Ajax Cleaner

Look at the advertisement below:

What is the most likely reason that the company chose to name their cleaning product Ajax?

a. because words that begin with "A" come first alphabetically
b. The last name of the creator is "Ajax"
c. Their cleaner is strong, just like the Greek mythology hero Ajax
d. It is just a word that someone made up that sounded like a good cleaner name










Scroll down for the answer.







_________________________
a. is incorrect.  While it does come first alphabetically, since products are not normally listed in alphabetical order, it does not help their product placement
b. is incorrect. 
c. is correct.  Mythology allusions are very popular in product names. The allusion brings the ideas associated with the alluded object to the product.
d. is incorrect. The fact that the question was asked leads us to think that there is an important reason.

Tom Sawyer

 Read the following passage from Tom Sawyer:

“[They] covered themselves with dust and glory.” 

The above line is an example of:

a. zeugma

b. dramatic irony

c. hyperbole

d. alliteration

Scroll down for the answer.

_______________________________________

The correct answer is a. zeugma.  What the heck is zeugma?  It doesn't matter.  There is no dramatic irony going on.  There is no hyperbole.  There is no alliteration.  The only time you guess a word you do not know is when you know all the other answers are false.  In this case, you should have been able to recognize all the other answers as false and, with some trepidation, picked zeugma.

It was also used in the book Project Hail Mary: 

"I wake up covered in medical equipment and pain."

Still think I made it up?  Look here for a thorough explanation of zeugma:

http://literarydevices.net/zeugma/

Verily, A New Hope

 Read the following passage from William Shakespeare's Star Wars:

C3P0:
Now is the summer of our happiness
Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!
Our ship is under siege, I know not how.

In the above passage, the word 'winter' is used to mean:
a. a season of cold weather
b. an ending
c. a new hope
d. an attack from an opposing force

Scroll down for the answer.

___________________________

a. is incorrect.  If the state test asks you about something that seems really easy, look again.  Chances are that is a false answer.

b. is correct.  Winter ends summer, just like this attack ends their happiness.  Congratulations!  You just figured out a metaphor.  These can be tricky sometimes.

c. is incorrect.  

d. is incorrect.  There is an attack being referenced, but it is not what winter is meaning.

He Had It Coming

Read this short story by Richard Brautigan:

"It is hard to live in a studio apartment in San Jose with a man who's learning to play the violin." That's what she told the police when she handed them the empty revolver.

Based on this story, what is most likely to happen next?

a. the police will arrest the man for disturbance of the peace

b. the police will suggest an apartment for her to move to

c. the woman will go to jail

d. the police will fine the man for playing too loudly

Scroll down for the answer







______________________________________
b. is completely wrong. While police are helpful, other clues show that they are not there to help her move (at least not to another apartment).

a. and d. are both wrong. The man did play loudly, but we have no indication that the police are there because of the violin.

c. is correct. The empty revolver shows that the police are there to investigate the murder of our loud violinist. The woman is explaining why she did it.

Spidey Kicks Butt

 Read the following taken from "Top Ten Spider-Man Stories" by J. R. Fettinger:

I was reluctant to list ["The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man"] because it is blatantly emotionally manipulative. Also Wizard put it on their top 10, and I wanted to duplicate their list as little as possible. Spider-Man fulfills the wish of a dying boy by visiting him in the hospital and simply spending some time talking to him, including answering the question "Who are you really, Spider-Man?" Yep. Spidey stares out the window for a moment of contemplation before pulling off his mask and telling the boy his real name.

Based on the above passage, what would be a good word to replace "blatantly"?

a. boringly

b. subtly 

c. obviously

d. detrimentally

Scroll down for the answer.

_______________________________________

The way to figure this out if you are not already familiar with the word blatantly to to look at the context.  Mr. Fettinger did not want to include it on the list because it was emotionally manipulative.  Well, a lot of stories can be emotionally manipulative and still be good, so there must be something about this one that makes it almost bad.  Of the answer choices, obviously manipulative is one that most people frown on.  We don't want the author's purpose to be obvious, we want it to surprise us, to grab us before we realize it.  Therefore c. is the correct answer.

If you are a fan of Spidey, check out the entire article at: http://spideykicksbutt.com/Top10s/top10Spideystories.html

Rebellions Are Built on Hope

 Read the poem below by Emily Dickinson - 

"Hope" is the thing with feathers --
That perches in the soul --
And sings the tune without the words --
And never stops -- at all --

What is the literary term that drives the meaning of this poem?
  

a. metaphor

b. simile

c. repetition

d. allusion

Scroll down for the answer.

_____________________________

a. is correct.  We do not have what the complete comparison is, but we should be able to figure out that Hope is being compared to a bird.

OK, I Admit, This One Is Completely Unfair

 Read the following super short story by agentoboe:

     It is quiet here. I only perceive darkness, yet it is a blessing. There is nothing to fear, nothing to hide; everything is concealed in this temporary world—a universe that, in itself, seems infinite, but inevitably will be shattered. 
     Suddenly, light pierces our senses, suddenly, brutally. Our tranquility is ravaged as The Claws descend upon us. We remain silent as ever. 
     I am lifted out of our sanctum. I am prepared. This is my destiny, I think, as my very being is ripped apart. With one violent twist, and I exist no longer. No I am. Just I was. 

Look carefully - all the clues are here to tell us that this story is most likely told from the point of view of a(n) . . .

a. Oreo

b. little alien doll in the claw game from Toy Story

c. baby in the womb

d. flying purple space whale

Scroll down for the answer.

________________________________________

Let's look at the clues.  At first it is dark.  That rules out b. since the little dolls have plenty of light to see by while talking to Buzz inside of the claw game.

The Claws - this clue would seem to point to b., but we've already ruled that one out.  Since our perspective is skewed, we can assume that our narrator really doesn't understand what is happening.  The Claws can eb anything grabbing thing.  That rules out d.  And really, did you need anything to rule out d.?  A purple flying space whale??????

The last clue is the violent twist, which (hopefully) rules out the baby in the womb and leaves us with an Oreo being pulled out of the pack and being twisted to open it up to eat the creme filling first.

a. is the correct answer.  I know for certain, because the story is entitled, "Oreo."

By the way, every normal person would have said "perspective" in the question instead of "point of view".  I said it the way I did because the NCFinal likes to say "point of view" not to mean 1st, 2nd, 3rd limited, and 3rd omniscient, but rather as "perspective."

This super short story and a few more like it can be found here: http://community.sparknotes.com/2012/07/10/read-five-super-short-stories/slide/6