Sample Questions: Humanities

The following Humanities sample questions aren't used in actual CLEP exams and aren’t presented here as they will be on the test. Use them to get a sense of question format and difficulty level.

Directions

Each of the questions or incomplete statements below is followed by five suggested answers or completions. Select the one that is best in each case.

Questions

1. The musical term for gradually increasing loudness is
   1. obbligato
   2. ritardando
   3. allegretto
   4. crescendo
   5. riff
2. In ancient Greek drama, the primary purpose of the chorus was to
   1. comment on events
   2. signal the start of the performance
   3. provide comic relief
   4. provide a contrast to the hero
   5. function as prompters
3. Which of the following terms best characterizes the narrative form utilized in the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez?
   1. Epic
   2. Memoir
   3. Magical realism
   4. Tragedy
   5. Modernism
4. Surrealists were writers and artists whose work
   1. imitated logical thought processes
   2. emphasized the unconscious as a primary source of creativity
   3. reimagined ornamental elements in decorative art
   4. incorporated themes of acceptance and pacifism
   5. adhered to realistic form and content
5. Which choice correctly pairs a writer with the genre with which she is primarily associated?
   1. Elizabeth Bishop — drama
   2. Amy Tan — poetry
   3. Sylvia Plath — essay
   4. Gwendolyn Brooks — novel
   5. Alice Munro — short story
6. The lute is most similar to the modern
   1. guitar
   2. piano
   3. violin
   4. accordion
   5. flute
7. Which of the following is a nineteenth-century artist who was influenced by Japanese prints and is known as both a painter and a printmaker?
   1. Salvador Dalí
   2. Thomas Gainsborough
   3. William Hogarth
   4. Mary Cassatt
   5. Georgia O’Keeffe
8. The rediscovery of classical texts and ideas, an emphasis on reason, and the development of linear perspective in art were characteristic of which of the following movements in Europe?
   1. The Inquisition
   2. The Renaissance
   3. Romanticism
   4. Impressionism
   5. Cubism

Answers

1) D   2) A   3) C   4) B   5) E   6) A   7) D   8) B