The following text is adapted from Paul Laurence Dunbar’s 1902 novel The Sport of the Gods. Joe and some of his family
members have recently moved to New York City.
[Joe] was wild with enthusiasm and with a desire to be a part of all that the metropolis meant. In the evening he saw the
young fellows passing by dressed in their spruce clothes, and he wondered with a sort of envy where they could be
going. Back home there had been no place much worth going to, except church and one or two people’s houses.
It illustrates a character’s reaction to a new environment.
It explains why a character has traveled to a city.
It compares a character’s thoughts about an event at two different times of day.
It presents a character feeling regret over leaving home.
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text. The narrator describes how
Joe responds to being in “the metropolis”: he’s excited and “wild with enthusiasm.” He also envies the young fellows who
walk by because, dressed as they are, they look as if they have somewhere special to go. The text contrasts this new place
with the place Joe comes from, where apparently there wasn’t as much to do. Thus, the main purpose of the text is to
illustrate Joe’s reaction to a new environment.
Choice B is incorrect because the text makes no reference to why Joe has moved. The narrator indicates that Joe is
enthusiastic about being in a city, but there’s no explanation provided for the move. Choice C is incorrect because the text
makes no reference to how Joe thinks about an event. The narrator describes young men passing by in the evening and then
recalls places worth going to at home—church and a few people’s houses—but there’s no explicit comparison made nor is a
time of day mentioned for these events back home. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t support the idea that Joe
feels regret over leaving home. Instead, Joe is described as “wild with enthusiasm” at being in the city. Joe’s home is
mentioned, but only to compare it unfavorably with the city.