mSKR wrote:
Quote:
5. The author’s treatment of the topic of the passage can best be described as
(A) ironic
(B) neutral
(C) logical
(D) irreverent - Showing lack of due respect or veneration
(E) diffident- Showing modest reserve
Sajjad1994 : Please post official explanation for Q5.
The author's treatment means author tone?
In the whole passage, author is very logical deriving thoughts based on some logic, so C should be an answer?
In the whole passage, I also felt is not it irony that one side getting majority is a big think but at the same time , it gets defeated with small tyranny/small weakness?
I also felt it could be diffident, as author presents his views without attack on anyone or aggressive against.
I choose finally A as the answer.
AndrewN : Please share your approach to solve this question. What if we don't know meaning of some words exactly as I guessed meaning and with POE , I selected A and was found wrong.
Thanks!
Yes,
mSRK,
the author's treatment of the topic is synonymous with
tone. Even though I would not expect to see such a question on the GMAT™, on tests in which vocabulary may be tested in the above manner, I tell my students to work with the words they
do know first. The first three answer choices will pose less of a problem for most test-takers. Even though
ironic is often misused (when
coincidental would be more fitting), people generally understand that irony has to do with a reversal of expectations. The passage is not even remotely ironic. The author makes a straightforward argument that is present, front and center, by the end of the paragraph one, and the rest of the passage builds from that topic statement. Hence, (A) looks like a poor choice.
It should be clear that the passage is not neutral in tone. Look at the persuasive or judgmental language throughout:
Paragraph 1—
we should not willingly investParagraph 2—
one social power must always predominateParagraph 3—
the main evil... very inadequate securityParagraph 4—
absurd... no sure barrierThis author aims to convince the reader of the argument made in the first paragraph, that no group should have unlimited authority. Get rid of (B).
Is the passage logical? Does the author present a logical argument? Sure. The rhetorical question in the second line of the passage stands as a pillar upon which the argument is based. The question at the beginning of the final paragraph has a similar effect. The reader is meant to understand by that point that the system is flawed, and the conditional statements that follow should come as no surprise. Why? Because the argument has followed a logical trajectory throughout. I have no problem with this answer choice. (I chose it in about half a minute.)
As for (D) and (E), these are the sorts of "twenty-dollar words," as we sometimes call them in the States, that intimidate test-takers, many of whom will choose one or the other based on the logic that a vocabulary test needs to test knowledge of such words. I did consider
irreverent for a moment, thinking that the author is clearly no fan of the
present democratic institutions of the United States (paragraph three), but I do not like to rely on interpretation if another answer is more present on the screen, more justifiable. To be honest, I had forgotten the exact meaning of
diffident, but since I already felt comfortable with (C), I chose it. Had I not felt that (C) was rooted in the passage, I would have gone for (E), feeling as though I had compelling reasons to eliminate each of the other answers.
I did not expect to write so much on a vocabulary-based question I do not even think would appear on the GMAT™, but the above does reflect my thought process in arriving at the correct answer. I hope it may be of help to you.
- Andrew
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