Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1By calling the new policy 'a masterpiece of administrative self-sabotage', the columnist ............... the policy.
Wrong!
Because the columnist calls the policy 'a masterpiece of administrative self-sabotage', the sentence says the column "lampoons" it rather than supports it.
2When the narrator congratulates the mayor for 'solving homelessness' while describing families sleeping under the council chamber steps, only an ............... reading makes the passage coherent.
Wrong!
The praise is visibly undermined by the exposed failures, so an "ironic" reading is required.
3The phrase 'a tiny filing cabinet with ambitions' describes a nationwide surveillance system through ...............
Wrong!
Calling a nationwide surveillance system 'a tiny filing cabinet with ambitions' is comic exaggeration, so the device is "hyperbole".
4Since the narrator praises the factory's 'spotless compassion' immediately after noting that workers fainted from chemical fumes, she is best read as ...............
Wrong!
Because the narrator's glowing claims are repeatedly disproved by nearby evidence, she is "unreliable".
5Because every paragraph returns to the committee's evasive jargon, bureaucratic language is the satire's ............... target.
Wrong!
The repeated attacks on committee language make bureaucratic jargon the "primary" target.
6By reporting the absurd proposal in a tone of sober neutrality, the essay relies on ...............
Wrong!
A flat report of an absurd proposal signals "deadpan delivery", where seriousness intensifies the joke.
7The attack on consumer vanity is ...............: the narrator never names it, but the luxury coffin catalogue makes it unavoidable.
Wrong!
Because the narrator never names the criticism but lets details expose it, the attack is "left implicit".
8The cheerful intern, whose innocence exposes the board's cynicism, functions as a ............... in the satire.
Wrong!
The cheerful intern exposes others' cynicism by contrast, so he functions as a "foil".
9The sketch mocks the officials who created the disaster, not the people harmed by it, so it is not laughing ............... the victims.
Wrong!
Since the sketch mocks officials rather than victims, it is not laughing "at" the victims.
10By renaming unpaid overtime 'voluntary time donation', the satire ............... a familiar labour practice and makes it sound grotesquely alien.
Wrong!
Making a familiar policy sound grotesquely alien "defamiliarises" it, forcing fresh judgement.
11Although the scene is absurd, its exposure of cruelty and injustice makes the comedy ............... rather than merely whimsical.
Wrong!
Because the absurdity exposes cruelty and injustice, the comedy is "morally pointed".
12In a mock proposal, the coldly rational speaker who recommends cruelty should be treated as a satirical ............... rather than as the author's own voice.
Wrong!
A speaker whose monstrous proposal is not endorsed by the author is a satirical "persona".
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- By calling the new policy ‘a masterpiece of administrative self-sabotage’, the columnist lampoons the policy.
- When the narrator congratulates the mayor for ‘solving homelessness’ while describing families sleeping under the council chamber steps, only an ironic reading makes the passage coherent.
- The phrase ‘a tiny filing cabinet with ambitions’ describes a nationwide surveillance system through hyperbole.
- Since the narrator praises the factory’s ‘spotless compassion’ immediately after noting that workers fainted from chemical fumes, she is best read as unreliable.
- Because every paragraph returns to the committee’s evasive jargon, bureaucratic language is the satire’s primary target.
- By reporting the absurd proposal in a tone of sober neutrality, the essay relies on deadpan delivery.
- The attack on consumer vanity is left implicit: the narrator never names it, but the luxury coffin catalogue makes it unavoidable.
- The cheerful intern, whose innocence exposes the board’s cynicism, functions as a foil in the satire.
- The sketch mocks the officials who created the disaster, not the people harmed by it, so it is not laughing at the victims.
- By renaming unpaid overtime ‘voluntary time donation’, the satire defamiliarises a familiar labour practice and makes it sound grotesquely alien.
- Although the scene is absurd, its exposure of cruelty and injustice makes the comedy morally pointed rather than merely whimsical.
- In a mock proposal, the coldly rational speaker who recommends cruelty should be treated as a satirical persona rather than as the author’s own voice.