Directions: Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:
What is a Role Model? That’s a great question. I had to look it up. A Role Model is a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. Growing up I didn’t have a very good role model. My mother and father divorced at a very young age. My brother and I are 7 years apart, so he was never around and took off at a very young age to raise himself. My mother who has severe Bi- Polar disorder was in many different relationships with men after my father left. She was also never home.
Her excuse was that she had to work to support us. My dad, who wanted nothing to do with my mother, deserted me. I never met any of his family and my mother’s parents lived very far away, therefore, I had no one to look up to or ask for help. My mother was very abusive mentally. I felt she was such a nasty person because I was just an inconvenience in her life and didn’t understand till much older that she was mentally sick. I learned at a very young age to care for myself and, like my brother, moved out at 13 years of age. I had to quit school and get a job to take care of myself.
Needless to say, it was very hard to get a good job with no education so I ended up waiting tables in many dumpy places until I met my first husband; I was eighteen. I ended up in long term abusive relationships with promises to care for me and I would have no worries ever again. I believed him, or I should I say, I wanted to believe him.
I made a promise to myself that my children would have a good role model, a great childhood, and a strong foundation to build their lives and would never have to go through what I had to survive. At 18 with my first husband, we decided to have a baby.
In the back of my mind I was concerned that my child would end up with the genetic disposition of my mother, but I was normal. I didn’t give it much thought after that. I wanted to have children of my own; someone who would love me and I would love unconditionally. My son was born, who is now eighteen, and ended up with the disease. He was diagnosed at 3 years of age with ADHD and ODD. They didn’t want to diagnose, or I should say, they couldn’t diagnose, Bi-Polar that young, but I knew. I left his father a few years later due to the increase in domestic abuse. Everything he promised he wouldn’t do, he did. I was alone trying to raise a child with no help, afraid to get into another relationship, for that matter, no one wanted a relationship with me.
I had baggage. I had a child with severe behavior problems. Seven years later I meet another man who didn’t care about my son or my mother. He said that he would love me and made all the same promises my first husband did. A year later we talked about having another child. I told him all my fears and he comforted me. Shortly after my daughter was born my husband turned to drugs. I thought to myself, I can’t seem to get out of this cycle.
More thoughts were, even if I didn’t have my mother’s illness, was I walking in her footsteps? You can see the identical path. My brother and I are seven years apart, my mom married twice. Was this all just coincidental? I stayed with my drug addicted husband for all most 10 years because I thought it was best for my children and I knew how hard my daughter would take the separation, as well as my son, whose father was never around. I finally came to the conclusion that I had to do what was best for me or I was not going to be around to take care of the two things I loved most, my children.
Q1: Among the subsequent assertions, which statement, if proven accurate, would epitomize the most unswerving amplification of the propositions embedded within the narrative?
(a) An absence of salubrious exemplars during juvenile stages accentuates the predisposition towards contentious affiliations in the epoch of maturity.
(b) All individuals grappling with the psychological variance of bipolar disorder are invariably subjected to abusive liaisons.
(c) Singularly those individuals diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are susceptible to confront maltreatment within relationships.
(d) Desertion by progenitors during formative years culminates in a susceptibility towards narcotic dependence during the period of adulthood.
Ans: (a)
Sol: The central theorem of the narrative encircles the author's tumultuous rearing bereft of role models, and its subsequent ramifications on her relationships during adulthood.
Option A: This assertion echoes the experiences and hypothesis delineated by the author within the narrative. She had to negotiate with the dearth of positive role models during childhood, which subsequently precipitated problematic affiliations during adulthood. Consequently, this assertion is validated.
Option B: This postulate, bearing an extreme and broad character, insinuates that all individuals confronting the mental divergence of bipolar disorder are invariably prone to abusive relationships, a supposition that cannot be extracted from the narrative.
Option C: The narrative refrains from asserting a direct correlation between the diagnosis of ADHD or ODD and the risk of being ensnared in abusive relationships. Therefore, this postulate is invalidated.
Option D: Even though the author shares her experiences of desertion and her second spouse's descent into substance abuse, the narrative doesn't intimate a direct causal nexus between the two phenomena. Consequently, this assertion is refuted.
Q2: What is the main idea of the passage?
(a) The author's childhood experiences and how it has shaped her beliefs about being a role model for her children
(b) The impact of mental illness on the author's family relationships
(c) The author's journey from a troubled childhood to a stable adult life
(d) The effects of domestic abuse on the author's relationships
Ans: (a)
Sol: (A) The author's childhood experiences and how it has shaped her beliefs about being a role model for her children is the correct answer. The passage details the author's experiences growing up without a positive role model and how it has influenced her desire to provide a better childhood for her own children. The author's experiences with mental illness, domestic abuse, and difficult relationships are all part of her journey to becoming a good role model for her children. Hence, option A is correct.
(B) The impact of mental illness on the author's family relationships is not the main idea of the passage, although the author's mother's Bi-Polar disorder does play a role in her experiences. The impact of mental illness is just one aspect of the author's childhood experiences and is not the focus of the passage. Hence, option B is not correct.
(C) The author's journey from a troubled childhood to a stable adult life is not the main idea of the passage, although the passage does touch upon this topic. The focus of the passage is on the author's experiences growing up without a positive role model and how it has influenced her desire to provide a better childhood for her own children. The author's journey from a troubled childhood to a stable adult life is just one part of this larger narrative. Hence, option C is not correct.
(D) The effects of domestic abuse on the author's relationships is not the main idea of the passage, although the author's experiences with domestic abuse play a role in her journey. The focus of the passage is on the author's experiences growing up without a positive role model and how it has influenced her desire to provide a better childhood for her own children. The effects of domestic abuse are just one aspect of the author's experiences and are not the focus of the passage. Hence, option D is not correct.
Q3: What is the tone of the passage?
(a) Despondent
(b) Resolute
(c) Hopeful
(d) Disillusioned
Ans: (d)
Sol: The tone of the passage is D. Disillusioned. The author describes a difficult childhood, abusive relationships, and a pattern of bad choices in partners. They mention feeling like they are walking in their mother's footsteps and being afraid that their own struggles with mental illness will impact their children. The author finally comes to the conclusion that they must make a change for their own well-being, but this is not presented in a hopeful or positive light. Instead, it is portrayed as a difficult decision made out of a sense of necessity.
This creates a tone of disillusionment, indicating disappointment or discouragement with their experiences and the circumstances they find themselves in. A. Despondent - The tone of the passage can be seen as sad and hopeless, but it doesn't quite capture the full range of emotions present. The author describes a difficult childhood, abusive relationships, and the challenges of raising children with mental health issues.
However, the author also describes their determination to provide a better life for their children, which suggests a level of resilience and perseverance, rather than simply feeling despondent. B. Resolute: The tone of the passage is not resolute. Resolute means determined and unwavering in purpose, which is not reflected in the author's experiences described in the passage.
The author has faced a series of challenges in their life, including abusive relationships, mental health issues, and struggles to provide for their children. There is a sense of uncertainty and hopelessness in their experiences, which is not characteristic of a resolute tone. C. Hopeful: The tone of the passage is not hopeful. Hope is the feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. In the passage, the author reflects on their experiences and struggles, and there is a sense of disillusionment and despair, which is not indicative of a hopeful tone. The author is not optimistic about their future or the future of their children, and there is a sense of hopelessness in their experiences.
Q4: Each of the subsequent propositions could be plausibly inferred from the text, save for one exception:
(a) The author's maternal figure suffered from a severe psychological condition.
(b) The author was subjected to psychological maltreatment from her mother.
(c) The author's father harbored a longing to remain an integral part of her life.
(d) The author's early life was marked by significant challenges and difficulties.
Ans: (c)
Sol: Through the narration of the text, the author's father is characterized as a figure who absconded, exhibiting no desire to maintain any association with the maternal figure. Moreover, the author underscores her lack of interaction with her father's family.
Such narratives signal an absence of intention on the author's father's part to remain actively involved in her life, thereby solidifying the inaccuracy of option C. Option A finds a basis in the text as it outlines the author's mother's affliction with severe Bi-Polar disorder, indicative of a significant mental health issue.
Option B is confirmed by the text's disclosure of the author's mother's psychologically abusive behavior. Option D is evidenced by the text's illustration of the author's early years filled with adversity, marked by parental absence, prematurely leaving school, and the need for self-reliance from a tender age of 13.
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