1. Critical Reading Section
Reading Comprehension:
Tone, Mood, and Style

2. The SAT Reading section will test your ability to read both nonfiction and fiction passages. For both types of writing, the SAT may ask questions about tone, mood, and style. For fiction passages, such questions often relate to a character’s feeling about someone or something.

3. Questions/Answers on tone or mood are usually quite apparent, but there are a few traps the SAT may set: 1. Extreme Answers: These choices go too far with their wording like “wild ecstasy” or “intense hatred” 2. Vague Answers: These choices are rarely correct with words like “indifferent,” “puzzled,” “uninterested,” and “confused”

4. Lastly, knowing “tone” vocabulary helps: Apathetic Earnest Resigned Whimsical Contemptuous Nostalgic Ironic Disdainful Solemn Nonchalant

5. Read the passage by Ernest Hemingway and answer the questions that follow.

6. 1. Which of the following images in the opening paragraph is the LEAST effective in establishing the mood as gloomy and morbid? A. “the fall” B. “cold” C. “snow” D. “the deer hung stiff” E. “the electric lights”

7. 1. Which of the following images in the opening paragraph is the LEAST effective in establishing the mood as gloomy and morbid? A. “the fall” B. “cold” C. “snow” D. “the deer hung stiff” E. “the electric lights”

8. 2. The doctor’s tone in lines 46-48 can best be described as A
2. The doctor’s tone in lines can best be described as A. apathetic B. solemn C. optimistic D. sarcastic E. intense confidence

9. 2. The doctor’s tone in lines 46-48 can best be described as A
2. The doctor’s tone in lines can best be described as A. apathetic B. solemn C. optimistic D. sarcastic E. intense confidence (extreme)

10. 2. The doctor’s tone in lines 46-48 can best be described as A
2. The doctor’s tone in lines can best be described as A. apathetic B. solemn C. optimistic D. sarcastic E. intense confidence (extreme)

11. 3. In line 50, the major’s winking at the narrator suggests that the major A. expects his hand to be cured B. expects to be released today from the hospital C. knows that the doctor had been a great fencer D. was once a great football player in Italy E. will be playful with the doctor

12. 3. In line 50, the major’s winking at the narrator suggests that the major A. expects his hand to be cured B. expects to be released today from the hospital C. knows that the doctor had been a great fencer D. was once a great football player in Italy E. will be playful with the doctor

13. 4. The major’s tone in line 54 can best be described as A. facetious B
4. The major’s tone in line 54 can best be described as A. facetious B. indifferent C. puzzled D. concerned E. nostalgic

14. 4. The major’s tone in line 54 can best be described as A. facetious B
4. The major’s tone in line 54 can best be described as A. facetious B. indifferent (SAT trick choice) C. puzzled D. concerned E. nostalgic

15. 4. The major’s tone in line 54 can best be described as A. facetious B
4. The major’s tone in line 54 can best be described as A. facetious B. indifferent (SAT trick choice) C. puzzled D. concerned E. nostalgic

16. 5. As used in line 62, “good” most nearly means: A. strong B. moral C
5. As used in line 62, “good” most nearly means: A. strong B. moral C. correct D. damaged E. decent

17. 5. As used in line 62, “good” most nearly means: A. strong B
5. As used in line 62, “good” most nearly means: A. strong B. moral (common definition) C. correct D. damaged (opposite) E. decent

18. 5. As used in line 62, “good” most nearly means: A. strong B
5. As used in line 62, “good” most nearly means: A. strong B. moral (common definition) C. correct D. damaged (opposite) E. decent

19. 6. In lines 72-74, the author uses a specific verb tense (was to be / had intended to be) in order to A. set the story years ago during WWI B. imply that these characters are all dead C. stress the characters’ youth and naïveté D. foreshadow that the soldiers will probably die during the war E. force the reader to draw his own conclusions about the tragedies of war

20. 6. In lines 72-74, the author uses a specific verb tense (was to be / had intended to be) in order to A. set the story years ago during WWI B. imply that these characters are all dead C. stress the characters’ youth and naïveté D. foreshadow that the soldiers will probably die during the war E. force the reader to draw his own conclusions about the tragedies of war

21. 7. In lines 89-91, the narrator notes that the boy came from a very old family in order to A. seek pity from the reader for his loss B. underscore how no one is above being affected by war C. establish the uncertainty of their future D. explain the angry attitude of the major E. contrast the age of the young soldiers at war

22. 7. In lines 89-91, the narrator notes that the boy came from a very old family in order to A. seek pity from the reader for his loss B. underscore how no one is above being affected by war C. establish the uncertainty of their future D. explain the angry attitude of the major E. contrast the age of the young soldiers at war

23. 8. The narrator employs which stylistic device in lines 95-97. A
8. The narrator employs which stylistic device in lines 95-97? A. First person to force the reader to share in the narrator’s feelings B. Repetition of a previous sentence to reinforce a hopeless attitude C. A rhetorical question to make the reader ponder the endlessness of war D. Both present and past tense verbs E. An allusion to heaven and eternity

24. 8. The narrator employs which stylistic device in lines 95-97. A
8. The narrator employs which stylistic device in lines 95-97? A. First person to force the reader to share in the narrator’s feelings B. Repetition of a previous sentence to reinforce a hopeless attitude C. A rhetorical question to make the reader ponder the endlessness of war D. Both present and past tense verbs E. An allusion to heaven and eternity