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ACT Reading: Literary Narrative (Drill 1)

Drill 1 · Reading · Literary Narrative

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About This Drill

ACT Reading: Literary Narrative (Drill 1) is a Reading practice drill covering Literary Narrative. It contains 5 original questions developed by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

Literary Narrative passages present fiction or memoir. As you read, pay attention to character, tone, point of view, and the emotional or thematic significance of details. Questions may ask about a character's motivations, the narrator's perspective, the meaning of specific passages, or the overall theme of the piece.

Passage

LITERARY NARRATIVE: This passage is adapted from the short story "The Tide Schedule" by Marina Osei (©2019). The summer Daria turned forty, she drove alone to the same stretch of coastline where her family had vacationed when she was nine. She had not planned to stop, only to drive past, but she found herself pulling into the gravel lot at the base of the bluffs as if the car had made the decision independently. The beach looked smaller than she remembered. Or perhaps she had simply grown into someone for whom the world had contracted rather than expanded, each year delivering not new territory but a clearer sense of its limits. She removed her sandals and walked to the waterline, where the surf broke in low, exhausted waves against a shelf of dark sand. She remembered standing in this same spot as a child, absolutely certain that the ocean went on forever. Her father had tried to explain the curvature of the earth, how even the largest things had edges if you traveled far enough. She hadn't believed him. She had been the kind of child who confused stubbornness with faith. A man nearby was attempting to fly a kite with his daughter, who was perhaps five or six. The kite, a red diamond shape, kept nosediving into the sand, and each time it fell the girl laughed with the same unguarded delight, as if the failure were the point. The father retrieved it patiently, adjusted the string, handed it back. Daria watched them for longer than was polite. There was something she wanted from the scene that she couldn't name precisely, not nostalgia exactly, more like a proof of something she had once known and misplaced. Her own daughter was thirteen now and no longer laughed at things that fell. She turned back to the water. The tide was coming in; she could feel it in the way the sand shifted under her feet, the ground less solid than it appeared. Her father had taught her to read tide schedules, to know when to stand your ground and when to simply step back and let the water take the shore. She hadn't thought of that in years. She stayed until the light changed.

Questions & Explanations

Question 1. The passage as a whole can best be described as an exploration of:

  • A) a woman's regret over choices she made during her youth.
  • B) the contrast between a coastal town's past and present appearance.
  • C) a woman's reflections on time, loss, and what endures. ✓
  • D) the difficulty of maintaining relationships with aging parents.

Explanation: Choice C is correct. The passage centers on Daria's visit to a childhood beach, where she reflects on how she has changed, what she has lost (unguarded joy, her daughter's openness), and what lessons from her father still linger. Choices A and D introduce specific ideas, regret over choices and parental relationships, that are not the central focus. Choice B mischaracterizes the passage; the beach's physical change is briefly noted but is not the main exploration.

Question 2. According to the passage, as a child Daria believed the ocean:

  • F) was dangerous during high tide.
  • G) extended without end. ✓
  • H) could only be understood through science.
  • J) was less impressive than her father claimed.

Explanation: Choice G is correct. The passage states directly that as a child Daria was 'absolutely certain that the ocean went on forever.' Choice F is not supported by the passage. Choice H contradicts the passage; she refused her father's scientific explanation. Choice J is the opposite of what the passage implies; her certainty about the ocean's endlessness suggests she found it grand, not underwhelming.

Question 3. The passage most strongly suggests that Daria watches the father and daughter flying the kite because she:

  • A) is reminded of a similar experience she shared with her own father.
  • B) is searching for something she senses the scene might offer her. ✓
  • C) is concerned that the father is not helping his daughter properly.
  • D) finds the repetition of the kite falling humorously predictable.

Explanation: Choice B is correct. The passage states Daria 'wanted something from the scene that she couldn't name precisely'; she is drawn to the scene without fully understanding why. Choice A misreads the passage; she is not reminded of flying a kite with her father. Choice C is not supported; she watches with longing, not judgment. Choice D contradicts the tone; she observes with a kind of ache, not amusement.

Question 4. As it is used in the fourth paragraph, the phrase 'as if the failure were the point' most nearly suggests that the girl:

  • F) finds joy in the experience regardless of outcome. ✓
  • G) does not understand that the kite is supposed to stay airborne.
  • H) is pretending to enjoy herself to please her father.
  • J) prefers activities that require no skill or effort.

Explanation: Choice F is correct. The girl laughs with 'unguarded delight' each time the kite falls, suggesting that the fun is in the playing itself, not in the success. Choice G is an overly literal reading; the passage does not suggest she misunderstands the kite. Choice H introduces a motive, performing for her father, that is not implied. Choice J is not supported and misreads the tone of the observation.

Question 5. The passage suggests that Daria's memory of her father's lessons about tide schedules is significant primarily because:

  • A) it reminds her to move away from the water before it rises too high.
  • B) it represents practical knowledge she has neglected to pass on to her daughter.
  • C) it connects to a broader wisdom about knowing when to hold on and when to let go. ✓
  • D) it highlights the difference between her father's patience and her own impatience.

Explanation: Choice C is correct. The tide schedule lesson, 'know when to stand your ground and when to simply step back', resonates metaphorically with Daria's larger meditation on aging, change, and what cannot be held. Choice A is too literal; the tide detail functions figuratively, not as a safety warning. Choice B introduces the idea of passing on knowledge to her daughter, which is not stated. Choice D focuses on patience, which is not the comparison the passage draws.