A serious critic has to comprehend the particular content, unique stru

3 mins 9 secs and got 3 out of 4. missed the last one due to unnecessary haste.


Detail question - also the main suggestion of the passage to get rid of the dilemma mentioned.
According to the author, a serious art critic may avoid being prejudiced by her subjective reactions if she
(A) treats an artwork in relation to a fixed set of ideas and values Opposite - this is mentioned in the next context.
(B) brings to her observation a knowledge of art history and aesthetic theory Verbatim from the passage.
(C) allows more time for the observation of each artwork Irrelevant. Possible real-world trap.
(D) takes into account the preferences of other art critics Out of scope.
(E) limits herself to that art with which she has adequate familiarity TRAP - this could be a contrived way of looking at it but the author does not imply this even though he mentions familiarity - it is with the context of history and aesthetic theory.

Detail question, nicely in order in which the details appear in the passage - however, the options on this one are tricky
The author implies that it is insufficient to treat a work of art solely historically because
(A) doing so would lead the critic into a dilemma Opposite - the dilemma will be cleared by looking at a piece of art via the lens of history.
(B) doing so can blind the critic to some of the artwork's unique qualities Bingo - overdoing the history and aesthetic aspect can lead the critic to ignore the art for its individuality.
(C) doing so can insulate the critic from personally held beliefs Opposite - same as option A.
(D) subjective reactions can produce a biased response Opposite - again related to why a historical approach is useful. Discard.
(E) critics are not sufficiently familiar with art history Irrelevant and out of scope. Discard.

Now we are going back to the start of the passage - another detail implication type question.
The passage suggests that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?
(A) Art speaks to the passions as well as to the intellect. BINGO - this is the dilemma the author is talking about in the first few lines of the passage.
(B) Most works of art express unconscious wishes or desires. Out of scope.
(C) The best art is accessible to the greatest number of people. Out of scope by a large margin.
(D) The art produced in the last few decades is of inferior quality. Laughably irrelevant
(E) The meaning of art is a function of the social conditions in which it was produced. Real world trap - but in the context of the question and the passage irrelevant. Discard.

Finally the main point question with extremely tricky options. I fell prey to this one due to haste :-|
The author's argument is developed primarily by the use of
(A) an attack on sentimentality Laughably irrelevant to anything being discussed in the passage.
(B) an example of a successful art criticism TRAP! The author does talk about the characteristics of successful art criticism but gives no example - Beware!
(C) a critique of artists' training No training mentioned, however, anyone who reads the last line for main point trick might fall for it.
(D) a warning against extremes in art criticism BINGO - bu POE as well as the dilemma and also a suggestion that a critics job cannot be taught - the author is warning against wrong ( i.e extreme) criticism.
(E) an analogy between art criticism and art production Irrelevant, production is never mentioned.
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1. According to the author, a serious art critic may avoid being prejudiced by her subjective reactions if she

(A) treats an artwork in relation to a fixed set of ideas and values - Irrelevant
(B) brings to her observation a knowledge of art history and aesthetic theory - "Hence, it is necessary that a critic develop a sensibility informed by familiarity with the history of art and aesthetic theory." This gives the answer
(C) allows more time for the observation of each artwork - out of scope
(D) takes into account the preferences of other art critics - out of scope
(E) limits herself to that art with which she has adequate familiarity - Irrelevant

2. The author implies that it is insufficient to treat a work of art solely historically because

(A) doing so would lead the critic into a dilemma -partial scope
(B) doing so can blind the critic to some of the artwork's unique qualities - as concluded from the last line
(C) doing so can insulate the critic from personally held beliefs - out of scope
(D) subjective reactions can produce a biased response - Irrelevant
(E) critics are not sufficiently familiar with art history - out of scope

3. The passage suggests that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

(A) Art speaks to the passions as well as to the intellect. - can be concluded
(B) Most works of art express unconscious wishes or desires. - extreme
(C) The best art is accessible to the greatest number of people. - extreme
(D) The art produced in the last few decades is of inferior quality. - out of scope
(E) The meaning of art is a function of the social conditions in which it was produced. - out of scope

4. The author's argument is developed primarily by the use of

(A) an attack on sentimentality - partial scope, not the primary reason
(B) an example of successful art criticism - no example is given
(C) a critique of artists' training - out of scope
(D) a warning against extremes in art criticism - based on the seriousness of the passage, it can be concluded
(E) an analogy between art criticism and art production - out of scope

can anyone give rough idea that if this passage in gre exam, what will be difficulty level???

This passage originally belongs to GRE, In my opinion the following should be the difficulty level of the questions.

Question #1: 600
Question #2: 650
Question #3: 650
Question #4: 700

Overall: 650

overall :650, should i consider it as medium or hard?

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