Selective Practice Test: 15 Free Questions for 2024 Selective Test Success

ENGLISH:  SELECTIVE PRACTICE TEST

Extract from “The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert 

In all of our lives, there are days that we wish we could see expunged from the record of our very existence. Perhaps we long for that erasure because a particular day brought us such splintering sorrow that we can scarcely bear to think of it ever again. Or we might wish to blot out an episode forever because we behaved so poorly on that day—we were mortifyingly selfish, or foolish to an extraordinary degree. Or perhaps we injured another person and wish to disremember our guilt. 

Tragically, there are some days in a lifetime when all three of those things happen at once—when we are heartbroken and foolish and unforgivably injurious to others, all at the same time. For Alma, that day was January 10, 1821. She would have done anything in her power to strike that entire day from the chronicle of her life. 

She could never forgive herself that her initial response to the happy news from both her dear friend and her poor sister had been a mean show of jealousy, thoughtlessness, and (in the case of Retta, at least) physical violence. What had Beatrix always taught them? Nothing is so essential as dignity, girls, and time will reveal who has it. As far as Alma was concerned, on January 10, 1821, she had revealed herself as a young woman devoid of dignity. 

This would trouble her for many years to come. Alma tormented herself by imagining—again and again—all the different ways she might have behaved on that day, had she been in better control of her passions. In Alma’s revised conversations with Retta, she embraced her friend with perfect tenderness at the mere mention of George Hawkes’s name, and said in a steady voice, “How lucky a man he is to have won you!”

In her revised conversations with Prudence, she never accused her sister of having betrayed her to Retta, and certainly never accused Retta of having stolen George Hawkes, and, when Prudence announced her own engagement to Arthur Dixon, Alma smiled warmly, took her sister’s hand in fondness, and said, “I cannot imagine a more suitable gentleman for you! 

Unfortunately, though, one does not get second chances at such blundered episodes. 

To be fair, by January 11, 1821—merely one day later!—Alma was a much better person. She pulled herself back into order as quickly as she could. She firmly committed herself to a spirit of graciousness about both engagements.

She willed herself to play the role of a composed young woman who was genuinely pleased about other people’s happiness. And when the two weddings arrived in the following month, separated from each other by only one week, she managed to be a pleasant and cheerful guest at both events. She was helpful to the brides and polite to their grooms. Nobody saw a fissure in her. 

That said, Alma suffered. 

She had lost George Hawkes. She had been left behind by her sister and by her only friend. Both Prudence and Retta, directly after their weddings, moved across the river into the centre of Philadelphia. Fiddle, fork, and spoon were now finished. The only one who would remain at White Acre was Alma (who had long ago decided that she was fork). 

Alma took some solace in the fact that nobody, aside from Prudence, knew about her past love for George Hawkes. There was nothing she could do to obliterate the passionate confessions she had so carelessly shared with Prudence over the years (and heavens, how she regretted them!), but at least Prudence was a sealed tomb, from whom no secrets would ever leak. 

George himself did not appear to realise that Alma had ever cared for him, nor that she might ever have suspected him of caring for her. He treated Alma no differently after his marriage than he had treated her before it. He had been friendly and professional in the past, and he was friendly and professional now. 

This was both consoling to Alma and also horribly disheartening. It was consoling because there would be no lingering discomfiture between them, no public sign of humiliation. It was disheartening because apparently there had never been anything at all between them—apart from whatever Alma had allowed herself to dream. 

Answer the questions below by choosing the letter of the correct answer. 

1) For what reason does Alma desire the obliteration of January 10, 1821, from the annals of her existence? 

1. A) She endured an affliction of a deeply personal nature that remains intolerable to recollect. 
2. B) She was the recipient of disheartening intelligence regarding her vocational endeavours.
3. C) Her conduct on that particular date did not align with her personal doctrines of decorum. 
4. D) She experienced a contention with her sibling, which she later lamented. 

2) The expression “Fiddle, fork, and spoon were now finished” in the narrative most likely connotes that: 

1. A) The intimate camaraderie among Alma, Prudence, and Retta had dissipated. 
2. B) A musical recital had terminated.

3. C) The conclusion of a culinary or social affair had been reached.

4. D) Alma had resolved to cease the pursuit of her recreational activities. 

3) What does Alma’s aptitude for sustaining an outward semblance of joviality during the nuptial celebrations reveal about her disposition? 

1. A) She places her societal standing in higher regard than her personal sentiments.

2. B) She is adept at concealing her authentic emotions when societal conventions demand it. 
3. C) She exhibits apathy towards the matrimonial unions of her confidante and sibling.

4. D) She derives pleasure from communal festivities notwithstanding her intrinsic feelings. 

4) The passage elucidates that Alma’s interior turmoil subsequent to the matrimonial proceedings of her sister and friend was partially assuaged by: 

1. A) The self-imposed reformation towards a semblance of congeniality.

2. B) The consistent demeanour exhibited by George Hawkes in his interactions.

3. C) The confidentiality with which Prudence treated their shared antecedents.

4. D) The geographic proximity of her loved ones despite the emotional estrangement. 

5) Alma’s postulated dialogues with Retta and Prudence, upon reflection, insinuate that she: 

1. A) Habitually indulges in devising fanciful narratives.


B) Possesses an inventive imagination which serves as a solace for her remorse.


C) Is challenged by the acceptance of the veracity of her antecedent deeds.


1. D) Has assimilated the lessons from her missteps and would modify her behaviour accordingly.