Now, movement has no virtue in itself. Change is not worth while for its own sake. I am not one of those who love variety for its own sake. If a thing is good to-day, I should like to have it stay that way to-morrow. Most of our calculations in life are dependent upon things staying the way they are. For example, if, when you got up this morning, you had forgotten how to dress, if you had forgotten all about those ordinary things which you do almost automatically, which you can almost do half awake, you would have to find out what you did yesterday. I am told by the psychologists that if I did not remember who I was yesterday, I should not know who I am to-day, and that, therefore, my very identity depends upon my being able to tally to-day with yesterday. If they do not tally, then I am confused; I do not know who I am, and I have to go around and ask somebody to tell me my name and where I came from.
I am not one of those who wish to break connection with the past; I am not one of those who wish to change for the mere sake of variety. The only men who do that are the men who want to forget something, the men who filled yesterday with something they would rather not recollect to-day, and so go about seeking diversion, seeking abstraction in something that will blot out recollection, or seeking to put something into them which will blot out all recollection. Change is not worth while unless it is improvement. If I move out of my present house because I do not like it, then I have got to choose a better house, or build a better house, to justify the change.
It would seem a waste of time to point out that ancient distinction,—between mere change and improvement. Yet there is a class of mind that is prone to confuse them. We have had political leaders whose conception of greatness was to be forever frantically doing something,—it mattered little what; restless, vociferous men, without sense of the energy of concentration, knowing only the energy of succession. Now, life does not consist of eternally running to a fire. There is no virtue in going anywhere unless you will gain something by being there. The direction is just as important as the impetus of motion.
(from "What is Progress?" by Woodrow Wilson)
Question
Which statement provides an objective summary of the passage?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
Change that causes direct benefits for society is a meaningful enterprise.
2.
Improvement occurs when dynamic leaders take risks to bring about change.
3.
A nation must abandon highly outdated traditions to create a modern identity.
4.
Energetic movement is necessary even if the results are sometimes unsuccessful.
1. Change that causes direct benefits for society is a meaningful enterprise.
Sunderland College has historically had an outstanding football team. In its 50-year history, the team has had more winning seasons than any other team in the state. In the last 10 years, however, the team has been on an ,begin underline,astoundingly,end underline, rapid downward spiral—with eight losing seasons. Coach Wilson is ,begin underline,unquestionably,end underline, responsible for this losing streak. Since he was hired 10 years ago, the team has not won a single championship. If Coach Wilson is allowed to continue managing the team, there is little hope of a winning season in the near future.
Question
Which sentence ,begin emphasis,best,end emphasis, explains the effect of the words ,begin emphasis,astoundingly,end emphasis, and ,begin emphasis,unquestionably,end emphasis, in the passage?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
They help the reader visualize how quickly the team declined.
2.
They stress the degree to which Coach Wilson is incompetent.
3.
They help the reader determine how many games the team has lost.
4.
They stress the amazing skill of the team before Coach Wilson took over.
2. They stress the degree to which Coach Wilson is incompetent.
The first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature. Every day, the sun; and, after sunset, night and her stars. Ever the winds blow; ever the grass grows. Every day, men and women, conversing, beholding and beholden. The scholar is he of all men whom this spectacle most engages. He must settle its value in his mind. What is nature to him? There is never a beginning, there is never an end, to the inexplicable continuity of this web of God, but always circular power returning into itself. Therein it resembles his own spirit, whose beginning, whose ending, he never can find, — so entire, so boundless. Far, too, as her splendors shine, system on system shooting like rays, upward, downward, without centre, without circumference, — in the mass and in the particle, nature hastens to render account of herself to the mind. Classification begins. To the young mind, every thing is individual, stands by itself. By and by, it finds how to join two things, and see in them one nature; then three, then three thousand; and so, tyrannized over by its own unifying instinct, it goes on tying things together, diminishing anomalies, discovering roots running under ground, whereby contrary and remote things cohere, and flower out from one stem. It presently learns, that, since the dawn of history, there has been a constant accumulation and classifying of facts. But what is classification but the perceiving that these objects are not chaotic, and are not foreign, but have a law which is also a law of the human mind? The astronomer discovers that geometry, a pure abstraction of the human mind, is the measure of planetary motion. The chemist finds proportions and intelligible method throughout matter; and science is nothing but the finding of analogy, identity, in the most remote parts. The ambitious soul sits down before each refractory fact; one after another, reduces all strange constitutions, all new powers, to their class and their law, and goes on for ever to animate the last fibre of organization, the outskirts of nature, by insight.
(from ,begin underline,Nature; Addresses, and Lectures,end underline, by Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Question
Which statement ,begin emphasis,best,end emphasis, summarizes the main assertion made in this passage?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
Man takes control of nature through science.
2.
Man possesses an admiration for nature's beauty.
3.
Man shows indifference to nature through his activities.
4.
Man desires to find the interrelation of elements in nature.
4. Man desires to find the interrelation of elements in nature.
The old haunts, the old fields and woods, the copses, ponds, and gardens, the rooms of the old house where [Becky] had spent a couple of years seven years ago, were all carefully revisited by her. She had been young there, or comparatively so, for she forgot the time when she ever ,begin italics,was,end italics, young—but she remembered her thoughts and feelings seven years back, and contrasted them with those which she had at present, now that she had seen the world and lived with great people, and raised herself far beyond her original humble station.
"I have passed beyond it, because I have brains," Becky thought, "and almost all the rest of the world are fools. I could not go back, and consort with those people now, whom I used to meet in my father's studio. Lords come up to my door with stars and garters instead of poor artists. . . . I have a gentleman for my husband, and an Earl's daughter for my sister in the very house where I was little better than a servant a few years ago. But am I much better to do now in the world than I was when I was the poor painter's daughter, and wheedled the grocer round the corner for sugar and tea? Suppose I had married Francis who was so fond of me—I couldn't have been much poorer than I am now. Heigho! I wish I could exchange my position in society, and all my relations for a snug sum in the Three per Cent. Consols;",superscript,1,baseline, for so it was that Becky felt the Vanity of human affairs, and it was in those securities that she would have liked to cast anchor.
(from ,begin underline,Vanity Fair,end underline, by William Makepeace Thackeray)
,fill in the blank,
,begin bold,,superscript,1,baseline,Three per Cent. Consols,end bold, a type of government bond that was considered a reliable and safe investment
Question
At which point in the passage does Becky's tone change from contemptuous to regretful?
Answer options with 4 options
1.
when she forgets "she ever ,begin italics,was,end italics, young"
2.
when she realizes "I could not go back"
3.
when she notes "I was little better than a servant"
4.
when she asks if she is "much better to do now in the world"
4. when she asks if she is "much better to do now in the world"
is this correct
My apologies for the confusion. The correct answer is actually option 4. when she asks if she is "much better to do now in the world". This is the point in the passage where Becky's tone shifts from contemptuous to regretful as she reflects on her current social status compared to her previous humble position.
To determine an objective summary of the passage, we need to analyze the main points and ideas presented. The author argues that movement or change on its own does not have inherent value or virtue. They express a preference for things staying the same if they are good and emphasize the importance of consistency for personal identity. The author also discusses the distinction between mere change and improvement, stating that change is only worthwhile if it leads to improvement. Additionally, they criticize leaders who engage in constant action without considering the direction or purpose of their movements.
Based on this analysis, option 4. "Energetic movement is necessary even if the results are sometimes unsuccessful" does not accurately capture the author's viewpoint. Option 1. "Change that causes direct benefits for society is a meaningful enterprise" does highlight the author's emphasis on change leading to improvement, but it does not reflect the importance of consistency and personal identity that the author discusses. Option 2. "Improvement occurs when dynamic leaders take risks to bring about change" is not entirely accurate as the author criticizes leaders who engage in constant action without purpose. Option 3. "A nation must abandon highly outdated traditions to create a modern identity" does not adequately represent the author's main points.
Therefore, the most accurate objective summary of the passage would be option 1. "Change that causes direct benefits for society is a meaningful enterprise."