Critical Reading!

<p>I have the following questions. </p>

<p>Passage 1</p>

<p>When I entered journalism school in the 1920’s, I
found out that perennial and fundamental laws governing
the art of good writing had been discovered. Experts
had stubbornly and rigorously analyzed readers’ modest
capacity to dedicate their attention to the printed page
and had established once and for all, apparently with the
mathematical precision of astronomers, the order of
readers’ natural preferences. They found that effective
prose was composed of a limited number of very simple
(line 10) and common words grouped in short, crisp sentences.
When designed rigorously, such prose could penetrate the
opaque barrier of millions of readers’ indifference, apathy,
inattention, and obtuseness.</p>

<p>Passage 2
Beginning writers are often taught that effective prose
(line15) is crisp and concise and that most readers have no patience
with densely complex sentences and obscure vocabulary.
While clarity and succinctness are certainly worthy goals,
I sometimes worry that our assumption that the reading
public can comprehend only such writing might be selling
(line20) them short. Assuming that readers are merely able to digest
simple words, and that they have no interest in puzzling
through more challenging prose, turns that theory into a
self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s our responsibility as writers
to offer the public something beyond workmanlike writing:
(line25) if we don’t, readers will never appreciate writing as an art
rather than as a mechanical craft.</p>

<p>In comparison to Passage 2, the tone of Passage 1
is more
(A) earnest
(B) inspirational
(C) complacent
(D) defensive
(E) sarcastic</p>

<p>Why is it E? what are the words that make the author sound sarcastic?</p>

<p>The question that comes first to my mind is this: What
would it mean to say that an animal has the right to the
pursuit of happiness? How would that come about, and in
relationship to whom?
In speaking 5 of “animal happiness,” we often tend to
mean something like “creature comforts.” The emblems of
this are the golden retriever rolling in the grass, the horse
with his nose deep in the oats, kitty by the fire. Creature
comforts are important to animals: “Grub first, then ethics”
(line 10) is a motto that would describe many a wise Labrador
retriever, and I have a bull terrier named Annie whose
continual quest for the perfect pillow inspires her to
awesome feats. But there is something more to animals,
something more to my Annie, a capacity for satisfactions
(line15) that come from work in the full sense—something
approximately like what leads some people to insist that
they need a career (though my own temperament is such
that I think of a good woodcarver or a dancer or a poet
sooner than I think of a business executive when I
(line 20) contemplate the kind of happiness enjoyed by an
accomplished dressage1 horse). This happiness, like the
artist’s, must come from something within the animal,
something trainers call talent, and so cannot be imposed
on the animal. But at the same time it does not arise in a
(line25) vacuum; if it had not been a fairly ordinary thing in one
part of the world at one point to teach young children to
play the harpsichord, it is doubtful that Mozart’s music
would exist. There are animal versions, if not equivalents,
of Mozart, and they cannot make their spontaneous
(line30) passions into sustained happiness without education, any
more than Mozart could have.</p>

<p>Aristotle identified happiness with ethics and with work,
unlike Thomas Jefferson, who defined happiness as
“Indolence of Body; Tranquility of Mind,” and thus what I
(line35) call creature comforts. Aristotle also excluded as unethical
anything that animals and artists do, for reasons that look
wholly benighted to me. Nonetheless, his central insights
are more helpful than anything else I know in beginning
to understand why some horses and dogs can only be
(line40) described as competent, good at what they do, and therefore
happy. Not happy because leading lives of pleasure,
but rather happy because leading lives in which the sensation
of getting it right, the “click,” as of the pleasure that
comes from solving a puzzle or surmounting something,
(line45) is a governing principle.</p>

<p>Which of the following statements is most consistent
with the author’s discussion of “temperament” in
lines 17-21?
(A) The author believes a poet can be successful in
business.
(B) The author considers artistic pursuits to be the
most personally fulfilling of all endeavors.
(C) The author suspects that a busy life can have its
own rewards.
(D) The author believes that few people are ever
satisfied with the jobs they have chosen.
(E) The author considers subjectivity and selfknowledge
to be critical to human gratification.</p>

<p>Why is B the answer? the point here in the paragraph is the happiness is from something within. </p>

<p>Which situation most accurately illustrates the author’s
definition of a happy animal?
(A) A bird finding its one lifetime mate
(B) A dog herding sheep into a pen
(C) A horse being carefully groomed for a show
(D) A monkey escaping from a city zoo
(E) A cat caring devotedly for her kittens</p>

<p>I narrowed it down to A and E based on the passage's point that animal's happiness comes from satisfaction. When I realized the correct ans is B, I looked back and gathered "satisfaction... that come from work in the full sense.." and "happiness with ethics n work". Is this the reason for B?</p>

<p>I don’t have the time right now to go through the larger passage, but here goes about the first question.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>If you feel that my clarification isn’t as self-explanatory as I hope it is, do let me know. I can’t really say the passage’s tone is exceedingly sarcastic, but a sublime form of sarcasm is established mainly in the beginning with the words “perennial” and “fundamental”. Especially through the first.</p>

<p>Alright I read the rest of it too.</p>

<p>Regarding the artistic pursuits, the answer basically lies in the underlined part. You will see that he favours poetry, dancing or woodcarving over a business career. All three of these are artistic pursuits, something which is especially highlighted by their being contrasted with business pursuits. Happiness having it’s source within is not really a theme of the paragraph if you think about it.</p>

<p>As for the other question, yes, you’re right about the reason why the correct answer is B. Examine this part carefully and you’ll see what I mean.

</p>

<p>I have the feeling that the reason you got confused with this one is that you improvised “emotionally” in a way, if you get what I mean. As I just wrote in another thread, do not ASSUME anything about the passage. The answers are right in there to be read and found.</p>

<p>Thanks! The words underlined do have a hint of sarcasm. I will take note to be more alert. </p>

<p>I did not get the point on job satisfaction in relation on animal happiness on the first reading which is why I got stuck between e 2 similar choices.</p>

<p>I have a couple more questions in reading. Hope you can help!</p>

<p>There Samuel sat each day,
20 painfully tallying his data, his pencil
poised like a scalpel in his hand, frowning
at the gruesome but inevitable task ahead
of him. Dwarfed by a monstrous blue
suit, Samuel would finger the mournful
pre-war bowler that never left his head.
And it was such an earnest sight, such an
intimate window into a man whose nature
seemed to be all windows—people
wondered if he actually had a public self—
30 that he might have been the only man in
the world to claim vulnerability as his
greatest asset.</p>

<p>The second paragraph implies that Tyne’s clothes
make him appear which of the following?
(A) Casual
(B) Pathetic
(C) Stylish
(D) Proud
(E) Inappropriate</p>

<p>I took inappropriate because of “dwarfed by a monstrous blue suit”. The answer is “pathetic”, so I’m clueless on the reasoning.</p>

<p>What could they possibly
reprimand him for? He was a fast and
diligent worker, with enough gumption to
use a little imaginative reasoning when
40 some economic nuisance called for it. He
was punctual and tidy, not overly familiar
with his co-workers; quite simply, the best
employee they had.</p>

<p>In line 41, the word “familiar” is closest in meaning to
(A) common
(B) expected
(C) forward
(D) natural
(E) recognizable</p>

<p>I narrowed it to D & E before choosing E but it turned out to be C. How does “forward” fit into the context?</p>

<p>We understand you’ve just
suffered a big loss, Samuel,” said
Dombey, “but as you know this is a
federal workplace. What would happen,
say, if you made this kind of error daily?
Now, we’re certainly not saying that you
do. But what would happen? I’ll tell you
what would happen. You’d have ladies
collapsing in ten-hour lines just to get a
loaf of bread to feed their families. You’d
have children skipping school because
there aren’t enough clothes to go around.
Babies dying without milk. Old folks
crumbling in their rockers. It’d be
pandemonium with a capital P—
depression. We are the economy. We
answer to the prime minister. There is no
room for error here.” Dombey scratched
his head and looked wistful. “Oh, don’t
look so glum.”</p>

<p>Again, Samuel nodded.
Son, fearing his role in the
reprimand unnecessary, added, “We are,
of course, deeply sorry for your loss, but
you must remember our country is in your
hands.”</p>

<p>Dombey frowned at Son, and the
two men walked off. When they left,
Samuel heard through the divider the
rude laughter of Sally Mather. His face
burning, he sat at his desk, and picking up
his green ledger, tried to make up for the
ten minutes lost time.</p>

<p>The author mentions the “rude laughter of Sally
Mather” in line 117 primarily in order to
(A) indicate that most of Tyne’s colleagues dislike
him
(B) imply that Sally Mather has reported Tyne’s error
to his bosses
(C) underscore the humiliation Tyne is experiencing
(D) show that Tyne’s bosses wanted his colleagues to
know about his error
(E) suggest that Tyne’s bosses are making fun of him</p>

<p>I took B. Could be assumption on my part but how does the laughter function to emphasize the humiliation?</p>

<p>Bump!</p>

<p>10 char</p>