TEST GUIDE ENGLISH SUBTEST I - CSETs

English Subtest I
10. Read the poem below, "song at the african middle class" by Molara Ogundipe-Leslie; then
answer the question that follows.
we charge through the skies of disillusion,
seeking the widening of eyes, we gaze at chaos,
speak to deadened hearts and ears stopped with
commerce. We drift around our region of clowns,
walking on air as dreams fly behind our eyes.
we forage among broken bodies, fractured minds
to find just ways retraced and new like beaten cloth.
and if they come again
will they come again?
and if they come again
will they dance this time?
will the new egungun 1 dance once more
resplendent in rich-glassed cloth?
will they be of their people's needs,
rise to those needs, settle whirling rifts
salve, O, festering hearts?
will they say when they come
O my people, O my people, how to love you delicately?
1 egungun: a masqueraded dancer who dances in a religious ritual with the intention of making contact
with the supernatural
This poem best addresses which of the
following concerns of contemporary
African writers?
A. the need to retain regional cultural
and language differences in the
face of African unification
B. the importance of spiritual leadership
and political solidarity in
opposition to tyrannical dictators
C. the matriarchal role of women in
nurturing and healing future generations
of Africans
D. the spiritual and emotional bankruptcy
arising from the loss of
traditional values and aspirations
of wealth
6 California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide