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Ask for help > Help needed with test answers
Help needed with test answers
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Andreja M
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Help needed with test answers
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My students did a reading comprehension test and my colleagues and I don �t necessarily agree with the given answers. The text is about famous ghosts and this part is about the ghosts in the White House (I was told it is from a book but I don �t know which so sorry for the copyrights): "The ghost of Abigail Adams, wife of America’s second president, was seen heading towards one of the rooms with her arms outstretched as if carrying something. By far the most frequently sighted spirit has been that of Abraham Lincoln. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who often used the Lincoln Bedroom as her study, once stated she felt the presence of Lincoln as she worked there. Another report during the Roosevelt administration was that of a young clerk who claimed to have actually seen the ghost of Lincoln sitting on a bed pulling off his boots." Are the statements true, false or doesn �t say: 1 The spirit of Abigail Adams appears empty handed. _____ 2 Lincoln’s ghost is most frequently seen in what used to be his bedroom. _____ Thanks for the help! Andreja |
15 Apr 2015
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lacrosseteach
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1. Doesn �t say. Empty handed means holding nothing, and the sentence doesn �t say whether she actually has anything in her hands or not. It just says she has her hands positioned like they are holding something. 2. True. Definitely, because both of the "sightings" were in Lincoln �s bedroom. |
15 Apr 2015
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cunliffe
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I can see that there is room for confusion! 1) implies she is carrying something, but it �s not certain that she is. So, I agree with lacrosseteach - it doesn �t say. 2) Erm ...well, it was most frequently seen by Lady Eleanor in the bedroom, and the young clerk saw him in there...But maybe there were other sightings by others, and maybe they were elsewhere... so. doesn �t say. |
15 Apr 2015
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yanogator
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I agree with Lynne that "doesn �t say" is correct for both. Although the "as if" implies that she is empty-handed, it doesn �t say so. Even though two examples are given, it again doesn �t say where Lincoln is most frequently sighted. �If your colleagues disagree with that, just ask them to show you where it specifically states either of those. Bruce�
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15 Apr 2015
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Andreja M
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Thanks for your answers. The book actually says that the first statement is false, the second one doesn �t say. |
15 Apr 2015
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yanogator
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The book is definitely wrong. Unfortunately, you don �t have the author there to ask why he or she thinks the first statement is false. Bruce
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16 Apr 2015
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mracine
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The book is CORRECT. The first one is "False". "her arms outstretched as if carrying something" "The spirit of Abigail Adams appears empty handed"
The text says that Abigail "appears" to be carrying something. While the first statement says she "appears" to be empty handed. the most frequently sighted spirit has been that of Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln’s ghost is most frequently seen in what used to be his bedroom. The book is correct again. The second one is "it doesn �t say." Frequency stated was about which spirit was seen the most. Frequency was not referring to where Abe was seen most often. |
16 Apr 2015
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yanogator
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No, mracine, the text does not say that "Abigail �appears � to be carrying something" as you said. It says (and you quoted it yourself) "as if carrying something", which is very different. If I say, "You look as if you are about to faint", then ask the class "Is your teacher about to faint?", they can �t correctly answer "yes". They can only answer that you look as if you are about to faint. Having the appearance of something is not the same as being it. Her ghost looks like it is carrying something, but we are not told whether it is or isn �t carrying something, so the correct answer is that it doesn �t say. Bruce |
16 Apr 2015
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mracine
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However, I will argue that it doesn �t matter if we know if she is carrying something or not. It just has to look like it.
Appear is defined as "seem; give the impression of being." Does Abigail have something in her arms? I don �t know, but it looks like it. Her arms are outstretched as if she was carrying something. Using your example. If I say, "You look as if you are about to faint", then ask the class "Is your teacher about to faint?", they can ´t correctly answer "yes".
But if you asked the class "Does it appear that your teacher is about to faint?" They can answer "yes." It doesn �t matter if the teacher does or not. |
17 Apr 2015
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yanogator
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Good point, but there is another problem, because the question could be interpreted two ways, depending on the intended meaning of appear. One interpretation means "When she appears, Abigail is empty handed" The other interpretation, which you are using is that she appears to be empty handed. The way their sentences is worded, either interpretation is valid and, I think, equally likely. So, because of ambiguity, it is not a good question. Bruce |
17 Apr 2015
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