PART A: Which of the following best describes the central idea of the passage? A. Many immigrants struggle in a new country because they refuse to adapt to new customs and change their traditions.
B. In the 1800s-1900s, hundreds of thousands immigrated to the U. S. and lived in poverty, but with a little hard work they became successful.
C. Unfair treatment and cheap labor made it nearly impossible for immigrants to achieve the American Dream.
D. Education is the best hope for success and achieving one’s dreams.
2. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?
A. “America! From the other end of the earth from where I came, America was a land of living hope, woven of dreams, aflame with longing and desire” (Paragraph 2)
B. “they came from the same village... But they were so well-dressed, so well-fed, so successful in America, that they were ashamed to remember their mother tongue.” (Paragraph 10)
C. “I could almost begin to think with English words in my head. But in my heart the emptiness still hurt. I burned to give, to give something, to do something, to be something.” (Paragraph 62)
D. “‘Why don’t they have free boarding-schools for immigrants — strong people — willing people? Here you see us burning up with something different, and America turns her head away from us.’” (Paragraph 92)
3. PART A: How does the author compare the “Old World” to America in the beginning of the text?
A. She describes the Old World as a place of boring, stifling tradition, as opposed to the new and evolving culture of America.
B. She describes the Old World as a comforting place with values focused on community and acceptance, as opposed to hostile America.
C. She describes the Old World as a burial site or cemetery, as opposed to the heavenly paradise that is America.
D. She describes the Old World as dark, confining, and hopeless, as opposed to the brightness and freedom of opportunity in America.
4. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?
A. “One of the millions of immigrants beating, beating out their hearts at your gates for a breath of understanding.” (Paragraph 1)
B. “Choked for ages in the airless oppression of Russia, the Promised Land rose up — wings for my stifled spirit — sunlight burning through my darkness” (Paragraph 3)
C. “What my mother and father and their mother and father never had a chance to give out in Russia, I would give out in America.” (Paragraph 5)
D. “I was in America, among the Americans, but not of them. No speech, no common language, no way to win a smile of understanding from them” (Paragraph 8)
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5. PART A: What does the author most likely mean when she says she will no longer be a “slave of the belly” in paragraph 6?
A. She will be able to buy better, more expensive food.
B. She will no longer sacrifice meals to save money.
C. She will no longer work just any job in order to eat.
D. She will no longer work for just food without wages.
6. PART B: Which phrase from paragraph 6 best supports the answer to Part A?
A. “In the golden land of flowing opportunity”
B. “that was denied me in the sterile village”
C. “the dead drudgery for bread”
D. “that held me down in Russia”
7. Compare the perspectives of the narrator and her first employers regarding wages. What does this comparison reveal about how they view immigrant labor?
8. What does the speaker mean when she asks “Where is America?” in paragraph 45 and how does this impact the text’s meaning?
A. The speaker is literally lost while wandering around at night and wants to find her way home, but she doesn’t feel that America is her home.
B. The speaker feels lost in America, but more importantly she feels as if she has lost the imagined America of her dreams.
C. The speaker believes that Americans have lost sight of their values and so have made America a dangerous wilderness.
D. The speaker cannot think of herself as anything but a worker and so she feel that she has lost herself in America.
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9. Which statement best describes how the author responds to the idea of efficiency?
A. The author is confused by the idea of efficiency, but she nevertheless champions it because it will help her learn new skills.
B. The author becomes dissatisfied with efficiency once she learns that it is more about making the boss happy.
C. The author is interested in the idea because of its promise to make workers happy, but she is soon put off when it becomes clear that workers’ interests aren’t considered.
D. The author immediately rejects the idea of efficiency because she believes that it ignores immigrant workers’ future potential and focuses too much on the bottom line.
10. How does the author's use of dark and light imagery throughout the text contribute to its overall meaning? Cite evidence in your answer.