Mr. Osama Ahmad February 23, 2025 7 min read

College Board Blue Book Test 8 Domain 1 - Questions 9 & 10

College Board Blue Book Test - Questions 9 & 10
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College Board Blue Book Test 8 Questions 9 & 10: Reading and Writing, Module 1

Question 9

Keywords: Culinary anthropologist, work, national public television and radio, influential, 1970, title, roots, Low Country, South Carolina, unusual, combined memoir, recipes, travel, writing, social, commentary, challenged, notions, food, cooking, cuisine.

Which choice best describes the main idea of the text?

Culinary anthropologist Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor may be known for her decades of work in national public television and radio, but her book Vibration Cooking; or, the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl is likely her most influential project. The 1970 book, whose title refers to Smart-Grosvenor's roots in the Low Country of South Carolina, was unusual for its time. It combined memoir, recipes, travel writing, and social commentary and challenged notions about conventions of food and cooking. Long admired by many, the book and its author have shaped contemporary approaches to writing about cuisine.

First, understand what the question is. For a main idea question, we need to identify the TOPIC (who or what) and the FOCUS (what about the topic).

The topic is the book Vibration Cooking; or, the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl, and the focus is that the book was influential and strange.

Looking at the answers

  • A: Matches our focus: unconventional book, and an important contribution (influential) to food writing. This is a strong contender.
  • B: This focuses on SG's different positions in life. The text is about the *book*, not her life. This is off-topic.
  • C: This focuses on the book being groundbreaking, BUT also on it being unappreciated. This is only a detail, and not the *main* idea.
  • D: This focuses on being a talented chef that inspired people to cook. This is incorrect as she is not the main focus of this text, but rather the book.

Answer: A) Smart-Grosvenor's unconventional book Vibration Cooking: or, the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl is an important contribution to food writing.

Strategy Applied:

  • Main Idea Question: We need to understand topic and focus.
  • Elimination: Eliminate answer choices that are off topic or overly specific (details, not the main idea).

Question 10

Keywords: Tempest, Prospero, Miranda, memories, island.

In the text, which point does Prospero most directly make about Miranda and her memories?

The following text is from William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, first performed in 1611. Miranda has lived on an island with her father, Prospero, since she was three years old. Prospero has stated that Miranda likely does not remember anything other than her life on the island.

MIRANDA: 'Tis far off,
And rather like a dream than an assurance
That my remembrance warrants. Had I not
Four or five women once that tended me?

PROSPERO: Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how is it
That this lives in thy mind? What seest thou else
In the dark backward and abysm of time?
If thou remember'st aught ere thou camest here,
How thou camest here thou mayst.

The question asks what Prospero DIRECTLY makes about Miranda and her memories. The blurb information tells us Prospero thinks Miranda *does not remember anything* besides her life on the island. Prospero then *questions* Miranda about her memories. The quote, "If thou remember'st aught ere thou camest here, How thou camest here thou mayst" implies that if she can remember before the island, then she should also be able to remember how she got there.

Now let's review the answer options

  • A: This answer speaks to the *quality* of her memories - not the focus.
  • B: The text does not describe whether Miranda doubts the accuracy of her recollections, but rather, Prospero is questioning her recollection of her memories.
  • C: This discusses the ability to remember details of *travel* and *arrival*, which is not the direct point Prospero is making.
  • D: This talks about an impression that's vague because she is dreaming, and does not make the main point.
Therefore, answer A is the most accurate because it touches on the quality of the memories.

Answer: A) Miranda's reminiscences about her early childhood have a melancholy quality that betrays her disconnected view of her current circumstances.

Strategy Applied:

  • Central Detail Question: Find and explain the supporting detail in the text.
  • Elimination: Eliminate answer choices that misrepresent the central idea or the details of the text.
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