Despite their many differences of temperament and of literary perspect

The best answer is B. This question asks you to identify the choice that best states the primary concern, or central topic, of the author's discussion. Thus, the best answer must be comprehensive enough to include all aspects of the author's discussion. Choice A mentions one aspect of the author's discussion, which appears in the third paragraph along with the topic mentioned in choice C. Neither of these choices includes the matters under discussion in paragraphs one, two, and four. Choices D and E mention topics not discussed in the passage. Choice B presents a broad topic that includes the matters discussed in all four paragraphs of the passage.



The best answer is C. This question asks you to evaluate the three statements designated with Roman numerals in terms of "the humanistic perspective of the five writers." Paragraph one discusses the "humanistic perspective" (line 5) and ex- plains its "basic premises" (lines 5-8). After looking back at paragraph one, you can decide whether or not the' 'humanis- tic perspective" presupposes statements I, II, and/or III. The last sentence of paragraph one says that" . . . all knowledge begins with self-knowledge"; thus, the statement I is a presupposition of the "humanistic perspective." Lines 5-13 explain in some detail the point briefly stated in statement II. The point made in statement III is neither stated nor implied in the passage.



The best answer is D. This question asks you to identify the function of a quotation in the author's discussion. First, locate the quotation from Whitman in lines 24-27. The first two sentences of the paragraph make the point that the five writers under discussion emphasize not the individual, but the "human as universal" (line 21). The author of the passage then says, "Thus, for Emerson . . . while, for Whitman" (lines 22-24). The use of the word "Thus" indicates that the author is giving a specific instance or example of the point. The only choice that states a purpose for the quotation compatible with the author's point in this paragraph is D.



The best answer is A. The author of the passage, in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, says that the five writers assumed "that intuition and imagination offer a surer road to truth" than the scientific method, and that they presumed "an organic relationship between the self and the cosmos of which only intuition and imagination can properly take account" (lines 55-57). Choice A restates this point by saying that the scientific method "is not the best way to obtain an understanding of the relationship between the individual and the cosmos." Choices B, C, D, and E mention plausible possible objections to the use of the scientific method, but none of these are mentioned in the passage.



The best answer is B. This question asks you to evaluate statements I, II, and III and decide whether each of the three statements is compatible with the beliefs of the authors as they are presented in the passage. The statement I concerns democracy, which is discussed in the passage in lines 39-46. It is clear from these lines that I is not compatible with the authors' beliefs as they are presented in the passage. Statement II begins''Nature alone exists.. ."; this part of the statement directly contradicts the discussion of the humanistic perspective in the first paragraph of the passage. Statement III summarizes the basic points made about the humanistic perspective in the first paragraph.



The best answer is D. In the fourth paragraph of the passage, the author says that the five writers assume that intuition and imagination "offer a surer road to truth" (lines 48-49). The author of the passage then gives two illustrations of this assumption, one of which is the writers' emphasis on "interpretation of experience as, in essence, symbolic." Choice A can be eliminated because the fourth paragraph states that intuition and imagination are alternatives to logic and scientific method. The material in choices B and C is not implied in the fourth paragraph. Choice E suggests, correctly, that intuition and imagination connect the self to the world, but the resolution of conflicts between the self and world mentioned in E is not discussed in the passage.



The best answer is C. First, reread the lines cited in the question. They appear at the end of the third paragraph, which begins with a statement of the five writers ' belief in the necessity for ' 'harmonious reconciliation of two universal psychological tendencies. . ." (lines 31-32), tendencies of withdrawal, on the one hand, and outreach, on the other (lines 32-38). The next sentence introduces the "democratic ethic" as an illustration of such reconciliation. Thus, choice C is the only choice that expresses the connection between the first part of the paragraph and the example of the democratic ethic.



The best answer is D. This question asks you to connect the quoted phrase to "the thinking of the five writers ." Choice A is inadequate because nothing in the passage suggests that the five writers asserted the importance of the democratic ethic. Choice B mentions the concept of the freedom of the individual, which is certainly implicit in the five writers' beliefs, but the relationship cited in the quoted phrase cannot be said to justify their concept. Choice C makes a statement unsupported by the passage. Choice E is related to the quoted phrase, in that the writers' faith in the imagination, which is the mental pathway to understanding the relationship cited in the quoted phrase, led them to see the writer as a seer. The necessary connection between the quoted phrase and the writers' beliefs, however, comes from their shared humanistic perspective, explained in detail in the first and fourth paragraphs, a perspective that is grounded in the idea contained in the quoted phrase.



The best answer is B. Choices A and E mention areas of study not relevant to the subject of the passage, the common beliefs of five writers. Choices C and D each mention one area, theology and political science, respectively, that could be seen as connected to the discussion presented in the passage. However, the principal concerns of sociology and anthropology are not connected with the subject of the passage. The central concerns of the passage, presenting the ideas and beliefs of significant thinkers, are the principal concerns of the fields of history and literature.