Practice Test 1
•20 QuestionsRead the passage, then answer the question.
After the play, the director announced, “We’re changing the ending. The hero will apologize instead of fighting.”
In the dressing room, Val slammed her script onto the table. “That ruins it,” she said. “The whole point is courage. People came to see a victory.” Her voice was sharp, like she could cut the new ending out of the air.
Ethan, still in costume, read the revised page twice. He felt a strange relief. The fight scene had always made him tense, like his body was pretending to be fearless while his mind wasn’t. “I think it’s braver,” he said quietly. “Apologizing is harder than swinging a sword.”
Val scoffed. “Brave is standing your ground.”
Ethan looked up. “Or admitting you were wrong.”
The director didn’t argue. She just watched them, letting the silence show that both ideas mattered.
Which choice best explains how the author contrasts Val’s and Ethan’s views of courage?
Read the passage, then answer the question.
After the play, the director announced, “We’re changing the ending. The hero will apologize instead of fighting.”
In the dressing room, Val slammed her script onto the table. “That ruins it,” she said. “The whole point is courage. People came to see a victory.” Her voice was sharp, like she could cut the new ending out of the air.
Ethan, still in costume, read the revised page twice. He felt a strange relief. The fight scene had always made him tense, like his body was pretending to be fearless while his mind wasn’t. “I think it’s braver,” he said quietly. “Apologizing is harder than swinging a sword.”
Val scoffed. “Brave is standing your ground.”
Ethan looked up. “Or admitting you were wrong.”
The director didn’t argue. She just watched them, letting the silence show that both ideas mattered.
Which choice best explains how the author contrasts Val’s and Ethan’s views of courage?