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Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the time. Below are the top 15 examination question and answer on Humanities examination.
1.Question:
Arnold Schoenberg was associated with what kind of music?
Answer :
Schoenberg is famous for his contributions to atonal music. His most famous musical invention is the twelve-tone technique, and it comes from the mature period of his work.
Early on in his career, he started experimenting with ways of creating melodies without relying on traditional harmonic structures, for example, chord progress, ions. While traditional music has tonal centers, certain tones which occupy the central position in the melody and which are the focus of it, Schoenberg created music which was unpredictable and organized in a more associative, less-structured way.
His attempts at creating music without centers culminated in the twelve-tone technique, which orders the melody of the song in a way that ensures all of the notes of the chromatic scale are equally represented. That means that instead of making a hook, for example a guitar riff or a chorus in popular music, which would then be repeated with slight variations, he would try to create as much variability between the tones he was using as he could.
2.Question:
What is Gatsby doing when Nick first sees him in The Great Gatsby?
Answer :
Nick Carraway first sees Jay Gatsby after returning from East Egg and a dinner party at the Buchanan’s house. Nick found the dinner party mostly disappointing, largely due to the behavior of Tom and his wife Daisy, and his impressions stand in stark contrast to his first majestic vision of Gatsby:
”Returning to West Egg, Nick first sees Gatsby. As Nick is about to call out to him, Gatsby stretches out both arms towards the water or the green dock light opposite; Nick is mystified.”
Coming directly after the disaster of a meal at the Buchanan’s house, this image of the dreamer filled with innocent wonder draws Nick to Gatsby immediately.
3.Question:
What is a group of lobsters called?
Answer :
A group of lobsters is called a pod. You would use the phrase ‘a pod of lobsters’ when referring to the group as a singular entity.
This collective noun can be used plurally when identifying many different groups. If you had five groups of lobsters, you could call them ‘pods of lobsters.’
4.Question:
What is the suffix of convocation?
Answer :
The suffix of convocation is -ation. When this suffix is added to a verb, it becomes the noun that corresponds to the verb.
Here, the root word is convoke, a verb that means to request a meeting or call a group of people together. When the suffix -ation is added, the k in convoke becomes a c and the e at the end is dropped. Therefore, convocation is a formal meeting or event where people come together.
5.Question:
What is the plural of synthesis?
Answer :
The plural of the word ‘synthesis’ is spelled ‘syntheses.’ To make it plural, you drop the ‘-is’ and change it to ‘-es.’
This is because the word ‘synthesis’ is a Latin word. There are some other Latin words that end in ‘-is’ that follow this same rule.
Here are some other words that are made plural by changing the ending ‘-is’ to -‘es:’
- analysis/analyses
- axis/axes
- crisis/crises
- diagnosis/diagnoses
- oasis/oases
- thesis/theses
6.Question:
What is the difference between council and counsel?
Answer :
The words ”council” and ”counsel” differ in meaning and in how they function.
The word ”council” refers to a group of people assembled to deliberate or to discuss important matters. Think student council or a council member. The word ”council” always functions as a noun.
The word ”counsel” can refer to a lawyer or group of lawyers who conduct cases and give law advice. In this sense, the word ”counsel” functions as a noun. Mostly, though, it functions as a verb and refers to the action of advising.
For instance: ‘The principal ”counseled” the students who were fighting in the hopes of guiding the students to a resolution.’ In this example, the past tense form of the word ”counsel” is used as a verb to emphasize the action of advising. The principal wanted to make sure the students agreed upon before leaving his/her office.
7.Question:
What is an example of a synecdoche in To Kill a Mockingbird?
Answer :
In chapter 20 of To Kill a Mocking Bird, Atticus is in the courtroom, and, addressing everyone in the court, says ”with the court’s permission.” This is an example of a synecdoche.
8.Question:
What is the theme of the poem We Real Cool?
Answer :
The use of enjambment makes ”We Real Cool” sound like strong statements from the young drop-outs narrating the poem, but somewhat hesitant. You’ll notice if you read the poem aloud that the speakers seem arrogant at first, and happy about their free-wheeling, perhaps irresponsible lifestyle.
”We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.”
Yet the last statement transforms the feeling of bravado into a recognition that the narrators’ lives are probably going nowhere and will end with a too-soon death. The theme, then, is one of uncertainty and fear in the lives of many teens struggling with poverty and hardship, though they may seem cocky and ”cool” on the outside.
9.Question:
Is ‘big’ a verb?
Answer :
The word ‘big’ is not a verb, it is an adjective.
Nouns are the words we use to name things: persons, places, objects, and concepts. When we want to more fully describe a noun, we can add an adjective to the phrase or sentence. For example, if we want to say more about a dog that happens to be a Great Dane or German Shepherd, we might use the adjective ‘big.’
That Great Dane is certainly a big dog!
10.Question:
What Latin prefix means a multiple of hundreds?
Answer :
‘Centi-‘ is the Latin prefix that means one-hundredth of something. For instance, centimeter. But this means a division of 100 (one part of 100) not a multiple of 100. The Greek prefix that means multiple of hundreds is ‘hecto-‘. For example, hectogram, hectometer, and hectopascal.
11.Question:
What is connotative diction?
Answer:
Connotative diction refers to the writer’s choice of words because of their connotative meanings. Connotation refers to the feelings or emotions invoked by a word. For instance, the word home takes on a positive connotation, maybe one of warmth. Diction refers to word choices and uses of words or phrases.
Connotative diction can be used to sculpt the tone of a piece of writing. For instance, Edgar Allen Poe’s ”The Fall of the House of Usher” is comprised of connotative diction. The setting is eerie, the story dark. Poe describes the decaying trees and reek smells permeating from them. He describes the dark draperies and tattered furniture. The connotative diction evokes a feeling of unease from the readers.
12.Question:
What is a synonym for submissive?
Answer :
‘Obedient’ is a synonym for ‘submissive.’ Another synonym is ‘compliant.’ The corresponding noun is ‘submissiveness.’
Examples:
- The military cadets were obedient when they heard the drill sergeant’s orders.
- The lieutenant was compliant with the order given to him by the colonel.
13.Question:
Is ‘yet’ a preposition?
Answer :
The word ‘yet’ is not a preposition.
‘Yet’ can function as an adverb or as a conjunction, depending on how it’s used in a sentence. As an adverb, it can imply a specific time or can be used to emphasize repetition. This example uses ‘yet’ to imply a specific time: ”We have yet to go to the store.”
As a conjunction, ‘yet’ means something is happening at the same time, regardless of the situation. For instance: ”We raced to the store, yet it was closed.” In this example, ‘yet’ emphasizes that the store is closed, even though they were racing there.
While ‘yet’ might have some similarities with other prepositions, such as time-related prepositions like ‘before’ and ‘after,’ its function differs from that of the proposition.
14.Question:
What does ‘apt comparison’ mean?
Answer :
The word ‘apt’ describes something as being appropriate or suitable, and the word ‘comparison’ refers to an identification of similar features or the act of finding such similarities. Thus, the phrase ‘apt comparison’ refers to an appropriate identification of similar features among two items. The word ‘apt’ functions as an adjective to describe the noun ‘comparison.’
- The speaker made an apt comparison between the struggles of middle school students about the struggles of college graduates entering the workforce for the first time.
In this example, the phrase ‘apt comparison’ refers to the speaker’s appropriate identification of similarities between the struggles of those expanding their worldviews and experiences, like middle school students and college graduates.
15.Question:
What is the difference between plot and theme?
Answer :
The plot of a narrative is the sequence of events that create a story from beginning to end. Elements of the plot include exposition, complication, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
A theme (there may be more than one) is the general idea or message that is presented by the narrative. Another way to think of theme is as the underlying motivation for the author to create this particular story; what message is the reader intended to take away from his or her experience with this narrative?