Broadway Play Uses a Beauty Pageant to Explore Schoolyard Power

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which idea best expresses the article’s main point?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A pageant can reveal how social status and beauty standards shape relationships.
   2. A school recruiter decides which students may continue their education.
   3. A Broadway production mainly focuses on the history of Ghanaian schools.
   4. A newcomer quickly ends the conflict between the girls.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A pageant can reveal how social status and beauty standards shape relationships.

   The play connects a school pageant with social pressure and beauty standards.

   By showing pressure from both peers and adults, the play links personal rivalries to wider expectations about which faces and bodies are celebrated.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can readers infer about Paulina’s position in the group?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. She has influence, but she also relies on judgments about appearance.
   2. She has little interest in the pageant or its outcome.
   3. She avoids interacting with the other students.
   4. She is mainly responsible for choosing the pageant judges.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   She has influence, but she also relies on judgments about appearance.

   Her influence depends partly on the group’s social structure.

   Paulina, a powerful student who hopes to win the crown, leads a group of girls and often puts others down because of how they look.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   In the sentence about Ericka, what does “those around her” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The people who witness Ericka’s performance
   2. The students who leave the boarding school
   3. The organizers of the Broadway run
   4. The audience watching the livestream at home
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The people who witness Ericka’s performance

   The phrase points to people present during her performance.

   During a performance of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All,” Ericka impresses those around her.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention Mean Girls?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To acknowledge a resemblance while distinguishing the play’s setting and concerns
   2. To argue that the play is an adaptation of the film
   3. To explain why the Broadway run has been extended
   4. To show that both stories take place at the same school
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To acknowledge a resemblance while distinguishing the play’s setting and concerns

   The comparison clarifies a connection while marking the play’s distinct focus.

   Although the title recalls the 2004 film Mean Girls, the play has its own setting and concerns.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How does the article develop its discussion after describing Ericka’s arrival?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It complicates the rivalry and connects it to broader pressures.
   2. It shifts to a detailed history of the Ghanaian education system.
   3. It explains how the pageant recruiter selects a winner.
   4. It recounts the girls’ lives after the pageant ends.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It complicates the rivalry and connects it to broader pressures.

   It widens the conflict from individuals to social expectations.

   The story does not present the girls’ conflict as a simple contest between a bully and a newcomer.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the article indicate about who may succeed in the international pageant?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Views about skin tone may shape expectations about success.
   2. Only students from Ohio are eligible to enter.
   3. The headmistress has already selected the winner.
   4. The pageant director refuses to discuss beauty.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Views about skin tone may shape expectations about success.

   The disagreement suggests that ideas about beauty influence judgments of success.

   Her lighter skin also leads to disagreement between the headmistress and the pageant director about beauty and who might succeed in the Miss Global Universe pageant.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which contrast does the article make about livestream access?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Most viewers pay, but high school students can watch without charge.
   2. Students pay, while other viewers watch without charge.
   3. Every livestream is free during the final week.
   4. Only Broadway theatergoers can watch the broadcasts.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Most viewers pay, but high school students can watch without charge.

   The final detail distinguishes general access from student access.

   The broadcasts have a fee, while high school students can watch for free.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.