Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 135: Answer and Explanation

Question: 135

Text 1 is from Benjamin Franklin's 1771 autobiography. Text 2 is from Booker T. Washington's 1901 autobiography.

Text 1

I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors. You may remember the inquiries I made among the remains of my relations when you were with me in England, and the journey I undertook for that purpose. Imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet unacquainted with, and . . . I sit down to write them for you.

Text 2

Of my ancestry I know almost nothing. In the slave quarters, and even later, I heard whispered conversations . . . of the tortures which the slaves, including, no doubt, my ancestors on my mother's side, suffered in the middle passage of the slave ship while being conveyed from Africa to America. I have been unsuccessful in securing any information that would throw any accurate light upon the history of my family beyond my mother.

It is reasonable to conclude that Booker T. Washington would very much like to have had the opportunity to do which of the following things that Benjamin Franklin spoke about in Text 1?

• A. Obtain anecdotes about his ancestors
• B. Take time to write a memoir
• C. Have a relationship with his children
• D. Relive his life

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

(A) In Text 1, Franklin mentions "obtaining little anecdotes" about his ancestors. The consistent theme in Washington's text is a thirst to know his roots. The ability to obtain such anecdotes would assist him in his quest for knowledge, so choice (A) is the correct answer. Choice (B) is flawed in that Washington is already writing an autobiography, or memoir. Washington makes no reference to children, as in choice (C), or to wishing to relive his life, as in choice (D).