‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ Which restatement is closest?

‘Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.’ What does the repetition reveal about the speaker?

‘Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.’ What situation is established?

‘Call me Ishmael. Some years ago--never mind how long precisely--having little or no money in my purse...’ What does the aside do?

‘Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life... these pages must show.’ What does this opening leave unestablished?

‘No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.’ What does the sentence assert?

‘I resisted all the way: a new thing for me...’ What does the detail ‘new thing’ reveal about the narrator?

‘The studio was filled with the rich odor of roses...’ What situation does the opening establish?

‘A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats...’ What does this sentence do before any one figure is singled out?

‘Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.’ What does the sentence leave unestablished?

‘Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.’ Which restatement is closest?

‘My infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip.’ What does this account of naming reveal?

‘There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.’ What situation does this opening establish?

‘Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich... seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence.’ What does ‘seemed’ do here?

‘TRUE!--nervous--very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?’ What is left unestablished?

‘Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress.’ Which paraphrase is closest?

‘I would prefer not to.’ What does Bartleby's repeated formula reveal about his resistance?

‘The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.’ What situation opens?

‘John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.’ What does ‘of course’ accomplish?

‘On a January evening of the early seventies, Christine Nilsson was singing in Faust at the Academy of Music in New York.’ What is left unestablished?

‘You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.’ Which restatement is closest?

‘Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile.’ What does this description emphasize?

‘You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter.’ What does the opening establish?

‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...’ What does the balanced opposition do at the start?

‘A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: “Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en!”’ What is left unestablished?

‘In the days when the spinning-wheels hummed busily in the farmhouses...’ Which restatement is closest?

‘Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and of situation.’ What does this reveal?

‘3 May. Bistritz.--Left Munich at 8:35 P.M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning.’ What situation does the opening establish?

‘And this also,’ said Marlow suddenly, ‘has been one of the dark places of the earth.’ What does this sudden remark do?

‘Selden paused in surprise. In the afternoon rush of the Grand Central Station his eyes had been refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart.’ What remains unestablished?