Question
adapted from Something to Worry About
by P. G. Wodehouse
This was Sally Preston's first evening in Mellbourne. She had arrived by the afternoon train from London—not of her own free will. Left to herself, she would not have come within sixty miles of the place. London supplied all that she demanded from life. She had been born in London; she had lived there ever since—she hoped to die there. She liked fogs, motor-buses, noise, policemen, paper-boys, shops, taxi-cabs, artificial light, stone pavements, houses in long, grey rows, mud, banana-skins, and moving-picture exhibitions. Especially moving-picture exhibitions. It was, indeed, her taste for these that had caused her banishment to Mellbourne.
The great public is not yet unanimous on the subject of moving-picture exhibitions. Sally, as I have said, approved of them. Her father, on the other hand, did not. An austere ex-teacher, who let lodgings in Ebury Street and tutored on Saturdays in Hyde Park, he looked askance at the 'movies'. It was his boast that he had never been inside a theatre, and he classed cinema palaces with theatres as colossal time wasters. Sally, suddenly unmasked as an habitual frequenter of these places, sprang with one bound into prominence as the Errant Girl of the Family destined for failure. Instant removal from temptation being the only possible plan, Mr. Preston convinced himself that a trip to the country was indicated.
He selected Mellbourne because his sister Jane, who had been a parlour-maid to a retired general nearby, was now married and living in the village.
Certainly he could not have chosen a more promising reformatory for Sally. Here, if anywhere, might she forget the heady joys of the cinema. Tucked away in the corner of its little bay, which an accommodating island converts into a still lagoon, Mellbourne lies dozing. In all sleepy Hampshire there is no sleepier spot being a place of calm-eyed men and drowsy dogs. Things crumble away and are not replaced because tradesmen book orders, and then lose interest and forget to deliver the goods. Only centenarians die, and nobody worries about anything—or did not until Sally came and gave them something to worry about.
1
Read this sentence from the passage.
Certainly he could not have chosen a more promising reformatory for Sally.
Reformatory means "a place where offenders are retrained or reformed." With this in mind, which choice best shows how the passage context helps explain the meaning of the word reformatory?
A.
Sally's offense is going to the cinema, so the phrase "had caused her banishment to Mellbourne" is a clue because Mellbourne is the place where she is to be retrained or reformed.
B.
Mr. Preston wants Sally to forget movies, and the phrase "Here, if anywhere, might she forget the heady joys of the cinema" is a clue because it identifies a place where Sally is retrained in her desires.
C.
Mr. Preston wants to remove Sally from the place where she sees the movies, so the phrase "removal from temptation" is a clue because it shows what he removes her from.
D.
Mr. Preston does not want Sally going to the movies, and the phrase "he looked askance at the 'movies' " is a clue because it shows that Mr. Preston thinks Sally is an offender.
by P. G. Wodehouse
This was Sally Preston's first evening in Mellbourne. She had arrived by the afternoon train from London—not of her own free will. Left to herself, she would not have come within sixty miles of the place. London supplied all that she demanded from life. She had been born in London; she had lived there ever since—she hoped to die there. She liked fogs, motor-buses, noise, policemen, paper-boys, shops, taxi-cabs, artificial light, stone pavements, houses in long, grey rows, mud, banana-skins, and moving-picture exhibitions. Especially moving-picture exhibitions. It was, indeed, her taste for these that had caused her banishment to Mellbourne.
The great public is not yet unanimous on the subject of moving-picture exhibitions. Sally, as I have said, approved of them. Her father, on the other hand, did not. An austere ex-teacher, who let lodgings in Ebury Street and tutored on Saturdays in Hyde Park, he looked askance at the 'movies'. It was his boast that he had never been inside a theatre, and he classed cinema palaces with theatres as colossal time wasters. Sally, suddenly unmasked as an habitual frequenter of these places, sprang with one bound into prominence as the Errant Girl of the Family destined for failure. Instant removal from temptation being the only possible plan, Mr. Preston convinced himself that a trip to the country was indicated.
He selected Mellbourne because his sister Jane, who had been a parlour-maid to a retired general nearby, was now married and living in the village.
Certainly he could not have chosen a more promising reformatory for Sally. Here, if anywhere, might she forget the heady joys of the cinema. Tucked away in the corner of its little bay, which an accommodating island converts into a still lagoon, Mellbourne lies dozing. In all sleepy Hampshire there is no sleepier spot being a place of calm-eyed men and drowsy dogs. Things crumble away and are not replaced because tradesmen book orders, and then lose interest and forget to deliver the goods. Only centenarians die, and nobody worries about anything—or did not until Sally came and gave them something to worry about.
1
Read this sentence from the passage.
Certainly he could not have chosen a more promising reformatory for Sally.
Reformatory means "a place where offenders are retrained or reformed." With this in mind, which choice best shows how the passage context helps explain the meaning of the word reformatory?
A.
Sally's offense is going to the cinema, so the phrase "had caused her banishment to Mellbourne" is a clue because Mellbourne is the place where she is to be retrained or reformed.
B.
Mr. Preston wants Sally to forget movies, and the phrase "Here, if anywhere, might she forget the heady joys of the cinema" is a clue because it identifies a place where Sally is retrained in her desires.
C.
Mr. Preston wants to remove Sally from the place where she sees the movies, so the phrase "removal from temptation" is a clue because it shows what he removes her from.
D.
Mr. Preston does not want Sally going to the movies, and the phrase "he looked askance at the 'movies' " is a clue because it shows that Mr. Preston thinks Sally is an offender.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The best choice that shows how the passage context helps explain the meaning of the word "reformatory" is:
**B. Mr. Preston wants Sally to forget movies, and the phrase "Here, if anywhere, might she forget the heady joys of the cinema" is a clue because it identifies a place where Sally is retrained in her desires.**
This choice directly connects the idea of reformatory as a place for reforming behavior (in this case, Sally's desire for cinema) with the context provided in the passage, highlighting Mr. Preston's intention for Sally to forget her "heady joys" associated with going to the movies.
**B. Mr. Preston wants Sally to forget movies, and the phrase "Here, if anywhere, might she forget the heady joys of the cinema" is a clue because it identifies a place where Sally is retrained in her desires.**
This choice directly connects the idea of reformatory as a place for reforming behavior (in this case, Sally's desire for cinema) with the context provided in the passage, highlighting Mr. Preston's intention for Sally to forget her "heady joys" associated with going to the movies.