After the demise in 1975 of the Francisco Franco dictatorship, Spain's

Question

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Passage # 130, Date: 04-Jun-2020
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After the demise in 1975 of the Francisco Franco dictatorship, Spain's leading political parties negotiated the so-called Pact of Forgetting, an informal agreement that made any treatment of the most difficult episodes of Spanish history, such as the horrific violence of the Civil War, unnecessary and unwelcomed. Far from seeking “justice,” “truth” or “reconciliation,” the nation chose to forget and move on, even passing a comprehensive amnesty law making it all but impossible to prosecute the human rights abuses of the old regime.

The pact to forget meant that in Spain there would be no accountability for the thousands of people who perished during the Civil War (1936-39), or for the many more who were executed, forced into exile, tortured in prison or sent to labor camps in the post-war years for simply having defended democracy against Franco's fascist coup. The pact also committed the government to “la desmemoria” (disremembering), a policy that entailed avoiding anything that could awaken the memory of the past, such as the observation of the 50th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, in 1986; the creation of a truth commission to look into who bore ultimate responsibility for the Civil War; and the use of state funds to exhume the remains of thousands buried in unmarked Civil War mass graves, most of whom died fighting Franco.  
 1 
 B 
 1. Which of the following is the author of the passage most likely to agree with?

A. Prosecution of human rights violators is essential for democracy to be defended.
B. The “pact of forgetting” does not do justice to the affected people in Spain
C. The sacrifices made by the participants of the Civil war should not be remembered to ensure that memories of the past are not awakened.
D. Spain was most prosperous after the demise of Francisco Franco
E. The Civil War of 1986 was deleterious to the progress of Spain

2 
 B 
 2. Which of the following is a role that the second paragraph of the passage plays?

A. It provides evidence to substantiate the reasons behind the decline of the Francisco Franco government.
B. It elaborates some of the implications that an agreement discussed in the first paragraph had.
C. It highlights the importance of “disremembering” with respect to the 1986 Civil War.
D. It introduces a perspective that detracts from the main idea of the passage
E. It highlights some of the brutal acts committed during Francisco Franco’s regime

3 
 B 
 3. All of the following is true regarding the Civil War discussed in the passage EXCEPT:

A. It was intended to revolt against an oppressive government
B. Its end was marked by the death of Francisco Franco in 1975
C. Many who defended democracy did not escape from torture and labor camps
D. The government was involved in inhumane treatment of its citizens
E. The participants of this war were treated inhumanely even after the end of the war

globaldesi · Answer

Official Solution

1. OA: B

The scope lies here “The pact to forget meant that in Spain there would be no accountability for the thousands of people who perished during the Civil War” it betrays the tone of the author. Option B therefore is the most apt.

A: The use of the word 'essential' is extreme and not really supported by the passage. 'Essential' means 'vital' or 'absolutely necessary'.
C: The author clearly is counter to the position made in this option
D: Most prosperous – extreme; not supported by the passage
E: The author empathises with the civil war therefore he would not agree that it was “counter” to the progress of Spain.

2. OA: B
The second paragraph discusses the implications of the “pact of forgetting” mentioned in the first paragraph. Option B best describes this.

3. OA: B
Option B is incorrect as the passage does not state this. In fact Franco's death was much after the end of the Civil War. The second paragraph provides substantiation for A, C, D and E.

HoneyLemon · Answer

------Reading psg and taking short notes ...
 -- Fact .. Y 
pact of forgetting -- negotiated by Spain's leaders after 1975 . 
No action -- just forget and move on . 
Author's own claim .. no accountability . 
govt committed something . 
avoid

tone  -- -ve 
 main point  : Pointing out an event from the past , post 1975 in Spain , and implication and how current govt handled the same. 
----

1. Which of the following is the author of the passage most likely to agree with?

A. Prosecution of human rights violators is essential for democracy to be defended.
 -- Essential for democracy to be defended from the passage . 
 
B. The “pact of forgetting” does not do justice to the affected people in Spain

-- Correct .  
 
 We can infrom from above line of the psg .

C. The sacrifices made by the participants of the Civil war should not be remembered to ensure that memories of the past are not awakened.
D. Spain was most prosperous after the demise of Francisco Franco
E. The Civil War of 1986 was deleterious to the progress of Spain

Info in choice C, D, E are not spoken in the psg . 
 
-- 
2.
Which of the following is a role that the second paragraph of the passage plays?

Pre think : 2nd paragraph provide more of the implication of Pact of Forgetting . 
 
A. It provides evidence to substantiate the reasons behind the decline of the Francisco Franco government.
B. It elaborates some of the implications that an agreement discussed in the first paragraph had.
C. It highlights the importance of “disremembering” with respect to the 1986 Civil War.
D. It introduces a perspective that detracts from the main idea of the passage
E. It highlights some of the brutal acts committed during Francisco Franco’s regime

-- Only option B matches with our-pre thinking . 
 
 Rest options either narrow scope or not spoken in the passage

---

3. All of the following is true regarding the Civil War discussed in the passage EXCEPT:

A. It was intended to revolt against an oppressive government

-- mentioned in the passage .

B. Its end was marked by the death of Francisco Franco in 1975

-- Not mentioned in the passage .. Correct
 
C. Many who defended democracy did not escape from torture and labor camps

-- mentioned in the passage .

D. The government was involved in inhumane treatment of its citizens

-- mentioned in the passage .

E. The participants of this war were treated inhumanely even after the end of the war

-- mentioned in the passage .

B is the correct choice

MrSandman · Answer

B, B and B. That was easy. It took something like 20 seconds for me.

jaisonsunny77 · Answer

1. Which of the following is the author of the passage most likely to agree with?

B.  The “pact of forgetting” does not do justice to the affected people in Spain  - indicated in the first paragraph: "Pact of Forgetting....far from seeking justice....impossible to prosecute the human rights abuses of the old regime.".

Hence,   (B) is the right answer choice.  
 
  2. Which of the following is a role that the second paragraph of the passage plays?

The first paragraph implies that the ''Pact of Forgetting'' inhibited people from seeking “justice,” “truth” or “reconciliation,”. The second paragraph elaborates different instances that emphasis on what was implied in the first paragraph. (B) captures this though perfectly.

(B) It elaborates some of the implications that an agreement discussed in the first paragraph had.

Hence,   (B) is the right answer choice.  
 
 3. All of the following is true regarding the Civil War discussed in the passage EXCEPT: 
 
B. Its end was marked by the death of Francisco Franco in 1975  -

From the passage, we know that

(i) the Francisco Franco dictatorship came to an end in 1975. 
(ii) the civil war ended in 1939.

Therefore, we can establish that the civil war did not end after the demise of Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Hence,   (B) is the right answer to this EXCEPT question.

After the demise in 1975 of the Francisco Franco dictatorship, Spain's

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After the demise in 1975 of the Francisco Franco dictatorship, Spain's

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