Readings Test 35

 

            Aside from perpetuating itself, the sole purpose of the American Academy and

            Institute of Arts and Letters is to "foster, assist and sustain an interest" in literature,

            music, and art. This it does by enthusiastically handing out money. Annual cash awards

 Line     are given to deserving artists in various categories of creativity: architecture, musical

 (5)       composition, theater, novels, serious poetry, light verse, painting, sculpture. One award 

            subsidizes a promising American writer's visit to Rome. There is even an award for a

            very good work of fiction that failed commercially ― once won by the young John

            Updike for the Poorhouse Fair and, more recently, by Alice Walker for In Love and

            Trouble.

 (10)          The awards and prizes total about $750,000 a year, but most of them range in size

            from $5,000 to $12,500, a welcome sum to many young practitioners whose work may

            not bring in that much money in a year. One of the advantages of the awards is that

            many go to the struggling artists, rather than to those who are already successful.

            Members of the Academy and Institute are not eligible for any cash prizes. Another 

 (15)      advantage is that, unlike the National Endowment for the Arts or similar institutions

            throughout the world, there is no government money involved.

                Awards are made by committee. Each of the three departments ― Literature

            (120 members), Art(83), Music(47) ― has a committee dealing with its own field. 

            Committee membership rotates every year, so that new voices and opinions are

 (20)      constantly heard.                                                          

                The most financially rewarding of all the Academy-Institute awards are the Mildred

            and Harold Strauss Livings. Harold Strauss, a devoted editor at Alfred A. Knopf, the

            New York publishing house, and Mildred Strauss, his wife, were wealthy and childless.

            They left the Academy-Institute a unique bequest : for five consecutive years, two

 (25)      distinguished (and financially needy) writers would receive enough money so they

            could devote themselves entirely to "prose literature"(no plays, no poetry, and no

            paying job that might distract). In 1983, the first Strauss Livings of $35,000 a year

            went to short-story writer Raymond Carver and novelist-essayist Cynthia Ozick.  By

            1988, the fund had grown enough so that two winners, novelists Diane Johnson and

 (30)      Robert Stone, each got $50,000 a year for five years.

 

 

Questions

 

 

 

            22. What does the passage mainly discuss?

                (A) Award-winning works of literature

                (B) An organization that supports the arts

                (C) The life of an artist

                (D) Individual patrons of the arts

 

            23. The word "sole" in line 1 is closest in meaning to

                (A) only

                (B) honorable

                (C) common

                (D) official

 

            24. The word "subsidizes" in line 6 is closest in meaning to

                (A) assures

                (B) finances

                (C) schedules

                (D) publishes

 

            25. Which of the following can be inferred about Alice Walker's book

              In Love and Trouble ?

                (A) It sold more copies than The Poorhouse Fair.

                (B) It described the author's visit to Rome.

                (C) It was a commercial success.

                (D) It was published after The Poorhouse Fair.

 

            26. Each year the awards and prizes offered by the Academy-Institute

              total approximately

                (A) $ 12,500

                (B) $ 35,000

                (C) $ 50,000

                (D) $ 750,000

 

            27.  The word "may" in line 13 refers to

                (A) practitioners

                (B) advantages

                (C) awards

                (D) strugglers

 

            28. What is one of the advantages of the Academy-Institute awards mentioned

              in the passage?

                (A) They are subsidized by the government.

                (B) They are often given to unknown artists.

                (C) They are also given to Academy-Institute members.

                (D) They influence how the National Endowment for the Arts makes its

                  award decisions.

 

            29. The word "rotates" in line 19 is closest in meaning to

                (A) alternate

                (B) participates

                (C) decides   

                (D) meets

 

            30. The word "they" in line 25 refers to

                (A) Mildred and Harold Strauss

                (B) years

                (C) writers

                (D) plays

 

            31. Where in the passage does the author cite the goal of the Academy-Institute?

                (A) Lines 1-3

                (B) Lines 12-13

                (C) Lines 19-20

                (D) Lines 22-23

 

 

 

Please tally your answer with the below provided answers and then comment here how much you got!

 

 

 

 

Answers

 

22. B     23. A      24. B     25. D     26. D     27. C    28. B      29. A     30. C   31. A