CBEST-SECTION-2 Exam Questions & Answers

(1)

Produced in 1959, Lorraine Hansberrys play, A Raisin in the Sun, was a quietly revolutionary work that depicted African-American life in a fresh, new, and realistic way. The play made her the youngest American, the first African-American,

and the fifth woman to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best

Play of the Year. In 1961, it was produced as a film starring Sydney Poitier and has since become a classic, providing inspiration for an entire generation of

African-American writers.

(2)

Hansberry was not only an artist but also a political activist and the daughter of activists. Born in Chicago in 1930, she was a member of a prominent family devoted to civil rights.Her father was a successful real-estate broker, who won an

anti-segregation case before the Illinois Supreme Court in the mid-1930s, and her uncle was a Harvard professor. In her home, Hansberry was privileged to meet many influential cultural and intellectual leaders. Among them were artists and

activists such as Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, and Langston Hughes.

(3)

The success of A Raisin in the Sun helped gain an audience for her passionate views on social justice. It mirrors one of Hansberrys central artistic efforts, that of freeing many people from the smothering effects of stereotyping by depicting

the wide array of personality types and aspirations that exist within one Southside

Chicago family. A Raisin in the Sun was followed by another play, produced in 1964, The Sign in Sidney Brusteins Window. This play is about an intellectual in

Greenwich Village, New York City, a man who is open-minded and generous of spirit who, as Hansberry wrote, "cares about it all. It takes too much energy not to care."

(4)

Lorraine Hansberry died on the final day of the plays run on Broadway. Her early death, at the age of 34, was unfortunate, as it cut short a brilliant and promising career, one that, even in its short span, changed the face of American

theater. After her death, however, her influence continued to be felt. A dramatic adaptation of her autobiography, To Be Young, Gifted, and Black, consisted of vignettes based on Hansberrys plays, poems, and other writings. It was produced

Off-Broadway in 1969 and appeared in book form the following year.Her play, Les Blancs, a drama set in Africa, was produced in 1970; and A Raisin in the Sun was adapted as a musical, Raisin, and won a Tony award in 1973.

(5)

Even after her death, her dramatic works have helped gain an audience for her essays and speeches on wide-ranging topics, from world peace to the evils of the mistreatment of minorities, no matter what their race, and especially for her

works on the civil-rights struggle and on the effort by Africans to be free of colonial rule. She was a woman,much like the characters in her best-known play, who was determined to be free of racial, cultural, or genderbased constraints.

On the basis of above passage please answer the following question.

Hansberrys father earned his living as

A.

a civil-rights worker.

B.

a banker.

C.

a real-estate broker.

D.

an artist and activist.

E.

an attorney.

When the current measure used to calculate poverty levels was introduced in 1963, the poverty line for a family of two adults and two children was about $3,100. In 1992, there were 36.9 million people, or 14.5% of the U.S. population, with incomes below the poverty line. A proposed new way of measuring poverty levels would include for the first time the effects of work-related expenses such as transportation costs and child care costs on families available income. The largest effect of the new measure would be a decrease in the percentage of people in families receiving cash welfare who fall under the poverty line, and an increase in the percentage of people in working families who fall under it. People in families receiving cash welfare would make up 30% of the poor under the new measure, compared with 40% under the current measure. In contrast, people in working families would make up 59% of the poor under the new measure, compared with 51% under the current measure. On the basis of above passage please answer the following question One difference between the current and proposed measures is the fact that

A. the proposed measure identifies fewer working poor.

B. the current measure identifies fewer working poor.

C. the proposed measure disregards expenses for basic needs.

D. the current measure includes more people with health insurance.

E. the current measure ignores the completely destitute.

Greyhound racing is the sixth most popular spectator sport in the United States. Over the last decade a growing number of racers have been adopted to live out their retirement as household pets, once their racing career is over. Many people hesitate to adopt a retired racing greyhound because they think only very old dogs are available. Actually, even champion racers only work until they are about three and a half years old. Since greyhounds usually live to be 12-15 years old, their retirement is much longer than their racing careers. People worry that a greyhound will be more nervous and active than other breeds and will need a large space to run. These are false impressions. Greyhounds have naturally sweet, mild dispositions, and while they love to run, they are sprinters rather than distance runners and are sufficiently exercised with a few laps around a fenced-in backyard everyday. Greyhounds do not make good watchdogs, but they are very good with children, get along well with other dogs (and usually cats as well), and are very affectionate and loyal. They are intelligent, well behaved dogs, usually housebroken in only a few days. A retired racing greyhound is a wonderful pet for almost anyone. On the basis of above passage please answer the following question According to the passage, adopting a greyhound is a good idea for people who

A. do not have children.

B. live in apartments.

C. do not usually like dogs.

D. are retired.

E. already have another dog or a cat.