501 Critical Reading Questions

e.
Glimpsing a piece of the past
(choice 
a
), 
glorifying athletes
(choice 
b
),
disparaging segregation
(choice 
c
), and learning some 
tennis history
(choice 
d
) are all story elements that support the main purpose of
the passage: To tell the story of Althea Gibson, the woman who
broke the color barrier in professional tennis (choice 
e
).
2 3 8
501
Critical Reading Questions

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2 3 9
423.
a.
The word 
bucolic
is most often used to describe something typi-
cal of or relating to rural life. If you did not know what bucolic
meant, there are contextual clues to help you. In lines 11-15,
the passage tells us that Althea was born on a 
cotton farm
and
her father was a 
sharecropper.
Also, in lines 13–14, the author
contrasts the 
bucolic Silver
with New York City’s 
urban bustle
.
424.
e.
The passage states that Althea Gibson was a two-time Wimble-
don champion. However, the passage does not offer the exact
number of defeats Althea suffered at Wimbledon in her career.
425.
a.
Althea’s accomplishments in 1949 and 1950 should have earned
her an invitation to the 1950 U.S. Nationals, but her and the
ATA’s efforts to secure an invitation from the USTLA fell on
deaf ears (lines 51–57). It was not until the national uproar
spurred by Alice Marble’s editorial (lines 62–66) that the
USTLA, buckling under the weight of public pressure (choice
a
), relented and extended Althea an invitation to play.
426.
c.
Althea was an extraordinarily gifted athlete, yet because of the
color of her skin and the time in which she lived, her path to
success from the very beginning was obstructed by segregation
and discrimination. Althea was not allowed to practice on public
tennis courts (lines 47–48), barred from USLTA-sponsored
events (line 57), and was refused hotel rooms and restaurant
reservations (lines 76–78). Althea’s ability to put these distrac-
tions aside and excel was a triumph of mental toughness, and
the author uses the quote on line 80 to illustrate that fact.
427.
b.
When looking at questions such as this one, it’s important to
think each choice through before hastily picking an answer.
This question has two tough distracters: choices