Question

importantly, it required a reserved performance, which monique felt showcased her maturity, especially because most of the other auditioners chose songs that would show their enthusiasm, even if it meant their technical mastery would not be on full display.

normally, the first audition slot was dreaded by most. mrs. dominguez would ask if anyone wanted to volunteer to “get it over with,” but no one would make a sound. then, she would call the first name off her list and the room would drop into an uncomfortably solemn silence as the first student walked nervously up to the stage. monique often imagined during those moments that she was witness to a death - row inmate taking his inexorable march toward a quick curtain.

but not this year. monique had decided to make a show of her own self - confidence by volunteering to go first. such a defiantly fearless act, she had figured, would probably instill even more fear into her competition because they would realize that monique had something they clearly lacked. mrs. dominguez had seemed neither surprised nor charmed by monique’s decision to go first. although she was annoyed by monique’s escalating arrogance, she also acknowledged that monique was one of the more talented actors and was probably correct in assuming herself a shoo - in.

at this late stage of the afternoon, monique felt like a monarch, sitting in the back of the auditorium with her royal court of friends and admirers. they took care to sit far enough away from mrs. dominguez that they would not be caught in the act of belittling the other students’ auditions.

to monique, the endless parade of aspirants who sang their

1. according to the narrator, what did esperanza do prior to singing “the star spangled banner”?

o a looked only at mrs. dominguez
o b walked confidently up to the stage
o c watched the other auditions carefully
o d finished her geometry homework

1. the main purpose of the statement in line 29 is to

o f inform the reader that students’ fears of going first were largely a thing of the past
o g present reasons for why this year’s audition was the strangest yet
o h suggest that monique’s imagination no longer involved the same imagery
o j offer a contrast created by monique’s choice of audition slot

1. it can be reasonably inferred from the passage that esperanza solito

o a was teased more than anyone else at her school
o b was not sitting near monique and her friends during the auditions
o c had her audition immediately after monique’s audition
o d had previously explained her stage fright to mrs. dominguez

1. according to the passage, monique figured that volunteering to perform “god bless the child” as the first audition of the day would

Explanation:

1. El texto no menciona nada sobre que Esperanza mirara solo a Mrs. Domínguez, ni que terminara su tarea de geometría. Tampoco se dice que caminara confiadamente hacia el escenario antes de cantar. Sin embargo, se describe cómo Monique observaba las audiciones de los demás estudiantes, lo cual podría aplicarse a Esperanza.
2. La línea 29 describe cómo Monique decidió ser la primera en audicionar, lo cual es un contraste con el hecho de que normalmente la primera ranura de audición era temida.
3. No hay evidencia en el texto de que Esperanza fuera acosada más que los demás, de que no estuviera sentada cerca de Monique y sus amigos, o de que hubiera explicado su miedo al escenario a Mrs. Domínguez. Pero se puede inferir que su audición fue después de la de Monique, ya que se menciona la secuencia de eventos en las audiciones.
4. Monique pensó que ser la primera en audicionar con "God Bless the Child" instilaría más miedo en su competencia.

Answer:

1. C. Watched the other auditions carefully
2. J. offer a contrast created by Monique's choice of audition slot
3. C. had her audition immediately after Monique's audition
4. instill even more fear into her competition