501 Critical Reading Questions

Critical Reading Questions

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50.
c. To declare means to make known formally or officially. To pro-
claim is its synonym, with a slightly different connotation. It
implies declaring clearly, forcefully, and authoritatively.
51.
e. The last sentence offers a view in opposition to the points made ear-
lier in the passage supporting the Supreme Court’s power to inter-
pret the Constitution.
52.
c. According to the passage, the Second Confiscation Act passed by
Congress in 1862 provided the desired signal (line 7), encouraging him
to pursue his plan of a proclamation.
53.
b. The speechless (line 14) reaction of Secretaries Seward and Welles
implies that they were surprised by the plan and were concerned
about its political and military consequences.
54.
e. One meaning of qualified is fitted by training or experience for a
given purpose (“he is qualified for the job”). Another meaning is
having complied with specific requirements (“she qualified for the
marathon”). In this context, qualified means limited or modified in
some way.
55.
a. The author calls the Emancipation Proclamation the crowning
achievement (line 32) of Lincoln’s administration.
56.
a. Lines 14–15 state that political cartoons can serve as a vehicle for swaying
public opinion and can contribute to reform.
57.
e. The consonance in the string of verbs provoke, poke, and persuade in
line 3, as well as the verb choice skewering in line 4 expresses a play-
fulness of tone. The author’s description of the cartoon images of
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush (lines 9–12) also mirrors the play-
fulness of the art of caricature.
58.
e. One meaning of vehicle is a way of carrying or transporting some-
thing. In this context, vehicle refers to a medium, or the means by
which an idea is expressed.
59.
d. The author cites Thomas Nast’s symbols for Tammany Hall and
the Democratic and Republican Parties as examples of images that
have entered the public consciousness and are still in currency today
(line 19).
60.