Critical Reading

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1

<p>I understand now that this complex set of questions had already been there in my mind when I put the microphones and the tape recorder into my shoulder bag. I had always tried to have some conception of the slavery that had brought people from West Africa to the United States, even if I hadn't seen, symbolically, that when I opened the box decorated with pictures of musicians and instruments inside it would be the next box, illustrated with old engravings of slave ships. I had come to Africa to find a kind of song, to find a kind of music and the people who performed it. But nothing can be taken from a culture without considering its context.</p>

<p>The author presents the final sentence as a </p>

<p>a) learned lesson
b) grim admonition
c) surprising afterthought
d) scholarly hypothesis
e) sarcastic commentary.</p>

<p>I narrowed it down to a and b. But I am unable to figure out whether its a lesson or admonition. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>I would say A, just because the phrasing doesn’t seem very “grim”, and it doesn’t sound like a caution (“admonition”).</p>

<p>That’s a hard one, though.</p>

3

<p>I would say A, too. The first sentence has a clue: “I understand now” suggests that the narrator learned something.</p>

4

<p>Thanks!! Anyone else with a different reasoning?</p>

5

<p>Can someone remind me what rules out D?</p>

6

<p>^Yes. Can someone please explain why D is not the correct answer?</p>

7

<p>It’s not a hypothesis since he already determined it by his earlier observations; thus it is a conclusion, or a lesson learned</p>

8

<p>Nice! That was the same reasoning I used. I feel like I’m improving on CR :D</p>