501 Critical Reading Questions

e. Line 5 states that White Snake was a glam rock band and there-
fore not associated with the Seattle grunge scene. Don’t be dis-
tracted by choice a; Mr. Epps and the Calculations may not
have been a real band, but the name will nonetheless be forever
associated with grunge music.
308.
b. The relationship between grunge music and its mainstream
popularity is best described as contrary. The most obvious exam-
ple of this is found in lines 50–51, when in describing the rela-
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Critical Reading Questions

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tionship, the author states it is very hard to buck the trend when
you are the one setting it.
309.
d. Ephemeral is used to describe something that lasts only a short
time, something that is fleeting. The context clue that best helps
you to answer this question is found in lines 47–48, where the
author states that grunge faded out of the mainstream as quickly as
it rocketed to prominence.
310.
a. If Dale was trying out equipment before it became available to
the public, it makes sense that he was given original models.
The passage does not specify the type of amplifiers Dale tested,
so choices c, d, and e don’t work. It specifically mentions proto-
types amplifiers, so choice b is also wrong.
311.
c. The clue is in the last sentence, which states that Dale was play-
ing differently than other musicians at that time, and rock was
not yet invented. Do not be distracted by the other answers,
which are not supported by evidence in the passage.
312.
d. His playing style was part of the reason the amplifiers blew up,
so the answer that fits best is abrupt and disconnected. Volume
was already mentioned, so you can infer that staccato does not
mean loud. Line 12 holds another clue, describing his playing as
a virtual assault on the instrument.
313.
b. The passage is primarily about Dick Dale and his contributions
to the history of playing electric guitar. The first paragraph
mentions that he was called the King of Heavy Metal, and the
last sentence notes that Dale made music history by playing a
new kind of music that would later be called heavy metal.
314.
c. To be fazed by something means to be disturbed or affected by
it. Unfazed is therefore to not be affected or bothered by some-
thing. Even though the guitar was made for a right-handed
player, Dale tried it anyway. He wasn’t bothered by the fact that
it seemingly wasn’t right for him.
315.
a. The line refers to the new transformer. Dale wanted to play
louder, and that the new transformer was designed to allow him
to do that. Thus, it was a scream machine.
316.