Understanding 'Ever Repulsed Yet Ever Rushing On' - His Singularity Quiz and Flashcards

10 Questions

The following text is from Herman Melville's 1854 novel The Lightning-rod Man.

The stranger still stood in the exact middle of the cottage, where he had first planted himself. "HIS SINGULARITY IMPELLED A CLOSER SCRUTINY". A lean, gloomy figure. Hair dark and lank, mattedly streaked over his brow. His sunken pitfalls of eyes were ringed by indigo halos, and played with an innocuous sort of lightning: the gleam without the bolt. The whole man was dripping. He stood in a puddle on the bare oak floor: his strange walking-stick vertically resting at this side.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?

It sets up the character description presented in the sentences that follow.

Horizontal gene transfer occurs when an organism of one species acquires genetic material from an organism of another species through nonreproductive means. The genetic material can then be transferred "vertically" in the second species-that is, through reproductive inheritance. Scientist Atma Ivancevic and her team have hypothesized infection by invertebrate parasites as a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer between vertebrate species: WHILE FEEDING, A PARASITE COULD ACQUIRE A GENE FROM ONE HOST, THEN RELOCATE TO A HOST FROM A DIFFERENT VERTEBRATE SPECIES AND TRANSFER THE GENE TO IT IN TURN.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole

It describes a means by which horizontal gene transfer might occur among vertebrates.

Researchers have found a nearly 164,000-year-old molar from a member of the archaic human species known as Denisovans in a cave in Laos, suggesting that Denisovans lived in a wider range of environments than indicated by earlier evidence. BEFORE THE SICOVER, DENISOVANS WERE THOUGHT TO HAVE LIVED ONLY AT HIGH ALTITUDES IN RELATIVELY COLD CLIMATES IN WHAT ARE NOW RUSSIA AND CHINA, but the discovery of the tooth in Laos suggests that they may have lived at low altitudes in relatively warm climates in Southeast Asia as well.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

It provides context that clarifies the significance of the information that follows in the rest of the sentence.

The following text is fromSrimati Svarna Kumari Devi's 1894 novel The Fatal Garland (translated by A. Christina Albers in 1910). Shakti is walking near a riverbank that she visited frequently during her childhood.

She crossed the woods she knew so well. THE TREES SEEMED TO EXTEND THEIR BRANCHES LIKE WELCOMING ARMS. They greeted her as an old friend. Soon she reached the river-side.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

It emphasizes Shakti's sense of belonging in the landscape.

The following text is adapted from Oscar Wilde's 1897 nonfiction work De Profundis.

People whose desire is solely for self-realisation never know where they are going. They can't know. In one sense of the word it is of course necessary to know oneself: that is the first achievement of knowledge. But to recognise that the soul of a a man is unknowable, is the ultimate achievement of wisdom. The final mystery is oneself. When one has weighed the sun in the balance, and measured the steps of the moon, and mapped out the seven heavens star by star, there still remains oneself. WHO CAN CALCULATE THE ORBIT OF HIS OWN SOUL?

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole?

It reinforces the text's skepticism about the possibility of truly achieving self-knowledge.

The 1967 release of Harold Cruse's book The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual isolated him from almost all other scholars and activists of the American Civil Rights Movement-though many of those thinkers disagreed with each other, he nonetheless found ways to disagree with them all. He thought that activists who believed that Black people such as himself should culturally assimilate were naive. BUT HE ALSO SHARPLY CRITICIZED BLACK NATIONALISTS SUCH AS MARCUS GARVEY WHO WANTED TO ESTABLISH INDEPENDENT, SELF-CONTAINED BLACK ECONOMIES AND SOCIETIES, EVEN THOUGH CRUSE HIMSELF IDENTIFIED AS A BLACK NATIONALIST.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

It helps explain Cruse's position with respect to the community of civil rights thinkers.

The following text is from Charlotte Forten Grimke's 1888 poem "At Newport".

Oh, deep delight to watch the gladsome waves

Exultant leap upon the rugged rocks;

EVER REPULSED, YET EVER RUSHING ON

FILLED WITH A LIFE THAT WILL NOT KNOW DEFEAT;

To see the glorious hues of sky and sea.

The distant snowy sails, glide spirit like,

Into an unknown world, to feel the sweet

Enchantment of the sea thrill all the soul,

Clearing the clouded brain, making the heart

Leap joyous as it own bright, singing waves!

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

It characterizes the sea's waves as a relentless and enduring force.

The following text is adapted from Zora Neale Hurston's 1921 short story "John Redding Goes to Sea" John is a child who lives in a town in the woods.

Perhaps ten-year-old John was puzzling to the folk there in the Florida woods for he was an imaginative child and fond of day-dreams. The St. John River flowed a scarce three hundred feet from his back door. On its banks at this point grow numerous palms, luxuriant magnolias an bay trees. On the bosom of the stream float millions of delicately colored hyacinths. (JOHN REDDING) LOVED TO WANDER DOWN TO THE WATER'S EDGE, AND, CASTING IN DRY TWIGS, WATCH THEM SAIL AWAY DOWN STREAM TO JACKSONVILLE, THE SEA, THE WIDE WORLD AND (HE) WANTED TO FOLLOW THEM.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

It suggests that John longs to experience a larger life outside the Florida woods.

The following text is from Edith Wharton's 1905 novel The House of Mirth. Lily Bart and a companion are walking through a park.

Lily had no real intimacy with nature, but she had a passion for the appropriate and could be keenly sensitive to a scene which was the fitting background of her own sensations. THE LANDSCAPE OUTSPREAD BELOW HER SEEMED AN ENLARGEMENT OF HER PRESENT MOOD, AND SHE FOUND SOMETHING OF HERSELF IN ITS CALMNESS, ITS BREADTH, ITS LONG FREE REACHES. On the nearer slopes the sugar-maples wavered like pyres of light: lower down was a massing of grey orchards, and here and there the lingering green of an oak-grove.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

It illustrates an idea that is introduced in the previous sentence.

The following text is adapted from Indian Boyhood, a 1902 memoir by Ohiyesa (Charles A. Eastman), a Santee Dakota writer. In the text, Ohiyesa recalls how the women in his tribe harvested maple syrup during his childhood. Now the women began to test the trees-moving leisurely among them, axe in hand, and striking a single quick blow, to see if the sap would appear. THE TREES, LIKE PEOPLE, HAVE THEIR INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERS; SOME WERE READY TO YIELD UP THEIR LIFE-BLOOD, WHILE OTHERS WERE MORE RELUCTANT. Now one of the birchen basins was set under each tree, and a hardwood chip driven deep into the cut which the axe had made. From the corners of this chip-at first drop by drop, then more freely-the sap trickled into the little dishes.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

It elaborates on an aspect of the maple trees that the women evaluate.

Study Notes

The Lightning-rod Man

The stranger in the cottage is described as a lean, gloomy figure with dark and lank hair, sunken eyes with indigo halos, and a dripping appearance.
He stands in a puddle on the bare oak floor, with his strange walking-stick vertically resting at his side.

Horizontal Gene Transfer

Horizontal gene transfer occurs when an organism acquires genetic material from another species through non-reproductive means.
The genetic material can then be transferred vertically through reproductive inheritance.
Scientist Atma Ivancevic and her team hypothesize that infection by invertebrate parasites can be a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer between vertebrate species.

Denisovans

Researchers have found a 164,000-year-old molar from a Denisovan in a cave in Laos, suggesting that they lived in a wider range of environments.
Previous evidence indicated that Denisovans lived only at high altitudes in relatively cold climates in Russia and China.
The discovery suggests that they may have lived at low altitudes in relatively warm climates in Southeast Asia.

The Fatal Garland

Shakti visits a riverbank she frequently visited during her childhood, crossing the woods she knew well.
The trees seem to extend their branches like welcoming arms, greeting her as an old friend.

De Profundis

People who desire self-realization never know where they are going, and can't know.
It is necessary to know oneself, but recognizing that the soul of a man is unknowable is the ultimate achievement of wisdom.
The final mystery is oneself, and one can't calculate the orbit of their own soul.

The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual

Harold Cruse's book isolated him from other scholars and activists of the American Civil Rights Movement.
Cruse disagreed with activists who believed in cultural assimilation and also criticized Black nationalists who wanted to establish independent economies.
He himself identified as a Black nationalist.

At Newport

The poem describes the delight of watching the waves, exultant and rushing on, filled with a life that will not know defeat.
The speaker describes the glorious hues of the sky and sea, the distant snowy sails, and the enchantment of the sea.

John Redding Goes to Sea

John is a 10-year-old imaginative child who lives in a town in the woods, near the St. John River.
He loves to wander down to the water's edge, casting in dry twigs, and watching them sail away to the sea.
He wants to follow the twigs and explore the world.

The House of Mirth

Lily Bart is walking through a park with a companion, and has no real intimacy with nature, but can be sensitive to a scene that fits her own sensations.
The landscape seems to be an enlargement of her present mood, and she finds something of herself in its calmness and breadth.

Indian Boyhood

The women in Ohiyesa's tribe harvest maple syrup by testing the trees, striking a single quick blow to see if the sap would appear.
The trees have individual characters, some being ready to yield up their life-blood, while others are more reluctant.
The sap trickles into the birchen basins, initially drop by drop, then more freely.

This quiz challenges the reader to identify the function of a specific sentence within a literary passage. In this case, the passage is taken from Herman Melville's novel 'The Lightning-rod Man'. The goal is to determine how the underlined sentence contributes to the overall structure of the text.