esha12012000 wrote:
Can you please explain the correct choices in q- 3 nd q-6 ?
Question 3
This passage discusses the "unparalleled economic and cultural revival" of the Byzantine Empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries. Question 3 asks us to complete the following sentence:
Quote:
it can be inferred from the passage that by the eleventh century the byzantine military forces___
Let's take a look at the answer choices and see which one fits best:
Quote:
(a) had reached their peak and begun to decline
The passage talks about the revival of the Byzantine Empire between the eighth and eleventh centuries. In the final paragraph, we're told this revival "
lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453".
There is no information in the passage about the Byzantine military forces peaking or beginning a decline, so we cannot tell when these events took place. (A) cannot be the answer.
Quote:
(b) had eliminated the bulgarian army
The Bulgarians are mentioned in the first paragraph as people that raided the Byzantines' remaining territory during the early eighth century. This is the only time the Bulgarians are mentioned, so we cannot know if the Byzantine military eliminated the Bulgarian army by the eleventh century. (B) is out.
Quote:
(c) were comparable in size to the army of rome under Augustus
Rome under Augustus is mentioned in the passage, this time in the second paragraph. However, this is only an example of a civilization where military, cultural, and economic advances have gone together. There is nothing in the passage to tell us whether the Byzantine military in the 11th century was comparable in size to the Roman army under Augustus. We can eliminate (C).
Quote:
(d) were strong enough to withstand the abbasid caliphate's military forces
The final paragraph tells us:
"
In the 860’s the Byzantine Empire began to recover from Arab incursions so that by 872 the military balance with the Abbasid Caliphate had been permanently altered in the empire’s favor."
This suggests the Byzantine military was stronger than that of the Abbasid Caliphate from 872 onwards. This means the Byzantine military would have been strong enough to withstand the Caliphate's forces by the 11th century.
(D) looks good, but let's take a look at (E):
Quote:
(e) had achieved control of byzantine governmental structures
There is no mention in the passage of the Byzantine military attempting to take control of the Byzantine governmental structure, so (E) cannot be our final answer.
(D) is the only answer we have not eliminated, so (D) is the answer to Question 3.
Question 6
In Question 6, we're asked:
Quote:
which of the following does the author mention as crucial evidence concerning the manner in which the byzantine revival began?
Let's take a look at the answer choices and work out which one should be our final answer:
Quote:
(a) the byzantine military revival of the 860's led to economic and cultural advances.
The final paragraph tells us the Byzantine military revival began in the 860s, but we're also told
"it is not clear that military advances invariably came first". The author goes on to say the economic revival began
"between 810 and 830". The military revival cannot be the
beginning of the Byzantine revival if the economic revival happened beforehand. Therefore, (A) cannot be our answer.
Quote:
(b) the byzantine cultural revival lasted until 1453.
We're interested in the manner in which the Byzantine revival began, not how long the revival lasted. (B) is out.
Quote:
(c) the byzantine economic recovery began in the 900's.
We're told in the final paragraph that
"The beginning of the empire’s economic revival, however, can be placed between 810 and 830". This is long before the 900s mentioned in (C). Since (C) is incorrect, it cannot be our final answer.
Quote:
(d) the revival of byzantine learning began toward the end of the eighth century.
In the final paragraph, we're told that the Byzantine revival of learning occurred before the economic revival. The passage says
"A number of notable scholars and writers appeared by 788 and, by the last decade of the eighth century, a cultural revival was in full bloom". This is the earliest part of the revival mentioned in the passage.
The final sentence of the passage also tells us
"In fact, the revival of Byzantine learning may itself have influenced the subsequent economic and military expansion". This suggests Byzantine learning was the first part of the culture to begin its revival -- we can keep (D) as a possible answer for now.
Quote:
(e) by the early eleventh century the byzantine empire had regained much of its lost territory.
As in (B), this may be true but we're interested in the manner in which the Byzantine revival began. (E) tells us about some of the results of this revival, so it cannot be the answer to this question.
The only answer left standing is (D), which is the answer to Question 6.
I hope that helps!
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