Function of Symbols: Short Fiction Practice Test

In the following excerpt, a young teacher stays after school to call parents. The building is quiet except for the custodians’ carts squeaking down the hall. On her desk sits a class set of novels with cracked spines, each stamped with the school’s name. She has been told not to “get too attached” to her students because turnover is high. As she gathers her things, she finds a chalk nub in her pocket—so small it barely marks her fingertip when she presses it. She doesn’t remember putting it there.

What is the most likely function of the chalk nub in this passage?

In the following excerpt, Mei attends a family dinner where everyone avoids mentioning her recent breakup. Her uncle tells loud stories, her mother refills glasses too quickly. Mei focuses on the centerpiece: a bowl of fruit with a pear that has begun to brown on one side. She rotates the pear so the brown spot faces away from the table, then notices her mother rotate it back without comment. What is the function of the pear that has begun to brown on one side?