17llantt
Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question that…
Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question that follows.
Lord of the Ring
Antowan is my best, my older, and my only brother, although he’s only older by two and a half years. I feel like he has always been by my side, supporting me, sticking up for me when I needed it, but also admonishing me when I needed that instead. We’re as close as identical twins, or maybe I should say fraternal twins, because even though we’re close we really couldn’t be more dissimilar personality-wise. Antowan is extremely organized, whereas I, well, I’m a little more relaxed in that department. Antowan is disciplinedhe worked two jobs during high school and still made the honor roll. My grades are okay, but I procrastinate some and it takes a lot of effort for me just to get my homework done. Also, one thing Antowan has in spades is ambition. Right after graduating from high school he joined the Marines and within a year was in O.C.S., Officer Candidate School. Right now I don’t have a clue about what I’m going to do next week, let alone next year. So, these differences in our characters make this anecdote even more amusing.
Before Antowan went into O.C.S., he became engaged to Krystal, a fantastic girl he met during basic training. He got a two-week leave and came home last month to get married. It was great to have him home, but there was plenty to do to get ready for the wedding. I was the best man and, based on this experience anyway, that entails spending a lot of time driving around doing errands and picking people up at the airport. Krystal couldn’t arrive until three days prior to the big day, so that left a lot of responsibility to my mother. I actually began to consider the possibility that an alien had invaded her body because she turned into a crazed, cell phone-wielding maniac who was determined to organize every detail down to the color of the dessert napkins. Antowan and I vowed early on in the week just to stay out of her way and make sure we did what we were told. Antowan had a handle on everything, of course, being the mature, prepared soldier that he was. At least that’s what I assumed.
When Krystal finally arrived, she was ecstatic that the logistics were under control and Mom had done a thorough job.
Finally, on the big day, Antowan and I got into our tuxedos and stood around and let cousins take pictures of us for what seemed like hours. Then, as Krystal stayed behind a little longer to primp, the groom and I got into the car so I could chauffeur him to the church.
About halfway there I said, “Hey, before I forget, let me have the ring now so we don’t look like losers in front of everybody.” I was watching the road, but the car seemed to fill up with sudden, absolute silence. I glanced over at my brother, who looked horribly aghast.
“Don’t joke,” I said, cringing at what I thought might have happened.
“James, I completely forgot about the ring!” he bawled. Then he started babbling about some to-do list and how he must have misplaced it, but he wasn’t making much sense.
At that moment an unnatural calm came over me, and I realized what we had to do. I made a quick detour down a side street and turned onto a main road where there was a jewelry store owned by my father’s friend, Mr. Rose. As Antowan and I had about forty-two dollars between us, I suspected we would need Mr. Rose to help us out with the transaction in the jewelry store.
As it turned out, we weren’t even late for the ceremony, and everything went very smoothly. No one even noticed that my brother was perspiring more than he normally does, nor did they notice the wink I flashed him when I handed him the wedding ring. He will always be my best and older brother, but I’m kind of glad that I could lend him a hand at least this once in his moment of need.
In the first paragraph, the narrator describes himself mainly by
A
listing all his best features.
B
pretending that he is always careless and disorganized.
C
explaining all of the things he is not.
D
comparing his own character with that of his brother.
