ACT
Practice Test 33

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PROSE FICTION: This passage is adapted from Susan Coolidge’s novel, What Katy Did © 1872.

The September sun was glinting cheerfully into a pretty bedroom furnished with blue. It danced on the glossy hair and bright eyes of two girls, who sat together hemming ruffles for a white muslin dress. The

Line 5 half-finished skirt of the dress lay on the bed, and as each crisp ruffle was completed, the girls added it to the snowy heap, which looked like a drift of transparent clouds or a pile of foamy white of egg beaten stiff enough to stand alone.

10 These girls were Clover and Elsie Carr, and it was Clover’s first evening dress for which they were hemming ruffles. It was nearly two years since a certain visit made by Johnnie to Inches Mills and more than three since Clover and Katy had returned home from

15 the boarding school at Hillsover. Clover was now eighteen. She was a very small Clover still, but it would have been hard to find anywhere a prettier little maiden than she had grown to be. Her skin was so exquisitely fair that her arms and

20 wrists and shoulders, which were round and dimpled like an infant’s, seemed cut out of daisies or white rose leaves. Her thick, brown hair waved and coiled gracefully about her head. Her smile was peculiarly sweet, and the eyes, always Clover’s chief beauty,

25 had still that pathetic look which made them quite irresistible to anyone with a tender or sympathetic heart. Elsie, who adored Clover, considered her as beautiful as girls in books, and was proud to be permitted

30 to hem ruffles for the dress in which she was to burst upon the world. Though, as for that, not much “bursting” was possible in the village of Burnet, where tea parties of a middle-aged description, and now and then a mild little dance, rep-resented “gaiety” and

35 “society.” Girls “came out” very much as the sun comes out in the morning—by slow degrees and gradual approaches, with no particular one moment which could be fixed upon as having been the climax of the joyful event.

40 “There,” said Elsie, adding another ruffle to the pile on the bed, “there’s the fifth done. It’s going to be ever so pretty, I think. I’m glad you had it all white; it’s a great deal nicer.” “Cecy wanted me to have a blue bodice and sash,”

45 said Clover, “but I wouldn’t. Then she tried to persuade me to get a long spray of pink roses for the skirt.” “I’m so glad you didn’t! Cecy was always crazy about pink roses. I only wonder she didn’t wear them when she was married!”

50 Yes, the excellent Cecy, who at thirteen had announced her intention to devote her whole life to teaching Sunday School, visiting the poor, and setting a good example to her more worldly contemporaries, had actually forgotten these fine resolutions, and before

55 she was twenty had become the wife of Sylvester Slack, a young lawyer in a neighboring town! Cecy’s wedding and wedding clothes, and Cecy’s house furnishing, had been the great excitement of the preceding year in Burnet; and a fresh excitement had come since in the
60 shape of Cecy’s baby, now about two months old, and named ‘Katherine Clover,’ after her two friends. This made it natural that Cecy and her affairs should still be of interest in the Carr household, and Johnnie, at the time we write of, was paying her a week’s visit.

65 “She was rather wedded to them,” went on Clover, pursuing the subject of the pink roses. “She was almost vexed when I wouldn’t buy the spray. But it cost lots, and I didn’t want it at all, so I stood firm. Besides, I always said that my first party dress should be plain

70 white. Girls in novels always wear white to their first balls and fresh flowers are a great deal prettier, anyway, than the artificial ones. Katy says she’ll give me some violets to wear.” “Oh, will she? That will be lovely!” cried the ador-

75 ing Elsie. “Violets look just like you, somehow. Oh, Clover, what sort of a dress do you think I shall have when I grow up and go to parties and things? Won’t it be awfully interesting when you and I go out to choose it?” Clover’s smile beamed.

When Clover says “She was rather wedded to them,” (line 65) she is expressing her belief that:

  • Solution

    The best answer is C. Although the statement in the question uses the word “wedded,” it does not simply mean “marriage;” wedded also means “closely dedicated or attached to.” In this statement, Clover is implying that Cecy had an attachment or affection for pink roses, answer choice C. Answer choices A, B, and D can be eliminated because there is no reference to an actual wedding when Clover says “She was rather wedded to them.” Clover is simply referring to Cecy’s fondness for pink roses.

It can be reasonably inferred from the context of the passage that Cecy is:

  • Solution

    The best answer is G. Cecy and Clover’s relationship can be implied when the passage writes that the name of Cecy’s baby was “‘Katherine Clover,’ after her two friends.” This distinguishes Clover as a close friend of Cecy, answer choice G. Answer choice F may appear to be correct; however, when the passage identifies Clover as a friend of Cecy, it is clear that they are not sisters.

The fact that Clover is preparing to attend a milestone event can best be exemplified by which of the following quotations from the passage?

  • Solution

    The best answer is D. This statement indicates that Elsie is pleased to be sewing ruffles onto the skirt in which her sister Clover is about “to burst upon the world.” The fact that Clover is preparing to “burst upon the world” tells us that Clover is attending a sort of coming-of-age or milestone event. Answer choice A simply discusses Clover’s visions of her first party dress. Answer choice B is incorrect because although it discusses girls “coming out,” it does not specifically refer to Clover. Answer choice C is incorrect because Elsie is dreaming of her future, which has little to do with Clover’s upcoming milestone event.

As it is used in Paragraph 3, the phrase “the eyes, always Clover’s chief beauty, had still that pathetic look” most nearly means that:

  • Solution

    The best answer is G. This statement indicates that Clover’s eyes were always her most notable source of beauty; therefore, answer choice F can be immediately eliminated. The passage states that Clover’s eyes, with their pathetic look, “made them quite irresistible to anyone with a tender or sympathetic heart.” This indicates that her eyes were compelling to kind and compassionate people, which best correlates with answer choice G. Answer choices H and J are not supported by details found in the passage.

According to the passage, before Cecy became a lawyer’s wife she had intended to devote her life to:

  • Solution

    The best answer is C. The passage states that, “Yes, the excellent Cecy, who at thirteen had announced her intention to devote her whole life to teaching Sunday school, visiting the poor, and setting a good example to her more worldly contemporaries, had actually forgotten these fine resolutions, and before she was twenty had become the wife of Sylvester Slack, a young lawyer in a neighboring town!” This information best supports answer choice C.

The passage makes it clear that Clover and Elsie:

  • Solution

    The best answer is H. According to the passage, Elsie “adored Clover,” which suggests that she enjoyed spending time with her sister. The context of the passage indicates that both girls enjoyed the pleasure of each other’s company. The other answer choices are not supported by the passage.

In the third paragraph (lines 16–27) the appearance of Clover’s arms is compared to:

  • Solution

    The best answer is B. The passage states that “her arms and wrists and shoulders … were round and dimpled like an infant’s.” The other answer choices are not supported by the passage.

Details in the passage suggest that Clover:

  • Solution

    The best answer is J. The passage mentions several times that Cecy was trying to convince Clover to use a spray of pink roses on her dress. When Clover is discussing the type of flowers to use, she states that she wouldn’t use the spray of pink roses because “it cost lots, and I didn’t want it at all … fresh flowers are a great deal prettier, anyway, than the artificial ones.” This clearly indicates that Clover did not want to follow her friend Cecy’s advice on what type of flowers to use on her dress. The other answer choices are not supported by details found in the passage.

The passage indicates that Elsie’s feelings towards Clover can best be described as:

  • Solution

    The best answer is A. As stated in the passage, “Elsie, who adored Clover, considered her as beautiful as girls in books.” Later in the passage, Elsie is described as “the adoring Elsie.” This best correlates to answer choice A, “admiring,” which is a synonym for “adoring.” The other answer choices are not supported by descriptions of Elsie’s feelings towards Clover.

It can be reasonably inferred from the last paragraph of the passage that:

  • Solution

    The best answer is J. In the last passage, Elsie expresses her approval of Clover’s flower choice and how “lovely” she thinks that they will be. Elsie also discusses the dress that she will wear when she is old enough to “go to parties and things,” and how it will be “interesting” when both Clover and herself go to pick it out. These facts both indicate that Elsie is both interested in and appreciative of Clover’s opinion, answer choice J. Answer choice F is incorrect because the last paragraph highlights the fact that Clover is of age to attend parties and the like, while Elsie is not.

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