the solitary candle flame flicker against the damp stone walls. Every creak of the floorboards echoed through the empty rooms, a reminder of the silence that had reigned since the harvest failed. She wrapped her woolen shawl tighter around her shoulders, staring at the door. The wind howown through the canyons, carrying the distant, hollow sound of sheep bells, but no footsteps followed. She knew the road down to the valley was already blocked by the mudslides, yet she kept the candle lit, its feeble light a stubborn defiance against the encroaching darkness of the mountain night.'

Which of the following best describes the atmosphere established by the description of the setting?

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

For decades, Ernesto walked the steep, winding staircases of Cerro Alegre, dragging his heavy wooden organillo. While the cylinder inside cranked out old European waltzes, the children dancing on the cobblestones and the neighbors leaning from their balconies heard something entirely local: the collective heartbeat of their hills. Ernesto knew the instrument was slowly dying; its bellows leaked air with a faint sigh, and the salt wind from the Pacific had rasped its pipes. Yet, he resisted replacing it. To him, the organillo was not merely a generator of sound, but a repository of the city's history. Each creak of the wood recalled those who had once danced to its tune but had since drifted away. The music bridged the past and the present, tying the ephemeral life of the port to a permanent, shared memory.

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

Read the following literary excerpt:

"El aire de la buhardilla estaba estancado, pesado con el polvo de tres siglos. Inés avanzó con suma cautela, el corazón latiéndole desbocado contra las costillas; cada crujido de las tablas del suelo le parecía una advertencia para que retrocediera. Nunca se le había permitido subir allí. Al palpar la pared de ladrillo buscando un punto de apoyo, una de las piedras cedió inesperadamente, revelando una oquedad oscura. Al introducir la mano, sus dedos rozaron un objeto metálico, frío y pesado. Lo extrajo hacia la tenue luz que se filtraba por el tragaluz: era un candelabro de siete brazos. La confusión la paralizó. ¿Por qué ocultaría su devota familia católica, los ilustres Mendoza, un símbolo hebreo con tanto esmero? Su mente daba vueltas, tratando de reconciliar las misas dominicales de su infancia con este secreto enterrado. De pronto, como si el bronce frío le transmitiera la memoria de sus dueños originales, una claridad abrumadora la invadió. Imaginó el terror de sus antepasados, obligados a susurrar sus verdaderas oraciones en la penumbra, disfrazando su fe para sobrevivir a la Inquisición. El miedo inicial de Inés se disipó, dejando en su lugar un profundo y doloroso asombro. Apretó el candelabro contra su pecho, sintiendo que las fracturas de su historia familiar se unían por primera vez. Ya no era solo una Mendoza de Toledo; era la guardiana de un silencio ancestral, y al descender las escaleras, sus pasos resonaron con una firmeza que no conocía hasta entonces."

Based on the passage, arrange the following stages of Inés's emotional and psychological evolution in chronological order, from first to last.

Read the following literary excerpt:

Joaquín leaned over the brass eyepiece of the telescope atop the coastal observatory, tracking the faint luminescence of the wandering comet as it skimmed the horizon. The icy Pacific breeze rattled the iron dome shutters, carrying the sharp scent of brine and eucalyptus. Three months prior, while cataloging his late mentor's estate in the dusty archives of Santiago, he had unearthed a folded celestial map detailing this exact trajectory—a private discovery that prompted him to petition the university board for emergency access to the coastal station. Now, hearing the clockwork motor click into gear, Joaquín reached for a fresh wooden box of sensitized glass plates, determined to secure photographic evidence before the morning light washed across the bay.

Which of the following events occurred first in the chronological sequence of the storyline?

Read the following literary excerpt:

"Clara carefully brushed the calcified mountain dust from the leather cover of the 1782 field ledger. Just as the binding opened, she remembered the stormy night three years earlier in Bogotá when the university dean had dismissed her hypothesis regarding the lost expedition. Suddenly, a brittle, hand-drawn map slipped from between the yellowed folios, revealing the uncharted alpine pass marked in faded indigo ink. Breathing steadily, she recorded the geographic coordinates into her modern satellite log, knowing the lost route was finally documented."

Match each narrative event from the passage to its precise structural function in the plot sequence.

Read the following four literary excerpts representing diverse narrative settings in the Spanish-speaking world. Which central theme best corresponds to each excerpt? Match each excerpt on the left with its primary central theme on the right.

Match each literary excerpt describing a distinct setting with the primary tone, mood, or atmosphere it establishes.

Read the following literary passage:

"Before the fire at the hacienda reduced his childhood memories to ash, Ernesto had believed that his family's destiny was tied to the land. Standing now amidst the ruins under the noon sun, he recalled the day thirty years ago when his father first showed him the hidden safe behind the portrait of their ancestor. Yet, it was the telegram he had received last night in the capital—the one announcing his brother's sudden departure—that had forced him to undertake the journey back. Looking at the soot-covered floor, Ernesto remembered that the portrait itself had been purchased in Paris during his parents' honeymoon, a trip they often spoke of during the long winter nights of his youth."

According to the narrative sequence of the passage, which of the following events occurred first chronologically?

Read the following excerpt from the English translation of the short story 'Chac Mool' by the Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes:

'Until recently, I could not believe that a simple stone statue could disrupt the order of my daily life. I placed the Chac Mool in the basement, thinking it was merely an interesting archaeological piece. But then the water pipes ruptured, flooding the room with a persistent dampness. Soon, I noticed that the stone was softening, acquiring a texture resembling skin. Last night, I awoke to the sound of heavy, labored breathing in the dark. When I turned on the lamp, I saw it standing near my bed: the Chac Mool, now animated and covered in a moist, mossy flesh, staring at me with cold, ancient eyes. I have become a hostage in my own home, forced to fetch buckets of water from the public square to keep its thirst quenched. I no longer know where my sanity ends and this myth begins.'

Based on the passage, what is the author's primary purpose in employing a first-person narrative point of view?

Read the following excerpt from the English translation of the short story "You Don't Hear the Dogs Barking" ("No oyes ladrar los perros") by the Mexican writer Juan Rulfo:

"You who are up there, Ignacio, tell me if you can hear anything or see any light anywhere."
"I don't see anything."
"We must be getting close."
"Yes, but I don't hear anything."
"Look carefully."
"I don't see anything."
"Poor you, Ignacio."

The shadow of the long, dark figure of the men moved up and down, climbing over rocks, diminishing and growing as it crossed the edge of the stream. It was a single, staggering shadow. The moon rose from the earth like a round, red flare.

"We should be arriving at that town, Ignacio. You, with your ears uncovered, try to hear if dogs are barking. Remember they told us Tonaya was just beyond the mountain, and we crossed the mountain hours ago. Remember, Ignacio?"
"Yes, but I don't see any sign of it."
"I am getting tired."
"Put me down."

The father spoke in a low voice. He walked slowly, his body bent forward, under the heavy weight of his son, whose hands were locked around his neck, and whose feet clung to his waist.

Which of the following best describes how the author uses point of view and narrative focus in this passage to develop the characters' relationship?

Read the following excerpt from the English translation of the short story 'Don't You Hear the Dogs Barking?' ('¿No oyes ladrar los perros?'), written in 1953 by the Mexican author Juan Rulfo:

'You who are up there, Ignacio, tell me if you can hear anything or if you see any light anywhere.'
'I don't see anything.'
'We must be near.'
'Yes, but I don't hear anything.'
'Look hard.'
'Nothing.'
'Poor you, Ignacio.'
The shadow of the long, dark mountain fell over them, sliding down the rocks. The father carried his son on his shoulders, stumbling, stepping sideways, climbing up and down. His feet sank into the sand, then slipped on the stones. The son's body pressed down on him, his hands clasped around his neck, his feet hooked in his belt. Ignacio's weight felt heavier as the hours went by, and his knees seemed to dig into his father's chest.
'I'm tired,' the father said.
He let himself slide down a rock, without letting go of his son. His feet slipped again, and he fell to his knees, but he did not set the boy down. He remained still for a long time, catching his breath.
'Why don't you leave me here?' Ignacio asked in a low voice. 'You can go on alone and come back for me tomorrow.'
'I won't leave you here,' the father replied. 'I promised your mother I would carry you to Tonaya so the doctor could cure you. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for her, because she is dead, and it would grieve her soul if I left you to die by the roadside.'

Based on the dialogue in the passage, which of the following best describes the father's point of view regarding his journey with Ignacio?